A man has been detained by cops at a Pennsylvania “Pride” event after arriving with a sign explaining that Jesus said, “Go and sin no more.”

And it’s all on video:

The report comes from “Barely Preacher Man,” who described the circumstance.

“Today, as our family was driving out of Reading for a family adventure, we saw that there was a Pride rally at the City Hall building in Reading City. I saw two Christian protesters out there, and so I pulled us over and I came out to support and encourage them,” he said.

“I preached for 10 minutes or so until a tyrant cop laid hands on me and threatened to arrest me if I continued. 10 minutes later, another Christian protester came out. He stood his ground against the cop, and got arrested as shown in the clip,” he said.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.wnd.com/2023/06/wrong-quoting-bible-public-gets-christian-arrested/

The post ‘This was wrong’: Quoting Bible in public gets Christian arrested first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

One of the last things any Christian would want to believe is that he is “under the Law.” Surely any Christian person knows that “a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28).

But does this mean Christians do not have to obey the Ten Commandments? Put another way, does it mean a Christian person may break any one of the Ten Commandments—having other gods before Him, coveting, lying, cheating, stealing or bowing down to “graven images”—and yet not be guilty of sin?

How many times have you heard people talking about their youth, cheerfully admitting they have at one time or another broken sufficient laws to have landed them in jail?

I remember many such occasions from speeches given by college students who were practicing their “ice breakers” to familiarize themselves with the methods of public speaking and casual dinner conversation.

Some of the most horrible tales have been confessions of having set fire to acres of pine trees, overturned numerous outhouses, damaged and destroyed automobiles and other property.

For some reason the statement “the devil made me do it” seems humorous today.

What is this evil part of human nature that makes us want to brag about lawlessness?

What is it about older people that makes them tend to be proud of some of their youthful days when they were “sowing their wild oats” and engaged in gangland activities, street fights, violent escapades involving vandalism, malicious mischief and high-speed flights away from uniformed policemen?

What is it in human nature that makes us resent authority?

Do all human beings, almost as if by nature, have secret inner compulsions which make them want to break laws?

A Lawless Age

With the dismantlement of the great colonial empires following World War II, the world has been dumfounded again and again at some of the macabre revelations of vast purges and genocide which have taken the lives of millions.

Increasingly, government leaders, like the biblical descriptions of “wild beasts” of the gentile nations, are becoming laws unto themselves, brutally ignoring human rights, due process and international law.

The rise of despotism—that is, the takeover by “strongman” dictators in nation after nation around the world continues with scarcely a whisper of protest heard in Washington or anywhere else.

“Human rights” are applied on a selective basis with the self righteous leaders in government decrying the lack of human rights in one country while cheerfully turning their backs on the grisly spectacle of mass murder in another part of the world.

In the United States we are edging closer to that dangerous period where even neighborhood arguments are often as not settled by shoot-outs.

Teenage gangs wage street war against one another with guns and grenades, and various ultra nationalistic or fascist organizations cache stockpiles of weapons and ammunition toward that day of revolution (or, as they usually preach, their last-ditch defense against the various real or imagined conspiracies, from Zionists to the “Illuminati,” communism or one of the councils of churches) they say is coming.

The world in which you live is a world of violence. Because of the many heartrending abuses of power, many Christian professing people tend to “throw out the baby with the bath water,” turning away from any and every kind of authority.

We have all seen the comedies portraying southern sheriffs as rednecks” who mercilessly pistol-whip itinerant blacks, the sadistic prison guard who beats a helpless inmate, the husky nurse who brutalizes the new patient in the state mental hospital.

Hardly a single issue of a daily newspaper is read but that another sensational revelation of such abuse of authority is exposed.

From the White House to the Congress, from state capitals to the prison systems, from the police to the churches, we know flagrant abuses of government, authority and position are common.

The automatic tendency on the part of those who feel they have just “escaped” such violations of government power is to reject all forms of government, all of officialdom.

In the midst of all of this, it is quite simple for any professing Christian person who embraces the gentle teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth concerning love, forgiveness, faith and mercy to abandon belief in day-to-day requirements and to live instead as a “free spirit” blissfully unaware of the requirement to obey the Ten Commandments!

It is no wonder, then, that millions believe “God is dead,” and other millions who may believe and accept that God is alive seem to imagine His law is dead.

It’s time you saw from your own Bible, with your own eyes, the real truth about the laws of God and your relationship to them.

What is Grace?

One of the terms most often used is “not under law but under GRACE.”

But what is grace? When one is “gracious,” it usually connotes being gentle, kind and good. Many a parent has named an infant daughter Grace, as one of the virtues of a meek and quiet spirit. But what is the meaning of the word as set forth in the Bible—especially with regard to “not under the law but under grace”?

First, does it mean permission to sin?

“Certainly not!” one might answer. But if it does not mean you have permission to sin, does it mean you do not need to keep God’s laws?

“Well-l-l… that is a different matter,” one might respond.

Perhaps it is time to go to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary and find out just what grace is.

Grace is “favor, kindness, mercy, etc.” The ecclesiastical usage is “divine mercy or forgiveness.”

Then grace means more than just possessing a kind, good and gentle spirit; it connotes the favor and mercy of God—divine mercy or being forgiven.

But being forgiven of what?

Why, being forgiven of having sinned!

But, again, how about another definition? What is sin?

The Bible responds, “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4).

If that is what sin is—if sin is the breaking of God’s laws—sin is also failing to keep God’s laws!

Technically the word sin from the Hebrew language means “to miss the mark” or “to err.” There are sins of comission and sins of omission. A sin which is “committed” is an act of some sort which is directly contrary to the Ten Commandments of God or any of the greater magnifications of the Ten Commandments as illustrated by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, as well as by His life and His teaching.

By omitting to do good, you may also be sinning without realizing it! God says, “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin!”

Sin is not only the breaking of the law of God, but it is also failing to keep the law of God!

When one has broken the laws of God, he is said to be a “sinner.”

“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Every human being has broken God’s holy laws, the Ten Commandments. It is the breaking of these laws, then, as they are applied in principle and as they are magnified by Christ in the New Testament, that constitutes sin (1 John 3:4).

Every one of us has, as part of our basic nature, innate hostility toward God’s laws (Romans 8:7). We have been convicted by God’s law as being guilty of sin: the breaking of His Ten Commandments! When we do this, the penalty the law requires, which is death (Romans 6:23), is applied to us. We are looked upon, from the point of view of God, as being “blood guilty,” and our very lives are expected to be forfeited!

But Jesus Christ of Nazareth died to be a propitiation for our sins, so we don’t have to die and suffer the consequences of our own illegal and unlawful acts!

Grace is God’s mercy: the undeserved, unmerited, unearned pardon which God grants us upon our acceptance of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our confession of our personal sins and our acceptance of Jesus as our personal Savior.

“In whom [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace!” (Ephesians 1:7).

Grace, then, is God’s loving willingness to forgive us of having broken His Ten Commandments, having perpetrated sin!

This is very clear in Scripture. Yet millions remain confused.

Grace Becomes “Permission”

Even prior to the close of the New Testament writings, God inspired Jude to write, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write to you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [permission to do evil] and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3,4).

In order to “turn the grace of God into lasciviousness,” the false deception must be perpetrated which implies that God’s goodness, greatness and forgiveness are so boundless as to virtually encourage a person to live carelessly—living, as it were, in a life of sin—but constantly dwelling on the greatness, goodness and mercy of God, believing in his heart that he will be forgiven no matter what!

This insidious teaching started before the Bible was even finished.

There were false teachers creeping into the ranks of some of the newly converted gentile converts in such cities as Thyatira, Corinth and Rome itself who began urging some of the newly converted heathens to revert back to some of their age-old customs which included sex practices as spiritual “rites” in the temple worship of some polytheistic gods, and telling these people that God would bless this activity, that it was not really a sin!

A prostitute named Jezebel was teaching the brethren of God’s true church in the city of Thyatira to commit fornication with her, calling it a “religious service.”

No doubt there were any number of people in that church congregation who were willing enough to believe this, for it appears Jezebel may have been, in fact, a beautiful and voluptuous woman.

Today there are millions and millions of “Christian folk” who, while they would abhor such practices, nevertheless believe in other, more subtle ways that one may live a life of disobedience to God’s perfect Ten Commandments and still be “Christian” in some loose or casual way.

