RACE ISSUE IN AMERICA--- SAD BUT THERE'S ANSWERS!

From  The Economist - July 11 - 2020/**””■*

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WASHINGTON, DC

Black Americans have made too little progress since the 1960s. Realistic policies to speed things up exist

“If something isn't done, and done in a hurry, to bring the coloured peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed," Martin Luther King Jr told striking workers the day before he was shot dead in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1968 black Americans had only just realized formal legal equality after two centuries of slavery and one of Jim Crow, indentured servitude, lynchings and enforced residential segregation. They had been deliberately excluded from economic supports such as Social Security, mortgage guarantees and subsidized college for veterans. As a result, black American households earned around 60% of what white households did, and the typical black family had less than 10% of the assets of a typical white family.

The past half century has seen visible progress. The ceiling white society once imposed on black opportunity and ambition has started to lift. Barack Obama became president. Yet systemic prejudice persists. Unarmed citizens killed by American police forces are disproportionately black. That most brutal of injustices explains much of the power, the extent and the focus of the protests spurred by the killing of George Floyd, protests that have drawn a level of attention to race relations unseen since the 1970s.

The criminal-justice system is a baleful presence in black lives. The incarceration rate for black men and women more than tripled from 1960 to 2010. One in three African-American men born in 2001 can expect to be imprisoned at some point in his life, compared with one in 17 white boys. The sons of black families in the top 1% of America's income distribution are as likely to go to prison as white sons from the bottom third. If today's protests achieve real reform in the criminal-justice system, it will be welcome.

But those are not the only reforms needed to put right the hurt and neglect Dr King spoke of. The economic disadvantage that black America labours under is, in many ways, as stark now as it was 50 years ago. The household income gap is the same as it was in 1968. So is the wealth gap. Crime and the criminal justice system are part of that story of stagnation, as is persistent, if lessened, racism. Changes in individual behaviour and in the economy at large have also played a role. The most important factor is the degree to which the concentrated poverty in largely segregated black communities shuts their members off from opportunity.

"We got rid of 'whites only' signs and legal segregation is no longer possible. But why are we at this moment? There's a lot of things that didn't change and probably won't change with only focus on police brutality and reforming the police," says Clayborne Carson, a historian at Stanford who edited Dr King's letters and papers. "Yes, that should be done. But don't expect that to have any impact on the race problem. It's the tip of the iceberg. You can have polite police—that would be wonderful. You can have social workers. But unless people have the ability to basically change the opportunity structure, the changes are not going to be apparent."

Children who grow up poor—as 32% of African-American children do, a rate nearly three times that of white children—all tend to do badly by various measures. But children who do so in communities where over 20% of the population is poor do very badly indeed. Whatever their race, such children face increased risks of dropping out of school, getting pregnant while still teenagers, being incarcerated, experiencing poverty in adulthood and dying early.

And for black children in America, as for Native American children, concentrated poverty has been the norm. Only 6% of white children born between 1985 and 2000 Spent part of their childhood in neighbourhoods with at least a 20% poverty rate. For black children the figure was 66%, according to Patrick Sharkey, a sociologist at Princeton; experience of such neighbourhoods was normal for middle-class black families. Today's generation is in a similar position. 26% of black children currently live in neighbourhoods where the poverty rate is higher than 30%. Only 4% of white children do.

Jammed in

Poor neighbourhoods impose environmental costs, as well as social ones. Black families are 70% likelier than the rest of the population to live in substandard housing, and black children are nearly three times as likely to have high levels of lead in their blood, which stunts intelligence and leads to greater violence in adulthood. Compared with white children they are almost one and a half times as likely to have asthma—and five times likelier to die from it. Greater exposure to fine particulate matter—the sort of pollution which most damages lungs—and delays in treatment brought on by a lack of good health insurance may explain why Covid-19 now seems to be killing African-Americans at twice the rate of it does white Americans.

This concentrated poverty is the legacy of enforced segregation. When, in the Great Migration of the early and mid 20th century, millions of African-Americans moved to the cities of the north, a mixture of law and prejudice required that they live in neighbourhoods that became almost exclusively black. In 1970 American cities were almost completely segregated, in that 93% of black residents would have needed to move to ensure complete integration. At the time of the most recent census, in 2010, this number was 70%, an improvement that is hardly worth cheering.

Zoning rules which keep the cost of housing high by restricting supply make it very hard for poor black families to move to better neighbourhoods. As income inequality has risen, well-to-do families have bid up the price of homes near good schools, further concentrating poverty. Public-housing programmes, which could break up these patterns, do little. Continuing discrimination makes matters worse. A recent investigation into rentals in Boston showed that in situations where a white applicant secured a viewing 80% of the time a black applicant with identical financial credentials would get a viewing just 48% of the time.

In the absence of integrated neighbourhoods, it might be possible at least to try to integrate education—a cornerstone of the civil-rights movement since racial segregation in schools was deemed unconstitutional in 1954. Attempts to reduce school segregation by busing black students into white neighbourhoods began in the 1960s and were extended in the early 1970s. By the mid-1970s, though, such efforts had fizzled in the face of massive resistance from white parents. School segregation has not changed since the 1980s.

[SO  TRUE  INDEED.  I  VISITED  FRIENDS  IN  CHICAGO  IN  THE  EARLY  1980s,  AND  SAW  HOW  SEGREGATED  THE  CITY  WAS—— THE  BLACK  AREAS  AND  THE  WHITE  AREAS.  GOING  DOWN  TOWN  AND  ALONG  THE  LAKE  FRONT,  NO  SIGNS  SAYING  “BLACK  BEACH”  “WHITE  BEACH”— BUT  IT  WAS;  ONE  BEACH  98%  BLACK  THERE,  AND  ANOTHER  BEACH  98%  WHITES.  WE  DECIDED  TO  GO  TO  THE  DOWN  TOWN  “MACDONALDS” —— THE  SERVERS  WERE  ALL  BLACK;  THE  FEW  PEOPLE  IN  THERE  WERE  ALL  BLACK,  WE  WERE  THE  ONLY  WHITES,  AND  FROM  THE  SHOCKED  LOOK  ON  THE  FACES  OF  THE  STAFF,  WE  COULD  TELL  IT  WAS  “YOU  WHITES  DON’T  YOU  KNOW  THIS  IS  A  BLACK  MACDONALDS”—— WE  DID  NOT  FEEL  AT  ALL  THREATENED,  JUST  KINDA  LIKE  “THIS  IS  VERY  VERY  ODD  TO  SEE  WHITES  IN  HERE.”  Keith Hunt]   

Rucker Johnson, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, studied the outcomes of black children who attended integrated schools during the peak of efforts to end educational segregation. He found they had enormous effects on adult life. Integrated schooling increased wages by 30% and reduced the chance of incarceration by 22 percentage points. Other studies estimate a 68% increase in the chance of attending a four-year college. "There's nothing magic about sitting next to white children," says Francis Pearman, a professor of education at Stanford. "But one thing that's consistent in the history of American schooling is that resources follow white children."

The racial achievement gap on test scores between black and white students has narrowed in the past four decades, but remains at roughly two to four years of learning. Mr Pearman's research has documented that poor neighbourhoods adversely affect students' maths scores even if their schools are good. Black students who get to college are less likely than others to complete their courses; black men have an especially poor chance of making it to graduation. In 2016 only 29% of black adults above the age of 25 had an associate degree or higher, compared with 44% of white adults. At a time when the premium that a degree adds to lifetime earnings has increased a lot, this disparity is a big economic disadvantage.

There are aspects of black American private life that exacerbate these gaps. Well-intentioned, left-leaning commentators in America shy away from discussing the role that the increasingly unstable families play in passing black disadvantage down the generations. Seven in 10 African-American babies are born out of wedlock; their parents are overwhelmingly likely to have broken up five years after birth. Those rates are significantly higher than for other ethnic groups, even after controlling for education and income.

Spreading out

The rate of joblessness and the number of out-of-wedlock births in black communities both increased after the 1960s, notes William Julius Wilson, a sociologist at Harvard. The ravages urban deindustrialisation and mass incarceration inflicted on black men permanently reduced the pool of eligible partners for black women, he argues. Kathryn Edin, of Princeton, and Maria Kefalas, of St Joseph's University in Philadelphia, two sociologists, note the sense of self-worth poor women with little social capital get from early child-rearing, whether in the presence of a father or not.

Behaviour, policy, present-day discrimination and the unfair initial conditions seeded by centuries of historical discrimination are tied together in a complicated knot of pathology. Some of the tangled factors—persistent racism, or family breakdown—make it easy to develop a narrative which apportions blame. Looking at it in the whole, though, the threads which will yield the most if tugged at are fairly obvious. The priorities are segregation, education and childhood poverty.

Addressing segregation is paramount. Most of the other problems—exposure to violence, a paucity of public services, segregated schooling and the persistence of stereotyping—can be traced back to it. The most obvious starting-point is stripping away the zoning rules that ban apartments in high-cost cities. They deny opportunity to poor families of all colours even as they drag down economic productivity.

Rental assistance from the federal government could help more than it does. Currently it is, quite literally, a lottery. Winners get most of their housing costs paid for; losers whose claim may be equally sound— and who outnumber the winners three to one—get nothing at all. And most of the poor households lucky enough to receive subsidized housing still live in places of concentrated poverty; the typical recipient lives in an area with a poverty rate of 26.3%.

A promising randomized experiment in Seattle recently showed how this might be changed, at least in some cases. A modest amount of help in terms of finding properties and dealing with prospective landlords increased the share of families with rental vouchers living in high-opportunity areas (those with a history of greater upwards mobility for children born into poverty) from 15% to 53%.

Obviously not everyone can move to the most promising places. But the Seattle experiment strongly suggests that today's government spending could get better results, thus strengthening the case for more tomorrow. Abolishing the mortgage-interest tax deduction, which subsidies the home-buying of the already wealthy and well-capitalized, would allow the federal government to double the size of its housing-assistance programmes for the poor.

Increasing integration of neighbourhoods will in time produce more integrated schools. Until that happens, however, there are more immediate solutions to present-day educational disparities. Higher spending helps performance. An influential study by Kirabo Jackson, Rucker Johnson and Claudia Persico, three economists, found that boosting schools' spending per pupil by 10% reduced poor children's chances of poverty in adulthood by 6.8 percentage points.

Schools in poor neighbourhoods need particularly good teachers. But the schools that require the greatest talent often receive the most inexperienced instructors, in part because there is little financial encouragement for the best to work in them. Care in recruitment and the pairing of new instructors with experienced ones goes some way to explaining why charter schools often deliver enormous educational returns for poor black and brown children stuck in otherwise-failing urban schools. For all that teachers' unions and many on the left dislike them, charter schools that prove to be engines of opportunity should be expanded. Those that do not should have their charters revoked.

Keeping students in college is also an area where a little money can do a lot if applied with good sense. In New York a systern that gives students access to an adviser, subway tickets and modest cash grants has been shown to double graduation rates from community college, and to have particularly beneficial effects on black and Hispanic students.

Investing early

Then there is child poverty. Expanding the earned-income tax credit (eitc), which tops up the wages of working low-income adults, and a universal child tax credit could drastically reduce child poverty— and reduce the tremendous costs to be incurred decades from now in lower tax revenues and higher expenses on incarceration, homelessness services and health care. A programme combining a $2,700 annual child allowance and a 40% expansion of the eitc would reduce child poverty by half, and cost $110bn a year, according to a report by the National Academies. Canada's implementation of a similar programme in 2016 took just two years to reduce child poverty by a third.

A more radical idea is that all children should get government-funded trust accounts—"baby bonds"—with the funding for children born into poverty more generous than for the rest. A scheme in which the bonds were worth $50,000 by the time a child born into poverty turned 18 would reduce the wealth disparity between young white and black Americans from 16:1 to 1.4:1 even if it were strictly race neutral, according to calculations by Naomi Zewde of the City University of New York.

This proposal has a price tag close of about $80bn a year. This means that enacting a child tax credit, eitc expansion and baby-bond programme would still cost less than the $207bn the government will forgo this year by taxing dividends and long-term capital gains at lower levels than income. The idea of paying reparations to the descendants of slaves—a bill that might cost upwards of $4trn to settle—would be much costlier. Nor are they obvious cause for a white backlash, since unlike reparations—or, for that matter, affirmative-action policies at universities and elsewhere—they would be based purely on economic criteria, not racial ones.

Unfortunately, the fact that the benefits of such programmes would accrue disproportionately to African-Americans might make it hard to build broad political support. Safety-net programmes such as cash welfare or the expansion of health coverage for the poor, part of Mr Obama's health-care reform, have been unpopular with some white Americans. That could make it politically expedient to concentrate on universal programmes. Social Security, which provides pensions, and Medicare, which provides health insurance for the elderly, have become close to politically untouchable in part because they are universal. Child tax allowances and baby bonds might aspire to similar standing.

"My parents literally had to get a white couple to pose as us in order to buy a home in an affluent area of suburban New Jersey with great public schools," remembers Cory Booker, now a senator from that state. As well as promoting a bipartisan bill on criminal-justice reform, Mr Booker has also pushed a programme to remove lead pipes in schools; baby bonds formed a major plank in his run for the Democratic nomination.

"[Dr King] eloquently said that we have to repent in our day and age, not just for the vitriolic words and violent actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence and inaction of the good people," Mr Booker says. "Well, I fear that we will have to repent in our generation, if more of us who are good people—and that is the overwhelming majority of Americans—let another generation go by where we don't correct these persistent injustices." ■

WELL  THERE  YOU  HAVE  IT!  THE  SAD  FACTS  EVEN  IN  2020.

BUT  THERE  ARE  ANSWERS  AS  YOU  HAVE  SEEN.

IT  IS  GOING  TO  TAKE  A  HUGE,  HUGE  EFFORT  ON  THE  PART  OF  LOCAL  AND  STATE  AND  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENTS,  TO  BRING  ABOUT  THE  CHANGES  NEEDED  TO  PUT  THE  RACE  ISSUE  TO  BED,  AND  TO  SLEEP,  LIKE  IT  WAS  NEVER  THERE  IN  THE  FIRST  PLACE.

BUT  THE  FIRST  PLACE  IS  SADLY  STILL  THE  PRESENT  PLACE  OF  THE  LATE  1960s.

MARTIN  LUTHER  KING  “I  HAVE  A  DREAM”  HAS  ONLY  BECOME  A  REALITY  IN  A  RELATIVELY  SMALL  WAY,  SINCE  THAT  FAMOUS  SPEECH  WAS  GIVEN  50  YEARS  AGO.

WILL  THERE  BE  TIME  LEFT  IN  THIS  AGE  TO  BRING  ABOUT  KING’S  DREAM?

ONLY  GOD  IN  HEAVEN  KNOWS  THE  ANSWER  TO  THAT.

WITH  THIS  COVID19  VIRUS  CRAWLING  AROUND,  IT  WOULD  SEEM  KING’S  “I  HAVE  A  DREAM”  WILL  STILL  BE  A  DREAM  FOR  SOME  TIME  YET.

Keith Hunt

LOOK OUT--- HERE COMES CHINA!!!

From  The Economist - June 27 - 2020

Chinese manufacturing

The world's factory

SHANGHAI

Meet the planet's most prodigious exporters. They have some new tricks

Normally 200,000 buyers, hailing from just about every country, would have flacked to the Canton Fair, the world's biggest trade show. This year, because of the pandemic, it was conducted entirely online, running for ten days and ending on June 24th. Although no substitute for meetings in the flesh, the virtual fair was testament to China's manufacturing muscle. Some 25,000 exhibitors hosted live-streams, often from their factories, chatting to anyone interested in their products.

Among them Wen Li, a young product manager, demonstrated Z-Green's self-propelled lawnmowers, to the background clang of the shop floor. Sherry, a manager with My Dinosaurs, stepped around fake bones as she introduced her company's an-imatronic beasts, pausing to insert a tongue into the gaping mouth of a brachiosaurus. Joy, a saleswoman with pk Cell, sat behind an array of rechargeable lithium batteries, explaining the workings of the firm's 23 automated production lines.

On it went. There were companies making motorbikes and electric cars, coffee machines and milk-frothers, dog toys and hummingbird-feeders. Even if the live-streams were amateurish, in halting English with poor lighting, the overall effect was powerful. Here, the fair proclaimed, is China: home to 28% of the world's manufacturing—nearly as much as America, Japan and Germany combined—and, despite the coronavirus, still going strong.

China has two big advantages as a manufacturing power. 

First, its industrial base has unparalleled depth and has only grown more competitive. In 2005, 26% of the value of China's exports was added abroad; by 2016 that was down to 17%, according to the oecd. In other words, more of the bits and bobs that end up in Chinese gadgets are themselves made in China.

The second advantage is China's own vast market. This is why many American firms want the Trump administration to go only so far in its tussles with China, applying enough pressure to free up space for them, but not so much as to kill their opportunities. By one measure global firms look even more wedded to China, despite the trade war: over the past 18 months the value of foreign mergers and acquisitions in China reached its highest in a decade, reckons Rhodium Group, a research firm.

As is to be expected, the global downturn is hurting Chinese firms. Their exports fell by 8% in the first five months of 2020 compared with a year earlier. Yet they are in better shape than most elsewhere, thanks to the country's success in slowing the virus. China's earlier resumption of industrial activity has allowed exporters to gain market share. In Japan, Chinese goods accounted for a record 30% of imports in May. In Europe, they made up 24% of imports in April, also a record.

Yet this may be the high-water mark. Other countries are only too well aware of China's manufacturing prowess—and that it leaves them vulnerable to critical shortages. That point hit home earlier this year, as they scrambled to buy ventilators and masks from China. From India to Taiwan, governments are offering loans, land and other perks to lure investors.

Such inducements have rarely worked in the past, but they stand a better chance now, for three reasons. First, China's climb up the value chain is squeezing out low-end firms. Many garment-makers have already shifted, in part, to South-East Asia. Second, tensions with America have left companies twitchy. Apple still makes most of its iPhones in China, but has encouraged its suppliers to expand elsewhere. Third, the rolling shutdowns of factories during the pandemic have underscored the danger of being over-exposed to any one country.

Evidence of the shifting tide can be found in surveys of big companies conducted by ubs, a bank. Among its 1,000-plus respondents, 76% of firms from America, 85% from north Asia (eg, Japan and South Korea) and even 60% from China say they have already moved or plan to move some production away from China. Keith Parker of ubs estimates that companies might shift between 20% and 30% of their Chinese manufacturing capacity. That will not happen overnight, but it will chip away at China's dominance in manufacturing.

In the meantime, Chinese businesses retain a well-honed ability to adapt. Take Sowind, a maker of household-cleaning tools—one of the companies at the virtual Canton Fair. It was promoting motion-activated, battery-powered soap dispensers for home use. In a live-stream, Ivy, a young saleswoman, tailored her pitch to the grim viral reality: "You don't need to touch the soap dispenser, so you can avoid cross-infections." Contacted after her broadcast, Ivy said that customers in Europe and America were buying thousands. As for the online migration of the world's biggest trade show, she was upbeat. "It takes time to get used to a new technique, but it's gone better than I had expected." ■

EGYPT - ETHIOPIA - SUDAN.....IN PROPHECY!

