sin – Page 4

We are to be holy because He is holy

Posted on April 27, 2023April 27, 2023 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The section in 1 Peter 1 titled “Called to be holy,” especially verses 10, & 13-21. This blog entry is about sharing my thoughts of the parallels between 1 Peter 1:1-21 and Zechariah 3. Chapter 3 in Zechariah is a tremendous passage in a tremendous book.

Perhaps the reference Peter makes to the prophets of old prophesying about the grace of God can be seen in view here in Zech 3:1-5. Let’s see.

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” 3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” 5Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.”

My understanding is that Joshua the High Priest here is a picture of all Israel, called to be a holy (priestly) people before God and a light to the Gentiles. Now, I don’t want to spiritualize this passage or make it be about the Church.

In this vision, God was giving direct comfort and an explicit message to Israel, but there is a wider view that I think I as a NT believer after the cross can safely take in seeing the character of satan in this scenes and the character of God, because those things don’t change.

In looking at the nature of the uncleanliness of Israel in their sin … the words used here refer to their uncleanness as human waste of the filthiest kind. That is what “Joshua”/Israel was covered in. That is how God looks at sin. This is always instructive to see. Sin is not just ugly, but it is the worst sort of pollution. It’s absolute corruption.

The thought of standing before God in my own waste is a jarring enough picture. Satan is right to accuse Israel, they were filthy. They were idolatrous, blasphemous, and sinning upon sin. How does that old adage go? ‘When satan talks to us he lies but when he talks to God he tells the truth’. He is truthfully pointing out the sin that was staining Israel.

Satan accuses us New Testament believers also, including me. (Rev 12:10). I can imagine him standing next to Jesus saying, “Did you see that? She is filthy with sin!” Ow!

But the wondrous part is when I read in Zechariah that the LORD rebuked satan for pointing it out and making the accusation!! He reminds satan that He has pulled Israel out of the fire (and us too, after the cross, 1 John 2:1). How great is His mercy that despite our filth, He loves His chosen people (and by extension, us)! It is a tremendous, tremendous scene.

And then His mercy deepens by His decision to place clean garments on Israel. They truly are a people close to His heart aren’t they! And His Holy, Merciful nature is that He also put clean garments on us when we become justified. Perhaps I can say that as Peter says in verse 7, the faith that is “more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire” is this garment of salvation! The clean garments he places on us, and it is an amazing thing. Faith in His word He’ll cleanse us of our sin and have it remain so, forever, despite satan’s accusations.

“Robe of Righteousness”, by Lars Justinen

As Zechariah closes out the section saying that the LORD ordered that a clean turban be put on the High Priest’s head, we read in Exodus 28:36 that the turban had an engraving on it that said “HOLY TO THE LORD”.

Replacing Israel’s filth stained garments, and after the cross, replacing the Church age believer’s filth stained garments, is to me the most incredible act in the entire universe. Is this what the angels think also, and is why they long to look into such things? (1 Peter 1:12). I dare to speculate perhaps so.

As we read further in the 1 Peter 1 chapter, the upcoming verses 13-15, the call of Peter for us to be holy is contrasted by this scene in Zechariah of the grace and mercy of God, who cleans His children of our own excrement, calls us holy, and gives us the garments to prove it so. Though the scene in Zechariah is discrete to Israel, I can use that picture to extend it through the cross to understand that He rebukes my accuser, cleans me of my filth, places on my head His name, and ordains over me the call to be Holy. We are to be holy because He is holy (Lev 11:44).

Understanding where I came from and what God has done for me through Jesus, and seeing the scene described so graphically in Zechariah helps me want to adhere fervently to the call of Peter to be holy for His sake- and not mine.

God is so great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

theology

Thoughts on the Christian school shooting

Posted on March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28 year old woman from Nashville, packed herself with two assault-style rifles, a handgun, and lots of ammunition, drove to a Christian school, parked, and exited her vehicle. She shot out the glass on the side doors to the school. Entering the hall, she looked for people to kill. And kill she did, slaying a substitute teacher, a custodian, the head of school, and three nine-year-old children.