Millions of professing Christians are convinced they should live a “righteous life.” But the guidelines of what constitutes this “righteous life” are usually the guidelines of their own particular part of society. That means their church, club, lodge, social group, immediate or extended family.

Most people are willing to be constrained by the social and religious parameters of life around them while living their lives blissfully unaware of any further requirements to obey God!

To these same people a “sinful life” would probably mean indulging in various “world” habits and interests such as going to too many or the wrong kind of movies, attending honkytonks, drinking, gambling, carousing or “cussing” a little too much.

Millions of individuals thus conceive in their own minds a whole way of life which they feel is “Christian,” and, living within the parameters of these social constraints, they feel they are under Christ’s “grace,” and such a state means they are not required to actually obey specific laws!

Most professing Christians who have had what they call a “born-again experience” would talk of “living for God,” which means living a good life rather than an evil one. It means, to them, thinking good thoughts rather than evil ones, being honest rather than being dishonest, striving to hold their head up in society, and being thought of by all their friends and constituents as “good.”

To many, grace becomes the “state of a Christian who is living for God”!

Thus grace has subtly been substituted in most people’s consciousness to imply a “condition of the individual,” rather than one of the qualities of the mind of God.

Instead of coming to understand the real meaning of the word grace as revealed in the Scriptures, many come to feel that grace is a vague biblical term which means a Christian is in a “saved condition.” It means God has smiled on such an individual, that he has been called and placed “under grace” and made into a Christian!

Not true!

Grace is the undeserved forgiveness Jesus Christ stands ready to lavish upon you if and when you repent of sin!

What is Repentance?

The apostle Peter, speaking on the Day of Pentecost before thousands in Jerusalem, said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 2:38).

Later he said, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted!” (Acts 3:19).

Jesus began His ministry by commanding people to repent!

“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent: for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17).

Any dictionary can tell you that repent means to be deeply sorry, to be broken up and ashamed of oneself for transgressions and sins! It is not only an emotional experience of contrition, of a state of being deeply sorrowful that a person has done wrong (sinned, erred, made mistakes and done evil), but the acceptance with the mind of a higher and a better way of life; repentance includes the resolve to do better in the future, not to sin any more!

When the apostle Peter said to “be converted,” he meant to “be changed”! This change of which the Bible speaks is not a vague or nebulous change, but a very definite change which God requires in each facet of your private life!

Jesus said, “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish!”

When one repents and calls out to God for forgiveness of sins, he automatically tells God he intends obeying God’s law henceforth, for repentance means being deeply sorry you have sinned!

Sin is the breaking of God’s law. Repenting of sin means being sorry you have broken God’s law. If you are sorry, it means you do not intend breaking His law any further! Let’s illustrate it this way: You live in a society which must be regulated according to various laws. There are federal, state, county and local laws which regulate practically every act and deed. Whether we are speaking here of federal laws, civil codes or simply traffic laws, the same principle applies.

You are required in order to retain your freedom and your citizenship to obey the laws of our country. If you break some of them, it may only require a fine or a very small penalty, or even a warning, and you will be allowed to remain free.

Breaking others can be far more serious. Grand theft, larceny, arson, robbery, burglary, auto theft or murder could get you thrown behind bars (not withstanding the terrible laxity of the courts today).

Let’s suppose you have done precisely this.

Maybe, caught up in an emotional state with wrong companions, you perpetrate some act which is clearly against the law. Let’s assume you are arrested and in due time brought to trial. But, during the trial, just as the judge has imposed upon you a terrific fine which you would never be able to pay—say, a million dollars—a completely unknown stranger, your benefactor, stands and says, “Your honor, I believe this man is seriously contrite. I believe he got caught up in the emotion of the moment and was under the influence of some evil companions. I feel he is a man of integrity and wishes truly to mend his ways and live a better life.

“Therefore, I am willing to pay his fine myself so he can go free, and he doesn’t need to pay this penalty!”

Although it probably wouldn’t happen in our society, it does illustrate the point. The judge (as a type of God the Father) would say to the benefactor (who is a type of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for our own sins), “That will be fine! You may step up and pay the court $1 million and we will write on the court records that the man who has been accused is free to go.”

Then the judge may look at you, the person who has been arrested, tried and sentenced, and say, “You are free to go. But don’t ever get caught up in that kind of a situation again!”

Do you see?

You are required, as a citizen of a free country, to obey its laws, or else!

In the case of God’s divine laws, you are required, whether you know about them or not (ignorance of the law is no excuse), whether you are a Christian, a professing Christian or whatever, to obey God’s Ten Commandments.

Though people by the millions freely break the Ten Commandments every single day, they are unknowingly coming under the penalty of the law, which is death! (Romans 6:23).

When you repent, you are saying to God you are deeply sorry you have broken His laws.

Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the counsel for the defense says to God, the Righteous Judge, that He believes in your profession of repentance and is willing to allow His own sacrifice to be applied in your case!

Then, just as Jesus said to the woman taken in the very act of adultery, God will say the same thing to you, “Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more!”

True repentance, then, means being deeply sorry you have broken God’s Ten Commandments, resolving through the power of God’s Holy Spirit and the help of Jesus Christ as your daily High Priest and Intercessor, not to break the Ten Commandments henceforth.

David experienced some of the depths of the feeling of repentance when he said, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1,2).

When David pleaded for the mercy of God and His forgiveness, he also asked that he could be cleansed from the penalty of his sins, that his sins could be forgiven and set aside, and never mentioned to him again.

In this case, David was pleading for God’s grace and His mercy.

He said later, “O how love I thy law it is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).

Never forget that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4), and, when you totally repent of having sinned, you repent of having broken God’s law!

As Paul says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God … for sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:12-14).

Do you see? A person who has truly repented is sorry he has sinned, meaning sorry he has broken God’s law, His Ten Commandments. He is, now determined that with God’s help he will not break those ten Commandments again! He knows sin will no longer “rule” over him, that the appetites of his own flesh, the wiles of Satan the devil and his influence, and the evil influence of this world all around him, will not make him live a life of sin any further! He knows that he is not “under the law” (meaning under the penalty of the law), but is under God’s unmerited grace and pardon!

Paul continues to answer a question which might arise in the mind of one who does not know the true meaning of the word grace.

He says, “What then? Shall we sin, [that is break the Ten Commandments] because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid!” (Romans 6:15).

Can you see now? When the scripture speaks of being “under the law,” it means, by its very context, being under the “penalty” of the law!

To obey the law is to be “within the law,” but to sin is to come under the law.” But there is a simple difference which we can understand by applying the earlier analogy of the courtroom scene.

All of us as free citizens can “stand fast in the freedom wherewith our founding fathers have made us free,” but to do so it means we must continue to be “law-abiding citizens”!

And what is wrong with that? How many Americans or others do you see living in free nations (such as Britain, Canada, Australia, etc.) who go about complaining every single day concerning the many laws they must keep? I do not speak here of taxes or civil codes which from time to time may appear to be unjust, but the overriding laws which are not unlike the Ten Commandments. It is against the law to murder, to rape, to rob, to steal, pillage, burn or vandalize your neighbors property, and well it should be!

How many “law-abiding citizens” go about every single day shaking their heads in dismay, arguing in their minds against these constraints? A ridiculous question!

There’s nothing sinister or evil in being a “law-abiding citizen” when we apply it to a country. If you feel as I do, you prize very highly your freedoms granted you by those documents which are virtually on a sacred level called the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, with its amendments.

It is no different with God’s law. Why should any Christians feel as if they are under a horrible burden like a grinding, heavy weight to be constrained to obey God’s law?

This is tantamount to alleging that the citizens of a free nation such as the United States go about spending their time in doing nothing else except complaining about the terrible yoke of bondage which forces them to avoid burglarizing their neighbor’s apartment, stealing his automobile, raping his wife or murdering him!

What’s WRONG With God’s Law?

Can you find anything really wrong with God’s Ten Commandments? How long has it been since you have read the Ten Commandments? For a refreshing experience do the following: Turn in your own Bible to Exodus the 20th chapter and read the entire chapter slowly.

Read not only the Ten Commandments themselves, but even the context in which they were given. Read about the quaking mountain with the magnificent voice of God thundering out the greatest law ever devised to Moses (who was a mediator of the Old Covenant) and the people of Israel!

As you read slowly through the Ten Commandments, continually ask yourself, “What is wrong with these laws?”

Muse for a time on the practical application of the Ten Commandments if they were obeyed in a national sense! As an example, what would happen if the United States of America obeyed any one of the Ten Commandments perfectly?