From  The  Economist  -  July 4 - 2020

The Nile

Dam bluster

Egypt and Ethiopia must learn to share the world's longest river

Once completed, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be nearly twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty and as wide as the Brooklyn Bridge is long. 

The reservoir behind it is roughly the size of London. Sitting on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile river, the dam is the largest hydro-electric project in Africa. Soon it will produce 6,000 megawatts of electricity, more than double Ethiopia's output today. With a little co-operation between Ethiopia and its downstream neighbours, Egypt and Sudan, the dam could be a boon for the whole region.

Yet so far it has produced only acrimony. Egypt, which depends on the Nile for 90% of its fresh water, sees the dam as an existential threat. Shortly after construction began in 2on, officials in Cairo considered sabotage; a former president even considered bombing it. Last month Ethiopia accused Egypt of sponsoring cyber-attacks to disrupt the project.

In between all the sabre-rattling the three countries have held talks over how fast to fill the reservoir, how much water will be released and how to resolve any future disagreements. So far no deal has been reached. But the latest round comes with a deadline of sorts: Ethiopia says it will begin filling the reservoir behind the dam later this month. Egypt has vowed to use "all means available" to protect its interests. All sides will have to make concessions if conflict is to be avoided.

The biggest lack is trust. Start in Egypt, whose people view the Nile as their birthright. As its population has risen, the water supply per person has fallen. Egypt therefore wants Ethiopia to fill its reservoir slowly and to release enough water so that the river's flow is not disrupted, especially during droughts. Egypt thinks Ethiopia has dragged out the talks to gain bargaining power as construction advances. The dam is now over 70% complete.

Belligerence in Cairo has led to stubbornness in Addis Ababa, where officials are seeking a quick return on their $5bn investment. They think Egypt is stuck in the past, attached to defunct treaties that allowed it to dominate the Nile. Meanwhile, around half of Ethiopians do not have access to electricity. The government hopes the dam will raise Ethiopia out of poverty. So it says it will begin filling the reservoir with or without an agreement. Up for re-election next year and facing serious unrest, Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister, is under pressure to take a hard line.

Sudan, for its part, backs the project, which lies about 20km from its border. It will receive some of the dam's cheap electricity. More predictable water flows could help it grow more food. But it remains concerned that poorly co-ordinated releases of water could overwhelm its own Roseires Dam.

The three sides are said to have reached 90% of a deal. They can agree on what to do when there is enough rain. The dispute is over how to manage the dam when there isn't. Ethiopia feels it is being forced to run its reservoir down too much during periods of drought. It would rather take things year by year and settle any disagreements through negotiations. Egypt and Sudan want commitments now, and prefer binding international arbitration to settle disputes.

In the long term, wiser policies would help. Subsidies have long encouraged Egyptians to waste water on a massive scale. These are being cut, but they should be eliminated. The sides should generate more solar power to meet growing demand and take pressure off the dam. All are sunny, and solar panels cost a fraction of what they did when the dam was conceived.

But right now all three need to strike a deal. Ethiopia should pledge to let more water through during long dry spells. An international arbiter should be brought in to handle future disputes. Egypt could compromise by letting the African Union (au) play that role. Officials in Cairo believe the au favours Ethiopia, where the au has its headquarters, but the group is leading the effort to find a deal that works for everyone. If an agreement can be reached, it will make a welcome change. The world abounds with conflicts over water. The stuff is hard to share. But projects like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam promise a flood of benefits to countries that manage. ■

IS  THIS  DAM  PROJECT  THE  START  OF  SOME  NATIONS  DOWN  THAT  WAY  IN  AFRICA,  THAT  WILL  FORM  A  UNION  OF  NATIONS?

IN  THE  BIBLE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL,  AN  END  TIME  PROPHECY  OF  CHAPTER  11: 40  INTO  CHAPTER  12,  FORETELLS  THE  VERY  END  TIME  OF  THIS  AGE,  ABOUT  THE  LAST  42  MONTHS.

THERE  WILL  YET  ARISE  A  “KING  OF  THE  SOUTH”  LED  BY  EGYPT.

IT  WILL  HAVE  SOME  POWER,  ENOUGH  TO  “PUSH  AT”  IN  SOME  WAY,  THE  “KING  OF  THE  NORTH”—— A  7TH  RESURRECTION  OF  A  EUROPE  HOLY  ROMAN/BABYLON  POWER—— THE  “BEAST”  EMPIRE  OF  EUROPE.

AND  THAT  NORTH  POWER  WILL  BE  THE  WORLD’S  GREATEST  TRADING  POWER.

SHE  WILL  PUSH  BACK  AND  CONQUER  THE  “KING  OF  THE  SOUTH”——-  AND  THEN  MARCH  INTO  THE  HOLY  LAND.

THAT  WILL  SIGNIFY  THE  COMING  OF  THE  LAST  3  AND  1/2  YEARS  OF  THIS  AGE,  AND  THE  MIGHTY,  POWERFUL,  AND  GLORIOUS  RETURN  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  TO  EARTH,  TO  ESTABLISH  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD  OVER  ALL  NATIONS.

Keith Hunt

SAVED BY GRACE -- REPENTANCE - FAITH - BAPTISM

MY  SERVER  FOR  MY  THEOLOGICAL  WEBSITE  IS  DOWN,  AND  HAS  BEEN  FOR  2  MONTHS;  THE  REASON  I  DO  NOT  KNOW,  AND  THEY  HAVE  NOT  MADE  IT  POSSIBLE  FOR  ME  TO  CONTACT  THEM.

I  WILL  THEREFORE  POST  ON  MY  BLOG  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  STUDIES  CONCERNING  THE  SUBJECT  OF  BEING  SAVED  INTO  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD.

SAVED BY GRACE 

      AS SHOCKING AS IT MAY SOUND, NOT ONE IN ONE HUNDRED

        CHRISTIANS UNDERSTAND WHAT BEING SAVED BY GRACE 

         REALLY MEANS. IN THIS ARTICLE THE TRUTH WILL

                        BE MADE PLAIN

                                     

                              by 

                           Keith Hunt

     "For by GRACE are you saved through faith, and not of

yourselves, it is the GIFT of God.." Many will quote this verse

of Eph.2:8 and tell you the law of God has been abolished. 

     But Jesus answered the young man who asked Him how he might

have eternal life, by saying, "IF YOU WILL ENTER INTO LIFE, KEEP

THE COMMANDMENTS" (Mat.19:17). 

     Many say LAW and GRACE do not mix! Is that true? How can we

reconcile what Christ said to the rich young man, and what Paul

wrote to the Ephesians? Was Jesus and Paul of different opinions

as to HOW a person is SAVED?

     The way of Salvation can be understood - your Bible makes it

PLAIN - here then is the truth of HOW YOU can have eternal life.

                      ALL OF GOD'S WORD

     The verse in Eph.2:8 is an inspired part of God's revelation

to man - but so also is Mat.19:17 ! Do you believe what Paul

wrote to the Ephesian church? Do you believe what Jesus said to

the young man? If you believe that the Bible is INSPIRED, your

answer must be a resounding YES!

     Jesus said elsewhere that the scripture cannot be BROKEN -

in other words, there cannot be any CONTRADICTIONS in the word of

God. The verse, "For by grace are you saved" is true - very true.

No one can save themselves by their WORKS. You can work, perform,

DO THINGS for a thousand life times, and still you will never

WORK your way into eternal life. Your WORKS, of themselves, will

NOT save you.

     God's salvation is a gift - it comes by the way of GRACE

through faith. But can God's grace be turned into something He

never intended? Yes indeed! Jude wrote towards the end of the

first century A.D. that, "....when I gave all diligence to write

unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write

unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for

the faith that was ONCE DELIVERED unto the saints(even BEFORE the

end of the first century the way of salvation was being

corrupted)  for there are CERTAIN MEN crept in UNAWARES( they

looked like Christians but were deceivers)....UNGODLY men(not

speaking the truth of God's word ) TURNING (changing, doing

something other than what God intended) the GRACE of God into

LASCIVIOUSNESS(a license to sin)...." verse 3,4.

     God's grace was being ABUSED, twisted, turned into something

other than what God  said it was.

                    SOMETHING YOU CAN EARN!

     Salvation comes as a GIFT - by grace - given to us by the

Father. Our works, our deeds cannot EARN us the right to eternal

life. But there is something we can most definitely EARN - by

what we have performed. 

     Turn to Rom.6:23 and read there what it is we can EARN, "For

the wages(the payment we are rightly due because we've  worked

for it) of SIN is DEATH....."  What we have earned by sinning is

DEATH - that is the eternal death, the SECOND death

(Rev.20:4-~6,14-15), from which there is no resurrection.

     Again the last part of verse 23 says that eternal life is

God's FREE gift - His to give to us - not something we can demand

because we've earned it.

                        WHAT IS SIN ?

     We can earn by sin - DEATH! The next question we should ask

and answer is "what IS sin?" What does God say sin is? Does He

define it for us, or is it left to us to decide what sin is?

     The word of God does define sin for us. The Bible definition

is - never forget this verse - 1 Jn.3:4,  "Whosoever commits SIN

transgresses also the LAW: for sin IS the transgression of the

LAW."

     Now what law is John speaking about? Paul answers, "....I

had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known LUST,

except the law had said, YOU SHALL NOT COVET " (Rom.7:7).

     What law contains the command "you shall not covet"? Why,

the TEN commandment law of EX.20. The marginal reference of many

Bibles will, for verse 7, take you to the Ten Commandments in

Exodus 20.

     James further testifies that if we break only ONE of these

commands of God, we are guilty - we become a transgressor - we

SIN!  "For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in

one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said, do not commit

adultery, also said, do not kill. Now if you commit no adultery,

yet if you kill, you have become a transgressor of the law"

(James 2:10,11).

                       WHO HAS SINNED ?

     Sin then is breaking any one of God's TEN commandments, as

amplified by  Jesus Christ and the entire word of God (see Jesus'

amplification of the law in Mat.5 - 7). Has anyone kept the law of

God completely perfectly - so no sin was incurred? Yes! Speaking

about Jesus Christ, Paul wrote, that He was tempted like we all

are, but He never sinned - not once (Heb.4:15).

     What about the rest of mankind? Are only some sinners while

the rest are not? The Psalmist wrote, "The Lord looked down from

heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that

did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they

are ALL together filthy: there is NONE that does good, no, NOT

0NE" (Ps.14:2,3).

     Paul translates this passage as, "There is NONE righteous,

no not one (righteousness is defined as all God's commandments -

Ps.1l9:172). - there is none that understands, there is none that

seeks after God ..... there is none that does good, no not one"

(Rom.3:10-l2).

     God inspired Paul in verse 23 of this third chapter of

Romans to write, "For AII HAVE SINNED, and come short of the

glory of God." Earlier in this chapter Paul had stated, "...for

we have before proved both Jew and Gentile, that they are ALL

under sin" (verse 9).

     

     All mankind has sinned - the only exception was Jesus

Christ. He only of all humans was without sin. He alone has kept

the law of God completely perfectly - all the rest have broken

that law - have SINNED - have earned the wages of sin - DEATH.

                      CUT OFF FROM GOD

     God is HOLY (1 Pet.1:15,16). He is PERFECT (Mt.5:48).  His

very nature and character  is  that  of  perfection.   GOD the

Father and Christ Jesus are RIGHTEOUS  (1 Jn.3:7) - there is NO

sin in them at all (v.5).

     God's law is PERFECT (Ps. 19:7). His commandments are

RIGHTEOUSNESS (Ps.119:172). God's righteousness is FOREVER

(Ps.111:3). To sin, as we have seen is to BREAK, go against the

very character of God - His perfect HOLY, SPIRITUAL law

(Rom.7:12,l4).

     The Father and Son have never sinned, but the rest of

mankind, all mankind - YOU and I, have sinned - have broken that

perfect and holy law. What has this sinning of ours done to our

relationship with the Father ?

     God answers us through the prophet Isaiah, "Behold, the

Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can not save, neither His

ear heavy, that it can not hear, BUT your INIQUITIES (our sins)

have SEPARATED between you and your God, and your SINS have hid

His face from you, that He will not hear" (Isa.59:1-2).

     Our sins have cut us off from God - we stand condemned to

DEATH, our wicked deeds, our WORK of sin has earned for us the

wages of death. But God the Father is a God OF LOVE (1 Jn.4:8).

Although we deserve to die, He loves us - He wants to SAVE

us from death. The Father, even before the foundation of the

World,  knew mankind would sin, and so He planned HOW man could

be rescued from the penalty of sin - death. God had determined to

save us, not according to OUR WORKS, but according to His own

purpose (plan) and GRACE, which was given us in Christ Jesus

BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN (2 Tim.l:9). God had determined
to buy us back from death through His very own Son - and this plan of

redemption was formulated before the world was founded

(1 Pet.1:19,20). God is so wonderful and merciful that He gave

His only begotten SON, that whosoever believes in Him should NOT

PERISH, but have EVERLASTING LIFE (John .3: 16).

     

     Sin - our sins, have separated us from God - have cut us

off, but there is a way we can be reconciled - the Father has

made a way possible by which our sins can be forgiven, and the

death sentence taken away from us.

                      GOD'S CALL TO MANKIND

     The first step to salvation that we must do is to respond to

the CALL of God, "For the promise (of forgiveness of sins) is unto

you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as

many as the Lord our God shall CALL" (Acts 2:39).  What does God

CALL OUT? Paul tells us, "And the times of this ignorance God

winked at, BUT NOW commands all men everywhere to REPENT" (Acts

17:30). Jesus said, "I tell you....except you REPENT, you shall

all likewise PERISH" ( Luke 1 3:5).

     

     God inspired Isaiah to write, "Seek you the Lord while He

may be found, call upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked

FORSAKE HIS way, and the un- righteous man his thoughts: and let

him RETURN unto the Lord, and He will have MERCY (grace) upon him,

and to our God, for He will abundantly PARDON" (Isa.55:2,7). On

the day of PENTECOST, Peter cried out to the people, "REPENT (be

broken up over being sinners, change your way of life) and be

BAPTIZED  every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, FOR the

REMISSION (the forgiveness) of SINS..."  (Acts 2:38).

     A little later Peter again shouted, "REPENT you therefore,

and be CONVERTED (be charged, be turned into something different)

that (in order that) your SINS may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).

We are sinners - sin has cut us off from God - we are under the

sentence of death. But God says if we REPENT of being sinners -

if we are willing to CHANGE, to be converted to His thoughts and

ways, our sins can be FORGIVEN - blotted out of the book of

death, so to speak.

     

     Listen again to what God calls out to us through the apostle

John, "If we CONFESS our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE

us our sins, and to cleans us from all unrighteousness"  

(1 Jn.l:9).

     Another time, "He that covers his sins shall not prosper:

but whosoever CONFESSES and FORSAKES  them shall have MERCY"

(Prov.28:13) .

     Just as a MURDERER on death row must show by a humble,

contrite, repentant attitude, he is broken up over what he has

done, and never wants to commit that crime again, if he is to

stand any chance of obtaining MERCY or GRACE, so it is with us

before God. We must show God that we have repented of our

transgression of His holy law - that we want to CHANGE our way of

life to conform to His way. Upon manifesting that attitude, God

says He will show us MERCY - our sins will be blotted out -

FORGIVEN.

     And just as the murderer on death row cannot possibly EARN

his forgiveness by his repentant attitude, or anything he can do

after he has murdered, so with us. Our repentance does not,

cannot EARN our forgiveness with God. It is merely a CONDITION

that the Father lays down in order for us to receive His free

pardon of our sins.

     

     When rightly understood, even the ability to come to

repentance is a gift from God. As no one can come to Christ,

accept Him as Savior, UNLESS the Father DRAWS him with His

Spirit. You will see this truth by reading these scriptures: John

6:44,65; 16:13; 2 Tim..2: 24-26.

     We do have our part to do - we must HUMBLE ourselves - have

the proper kind of respectful fear of God (Isa. 66:2) and then

God will look to us - give to us as one of His gifts the ability

to REPENT which in turn leads to the forgiveness of our sins

through faith in Christ Jesus.

                      WHAT IS GOD'S GRACE ?

     It is written, "....the Lord is GRACIOUS...." (Ps. 111:4).

The word  "grace'' can have manifold meanings. The WORLD BOOK

DICTIONARY gives a long passage as to the various meanings of the

word "grace."  But in connection with THEOLOGY they say,

"God's free and UNDESERVED favor to and love for mankind....."

They also state grace is, "MERCY, CLEMENCY, PARDON, FORGIVENESS."

     If someone has done you WRONG and justice would demand they

pay the prescribed penalty for his their wrong actions, but you

have compassion on them and put aside the right to exercise the

justice of the law, you have shown CLEMENCY, you have had MERCY,

you have granted PARDON, you have been GRACIOUS, shown GRACE

to the wrong doer. Grace or mercy is a quality of character that

comes from a person, where he could just as easily demand the

penalty of the law be enforced.

      Being shown grace - being under grace, does not mean you

are in a condition of being free to henceforth live as you

please, and break with  impunity the laws of the land. The

murderer, Being shown grace or forgiveness is not free to just go

out and murder again - of course not!  Why, the law enforcement

agencies have no problem understanding what GRACE is - but some

theologians and professing Christians have a terrible time in

understanding the grace of God.   

     The grace of God is an ATTRIBUTE, quality of CHARACTER  - 

one of the many qualities of God. It is the ability of God to

forgive sin - to blot out the sins of any person - to show mercy

- undeserved favor in not claiming the justice of the law, to be

carried out on that person - which for us would mean eternal

death.

     But as God's law is ETERNAL and stands fast FOREVER

(Ps.111:7,8) and as the penalty or wages for breaking that law is

death, the law must be satisfied. If God could have taken His

magic wand and said, "law be gone, be no more"  then there would

be NO TRANSGRESSION, "for where no law is, there is no

transgression" (Rom.4:15). You cannot get a speeding ticket if

there is no law to tell you that you must not go over a certain

speed. If God's law has at any point in time been "done away" or

"nailed to the cross" then nobody from that time on has sinned -

for sin is the transgression of the law. And so a  savior would

not have been needed.

     The TRUTH is - God's law, has never been abolished, so the

penalty of breaking it must be satisfied - it must be paid.

     

     We  have all sinned - we are under the law’s penalty, which

is death. God says there is a way to get out from under that

death sentence. The first step is to REPENT of sinning - to

repent of breaking the law of God. But the death penalty must he

satisfied. The next step of God's plan now comes into play.

                    HOW WE ARE JUSTIFIED

     A word that is used many times in the Bible, especially in

the New Testament with reference to, and in connection with

salvation, is the word JUSTIFICATION or JUSTIFY. Again to many

this word is nebulous - they don't really understand what it

means. A few minutes spent with a DICTIONARY will clarify its meaning.

