Passover Sabbath—2010
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Fred R. Coulter—April 3, 2010
Greetings, brethren, and welcome to the Sabbath during the
Feast of Unleavened Bread. When we have the sequence of the Passover in the
middle of the week, then we have the same sequence in the year that Jesus was
born, in the year that He was crucified, in the year that the children of
Israel had their Passover and exodus, and also in the year that God gave the
Covenant to Abraham. In the years when it’s not that way, such as this year,
then the whole sequence of three days and three nights in the tomb is lost.
Therefore, that’s why God used the sequence of events during the year of 30A.D. when the Passover was in the middle of the week.
We are told that we are saved by grace, but what does grace mean? How does that apply to us? What is the meaning of it for the Feast of
Unleavened Bread? Because of terrible translations of Gal. 2, 3; Rom. 3, 5, 6,
7 the Protestant world is completely misguided in their understanding
concerning law, and that’s because they know nothing about Judaism.
If you have not gone online or asked for the series Scripturalism
vs Judaism, you need to get that series so you can understand. Also, we
have in the Bible ‘Appendix Z,’ which is How to Understand Paul’s Difficult
Scriptures Concerning the Law and Commandments of God. This becomes very
important because of the misunderstanding of evangelicals and Protestantism
concerning law and commandment-keeping and our insistence that the commandments
are to be kept. There is a head-on collision and they say we reject grace and faith and we are trying to work out our salvation by works. Nothing could be further from the truth!When you come to totally
understand it, and understand what grace is, it’s going to give you a whole
complete different perspective on what the New Testament is teaching us. And I
think you’re going to be absolutely surprised and pleased.
Let’s understand some things that are very, very important.
Let’s go back and review the Passover. Jesus said that we are to, once a year
on the Passover night, partake of the Passover, wash one another’s feet, eat
the unleavened bread and drink the wine. Those are the covenant symbols of the
New Testament. Let’s also understand another principle: No man can tell
God what to do. And God, for the convenience of carnal-minded people,
is not going to do away with His law. So we need to understand truly what grace is. and how does commandment-keeping fit into it.
Let’s go to the first chapter of John and let’s begin with the basic
principles of what we understand, what we need to know, how we need to put it
together and what we’re going to do is put the different Scriptures together:
‘a little here, a little there; line upon line; precept upon precept’—and
what are we going to find? We’re going to find the correct understanding of
grace and faith and commandment-keeping and doing the things that please
God.
John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God…. [We know this basic fundamental that Jesus Christ was God manifested in
the flesh.] …He was in the beginning with God. All things came into
being through Him, and not even one thing that was created came into
being without Him. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the
light… [because as we saw on the first day of Unleavened Bread, we are to
walk in the light of Jesus Christ, and He is the light.]
…shines in the darkness… [the darkness is this world; this world, with its
religions, is in darkness! And Satan the devil is the ‘prince of darkness.’]
..but the darkness does not comprehend it” (vs 1-5).
Why? What
puts them in the dark? What blinds them? We keep the Sabbath, the Passover and the Holy Days—those three things are fundamental in
understanding the plan of God; fundamental in our relationship with God;
and God will not go outside of those things! If you are a
good Sunday-keeper, you better prove, from the Bible, that Sunday is the day
God commanded; and you better read Rome’s Challenge to the Protestants, because that is a fundamental, dividing line. Sunday and the
Eucharist/Communion and the holidays of this world. Here are the three things
of the Truth and here are the three things of the counterfeit and these three
things bring darkness. And they do not bring people to God.
We need to understand that. This is important during
the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because during the Feast of Unleavened Bread it
pictures putting sin out of our life, but it also pictures being perfected in
Christ—and that is a complete operation of grace. I don’t think we have
understood grace in its fullness. So let’s see what we can understand here.
Verse 14: “And
the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us… [‘tabernacled’ means temporarily
dwelling. In other words, coming into the realm of men and living with
them.] …(and we ourselves beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten with the Father), full of grace and truth.
John testified concerning Him, and proclaimed, saying, ‘This was He of Whom I
said, “He Who comes after me has precedence over me because He was before me.”’
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (vs 14-16).
Now, let’s ask the question: Does grace upon grace eliminate law-keeping? Well, when you read the next verse you might think that
it does. However, we’re going to see, it does not. Verse 17: “For the law was given through Moses, but the grace and
the Truth came through Jesus Christ.” So everything that Jesus taught us has to
be grace and truth—does it not? What was required with
the law of Moses? That required
obedience in the letter of the law—is
that not correct? Yes, indeed!
Grace and truth not only gives us the understanding
and true meaning of the laws and commandments and statutes and judgments of
God, but it is also the grace to put us in a relationship with God and to
rescue us from Satan the devil. And let’s see how God does that, because that
whole thing is an operation of grace.
Let’s come back to Ephesians, the second chapter. Let’s see what this
tells us and examine what the Apostle Paul is really writing. Let’s realize the
meaning of it from the perspective of what we have just read. And let’s also
understand that in being rescued from Satan the devil we are being rescued from
sin, and just as Jesus told those whom He healed who were sinning: ‘Go and sin
no more.’ We’re going to see the same thing applies to those whom God calls in
another and very important way.
Ephesians 2:1: “Now you were dead in trespasses and
sins, in which you walked in times past according to the course of this world…
[you are part of the world] …according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now working within the children of disobedience;
among whom also we all once had our conduct in the lusts of our flesh, doing
the things willed by the flesh and by the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest of the world” (vs 1-3). Now, what
was the state of our mind at that time?
Let’s come back here to Romans, the eighth chapter and
let’s read something. Let’s remember the Proverbs that we have memorized:
· “There is a way that seems right to a man and
the end thereof are the ways of death.”