What about the commandment against murder? It is easy to see if even this one commandment were obeyed, an enormous avalanche of crime would be eradicated from the American scene!

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount equated hatred, bitter anger and murderous thoughts with murder itself! Therefore, anyone who is “angry with his brother without a cause,” and who would say “drop dead” or “you useless wretch,” has actually broken the spirit and intent of this commandment already!

To break the spirit or intent of the law is to come under the death penalty! Therefore, Jesus Christ, in magnifying the law and making it “honorable” in the New Testament, makes it far more binding than ever before!

Hence, even for a neighbor to be unreasonably angry with his brother means he has already broken God’s Ten Commandments! And to break one is to be guilty of all!

Remember, sin is the “transgression of the law” (or the breaking of the Ten Commandments).

Let your mind muse on the positive aspects of the keeping of the Ten Commandments. If that one commandment were being obeyed perfectly in the spirit as well as in the letter, then the United States of America would be a virtual utopia!

Remember, obeying the law against murder perfectly would mean the eradication of hatred. Hatred is an emotion very closely associated with fear, ego, vanity and jealousy.

Any nation whose citizens were in such control of their minds and emotions so as to be without hate would have the following great revolutionary blessings.

1. There would be no crime in the entire nation. Any people completely free from vanity, jealousy, fear, greed and hatred would be an honest people, a good and loving people.

2. There would be no racism. Prejudice produces hatred and vice versa. In eradicating hatred and supplanting it with love, which is an outgoing concern (the very opposite feeling from hatred), the nation would also eradicate the last vestige of racism. That would mean equal opportunities in the economy, in the government, in education, in religion and in every structure of the society.

This, in turn, would save billions of dollars in welfare; it would save hundreds of millions of dollars by canceling the riots, fires and looting that have pockmarked the face of America from the beginning of the struggles for civil rights; it would end the activities of such organizations as the Jewish Defense League, the Black Panthers, the Weathermen Underground, the John Birch Society, the Klu Klux Klan and many dozens of others. Without racism a wave of peace, love, goodwill and prosperity would sweep the country—all because a people obeyed just one of the Ten Commandments.

3. All entertainment would have to be revised. Books, papers, novels, magazines, motion pictures and television would be deeply affected; for, if there were no hatred, there could be no violence, and hence there would be peace. Without violence, television would have to be more informative, educational, and present a bright, hopeful, happy, buoyant, ebullient spirit—it would revolutionize the entire entertainment industry.

4. Religions would have to be totally revolutionized too. For without their vicious internecine hatreds of each other, without the contempt, the suspicion, the fear, the vituperation, the jealousy, the anger and the hatred various religious groups have for each other, all religion would be deeply changed!

Do you see? Think of the many other ways in which you could apply the keeping of just this one commandment to a modern society, and then think of the many ways in which that society could be improved!

You could apply the same lesson to any of the other commandments, including covetousness. This would wipe out materialism, the vain, egotistical and greedy search for wealth, ill-gotten gain, and the worshipful attitude of bowing down before “things”! People in our society tend to “use people and love things,” when they should “use things and love people”!

This same experiment could be applied to any one of the Ten Commandments.

But wait!

A commandment which plainly states you ought to keep holy the seventh-day Sabbath, beginning from Friday sunset until Saturday sunset Now that is another matter!

Frankly, if God had somehow “blue-penciled” His Ten Commandments and made them Nine Commandments with the fourth deleted, then the entire question of law and grace and all the other theological arguments which tend to obliterate the Ten Commandments of God would never have arisen in the first place!

When you come right down to it, it is the insistent rebellion against the requirement to “observe” a day as being a special holy day to God, sanctified in His sight, and for a spiritual and righteous purpose, that seems to gall so many human beings.

To “select” a day in their own minds and hearts, inventing and deriving their own religious customs and pursuits, is well and good. To be righteous enough to “decide” on their own, without any intervention from God, that it would be good for them to observe one day in seven makes many individuals feel quite self-satisfied and righteous in God’s sight.

Their reasoning goes something like this:

“It isn’t that I ‘mind’ keeping a day so much; I don’t mind doing it at all. It’s just that I want to keep a day because I love God, because it is my desire to serve and to love my God, and not keep a day because He tells me to!”

Though it may be expressed in many different ways, this is an underlying attitude that needs to be understood!

Many people seem to resent being given “orders” from God’s Word, and would like the Ten Commandments to be rewritten to become the “Ten Suggestions”!

If there were only suggestions from God as basic guidelines” which were “highly recommended,” many more people would probably attempt, haphazardly and halfheartedly, to follow a few of them from time to time.

But commandments? Orders? For God to order you to do something? Now, that is quite a different matter!

This is the crux of the whole problem!

God’s Word says, “For the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be!” (Romans 8:7),

God shows that by our very nature we are rebellious and hostile to God’s law. But there is nothing wrong with the Ten Commandments, for the apostle Paul said, “Wherefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good” (Romans 7:12).

He said, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

“For that which I do, I don’t want to do, and that which I want to do, I do not; and the thing which I hate, that I find myself doing; if then, I do those things I don’t want to do, I consent unto the law that it is good” (Romans 7:14-16, paraphrased).

No, there is nothing “wrong” with the Ten Commandments, but there is a great deal wrong with people which the Ten Commandments point out, and which, in turn, make many people feel guilty and uncomfortable. So, instead of facing the law clearly and repenting of what they are doing that is wrong, too many people turn from the mirror of God’s Ten Commandments (which exposes their own personal sins and faults) and go their own way, in their own self-righteousness, and refuse to repent!

What about you? Do you believe God’s law must be obeyed?

Perhaps you need to come to your own private decision as to what you will do with the following scriptures.

“…If you will enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).

“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Romans 7:22).

“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:25).

“If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well: But, if you have respect to persons; you commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:8-10).

“And hereby do we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that sayeth, I know him, and keepeth not his Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3,4).

Finally, notice the description of the end-time remnant of the true Church of God at the exact moment of their greatest persecutions, just prior to the second coming of Christ.

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman [the Church of God] and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17).

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that obedience to God’s law conflicts with grace! Because you are under grace, meaning forgiven (when and if you repent of having broken God’s law), you are rejoicing in the great liberty and freedom of having the penalty of death removed from you!

Jesus Christ of Nazareth has stepped forward and asked God the Father if He can shed His own life’s blood, giving His own back to the horrible, tearing lash for your sins!

He bore His cross through the jeering mob, allowed Himself to be bound, spat upon, brutally beaten within an inch of His life, and then staggered and fell under the weight of that huge stake until He felt the spikes driven through His hands and His feet and had Himself hoisted aloft to die for your sins and for mine!

He died because we had broken His law!

When we accept the fact of His death in our stead, it is the most shameful mockery of all of history to pervert the “grace of Jesus Christ” into lasciviousness by arguing we can now break the very law which took Jesus’ life!

No, once we have repented and accepted Christ’s shed blood, He will say to us just as He did the woman, “Go and sin no more”; that is “Go and don’t you ever break those Ten Commandments [in spirit] again!”

But even this is not the end of the story!

In spite of the best intentions of those who have become completely converted, trials and temptations will come. That’s why Jesus Christ of Nazareth didn’t stay dead!

He is our living Savior, making daily intercession for us. While, even though we are under Christ’s “grace,” we still need His daily intercession when we sin.

“If we say that we have no sin [that we haven’t broken His Ten Commandments] we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

“If we confess our sins [to Him, and to no other], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8,9).

You need to praise God that you can be under His grace, meaning that He will forgive and forget your sins if you sincerely repent of having broken God’s law!

The bumper sticker says, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven!” And that is true, but remember that forgiveness, once you repent, means the removal of all guilt that is past!

There remains today and tomorrow and next year and the rest of your life. And what happens if you slip up? What happens if you weaken?

Satan would like many to believe that they are hopelessly lost because they have let down, dropped out and gone back into the ways of this world, even after they made an earlier attempt to live a Christian life.

Many of these people want to be forgiven; they want to be cleansed from their sins; they want salvation, eternal life! But they believe the devil’s lie that it is too late for them!

No! Jesus Christ is alive today. He is a merciful High Priest who knows your temptations and weaknesses—He overcame sin in the flesh, being tempted in every point like we are—He is able to turn to the Father and say, “Father, I understand. Please forgive this person!”