She apparently identified as a boy. She was a biological female, but preferred to think of herself as a male. She used he/him pronouns on her now defunct social media, and gave herself the name Aiden. She also dressed as a male, including a tie.

This tells us that she was on the far end of sin. As Romans 1:18-32 describes the process of deepening sin in both an individual and a society, we see that Hale was toward the end of the sin-spectrum, having a mind so futile she couldn’t figure out her own gender.

When a person is that deep into sin, Romans 1:28-31 says,

“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;“

Hale’s choice to look a 9-year old in the face and shoot her dead, along with 5 others before being killed by police herself, is evil. But sin is something that is inside each one of us.

I want us all to understand something.

In a sense, we are ALL capable (before salvation) of such evil deeds. Hitler might be seen as an anomaly but he wasn’t unusual. Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Timur, Bloody Mary, Lenin, Stalin, Idi Amin…all just as evil. History is littered with ruthless, evil leaders possessing a penchant to kill.

As for run-of-the-mill individuals, ABC News states that “There have been 131 mass shootings with four or more people wounded or killed so far in 2023.” John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, the Hillside Strangler, Skid Row Slasher…and I could go on with naming serial killers and murderers.

King David was a murderer. So was Saul/Paul.

We learn other things about murder in the Bible. For example, we learn that murder is a crime authored by the devil himself. John 8:44 says the devil is a murderer. And murder is basically authored by Satan.
John MacArthur, “Who is a Murderer?“

Hale’s decision to mass murder isn’t a fringe event (thanks to police’s swift action or there would have been many more victims, said the Metro Police Chief). Murder is a sin that is sadly in each one of us. The very first human-to-human crime was … murder. Cain slew Abel.

We tend to think sin is an abstract. We like to think it’s something that can be handled. We toy with it. We indulge sin, sometimes for a long season. Post-salvation, we respect the Bible’s stance on sin, but do we, really? Do we understand how strong sin as a force is?

Even Christians tend to overlook some sins. Ligonier Ministry wrote: “Have you ever found yourself so caught up and concerned with the rampant sinfulness of our culture that you forget about the subtle sins in your own heart? If so, Jerry Bridges has written a book for you. Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate (NavPress, 2007) takes aim at the sins many Christians consciously or unconsciously consider “acceptable” behavior.”

NO! Sin is powerful and a HUGE PROBLEM.

If we are saved, there is blessedly one direction we will go- and that’s toward sanctification, holiness, Christ-likeness. We resist the sin that is in us, every day, a little more. The Holy Spirit sees to that. But just as we cannot fathom how much the Lord loves us, we cannot fathom how evil sin is.

But if a person isn’t saved, the direction they will always go will be deeper in sin. That’s the other direction. Sometimes the Lord calls some of them home before they reach the level of evil murder. But remember, Jesus said that,

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. (Matthew 5:21-22).

Jesus is saying that yes, murdering a human is bad. Slaying a body is breaking the Law. But the human heart harbors such evils (Galatians 5:20-21) that we can’t even know (Jeremiah 17:9). Yet, the scope of God’s commandment not to murder isn’t restricted to solely the fleshly demise at the hands of another. The commandment not to kill encompasses more that just that. It concerns the glory of God, divine judgment, God’s holy character, and a person’s inner attitudes. John MacArthur explains the Matthew 5:21-22 verse,

And that’s why Jesus goes on in verse 22, and says this, “But I say unto you – ” Let Me tell what God really meant by that word in Exodus. Let Me give you the right interpretation. “ – whosoever is angry with his brother… “Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Jesus simply says, it isn’t the issue of murder alone, it’s the issue of anger and hatred in your heart. You cannot justify yourself because you don’t kill. Because if there’s hatred in your heart, you are the same as a murderer.

Allowing sin to linger causes problems for the saved person-

If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; (Psalm 66:18).