· “Every way of man is clean in his own eyes.”
· “Every man is justified of his own actions.”
But what does God say? Because we are going to see there
is a vast difference between keeping the commandments of God in the letter and
keeping them in the spirit. What kind of mind leads to sinning that Satan
inspires, as we just read in Eph. 2?
Romans 8:7: “Because the carnal
mind… [that’s the fleshly mind and mind void of judgment concerning spiritual
things.] …is enmity against God… [that means it’s an enemy of God] …for
it is not subject to the law of God; neither indeed can it be.”
Now, let’s ask a question: What are we told by the Catholics and the
Protestants concerning keeping the commandments of God? No one can keep them
so why try? Yet, they insist upon it. That is true to one extent, if you
not converted and do not have the Spirit of God, you cannot keep them, and you
can’t keep them in the spirit, because that requires the Spirit of God.
“…enmity against God, for it is
not subject to the law of God; neither indeed can it be.” This is
why Protestantism and Catholicism put people in two categories—the
churched and the unchurched. I think that’s very interesting because if you are
not in covenant with God—with the New Covenant Passover, and keeping the
Sabbath and the Holy Days—you are carnal. God only gives His Holy Spirit
to whom? To those who obey Him! What kind of obedience is required?
“But those who are in the flesh cannot please God…. [We are to please God—aren’t we? Yes! (we’ll
see some Scriptures which say that). Here is the dividing line which we are
going to see all the way through]: …However, you are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God is indeed
dwelling within you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (vs 8-9).
Let’s understand something: Do you think that God—coming in the
flesh, full of grace and truth, teaching His disciples and His apostles
concerning the Passover, concerning the right keeping of the Sabbath,
concerning the Holy Days—that He is going to accommodate the
carnal-minded people who profess a Christianity which is totally carnal? That’s
why people are quitting church; 76-million people are church-hopping, quitting
church or staying at home because they can’t find God in the churches. Why is
that? Though they profess faith, they don’t believe in God. Let me
rephrase that: They may believe IN God, but they don’t believe God to
the point of obeying. So there’s the dividing line.
Now, let’s see how we are rescued. Let’s see what God has to do to bring
us out of the grips of Satan the devil, out of this world, so that something
happens in our minds and God begins dealing with us as an act of grace.
If God deals with us personally in our lives, is this not grace? Yes,
indeed!
Ephesians
2:3: “Among whom also we all once had our conduct in the lusts of our
flesh, doing the things willed by the flesh and by the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest of the world. But God,
Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us… [Isn’t that something? God loves the whole world, but it’s His great
love that loves us, because we’re called; we’re chosen; we’re
selected by God, through Jesus Christ which is by grace.] …even when we
were dead in our trespasses, has made us alive together with
Christ. (For you have been saved by grace.)” (vs 3-5). Has been saved
by grace! The Protestants misunderstand this because they think ‘once saved
always saved’; believe in Jesus, open you’re heart, accept Him and now eternal
life is given to you and you can’t lose it. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
It’s just like
if you come to the starting line in a race. ‘Get on your mark, get set, go!’
BANG! the gun goes off and then all of a sudden a wall comes right up in front
of them about three steps out of the starting blocs and the referee comes over
and says, ‘Well, you finished the race.’ And you say, ‘I just got started.’
Well, ‘have been saved’—the question needs to be: From what? (we’ll see
that in just a minute).
“And He has raised us up together and has
caused us to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the ages that are coming He might show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (vs 6-7). Whoa!
It jumps immediately from initial salvation—being saved from our sins and
Satan the devil—immediately to the end goal. But that doesn’t mean we
have arrived there yet, because it explains to us here what we need to do and
how we need to do it.
Verse 8: “For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and this especially is not of
your own selves; it is the gift of God… [Grace brings the gift of God. What are the gifts of God?
We’ll see what they are, and we will see that repentance is a gift of
God:
· comes from the
grace of God
· walking in the
grace of God
· standing in
the grace of God
· growing in
grace and in knowledge
—all of that is an operation
of grace.
Let’s see something else that is an operation of grace. It
doesn’t come from ourselves. Let me ask you a question when we finish the next
couple of verses.
“Not of works, so that no one may
boast…. [The Protestants say, ‘Well, you don’t have works, you don’t have to
keep the commandments, it’s not anything that you do.’ Wrong! Not
of works that we do separate from what God requires.] (Notice, this tells a
greater part of the rest of the story): …For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto the good works that God ordained beforehand
in order that we might walk in them” (vs 9-10). What are ‘good works’? Is not
Sabbath-keeping good?
If you keep the Sabbath the way God
intends you to keep it, whose work is it? Yours or God’s? It’s God’s! With His Spirit you can do that. But without His Spirit you cannot do that.
Same way with the Passover and the Holy Days and living our lives on a
day-to-day basis.
Let’s notice something else; God is
working in us to create in us something that’s very important we
need to realize: Salvation is not instantaneous in belief as the
Protestants would have you accept. There is, however, a starting point. But as
Peter says, we are ‘to grow in grace and knowledge.’ Is that not true? Yes,
indeed!
Let’s look at this here again a
little bit: Created: salvation is
creation! It says in 2-Cor. 5 that if ‘anyone is Christ’s he is a new
creation’ and that means that he is being
created. 1-John 2:6 says that ‘here in is our love being perfected
because we are walking as He walked.’ If he was full of grace and truth and
we’re walking as He walked—and we’re obligated to walk that way—is
that not a work from God? motivated by His Spirit to do His will from the
heart? does that not then become an operation of grace? Yes, it does!
Now, let’s look and see that salvation
is creation. You have been saved from Satan the devil and your sins. How
does God do that? Come to Colossians, the first chapter, and let’s see. We will
see that God intervenes in our lives that only God can rescue us from Satan the
devil. We can’t possibly do it of ourselves.