If you still want salvation, God the Father stands ready to give it to you. He is not willing that any should perish, and He wants to forgive you!

When you are forgiven, you still need Jesus Christ to help you on a daily basis! Grace means God’s loving pardon, not permission to live in a life of sin!

So repent of having broken God’s laws; think about those wonderful laws that would save nations if they were obeyed; and ask God’s help in keeping them and in making them a part of your daily life!

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The post Are Christians “Under the Law”? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

This powerful scripture, together with Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” has been one of the most potent “proof texts” concerning what is repentance, and what is human nature!

Is complete revulsion toward self; utter loathing of one’s self what Job experienced?

Is it a sin to have even the slightest amount of self-respect, self-confidence, self-love? Does human nature contain a part of Satan’s nature?

“REPENT!” Surely this has been the single most important word at the conclusion of countless thousands of sermons.

Jesus said, “REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17). John the Baptist cried, “Repent ye: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2), and Peter said, at the conclusion of his famous sermon on the Day of Pentecost, “. . . Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

“Repent” means to “feel sorry or self-reproachful for what one has done or failed to do; be conscience-stricken or contrite, or to feel such regret or dissatisfaction over some past action, intention or thought as to change one’s mind.”

A third dictionary definition is “to feel so contrite over one’s sins as to change, or decide to change, one’s way; be penitent.”

The Bible gives outstanding examples of what repentance wrought in the lives of men. When Job finally saw through his self-righteousness and repented, he used the famous words, “Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes”! David’s famous Psalm of repentance (Psalm 51) is a particularly heartrending example of self-deprecation, sorrow, contrition and humble prayer to God for forgiveness.

The apostle Paul became the writer of 14 books of the Bible, one of the most famous of all the apostles and the man to whom we are indebted for a great share of the New Testament of the Word of God, due to the miraculous CHANGE wrought in his character after repentance, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit!

Paul never abandoned the subject of that miraculous change, flavoring his sermons and his writings liberally with the fact that where, formerly, he had been “Saul the destroyer,” hailing terrified men and women into prison, persecuting “that way” of God, now he had been completely converted, and was preaching the name of the very Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom he had formerly hated.

Paul referred to himself as “not fit to be an apostle,” as “chief among sinners,” and said, on one occasion, “O wretched man that I am”! (Romans 7:24).

Repent of WHAT?

The apostle Paul said that, upon repentance, one was to be baptized “for the remission of SINS . . .” Surely the simplest Bible definition of sin is found in 1 John 3:4: “.. . Sin is the transgression of the law.”

However, remember that Jesus Christ came to “magnify the law and make it honorable.” He did magnify the Ten Commandments of God by His entire life’s work, teaching and example. The most outstanding evidence of this is in the beautiful and moving “sermon on the mount,” found in Matthew 5,6 and 7. Here, again and again, Christ illustrates the vast difference between the technical “letter of the law” (thou shalt not kill) and MAGNIFIES God’s law by showing that whereas it was formerly a sin to murder, now it is a sin of equal gravity to HATE your brother!

Time and time again, Jesus Christ lifts the law of God to an exalted plane of spiritual applicability.

Where formerly the deed was that which constituted sin, now the lust for the deed, or the THOUGHT of the deed, constitutes sin!

Clearly, when one repents, one must feel, deeply, sorrow and contrition over having broken the many tenets and ramifications of God’s law! It must be a far more profound repentance than the human sorrow directed inward as SELF-PITY! (2 Corinthians 7:10).

However, the word “repent” does not deal only with the past. It does not mean merely to repent of past sins, but connotes the heartfelt desire and determination to CHANGE.

It is a twofold decision.

It is an emotional feeling of disgust directed toward oneself over past acts and thoughts, and it is a careful, fully considered, intelligent CHOICE to quit sinning—in the FUTURE. As such, it is obvious that repentance has everything to do with human nature.

Just What IS Human Nature?

Your Bible says Jesus Christ was human.

But did He have what we commonly call “human nature”?

IF human nature contains, in any small measure, a part of the“nature of Satan,” as some have assumed, the question above takes on the gravest significance.

Let’s begin at the beginning.

When God placed the first man and woman on this earth, He made them in His exact physical image, and He breathed into their nostrils and lungs the breath of life.

They became living, breathing creatures (nephesh, in the Hebrew), and they had human nature.

They were completely neutral toward God. God walked and talked with them, and they evinced no fear, but willingly and cheerfully listened to His instructions.

The Bible does not tell us how many hours of conversation ensued, but it was sufficient following the creation of man on the sixth day and that first Sabbath day during creation week that it could have constituted far more than 24 hours of repeated contact with God.

Eventually, perhaps on the very next day (was it the very first “Sunday”?), Satan the devil entered the scene.

In their blithe innocence, the man and woman (the woman taking the lead) listened, willingly, to the voice of Satan, who appeared as a serpentine (dragon-like, standing upright) creature.

He subtly began implying that God had withheld vital knowledge from them. In effect, he called God a liar.

He asked them leading questions, and began appealing to their sense of vanity; to human lust and appetite.

Especially he attempted to appeal to intellect, subtly implying that God was withholding vital secrets, piquant and interesting information, and that God “knew better” than what He had said!

Desiring this new knowledge (illustrated by the fruit of the forbidden tree), Eve ate, gave to her husband, and he followed her in original sin!

Now notice the shocking change.

Prior to this time, the original couple had been completely “neutral” toward God. They were not in terror of Him; did not find His presence or His voice foreboding, threatening or frightening. Adam cheerfully named all the animals and creatures as God caused them to pass before him, and the two of them listened to His instructions with equanimity. They were unaware of shame, or fear, or guilt. Though naked, they were unembarrassed.

Now, following original sin, a TREMENDOUS CHANGE had been wrought!

But was this a CHANGE in the nature of MAN? Or was it a change in man’s relationship to God? We shall see!

Your Bible says, “The carnal mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be”! (Romans 8:7).

Now, when God called out to Adam and Eve, He found them hiding, fearful of His presence, ashamed of their nakedness (they had made “aprons” out of large leaves) and their timorous reply seems to contain a partial spirit of accusation. They heard His voice, they were afraid and, therefore, they hid themselves.

Like naughty children, each attempted to absolve himself of blame. Adam pointed to Eve, Eve pointed to the serpent, and each attempted to point the finger of guilt away from himself.

Is any story of the Bible more familiar than that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?

Yet how misunderstood is this account of original sin!

That it was SIN they committed we are sure!

For example: They disobeyed their only Parent, therefore breaking the Fifth Commandment; they reached out and stole that which was not theirs to take, breaking the Eighth Commandment; they lusted and coveted, thus breaking the Tenth Commandment; and they allowed Satan the devil to become their final authority, allowed him to stand in place of God, and therefore broke the First Commandment!

Of course, if you break even one point of the law of God, you are guilty of all! (James 2:10).,

But what about human nature PRIOR to the encounter with Satan in the Garden of Eden?

Many thousands have been taught that human nature contains a part of Satan’s nature.

The teaching goes something like this: “We know that Satan is the god of this world [2 Corinthians 4:4 ]. He is also called the ‘prince of the power of the air…’” (Ephesians 2:2).

“Satan somehow ‘broadcasts’ his evil spirit and nature, his mind and his thoughts and attitudes through the air.

“Since all of us human beings breath in this air; since we are surrounded at all times by an envelope of air as a part of the physical sphere (atmosphere) of this earth, it is obvious that we live, move and breath in Satan’s world.

“Human nature, therefore, contains a part of the very nature of Satan the devil!”

There may be far greater elaborations on this teaching, but, in a nutshell, that is the essence of it.

But is it true?

Can it be proved from the Bible?

It is absolutely essential for you to realize one vital TRUTHconcerning Satan the devil!

One Satan, in One Place, at One Time!

From the very beginning of the Bible it is clear that Satan the devil can only be in one place at one time!

Immediately, at the end of creation week, we see Satan the devil physically manifesting himself in serpentine form to Adam and Eve, in his desperate attempt to wreck and destroy God’s creation!

When we study Isaiah 14 with Ezekiel 28, and come to understand that the world was created in total, flawless perfection; that there was an original “Star Wars” billions of years prior to the creation week of Genesis the first chapter, we can also understand how Satan was once a great archangel who ruled over this earth!

The aforementioned scriptures, together with others, prove that Satan was one of the three angels of “archangel” rank! There are only three angels of this supreme rank who are at the level of “cherubs” who are mentioned by name.