     The word means and denotes the act of pronouncing RIGHTEOUS,

acquitting persons of guilt, to clear of blame or guilt. A person

who has been JUSTIFIED has been acquitted or released from the

penalty of his error. It is as if he had never been guilty of

any wrong doing - he stands innocent - FORGIVEN - no penalty

hangs over him.  We have seen that we stand as SINNERS - the law

claims our lives - death is the sentence. That penalty must be

paid - the law is UNMOVEABLE. But God has provided a way by

which we can escape that death penalty.  He planned that His very

own Son would come and die for us, in our place. It is as if the

son of the judge of the land, who is about to enforce the death

sentence on all murderers, came forward and said he would die in

their stead - he would bear the penalty of death, so the law that

was broken could be satisfied and the murderers could be declared

innocent - righteous, forgiven of any crime - JUSTIFIED.

     That is the way it is with God, the judge of the universe,

His Son Jesus Christ, His perfect law, the penalty for breaking

that law, and us the sinners who have transgressed that law and

have incurred the sentence of death. We may have repented, but

the law must be satisfied.

     So Paul wrote, "Being JUSTIFIED (declared righteous -

forgiven) FREELY (not something we can earn, or claim we have a

right to because of some good work we've done) by His

GRACE (undeserved pardon) through the REDEMPTION 

(the buying back or redeeming power) that is in Christ Jesus. 

Whom God hath set forth (it was planned as we've seen before 

the world began) to be a PROPITIATION (an atoning sacrifice) 

through FAITH (believing and trusting the way God said it would be) 

in His blood (His death on the cross) to declare His righteousness 

for the REMISSION (passing over or blotting out) of SINS 

that are PAST (the grace of God does not give us a blanket 

forgiveness of sins we may commit in the future) through the 

forbearance of God" (Rom.3:24-25).

     Again Paul wrote, "For we ourselves also were sometimes

foolish, DISOBEDIENT, deceived, serving different lusts and

pleasures..... But after the kindness and love of God our Savior

towards man appeared. Not by WORKS of righteousness which 

we have done (there's no deed we could possibly do to release us 

from the death penalty) but according to His MERCY He saved 

us (from sure death) which He shed on us abundantly through 

Jesus Christ our Savior. That being JUSTIFIED by His GRACE, 

we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" 

(Titus 3:3-7).

     

     The man about to die for the crime of murder can live

perfectly - he can obey the laws of the land completely - he can

do all manner of GOOD DEEDS - but none of them can erase the

sentence of death hanging over him. He can only escape death by

being shown MERCY or GRACE by the powers that be.

     God has made our justification - our acquittal from guilt

possible through the death of His Son. We must believe - have

faith - trust in God that truly Jesus' death in our stead,

satisfies the law's demand and we are declared sinless -

RIGHTEOUS.

     And as Paul says, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded 

(we cannot boast we did some deed to have to make God forgive us).

By what law? of WORKS? No! but by the law of faith. Therefore we

conclude that a man is JUSTIFIED by faith without the deeds 

of the law" (Rom.3:27,28).

     Paul in writing to the Christians at Rome about Salvation

and Justification, had to combat the Gentle and Jewish doctrine

of justification by WORKS or DEEDS. The Jewish sects believed

that being physically circumcised in the flesh, observing certain

ritualistic ordinances, performing animal sacrifices, and the

like, would get you in right standing with God - that certain

WORKS would justify you. The Gentile religions had similar

beliefs. They held that by punishing the physical body, going

through certain ceremonies, sacrificing animals, they could

please their gods and acquire forgiveness of sins. Paul explains

this was not the way God planned to JUSTIFY mankind from sin.

     

It was not the way of EARNING your forgiveness but a matter

of God Himself through His Son, coming in the form of man, being

made flesh and dying for the sins of the whole world - taking the

death penalty upon Himself, so all mankind could be made free

from the penalty of the law.

     It was a simple matter of how God had planned it and faith

in that promise of His. Faith in the fact Jesus died for us. Upon

our REPENTANCE and acceptance of the death of Christ in our stead

- the acceptance of Him as our PERSONAL Savior, God would forgive

us our sins - would declare us righteous, sinless in His eyes. We

would be JUSTIFIED - and that by GRACE through FAITH.

To be continued (written in 1984)

SAVED BY GRACE #2

                  ONE MAN DIES FOR ALL ?

     It may be asked at this juncture, "How can the death of just

ONE man forgive the sins of millions upon millions of human

beings?"

     What many do not realize is the fact that, the Jesus of the

New Testament was the God of the Old Testament. Jesus was the one

who made the physical universe - who made all the things that are

recorded in the first chapter of Genesis - the one who formed

man and breathed into him the breath of life. The Jesus of the

Gospels was the one who talked to Abraham, who wrestled with

Jacob, who called and delivered Israel out of Egypt.

This same Jesus who died on the cross is the one who wrote with

His finger the 10 commandments to Israel.

     Paul tells us that  God the Father, "Has in these last days

spoken unto us by His Son..... BY WHOM HE MADE THE WORLDS"

(Heb.1:2).  ALSO in Col.1:16 we read, "For by Him(the Son -

Christ - v.13-15) were ALL THINGS created, that are in heaven and

that are in earth, ALL THINGS here created by HIM....." 

Jesus told the Jews that He had seen Abraham - they laughed at

Him( Jn.8: 56-57 ). He said to them, "Truly, I say unto you,

before Abraham was born I was the I AM spoken of in Scripture"

(v.58 paraphrased). See EX.3:13-14.

     Christ existed before all things - He WAS and IS and is to

COME (Rev.1:8). He WAS WITH God and WAS God from the

beginning (Jn.1:1-2,14). He was the second person of the Godhead -

the LOGOS or WORD - the spokesman. Jesus Christ was that

spiritual ROCK that followed the Israelites (1 Cor.10:4).

     Because Jesus was the very God (in the main) we read about

in the Old Testament - the CREATOR of all life - His life is

worth more than all the human lives that have ever existed or

will exist.  That's why His ONE DEATH can forgive all the sins

ever committed by all mankind.

                DOES GRACE AND FAITH MAKE VOID

                           THE LAW ?

     Because no amount of good deeds or WORKS - no amount of

perfect law keeping can earn you God's grace or make up for past

sins - because our sins can only be blotted out by the blood of

Christ - as our justification from a guilty past is through the

death of Jesus - as it is our faith in His sacrifice that

cleanses us from sin - does this FAITH mean we do not have to

OBEY God or serve His holy law?

     Paul was the man God inspired to preach and write so much on

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, let's let him answer our question.

"Do we then make VOID the law through faith?  God FORBID!  

No we ESTABLISH the law" (Rom 3:31).

     Our man on death row for murder, who finds that the son of

the judge has died for him so he need not die, is thankful for

the GRACE and LOVE shown to him. He has FAITH in the sacrifice of

the son - he knows he is now justified. BUT he also knows he

cannot just go out and murder again - he knows the law is still

in force against such a crime. The law that says "you shall not

murder" has not been made void because he was justified freely by

GRACE through the redeeming power of the son.

     As Paul builds up his case for the teaching of justification

by faith, through the death of God's Son Jesus (Rom.4 and 5) and

not by any works that we can perform - a natural question would

arise: "What shall we say then, shall we CONTINUE IN SIN, that

GRACE may ABOUND?" Or as the PHILLIPS translation puts it, 

"Now what is our response to be, shall we SIN to our HEART'S 

CONTENT and see how far we can EXPLOIT the grace of God?" 

(Rom.6:1).

     "If God's grace is so free and wonderful," the question may

be put, "and sin can only be blotted out by undeserved

forgiveness, should we not go out and sin even more, so God can

bestow more and more grace upon us, and so His love and mercy can

be manifested even still more abundantly?"

     What is Paul's answer to such an idea as this? "GOD FORBID!"

or "WHAT A TERRIBLE THOUGHT" (Phillips Trans.). The FAITH 

we have in being forgiven of sin - the GRACE shown to us through the

death of Jesus, does NOT give us the LICENSE or freedom to sin to

our hearts content.

                     THE SAVIOR'S PURPOSE

     At this point we should ask another question: "Did Jesus

come to save us IN our sins, while we continue to live IN sin, or

did He come to save us FROM sin and its penalty?"

     When the angel announced to Joseph that Mary would be the

one to bear the very Son of God, he said, "And she shall bring

forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus (which means

Savior) for He shall SAVE His people FROM their sins "

(Mat.1:21).

     Why was Christ manifested to the world - so the world could

be saved while continuing IN sin? NO! The Greek word "from" in

Mat.1:21 is APO and means "forth from, away from."

      NOTICE 1 JN. 3:5-10, "You know moreover, that Christ became

man to TAKE AWAY sin, and He Himself was free from sin. The man

who lives in Christ does not HABITUALLY sin. The REGULAR sinner

has never seen or known Him. You my children should not let

anyone deceive you. The man who lives a good life is a good man,

as surely as Christ is good. But a man whose life is HABITUALLY

sinful is spiritually a son of the devil, for the devil has been

a sinner from the beginning. Now the Son of God came to the earth

with the express purpose of undoing the devil's work. The man who

is really God's son does not PRACTICE sin, for God's nature is in

him, for good, and such a heredity is incapable of sin. Here we

have a clear indication as to who are the children of God and who

are the children of the devil" (Phillips translation).

      A true child of God - one who has been saved from sin - who

has been JUSTIFIED by GRACE through FAITH - does not CONTINUE 

IN sin. He does not PRACTICE as an HABITUAL way of life, the works

of the devil  -  sin.

     

     The death of Jesus for the remission of sins, was also our

death - He died in our stead - it was as if we had died. The

Christian doctrine of BAPTISM pictures our death and resurrection

in Christ Jesus.

     Paul, writing about NOT LIVING IN SIN a moment longer, now

that GRACE has been shown to us, said, "that all of us who were

baptized into Jesus Christ were, by that very action, sharing in

His death.  If we have, as it were, shared in His death, we shall

also share in His resurrection......And if we were dead men with

Christ we can believe that we shall also be men alive with Him.

He died  because of sin (the breaking of the law) once, He lives

for God forever. IN THE SAME WAY look upon yourselves (converted

justified Christians) as dead to the APPEAL  and  POWER of sin

but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Do not then (today

as baptized forgiven children of God) allow SIN to establish any

power over your mortal bodies in making you give way to its

lusts, but like men rescued from certain death, put yourselves in

God's hands as weapons of good for His own purpose. For  SIN CAN

NEVER (now, today, or tomorrow) be your master - you are no longer

living under the law, but under grace" (Rom.6:3-14 Phillips -

amplification mine).

     Jesus came to save us FROM sin - from its penalty - death,

and from its POWER over us. As we have been given a new lease on

life by His sacrifice in our stead, and as He lives for God -

doing His will, forever - so we too must be instruments in God's

hands for His purpose and will, not the devil's. We are not to

let SIN - the breaking of God's law - be our normal practice. Sin

is not to have power and control over us.

                     NOT UNDER THE LAW ?

     Some have taken verse 14 of Romans chapter 6 to say you are

no longer under OBLIGATION TO OBEY the law of God. But if that

was true then we could break the law at our hearts content, for

sin as we have seen, is the breaking of God's law. If we can sin

as a way of life because we are no longer under obligation to

keep the law, then why did Paul spend so much time before verse

14 in telling the Romans not to let sin (disobedience to the law)

rule their lives. Is Paul CONTRADICTING himself in verse 14? Of

course not!! Ye are now through JUSTIFICATION by GRACE no longer

under the CONDEMNATION of the law - no longer does the law

CONDEMN us to death for violating it. We have been made free from

its penalty by GRACE - undeserved pardon and we are not under the

law as a means of EARNING our justification - trying to perform

good works in order to claim God must justify us from sin.

     All the well know Bible Commentaries have so understood

verse 14. See such Commentators as: MATTHEW HENRY, ADAM CLARK,

ALBERT BARNES, and more modern works like the WYCLIFFE and

ABINGDON Bible Commentaries. 

             GRACE DOES NOT GIVE US LICENSE T0 SIN

     Again I quote from the Phillips translation of Romans 6:15,

"Now what shall we do? Shall we go on sinning because we have no

law to CONDEMN us any more but are living under grace? NEVER!" 

Paul, clearly and plainly did NOT believe that the grace of God

gave us permission to willfully go on PRACTICING sin. Notice what

he said in verses 16-22., from the Phillips with my inserts,

"Just think what it would mean. You (saved Christians)

belong (now, today) to the power which you choose to obey, whether

you choose SIN, whose reward is (still is) DEATH, or God,

obedience to whom means the reward of righteousness( eternal

life)."  Do you see ?  If we saved Christians return again to the

life of habitual sin, we would AGAIN come under the condemnation

of the law - DEATH.

     Let's continue, "Thank God that you, who were at one time

the servants of sin, honestly responded to the impact of Christ's

teaching when you came under its influence. Then released from

the service of sin (being forgiven by Christ's death) you entered

the service of RIGHTEOUSNESS (you repented and said you would walk

in God's commandments - Ps.119:172).  For when you were employed

by sin you owed no duty to righteousness. But now that you are

freed from sin and employed by God, you owe no duty to sin, and

you reap (now, today) the fruit of being made righteous, while at

the END OF THE ROAD is life for evermore."

     

     Being justified by GRACE puts us on the road - the beginning

of the road, of salvation. We are in a SAVED condition yes, but

we have not INHERITED eternal life - we are HEIRS of God, not yet

INheritors (Rom.8:17). At the end of the road is eternal life.

We must walk that road all our lives until our death or Christ's

return, whichever comes first. If we deliberately, willfully -

with clear INTENT, turn from serving God, we come again under

condemnation and the death sentence of sin.

     

     Salvation is a PROCESS! There is no such doctrine taught in

the word of God as "once saved always saved". That doctrine is

FALSE - it is a lie - it has deceived tens of thousands into a

false salvation!

     LISTEN! Will you believe what the word of God plainly says?

"For if we SIN WILLFULLY after we have received the knowledge of

the truth, there remains NO MORE SACRIFICE FOR SINS. But a

certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,

which shall devour the adversaries" ( Heb. 10: 26, 27 ) .

     Jesus our Savior said, "But he that shall ENDURE TO THE END,

the same shall be saved" (Mat.24:13). Again He said, "....He that

OVERCOMES shall not be hurt of the second death. He that

OVERCOMES, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and

I will NOT BLOT HIS NAME OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE:...." 

(Rev.2:11; 3:5). So it is possible for a Christian to have his name blotted

out of the book of life. If he does not endure and to the end he will 

not be saved.

     The apostle James wrote, "BRETHREN, if any of YOU do ERR

from the TRUTH and one CONVERT him; Let him know, that he which

converts the SINNER from the error of his way shall save a soul

from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (James 5:19,20).

     

     It is possible for a Christian to FALL AWAY from the TRUTH

for a time, and be helped back again to conversion by another

Christian? Obviously we have just read that James thought it could 

happen.

     Did the apostle Paul, a man who had experienced the great

MERCY of God, who had been justified - who was in a saved

condition, believe that it was now IMPOSSIBLE for him to "fall

away"? He wrote these words, "Not that I have become perfect yet:

I have NOT YET WON, but I am STILL RUNNING, trying to capture the

prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my

brothers, I am FAR FROM THINKING I have already WON. All I can

say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is

still to come; I am racing for the FINISH, for the prize to which

God calls us upward to receive in Christ Jesus" (Phil.3:12-14,

Jerusalem Bible). 

      Paul knew that he had eternal life in him, because Christ

was in him through the Spirit (1 Jn.5:11-13), but he also knew he

was not yet an INHERITOR of eternal life - that prize was still

ahead of him. So what must he do until he inherited it? Be

careful - and as he said to the Philippians, "....work out your

own salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING" (chap.2:12). Do not get

into a laxidazical attitude in your Christian life. We  must

constantly be putting on the whole armor of God to withstand the

darts of the devil, for he's always going about to see who he can

devour (Eph.6:10-18; 1 Pet.5:8).

     Did Paul believe it was possible for him to FALL WAY from

the grace of God?

"....But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection (he

was enduring and overcoming): lest that by any means, WHEN I HAVE

PREACHED TO OTHERS I MYSELF SHOULD BE A CAST AWAY" 

(1 Cor.9: 24-27, KJV).

     Paul did not believe in or teach any such idea as "once

saved always saved." The GRACE of God gives no one a license to

practice sin. If once we have REPENTED and been JUSTIFIED we

again turn back to be the servants of sin, we shall reap 

what we CAN EARN - death!  "Sin PAYS its servants - the wage is

death. But God GIVES to those who serve Him: His FREE gift is

eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom.6:23 Phillips

trans.).  God will never let us go, but being in God, does not mean 

our free agency has disappeared; we of our selves, our own freedom

of mind, can walk away from God; we are not robots in Christ.

The Father and Christ will not leave us, but we have the freedom to 

leave them; hence we have the verses in the New Testament of the

dire end result if we should leave God and Christ, and live again

practicing sin as a way of life.

           A CHRISTIANS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE LAW OF GOD

     What should be the attitude of a person who has come under

the GRACE of God, towards the law of the Lord? We may well ask:

what was Paul's attitude? What was John's attitude? What was

Peter's? What was James'? What was Jesus' attitude towards the

law of God? Did they think it something terrible - a bondage -

something to SHUN? After Paul had been justified he wrote, 

"Wherefore the Law is HOLY, and the commandment HOLY, and 

JUST, and GOOD..... I DELIGHT in the law of God after the inward man" 
(Rom.7:12,14).

      After James had come under the grace of God, he wrote

concerning the law, "But whoever looks into the PERFECT LAW OF

LIBERTY, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer,

but a DOER of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deeds''

(James 1:25). 

     John clearly tells us how we can KNOW that we KNOW the Lord,

"And HEREBY do we KNOW that we KNOW Him, IF we keep His

COMMANDMENTS. He that says, I know him, and keeps not His

commandments is a LIAR, and the TRUTH is not in him "

(1 Jn.2:3,4).

      Peter, after his conversion, speaking about Christ and sin,

wrote, "For even hereunto were you called; because Christ also

suffered for us, leaving us an EXAMPLE, that you should follow

His steps. WHO DID NO SIN" (1 Pet.2:21). Peter said Jesus never

sinned - never broke the law of God - and that was an example for

us to follow. WE are to have the attitude after being forgiven -

shown grace - of not wanting to sin again.

     

     The longest of all the Psalms - PS.119 - over and over again

extols the wonder and greatness of God's LAW - COMMANDMENTS -

STATUTES - PRECEPTS - and JUDGMENTS. Here is some of what is

written:  "Open you my eyes that I may behold wonderous things

out of your law.... I will delight myself in your commandments,

which I have loved.... O how love I your law, it is my

meditation  all the day.... Rivers of water run down my eyes,

because they keep not your law..... I have longed for your

salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight"

(Ps.119:18,47,97,136,174).

     Jesus said,  "If any man love me, he will keep my words....

he that loves me not, keeps not my sayings: and the word which

you hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me"

(Jn.14:23,24). What was one of the sayings - words - of Jesus 

that came from the Father?  "but if you will ENTER (inherit - 

as the other Gospels translate the Greek) into life,  
KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS" (Mat.19:17).  A Christian - a person 

under the grace of God - will LOVE the law of God and will, 

with his mind and inward attitude DELIGHT in it and want to serve it. 

