Water and Spirit

The Bible records an interaction between Jesus and the Pharisee Nicodemus in John 3:1-21.  Nicodemus came to Jesus at night.  The reason never stated, but fear of the Jews represents the likely cause for the dark hour.  Nicodemus presents a conclusion regarding Jesus identity and then he asks two sets of questions based upon the responses of Jesus.

First, Nicodemus stated that Jesus came from God and the signs which He performed verified that conclusion (vs. 2).  Often men see evidence, but refuse to accept it.  Jesus fulfilled a great number of prophecies in coming to man – Deuteronomy 18:18, Isaiah 7:14, 9:1-7, 32:1-4, Micah 5:2, Zechariah 9:9-12 to note a few.  The Jews had been looking for the messiah.  They knew the signs and some accepted Jesus as Messiah.  However, the majority did not readily or openly embrace Him due to fear (John 7:13, John 11:48, John 19:38), hatred (John 15:18-23), or ignorance (Acts 17:30).  Unlike the men who do not act upon the evidence of God in creation (Romans 1:19-24), Nicodemus chose to embrace the evidence surrounding Christ’s origin and seek further knowledge (Matthew 7:7).  The Bible records all the evidence man needs to accept Christ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  The question for man today revolves around whether or not man chooses to accept or reject Christ.

Second, Jesus comment to Nicodemus (“Truly, truly, I saw to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” – John 3:5) caused Nicodemus to ask how exactly a man could be born again.  Nicodemus’ mind focused on the flesh and fleshly birth.  However, Jesus spoke of the birth of the spirit.  The spirit of man needs to be born again because when man sins his spirit becomes dead to God (Genesis 2:17, Romans 3:23, 6:23, Ephesians 2:1-5, Colossians 2:13-14).  The question must therefore be how does this rebirth occur?  It occurs by water and the Spirit according to Jesus.  The Lord furthermore compares this teaching to the wind.  Man does not understand wind in complete.  Yet, he acknowledges the existence of wind because he sees the evidence of it.  Man also cannot see a spiritual birth, but this does not make it any less real as its evidence certainly exists.  Of necessity, this requires faith.  As Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Since Nicodemus recognized Jesus as coming from God, the concept of a rebirth should not have been questioned, but accepted by faith.

Finally, Nicodemus still not comprehending the concept of rebirth asks, “How can these things be?” (John 3:9)  Jesus expresses disappointment that Nicodemus cannot grasp concepts beyond the physical.  Through the Old Testament a teacher should have been able to discern the identity of Jesus as the Messiah.  In such discernment, adherence to Jesus Words would be paramount.  Unfortunately, the Pharisees did not grasp onto the teachings of Jesus.  Jesus makes it clear in verses 13-21 that those who do not believe in him love the things of the world and do the deeds of it.  By not believing on Jesus they can be judged to be of the world.  Those who do believe on Jesus would by necessary inference follow the teachings of Jesus and act accordingly.  Their actions judge them according to eternal life and salvation.

Taking the passage of Nicodemus and Jesus and examining it, the conclusion derived must be to believe on Jesus and His Word.  Jesus makes it clear this involves obedient deeds which verify one does believe.  Consequently, when Jesus says “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God” man needs to accept such a teaching in faith and act.  Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles that they might receive “all truth” (John 16:13).  Knowing all truth, Peter told the Jews on the day of Pentecost to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38).  Their dead spirits became born again out of a spirit of obedience to Christ and their bodies born out of water – A birth of water and spirit just as Jesus spoke.  This scene occurs throughout the book of Acts (Acts 2:38, 8:36-38, 9:18, 10:47-48, 16:15, 16:31-33, 19:15, 22:16).  Peter also told Christians in 1 Peter 3:21 – “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”.  The apostle Paul realized once he was alive, but he died with sin (a spiritual death – Romans 7-9).  When man washes himself in Christ through baptism, he dies to sin and becomes alive once more (Romans 6:5-11).

When someone truly believes, Christ said their deeds of obedience show it.  They will be born of water and spirit through baptism.  Where do you stand with Christ?  Are you choosing to reject Him as much of the world does, proclaiming you believe but continuing to walk in a futile way of life (Ephesians 4:17-19)?  Or are you choosing to demonstrate your believe through obedience showing your love for Christ (John 14:15)?  It is widely believed that Nicodemus examined the evidence and ultimately chose to be faithful to Christ, what have you done with the evidence before you?