They are Lucifer (who became Satan), Michael and Gabriel.

Apparently (Revelation 12:4), each one of these great angelic beings was placed over one third of the angels.

Satan rebelled against God (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28) and literally attempted to overthrow the Creator, exalting his (Satan’s) throne above the throne of God!

The original, flawless creation was NOT created in chaos and confusion (Isaiah 45:18). Yet, when we are ushered upon the scene in the second verse of Genesis, the very first chapter, we find that the earth had become totally “tohu and bohu” (Hebrew words meaning “chaotic, vain, empty, waste, confused”).

Now, as we witness the end of what is truly a “recreation,” we see Satan the devil standing immediately at the center of events, attempting once more to destroy God’s greatest creation, man. Satan was personally present—in one place at one time—in Eden.

Now turn to and read segments of the first and second chapters of Job.

“Now there was a day when the sons of God [angels] came to present themselves before the Eternal, and Satan came also among them.

“And the Eternal said unto Satan, whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Eternal, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it” (Job 1:6, 7).

Now notice chapter 2: “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Eternal, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Eternal.

“And the Eternal said unto Satan, hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? And still he holdest fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause” (Job 2:1-3).

These scriptures absolutely prove that Satan the devil is in oneplace, at one time!

The concept outlined earlier concerning Satan being able to “broadcast” via the “air” is absolutely false.

This concept assumes that Satan the devil has a counterfeit” of the very Spirit of God! In other words, it assumes that Satan is able to project his mind and his power; that he is able to emit “thought waves” or, through some powerful spiritual means, such as the invisible waves of radio or television in the air, project his mind, his influence and his power in all directions away from himself!

This is Simply NOT TRUE!

You will see this clearly proved, once and for all!

Notice that Satan had to go from the presence of God back down to earth, and to be instantly and immediately in the vicinity of Job in order to wreak his terrible afflictions upon him. He could not will this to happen from afar.

Now turn to and read the fourth chapter of Matthew.

Here you find Satan once again literally, “physically” (for he manifested himself so he could be seen) present with Jesus Christ at the end of Christ’s 40-day fast!

Satan was no doubt literally present with Herod when he attempted to have Jesus slain by killing all of the newborn children in Judea about one year from the time of Jesus’ birth!

In Revelation the 12th chapter, you see two attempts of Satan the devil to mount up an offensive against God in heaven!

On both occasions, Satan the devil is cast down to the earth!

Read James 4:7! This scripture plainly tells you that, if you are close to God; if you have the presence of God’s Holy Spirit within you; you can by the name and the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth “resist the devil and he will FLEE FROM you”! He will be no more in your immediate vicinity.

You need not fear the false concept that Satan the devil is able to “broadcast” through some strange “spiritual brain waves his evil nature and his evil temptations through the air!

Human nature, believe it or not, is a mixture of good and evil!

Yes, though some refuse to admit it, there is some GOOD mixed with a very unhealthy amount of evil within human nature!

On the other hand, David said, “There is none good, no not one,” and Jesus Christ said to the young nobleman, “Why callest thou me good?” (Matthew 19:17).

Did this mean that Jesus was “bad“?

The Greek word which is used in Matthew 19:17 is “agathos.” The root “aga” is used for 16 different Greek words, including the word “agape,” which is the most common word used in the New Testament for love.

Examples are “agathoergeon” (to work good, or do good), “agathopoiia” (well-doing, virtue), “agalliasis” (exultation; gladness, exceeding joy).

The word Jesus used which is translated “good” means nothing more than any other common English expression such as “It is a good day”; “this is good food”; “He is a good boy”; or “I had a good time.”

However, by its emphasis and its position in the sentence, it is obvious Jesus is using the word “good” in its superlative form!

In English we say something is “good, better, best.” “Best” is the superlative, and the other two are relative terms.

In Jesus’ usage, He is insisting that only God is “good,” meaning wholly good, completely good, thoroughly good, on an exalted, spiritual, holy level!

Here He is contrasting Himself in human form, as a humanbeing, with human limitations and a human, physical lifespan, with the eternal glories of GOD!

His disclaimer was not false humility.

This does not mean we, in this age, or the disciples who knew Jesus personally should not have referred to Him as good!

For, not only was He “good,” He was PERFECT!

As you well know, the word “good” is capable of many subtle shadings of meanings; becomes a completely relative term in judging the value, beauty, purity, efficacy or qualities of some word, deed, thought, object or person.

Jesus is not saying there was nothing good about Him; that there was “no good thing” within Him, and was most certainly not saying that He was “bad”!

Jesus was human. He was “. . . in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. . . ” (Hebrews 4:15).

Must We Feel Utter Revulsion Toward Ourselves?

Probably you are familiar with a few of the following scriptures: “. . . Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity! (Psalms 39:5).

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked [sick]: who can know it? I the Eternal; search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9, 10).

“The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good … every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalms 53:1-3).

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 7:18).

And, finally, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24).

Many a powerful sermon has been preached using these and other scriptures as “proof texts” concerning the horrible EVIL, to be found in human nature!

The enormity of sin; the utter depravity, brutality, mercilessness, savagery and bitter cynicism and hypocrisy of human nature has been poignantly illustrated.

Certainly a sermon buttressed by the aforementioned scriptures, together with a liberal number of examples of child abuse, theft, sexual perversions, arson and murder, plus references to the holocaust perpetrated against the Jews by Adolf Hitler and his gang, would be sufficient to convince many an audience of the abysmal depths to which humankind has sunk.

But is it a “sin” for one to have even the slightest amount of SELF-confidence, self-awareness, self-appreciation or love toward oneself

When Job said, “Wherefore I abhor myself,” did he imply a life-long exercise of daily abhorrence, utter rejection, hatred, denial and feelings of repulsion toward himself?

Or was his feeling more a temporary one, seeing himself, for the first time, in glaring comparison with the greatness and divinity of God; seeing his self– will; his SELF-righteousness and, temporarily, being thoroughly DISGUSTED with himself, which could then become replaced with feelings of self-satisfaction and a growing and gradual feeling of self-worth and value?

Is there, after all, nothing good whatsoever in human nature?

Is human nature WHOLLY EVIL,?

Why Did God Call it GOOD?

On the evening of the sixth day of creation (RE-CREATION, actually) “…God saw everything that He had made [ including Adam and Eve ], and, behold, it was VERY GOOD”!

Genesis 1:27 refers to the creation of Adam and Eve, and we are given a few more details in the second chapter.

“And the Eternal God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”(Hebrew nephesh) (Genesis 2:7).

Notice especially Genesis 2:25: “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

WHY does God tell us this?

First He tells us that He, the member of the God family whobecame Jesus Christ (read John 1 and Hebrews 1) formed the “clay model” out of the mud of this earth—shaping, modeling, sculpting, if you will, a human form, as if a replica of Almighty God Himself!

Was this good? Is there anything “evil” or “satanic” about the human physiological aspect?

No, God beheld His creation and said that it is “very good”! No doubt Adam and Eve were given human bodies! They were created flawless, for they were the only human beings from that time to this who were created directly out of the ground by the very hands of God!

Could there have been the slightest flaw, imperfection, error or deformity in these two perfect human beings?

Was there something about their bodies which was inherentlyevil?

No! Not only does God tell us His creation was “very good,” but we are given the further information that the minds of Adam and Eve were completely innocent, happily and contentedly neutral toward God (without any fear, hostility or antagonism), and that, looking upon each other, though naked, they were completely without SHAME!

No GUILT was present!

No concept of ugliness, embarrassment or the feeling that they were in some way “exposed.”

By analogy, consider a tiny, sweet, innocent baby.

Do our little children, prior to the months and years we spend training them to keep their bodies clothed; reminding little girls of how they are expected to sit; how they should wear their skirts and dresses, the different manner in which a girl crosses her legs as compared to a boy; become embarrassed when we are changing their diapers, giving them a bath, or carrying them about without a stitch of clothing on their little bodies?

Naturally not. It has never entered their innocent little minds that their nakedness carries with it any shame.

In that sense, Adam and Eve were completely “childlike” in their innocence!

Like a trusting baby, they looked toward their only Father, God Almighty Himself, with wide-eyed innocence, trust, faith, love and without any feelings of fear, hostility or shame.

However, just as there lies buried deep within the subconsciousness of even the sweetest little child a capacity for anger, resentment, hostility, embarrassment, shame and guilt, so there was, inherently within Adam and Eve (for they were merely human, after all), the capacity for evil and fearful emotions and motives.