(Almost all of Col. 1 is one long
sentence. It drives English punctuation nuts! Trying to figure out how to do
it, because it’s a clause after a clause after a clause.)
Colossians 1:9: “For this cause we also, from the day
that we heard of it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you
may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding… [There is a growth, there is a changing. We’re going to see that
while we’re doing this that we are being saved.]
…that you may walk worthily of the Lord, unto all pleasing, being
fruitful in every good work… [those good works that God ordained that we are to
walk in them. And if we walk in them—and as God has ordained them and has
given us His Spirit—which is by grace; forgiveness is by grace; leading
us to understand His will, which is by grace; then walking worthily of the Lord
in every good work is an operation of grace.] …and growing in the
knowledge of God” (vs 9-10). That’s what we are to do. That’s why you are not
saved the instant you have your sins forgiven. That is a beginning. That’s why
every year it begins with what? Passover, Unleavened Bread, to show us the
process that God is using.
Verse 11: “Being strengthened with all power according
to the might of His glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy;
giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us qualified for the share of the
inheritance of the saints in the light… [not of your own works, but good works
which God has ordained. The Father qualifies us! You’ve heard it said, ‘Well,
you’ve got to qualify for the Kingdom of God.’ True, but how do you do that? By
walking in the ways that God has ordained! So God is the One Who is doing
it, giving us a] …share of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (vs
11-12).
Verse 13 is very important because we are going to see
that when God begins dealing with us, it is the beginning of an act of grace
that God gives us. Why has God called those of us who know God and hasn’t
called the world? Why do we understand things that Protestantism and
Catholicism cannot understand? Because we
are fully under the grace of God! Everything that we do then is motivated
by this grace. Let me just be very specific: You cannot get away from
Satan the devil unless God calls you and rescues you out of it. You
may, as far as the world, be very sincere and upright, hard working, loving
your family, a good citizen in the neighborhood, etc., but you are part and parcel
of this world. You’re just not the malicious, evil ones in this world, though
you are living in sin against God and don’t know it; because you’re blind;
because you have not been personally rescued, by God, from Satan the devil.
Verse 13: “Who has personally rescued us from the
power of darkness… [sound like what we read back there in John 1? Yes,
indeed!] …and has transferred us unto the Kingdom of the Son of His
love… [We are under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of God. We don’t get into
the Kingdom of God until we are changed at the resurrection, changed from flesh
to spirit and enter into the Kingdom of God, because Paul said, ‘flesh and
blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God—period, end of story! Done!] …in Whom we have redemption through His own blood, even the remission of sins” (vs 13-14).
You cannot approach
God until you reach that point. But how do you reach that point? What is it
that God does? Let’s understand that Jesus said, ‘Many are called, but few are
chosen.’ Why are few chosen? Few believe and few repent! That’s why! And
those who have been chosen, they have a great spiritual work to be done, that
God requires their participation in it through the Spirit of God. So then,
salvation becomes creation, and salvation is a process that takes time. It’s
not the instantaneous thing that the Protestants tell you that it is. And this
is why so many people are church-hopping and quitting churches; because they
never can accomplish what the Bible tells them to accomplish when they are told
they don’t have to keep any laws; when they are told they don’t have to keep
the Sabbath and the Passover and the Holy Days.
And let me tell you something very important: Sabbath is a
beginning. Passover is covenant, and covenant is the relationship that you need
to have with God so that this process of God creating in you His character and
you becoming the workmanship of God comes to fruition.
1-Corinthians 15—this is the proper translation. As I
have mentioned, the key verses that Protestantism locks into are nearly
universally mistranslated from the Greek in the King James Version. And
then they are misinterpreted. With this Bible In It’s Original Order—A
Faithful Version with Commentary, ministers do not need to stand up in the
pulpit and give themselves out as having superior knowledge by saying, ‘Let me
tell you what the Greek really means’; because it’s been translated to reflect
the true meaning of the Greek. And here is the precise verse:
1–Corinthians 15:1: “Now I am declaring to you,
brethren, the same Gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you also
received, and in which you are now standing… [you have to be in the
Gospel of Christ, in the Truth of God. Standing means the way that you live, and that is the category to which you
belong. It says in Rom. 8 ‘you are spiritually minded because you have the
Spirit of God.’] …by which you are also being saved…” (vs
1-2).
It is a process; it’s not an instantaneous thing. We
have to grow. We have to overcome. God has to, first of all, intervene in our
lives. We’ll see a little later that the completion of the process is found in
Rom. 5 where it says, ‘we shall be saved from wrath.’ And that’s
at the resurrection.
· You have been saved from Satan and
your sins
· You are being saved as long as you
are standing in the Gospel and walking in the way of Truth
· You shall be saved at the
resurrection
We need to understand that. This is all an operation of
grace. It has to be an operation of grace, it can’t be anything
else. How does it start out?
Let’s come to John, the sixth
chapter, because it says in Col. 1 that Jesus Christ and the Father have
personally rescued us from Satan the devil. Remember the prayer of Jesus
Christ—His last prayer—where He says, ‘Father, these are in the
world and I desire that You do not take them out of the world, but that You
protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of
the world, sanctify them in Your Truth—which is grace—Your Word is
Truth.’ Understanding the Word of God is an operation of grace that comes from
God, with His Spirit, through His Word, to you in your heart and in your mind.
Here is how it starts:
I. You Must Believe!
That’s the first step. After they had seen how Jesus fed
them with the bread and the fish and it multiplied and so forth. They said,
‘Oh, this is good, let’s have a full-time welfare program here and be fed all
the time by this man. Let’s make Him king so He can do that!’ John 6:28: “Therefore, they said to Him, ‘What shall we
do, in order that we ourselves may do the works of God?’” Everyone who wants to
do something for God his or her way.