Romans 6:16 – “Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

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Defeated

As boys, my brother and I would always play a game where he would try to hit my hand before I could take it away.  We frequently played this game at the kitchen table and over the years, we actually wore a smooth spot into the table from all the times he missed my hand.  At times it really took a lot of coaxing to get my brother to play the game because he hated losing.  He felt defeated as if he could never win.  Why did he keep trying?

I watched a Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) playoff game last night.  The Lakers played the Oklahoma Thunder two nights before and had gotten flattened by more than twenty points.  In the next game, the Lakers nearly controlled the entire game.  Their confidence stood greatly bolstered compared to their prior loss.  Yet, with a seven point lead and two minutes to go in the game, the Lakers turned the ball over three times without a score.  In the end, they lost a game that looked like a win for them.  What more could they have done?  They played an excellent game, a commanding game, and still they stood defeated.  Only two losses from exiting the playoffs, the odds greatly against them, what motivation will push them to put forth the effort to win?

The apostle Peter loved Jesus.  He knew Jesus as a peaceful man who proclaimed the kingdom of God.  Yet, in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter acted outside of peacefulness.  He drew his sword as a mob of men led by Judas Iscariot encircled Jesus.  Then he chopped off the ear of one of the advancing men (John 18:1-11).  Jesus called a halt to the violence immediately.  Peter knew better, but could not control himself.  His own instincts momentarily overcame his devotion to Jesus teaching.  The moment represented a defeat for Peter.

Prior to the occurrence in the garden, Peter swore his allegiance to Jesus (Matthew 26:35).  After the men took Jesus from the garden to Annas, father-in-law of the High Priest Caiaphas, Peter followed behind to see what would happen.  Three times people questioned Peter if he knew Jesus.  Once again, Peter could not control his worldly instincts.  He denied knowing Jesus each time though he said he never would (John 18:12-27).  His bold proclamations of allegiance fell in defeat.

Peter recovered from his self defeat.  He went on to share the first gospel sermon providing entrance into the kingdom of God (Acts 2).  He taught the household of Cornelius, gentiles upon whom the Holy Spirit pouted out, who would also enter the kingdom of God.  Yet, Peter’s failing did not come to an end.  The apostle Paul speaks in Galatians 2:11-14 of Peter separating himself from Gentile Christians out of fear of the Jews.  Once again, Peter found himself defeated by his sinful actions.

What keeps a person going when he experiences defeat?  The motivation that appears and picks up the defeated is hope.  Hope of winning kept my brother playing our childhood game.  Hope that the Lakers can turn things around keeps them trying game by game year by year.  Hope kept Peter moving forward.  It is hope that he shares in the letter to the Christians scattered abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.  The hope he directs Christians toward centers on the return of Jesus.  I Peter 1:13 – “Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober inspirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”   Christians rise above defeat because of hope.  Only defeat lies ahead if you are not a Christian (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).  Embrace Christ today and overcome defeat (I John 5:1-5)!

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Prom and Promiscuity

Each year, around April and May, High Schools typically hold a dance called Prom.  Traditionally, this dance features boys and girls of the school decked out in gowns and tuxedos.  Historically, the dance oft represented the first celebratory steps into adulthood.  Families work together with their young folks to make the event memorable.

Typically, young men escort their female “Prom date” from home, to the dance, and back again.  While the “Prom date” is still the most prevalent feature, increasingly young people opt instead to come in groups of boys and girls instead.   Sometimes the young people will be escorted by a prominent actor or actress as a publicity stunt.  Recently, one girl decided not to come with a young man, but instead arrived with a cardboard cutout of famous NFL quarterback Tim Tebow.  Everyone at the dance embraced the cutout with great humor.

The other day I went to the local “mom and pop” store.  The store sits about three blocks from the local High School.  Gathered around the store counter, the store owner and some of his clientele stood talking.  The topic of the hour happened to be Prom.  The adults talked of the alcohol they consumed at their proms and the same alcohol consumption they see surrounding prom every year.  They talked not with disappointment about how the students would make foolish decisions during the evening, but with resigned chuckles.  The store owner pointed out how young folks come in for condoms so they can have sex with their dates.  When they don’t have the change, he just hands the condoms over for free.  “We don’t want them to have any accidents.”  As I overheard him, I commented, “The decision to have sex doesn’t happen by accident.”  More chuckles rose from the group with affirmative “yups”.