Notice that God forbade them to partake of a specific tree! It was not the tree of merely the knowledge of EVIL, but the tree of the knowledge of a MIXTURE of BOTH “good and evil”!

Few have noticed this, tending to place all the emphasis on the fact that they were forbidden to eat of the fruit; that it was a sin for them to do so; that this represented the “fall of man”; and that their natures became contaminated, and evil, as a result.

But notice!

The tree contained the knowledge of an admixture of TWO things!

It contained both GOOD and EVIL!

Notice what God said! “And the Eternal God said, ‘Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know GOOD and EVIL: and now, LEST he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’; therefore the Eternal God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden. . .” (Genesis 3:22, 23).

Notice that your Bible plainly says the Almighty Creator God KNOWS “both good and evil”!

Does God here say that Adam and Eve had become AS ONE OF US”!

What’s the difference?

God, in His flawless, divine perfection, though KNOWING what is evil; recognizing it instantly, knowing the glaring difference between good and evil, is nevertheless supreme, divine and of righteous character!

Almighty God has the character and the ability to CHOOSE the good; to reject the evil, and to RULE HIMSELF with a PERFECT divine control!

Was Satan “In the Air” Adam Breathed?

Remember the false teaching revealed earlier?

Some have assumed that, when our newborn babies gasp their first breath of air, they somehow imbibe a part of the very “nature of the devil,” since he is called the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2: 2).

What a hideous concept!

Consider! When the divine member of the God family (who became Jesus Christ and was manifested as a human being) had finished forming and shaping the first man out of the clay of this earth, He, that divine member of the God family, “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”! One pictures the process of artificial respiration; where, as later developments in first aid have proven it is most effective to place your mouth directly over the mouth of a victim who is no longer breathing and blow directly into the lungs of that person, thus inflating the lungs in the most direct and instantaneous fashion.

This method of “mouth-to-mouth resuscitation” has completely replaced the old method of pressure on the rib cage.

The “breath of life” which filled Adam’s lungs came directly from God!

One should tremble in fear to even THINK such a thing.

No, AFTER God had breathed the breath of life into Adam’s lungs, he beheld His creation and called it “very good.”

What About the Patriarchs and the Prophets?

Now, what about the famous patriarchs and prophets of the Bible? We are given the absolute guarantee, from Jesus Christ Himself, that they will be in the Kingdom of God!

Hebrews the 11^th chapter is a chronicle of the great faith of men from the time of Noah and Enoch to Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and a host of others including Samson, Jeptha, Barach and David!

Jesus said, “Ye shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God and you yourself cast out” to the Pharisees!

During the transfiguration, the startled eyes of Peter, James and John SAW Moses and Elijah in vision, as if they were already inside the Kingdom of God!

But, remember not ONE of these great men of the past were begotten with the Holy Spirit of God from the Father!

Jesus Christ of Nazareth is plainly called the “first ” begotten,” and the Bible says that He must have the “preeminence” in everything!

Prior to Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit from God the Father was NEVER available to humankind!

Yet David prayed, “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” How do you understand this? Notice! “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

“Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it [the Spirit of Christ] testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:10,11).

Few among this world’s churches know the simple truth that the God of the Old Testament was in fact, the Jesus Christ of the New! (1 Corinthians 10:4, John 1, Hebrews 1). The member of the divine family of God who created Adam, who spared Noah, and who wrote the Ten commandments with His own finger was that member of the Godhead who later “emptied Himself and became of no report” and was “made flesh and dwelled among us”! (Philippians 2:6-8; John 1:14).

The only God who had revealed Himself to the ancient world, including the patriarchs and the prophets, was that member of the divine family who later came to this earth to redeem His own creation in the person of Jesus Christ!

In some way different from the manner in which we may be “begotten” from the FATHER, that divine member of the Godhead placed His Spirit within men who dwelt thousands of years the other side of the first century A.D.

The apostle Paul makes it very clear that we cannot “question God”! (Romans 11:33-35). The manner in which Almighty God accomplishes His perfect work is not always going to conform with logical, easy-to-understand “analogies” or formulas of us limited, flawed, imperfect human beings.

However, the Bible makes it very clear that the Holy Spirit of God, the Father was Not available to mankind prior to PENTECOST!

What does this mean?

The obvious truth with which we are dealing has escaped the minds of God’s ministers—yes, even the leadership of the church—for decades!

Consider carefully!

We know that the righteous patriarchs, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and a host of others are going to be in the Kingdom of God. Also, the Bible plainly tells us that David, a man after God’s own heart, will be in God’s Kingdom.

A part of the very foundation of God’s church consists of these righteous patriarchs and prophets of old (Ephesians 2:20). The Bible even goes to some pains to inform us that we, of this modern, end-time generation, have no preeminence above those ancient prophets and patriarchs! “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep) [the prophets, patriarchs and righteous saints of former years] that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep.

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (Ephesians 4:1:3-17).

Those who will be resurrected at the precise instant of the second coming of Christ include those ancient patriarchs and prophets!

But “how” will God do this? Have not many assumed that the only way that any person can enter into God’s Kingdom is through repentance, water- baptism, the laying on of hands and the receiving of the Holy Spirit?

But if the Holy Spirit was not available until Pentecost and thereafter; if none CAN be saved except through the name and by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ: then HOW can this be?

If we are to assume that, so long as we do not have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God the Father we can have “NO GOOD THING” dwelling within us; if we assume that human nature contains a part of the “nature of SATAN,” and that there is “none that doeth good, no not one,” then HOW, by what process does Almighty God induct into His Kingdom these hundreds and thousands of men and women who lived and died long BEFORE the time of Christ?

Did Abraham Qualify for the Kingdom?

Notice what God said to Abraham!

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Eternal appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God [El Shaddai]; walk before me, and be thou perfect, and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly…As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations”! (Genesis 17:1-3).

Earlier, God had said, “…Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1?.

And the Bible plainly says that he (Abraham) “…believed in the Eternal; and he counted it to him for righteousness“!(Genesis 15:6).

Later the apostle Paul cites this very scripture in Romans 4 verses 3, 9 and 22.

Abraham is called “the father of the FAITHFUL”!

Yet we know that Jesus Christ was the “first begotten” among all mankind! Jesus Christ was the “ONLY begotten” from the FATHER!

The question we must now ask is a profound one, and must be answered honestly, and scripturally, from the Bible.

Question: Is it possible to build righteous character as a mortal human being WITHOUT, having been begotten of God’s Holy Spirit?

The answer is a resounding, BIBLICALLY proved YES!

Let’s understand!

The personage of the Godhead who dealt with the patriarchs, the prophets and righteous men and women of old was the member of the God family who did the speaking to Abraham, and who calls Himself the great “I AM”; “El Shaddai,” “Yahveh Ropheka” (God our Healer), and by many, many other divine names and titles.

He became the “logos” of the New Testament! He was the one who did the commanding during the creation week!

He is VERY GOD!

Yet, when He “became flesh and dwelled among us,” He, Himself, revealed there is a Father-Son relationship between the two revealed members of the God family!

Jesus plainly said, “My Father is GREATER than I,” and said, “The Father that dwelleth in me, HE doeth the works”!

Jesus said He came to REVEAL (for the first time in all history) the Father!

He was the exact similitude; the “stamped impress,” or the exact likeness of the Father!

He said, “If ye have seen me, ye have seen the Father.” And yet He also said, “No man hath seen God at any time.”

Prior to His human birth, as a member of the very God family, Jesus Christ was the CREATOR!

Somehow, lodged in the minds of millions, is the false concept that the “God of the Old Testament” is the FATHER, while Jesus Christ is the member of the divine family with whom we are dealing in the New Testament!

This is NOT TRUE!

We ONLY know about the Father; we only know of His personality, His nature, His character, His greatness and His divine power, THROUGH and by the life, teaching and message of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

It was only through the death, burial and resurrection—and then the ascension—of Jesus Christ to heaven to SEND the “other comforter” (the Spirit of the FATHER) that humankind could have access to the divine nature (through the Holy Spirit) of the FATHER!

The “Us-Them” Syndrome

Unfortunately, a complete misunderstanding about what human nature IS; a misunderstanding about the “fall of man,” and, in some cases, even a misunderstanding about the subject Of CONVERSION, has led toward feelings of party spirit, exclusivity and a “siege mentality.”