For in this way we love God, for,  "this is the love of God, that we

KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: and His commandments are not 

grievous" ( 1 Jn.5:3). 

             WILL GRACE BE GIVEN TO JUST ANYONE ?

     Some say GRACE and LAW do not mix - cannot go together. Oh,

really! Now it is only possible to show MERCY or GRACE to someone

when a law has been broken and a penalty incurred. Will God

shower down His mercy upon just anyone, no matter what kind of

rotten, filthy, rebellious attitude they are in? Does God have

the right to lay down certain CONDITIONS to receiving His grace?

If so, what are those conditions?

     The very answer to those questions above, is given in the

very commandments of God that so many seem to hate and preach

against today. Speaking about not making  images to worship, God

says,  "for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the

iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and

forth generation of them that hate me. And  showing MERCY (grace -

forgiveness of sins) unto," NOTICE IT, "unto thousands of them

that LOVE me,"  we have seen already what loving God entails, 

"and KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS" (EX. 20:5,6).

     God does have the right to lay down CONDITIONS for receiving

His GRACE or MERCY. The condition is to love Him and be willing

to KEEP His law.

     Peter in Acts 3:19 put it this way, "REPENT you therefore

and be CONVERTED that your sins may be blotted out."  God will

grant you GRACE - forgiveness - justification - only upon

REPENTANCE - upon your willingness to change your way of serving

sin to the way of serving righteousness - His COMMANDMENTS (see

Isa. 55:6-9 and Ps.119:172).

     NOTICE Ps.103:17-18,  "But the MERCY (grace) of God is from

everlasting to everlasting upon,"  who, upon just anyone?   "upon

them that FEAR Him...." (read Isa.66:2 for an amplification of

Godly fear),  "to such as KEEP HIS COVENANT," (read about the new

covenant WE must enter into with God in Heb.10:1-17)  "and to

those that REMEMBER His COMMANDMENTS to DO them."

     As we have already shown and proved, the keeping of the

commandments - the law - cannot EARN you forgiveness - the grace

of God. That is God's free GIFT, something He gives to you, that

you do not deserve. You deserve only to die. But God will have

mercy upon you IF you meet certain CONDITIONS.  In Ps. 103 those

conditions are listed as:

1) A Godly fear.  2) A willingness to enter His covenant.  3) To

remember His law to keep it.

     Now, understanding that God does lay down conditions for His

grace and what those conditions are, shows us WHY Paul wrote,

"For not the HEARERS of the law (those only that hear but will

not perform) are JUST (forgiven) before God, but the DOERS of the

law (those who have repented of sin and are willing to serve the

law of God) SHALL BE JUSTIFIED" (Rom.2;13).

     Performing the law does not justify you, but only those who

are willing to keep it, will be justified or forgiven by God.

     Coming to have the attitude - purpose of mind - that you are

willing to obey the law is a CONDITION to receiving GRACE through

FAITH. That is why James wrote:

"What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to

have faith if he has not (good) works (to show for it)?

Can (such)faith save (his soul)? If a brother or sister is poorly

clad and lacks food for each day, and one of you says to him,

Goodbye! Keep (yourself) warm and well fed, without giving him the

necessities for the body, what good does that do? So also faith

if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back

it up), by its self is destitute of power - inoperative, dead.

But someone will say (to you then), You (say you) have faith and I

have (good) works. Now you show me your (alleged) faith apart

from any (good) works (if you can), and I by (good) works (of

obedience) will show you my faith. You believe that God is one,

you do well. So do the demons believe, and shudder (in terror and

horror such as makes a man's hair stand on end and contract the

surface of his skin)! Are you willing to be shown (proof), you

foolish, unproductive,  spiritually-deficient fellow, that faith,

apart from (good) works is inactive and ineffective and

worthless? Was not our forefather Abraham (shown to be)

justified - made acceptable to God - by (his) works when he

brought to the altar as an offering his (own) son Isaac?

(Gen.22:1-14). You see that (his) faith was co-operating with his

works, and this faith was complete, and reached its supreme

expression (when he implemented it) by (good) works. And so the

Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed - adhered

to, trusted in and relied on - God, and this was accounted to him

as righteousness (as conformity to God's will in thought and

deed), and he was called God's friend. (Gen.15:6; Isa.41:8; 2

Chron.20:7). You see that a man is justified (pronounced righteous 

before God) through what he does and not alone through faith - 

through works of obedience as well as by what he believes. 

For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith

apart from (its) works of obedience is also dead" (James 2:14-26,

The Amplified Bible). 

     The MURDERER who is shown MERCY - grace - on condition that

he does not murder again, can be pardoned from his crime if he

accepts that condition and is willing to live in compliance with

the law.

     

     So likewise - God will be gracious to us on CONDITION that

we no longer practice as a way of life - sin (the breaking of

God's law).

     Now do you see why Jesus said to the rich young man, 

"....IF you will enter (inherit) into life KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS."

     God will only show GRACE (by which you are saved) to those

who REMEMBER His COMMANDMENTS to DO them (Ps.103:17-18).

To be continued(written 1984)         

SAVED BY GRACE #3

  AS SHOCKING AS IT MAY SOUND, NOT ONE IN ONE HUNDRED

    CHRISTIANS UNDERSTAND WHAT BEING SAVED BY GRACE 

      REALLY MEANS. IN THIS ARTICLE THE TRUTH WILL

                    BE MADE PLAIN

                      Part Three

                          by 

                       Keith Hunt

          

     

      IS IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR A CHRISTIAN TO SIN ? 

     God's grace towards a repentant sinner does not END with

that persons initial justification, as we shall now proceed to

prove.

     

     A person has REPENTED - he has confessed to God he is a

sinner - he's cried out to God for mercy. He sees that God has

made a way possible for him/her to be forgiven and have the

penalty of death removed. They see that Jesus Christ came and

paid that penalty for them - they accept Jesus as their PERSONAL

savior and are baptized. Their sins are now completely washed

away - they stand RECONCILED to God - sinless - absolutely

RIGHTEOUS in God's sight. Now from that day on, is it IMPOSSIBLE

for him/her to ever commit a sin ? They do not WANT to sin -

their whole attitude is to NOT sin - they want to serve and obey

God's commandments, but is it POSSIBLE under temptation and human

weakness of the flesh, to slip up and sin?

     

     Turn to 1 Jn.1:8. This verse plainly says, "If WE (converted

Christians) say that we HAVE NO SIN, we DECEIVE ourselves,  and

the truth is not in us."

     Spirit led, humble children of God, ones who desire to live

the way of God's love, which is His commandments - DO AT TIMES

SIN! If any say they do not, God's  word says they are deceived.

     

     Read the 7th chapter of Romans, and see how Paul explained

the battle that went on between his old sin lusting nature and

his now Spirit filled mind. He did not want to sin - he loved and

wanted to keep God law, but he found himself at times falling

short of that perfectness of God. He had to CRY OUT to God for

HELP and MERCY!

               HOW A CHRISTIAN IS FORGIVEN

     So a baptized - converted - Spirit filled Christian, can and

DOES SIN at times. The law has not been abolish as we have

previously proved - the wages of sin is still death. How then can

a Christian be FORGIVEN (be shown grace) of his sins this time?

Can he be forgiven by DOING some good work or deed? Can he go

about to EARN forgiveness? Does God add up all his good works and

law keeping and use them to cancel out his evil deeds? If that is the

case, then he would indeed be EARNING his way to eternal life and

salvation, and Eph. 2:8 would not be true.

     God does not leave us in any doubt as to HOW we as

Christians walking along the salvation road, can obtain

FORGIVENESS of sins that we may through weakness commit.

     Turn again to 1 Jn.1. We have read verse 8 which says we do

sin, now read verse 9, "If we CONFESS our sins, He is faithful

and just to FORGIVE us our sins, and to CLEANSE US from all

unrighteousness." We again turn to God in a REPENTANT attitude

- we confess to Him we have sinned. He sees our heart. He knows

we do not want to sin, that we desire to obey Him, to serve and

keep His law - He WILL FORGIVE US!  God will again show us grace,

because are still wanting to live within His law and the

conditions He set down for us to qualify for His constant grace

over us.

     Look at chapter 2 of 1 John and verses 1-2,  "My little

children, these things I write unto you, that YOU SIN NOT."  Yes,

our aim - our direction of mind is not to sin,  "And (but) if any

man (does) sin, we have an ADVOCATE (an intercessor) with the

Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Jesus is in heaven pleading

on our behalf before the Father.

     Continue, "And He is the PROPITIATION (the atoning sacrifice)

for OUR SINS" Yes - Jesus was RAISED AGAIN from the dead - raised

for our CONTINUAL justification (Rom.4:25). We are not only

justified (forgiven of our past sins by the blood of Jesus, by

His death - Rom.4:23-26) to RECONCILIATION with the Father by

Christ, but He was raised again for our present day to day

justification or forgiveness. He was raised to life so He could

intercede for us.

      Upon our present repentance and confession of sin, God the

Father will accept the work Jesus is doing for us while in heaven

above seated at the right hand of the Almighty. The Father will

again and again (constantly) apply the BLOOD and SACRIFICE of His

Son to us and cleanse us from our iniquities. 

     Turn to Hebrews the 4th chapter, verses 14-16. Read those

wonderful words of truth. Jesus Christ is our HIGH PRIEST in

heaven above. He is speaking on our behalf to the Father. He

knows what it is like to be human. As a human He was tempted to

sin, but He did not sin, not once. Jesus really knows and

understands the battle we face in overcoming sin. We can come to

the throne of GRACE when we do sin and ask for mercy.  We shall

obtain it.

     Now do you see the WONDER of all the great LOVE of the

Father? We do not have to try to amass more good works than bad,

more good thoughts than evil ones, so the good can cancel out the

bad. No amount of good works can blot out our sins. Our sins

during our Christian walk are washed away by the present work of

Jesus in heaven, by His atoning sacrifice, by His shed blood

being applied to them. Grace being again shown to us by the

Father. WE CANNOT EARN THAT MERCY BY ANY OF 

OUR GOOD WORKS!  It is God's to GIVE as His GIFT. 

But there are conditions  laid down for us to receive His free grace. 

Those conditions we  have previously shown you.

     As long as we maintain that attitude of REPENTANCE and

willingness to OBEY God, then He will through Christ Jesus,

FORGIVE us our sins.

               SAVED BY THE LIFE OF JESUS

     You have probably thought or been taught that Jesus' DEATH

on the cross COMPLETED salvation, that it WAS FINISHED at

Calvary. After all, didn't Jesus say, "it is finished" (Jn.19:30). 

But WHAT was finished on the cross? Let Paul answer, "For

all have sinned (broken God's law - 1 Jn.3:4) and come short of

the glory of God. Being JUSTIFIED (declared  righteous) freely by

His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom

God had set forth to be a propitiation (an atoning- sacrifice)

through faith in His blood (death on the cross) to declare His

righteousness for the remission (forgiveness) of sins that are

PAST....." (Rom.3:23-25 KJV, amplification mine).

     The sinner upon REPENTANCE, accepting Jesus as his personal

savior, can have ALL PAST SINS - sins up to that very moment -

FORGlVEN, washed away by the blood of Jesus on the cross.

     Christ's DEATH secured our justification from the sins we

HAVE ALREADY committed. His DEATH took away the penalty we  had

incurred by our sins (Rom.6:23). What Jesus finished on the cross

was the sacrifice for our PAST sins to justification and

reconciliation with the Father.

     

     Listen friends, this may shocks some of  you, but the truth

of the matter is that it takes BOTH the  DEATH and LIFE of Christ

to SAVE you. If Jesus had only died and had never been raised to

life, you could never be saved, you would never inherit eternal

life - you would be dead in your sins!

     

     Read these verses in your own Bible - mark them, and never

forget them:  "And if Christ be not RISEN, then is our preaching

vain, and your FAITH IS VAIN ALSO.....if Christ be not RAISED,

your FAITH IS VAIN - you are yet IN YOUR SINS!!  Then they

also which are fallen asleep in Christ ARE PERISHED" 

(1 Cor.15:14,17,18. KJV). If Jesus is not alive - if He was not

RESURRECTED, we are yet in our sins!  We are yet sinners

- doomed to perish. The death of Jesus is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY

for salvation, but so is His LIFE! 

     

      It takes not only His death but His LIFE also to save you.

     

     Now how much of that part of the gospel have you heard? You

hear a lot about the death of Jesus - His blood shed to cleanse

your guilty past - but how much do you hear about His LIFE to

cleanse your present and future sins? Christ is NOW upon the

Father's right hand in heaven INTERCEDING for us, so the Father

will daily forgive us our sins. That is why Paul wrote, "For if,

when we were enemies,  we were RECONCILED to God by the DEATH 

of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we SHALL BE SAVED by His

LIFE" (Rom 5:10). 

     Then we also read in chapter 8:9-11,  "Now if any man has

not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His....But if the Spirit

of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that

raised up Christ from the dead shall also QUICKEN (make alive)

your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you."

     When Jesus shall RETURN - when God the Father sends Him back

to this earth, WE the children of God shall be LIKE HIM (1 Jn.3:1-2). 

You can read what Jesus looks like TODAY in Revelation 1:13-16.  

WHAT GLORY AND SPLENDOR THAT WILL BE!!

     If you meet the CONDITIONS given by God, you can be in the

Kingdom of God. And all who are there, will be there not because

of their WORKS that they've done, but because of God's mercy -

GRACE. Because they have been forgiven their sins through the

blood of His Son - Christ Jesus.

     You are truly saved by GRACE !

                       .............................

Written in 1984

Permission is granted to photo/print copy any article by Keith

Hunt and distribute. 