The store owner and the others around him accepted without any religious bias the fact that prom is an event surrounded by lust (James 1:15), lasciviousness (Matthew 7:21-23), premarital sex (I Corinthians 10:8), alcohol (I Thessalonians 5:8), and other worldly actions.  Many Christian parents refuse to accept the reality of this sinful event or at least they choose to ignore its reality. Prom exposes their children to a stumbling block (Matthew 18:6) and temptation (2 Timothy 2:22).  All of these activities find condemnation in scripture.

The girls at the events typically dress quite immodestly.  There attire often exposes most or part of their thighs, stomachs, backs, breasts, and shoulders.  God identified this as nakedness and covered those areas completely in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).  Young men should be ashamed for such girls and blush at the sight of them.  However, their lusts drive them forward and they no longer know how to blush (Jeremiah 8:12).  The girls’ thoughts dwell on the grand event.  The boys’ thoughts dwell on the bodies of the young women.  The girls in their foolishness defraud the boys (I Thessalonians 4:3-6).  The boys acting as willing accomplices pursue the girls (Proverbs 5).  Prom and promiscuity walk hand in hand.

At many proms, open homosexuality now displays itself along with the other sins.  The pit gets deeper and deeper, the mire thicker and thicker.  Parents with common sense, most Christian parents and some parents with no religion at all, refuse to allow their children to participate in prom.  They understand prom endangers the purity of their child (Proverbs 6:27).  They want their children to be good examples, not bad.  They desire their children to focus on purity not evil (Philippians 4:8).  This year as the opportunity arises, encourage grandparents, parents, friends, and young people to give prom a big thumb down.  Just say “No” to Prom.

Galatians 5:16 – “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

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Marriage, Deuteronomy 24, and Can Women Divorce?

From the beginning, God ordained one man to stay with one woman and one woman with one man (Genesis 2:24).  The two joined together becoming one flesh, one body.

Man in his sinfulness began to be involved in polygamy, adultery, and a host of other improprieties (Malachi 2:14).  Man’s heart was hardened against God’s commands and he chose to follow his own desires.

Deuteronomy 24, (only for usage by Israel under the Law of Moses until the coming of the New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31-34, Colossians 2:14, Galatians 3:24-25), dealt with the marital atrocities.  In an environment where man, contrary to God’s intention for marriage, divorced his wife for any number of unauthorized reasons, God, through Moses, regulated divorce.  A writ of divorcement became required so that the woman could clearly demonstrate freedom from the bond of her previous husband.  Additionally, when the woman joined herself to another man in marriage, the original husband would not be authorized to take her as a wife again at any point thereafter.  Deuteronomy 24 caused a man to more cautiously consider his decision to divorce his wife and it put the guilt of divorce upon the husband, enabling the wife to remarry.  Yet, this passage of the Law of Moses did not represent an eternal principle of God and only represented a temporary ordinance.

Jesus states in Matthew 19:8 that Moses suffered (allowed) the children of Israel to put away their wives, but that was not God’s original intent.  His intent was that they stay together until death.  However, Jesus does provide information in Matthew 5:32/Matthew 19:3-12 not previously written.  He states that putting away one’s spouse was acceptable (though not desired) if fornication (adultery when in a marriage) had been committed by the other party.

Why allow the sinfulness under the Law of Moses?

Fact: the law was not meant to make anyone perfect; Christ fulfilled that function (Hebrews 7:19, Hebrews 10:1, Galatians 3:3-5, Philippians 3:12-16, Colossians 1:27-29, Colossians 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Quite to the contrary, God ordained the Law of Moses that sin might abound (Romans 5:20).  The nation of Israel, through their abounding sin demonstrated the power, wisdom, and mercy of God, as well as the truth that men could not find eternal life through their own works (Romans 9:21-33).  The directives in Deuteronomy 24 did not approve of sin or establish an eternal principle.  They simply minimized the chaos that had been created, overlooking the sin for that time (Acts 17:30).  It was much like sweeping dust under the rug.  The problem still exists, but overlooking the dust provides a temporary adjustment until cleaned properly.

Some men declare, as a code of behavior applying today, that Deuteronomy 24 establishes that only the husband can put away his wife and not the wife her husband.  Can women divorce?