I remember
meeting a woman one time and she had fingernails she hadn’t cut in 20-years and
had them all taped up with tape. I told her to cut them, that is your work.
‘Oh, I did this so when people ask me why I have long fingernails, I tell them
because God wants me to.’ No! Nowhere is that in the Bible. And that is a work
of yourself. All people want to do good for God. Listen, it’s the other
way around. God is going to do good for you first, and then you
can do good for God when you are capable of doing good God’s way! And that’s what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is all about.
Here’s what He told them, v 29: “Jesus answered and
said to them, ‘This is the work of God: that you believe in Him Whom He has
sent.’” Must believe in Jesus first. Protestants have the right, but everything
else after that is wrong. And you must believe unto repentance and baptism
and receiving the Holy Spirit and walking in the good works, which God has
foreordained for us to walk in, that He can create in us what is necessary for
salvation. And all of that is an operation of God. So, first you must
believe.
Verse 30: “Therefore, they said to Him, ‘What sign will You perform,
that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as
it is written: “He gave them bread to eat that came down from
heaven.”’…. [They were approaching it in an entirely carnally; selfishly.] (So
what did Jesus say? He told them the whole meaning of His coming to this
earth): …Then Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, Moses did not
give you the bread from heaven; but My Father gives you the true bread from
heaven. For the bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to
the world.’ Therefore, they said to Him, ‘Lord, give this bread to us always.’
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me shall
never hunger; and the one who believes in Me shall never thirst at any time.
But as I said to you, you also have seen Me, yet you do not believe.’”
(vs 30-36).
How does true
belief come? It is an individual, personal act of God in your life—which
is an act of grace. Let’s see the dividing line. Here all these people were
well intended do-gooders, but they were carnal minded and wanted to do the will
of God their way, for their own personal satisfaction, not for God.
Verse 44: “No
one… [no individual in the world—period!] …can come to Me
[Christ] unless the Father, Who sent Me, draws him… [that’s quite a
thing—isn’t it?] …and I will raise him up at the last day.” Who is the
first one to intervene in your life to begin to lead you to the Truth? God
the Father! He has to draw you! Is that not an act of grace? Very
definitely is! He has to draw you. This is the moment in your life when you
said, ‘God, I want to know about you,’ and you responded in the right way. God
began to personally deal in your life. This is the beginning of personally
rescuing you from Satan the devil and your sins. Can you remember that day when
all of a sudden something happened in your life? Now you wanted to know about
God. Now you hungered and thirst after the Word of God. Now you were just
almost, some people feel, compelled: ‘I’ve got to know! Where is the Truth?
Where is God? and how do I find it.’ God the Father’s the One Who does that.
Now, let’s
notice something else that happens, too. We’ll see what God does to fulfill it.
Verse 45: “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by
God.’” If God intervenes in your life to draw you, and you respond to
Him—you have to respond—that’s the beginning of a calling. You have
to answer the call in order to be chosen. But if you do, how are you going to
learn of God’s way? God the Father is going to teach you!
What else did
Jesus say? Verse 63: “It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits
nothing….” Let’s understand this: There is no fleshly work you can do, not
having the Spirit of God, that God is going to honor as worthy of salvation. The
flesh profits nothing! Those long fingernails profit nothing! Or
whatever it is that you do. You go to mass every morning as a faithful Catholic
and you think you’re doing good. That profits you nothing! You go to
communion every Sunday as a Protestant. That
profits you nothing! Those are not
the instructions of God, and your mind has not been opened. You may be faithful
to what you are doing, but you are not faithful to God. You may think you’re
faithful to God, but every time you bow down before an idol, you’re unfaithful
to God. And every time you take the communion—that is not the true
Passover—you are unfaithful to God because you’re violating His Word.
“It is the
Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak
to you, they are spirit and they are life” An act of
grace and truth from Christ, now with the Father beginning to call you.
Let’s see what happens then. Let’s see what God does.
(go to the next track)
Let’s
continue on with the grace of God in the Bible. The true grace of God as
brought out in the New Testament in the operation of calling and
conversion and growing and overcoming, which fits into the Feast of
Unleavened Bread. Not only are we to put sin out of our life—as pictured
by leaven—but we are also to eat the unleavened bread, and that
symbolizes the true Word of God.
Jesus also
said to back up what we read in John 6, John 14:6 “…‘I am the way, and the
Truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
When you do that, it has to be God’s way!
When you come
to the point when you know that something has changed in your life, you know
that you love God’s way; you understand that something is drawing you;
something is leading you and you want to get your life squared around.
· You see
your sins.
· You see
your wretchedness.
· You see
your rebellion and your carnal mindedness
and you understand that whatever
you may have done as a nominal ‘Christian’ in the world, it’s just so much of
your own works. Yes, you had some Truth. Yes, you understood certain things.
But you didn’t really understand the Bible, and you really didn’t understand
God’s way and you really did not have the Spirit of God. It may have been with
you on certain occasions. But when God is dealing with you—when it says
there in John 6 the Father Himself ‘draws you’—that is the beginning of
God’s grace in your life, to begin to save you. To begin to bring you to
repentance, so the next step then is:
II. Repentance
Let’s come to
Romans, the second chapter, and let’s see that it is God and His graciousness
that leads you to repentance. So even repentance is an operation of
the grace of God—it is the gift of God. God gives all of these things
freely, but we have to respond to God.
Romans 2:4: “Or
do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering,
not knowing that the graciousness of God leads you to repentance?” God is the
One Who’s doing it. If you answer the call of God He’s going to respond to you
and begin leading you. Now, you’ve got to follow that lead, and that lead comes
to repentance.