The Experience Of Real Repentance - Part One

Man is material - mortal (Job 4:17).  He was FORMED from the ground, the DUST of the earth (Gen.2:7).  God is SPIRIT (John 4:24), that is God is composed of Spirit. He is HOLY, so God is then Holy Spirit. His body and being is Spirit not physical, though He can if He desires manifest Himself to man in a physical manner as He did to Abraham (Gen.18).        The physical being alone is not COMPLETE until UNITED with the spiritual.  Man was made to receive the very Holy Spirit, the very NATURE of God (2 Pet.1:3-4).  To receive that nature we actually then receive the LOVE, the POWER, the CHARACTER of God WITHIN us as a GIFT  (Rom.6:23; 5:5; 8:9-17; Gal.5:22,23; 2 Peter 1:3-4).      God knew by making mankind free agents and not robots, that man could not have this perfection of character, which it is His purpose to create within us, by an instantaneous flick of the fingers. It requires time.  It requires submissiveness, decision making, co-operate will, self direction on mankind's part, teaming up with the nature of God.  This perfection of character can only come through EXPERIENCE - with man/woman willing to YIELD to the NATURE and the WILL of the Eternal.      Mankind was created with HUMAN NATURE which is a mixture of GOOD and EVIL (Luke 6:45).  Too much of the time the evil tends to overpower the good (Rom.7:13-23).  Man must come to the KNOWLEDGE of his natural ways that are NOT God's ways.  He must come to EXPERIENCE REAL REPENTANCE of the evil side of his nature - where he has THOUGHT, SPOKEN, and LIVED contrary to the WILL and the WAYS and the THOUGHTS of the Lord.      A very large part of the Gospel concerns REPENTANCE!  A very LARGE part of the Bible contains the EXAMPLES of REAL repentance.  In this lesson we shall discover: 1) The importance of preaching REPENTANCE.  2) What we are to REPENT of. 3) The experience of REPENTANCE.                      PREACHING REPENTANCE                       IN THE BEGINNING Gen.2:17;  3:6;  4:8;  6:5      Has this world been EVIL from the BEGINNING? Gen.6:12-13      Did the early people of this world CORRUPT God's way of life?      What did God propose to do about all this corruption? Ge. 6:14-18      Who only was found worthy to be saved from the utter          destruction that God would bring upon evil mankind? Gen.7:1;  2 Peter 2:5      Was Noah a righteous person?      Did Noah PREACH righteousness to his wicked generation? Note. Righteousness is defined in the Bible as God's COMMANDMENTS (Ps.119:172). As Noah was building the Ark he was also preaching to a wicked, corrupt mankind God's true ways, the way of keeping and observing God's commandments. He no doubt preached that people should CHANGE their ways to conform to the Eternal's ways, to REPENT of their evil deeds and thoughts and follow the RIGHT ways as revealed by God. Ezek. 14:1-11      1) Does God condemn Idolatry?      2) Who is God speaking to here?      3) What does He tell them to do?      4) What will the Lord do to those who persist in idolatry?      5) Will both the punishment of the False prophet and Those            that seek them be the same?      6) Why does God correct and punish? Note. Even with ancient Israel when they went astray from God's commandments He cried out to them to REPENT!  They were to repent of their TRANSGRESSIONS - their INIQUITY - the evil of their hearts and to develop a NEW HEART.  See Ezek.18:30-32.                       JOHN AND JESUS Matthew 3:1-11      1) What did John the Baptist PREACH?      2) What did the people confess?      3) Is repentance to produce FRUITS?  What kind of Fruits?      4) Did John indicate that many of the religious leaders of            his day had never really REPENTED? Mark 1:14-15      1) After the ministry of John, what was the Gospel Jesus              preached?      2) Is REPENTANCE a very important part of the Gospel? Note.  The purpose of John was to PREPARE the hearts of the people for the coming of the Messiah.  This he did by preaching that men should REPENT - that they should confess their SINS and walk in the STRAIGHT WAY of the Lord.      When the Savior of mankind began His public ministry He continued to PREACH the theme that humanity should REPENT!  Jesus taught that REPENTANCE was absolutely necessary to be "saved" - without it mankind would only PERISH (Luke 13:3).  One of the very purposes  hat Jesus came was to call SINNERS to REPENTANCE (Matt.9:13).  He said  there is MORE JOY in heaven over ONE sinner that REPENTS than dozens  of just persons (in their mind) who think they need no repentance (Luke 15:7).      When Jesus sent out the twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of God, they first preached that men should REPENT (Mark 6:7-12).      Just before Christ ascended into Heaven, He told the disciples what their great commission was to be. REPENTANCE and REMISSION of SINS  was to be preached to all nations (Luke 24:47).              THE APOSTLES - ONE OF THEIR THEMES Acts 2:14-40      1) When did this sermon by Peter take place (see verses               1-13) ?      2) WHO did he preach to them about?      3) What question did the people put to the apostles?      4) What did Peter reply? Acts 3:11-26      1) WHO again did Peter speak about to the people?      2) What did he tell the people to do? Note.   Peter boldly PREACHED Christ as Savior and that all men should REPENT - be converted and turn away from their iniquities.  Then their SINS could be BLOTTED OUT through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Acts 8:1-12      1) Who were the only Christians in Jerusalem at this time?      2) What did the others do?      3) What did Philip preach?      4) Were many BAPTIZED? Note.   We have seen both from the ministry of John the Baptist and the apostle Peter that REPENTANCE must come before baptism.  Philip in preaching Christ and the Kingdom of God must have taught the people to REPENT in order for them to request baptism. We shall study all about the subject of baptism in a later lesson. Acts 9:10-31      1) After Paul's conversion and baptism what did he preach?      2) By what we have studied so far, would preaching Christ             include the theme of REPENTANCE? Acts 10:23-48      1) Did God show to Peter that Christ and Salvation should go         to the Gentiles?      2) What was the FOCAL point of Peter's message to Cornelius?      3) Did Peter preach the FORGIVENESS of SINS?      4) Were many Baptised? Note.   Peter was here again preaching his Pentecostal sermon - Jesus Christ as Savior. Upon REPENTANCE and accepting Christ's death and resurrection men could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the Holy Spirit.      The THEME of the early Church was first, Jesus Christ as Savior - repentance and Forgiveness of Sins.  Second, the Return of Christ and the coming of the Kingdom of God to earth.       Saving people was foremost on the minds of the apostles and church members alike. Read the rest of the book of Acts and take note of the speeches and sermons.  As you do, note such passages as Acts 16:30-31;  17:3, 30;  18:24-28;  26:17-18, 20;  28:23, 31.                       WHAT IS REPENTANCE? Note. Webster's Dictionary defines REPENTANCE  as: " To feel sorry or self-reproachful for what one has done or failed to do; be conscience-stricken......To feel such regret or dissatisfaction over some past action, intention, etc. as to changed one's mind about.......To feel so contrite over one's sins as to change, or decide to change, one's ways......."      This is what VINE'S EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY ON NT WORDS  has to say on REPENT and REPENTANCE: ".......to perceive afterwards (Meta, after, implying change, Noeo, to perceive; Nous, the mind, the seat of moral reflections).......hence signifies to change one's mind or purpose, always in the NT involving a change for the better......." Matt. 9:13      Who did Jesus come to call to Repentance? Acts 3:19      What can be blotted out upon Repentance? Acts 5:31      What is some of the work Jesus is NOW doing? Note.  The Scriptures clearly show that REPENTANCE has to do with SIN!  We are to REPENT of SIN.  Repent of being a sinner - of living, acting, doing, thinking, IN sin.                    SIN  -  RIGHTEOUSNESS  ? 1 John 3:4      Does God tell us in this verse what constitutes SIN? Romans 7:7      What did Paul say showed him what sin WAS?      Is it not the TEN Commandment law that says: "Thou shalt not       covet."? (Ex.20"1-17). Romans 3:20      Is Paul here telling us by what standard we can derive the         KNOWLEDGE of what sin is or is not? James 2:10-12      1) Does this law have points?      2) What are some of its points?      3) Are these the same points as recorded in Ex.20:1-17? James 2:10-12 (continued)      4) If we WILLFULLY break ANY ONE of these points of the               whole law, are we a TRANSGRESSOR - do we SIN (see again 1         John 3:4) ?      5) What is this law called (verse 12) ? Note.  We are to REPENT of breaking (transgressing) God's Holy Spiritual law (Rom.7:12,14).  Repent of BEING sinners and want to DO and LIVE righteousness (Matt.5:17-20; 6:33). A Bible definition of "righteousness" is ALL of God's COMMANDMENTS - Psalm 119:172.                      REPENT TOWARDS WHOM ? Romans 3:23      How many have sinned? Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30      How many are to REPENT? Acts 20:21      Towards WHOM are we to REPENT?                         HOW TO REPENT! Deut.4:29;  Isa.55:6      Are we to SEEK God?  How much are we to seek for Him? Isa. 57:15;  66:2      What KIND of a person will God LOOK AT? 2 Chron. 7:14      What else does the Eternal add to the ingredients of               REPENTANCE? 1 John 1:9;  Proverbs 28:13      What TWO requirements are given in these verses in order to      obtain MERCY and FORGIVENESS? Job 33:27, 28      God is looking for mankind to ACKNOWLEDGE what? Isa.55:7;  Jer.4:1, 2, 14      What is man to FORSAKE in order to return unto God? Ezekiel 18:21, 30-31;  Acts 17:30      Is God CALLING OUT for mankind to REPENT End of part one. To be continued with part two                        ........... First written in 1987.  Re-written and revised in April 1997. By Keith Hunt The Experience Of Real Repentance Part Two                    EXAMPLES OF REPENTANCE Genesis 50:15-21      1) Had the brothers of Joseph done evil?      2) Did they ask to be forgiven?      3) What was Joseph's reaction?      4) How did his brothers respond?      5) Was Joseph willing to forgive and help them? Note.   We could liked Joseph to God the Father and Joseph's brothers to repentant  individuals. As the brothers CONFESSED their sins and asked forgiveness so should every repentant person do the same before God. As they humbled themselves before the feet of Joseph, we should also HUMBLE ourselves before God the Father.      The brothers told Joseph they would be his servants. So likewise are we to be SERVANTS of God.      Joseph WEPT when he saw their humble repentant attitude. Tears of joy must fill the eyes of our heavenly Father when one sinner repents. As Joseph went on to NOURISH and COMFORT his brothers, so God the Father will nourish and comfort His begotten children. 2 Chron.12:1-12      1) Did King Rehoboam and Israel FORSAKE God's way?      2) What then happened (verses 2-5)?      3) Did the King and leaders of Israel then HUMBLE                     themselves?      4) What did God say He would do?      5) Was God MERCIFUL to the King and Judah? Note.   Some TURN AWAY from the Eternal and His Holy law, but the Lord is always there ready to FORGIVE and show MERCY whenever those individuals HUMBLE themselves and REPENT! 2 Kings 22, 23      1) Was Josiah very YOUNG when he began to reign in                    Jerusalem?      2) What is said of him (verse 2)?      3) Was Josiah still YOUNG when they found the book of the             law in the Temple?      4) What did Josiah DO when he heard the words of the LAW?      5) What did the King SAY about the words of God?      6) What did the prophetess say would happen for NOT             doing God's will?      7) Was this punishment to take place in the lifetime of              Josiah?  WHY not?      8) Did Josiah exhibit signs of real REPENTANCE? Note.   Josiah's repentance was GENUINE as can be seen by what he DID. The FRUITS he bore, as shown in chapter 23.  He gathered the people together, both small and great, priest and prophet, and read to them God's way.  He RE-NEWED the COVENANT of God - to walk after and KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS (verse 1-3).      Josiah was instrumental in bringing the people back to the worship of the true God.  He destroyed every sign of False idolatry worship (verses 4-20).  He RE-instituted the PASSOVER (verses 21-23).            Josiah was a TYPE of what all people whom God calls should do upon having their minds and hearts opened to His word and truth.  His heart was TENDER - receptive to the Eternal's truth and ways.  He did not argue with God's word, didn't justify his own ideas and ways and thoughts.  He was CHILDLIKE.  Josiah HUMBLED himself before God and FEARED His word (Isa.66:2).   He even WEPT when he realized how he and Judah had sinned against the Lord God.      Josiah experienced true deep-felt REPENTANCE! Nehemiah 8; and 9:1-5      1) What did Ezra read to the people?      2) When was this done (see also Lev.23:23-25)?      3) What was the people's attitude?      4) Were the people in a humble worshipful state of mind?      5) As they understood the ways of God, did they willingly             obey?      6) What else did the people do (chap.9:1-5)? Note.   The people of Judah had been many a year without a King.  They had been in Babylonian captivity and had LOST MUCH, if not all the teachings of God.  Here they were again in Jerusalem and were being taught the words and ways of the Lord from the LAW (first 5 books of the Old Testament).  They were in a submissive HUMBLE REPENTANT attitude towards God.   They CONFESSED their SINS, fasted and were willing to DO  what the Eternal said were HIS ways and commands.        An example for ALL those that God calls to salvation. 2 Samuel 11; and 12:1-15      1) Did David commit adultery with another man's wife?      2) What was the result of this affair (verse 5)?      3) Did David try to COVER UP his sin (verses 6-13)?  Was he           successful?      4) Did David devise a plan whereby Uriah would be killed?             Did it succeed?      5) What did Nathan the prophet tell David these activities            were (chap. 12:9)?      6) Was David personally held responsible for killing Uriah?      7) When David finally came to his senses and realized the             gravity of what he had done, what did he confess (verse            13)? Note.   Ancient King David is a chief example of one who EXPERIENCED REAL REPENTANCE for his sins.  David's sincere heartfelt repentant attitude endeared him to God. He is called in Acts 13:22 a man after God's own heart.      Psalm 51 shows David's utterly broken-up attitude of mind concerning his sins. Be sure to read the entire Psalm, and as you do, ask and answer these questions: Did David attempt to justify these sins or to explain them away?  Did he freely confess them?  Did he admit that he was guilty of many sins?  Did he thoroughly abhor his sins?  What did he ask God to do for him?  Did he cry out to the Lord to have mercy upon him?      David was one of the few under the Old Covenant to whom God gave the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit was not yet made available (John 7:38-39) except in special circumstances to certain people. David obeyed God and overcame by the power of the Spirit, even though at times he did stumble and fall.  "For a just (righteous) man falleth seven times, and riseth up again......" (Prov.24:16).      So David, a man after God's own heart, is soon, at Christ's coming, to be resurrected and born into the very Family of God, the Kingdom of God, as a son of the Eternal and as the King over Israel (Jer.30:9;  Ezek.34).      God looks to those who are of a MEEK and CONTRITE spirit - those who TREMBLE before the word of the Lord.  God recognizes a REPENTANT attitude of mind - a broken spirit, a HUMBLE person who is seeking for FORGIVENESS and MERCY.  He will honor the attitude of all who are willing to turn from works and deeds which His word brands as SIN.      True REPENTANCE requires a PERMANENT change of DIRECTION -  from the ways that seem right in man's eyes to the WAYS OF GOD as revealed  in His word.      REAL REPENTANCE is something MUCH DEEPER and vastly more profound that what is generally being taught today by the churches and  religious preachers.      Godly REPENTANCE leads to ETERNAL LIFE!! To be continued                    ...................... First written in 1987. Re-written and revised in 1997. By Keith Hunt  The Experience Of Real Repentance - Part Three       Some may say: " Yes I know what the word repent means, I see to whom I am to repent, I see some of the examples in the Bible about repentance, but I am not sure HOW to repent.  What words do I use, what should I SAY to the Father in heaven?      Well friends, our Father in heaven even helps us to know what kind of words to use in coming to Him in humble repentance.  He gives us examples in His word even to guide us in this end - to know what to say.                     PRAYERS OF REPENTANCE EZRA      " Then were assembled unto me everyone that TREMBLED at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgressions of those, that had been carried away........O my God, I am ASHAMED and BLUSH to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our INIQUITIES ARE INCREASED OVER OUR HEAD, and our TRESPASS IS GROWN  up into the heavens.......We have FORSAKEN THY COMMANDMENTS........ Should we again break they commandments, and join in affinity with the  people of these abominations?  Would you not be angry with us till you  have consumed us........"(Ezra 9:4-14). NEHEMIAH      " Let thine ear now be attentive......Both I and my father's house have sinned.  We have DEALT VERY CORRUPTLY against thee, and have NOT KEPT THE COMMANDMENTS, NOR THE STATUTES,  NOR THE JUDGMENTS, which you commandest your servant Moses........ You are JUST........You have done RIGHT.  But we have DONE WICKEDLY.  Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, KEPT THY LAW, NOR HEARKENED UNTO YOUR  COMMANDMENTS AND YOUR TESTIMONIES......."(Nehemiah 1:6-7;  9:33-34). JOB      " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: BUT NOW MY EYE SEETH THEE.  Wherefore, I ABHOR MYSELF AND REPENT  in dust and ashes "(Job 42:5). DAVID      " Have MERCY UPON ME, O God.......Bot out my TRANSGRESSIONS.  WASH ME THOROUGHLY FROM MINE INIQUITY AND CLEANS ME  FROM MY SIN. For I ACKNOWLEDGE my TRANSGRESSIONS: and my sin is ever before me.   Against thee......have I sinned......PURGE ME with hyssop, and I shall be clean......Hide your face from my SINS, and BLOT OUT ALL MY INIQUITIES.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.......Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation......Then will I teach transgressors they ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee......For thou desirest not sacrifice.......You delight not in burnt offering.  The sacrifice of God are a BROKEN SPIRIT: a broken and a CONTRITE HEART, O God, you will not despise"(Psalm 51:1-17). ISAIAH      " .......Woe is me!  For I am undone; because I am a man of UNCLEAN LIPS......For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.......Our TRANSGRESSIONS ARE MULTIPLIED before thee, and our SINS testify against us:  for our transgressions are with us.  And as for our INIQUITIES, we KNOW THEM......But we are all as AN UNCLEAN THING, AND ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE AS  FILTHY RAGS; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities like the wind  have taken us away"(Isaiah 6:5;  59:12;  64:6). JEREMIAH      " O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do you it for your name's sake:  or our BACKSLIDINGS ARE MANY.  We have SINNED against you.   We ACKNOWLEDGE, O Lord, our WICKEDNESS.... Let us SEARCH AND  TRY our ways, and TURN AGAIN to the Lord.  Let us lift up  our HEARTS WITH  OUR HANDS UNTO GOD in the heavens"(Jeremiah 14:7, 20;  Lamentations 3:40-41). DANIEL      " We have sinned, and HAVE COMMITTED INIQUITY, and have DONE  WICKEDLY, and have REBELLED, even by DEPARTING from thy PRECEPTS,  and from thy JUDGMENTS: neither have we HEARKENED unto thy SERVANTS  the prophets, which spake in thy name......"(Daniel 9:5,6).                 CHRIST EXEMPLIFIES REAL REPENTANCE PRODIGAL SON      " And when he CAME TO HIMSELF, he said.........I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, father, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST HEAVEN, AND BEFORE YOU, AND AM NO MORE WORTHY  TO BE CALLED YOUR SON.  make me as one of your hired servants.  And he arose, and CAME TO HIS FATHER"(Luke 15:17-20). PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN      "And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others.  Two men went up into the Temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank you, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I posses.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying: God, BE MERCIFUL TO ME, A SINNER.  I tell you, this man (the publican) went down to his house JUSTIFIED rather than the other. For everyone that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that HUMBLES himself shall be exalted"(Luke 18:9-14).                        A FINAL WORD      Some of you think you may be too young or too old to REPENT and serve the living Eternal God. The prophet Jeremiah thought he was too young to be called by God, but he was not. If you are a middle teenager you may not be too young for God to call you to real repentance. Even if you are still younger than a teenager God may call you to begin to know Him and His way of life. We have examples of Samuel and Jeremiah who were called to serve God while still very young. David walked with God as a young boy caring for his father's sheep.      What if you are old, maybe very old?  Well as the saying goes: You are never too old to learn.  Whether you are 60 or 80 or 90 or 100, if God is calling you to REPENT then it is not too late to do so!      Some of you have or are serving a prison term for various crimes. You may think you are not worthy for God to have mercy upon you. Well, no sinner(and that includes the ones who have never been in prison or even received a parking ticket) is of themselves worthy to be a child of the most High. But Jesus came to die for you no matter what your sins and crimes against society. You can friend, REPENT and be FORGIVEN, have your sins WASHED AWAY by the blood of Jesus and start a new life as a son or daughter of the heavenly Father.      Some of you may have been or still are, prostitutes, homosexuals, lesbians, drug users, drug dealers, child molesters, alcoholics, wandering street livers with no hope only despair. Whatever your situation in life is at the present, YOU CAN REPENT AND CRY OUT TO THE LORD FOR MERCY AND HELP! You can  be forgiven your sins and begin a new life in the service of the Eternal. It is never too late.       Determine NOW to come out of the darkness and deception you have been living in and ENTER God's world of LIGHT and RIGHTEOUSNESS!      The rewards here and now are fantastic and the eternity to come is beyond human imagination.      Some of you have been let down by religious organizations and their leaders. You have seen the corruptions, play acting, hypocrisy, abuse of power, abuse of monies, you have  heard the lies, experienced the cover-ups, and have come to realize you were in many ways manipulated and brain washed with a cultic mind set ruling you.  