Sin is evil! We are all sinners! It is heinous to think of Audrey Hale gunning down sweet little children. Our minds recoil from that. Our hearts grieve over acts like that. But do our hearts and minds mourn and recoil over the 2 biggest sins in history? Sins worse than shooting a small child? Such as: Adam’s rebellion in the Garden, and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus?

If our mind hates that sweet innocents like the 9 year olds in Covenant Christian School were killed by Hale point blank, what about life in a perfect earth, personally knowing God, dwelling in a state of innocence, yet choosing to disobey God? What about a man like Judas, living with Jesus, seeing all his miracles, absorbing all His teaching, for three years, yet selling the most perfect and beautiful person in the universe, for money? Does our mind recoil from THAT?

This is why we all need the Gospel. We all need it, pre-salvation and even after salvation. Sin is THE most pervasive and most evil force upon the earth. Not gravity, not solar flares, not magnetism, SIN.

Do.Not.Underestimate.It.

Our hearts might be angry with a mass shooter of children, but our hearts should also ache for the sins we ourselves perpetrate. The respectable ones, the subtle ones, the overt ones. All of them. Jesus came to die for us so that we might be saved from His just wrath.

Audrey Hale wrote to a friend just before she shot up the school. She said she wanted to die. She said she’d see her friend in another life. Audrey Hale did die that day. Police shot her. She died, but sadly, her pain didn’t end then. It only began.

I grieve over the unsaved living in this ever-deepening cesspool world of sin. I grieve over their death and headlong plunge into hell and torment forever. Such was I before grace came. Be grieved or even angry over evil. But aim your anger over the true culprit: sin. Such were some of us- angry, confused, emotionally disturbed. And drunkards, addicts, homosexuals, liars, filthy beasts. The Gospel is the answer.

THANK YOU Jesus for living on earth as God-Man, a perfect life, and unjustly dying and rising again. Thank you for solving the world’s worst problem- sin and our separation from You. Thank you for giving us a right worldview and hope and peace.

Share the reason for the hope that is within us. No doubt Audrey Hale had been given the Gospel. Her parents were devout. Audrey Hale rejected it. Some will reject. But some won’t. And so we persevere, sounding forth His GOOD NEWS, until the Lord comes back –

For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of an entrance we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)

Uncategorized

Kay Cude poetry: The Character of Sin

Posted on March 5, 2023 by elizabethprata

Right-click to open larger in new window. Published with permission

Artist’s Statement:

I was compelled to say something that spoke encouragement for “the saved to continue on,” even while recognizing and knowing the true character of sin, the taste and its aroma. Our efforts to reach the lost becomes harder each day; the news-media ridicules Christ’s redeemed, and with deceptive words, demands we not speak Gospel Truth. But we must “continue on.” I must keep fresh in my mind that previous centuries of the lost hated Christ, and that this present century of the lost will hate us (even as we the “saved” seek their rescue).

encouragement, Uncategorized

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 26, Jesus’ sinlessness

Posted on December 21, 2022December 21, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

This section of verses that show Jesus’ life are focused on His attributes & earthly ministry. We’ve seen Him as servant, teacher, shepherd, intercessor, and healer. We looked at His attributes of omniscience, His authority, and now His sinlessness.

He came from glory where righteousness reigns. He descended to an earth that’s cursed where every single human is depraved, thoroughly drenched with a sin nature. He lived among us, sinlessly and perfectly fulfilling the Father’s commands for righteous living. He did this at every moment in every way. Not one blot, not one thought, not one act of anything less than perfection.

For this, He was reviled, mocked, hated, and killed.

He did it for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ground Foolishness

Posted on November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Though you pound the fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, His foolishness still will not leave him. (Proverbs 27:22)

Proverbs is interesting. I don’t usually know what they mean, though. They take time to unearth the nuggets of wisdom embedded in each and every one.

I read the verse above and it stopped me. The visual was too vivid to just pass it by.

I remember being unsaved. I was 42 or so when I was regenerated so that means I had plenty of time to sin. I was a bad sinner, sinning and sinning more. I ran from God at every opportunity. I was brought kicking and screaming to the altar of repentance when He gave me the spirit of Repentance. Finally I caved when in His kindness He showed me how evil my sin was.