Jesus Christ of Nazareth did not commission His true church to spread the message that “we are the ONLY ONES”! To the unconverted, constant claims of being “the only true church,” and constant swipes at other church organizations (“all others are of SATAN THE DEVIL!”), anger people; it causes them to stumble, insults them and turns them away from receiving the truth of God.

Jesus Christ of Nazareth commissioned His apostles to offerwholesale, universal REPENTANCE; to say to the world, “Come unto me YE THAT ARE WEARY AND HEAVY-LADEN, and I will give ye rest”; to say to the unbelieving, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel!” NOT to continually say, “YOU are of the devil and I am of God!”

Jesus did not preach a closed church; a closed gospel; a closed Kingdom, or even a closed divine Godhead!

Your Bible tells you that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance,” and strongly hints that the vast majority of all humankind will eventually be SAVED!

The Pharisees, during Jesus’ day, had sunk into narrowminded exclusivity!

Certainly they did not begin that way.

However, as the years passed, and the leadership of the Pharisees continued to add to their interminable “Good Housekeeping seal of approval” on each little human deed, thought and activity; as the Talmud grew, so their own concept of THEMSELVES, in contrast to the infidels, gentiles and unbelievers, also grew.

By the time Jesus informs us of the incredible hypocrisy of the Pharisees, we are brought face to face with the realization that the religious leaders who “sat in Moses’ seat” were nevertheless “binding grievous burdens, and heavy to be borne” and laying them on men’s shoulders! Christ called their doctrines “leaven,” and angrily denounced them as “a generation of vipers, and “hypocrites,” and “whited sepulchres”!

Why these indictments?

Simply because they had the outward appearance of true religion; they truly were the legal successors to Moses and “sat in Moses’ seat.” To them pertained the law, the prophets and the oracles of God.

Yet, for all that, they were human, carnal and corruptible.

Their continual racism; their downgrading of the unbelievers, infidels and gentiles; their haughty SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, led them into a narrowminded, cloistered religion of total exclusivity.

They became an “elite corps” of “insiders,” viewing with contempt and disdain all who were not of their own number.

Parading before each other, they enjoyed making the borders and embroidery of their priestly robes larger and larger; they reveled in insuring they had the “chief seats” at important public and religious meetings; and, though they preached an autocratic, unresilient, unloving, harsh and unforgiving religion, they themselves were far above the blood, sweat and tears they enjoined upon the common lay members, and would not “lift one of them with their fingers.”

Because of their egotistical exclusivity, they viewed Jesus Christ as a rebel; said He was “of Satan,” and even dared to blaspheme God by claiming the miracles the Father accomplished through Jesus Christ were accomplished by “Baalzebub, the prince of demons”!

Notice, in many confrontations with the Pharisees, how the Pharisees doted upon whether Jesus was “of God” or not! Their standard labels which they placed on every human being, organization, human act or thought was whether or not it was “of God” or “of the devil.”

Jesus Christ of Nazareth, their contemporary, did not take issue with the basic BODY OF BELIEF of the Pharisees! He plainly told His followers, “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not” (Matthew 23:3).

He had just said “the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. . .” and was plainly showing that, so long as their teachings conformed to the law and the prophets; so long as they taught within the broad framework of the law of Moses, then the people were required to obey!

BUT, though these were the legal successors to the priesthood dating from Moses’ time, when their own humanly devised doctrines, commandments, edicts and autocratic whims ran contrary to the broad parameters of the law of God, Jesus said His followers did not have to obey!

Think about some of the “Christians” you know.

Do they believe they must follow a human leader “NOMATTER WHAT”? Are they fearful, mistrusting, afraid of being overheard? Are they afraid of asking an “inappropriate” question? Are there quite a number of “taboos” enforced upon them involving personal and private choices?

Do they labor under any heavy burdens?

Do they view “strangers” with suspicion, and perhaps even a little bit of hostility? Are they easy to know; easy to be entreated, easy to be with?

Do they have an outgoing love toward those who are NOT members of their own group?

Or do you know of any “Christians” who have become so narrow in their exclusive, cloistered mentality that they recoil with a mixture of contempt and fear from any who are not of their own “inside” group?

Believe it or not, the spirit of the Pharisees is alive and well in entirely too many hearts today!

What of John the Baptist?

Remember, John the Baptist did not have the Holy Spirit fromGod the Father!

Jesus said, “John did no miracle,” and yet plainly said, “Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11). Here Jesus contrasts even the greatest among human beings as decidedly inferior to even the “least” in the Kingdom of God!

He also said, “And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come” (Matthew 11:14).

John the Baptist fulfilled a typical ministry of “Elijah,” in preparing the way for the first coming of Jesus Christ! His was a great ministry. Andrew (Peter’s brother) and perhaps Peter himself were John’s disciples. John preached a message of repentance, and baptized hundreds and hundreds of individuals!

How do you understand the ministry of John the Baptist, since it preceded that of Jesus Christ; since it came before Pentecost, and since John the Baptist could not have had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God the Father? (He had the Holy Spirit from birth [Luke 1: 15], but, since Christ was the first-begotten from the FATHER, John could not have been “begotten,” spiritually, as was Christ.)

IF you take the narrow view that it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God prior to baptism and conversion; that there is “no good thing” in human, carnal nature PRIOR to conversion and the receiving of the Holy Spirit from God the Father, then you simply cannot understand any of the ancient patriarchs, prophets or righteous men and women being “saved” PRIOR,to the time of Jesus Christ!

Yet they WILL BE in the Kingdom of God!

How? It is not for us to insist that God accomplish His perfect will in ways and means which are “pleasing” to us! God warns us that the ax shall not boast itself against the hand that heweth therewith; that the saw cannot say to the arm that wields it, “What doest thou?” And Paul says some questions (such as “With what body are the dead raised?”) constitute foolish questions.

The point is, God says He WILL induct these righteous men and women into His Kingdom! Certainly, since it was that member of the Godhead who became Jesus Christ who dealt with them; since it is Christ who died for them as well as for that living generation and for us in this end-time generation; God can induct them into His Kingdom through and by the powerful name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth at the instant of the resurrection from the dead!

Just “how” God does this is perhaps not for us to inquire, nor to be concerned.

BUT, obviously, it was possible for these men and women to BUILD CHARACTER, and for that character to reach the final summation of “righteousness” during their human lifetimes!

Then, IF this was possible (and the Bible plainly says it was), there must be SOME GOOD inside “human nature” after all!

Could anything “good” come from a nature which allegedly had a part of the very nature of SATAN?

Can anyone be “righteous” who has not yet been begotten of God—or who is not in God’s church?

What Is “Righteousness”?

Is it possible to attain to “righteousness” only after baptism, the laying on of hands, and the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit? Does God have a double standard? Were there those, prior to Pentecost, who were “righteous” in only a human, “carnal” manner; as contrasted with those who, today, can be “righteous” in a spiritual sense?

Consider the parents of John the Baptist. “There was in the days of Herod, the King of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abbia: And his wife as of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord BLAMELESS”! (Luke 1:5, 6).

What a marvelous testimony as to the CHARACTER of Zecharias and Elisabeth! How would you like to have it said of you that you are “righteous before God,” walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord BLAMELESS”? And what of Mary, the mother of Jesus? Was not she very special among all women? Notice!

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, ‘Hail, thou that are highly favored, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women [some of the best manuscripts omit this last phrase, though it is included in some English versions] … And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not, Mary: For thou hast found favor with God (Luke 1:26-30).

Those who take the very narrow view that the Holy Spirit of God was ONLY available after Pentecost simply do not know how to cope with this and many other verses!

For example, the Bible plainly says that Joseph was a JUST man (Matthew 1: 19). Joseph was a “good” man! He had righteous character! So did Mary. So did Zacharias and Elisabeth! Notice further: “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: And theHoly Spirit was upon him, and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord Christ.

“And he came by the spirit into the temple: … Then took he him up in his arms [the baby Jesus], and blessed God, and said, ‘Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation . . .”‘ (Luke 2:25-30).

The point of all this is obvious!

God has, on numerous special occasions, placed the Holy Spirit within the minds of various human beings! His Holy Spirit has been “with” numerous men and women down through the ages! Perhaps it may be said, technically, that these men and women were not “begotten” of the FATHER in the same manner in which Jesus Christ was begotten from the Father, even from His birth; or in the same fashion that one may become a “begotten son of God” from the time of Pentecost until now.