Many of you have been turned off so much from "religion" that you have left serving the true God and gone back into the world of Satan, gone back into your former old man and false un- righteous ways of living that God calls sin and iniquity.  You knew the basic truths of God at one time but now you have possibly thrown them to one side, cast them away like some old dirty garment. If this is you, then YOU can REPENT, it is not too late. God calls you back to SERVE HIM!  He calls you back again to find that personal relationship with Him and not some organization or some human man.      Maybe you are just the nice guy or gal on the block. Never done anyone any harm. Would not hurt a fly as they say. No big sins in your life you might claim. You are a good wife, husband, father or mother. You work at your job faithfully and honestly. You help in local charities, and just live a decent moral lifestyle.       All that is good and commendable, but friend, you HAVE SINNED ALSO.  You have said, thought, or acted at some point/s in your life CONTRARY to the Holy Law of the Lord God. You have somewhere at some time BROKEN ONE or MORE of the Ten Commandments of God. You stand as a sinner in the eyes of the Lord. You are CONDEMNED TO DIE UNLESS YOU WILL REPENT !            There is no way around it, from the hardened criminal to the Mr.Nice guy, all of us must REPENT of our sins to obtain mercy and find the pathway to eternal life in the Kingdom of God.       Repentance is the FIRST STEP on the road to living for all eternity.   REAL REPENTANCE is what all of us must EXPERIENCE if we are to be saved.      ".........Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT YOU, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14,15).                        ............... First written in 1987. Re-written and revised in 1997. By Keith Hunt  SAVING FAITH WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS IT IS - Part 1      Jesus, when looking at the time when He would return to this earth said, ".....when the Son of man comes, shall He find THE FAITH on the earth" (original Greek, Luke 18:8).  Obviously Christ did not expect the last generation before His return to be exhibiting THE faith, in any large amount.      But is there not a religious REVIVAL sweeping our nations? More are attending church today than 10 or 20 years ago [well not  today 2020 - it is less people attending church services]. Surely then, is not FAITH strong? According to Jesus He said THE faith - the REAL faith of God would not be very evident at the end of this age.      On another occasion Jesus said: ".....O you of LITTLE faith....." (Mat.6:30). Then still at another time He said: ".....I have not found so GREAT faith, no not in Israel" (Mat.8:10). It is possible then to have LITTLE or GREAT.....FAITH!      To a woman Christ once said, ".....Your FAITH has saved you....." (Luke 7:50).       A Christian is actually SAVED through FAITH.  Paul was inspired to write, ".....for by grace are you saved through FAITH....." (Eph.2:8).  And again, "But WITHOUT faith IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE HIM: for he that comes to God MUST  BELIEVE that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that  DILIGENTLY seek Him" (Heb.11:6).  And so it is: "The just shall  LIVE BY FAITH" (Heb.10:38).      It takes FAITH to BELIEVE God, to OBEY God and receive His gift of grace and eternal life.      Today the Lord is calling the "firstfruits" of His great plan of salvation (James 1:18) in order to prepare them for positions in His Kingdom. Only a FEW are being granted a conscious CONVICTING KNOWLEDGE of His TRUTHS and WAYS  (1 Cor.1:26). They are the "salt" of the earth sprinkled here and there that Christ talked about.      In these Bible lessons of the foundation of redemption and salvation, the way to be saved, God is granting you the knowledge of His TRUTHS. He is calling YOU to REPENT of SIN, to accept His Son as your personal Savior and to LIVE by FAITH!      But WHAT IS faith?  What KIND of faith do we need to please God?      Before we learn the answer, let's first be sure we know what faith is NOT.      FAITH is not a "pull yourself up by your own boot straps" philosophy. This is man's method of self-salvation, and although such ideas and practices may have some reward in this physical life on a human level, it is as far as eternity goes, useless in saving anyone. Such ideas that man can FORGIVE himself of sins apart from God's grace, and live by his own standards of his society, to be justified, and live forever, is SELF DECEPTION! This way of man builds confidence in the SELF not God or Christ. Wise King Solomon called persons who trust in their OWN heart, a FOOL (Prov.28:26).      Many confuse faith with EMOTIONS - trying to work up faith, which is to them an emotional feeling. But true emotional feelings are not the evidence of SAVING FAITH.  Faith is a SPIRITUAL matter, not physical.  To LIVE by FAITH does not mean that you put on some sentimental feeling that tingles the spine, act or speak in a certain "religious" manner or follow after some mental or physical signs. This is not to say God's way is emotionless. It is written, in the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept."  He also got righteously ANGRY at times, as when He cleared the Temple of the money hustlers.       True living faith though is not FOUNDED on human emotions. It's foundation is from the solid rock of God the Father and Christ.                      FAITH DEFINED BY GOD Hebrews 11:1-6      1) Is "faith towards God" one of the foundational doctrines         of the Bible?       2) Is it possible to PLEASE God WITHOUT faith?      3) Did the people of God in the past ages LIVE by faith?              Did the Eternal give them a good report for so doing?      4) Do those that have faith seek and look forward to                  promises and rewards which are not seen?      5) Does  having  faith  towards  God  mean  we BELIEVE God            EXISTS and He rewards us both in this life and that which         is to come?      6) Is faith coupled with our desire to diligently SEEK God? Note.  Faith is the "substance" - more accurately rendered ASSURANCE or CONFIDENCE - "of things hoped for."  You do not  hope for that which you already have.  Faith then comes BEFORE possession!  Before you receive what you hope for, you already have it in substance - in assurance that you shall possess it.  That assurance is FAITH!      Faith is  expressed in absolute recognition that God exists, but it is not a BLIND faith though. It has proved there is a God by the physical creation around us (Romans 1:19-20). And that His word contained in the pages of the Bible is INSPIRED and to be believed and trusted (2 Tim.3:15-17).      God has given to Christians very real promises, some are for this earthly life here and now, and some for the life to come. Unseen as yet, some are. Faith is the assurance we shall possess them.      Faith is ACQUIRED.  You cannot "dream it up" or hypnotize yourself into receiving true LIVING SAVING faith.            Faith comes by HEARING. Hearing about the promises and ways of God. And hearing comes from a willingness to read, to study, to listen, to understand the WILL of God through His WORD (Rom.10:17;  Eph.5:17).      What the Lord has promised He will also perform. It is IMPOSSIBLE for Him to LIE because He is PERFECT HOLINESS (Heb.6:18;  Mat.5:48).  We can have absolute confidence - POSITIVE FAITH - that God will always do whatever He has promised.      Faith is assurance that God's word is TRUE!  That His promises are sure and that it is impossible for God to lie!  This assurance, this reliance on God's word - this confidence - is FAITH!                         YOUR FAITH      You have studied in a previous lesson what the word of the Lord has to say about REPENTANCE, SIN, JUSTIFICATION,  and the WAY of God to the beginning of the road of salvation. You  have seen that ALL have sinned (Rom.3:23). All have incurred the  wages of sin - death (Rom.6:23). That God calls you to REPENTANCE  (Acts 17:30). Whatever you NOW DO (keeping God's law completely perfectly) will NOT erase, blot out, justify you of your past sins.        You have seen that God the Father sent Jesus Christ to DIE for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2;  John 3:16).  That through Him there is justification - reconciliation to God the Father and ultimate eternal life (Rom.3:23-28).      You then have HEARD these truths. You have studied  God's word to understand these truths. You have found the promises of God pertaining to FORGIVENESS and being reconciled to the Father. YOU NOW MUST EXERCISE FAITH!  You must have TRUST,  ASSURANCE, CONFIDENCE that what God has PROMISED He will do.   Remember He cannot lie.      God has said that upon your REPENTANCE and willingness to CHANGE your life to conform to His WAY, He will apply the very blood of His Son, the blood He shed on the cross in death, to YOU!  Your sins can be washed away by the blood of Christ.      YOUR PART is to BELIEVE this promise of God.  To have FAITH that the Father will DO as He has said.  You must let go of your doubts or worries.  Throw yourself completely on God's love and mercy.  Cry out to Him in HUMBLE repentance.  BELIEVE what God has said, He is there wanting to forgive you, to justify you through the  death of His Son Jesus Christ.      When you have done this, exercised your trust and faith in this PROMISE of God, then the Father has also PROMISED that you can have the VERY FAITH that was IN Christ (while He lived on this earth as flesh and blood). That very same faith the Father has promised to PUT WITHIN YOU!                      JESUS' LIVING FAITH      When Jesus walked the earth in human flesh, He possessed TREMENDOUS FAITH!  Few realize that what He did, His obedience to God's laws and the miracles He performed, was not done by any power of His OWN!  Everything He did was done through FAITH in the Father's POWER - the power of the Father IN Him. John 8:38,42      Did Jesus' family say He came from God the Father? Matthew 19:16      How did Jesus answer the question, "How can I have eternal         life" ?      Was Jesus talking about the Ten Commandments(verses 18-19) ? John 15:10      Did Jesus say He could of Himself do nothing? John 14:10      How did Christ LIVE and DO the works He did?                LIVING BY THE FAITH OF CHRIST Romans 3:31      Does FAITH render the law of God VOID, unnecessary to              observe? James 2:20-22      Is faith WITHOUT works, obedience, a DEAD useless faith? Romans 1:17      Must those who are declared RIGHTEOUS - justified , forgiven       of sins LIVE by  faith? Phil.3:9      By WHOSE faith is a Christian's righteousness, obedience to        God's commands,  made possible? Rev.14:12      WHOSE faith does God's people have today? Gal.2:20      Did Christ live WITHIN Paul?      By Whose faith did Paul live? Romans 8:9-10      Does Jesus live within the individual Christian by the Holy        Spirit (see also John  14:16-18)? Romans 5:5      What does the Holy Spirit impart to us? 1 John 5:3      What is the love of God? Note.  The false teaching being promulgated today is that Jesus kept God's holy spiritual law in our stead, and that we don't have to keep it!      But if you ask those people who teach this NO LAW doctrine if they mean you can go out and MURDER someone, STEAL from the supermarket, commit ADULTERY with your friend's wife or husband etc. they will usually stammer around and say, “Well, I, I, ....I didn't say you could do those things."      The fact is that the no law teaching has come about because of the 4th commandment, what it clearly states, and because most of professing Christianity does not observe it.      No, Jesus did not live a good life FOR you - in your stead.  You are not excused from keeping God's commandments.  You are expected to obey them, to grow in spiritual grace and knowledge (2 Pet.3:18), to ENDURE and OVERCOME to the END in order to inherit eternal life (Mat.19:17; 24:13).      We must be willing to do these things to be saved.  Yet we cannot do them of ourselves - even Jesus could not do them by Himself alone (John 5:30).      The answer is FAITH!  The very faith of Christ IN us.  The same LIVING FAITH - the same POWER of God IN US that Jesus had in Him.      That same faith of Jesus in us will ESTABLISH the law - will lead and help us to OBEY God, to do His WILL!      We are "justified" - forgiven our past sins - reconciled to God the Father - through OUR faith in the sacrifice of Christ (Rom.3:24-26, 28). But only those who will be willing to go on to OBEY God's law will He justify (Rom.2:13).  There are CONDITIONS in order to be forgiven of sins.  Jesus came to save us FROM our sins, not IN our sins (Mat.1:21).  We must REPENT, BELIEVE and be WILLING TO OBEY!      The members of God's family have the very "FAITH OF Jesus."  It's not just OUR faith in Him, but HIS faith - the same spiritual power He had - placed WITHIN us.  So He lives His life over again INSIDE our moral body and mind.      Jesus is said to be the "author" and "finisher" of our faith (Heb.12:2).  A better translation for the words "author" and "finisher" is PIONEER and PERFECTER.  Jesus led the way,  setting us the perfect example of LIVING FAITH (1 Pet.2:21).   But Jesus also PERFECTS His faith IN us!      We have seen Paul said he no longer lived by his OWN faith (Gal.2:20) but by the very faith of Jesus Christ IN him, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of God implanted in Paul's mind the SAME KIND of faith, trust, and obedience, that can be in YOUR mind.  This faith - the very faith of Christ in you - will enable you to be willing to obey God's commandments, to serve the law and ways that are pleasing to Him, as it did for the apostle Paul (Rom.7:12; 22-25).      Christ IN us - His faith in us - will give us the victory over SIN and death.  We will be able to overcome the world, sin, and Satan.  We will be able to endure to the end, and serve God in humble obedience.              HOW TO RECEIVE THE FAITH OF CHRIST Eph. 2:8-9      Is this living faith of Christ a GIFT from God? Gal.5:22      Is this faith an attribute of the Holy Spirit? Acts 2:38      How can we receive the Holy Spirit? Acts 5:32      To whom will the Holy Spirit be given? Note.  The very faith of Christ comes to us by means of the Holy Spirit.  Through the Holy Spirit BOTH the Father and Jesus can come to live their lives in us.  As Paul said, it is Christ IN US that is the HOPE of GLORY (Col. 1:27).  Read about the WORK of the Comforter in John chapters 14 and 15.  It is by means of the life of Christ - the Spirit of Christ - HIS faith in us that we are eventually SAVED (Rom.8:9-11; 5:10) to INHERIT the Kingdom.      This saving LIFE - faith - is given to us as a gift from God.  You cannot EARN it, work for it, and so demand it as a right from God.  You cannot "work it up" emotionally, or receive it by any thought of "I can do it on my own steam" philosophy.      God will give it to us as a gift, BUT just as any gift given to us may carry certain CONDITIONS that we must meet in order to qualify for the gift, so God has laid down TWO conditions for us to receive His gift of saving life.      1) REPENTANCE.  We  studied  about  the  experience of  real repentance in the previous lessons.      2) BAPTISM.  We shall study all about water baptism in the next lesson following part two of this study.      When these two conditions have been met by us, God has PROMISED to GIVE us His Holy Spirit, the very saving power and faith of Christ, that will enable us to obey and say with Jesus, “Not my will be done but thine."                    FAITH MUST BE ACTIVE James 2:14-20, 26      1) What must faith have in order to SAVE you?      2) How did James say he would declare his faith to others?      3) Do  the  demons  BELIEVE  in certain FACTS?  Will mere             factual belief save them?      4) What kind of faith is a DEAD faith? Note.   We have seen that we shall be saved by the life of Christ in us. The Holy Spirit which emanates from the Father through Christ Jesus into us, gives us eternal life here and now (1 John 5:11-12).  And if His Spirit remains in us to the end (our physical death or Jesus' return) we shall be made immortal (Rom.8:11).  God's Spirit is a LIVING power. Faith is one of its attributes.  So the faith it will manifest in an individuals life will be a LIVING FAITH!      James tells us that in order for faith to be living it must have WORKS.      But what does the Bible mean by WORKS?  Some of the EXAMPLES recorded for us answer that question.  James uses the example of Abraham (verses 21-24 of chapter two).  Abraham's life is a good place to start, for he is known as the "father of the faithful." To be continued Written 1989 Saving Faith - Part 2                     EXAMPLES OF LIVING FAITH Abraham      Gen.12:1-7      1) When God called Abraham out of the land he was residing            in, did he ARGUE with God about leaving? Did he, in                FAITH, simply obey God?      2) Did  God  promise  to  make of  Abraham  a GREAT NATION            and bless him abundantly?      3) Did he BELIEVE God (see Gen.15:5-6)?      4) Was the land of Canaan promised to Abraham(see also                Gen.15:7, Acts 7:1-5)?      5) Did he have FAITH in God and His promises (Heb.11:9-10)?      6) Was there certain CONDITIONS Abraham had to meet in order         to inherit these promises (Gen.17:1-8)?      7) Was this promise of eternal inheritance of the land of             Canaan to expand and  ultimately include the whole earth         (Rom.4:13; Mat.5:5; Rev.5:8-10)? Note.   In making His original promise to Abraham, God conditioned it upon OBEDIENCE. The marginal reading for the word "perfect" in Gen.17:1 is "upright" or sincere.      Jesus told his followers that they should strive to be perfect(or mature) just as God in heaven was perfect or mature (Mat.5:48).      Abraham met those conditions - he OBEYED God - Gen.26:5. Abraham had faith in what God promised and he demonstrated that faith - he performed that faith as James tells us (James 2:22) by his WORKS - his OBEDIENCE to the Eternal's commands.      Abraham BELIEVED God, so God could JUSTIFY him, forgive him of his past sins - declare him to be righteous, because the KIND of belief or FAITH Abraham had led him to OBEY God (James 2:23-24; Rom.2:31).      The works that Abraham had were the works of OBEDIENCE to the laws and commands of God.      Ge.17:15-19      1) Did God promise Abraham a SON through whom his family              would grow great?      2) How old were Abraham and Sarah at the time?      3) Did Abraham and Sarah TRUST God in FAITH, that what He             said He was able to perform (See Rom.4:18-21;                      Heb.11:11-12)?      4) Did God fulfil His promise to Abraham (Gen.21:5-7)? Note.   The promise of God to make Abraham into a great nation, was given when God called him out of Haran into Canaan (Gen.12:1-4).  Abraham was 75 years old at the time. He had to wait patiently for 25 years for the son through whom his family would grow as numerous as the sand on the sea shore. During those 25 years Abraham demonstrated faith in his obedience to His will, though at times he did sin, for he was not perfect as God is perfect.      Gen.22:1-19      1) Did God tell Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac?      2) Did he argue or rebel against the Lord, or did he obey             willingly?      3) Was Abraham ready to slay his son?      4) Did he have complete faith in God, that if necessary the         Lord would resurrect Isaac (see Heb.11:17-19)?      5) Did God stop Abraham from slaying his son?      6) Why did the Eternal test Abraham this way?      7) Because of Abraham's unquestioning obedience, did God              make His promises to him UNconditional (verses 15-18)? Note.   Abraham did not hesitate to obey God - he did not argue with God, or try to reason around the command of the Lord.  Abraham simply OBEYED. He knew - he trusted God, had FAITH in God that if Isaac was to be sacrificed, the Lord could raise him up or give him another son to fulfil His promises.      Abraham was FULLY PERSUADED that whatsoever God had promised, He was able to PERFORM.      Abraham's FAITH, trust in God, was COUPLED with WORKS - the works of OBEDIENCE!      God had tested Abraham's willingness to obey in and through FAITH. After he had been put to the test and found faithful, God's promise then became UNCONDITIONAL (verses 15-18).      Abraham did faithfully obey God's commandments (Gen.26:5). He is one of the great examples of LIVING FAITH.      I found this in religious magazine: "A noted Bible teacher once explained the reason so many Christians get a let-down after a great spiritual experience. 'They get their eyes on the gift, and take them off the giver ' he said. 'This is the meaning of the dramatic story of God asking Abraham to offer up his only son, Isaac. God wanted to see whether Abraham loved the Giver, God, more that the gift, Isaac. When He saw that Abraham's love for the Giver was greater than his love for the gift, God allowed Abraham to keep the gift as well.' " NOAH'S FAITH      Gen.6:1-22      1) Was the world in Noah's day full of wickedness, evil and           corruption?      2) What did God say He would do?      3) How would God destroy mankind?      4) Who found grace - favor- with God?      5) Why did Noah find mercy with God?      6) What did the Lord instruct - command - Noah to do?      7) Did Noah OBEY God? Note.   In the days of Noah the whole earth had become corrupt before God. Only Noah and his immediate family were worthy of God's grace or mercy. Noah walked with God.  He was told by the Lord to build a ship that would serve him and his family from the watery destruction that would come to destroy all life from off the earth.      Noah BELIEVED God - he had FAITH in what the Lord said. He willingly OBEYED the command. His trust and faith in God was demonstrated by his works - his OBEDIENCE!      There was no physical evidence that a flood would come upon the earth. It would be 120 years before it would come (Gen,6:3), but, "Prompted by faith Noah.....took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of his own family....." (Amplified Bible, Heb.11:7).      Noah's LIVING, active faith, was rewarded. He and his family were saved from destruction and death. SHADRACH, MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO      Daniel 3:1-28      1) Did Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, build a great image           of gold?      2) Did he command all the people to bow down and worship              this idol  at  certain times?      3) What was to happen to those who would not obey the king's         order?      4) Is one of the commands of God against the bowing down to         idols (See Ex.20:4)?      5) Did the three Hebrew men obey the king's order or the              command of God?      6) What did the king of Babylon then do?      7) How did the three men answer the king?      8) What happened to them for staying faithful to God's                commandments?      9) What did the king see as he looked into the fiery                  furnace?      10)Did God help, protect, and deliver, those three men?      11)What did the king say about Shadrach, Meshach, and                 Abednego? Note.   This example of LIVING faith is one of the most thrilling in the entire Bible.      King Nebuchadnezzar was probably the most powerful king on the earth at the time. His very word or nod of the head meant life or death! He built this image for all to worship.  This was in direct conflict to God's command that no idol was to be bowed down to and worshipped.      What would YOU have done had you been there at this time? Would you have said: "Well, I have to bow down to this image or I'll be killed."  