I remember telling a Southern Baptist lady (who believed in altar calls and our own free will to repent) that I was brought to the altar by the scruff of the neck resisting every second. She rejected that notion outright, saying, “No you did not.”

Oh but I was. Too many people think that we float elated down an aisle, content in our ‘decision’ to repent and enter the gates of the kingdom. The fact is, we are dead in sins and it takes the strong arm of God to graciously deliver a spirit of repentance to us before we even make a move toward God. Meanwhile, just prior to the repentance, He mashes our face in our sin like a wayward puppy in our mess.

Before His deliverance to me of that spirit, the Lord saw my vicious habits and worked to ground my foolishness from me with rods and chastening. Still I persisted in my foolishness. Until the day when the Spirit came and I saw the light and entered his love instead of His wrath abiding on me.

Oh yes, He pounded this fool!

But what does the Proverb mean? Mathew Henry explains-

Solomon had said (ch. 22:15), The foolishness which is bound in the heart of a child may be driven out by the rod of correction, for then the mind is to be moulded, the vicious habits not having taken root; but here he shows that, if it be not done then, it will be next to impossible to do it afterwards; if the disease be inveterate, there is a danger of its being incurable. Can the Ethiopian change his skin?

Observe, 1. Some are so bad that rough and severe methods must be used with them, after gentle means have been tried in vain; they must be brayed in a mortar. God will take this way with them by his judgments; the magistrates must take this way with them by the rigour of the law. Force must be used with those that will not be ruled by reason, and love, and their own interest.

2. Some are so incorrigibly bad that even those rough and severe methods do not answer the end, their foolishness will not depart from them, so fully are their hearts set in them to do evil; they are often under the rod and yet not humbled, in the furnace and yet not refined, but, like Ahaz, trespass yet more (2 Chr. 28:22); and what remains then but that they should be rejected as reprobate silver?

Source: Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1017). Hendrickson.

I am GRATEFUL that His grace in HIS will decided to stop short of rejecting me as reprobate silver. I am grateful that He used force buttressed with grace to shake me from my stupor. Sisters, never forget your salvation, and do not neglect it.

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment, 3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (Hebrews 2:1-3a)

The End Time Blog Podcast Season 2, Episode 277

theology

Sin is no longer an ugly thing…

Posted on August 12, 2022August 12, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 6:15).

Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no spring rain. Yet you had a prostitute’s forehead; You refused to be ashamed. (Jeremiah 3:3).

What is a prostitute’s forehead? When we are ashamed, we blush. The blush shows on the forehead. Those who are deep in unrepentant sin will not blush, like a prostitute, as the Bible asserts. When conscience is seared, sin makes no impression on the heart. Conviction is absent. So is blushing.

The absence of conviction and the pursuit of sin is a concern to God. Forehead occurs many times in the Bible. Revelation mentions forehead 8 times. Believers’ new names will be written on our forehead, says Revelation. Tribulation believers will be marked on their forehead. Tribulation betrayers will be marked by the beast on the hand or forehead. The Great Whore of Babylon will be marked with a name on her forehead. (Revelation 7:3, Revelation 9:4, Revelation 13:16, Revelation 14:1, Revelation 14:9, Revelation 17:5, Revelation 20:4, Revelation 22:4).

Here is an excerpted entry for Forehead from Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary:

Part of the face above the eyes. Because it is so prominent, the appearance of the forehead often determines our opinion of the person. The Bible indicates that a person’s character can be determined by observing the forehead. A set forehead indicates opposition, defiance, and rebellion (Jer. 3:3). Hardness of the forehead indicates determination to persevere (Isa. 48:4; Ezek. 3:8–9). It has been used as a representation of Satan (Rev. 13:16–17). The forehead is used as a very dishonorable word when read of the harlot’s forehead (Jer. 3:3), indicating utter shamelessness.