Deuteronomy 24 certainly provides marital guidelines from the point of view of a man wishing to divorce his wife under the Law of Moses.  No other guideline under the Law of Moses is given for the vantage point of the woman.  Yet, the Law of Moses does not provide authority for man’s actions today.  Furthermore, prior to the Law of Moses, no mention of situations authorizing divorce existed. Thus, authority for divorce cannot be found by going back to the beginning.  Following the establishment of the Law of Moses, written Jewish traditions did allow divorce by women under a different process from Deuteronomy 24, but neither the Law of Moses nor the traditions of men, represent God’s eternal commands as set forth in Genesis 2:24 and the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:32/Matthew 19:3-12.

At this point, it is important to consider Mark 10:2-12 and I Corinthians 7:10-11.  Verses 11 and 12 of Mark identify two incidents of divorce.  In the first, the man puts away his wife.  In the second, the woman puts away her husband.  Understand the following truths about scripture:  First, a permanent ordinance condemning a woman for divorcing her husband doesn’t exist.  Second, Jesus (in the context of being questioned about Deuteronomy 24) specifically identifies an occurrence where a woman does put away her husband and that action by itself is not condemned.  Now take into consideration also I Corinthians 7:10-11.  This passage clearly identifies that a wife may divorce her husband and explains the conditions on doing so.  From the two passages examined, the Bible establishes a woman may divorce a man.  Today men follow the commands under the New Covenant in Christ (Matthew 4:23) and the eternal principles of God (Romans 15:4).  The words of Jesus (by His mouth and the apostles) judge a man on the final day (John 12:48).  Consequently, by the authority of Christ, under proper circumstances, a wife can divorce her husband.

Many concerned individuals actually have an underlying concern when asking if a woman can divorce her husband.  They really want to know if she can remarry after divorcing.  Mark 10 establishes, if a man or a woman remarries after divorce, they commit adultery.  I Corinthians 7 only gives a woman the option of staying single or reconciling after divorce.  There are no verses in the Bible with a direct command or example approving of a woman remarrying following a divorce she has initiated.  Yet, command and example are not the only ways to demonstrate God’s authority.  Necessary inference can demonstrate authority.  Since God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), by necessary inference, it can be concluded that if He allows both the male and female to divorce, the same rules must apply for both sexes in remarriage.  Immediate objection might be raised stating that man has authority over woman so his rules for remarriage will be different.  However, man’s authority over woman applies to his duties, not to preferential treatment when it comes to sin.  If by Matthew 5 and 19 a man can divorce his wife scripturally and remarry because she has committed adultery, then it can be inferred that a wife certainly can do the same in a case where the husband has committed adultery.

When examining the topic of marriage, the student of scripture must always be aware of the context and purpose of the scripture written.  Deuteronomy 24 represents a passage with very specific purposes for a very specific dispensation.  Jesus identifies that the direction the Law of Moses gave man for marriage did not represent God’s will.  Thus, when considering authorization for marriage today, Deuteronomy 24 must be set aside.  Jesus and the apostles, under the New Covenant, reaffirm God’s Will for marriage and identify authority for both the husband and wife to properly act on their marriage status under the circumstances of fornication.  Because God is a just God, he applies the same rules for dealing with sin for woman as He does man. Those rules can be gleaned from the New Testament scriptures regarding marriage and divorce.

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Redemption Through His Blood

Redemption Through His Blood

I Peter 1:1-12 speaks of the mercy shown by God, the rebirth of man, and hope for the return of Christ who provides salvation from the troubles of this world.  I Peter 1:13-21, the key text of this article follows afterward and Peter establishes the following:

Do This:  “…gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:” (1 Peter 1:13-17)

Why? Because: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (I Peter 1:18-19)

How did that redemption come about? “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” (I Peter 1:20-21)

How can these verses be summarized?  Be holy like Christ because He redeemed us with His blood as part of a plan formed before the creation of man.

This statement should make the passage more understandable, but not knowing what the term redemption means can throw understanding out the window.  Therefore, consider the state of Oregon in the 1970’s.  Little boys often went out “treasure hunting”.  The search took place under porches, in trashcans, along the sides of the road, in parking lots, and numerous other locations.  The objective of the hunt was not gold nuggets but discarded aluminum cans and glass beverage bottles.  At one time the containers were desired and full of a variety of different beverages, and then the consumers tossed them aside as emptied and forgotten shells.  What more value could exist?  For hands willing to work to find that which was lost, the valueless equated to treasure!  The stores who originally owned the vessels gladly bought them back for $0.05, $0.10, or even $0.25 apiece depending on their size.  The lost became found and that considered worthless ended up bought for a price so it could once again fulfill a useful purpose.  The buying back represents redemption.