Maybe you could have reasoned around it this way: "God tells us to be subject to the powers of the state government doesn't He? Then if I am killed for not obeying the king, what will my wife and children do without me, or my close relatives. Better to be a live coward than a dead hero."      It can be easy to excuse ourselves from having to OBEY God if we are looking for an excuse.      Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, knew that where there was a conflict between the laws of man and the commands of God, the Lord should be obeyed (Acts 5:29). They knew that through FAITH God makes it possible to obey Him!      These courageous men were adamant in their display of faith.  They firmly BELIEVED God was able to save them. They knew God COULD  save them if He so chose, yet IF God did not choose to save them from literal death, they still would obey the Eternal first, before breaking His commandment.      They had their eyes on the KINGDOM, on Eternal life, not just this present physical life.  They were not afraid of what man could do to their physical bodies, but had that right kind of reverend fear, of what God could do to their eternal life (Mat.10:28).      These men refused to break God's commandment against idolatry, even if it meant their death. They trusted - had faith - in God for their ultimate salvation. Their faith was manifested in works - OBEDIENCE to the laws of God.      God made these men face this trial and test. They were brought to the door - still willing to die than disobey God - they were cast in. God allowed them to be tested to the very end - all the way. They were faithful to the end.        Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had real LIVING FAITH -  the kind of faith that SAVES. OTHER EXAMPLES OF FAITH            Paul in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews - commonly called the FAITH chapter - enumerates MANY examples of faith. Such as JACOB who in faith blessed the sons of Joseph and said they would become a NATION and a MULTITUDE/COMPANY(or fullness) of  NATIONS.  And that Joseph's descendants would be in the latter days like a fruitful vine by a well, whose branches would spread abroad - they would possess the riches of the earth (see Gen.35; 48:22-26).  This was a LAST DAYS prophecy (Gen.49:1). There can be no doubt today that Jacob's faith - his trust in God's promises - has been rewarded. These prophecies are fulfilled in the peoples of the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic race, who have  inherited the wealth of the earth and have spread abroad around the world. Joseph has truly become a company of nations and a great nation. Jacob knew that what God had promised, HE was able to PERFORM.      There is recorded the faith it took to bring down the WALLS of the great city of Jericho (Joshua 6).  In this account notice that God told them to DO SOMETHING - walk around the city for seven days, on the seventh day they were to walk only when told. There was to be OBEDIENCE to God's commands - the people did obey - the walls of Jericho fell!  Faith and obedience produced the right results.      David had faith that God would deliver him from the huge mountain of a man called Goliath.  David had FAITH in God  (1 Sam.17:37) for deliverance, but he also had WORKS - he had practiced for months, years, with his SLING SHOT - he was an expert marksman.  David did not have BLIND faith - he took FIVE stones from the brook (verse 40) just incase he missed with the first. He was humble enough to realize he could miss.  Interestingly, the number five is used by God in the Bible as the number for GRACE.  David had trust - faith in God, humility and WORKS. He loved the law of God and throughout his life had the attitude of wanting to OBEY and do the will of the Lord. He was always ready to confess his sins and repent of them. He wanted God to even reveal to him his secret faults and sins.  All this can be found in the many Psalms David wrote which are part of the Bible for us to read, study and meditate upon.      Daniel was another man full of the LIVING faith of God. A plot was undertaken to destroy Daniel.  He was to be accused of breaking the law of the land, because he would not stop praying to the true God (Dan.6:1-13).  The penalty for such violation of this law of man was carried out - he was cast into the lion's den (verses 14-17).  Daniel was, if it was the will of God, prepared to DIE for his faith - his way of life with the Eternal.  He had faith that no matter what the outcome, life or death in the physical, he was God's.  He looked beyond this life to the next life and the resurrection, to eternity. His faith lead to works of obedience.  He believed God could deliver him from the lions. God did choose to send His angel to deliver him from death.      It does take faith to obey the laws and commandments of God, even in the face of death.             On and on we could go, with example after example, of the people of God who are recorded in the Bible, that exhibited by their life and deeds they had LIVING FAITH.  There's the examples of GIDEON, BARAK, SAMSON, RAHAB, MOSES, SAMUEL,  RUTH, ESTHER and many more.  Read their life stories, and as you  do note their faith, their LIVING faith.      We are indeed saved by GRACE through FAITH and not of our works (Eph.2:8).  All our good works from the beginning of our life to the end, cannot pay for one single sin. All the good works a murderer can do in his life cannot take away the penalty of death for the one murder he committed. He is still on death row for that sin. Only grace from the judge of the land, only pardon from the authorities can release him from the death sentence that hangs over his head for his sin.  Yet when that grace is shown to him, he cannot go out and murder again. The law against murder has not be made void because grace and mercy has been shown to the guilty murderer. The law is still in effect.  Grace, pardon, mercy, may be shown to the murderer upon the CONDITION he deeply repents of his sin, and promises to abide by the law from that time forward.  He is not saved from death by works, by any good deeds, but the grace shown to him, and he having faith in that grace, will and must lead him to LIVING OBEDIENCE within the law.      We are not saved by our works, but being saved by grace will lead us to LIVING obedience to the law and will of God.  That living obedience takes faith. It is the faith of Jesus IN us that we live by as Paul said in Gal.2:20.  The life he lived was by the faith OF Jesus who lived in him.  Actually Jesus promised that BOTH the Father and He would come and live WITHIN the true child of God (John 14:23).  They are ALIVE, they live!  So the faith that is in us, is THEIR faith in us, because they live in us, and so it is a LIVING FAITH.      They live within us by and through the means of the Holy Spirit, which is their NATURE (2 Peter 1:3,4).  One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is FAITH (Gal.5:22).  Another basic attribute of the Holy Spirit is that it is the LOVE of God (Rom.5:5).  And the love of God is that we will KEEP, OBEY His commandments -  1 John 5:3.      So it all fits together like a perfect picture in a jig-saw puzzle, when all the parts are collected and put together we have a perfect whole.      Many are not able to put all the parts together, they are confused over many scriptures that seem to contradict each other, as to the truth of the matter about being SAVED BY GRACE.  I have an in-depth article on the subject of being saved by grace through faith, and it will make the truth plain, so you will understand about grace and living obedient faith as never before.      The land of Canaan - the promised land - the land of REST - was a TYPE of the ETERNAL LAND OF REST that God offers to all people who will REPENT.  Who will look to God in FAITH for FORGIVENESS of SIN, through the shed blood of JESUS.  Who will be BAPTIZED as an outward expression of that repentance and faith, and who will then live by the faith OF Christ - the same faith He had - given to them by the indwelling of the very Spirit and Nature of God.       Such persons will have a LIVING - SAVING FAITH - a faith that BELIEVES all the promises of God, that He is able and will perform all He has promised, a faith that leads to a humble life of OBEDIENCE to God's will and commandments.      That is the faith OF Christ in us. A faith that will ensure all those who have it, ETERNAL LIFE in the very family and Kingdom of God.      Our next study will be ALL ABOUT BAPTISM.  We shall find truth, inspiration, and also a few surprises along the way.             ....................... First written in 1989. Re-written and revised in 1997. ALL ABOUT WATER BAPTISM— AND  LAYING  ON  OF  HANDS HOW SHOULD IT BE DONE, BY SPRINKLING, POURING, SPLASHING?  WHEN SHOULD IT BE DONE AND BY WHOM? WHERE SHOULD IT BE DONE?  IS WATER BAPTISM NECESSARY FOR SALVATION?  THESE AND OTHER QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED AS WE LOOK AT  THIS IMPORTANT DOCTRINE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.                              by                          Keith Hunt      Did you know that baptism is not just a New Testament (NT) doctrine?  On one very specific and special occasion, thousands, if not a few million, were baptized, so says your NT  (see 1 Cor.10:1-2).  Israel was the "church in the wilderness" - the Old Testament(OT) church of God (Acts 7:38).  It is written: "Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea.  And were all BAPTIZED unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea."              IS BAPTISM NECESSARY FOR SALVATION?      We are saved by Christ's LIFE - His Spirit in us (Rom.5:10; 8:9,11). How do we RECEIVE that Spirit of life?  God inspired Peter to tell us: ".....REPENT and be BAPTIZED.....and you shall RECEIVE the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).      God is a God of principle and order. He lays down the rules. He is the one in charge of things and not ourselves. He says His thoughts and ways are not our thoughts and ways (Isa.55:8,9).  He does require us to perform TWO basic things to be saved - 1) REPENT  2) BE BAPTIZED.  Then He says He will give us the Spirit of LIFE that saves.      John the Baptist knew Christ had no need to be baptized. But what did Jesus say?  He said this: ".....Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becomes us to fulfil ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Mat.3:15).      You may ask: What is righteousness?  The Bible answers: ".....ALL thy COMMANDMENTS are RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Psalm 119:172). Being BAPTIZED is RIGHTEOUSNESS!  It is a COMMANDMENT of God.  Peter was inspired by God on that day of Pentecost to TELL people WHAT TO DO when they asked him what they should do.  Christ also set us an EXAMPLE that we should do as He did  (1 Peter 2:21).      Further, to the importance of this ordinance, we have more words from Peter.  "Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit...... the LIKE FIGURE whereunto even BAPTISM does also NOW SAVE US.......by the RESURRECTION of Christ" (1 Peter 3:18-21).            Baptism is a command of God. It is part of His righteousness.   Christ will not save anyone that He cannot rule over!  "But those  mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither,  and slay them before me" (Luke 19:27).      Christ only gives His SAVING Spirit to those who will OBEY Him (Acts 5:32).       Baptism then IS NECESSARY for salvation or to be saved.  Not that the act itself saves you, for no literal physical work can save you, (as you are saved by grace through faith and not by works - Eph.2:8-10), but REBELLING at the will and wish and command of God earns for you DEATH (Rom.6:23).  A heart and attitude of WILLFUL "no I will not do it God" puts you out of His grace and into willful sin, which if not repented of will eventually lead to the second death in the lake of fire.      The question is then asked: What about the person who DIES or is KILLED in an accident etc. BEFORE he/she can be baptized. Are they then NOT saved?      God looks upon the HEART, the attitude of mind. If an individual has be called of God, chosen by God, and is truly REPENTANT - understands what God basically requires of him, and WANTS to conform to the will and commands of God, wants to be BAPTIZED and REQUESTS (possibly they may even die before doing the literal requesting, but they do so intend to do) to be baptized, but before they are ACTUALLY baptized they die, God (who is the one in charge of all things, and has permitted the person to die) WILL NOT HOLD HIM GUILTY!      The HEART and MIND of the individual concerned was RIGHT!  They will be saved!  BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, if an individual KNOWS what is the will of his Master - the Eternal God - and STUBBORNLY REFUSES to do His will, then that is REBELLION;  that is SIN.  For to him who knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17).  God will never save such a willful rebellious  "snub your nose at God" sinner (Heb.10:26-31).           BAPTISM - SPRINKLING, POURING, SPLASHING?      What does the word "baptism" mean?  Here is what Strong's Concordance of the Bible has to say: " 'Baptizo' from 'bapto' - a prim verb; to whelm - i.e., cover wholly with a fluid."      Please take the time to look up this Greek word in other Greek Lexicons and Dictionaries.            Now, does a few "sprinklings" or "dabbings" with water COVER WHOLLY?        Let us look at the examples of the NT and see if we can find HOW people were baptized.      "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway OUT OF the water......" (Mat.3:16).      "John did baptize......and there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him IN the river Jordan......." (Mark 1:4,5).      "And John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was MUCH WATER there......" (John 3:23).      "And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went DOWN both INTO THE WATER, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him" (Acts 8:38).      There is not one verse in the Bible that uses the words "sprinkling, pouring, splashing, dabbing" in connection with being baptized.  But we do find phrases like "went up.....out of the water"  "baptized....in the river"  "much water there"  "went down into the water."      For a full in-depth technical study on this Greek word for baptism, I refer you to the SECOND section of this study.      If baptism could be done merely by "splashing" a few drops of water over someone, you would not need "much water" and you would not need a river.  The person doing the baptism in the river would not have to go "down into the river" nor would the one BEING baptized.  A cup or less of water from someone's house, or well, or even the river, would do.  But we CANNOT find any example, or indication, in God's word that baptism was done with only a few drops of water.      The word "baptism" means to COVER WHOLLY.  The examples in Scripture show us that people were fully IMMERSED in water when baptized.      The THIRD section of this study will show you that for a number of CENTURIES after the start of the NT church of God, even the popular "Christianity" that became known as the Roman Catholic Church BAPTIZED by COMPLETE IMMERSION in water,  AND ONLY MUCH LATER adopted their present practice of baptizing  with a few drops of water.                    WHAT BAPTISM SYMBOLIZES      Paul wrote in Col.2:12, "BURIED with Him in baptism, wherein also you are RISEN with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised Him from the dead."      Again Paul states: "Know you not, that so many of us that were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death......" (going down under the water is symbolic of our dying as Christ died). He died for our sins - the transgression of the law of God, see 1 John 3:4; Rom.7:7.  We are saying that by going under the waters that we will die to sin, that sin will no longer rule us, and that we accept the death of Christ as our reconciliatory sacrifice with God, see Rom.5:10; 6:12,14) "Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death....." (Rom.6:4).      Yes, if we DID NOT come up out of the water we would drown - DIE!  Baptism is AS IF we died - because in actual death we would be free from sin.  We would not be able to sin.  So our sins - past sins - sins committed up to the point of going under the water - are cleansed away, FORGIVEN.  The slate is clean!  Nothing now stops us from entering God's presence (Isa.59:8-9).  And it is Christ's DEATH, His shed blood, that gives us JUSTIFICATION (Rom.5:9).            But Paul does not STOP with Christ's death, and our going under the water to show we accept His sacrifice.  He goes on to say, "That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life....."  Coming up out of the watery grave symbolizes our acceptance  that we will live a new life, where sin no longer reigns but where righteousness is our desire. Just as Christ was raised from the dead and is now completely free from even the temptation to sin, remember He did no sin, but was tempted as we are, see Heb.4:15.  So our goal and desire is to live a sinless life ".....for if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin......"  (We are not to serve, obey the dictates of sin, the breaking of the law of God)  ".....Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God......Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body......but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead......" (Rom.6:1-13).      Romans chapter six is one of the main sections of the Scriptures that give us the MEANING of WATER BAPTISM.  I recommend you read this chapter in some of the  modern translations such as the Amplified Bible, Phillips, Living Bible, and others.                   WHEN SHOULD WE BE BAPTIZED? As baptism is the recognizing of sin - that we have broken God's law - that we are guilty before God - that we have incurred the death penalty (Rom.3:23; 6:23) and only Christ's death - His shed blood - can reconcile, justify us to God (Rom.3:19-25).  As baptism is also declaring to God that you intend to put away sin - to change your life from a life of going the opposite to God's law - to a life of serving the Eternal in righteousness, which is the keeping of the law (Rom.6:11-13; Ps.119:172).  As baptism means ALL OF THIS, it should be plain to see that baptism is NOT FOR SMALL CHILDREN OR INFANTS.      Baptism is for people who KNOW exactly what it MEANS.  Who can accept Christ as their PERSONAL Savior; who have COUNTED THE COST (Mat.10:37-38; 19:16-27; 7:21-27; 13-14; 6:24; 5:17-20; 18:3-4; Mark 4:14-20; 10:28-30; Luke 6:46-49; 14:25-35).      God gives us no SPECIFIC AGE as to when baptism should be performed.  There is NO scripture that says: You must not baptize anyone until age.....such and such.  The examples we have in the NT are of ADULTS being baptized.  It must be remembered that in Jewish culture you were an adult at the age of 12 years.  Jesus at 12 was in the Temple doing "His Father's business" (as He told His mother Mary) when His mother came looking for Him, as He had not followed them to their home after observing the feast of the Passover (Luke 2).      Jesus never sinned, so it is written.  What He did on this occasion was not dis- honoring His physical parents.  He was regarded in their culture to be an adult, as He was now 12 years old.  To us this may seem very strange and may seem to be still very young, yet in a religious home as Jesus would have been raised, the amount of maturity for a twelve year old would have been considerably more than most average twelve year old youngsters in our Western cultures.  Most marriages took place in Jewish societies during the middle teenage years. It was counted a family shame if a daughter was not married by the age of eighteen.      So under certain situations it is quite possible that a teenager could be CALLED and CHOSEN by the Lord to His Spiritual family and Kingdom.  Jeremiah was but a child (Jer.1:6-7) when called by God.  The phrase is understood by some chronologists as Jeremiah being in his teens when called.        In our Western Nations the average person does not reach maturity of mind until in their late teens or early 20's as a general rule of thumb, BUT like many other things there are exceptions to the rule.  Each must be taken on an individual basis.  Between Spirit filled parents (or parent if only one is baptized) and the Elders of the church, knowing the youth, studying the counting of the cost with the youth, praying and even fasting about the situation, the Spirit of the Lord will lead to ascertaining if this person is ready for baptism or not.      After a person is brought by God to REPENTANCE (see 2 Tim.2:25; Acts 11:18), how long should they wait BEFORE they are baptized?  The Ethiopian eunuch was brought to repentance and belief in Christ as personal Savior with one sermon (of course he was already a reader and observer of the word of God as best he understood, as the context makes clear) by Philip.  And Philip baptized him IMMEDIATELY (Acts 8:26-39).      Peter said: "....Repent, and be (then after be) baptized...." (Acts 2:38).  Baptism should take place in the life of a mature adult, as soon as REAL REPENTANCE is clearly discernible by those who are going to perform the ceremony or are responsible for having others perform it (Paul stated did not baptize very many but others baptized those God called through his teaching and preaching - see 1 Cor.1:14-17).                       WHY SHOULD WE BE BAPTIZED?      Peter was inspired to say on the Day of Pentecost (the day that God poured out His Holy Spirit on the NT church - Acts 2:1-4),  "......Repent and be baptized every one of you......and YOU shall receive the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT" (Acts 2:38).      God is a God of ORDER.  He is not a God of CONFUSION (1 Cor.14:33).  He told the church in the wilderness (Acts 7:38) DO THIS, and I will DO THIS for YOU!  Obey Him and He told them He would  BLESS them!  If they DISOBEYED then they would NOT be blessed, but would have CURSES! (Deut.28:1-68).      God tells us through Peter - REPENT and be BAPTIZED, and THEN I will give you the Holy Spirit.  THAT'S THE ORDER friends. I did not write it. It's been in your Bible for nearly 2,000 years.  Those are the TWO basic and general CONDITIONS that God lays down to receive His GIFT.  It is a one, two, three, general process.  God does not leave it up to us to decide how we shall receive His Spirit.  He PLAINLY TELLS us HOW!  All we can do is either obey or not obey.  But He even tells us that He gives His Spirit ONLY to those who have the heart and mind attitude of OBEYING Him (Acts 5:32).      Why do we need God's Spirit?  Paul answers: ".....Now if any man HAS NOT the Spirit of Christ, he is NONE OF HIS.......If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead DWELL IN YOU, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also QUICKEN (make alive) your mortal bodies by His Spirit that DWELLS IN YOU" (Rom.8:9-11).      Unless we have God's Spirit IN us we CANNOT be saved, for we are saved by His LIFE (Rom.5:10).      God's Spirit is Christ IN US (living His life again within us - His mind in us - Phil.2:5; Gal.2:20).  It is the POWER of God to enable us to do His will (Acts 1:8).  It is God's LOVE flowing from Himself and Christ into us.  It enables us to keep His commandments (Rom.5:5; 1 John 5:3).  God's Spirit LEADS to TRUTH (John 16:13). WE NEED TO BE BAPTIZED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE GOD'S SPIRIT,  AND SO BE SAVED (see also Acts 19:1-6).                        A GOOD QUESTION      Someone is bound to say: But what about Cornelius and the Gentiles; did they not receive God's Spirit BEFORE being baptized?      