THE HEART OF THE SALVATION GOSPEL
WE MUST REMEMBER THE BIBLE DEFINITION OF SIN——
1 JOHN3:4; ROMANS 7:7; 3:20
WICKED/NESS—— PSALM 119: 53
RIGHTEOUSNESS—— PSALM 119: 172
ALL BLACK LETTERING IS MINE - Keith Hunt
FROM THE APOSTLES PAUL AND JOHN
FROM THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE
ROMANS 6 AND 7
Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God
WHAT SHALL we say [to all this]? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God's gift of] grace may increase and overflow?
2 Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer?
3 Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways].
5 For if we have become one with Him [permanently united] in the likeness of His death, we will also certainly be [one with Him and share fully] in the likeness of His resurrection.
6 We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.
7 For the person who has died [with Christ] has been freed from [the power of] sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live [together] with Him,
9 because we know [the self-evident truth] that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner's debt] once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to [glorify] God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].
11 Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin [and your relationship to it broken], but alive to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts and passions.
13 Do not go on offering members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. But offer yourselves to God [in a decisive act] as those alive [raised] from the dead [to a new life], and your members [all of your
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6:1 Grace justifies believers, making them free of the guilt of sin, blameless, so that they may have eternal life. 6:3 "Baptize" is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, which means to submerge an object into liquid. In this passage Christ becomes the liquid, metaphorically, and those who are baptized into Him remain in Him forever and benefit from His experiences, including His death. The best news is that Jesus was resurrected, so believers will also experience resurrection (those who are alive when Christ returns will experience a physical transformation—[1 Cor. 15; 1 Thes. 4:13-18— Keith Hunt]). But even now believers experience a kind of resurrection in that they live new lives (as Paul says, "walk in newness of life") in a wonderful new relationship with God and their fellow believers. 6:6 Gr anthropos, i.e. man, person.
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abilities—sanctified, set apart] as instruments of righteousness [yielded] to God.
14 For sin will no longer be a master over you, since you are not under Law [as slaves], but under [unmerited] grace [as recipients of God's favor and mercy].
15 What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under [God's] grace? Certainly not!
l6 Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)?
17 But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.
18 And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God's will and purpose].
19 I am speaking in [familiar] human terms because of your natural limitations [your spiritual immaturity]. For just as you presented your bodily members as slaves to impurity and to [moral] lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now offer your members [your abilities, your talents] as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification [that is, being set apart for God's purpose].
20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [you had no desire to conform to God's will].
21 So what benefit did you get at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? [None!] For the outcome of those things is death!
22 But now since you have been set free from sin and have become [willing] slaves to God, you have your benefit, resulting in sanctification [being made holy and set apart for God's purpose], and the outcome [of this] is eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Believers United to Christ
DO you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction [to rule] over a person as long as he lives?
2 For the married woman [as an example] is bound and remains bound by law to her husband while he lives; but if her husband dies, she is released and exempt from the law concerning her husband. Accordingly, she will be designated as an adulteress if she unites herself to another man while her husband
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6:19 There are three basic kinds of sanctification in the NT: (1) Positional sanctification is based on the death of Christ. Every believer is a saint and is holy before God. The believer is "set apart for God" and in some instances "set apart for God's purpose" (Heb 10:10,14,29); (2) Practical sanctification is a progressive process and means "growing in righteous living" as the believer matures spiritually (Rom 6:13; 1 Thess 5:23; 1 Pet 1:16); (3) Ultimate sanctification is that which is to come when the believer stands before God (Eph 5:26,27). 7:1 Litbrethren. 7:3 Lit becomes another man's, probably referring to an illicit, sexual relationship. Paul uses the same language at the end of the verse, but there he probably means sexual intimacy within a new marriage.
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is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law [regarding marriage], so that she is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
4 Therefore, my fellow believers, you too died to the Law through the [crucified] body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
5 When we were living in the flesh [trapped by sin], the sinful passions, which were awakened by [that which] the Law [identifies as sin], were at work in our body to bear fruit for death [since the willingness to sin led to death and separation from God].
6 But now we have been released from the Law and its penalty, having died [through Christ] to that by which we were held captive, so that we serve [God] in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter [of the Law].
7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, if it had not been for the Law, I would not have recognized sin. For I would not have known [for example] about coveting [what belongs to another, and would have had no sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, "You SHALL not COVET." [Ex 20:17; Deut 5:21]
8 But sin, finding an opportunity through the commandment [to express itself] produced in me every kind of coveting and selfish desire. For without the Law sin is dead [the recognition of sin is inactive].
9 I was once alive without [knowledge of] the Law; but when the commandment came [and I understood its meaning], sin became alive and I died [since the Law sentenced me to death]. [Ps 73:22]
10 And the very commandment which was intended to bring life, actually proved to bring death for me. [Lev 18:5]
11For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, beguiled and completely deceived me, and using it as a weapon killed me [separating me from God].