Yet it is not for us to question the methods Almighty God chooses to use in working out His perfect plan!

Notice what the Bible says of John the Baptist! “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine or strong drink: And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb”! (Luke 1:15).

David prayed, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me”! (Psalms 51:11).

Obviously, then, there were any number of men and women who did build character; who were righteous and “just” (meaning GOOD), in God’s sight! Technically, perhaps it is correct to say that these men and women were not “begotten” in the same fashion as was Christ, or as were those from Pentecost and thereafter. A “proof text” generally cited for this (and this assumption may be accurate) is 1 Peter 1:11: “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them [the prophets] did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”

That men could be “just,” and “good,” in God’s sight stands absolutely PROVED!

Notice another example: “And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a GOOD MAN, and a JUST.. .” (Luke 23:50).

Remember what Jesus said of Nathaniel? He said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile” (John 1:47).

Nathaniel had human nature. Did his very nature include a part of the “nature of the devil”? Of course not! Otherwise, Jesus would have discerned it, and could never have said that Nathaniel was absolutely guileless!

And what about the “saints” who had lived and died prior to the time of the death of Jesus Christ? “And the graves were opened [just at the time of Jesus’ death]; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:52, 53).

These were “righteous” individuals called SAINTS.

This does not mean they were resurrected to spiritual, eternal life. Rather, they were resurrected to be given a few more years of physical life, as a great sign and a witness concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

But your Bible calls them SAINTS!

Now, finally, do you see?

There was no “Change” in Human Nature

There was no basic CHANGE in the nature of man at the so-called “fall of man” in the garden! Adam and Eve were absolutely NEUTRAL toward God! Their basic, human natures contained the CAPACITY for evil. However, Satan had not yet entered the scene, and had not “struck the note” of that particular discordant, evil part of human nature. Once that discordant note had been struck; once Satan had appealed to vanity, lust, resentment and intellect, that portion of their natures and characters came into play.

God said, after Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, that they had become LIKE GOD, now having the understanding of “both good and evil”! But they were imperfect. God knew that they could not yet RULE overthemselves! God made it specifically clear that, to PREVENT them from reaching out and partaking of the tree of life, and thus obtaining eternal life, prior to having built righteous character, He thrust them out of the garden!

Man did not “fall”; he was PUSHED, by Satan the devil!

Human nature IS, in fact, a mixture of both “good and evil”!

There is, even in the worst, the capacity for good. There is, even in the best, the capacity for evil!

Unfortunately, it is the evil which tends to predominate! Human nature seems to be primarily a collection of vanity, jealousy, lust and greed! It is selfish, self-centered, egotistical to the point of being narcissistic!

It is filled with vanity; and is very much centered around total SELF! But consider some outstanding examples: How many thousands and thousands of men and women have dedicated their lives to caring for the sick? How many Albert Schweitzers and Florence Nightingales have there truly been? There are truly thousands of examples which make even professing Christians open their mouths in awe and amazement!

Consider those who literally sacrificed their lives in service to handicapped children; to the mentally deficient, to the infirm, and the poor.

What causes a person to dedicate his entire life to working with pitifully deformed, handicapped children? Is it really only “vanity”? Would one DARE to say that there is no such thing as a “good person” who is not a member of his or her own church organization?

Unfortunately, the narrow view portrayed earlier has left many members of God’s own true church with but ONE CHOICE in their attempts to understand this basic “goodness” they see in action all around them! Unfortunately, many have made the wrong choice. Because they simply cannot understand the decency, the mercy, friendliness, kindness, happiness, forgiveness, patience and other good qualities in professing “Christian” people, they begin to assume these people must also be members of God’s true church! They begin to reason that, even though others do not understand the TRUTH; do not keep the Sabbath, or understand prophecy; but are “good” people—then they must be “Christian.”

Having been taught there is absolutely “no good thing” in human nature; having been taught that human nature contains a part of “the nature of the DEVIL,” they cannot understand how these people can be “good” (and they ARE “good people”!), they “decide” they must, in some way, be members of the Church of God!

NOT SO! You can be GOOD, without being a Christian!

But the teaching that human nature contains a part of the “nature” of Satan the devil is FALSE!

My grandfather was a GOOD man! He was not perfect—but he was good!

I have known many GOOD people! I am not speaking, now, of the members of God’s church; I am talking of people who were good in many ways; who exemplified many of the very attributes of the divine nature, meaning mercy, generosity, kindness patience and HIGH CHARACTER!

You, also, have known such people!

Did the GOOD character they built count for naught?

Now, finally, what about yourself?

Must You Truly ABHOR YOURSELF?

Make no mistake! Almighty God hates SIN! When we sin (break God’s Ten Commandments, even in their spiritual intent), we violate God’s sacred and holy law! In a very real sense, we flagrantly defy our heavenly Father; we trample His holy laws underfoot; we resist, sneer at, contemptuously scorn and deny the loving, tender mercy and deep concern of our heavenly Father!

John the Baptist preached “REPENT!” Jesus continually cried, “REPENT YE!” Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Job, upon repentance, said, “Wherefore I abhor myself. . .”

The apostle Paul cried, O wretched man that I am. . .” David prayed, “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight … Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy way; and sinners shall be converted unto thee … The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalms 51:1-17).

Almighty God says He is our FATHER. In this Father-child relationship, He must, from time to time, punish His children!

God says, “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him. For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.

“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons: For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?” (Hebrews 12:5-7).

Repentance is certainly a feeling of self-DISGUST. It is a feeling of deep remorse, far deeper than merely the “sorrow of this world” which works death—true repentance is a genuine CHANGE OF HEART!

But is it deep, total self-revulsion; self-rejection; a continual, day-in, day-out feeling of self-HATRED and loathing?

Notice that God punishes every son whom He LOVES! Just as God would have loving parents properly discipline their children, so He disciplines every son (or daughter) whom HE LOVES!

And how should we discipline our children? Surely, not only God’s Word but common sense and any intelligent teacher of child rearing would tell us that, when we have disciplined our children, we should immediately show them our most loving FORGIVENESS! We should pick them up, show them how much we love them, dry their tears and give them positive encouragement.

It is a terrible mistake for parents to punish in anger, then go away and leave the child without following up the punishment with a great deal of love, affection and forgiveness.

To utterly crush or CONQUER a child; breaking a child’s spirit so that the child can have absolutely NO confidence; no sense of self-worth or personal value, but feel whipped, discouraged, defeated and fearful is a great CRIME!

Almighty God has not given us the spirit of “fear,” but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1: 7). Does He expect us to hate our own selves? No. “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wifeloveth himself! (Ephesians 5:28)

What? Here, in using the analogy of Christ’s love toward the church, God says men ought to love their wives AS THEMSELVES!

In other words, the love of a man toward his wife is to at least equal the amount of SELF-RESPECT, self-appreciation and self-LOVE he feels toward his own SELF! Jesus Christ of Nazareth calls upon men for no higher form of love toward their wives! If men hate themselves, how can they love their wives?

Notice further: “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church”! (Ephesians 5:29).

Naturally! Then, in the light of these plain scriptures, is it really true, after all, that we are to go through life, after conversion, feeling nothing but rejection, abhorrence, disgust, disdain, denial, contempt and loathing toward our own selves?

Is it a SIN to have ANY self-respect?

You have seen biblical proof that clearly says it is NOT!

Notice the final scriptures concerning Christ’s analogy of His love toward the church and the love of a husband toward a wife: “This is a great mystery: But I speak concerning Christ and the church.

“Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; And the wife see that she reverence her husband” (Ephesians 5:32, 33).

Yes, repentance is deep remorse, and even a temporary feeling of loathing and disgust toward ourselves for things we have said, thought and done! But repentance is NOT the beginning of a lifetime of self-loathing, contempt, rejection, and feelings of terrible inferiority and failure!

The highest form of love Christ says we are to attain toward our neighbors is the same degree of love we possess for ourselves!

This is absolutely fundamental to the Bible, fundamental toyour salvation!

“. . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor AS THYSELF”! (Matthew 19:19).

Jesus Christ summarizes the intent and spirit of the TEN COMMANDMENTS as loving God, our Father, with all our hearts, all our being and all our minds, and loving our neighbors AS OURSELVES!

There you have it!

No matter what you have heard, or what you have been taught, God Almighty does not demand of His beloved children that they go through their Christian lives with feelings of self-contempt, failure, rejection and loathing!

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