Just like in Acts 2:38 when they asked the apostles,
‘What shall we do?’ They understood that on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy
Spirit was given, and Peter was preaching to them and said, ‘you have killed
the Holy One of God.’ They repented and said, ‘What shall we do?’ And he
[Peter] said, “…‘Repent and be
baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins, and you yourselves shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” So
it’s the Spirit of God that leads you to repentance.
On that day
of Pentecost, God’s Spirit filled the whole temple area—did
it not? Yes, indeed! And there were 3,000 that repented. You always have
to ask the question: What happened to the rest of them? There may have been as
many as up to 50,000 there. Same way you have to ask the question: How about
all of those that Jesus healed? How about all of those that Jesus fed? Where
are they? Where did they go? Why were they not converted?
· They
didn’t come to God God’s way.
· They
did not repent.
· They
did not seek the will of God.
· The did
not desire to come to God to receive His Holy Spirit.
Let’s see how
God works with us and let’s see what it’s talking about. ‘All have sinned and
come short of the glory of God.’ And we know that whatever the law says, it
speaks to those who are under the law; and under the law does not mean
law-keeping. ‘Under the law’ means under the penalty of law because of
sin. God does that, Romans 3:19: “…so that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God.”
Then we come
to a very difficult verse here in Roman 3, so I’m going to explain it not in
great detail, but enough so you will understand it. This is a key to
understanding Paul’s difficult Scriptures, and it’s buried in the Greek. It has
to do with the Word law—in the Greek is ‘nomos’—whether it
has a definite article or not. With the article it is called ‘ho nomos’;
without the article it is called ‘nomos’—the principle of law; ‘ho nomos’
is the law—referring to the Law of God or in some cases,
the Covenant that God made with Israel.
All the works
that the Jews did were works of law. And all of their traditions, which
they did, rejected the Truth of God. It was their works, not God’s
works. The commandments of God are God’s works. The traditions of men
are men’s works. And men expect to go to God with their works to justify
themselves before God. It won’t
work without repentance! And
that means you repent of all of your traditions. You set those aside and you
come to God brokenhearted, broken-spirited, and ask God to forgive you for your
sins. It’s not done by works of
law. It is done by a ‘broken heart
and contrite spirit.’ That’s what God honors.
Now, let’s read v 20: “Therefore, by works of law… [those
are Jewish traditional works; rituals at the temple] …there shall no flesh be
justified before Him; for through the law is the knowledge
of sin.” The law has no power to do anything, and justification only comes from
God personally, because He’s the One Who is personally rescuing you. He is the
One Who is drawing you—which is an act of grace. However,
“…knowledge is sin.”
III. Forgiveness—receive the Holy Spirit
Verse 21: “But
now, the righteousness of God… [and this is the righteousness which
comes from justification. So all the way through chapter 3, if you read the
word ‘justification’ instead of ‘righteousness’—and ‘justification’ means to be put in right standing with God; and ‘righteousness’ means to be declared righteous; that is sinless. Not righteous in
that you are fully righteous in doing all the good works of God, but now you
can start doing them.] …the righteousness of God that is separate from law has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the
Prophets; even the righteousness of God that is through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who believe; for there is
no difference” (vs 21-22).
All right, have to believe, then you have to repent.
God is the One Who draws you. God is the One Who leads you to repentance, and
you recognize this.
Verse 23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God… [When you repent what
happens? God does something because you believe in Jesus Christ. You believe in
His sacrifice. You believe that He is the ultimate sacrifice for the sins that
every human being commits. And you come to Him asking for forgiveness.] …but are being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; Whom God has openly manifested to be a propitiation
through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness
[justification], in respect to the remission of sins that are past” (vs 23-25).
Doesn’t forgive future sins because you don’t know
what you’re going to do and you don’t know what is going to be. All sins are past sins. When you commit them, in an instant of time, it is past. If I count one
second, that second is over and in the past—correct? If you sin it is
something that you have done; it is a past sin. You need that forgiven, the
remission of those sins.
How is this done? Verse 26: “Through the forbearance
of God; yes, to publicly declare His righteousness [justification] in
the present time, that He might be just, and the one Who justifies the one who is of the faith of Jesus.” You believe in Jesus Christ!
Notice what he says. Let’s understand what this is
telling us. And let’s understand what this grace does. This is
completely different from just obeying the commandments of God in the letter of
the law as God required of Israel. This is now coming to a spiritual
understanding, through God drawing you, through leading you to repentance,
leading you to accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, trust in His shed blood
for the forgiveness of your sins, and now you begin a new relationship with
God. That’s what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is all about. How is your
relationship with God?
Verse 27: “Therefore, where is boasting? It is
excluded…. [it’s not of your works] …Through what law? The law of works?
By no means! Rather, it is through a law of faith.” And that law of faith is just what I laid out to
you:
· Drawing of God
· Leading to repentance
· Repentance and baptism
· Believing in the sacrifice of Christ
· The forgiveness of your sins
· Receiving the Holy Spirit.
IV. Relationship with God
Verse 28: “Consequently, we reckon that a man is
justified by faith, separate from works of law. Is He the God of
the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?
YES! He is also God of the Gentiles… [notice the next two verses;
this becomes very important in understanding law and commandment-keeping in the
New Covenant. This is something you may never have really properly understood,
and maybe you’re still contaminated with the false understanding, the bad
translations and misinterpretations of Protestantism. Just like it says in Rom.
9, ‘Israel has a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge—whether it
be the Jews or the Catholics and Protestants.] …since it is indeed one
God Who will justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith” (vs 28-30).
· same operation
· same Gospel
· same calling
· same repentance
· same forgiveness through the blood of Jesus
Christ.