Like Cain whose countenance fell, or like the prostitutes and other deep sinners who don’t know how to blush, the face shows its sin. Isaiah 3:9 says,

The expression on their face testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves. (Isaiah 3:9).

Puritan Thomas Brooks wrote,

“You have a whore’s forehead — you refuse to be ashamed!” Jeremiah 3:3. Most sinners in these days have brows of brass, and whores’ foreheads — which cannot blush. They are so far from being ashamed of their sins, that they think it a shame and disgrace not to sin, not to swear, and whore, and curse, and be drunk! Yes, there are many who are so far from being ashamed of their abominations — that they even glory in them. They flaunt their sins as Sodom, and make a sport of sinning! “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush!” Jeremiah 6:15. (Thomas Brooks, “A Cabinet of Choice Jewels” 1669).

The following is from an author I do not recommend, but I thought the statement was concise and thought-provoking. When a society doesn’t even blush over sin anymore, it’s doomed. When a society actively pursues sin, it’s a marker of their lostness. When a society is actually proud of its sin, it will be near collapse, or worse- judgment.

These passages [in Jeremiah above] all have a similar context: They were written just prior to the fall and scattering of either Israel to the north or Judah to the south. Each shows a wealthy people unblinkingly focused on their pleasure. Giving no thought to God, they are casually uninterested in the moral welfare of their nation that is crashing into utter depravity. Shame for sin has disappeared. The Interpreter’s Commentary of the Bible states that the Bible shows that, in the period before these nations fell, their societies show significant breakdowns in two vital areas: in political and business leadership and in family life, with specific blame falling on women.

In these passages, the following characteristics are either directly named or strongly implied: rebellion, obstinacy, betrayal, distrust, shamelessness, and greed, comprising an audacious self-centeredness against God and fellow man. These are not the characteristics of a nation that would bring honor to God. At one time in the history of this nation, the overwhelming majority of people expressed a strong sense of shame when they sinned. Sin was an ugly thing, and due to this sense of shame, they did whatever they could to hide their moral flaws from others.

I look around today and I have to veritably peek between hands over my eyes, the sin is so rampant. It’s utterly amazing to me the pride that non-believers have in the sins they enjoy and promote. I am grieved, but then I think of HOW grieved Jesus must be!

We read the question in the Bible, ‘how long, O Lord?’ and it has passed from many lips. The Psalmist, the martyrs in Revelation, Abel’s blood, Moses…ask when will you avenge for sin, for death, for persecutors, for bloodshed? The state of America now, and also in many other countries like Canada, New Zealand, Australia, many countries, is one that deserves judgment. Sodom…Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim all were judged for as much, or even less.

As Ruth Graham said to her husband Billy, “If God doesn’t come soon and bring judgment upon the United States, He’s going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”

The Unrepenting Cities
20 Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that occurred in you had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that occurred in you had occurred in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.” (Matthew 11:20-24).

Our God is longsuffering, patient, and measured in timing His judgment. He waited 400 years to judge the Amorites.

At the same time, Genesis 15:16 demonstrates God’s love, mercy, and above all His longsuffering and patience with sinful man. Rather than immediately wipe out the Amorites, God chose to wait for over four hundred years to bring judgment upon them. The enemies of God would be displaced as God settled His chosen people in the land He had promised them. Yet God’s enemies did not need to remain enemies. They were given ample time to turn from their wickedness, turn to God, and be forgiven. The Amorites had a chance to repent and be saved, just as the Assyrians in Nineveh did during in the time of Jonah. (GotQuestions).

Will God judge America tomorrow for her sins? Will it be another 200 years? 400? Will He wait till Judgment Day and the Judgment of Nations? (Matthew 25:32). Only God knows when the clock started ticking the countdown to our own judgment. But when a nation wholesale and wholeheartedly begins to perversely absorb, instruct and co-opt young children into terrible sin, we know the time must be near. Matthew 18:6-7 says

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea. “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes!

theology

This body of death/This body of life

Posted on July 30, 2022July 30, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23).