The redemption of mankind through the Blood of Christ parallels the “treasure hunting” example in many ways, but the history of redemption through His blood demonstrates the greatest act of love ever committed.  Christ purchased what had become worthless.  Through Him by an established plan, the worthless became holy.  More than a possession or slave, the redemption by Christ’s blood, causes man to become a son of God as Paul describes in Galatians 4:4-7.

How did man go from being in the image of God to needing redemption?  (Genesis 1:26)

In the beginning, God made life very simple for man.  He told them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and have dominion over its life forms (Genesis 1:28).  Man existed fully alive, spiritually and physically.  Understand God established man as chief over all the earth. This directly related to His plan.  In addition to God’s positive commands for man, he also gave them a negative command.  “…from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat”.  Man ignored God’s command and as punishment man received death (Genesis 2:17).  The death of man unfolded in two ways.  First, spiritual death occurred immediately.  Spiritual death can be understood as man’s sin separating him from abiding with God (Isaiah 59:1-2).  Second, man, later physically died returning to the dust from which he was made (Genesis 3:19).  Man sells himself to Satan through disobedience to God – Sin!  Based on the sin of Adam, man found himself in need of purification, justification, reconciliation, and sanctification.  He went from the valuable image of God to a state of worthlessness.

Only by God’s mercy and grace did He set a price for redemption.  Blood became the price for sin and since life is in the blood, according to Genesis 9:4, life became forfeit.  Notably with the sin of Adam, not only did man forfeit his spiritual and physical life, but animals forfeited their life to clothe Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21).  Sacrificing of animals can be seen in the Patriarchal Age with Able (Genesis 4), Noah (Genesis 8), and Abraham (Genesis 22).  However, only in Job 1:5 can sacrifices clearly be seen to be tied to sin.  Why blood?  By speculation, it seems that the greatest thing of value upon earth is life.  King David would later point out in Psalm 49:6-9 that no amount of wealth could redeem mankind from his sins.  God set redemption value of man much higher.

All men sin (Romans 3:23) and their lives being forfeit already (Romans 6:23) cannot atone for sin.  The thought of offering up innocent children to redeem man offends God (Deuteronomy 12:31) and would still mean the continual death of man, a life for a life, which God does not desire.  Thus, the lives of animals were required to atone for man’s disobedience.  Yet, recall, according to His plan, God made man chief over animals.  Animal blood does not share equal value with man’s blood (Matthew 6:26) and it cannot take away man’s sins (Hebrews 10:1-4). Their sacrifice could only cleanse the flesh by a forgiveness which still required constant reminder of the forfeit life, leaving a conscience still stained and physical death still looming.

What could be done to alter man’s condition (Romans 7:24)?  Knowing neither riches nor the sacrifice of animals equal the life of a man, it can be seen God had a permanent solution in mind for mankind.  Evidence exists that the patriarchs had a firm belief that God would redeem them.  Job 19:25-27 – “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”  Thus, the patriarchs walked by faith.  Genesis 26:5 “…Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”  Yes, there was law before the Mosaic Law and righteous men followed it by faith believing they would be redeemed from their sin giving them perfect life again.

Before the end of the Patriarchal age, God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his seed (Genesis 12:1-3).  That seed, according to the Hebrew author, was the Redeemer, the Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:16)  As time would stretch into the Mosaic Age, prophecies would make it clear there would be a redeemer for the sins of the world (Deuteronomy 18:18, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Jeremiah 31:31-34, I John 2:2).  How did He have such value that His blood would be accepted as redemption for the forgiveness of sins of all? (Matthew 26:28, Colossians 1:14)  How could a single life redeem innumerable lives making the worthless represent great value?  The priceless value came from the fact that He was sinless, from eternity, and God (I Peter 2:21-22, Micah 5:2, Isaiah 9:6-7).  His life is worth more than all mankind and all animal life for all time.  After all, the creation cannot be greater than the creator and only He can redeem it.  The redemption of man demonstrates how much God loves the life of man.