Verse 31—key understanding—all Protestants
and Catholics, you better listen up! This is going to judge you as well as
judge everyone else:
“Are we, then, abolishing law through faith?…. [faith
and grace do not abolish law] …MAY IT NEVER BE! Rather, we are
establishing law.” How do you establish law? Not doing away with it, but
through the grace of God the laws and commandments of God have a different
operation in the hearts and minds of those who have the Spirit of God. Let’s
see what that is. How do we establish law?
Romans 6:1: “What then shall we say? Shall we
continue in sin, so that grace may abound? MAY IT NEVER BE! We who died to sin,
how shall we live any longer therein?” (vs 1-2). And what is sin? You all know
it: ‘Sin is the transgression of the law…. Sin is lawlessness.’
By grace, what establishes law? Let’s answer the
question and let’s realize and understand something you may have never
understood before, which is this: The only way that you can keep the
commandments of God in the spirit, with a pure heart, is with the Spirit of
God, and the Spirit of God comes by grace. Here’s what it does. Here’s the
covenant that God has for us and with us, and this is what the Passover and the
Feast of Unleavened Bread picture.
Hebrews 10:16: “‘This is the covenant that I
will establish with them after those days,’ says the Lord…. [that’s back
in the prophecies there] …‘I will give My laws into their hearts, and I will
inscribe them in their minds… [stop and think about this a minute. This is a
converted mind—is it not? Mind of the Spirit, as Paul wrote of? Yes,
indeed! ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God and not subject to the law
of God, neither, indeed, can be.’ So there needs to be this spiritual
circumcision of the heart and mind through repentance and baptism and receiving
the Spirit of God. By receiving the Spirit of God, what does He do? He’s
creating in us something new! We are His creation. We are His workmanship!
Unto eternal life. What does that do?] …“I will give My laws into their hearts,
and I will inscribe them in their minds.”
That is an act of grace. That is establishing law,
because now, rather than having the law out here in a book, or here in a Bible,
or here on tablets of stone, or there in the church or courthouse square
listing the Ten Commandments in stone, it’s in the mind and in the heart.
This, with the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth, is how we are to live. So, isn’t that amazing? Maybe we’ve never understood it before. To keep
the commandments of God in the spirit of the law, with the Spirit of God, with
the laws and commandments written in our mind and inscribed in our heart, is an
act of grace and part of the grace of God that we are standing in.
Never again let anyone say, ‘Oh, you’re trying to
work out your own salvation by keeping law.’ They are so far removed from the
Truth that they do not have a clue what grace and salvation is all about. To
them, grace is abolishing the law of God and giving license to sin! What did
Paul say, ‘Shall we sin that grace may abound? GOD FORBID! MAY IT NEVER BE!’
Isn’t that something?
Verse 17—here’s also grace: “‘And their sins and
lawlessness I will not remember ever again.”’ This is why we repent every day,
because now instead of overt sins out here, we have inner sins which are in
here, which we are told through the Apostle Paul in 2-Cor. 10 that we are ‘to
bring every thought into captivity to Christ, casting down vain imaginations
that exalt itself against the knowledge of God’; because we have this battle
going on: overcoming the carnal mind, being led of the Holy Spirit. Now let me
guarantee you something that is true: That is an operation of the Spirit of God
to cleanse your mind, to continue to lead you to repentance, to continue to
draw you close to God. You have no other need of any other sacrifice.
Verse 18: “Now
where remission of these is, it is no longer necessary to
offer sacrifices for sin. Therefore, brethren, having confidence to
enter into the true Holiest by the blood of Jesus” (vs 18-19). What is
the true Holiness? That is the very throne-room of God! And that is an
operation of God, and you do not have the ability to have that on a continuous
basis unless you have the Spirit of God; unless you’re walking in the good
works that God has given—which are spiritually keeping His laws and
commandments and statutes and judgments. Are we not keeping the Feast of
Unleavened Bread? Literally, by getting rid of leaven? And spiritually by
having our lives changed? Yes! Are we not keeping the New Covenant
Passover the way that Jesus said, so that we continue that covenant
relationship with God? Yes!
Verse 20: “By a new and living way, which He
consecrated for us through the veil (that is, His flesh)… [notice what this is
to do; notice what kind of faith this is to produce; notice what kind of
relation and fellowship that we are to have with God.] …and having a
great High Priest over the house of God… [Christ is the Head of the Church!
He’s at the right hand of God! He’s there to intervene! He’s there to be with
us! He is there to guide us!] …let us approach God with a true heart,
with full conviction of faith, our hearts having been purified from a wicked
conscience, and our bodies having been washed with pure water” (vs 20-22).
Isn’t that something? That shows baptism is absolutely necessary!
“Let us hold fast without wavering to the hope that we profess, for He Who promised is faithful” (v 23). Brethren, isn’t
that absolutely something? That is fantastic! We need to know and understand
what God has done. Because Christ was full of grace and truth;
everything He said on how to keep the commandments of God; how to live our
lives; how to have contact with God; all the things that he inspired to be
written in the Bible for our teaching, for our edification—these are the
very words of the original apostles of God now translated in hundreds of
languages, going out to the ends of the earth, as Jesus said, as a witness to
the world; as instruction for those who are called of Him. That’s what it’s all
about! That is the grace of God!
Verse 23: “Let us hold fast without wavering to the hope that we profess, for He Who promised is faithful; and
let us be concerned about one another, and be stirring up one another unto love and good works” (vs 23-24). There it is again! And how did Jesus say
He would judge all of the churches? According
to your works! Is that not
correct? Now, all of the works that are in our lives are a reflection of the
grace of God—is it not? Is not receiving the Spirit of God an act of
grace from God? Yes, it is!