We all have a sin-nature. Every person born on the planet (except Jesus) has inherited the sin of their Federal Head, Adam. All humans are sinners, and therefore all people are worthy of death, according to God.

After our salvation, when we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus, we are no longer under the penalty of death. We have been transferred to the gift of eternal life. Jesus absorbed the wrath for all who would believe when He was on the cross, and more than that, HIS righteousness was imputed to us who would believe. So we no longer have the death penalty hanging over our heads. His death and resurrection cleared those who would believe back to zero on God’s books. In addition, we do not remain at zero, for we would naturally sink again. Being sinners, even forgiven sinners still sin. We have the plus of His righteousness, which launches us from zero to infinity and beyond. Thus when God looks at a believer, He sees the righteousness of His Son.

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (Romans 7:24).

It was Jesus who delivered us from this body of death.

I have read that in the ancient days, a penalty for a murderer was to strap the dead body of the person he had killed to him. As the dead body putrefied, the corruption would seep into the convict’s pores and soon he would begin to decay as well. The dead consumed the living person’s life. Perhaps this was what Paul had in mind when he cried out for deliverance from “This body of death” in Romans 7:24.

Every person alive today has one of two types of a body ‘strapped’ in him. The unsaved person has a body of death, he IS a body of death. The saved person has a body of Life. Every genuinely saved person possesses the Holy Spirit indwelling him or her. God resides IN us!

We have a body of life strapped on us: we have two persons of the Trinity with us at all times: the Spirit IN us (indwelling) and Jesus with us never forsaking us

the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. (John 14:17).

The Spirit is in a believer and the Lord is with us, never to leave or forsake us. Two Persons of the Trinity are with us and in us at all times.

Therefore,

Knowing that we have been given deliverance from the body of death,
and knowing that we have been given Jesus’ righteousness,
and knowing that two persons of the Trinity are in and with us at every moment…

then…

Is what you’re doing right now honoring to Him? What you’re saying? What you’re watching? What you’re thinking? Just as the putrefaction of the dead body strapped to the murderer seeps in, so does the holiness of adhering to the statutes of Jesus. What pleases Him will seep into us. The Spirit holy thoughts and holy words and holy acts to expand our righteousness, further cleanse our sin nature, and wash our conscience.

It’s truly simple: sin corrupts … holiness cleanses.

theology

You cannot pet sin, it will always bite you

Posted on July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Then Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places where the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.” (2 Chronicles 8:11).

Ohhh, Solomon /smh/. But aren’t we all like Solomon? Dancing with a bit of sin over here, rationalizing that because we’re doing such and such correctly over there, this little bit over here will be OK. Petting a bit of sin, forgetting that it is a lion that will bite us in the end. Let’s go back a bit for context:

Continue reading →

theology

True Freedom

Posted on July 4, 2022July 4, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Freedom can be defined in different ways and has been, at different times in history. But as we celebrate our freedom today, 4th of July Independence Day here in the US, we celebrate the fact that on July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson, says History.com. We declared our separation from Great Britain, and from the oppressive taxes and micromanagement of the King’s governing of us. We wanted to be a free people.

For 246 years we have been enjoying the civic and political freedoms our Constitution has afforded us. But Christians know that the only true freedom is in Christ. Non-believers are slaves to their sin, there is no escaping the bondage to which they are joined. Believers are freed from our past sins, and freed from the power of sun as we progressively become sanctified, thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus’ life, who died on the cross.

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25)

Christ freed us!

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1).

Slavery to sin is the worst slavery of all. But you do not have to be subject to its laws and its oppression. Repent, believe on the Son, and be free today!

theology

Putting your thumb on mercury

Posted on July 1, 2022July 1, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

When I was a kid I liked to do science experiments. Once, my parents got me a microscope kit with slides containing amoebas and stuff. Another time I took a pill from one of the prescription bottles in the bathroom and put it in the sink with water to see if it would melt. I had no idea that the capsule contained the medicine powder inside. THAT would have been fun to break apart and see.

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