Redemption did not occur right away.  It needed to begin at the right time, the fullness of time (Romans 5:6, Galatians 4:4).  Men were not walking by faith as they should (Habakkuk 2:4).  So God chose a people to be an example unto the world.  He chose a people so he could show His wrath, power, and blessing (Romans 9:21-24).  God gave them the Law of Righteousness, the Law of Moses, but when they faltered it held them under their sins. (Galatians 3:19-22).  This function was to bring the people to Christ.

Galatians 3:23-29 – But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Figuratively, this brought man to Christ because the many ordinances of the law caused sin to increase (Romans 5:20).  Those under the law were cursed by their actions and no manner of righteous works or sacrifices could remove the curse (Deuteronomy 27).  Thus, the Israelites were to learn to walk by faith as Christ would live (Galatians 3:11).  Literally, the Law of Moses functioned to bring the nation of Israel to the time when the new covenant would be delivered (Jeremiah 31:31).  According to Hebrews 9:15-16, until Jesus died upon the cross the new covenant could not come with the justifying blood of Jesus.

The men of earth who were not of Israel, knew of God from the Patriarchs, prophets sent to them (such as Jonah or Nahum), or by hearing of the blessings and curses which fell upon Israel by God.  Some would proselyte and join the nation of Israel.  Others would walk by faith in what they heard of God.  Regardless of their choice, when they did not walk by faith, destruction stood was guaranteed.

When the Redeemer arrived, the faith Christ exhibited toward God enabled Him to go to the cross voluntarily to be offered as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind.  Through his obedient faith, He became the author of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:8-9), obtaining eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:12-15 – “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”

Christ provided a pure sacrifice of love by giving His own life by blood for all mankind.  The conscience of man once stained by a continual remembrance of sin through sacrifice could now be free.  Yet, how can man come into contact with the blood which eternally cleanses?  I Peter 3:21 declares baptism in water saves a man as an appeal through the resurrection of Jesus for a good conscience.  Why does man appeal through baptism for his conscience?  Romans 6:3-7 provides that answer in observing man is united with Christ’s death and resurrection in baptism.  When united with Jesus death, man contacts His blood.  Thus, Hebrews 10:22, discusses baptism as a sprinkling of the heart (purging of the conscience) which reflects back to purification by blood as in past ages.

After contacting the blood of Christ, the requirement, to remember the “life forfeiting works” committed beforehand, no longer exists.  Free from sin, man can focus on serving God.  Those who lived by faith before Christ were cleansed by the fulfilled promise of a redeemer.  For those under the law, redemption from the curse of the law made them free again.  For those who would sin in the future, eternal redemption existed for those accepting it.  The sacrifice of Jesus enables mankind to look with hope to their eternal inheritance and not look back to dwell on their failure.

The sacrifice of Jesus was not the end of the redemption process.  Following the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit of promise was poured out on mankind.  Ephesians 1:14 states the Spirit was “given as an earnest [pledge] of inheritance until redemption of the purchased possession.”  Ephesians 4:30 speaks of a future “day of redemption” while Romans 8:23 speaks of the redemption of our bodies.  Mankind can be cleansed through the blood of Christ, but they are still under the curse of physical death stretching back to the days of Adam.  On Earth’s final day, the resurrection day, by the power of Jesus, man will overcome death.  “Oh death where is your victory?  Oh Hades where is your sting?”  (I Corinthians 15:55)  The Redemption process will come to a close.  Man will have full life as in the beginning and then be changed in the twinkling of an eye (I Corinthians 15:52).  Until that final day, through eternal redemption the Christian can be cleansed of further sin through Christ’s blood.  The Christian simply need acknowledge the sin and continue to walk by faith as God has required from the beginning (I John 1:6-2:2).

Early on an example of boys collecting worthless cans was mentioned.  Those boys took the time to see value in what others simply tossed away.  God always saw value in the life of men.  Thus, His plan of redemption by blood existed before the creation of man.  By God’s mercy He does not immediately reject man as worthless, but they have and do reject Him.  They choose to ignore the value God places upon them.  However, for those that desire to be priceless possessions of God and walk by Faith, God bestows sonship and eternal life with Him through the blood of Christ.

In closing, consider the words of Paul regarding redemption through Jesus our Redeemer:

Romans 8:10-14 – “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.  So then, brethren we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die: but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will life.  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

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