12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13 Did that which is good [the Law], then become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, in order that it might be revealed as sin, was producing death in me by [using] this good thing [as a weapon], so that through the commandment sin would become exceedingly sinful.
The Conflict of Two Natures
14 We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am a creature of the flesh [worldly, self-reliant—carnal and un-spiritual], sold into slavery to sin [and serving under its control].
15 For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled and bewildered by them]. I do not practice what I want to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate [and yielding to my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity].
16 Now if I habitually do what I do not want to do, [that means] I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good (morally excellent).
17 So now [if that is the case, then] it is no longer I who do it [the disobedient thing which I despise], but the sin [nature] which lives in me.
7:4 Lit brethren. 7:11 Lit through it killed me.
18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. For the willingness [to do good] is present in me, but the doing of good is not.
19 For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want to do, I am no longer the one doing it [that is, it is not me that acts], but the sin [nature] which lives in me.
21 So I find it to be the law [of my inner self], that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22 For I joyfully delight in the law of God in my inner self [with my new nature], [Ps 1:2]
23 but I see a different law and rule of action in the members of my body [in its appetites and desires], waging war against the law of my mind and subduing me and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is within my members.
24 Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] set me free from this body of death [this corrupt, mortal existence]?
25 Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness, my sinful capacity—I serve] the law of sin.
THE FIRST LETTER OF
JOHN - chapter 1 into 2
Introduction, The Incarnate Word
[I AM writing about] what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life [the One who existed even before the beginning of the world, Christ]— [John chapter one - Keith Hunt]
2 and the Life [an aspect of His being] was manifested, and we have seen [it as eyewitnesses] and testify and declare to you [the Life], the eternal Life who was [already existing] with the Father and was [actually] made visible to us [His followers]—
3 what we have seen and heard we also proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship [as partners] with us. And indeed our fellowship [which is a distinguishing mark of born-again [begotten again - Keith Hunt] believers] is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
4 We are writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be made complete [by having you share in the joy of salvation].
God Is Light
5 This is the message [of God's promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].
8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.]
9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].
10 If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.
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1:1 John the Apostle wrote the Gospel of John, this letter along with two others, and the book of Revelation. He and his brother James (also an apostle) were the sons of Zebedee and Salome.
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Christ Is Our Advocate
MY LITTLE children (believers, dear ones), I am writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God's law. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father's will in every way—purpose, thought, and action].
2 And He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins [the atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us because of our sinful nature—our worldliness, our lifestyle]; and not for ours alone, but also for [the sins of all believers throughout] the whole world.
3 And this is how we know [daily, by experience] that we have come to know Him [to understand Him and be more deeply acquainted with Him]: if we habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings).
4 Whoever says, "I have come to know Him," but does not habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings), is a liar, and the truth [of the divine word] is not in him.
5 But whoever habitually keeps His word and obeys His precepts [and treasures His message in its entirety], in him the love of God has truly been perfected [it is completed and has reached maturity]. By this we know [for certain] that we are in Him:
Whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.
7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message which you have heard [before from us]. [John 13:34,35]
3 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true and realized in Christ and in you, because the darkness [of moral blindness] is clearing away and the true Light [the revelation of God in Christ] is already shining.
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THERE IT IS—— PRETTY SIMPLE LANGUAGE CONCERNING HOW WE WERE BEFORE REPENTANCE AND ACCEPTING CHRIST JESUS AS OUR PERSONAL SAVIOR; AND HOW WE ARE TO SET OUR MIND-SET, AS TO THE WAY OF LIFE WE SHOULD NOW BE LIVING.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE HOLY, JUST, AND GOOD; THEY DO SHOW US WHAT SIN IS; WE ARE DELIVERED FROM THE DEATH PENALTY THEY PRODUCE BY SHOWING US WHAT SIN IS; WE ARE DELIVERED FROM DEATH BY AND THROUGH THE DEATH AND SHED BLOOD OF CHRIST, WHO DIED FOR ALL SINNERS; WE THEN COME UP FROM THE WATERS OF BAPTISM TO SERVE AND LIVE THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD; THE WAY OF LIFE THAT THE FATHER AND JESUS WANT US TO LIVE.
YES THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD ARE WONDERFUL; AND THAT INCLUDES THE 4TH ONE.
IF THE WHOLE WORLD WAS WILLING TO OBEY THEM, WE WOULD HAVE A WORLD TRANSFORMED TO THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD; IT WOULD BE LIKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DAY [LIGHT] AND NIGHT [DARKNESS].
IN THE AGE TO COME, WHEN JESUS HAS RETURNED TO THIS EARTH TO SET UP THE KINGDOM OF GOD, ALL NATIONS WILL OBEY AND FOLLOW THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, AND WHAT A WONDERFUL, BLESSED, HAPPY, PROSPEROUS, JOYFUL, WORLD IT WILL BE.
WE CONTINUE TO PRAY “THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
Keith Hunt
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