Now, let’s
come to Philippians, the second chapter; let’s see something else that is an act of grace. We’ve gone here many times—haven’t we? Yes, indeed! Notice what our conduct needs to be and notice the end result of it,
which then are the good works that we are to walk in; having our minds changed;
having the laws and commandments written in our hearts and in our
minds—and that includes everything that Jesus said. Think about it for a
minute! Isn’t that the greatest grace that can be? Remember, Jesus was full of
grace and truth! Yes, Moses gave the law, but Jesus gave the grace to be able
to keep it spiritually! Isn’t that a tremendous thing to understand? If we keep
the commandments of God in love and service and all of these things, is that
not motivated by the Spirit of God? Is that not part of the grace of God? So
the truth is, if you are converted and have the Spirit of God, and keep the
commandments of God, that is all within the grace of God!
Philippians 2:1—we’ve read this many times, but
may now this will have more meaning for us: “Now then, if there be any
encouragement in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any deep inner affections and compassions, fulfill my joy,
that you be of the same mind, having the same love, being joined together in
soul, minding the one thing” (vs 1-2). What is that one thing? Growing in grace and knowledge and attaining
to the Kingdom of God; building
now the character of God:
· love
· faith
· hope
· temperance
· kindness
· goodness
· meekness
—all the
fruits of the Holy Spirit. Be of one mind, standing for the Truth in firm,
solid—rock solid way—built on Christ.
“Let nothing be done through contention
or vainglory, but in humility, each esteeming the others above himself. Let
each one look not only after his own things, but let each one
also consider the things of others. Let this mind… [this is the ultimate
of the grace of God; this is the high degree of conversion that we are to come
to, brethren. And it can only be done through grace. Keeping the commandments
of God, motivated from the heart and the spirit, which is grace.] …be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus” (vs 3-5). Having the very mind of
Christ!
What could be a more gracious act of God than that!
That’s why we keep the Sabbath, the Passover, and the Holy Days. God puts His
presence in those days!
· God blesses us with His love!
· God blesses us with His understanding!
· God blesses us with His Truth!
· God motivates us and encourages us because these
are special days that are His appointed Feasts!
If we come to God and fellowship with Him, He fellowships with us, and
that is the true living grace of God. Not as the Protestants have it—get
your sins forgiven, start at the starting line; Whoop! you’re all done. No! Jesus said, ‘Enter in at the narrow gate, for difficult is the way and hard is
the way that lead to life.’ But Jesus also said, ‘Come to Me, you who are
overburdened and take My yoke upon you, for My burden is light.’
Colossians 1:20—notice how this fits in. This is
all a part of Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. “And, having made peace
through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself… [and
we are being reconciled to God; we are a new creation of God; we are developing
the character of God; and it is all through the grace and love of God that this
is accomplished.] …by Him, whether the things on the earth, or the things in
heaven. For you were once alienated and enemies in your minds by
wicked works; but now He has reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death… [the death of Jesus Christ and
your death in the watery grave to be conjoined to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
in the covenant pledge: that you belong to God irrevocably from that moment
forward, never to turn back, never to go against God! That’s what it’s
all about!] …to present you… [This is a total act of grace! Brethren,
understand it!] …Holy and unblamable and unimpeachable before Him” (vs 20-22).
· That’s what
God wants.
· That is the
perfection that comes.
· That’s the
reason why we are called.
· We are
His workmanship!
Notice there’s a condition, v 23: “If indeed you
continue in the faith grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the
hope of the Gospel, which you have heard, and which was proclaimed in
all the creation that is under heaven; of which I, Paul, became a
servant.” Isn’t that something?
Verse 26: “Even the mystery… [the secret of
God, that He has opened our minds to understand! The rest of the world cannot
understand. And it’s amazing how much they are blinded.] …that has been hidden
from ages and from generations, but has now been revealed to His saints… [Do
you understand that Jesus said, ‘Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your
ears for they hear’—and let that blessing be multiplied many, many times
over; because now we have the whole Word of God, and we have the Bible that we
can study, we can learn, we can grow, we can overcome, we can use this to guide
us in everything in our lives, brethren. This is the instruction book for
eternal life.] …revealed to His saints, to whom God did will to make known…”
· It’s God’s will that He dealt in your life.
· It’s God’s will that He called you.
· It’s God’s will that He gave you His Holy
Spirit.
· It is God’s will that you walk in the good
works.
· It is God’s will that you have access to God the
Father in heaven above.
· It is God’s will that with all of these things
this is the great grace of God which has come from Jesus Christ, Who is full of
grace and truth!
“…to whom God did will to make known what is the riches of the
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory” (vs 26-27). That’s what God has called us to, brethren.
Let’s come back to Ephesians, the first chapter. I
want you let these words sink deep into your ears as Jesus told His disciples.
He said, ‘Listen and let these words sink deep into your ears.’ In other words,
let it penetrate your mind with the Spirit of God completely. Let’s understand
that everything we do is because of the grace of God, and through the grace of
God, and everything that God does for us and to us and through us is because of
the grace of God. You don’t have to worry about people. Remember what Jesus
told the Pharisees and scribes when they said, ‘Oh, tell your disciples to quit
saying Hosanna to the Highest’ as He was coming into Jerusalem. He said,
‘If they would quit the stones themselves would speak up.’ So let’s understand!
Let’s not get lifted up concerning everything that God has done with us, but be
thankful and grateful, just like the Apostle Paul.
Ephesians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and to the faithful in
Christ Jesus: Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (vs 1-2). Every epistle that Paul wrote starts out with
this, because everything that he has to tell them comes from the grace of God,
through his teaching, through his writing, through the inspiration given to
him. And through the grace of God the Word of God has been preserved and we
have it today.
Verse 3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly things with Christ.” Look at all the heavenly things that we
have given to us:
· God’s Spirit
· God’s Truth
· having access to God the Father in heaven above
· Christ at His right hand
· having faith
· having knowledge
· having understanding
· having the love of God
· the Truth of God
· the steadfastness of the Word of God
Fantastic! Isn’t it? Yes! Those are spiritual things in Christ!
“According as He has personally chosen us for Himself… [God reached down and
has personally called you! Understand that! And every minister
and elder understand that! Brethren are not chattel to be ruled over by a
hierarchical ministry so that they can retire on the tithes of the brethren!]
…before the foundation of the world… [that means He had his plan
already to go] …in order that we might be Holy and blameless before Him in
love” (v 4).
And this plan, which God purposed in Himself “Having
predestinated us for sonship to Himself… [We’re to be His sons! We’re to be His
daughters! We are to live in the Family of God forever! We have been called to
the first resurrection, but we have got to yield to God and have our hearts
cleansed; our minds cleansed, and have God’s Spirit replace it with His Truth,
His love and His good works.] …through Jesus Christ, according to the good
pleasure of His own will… [Think of that! God the Father own will! In each and
every one of our lives!] …to the praise of the glory of His
grace…” (vs 5-6). [notice, it’s all the grace of God!
What happens?
How does God look down and see you?
“…wherein He has made us objects of His grace in the Beloved Son;
in Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the remission of
sins, according to the riches of His grace… [there it is grace mentioned three
times right there—right? Everything that we do, brethren, is by the grace
of God] …which He has made to abound toward us in all wisdom and
intelligence; having made known to us the mystery of His own will, according to
His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself” (vs 6-9).
Think about that! What a fantastic grace that it is,
that we know the plan of God, the will of God, the understanding of His Truth.
“That in the divine plan for the fulfilling of the times,
He might bring all things together in Christ, both the things in the heavens
and the things upon the earth” (v 10). We’re part of that. And the first
resurrection will be a living spiritual part of that.
“Yes, in Him… [I want you to grasp what God has
for us, brethren, and it’s all by His grace] …in Whom we also have obtained an
inheritance, having been predestinated according to His purpose, Who is working
out all things according to the counsel of His own will… [What is the will of
God?] …that we might be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in
the Christ… [Think of that!] …in Whom you also trusted after hearing the Word
of the Truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in Whom also, after believing, you
were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (vs 11-14).
So we’re waiting for the resurrection. Listen, as
Jesus said, ‘The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you
they are spirit; they are life.’ And all the writings of the apostles
fall into that category, too.
“Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession [the resurrection], to the praise
of His glory. For this cause, I also, after hearing of the faith in the Lord
Jesus that is among you, and the love toward all the saints, do not cease to
give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers… [Brethren, that’s
what we do every day for one another. We pray for you, you pray for us, and we
know that we can’t get along without your prayers.] (Here is Paul’s hope. Here
is Paul’s prayer for all Christians): …that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him…. [That is through His grace.] …And may the
eyes of your mind be enlightened… (vs 14-18).
In other words, one of those experiences that you
have. You’re going along and all of a sudden something clicks and it’s just
like BING! a light goes on, and you say, ‘Aha! I understand. Well, let this be
one of those moments. Let this be one of those times during this Feast of
Unleavened Bread to turn you to God with all your heart, mind, soul and being.
This is what Paul is writing about!
“…in order that you may comprehend what is the hope of
His calling, and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who
believe, according to the inner working of His mighty power” (vs 18-19). Let
the Spirit of God work in us to change us, to give us the character of God, to
give us the laws and commandments of God, to give us the desire, to give us the
love, to inspire us, to empower us to do the will of God. That’s why we’re
here.
Verse 20: “Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised
Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…
[Listen, brethren, God has called us to the greatest calling that can ever, ever, ever be. Don’t look at your frailties, your weaknesses and your
problems and difficulties. Cast all your cares upon the Lord because He loves
you and cares for you, as we will see as pictured by the last day of Feast of Unleavened
Bread. God is going to see us through every difficulty, every trial, everything
that we go through, but let this be that which motivates you and inspires you
and gives you the hope and the Truth and the love and the steadfastness to
serve God with all your heart, mind, soul and being. Yes!
Verse 21: “Far above every principality and authority
and power and lordship, and every name that is named—not only in this
age, but also in the age to come… [and that’s the ultimate where we will
be, brethren.] …for He has subordinated all things under His feet, and has
given Him to be head over all things to the Church, which is His
body—the fullness of Him Who fills all things in all” (vs 21-23).
And that is because of the grace of God and what
Christ gives us and what God the Father gives us is full of grace and truth.
Everything that we do, every thought that we have—growing, changing,
overcoming, keeping the commandments of God in spirit and in truth, and in
worshiping God in that way—are all the operation of the grace of
God.
So let us really understand what God is doing. I
hope you continue to have a wonderful Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Scriptural References:
1) John 1:1-5, 14-17
2) Ephesians 2:1-3
3) Romans 8:7-9
4) Ephesians 2:3-10
5) Colossians 1:9-14
6) 1 Corinthians 15:1-2
7) John 6:28-36, 44-45, 63
8) John 14:6
9) Romans 2:4
10) Acts 2:38
11) Romans 3:19-31
12) Romans 6:1-2
13) Hebrews 10:16-24
14) Philippians 2:1-5
15) Colossians 1:20-23, 26-27
16) Ephesians 1:1-23
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
· Galatians 2, 3
· Romans 3, 5-7
· 2 Corinthians 5
· 1 John 2:6
· Romans 5, 9
· 2 Corinthians 10
Also referenced: Sermon: Scripturalism vs Judaism
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