Yes, they did!  But let's read the whole context and understand the circumstances.  It will become plain to see that God was telling Peter and the Jews that the Holy Spirit was now available to EVERYONE - Jew and Gentile!  Remember, the way of God, His covenants, promises, were ONLY given to Israel under the OT (Rom.9:4).  A Gentile could become (under the old covenant law) an Israelite by being circumcised, adopting the religion of Israel and living among the nation of Israel.  The Gentile nations as a whole, were NOT GIVEN God's truth or ways or His Spirit (Eph.2:11-12), even in Israel, it was only the few that were given God's Spirit (see Num.11).      God was here, showing the Jews and the NT church that His Spirit and Gospel was NOW to go to all the world (Acts 11:1-18; Luke 24:46-47).  He told them this by sending down His Spirit on those Gentiles in a somewhat similar manner as when He poured it out upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost.      This was a SPECIAL TIME in history.  It was a FIRST!  It had to be SHOWN in a SPECIAL WAY.  Or shall I say, God chose to show it in a special way.  God wanted Peter and the other Jews to CLEARLY UNDERSTAND God's PLAN and purpose!      Notice!  After the Lord poured His Holy Spirit on those Gentiles, Peter STILL said they should be BAPTIZED! (verses 47-48).      If God did, for a SPECIAL reason, (or for no special reason but that He is God and can make exceptions to the norm if He chooses), give His Spirit to an individual PRIOR to baptism - that individual would STILL be commanded to be BAPTIZED.  That is the CLEAR teaching in this example.  If he refused, it would be proof that he really never did have God's Spirit in the first place, but some other spirit from another spiritual power, that is in REBELLION to the will and ways of the true Almighty God.  For as we have before proved, those with the Spirit of God will OBEY that God, just as Jesus did, who was baptized when He had no need to be baptized, but He would as He said, fulfil all righteousness.      God's OVERALL teaching is - 99.9% of the time - a ONE, TWO, THREE step!   REPENT,  BE BAPTIZED, THEN receive the Holy Spirit!      Now, there is also a difference between God's Spirit LEADING a person and God's Spirit being IN a person.  Everyone whom the Lord calls to repentance and His truth is being LED by the Spirit (1 Cor.2:11,14; 2 Tim.2:25).  But AFTER baptism God's Spirit is IN (UNITED WITH, AS AN EGG AND SPERM BECOME UNITED IN  HUMAN REPRODUCTION) THAT PERSON (Rom.8:11). The person is  BEGOTTEN again (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3) by the resurrection and LIFE of Christ.       This is, as I have stated, the OVERALL way of the Lord, BUT as He is God, He can make EXCEPTIONS to the rule of things, or the norm.  But in this we must be careful that we do not make the exception  the rule, or the rule will become the exception, and we will have turned black into white, and put the cart before the horse.       We need to be baptized in order to receive the Spirit of God that is the LIFE of God, that IN us will give us the gift of Eternal life in the Kingdom and family of our heavenly Father.                BY WHOM SHOULD WE BE BAPTIZED?      Jesus Christ did not baptize one single soul!!  "The Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself baptized NOT, but His disciples)" (John 4:1-2).        Paul only baptized a relatively few!!  ".....for Christ sent me NOT TO BAPTIZE, but to preach the Gospel" (1 Cor.1:17).      When Christ's disciples were baptizing they were doing it by His authority. They were His agents, acting on His behalf.  They were students of Christ - His followers - His servants.  It was yes, a different situation then, than now, for at that time the Holy Spirit had not come to fill them. They were technically unconverted in one sense of the word (Luke 22:31-32; John 16:7-13; Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-4). Yet they were in heart and attitude committed to the Lord (all except Judas who betrayed Him).       The IMPORTANT thing for us to see from all this is that the person DOING the baptizing represents God to the very best of their knowledge and understanding at the time. That they DO IT in the name of or by the authority of, Jesus Christ. That they, and the one being baptized,  realize it is really Jesus doing the baptizing but through a human person.  And of course that the one baptizing does it in the basic CORRECT way, as we have seen, by complete IMMERSION in water.      The BAPTISM itself is the MAIN issue and not so much as to which sincere Spirit filled (coming now to the present, after the day of Pentecost of Acts 2) person actually performs the rite on the one desiring to be baptized.      This then should answer a lot of questions such as: If the person who baptized me should loose their faith, is my baptism valid?        Quite frankly no human can know what another human may do 5, 10, 20 etc. years from now. God only knows such things.  Your repentance, conversion, and baptism is NOT dependant on any human individual.  It only is dependant on the Eternal, and we need to be ever thankful that that is the truth of the matter.  The person doing the baptism is not to be looked at in some special way as being tied to your person relationship with God in heaven. It is God and Christ that you need ALWAYS to look at from the beginning to the end, and that will then include your baptism.      The age of the person doing the baptizing, their height, their physical looks, their color of hair,  the color of their skin,  and whatever else about them is physical, is NOT important.  What IS important is REPENTANCE in the heart of the one being baptized, and that they are being baptized as an outward sign to God that they are willing to die to sin and live to righteousness, as they accept the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.                IN WHOSE NAME IS BAPTISM DONE?      Should you be baptized in God the Father's name only?  Or should it only be in Christ's name?  Maybe some would argue it should be in only the Holy Spirit's name (although I've never met any such persons).   Or should baptism be performed with a combination of the above three names?      Some of the scriptures on this are:      ".....Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ......" (Acts 2:38).      "......And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:48).      "When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:5).      There are to be sure a number of such scriptures as the above in the NT.      Then there is:  "Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Mat.28:19).      Those words were spoken by Jesus, personally.  The debate and arguing in the churches of God over the years concerning this question of "in whose name"  has been long and vociferous at times.  Some want to pit one set of scriptures against others.  Some want to say Matthew 28:19 was not in the original Greek.  Still others want to take the majority of verses, so Matthew 28:19 is relegated to the trash pile.      I have found the harmonizing of all the verses not really that difficult.  It is quite simple to retain them all and come up with a basic baptism formula that covers all the bases.  Here is what I will say (after I have possibly said other things) to the person being baptized, if I'm officiating the ceremony.      "As you have confessed that you repent of your sins.  As you have confessed that you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior, confessed that His shed blood cleanses you of sin.  As you have confessed that you desire to die to sin and live to righteousness, to follow in the steps of Jesus, I now baptize you in the name of, which is by the authority of, Jesus Christ, into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."                    THE LAYING ON OF HANDS      After the disciples were scattered abroad, Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ unto them. Many indeed BELIEVED and were baptized (Acts 8:4-12).  Yet when Peter and John came from Jerusalem to them, they discovered that the Holy Spirit had not come upon any of them.  Notice what is written in verses 15-17.      "Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in name of the Lord Jesus).  Then LAID THEY THEIR HANDS UPON THEM; and they received  the Holy Spirit."      Here we have people being baptized, correctly I might add, for not one word is said about it not being performed incorrectly up to a certain point.  Then we are told that when Peter and John prayed and laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came into them.        Another example is found in Acts 19:1-6.      ".....Paul.....finding certain disciples, said unto them: Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?  And they said unto him: We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit.  And he said to them: Unto what then were you baptized?  And they said: Unto John's baptism.  Then said Paul: John truly baptized with the baptism unto repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on Him which should come after him; that is, on Christ Jesus.  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  And when Paul HAD LAID HIS HANDS UPON THEM, the Holy Spirit came on them......."            I see no other reason than that these examples as given to us so that we might know that a very important part of the baptism ceremony and rite, is that after those being put under the water have come up from the grave (in type), prayers and the laying on of the hands of those who have gone before and in whom dwells the Spirit, is also to be performed, for the receiving of the Holy Spirit.              WHERE SHOULD A PERSON BE BAPTIZED?      Baptism is the complete cover of the person being baptized by water.  This is the important thing; not WHERE it takes place!      The COLOR of the water is not important.  The TEMPERATURE of the water is not important (unless it must be a certain temperature for health reasons).  It does not matter to God if a person is baptized in the sea, in a lake, in a swimming pool, in a deep bathtub, or in a 50 gallon drum, as long as they are completely immersed in the water for a few seconds.      The PLACE and the CONTAINER of water is unimportant to God.             ARE SOME BAPTISMS VALID BEFORE COMING           INTO THE SABBATH KEEPING CHURCHES OF GOD?      This can be a large topic, covering many points, and it is not the purpose of this article to go into detail answering all the ramifications that could be argued.  I think we can condense the answer to a few sentences.      God is the one who calls a person to Himself and to His truths.  He is looking for a heart attitude in the main.  A heart attitude of humility and repentance, one that says I want to do all your will Lord. I want to be led by your Spirit, I want to obey your commandments, I desire to put away sin, and to live and follow after righteousness. I desire to grow in grace and knowledge, to be taught and to be corrected.        This is what God is looking for. Then He will lead and teach and correct error AS HE SEES FIT AND WHEN HE SEES FIT.  There is no one who can claim 100% knowledge and truth of God's WAY and PERFECTNESS upon their baptism (outside of course Jesus Christ when He was human).  No one!  We must all GROW in spiritual knowledge as we are led by the Spirit into all truth.      Can God call someone say in the Sunday observing churches, who sincerely believes Sunday is the 7th day, or is the NT Sabbath, and observes it accordingly, thinking they are obeying the 4th commandment.  Can God call them, see their attitude of mind is correct,  given them His Holy Spirit upon correctly being baptized, and leave them for A TIME in their blindness to the Sabbath truth, only to reveal it at a later date to them?  Yes, I believe God can!  Well, God of course can do anything, for nothing is impossible for Him, as it is written.  So we should say, has God done such a thing at times?  I think He has!      There are, as I've stated before, EXCEPTIONS to the rule.  Could the question I pose and the answer I've given be an exception to the general rule?  I believe so.  Please do not misunderstand.  The Lord will never leave someone He has called and chosen and given His Spirit to, in sin as concerning His TEN Commandment law.  He will at some point REVEAL to them their error, so they can do as the Scriptures admonish, and that is "become you therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" and "grow in grace and knowledge of your Lord and Savior Christ Jesus."      Each of these previous baptisms of  persons must be taken and judged on an individual basis. Time, prayer, meditation, seeking God's direction and answer to such questions, will net the desired result for each person coming from that background. Some, may only need the laying on of hands (it may never have been done at their baptism).                SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS AND BAPTISM      The young person or adult who was raised in an environment of righteousness (in a God-fearing family or church) sometimes has more trouble coming to deep repentance than those who came up in the "dirt and mire" as we say.  They have been "good people" have they not?  So what does real repentance mean to them, or how do they understand what it is?        The life of Job will I think help us here.  Immediately, in the very first verse it is said that Job was BLAMELESS and UPRIGHT, someone who FEARED God and SHUNNED EVIL!   Wow, now that  is righteousness for you!  In verse eight God  even said to Satan that Job was blameless.  No other man alive  was like him.  Satan answered that it PAID Job to be so - he had  nothing but good things.  If those "things" were taken away Satan said,  then Job would curse God.  So the Lord allowed the Devil to strip Job of most of his physical goods.      Ah, Job did not do what Satan expected him to do.  And God still called Job blameless in chapter 2:3.      Then the Devil was allowed to inflict physical pain on Job; but he still did not sin with his lips (verses 4-10).      Job's three friends finally came along and tried to accuse Job of being a sinner, of clandestinely keeping a great sin hidden somewhere in his closet. They wanted him to pull it out and confess it to the whole world, but Job answered them one by one and showed he was not practicing some secret sin (chapters 4-31). Just look at the righteousness of Job. He would put most Christians of today to utter shame if they tried to compare themselves against his standards and righteousness.      Job never took a bribe (chap.6:22).      He never committed violence (16:17).      His prayers were pure (16:17).       Job obeyed all of God's commandments (23:11-12).      He never lied or was deceitful (27:4).      His heart was clean - it never condemned him (27:6).      Job helped the poor and fatherless (29:12).      He helped the widows, the blind, the lame, etc. (29:13-15).      Job never lusted after a woman (31:1)      More of Job's righteousness is listed in chapter 31.  He was in human terms indeed blameless!  God never once said Job lied or was wrong in claiming to be righteous.  Job was probably the most perfectly righteous person, next to Christ, who ever lived.            Now, you who have been raised in a God fearing manner, can anyone say they have NEVER lied, or spoken untruth, never been angry without cause, never been disobedient or rebellious against their parents, never been deceitful, never lusted in their mind, never broken the Sabbath day?  Can you say your heart has never condemned you?  Have you always been kind, polite, thoughtful, self-controlled, thankful, giving and serving?  Can you say you have NEVER had jealousies, resentment, and revenge in your mind and heart against someone?      Can you really say with Job, you are BLAMELESS?  I think maybe not!      If you are honest with yourself you will have to admit you are not even close to being what Job was, let alone the perfect Christ.  And good old Job, well he was not perfect either. For within and among all his wonderful righteousness he had never really seen the TRUE PERFECT ALMIGHTY GOD of this universe.      A fourth friend of Job's finally spoke up and hit the nail on the head, took the two by four plank and struck him between the eyes with it.  He showed Job how GREAT GOD WAS and how little, weak, puny, and insignificant was Job and all mankind when compared with the Eternal God (chapters 32-37).      Afterwards, God Himself stepped in and really laid it on Job (chap.38-41).  The Lord with His Spirit HUMBLED Job;  brought him to DEEP REPENTANCE!  God helped him come to really SEE with spiritual insight the AWESOMENESS and PERFECT HOLINESS of  the one who created all things.  Job came to see very clearly that all HIS personal righteousness was nothing but FILTHY RAGS when placed next to the PERFECT POWER, MIGHT, GRACE, WISDOM, and JUSTNESS of the God of heaven.       Job came to the point, as we all must do(if we want to be saved), where he could say:  "I have heard of you (only) by the hearing of the ear; BUT NOW my (spiritual) eye SEES YOU.  Therefore, I LOATHE (my words) and ABHOR myself, and REPENT in dust and ashes" (Job 42:5,6  Amplified Bible).      When you get to that point.  When God has given you REAL REPENTANCE, then you are ready to be BAPTIZED!                .............................                    Part  B  follows  next                        THE LAYING ON OF                             HANDS      One of the principle foundation doctrines of Christ is the doctrine of "the laying on of hands" (Heb.6:2).  In this study we shall only concern ourselves with the laying on of hands as it relates to the receiving of the Holy Spirit in the ordinance of Baptism.      There are only THREE clear passages in the NT that connects the laying on of hands with the receiving of the Holy Spirit,  They are:  ACTS 8:14-19;  9:10-18;  19:1-7.       It is debatable whether the passage in 2 Tim.1:6-7 is referring to receiving the Holy Spirit or the special gift given to Timothy through the Eldership (see the Bible Commentaries).      Let us look at the THREE passages in the book of Acts. ACTS 8:14-19      Philip had recently been set apart by the multitude of the disciples and 12 apostles as one of the "diakonos" (Acts 6:1-7).  After the persecution in Jerusalem and the scattering of the church there, he went down to Samaria and preached Christ to them.  Many believed and were baptized.  The apostles sent Peter and John to serve and help.  Coming, they found that the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon these newly baptized persons.  How they knew this is not related to us.  Why had they not yet received the Holy Spirit?  They had been baptized in the name of Jesus!      From the context of what happened, it would seem that Philip did not understand that he should have laid his hands on them.  Notice verse 17, "Then LAID THEY THEIR HANDS UPON THEM, and they RECEIVED the Holy Spirit."      It would seem Philip's understanding was limited at this time. He knew HOW to baptize and WHY to baptize, but he did not know about the laying on of hands.      Surely, this specific incident is recorded for OUR INSTRUCTION today, so we might see that the "laying on of hands" is a PART of the baptism ceremony to receive the Holy Spirit. ACTS 9:10-18      Ananias is sent by God to restore the sight to Paul or Saul and to BAPTIZE him.  He is shown by God in a vision to "put his hands on him" so Saul might receive his sight again (verse 12).  But notice verse 17 and what else is added to this "putting his hands on him" - the receiving or being filled with the Holy Spirit! A second example recorded for us of the "laying on of hands" in connection with  being filled with God's Spirit. ACTS 19:1-7      Paul came to Ephesus and found disciples who had not even heard about the Holy Spirit.  They had been baptized under John the baptist's ministry.  Paul revealed to them the baptism of Jesus Christ as the true Christian baptism; and they were baptized accordingly.  Verse six says, "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them."      The above three recorded examples should be enough for God's children to realize and understand that the doctrine of the "laying on of hands" is an important part of baptism and the receiving of the Spirit of God.                 WHEN SHOULD HANDS BE LAID ON?      Should the laying on of hands be done BEFORE or AFTER baptism?      In Acts, chapter 8 and 19, the example given is that of the laying on of hands AFTER baptism.      In Acts 9 Ananias laid hands on Paul BEFORE baptism.  But it is plain to see that in this case the laying on of hands had a dual purpose.  It was also to restore Saul's sight.  It would be much easier to baptize a person with his vision than as a blind man.       Of course he may have laid hands on Paul again after baptizing him, but the record does not inform us of this.      Two out of three of these examples are AFTER baptism........yet, these three examples do show us that God is FLEXIBLE.  He is not bound by strict RITUALISTIC service in certain special circumstances.                                                      WILL THE HOLY SPIRIT BE GIVEN                WITHOUT THE LAYING ON OF HANDS?      In Acts 8 the people of Samaria did BELIEVE.  They had REPENTED and they had accepted Jesus Christ.  God's Spirit had worked WITH them - opened up their minds, given them repentance (2 Peter 3:9; Rom.2:4).  It had led them to the truth about salvation and Christ (John 16:13; 6:44,65; 16:7-8).  They were baptized CORRECTLY! But until they had HANDS LAID ON THEM  the Holy Spirit did not unite with their minds (verse 17).  It was still WITH them but not IN them.  That is the only way this passage in Acts can be understood, for it plainly says that they received NOT (as a begettal) the Holy Spirit until they had had the laying on of hands.      But Cornelius and others received the Holy Spirit BEFORE baptism and the laying on of hands (Acts 10:44-48), some will say.......and yes, indeed that is so!  What this shows is that God is NOT BOUND BY STRICT RITUAL.  He is FLEXIBLE!   When He decides, for whatever reason He decides!        This was SPECIAL - Cornelius was the FIRST Gentile to receive the Holy Spirit.  There CAN BE EXCEPTIONS to the general rule.  God is in charge of His plan of Salvation, not mankind.  So, exceptions yes, but the overall rule and instruction stays as is: 1) Repent  2) be Baptized (which includes the laying on of hands)  3) YOU SHALL RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 2:38).      Question:  If the person doing the baptism does not lay hands on the one being baptized, and if the one being baptized does not know about the doctrine of the laying on of hands, but has repented and accepted Jesus as their personal savior, will God withhold begetting them with His Spirit, uniting the Spirit with their minds?      Answer:  That question cannot with any firmness (by the examples recorded) be answered in the positive or the negative. GOD MAKES THAT DECISION!      Yet, anyone coming LATER to the truth about the "laying on of hands" should take Peter's admonition to Cornelius and the others in Acts 10:4 and re-phrase it something like this:  "Can any man forbid that these should not have the laying on of hands as we did?"                   WHO CAN PERFORM BAPTISM                   AND THE LAYING ON OF HANDS?      Is it only SPECIAL people, or only those "ordained" to the Eldership or Deaconship, who can baptize and lay hands upon someone to receive the Holy Spirit?       I may SHOCK some of you reading this, but I will challenge anyone to find the NT scripture that gives plain instructions that it is only an "ordained" person who can baptize and lay hands on another to receive the Holy Spirit.  Get looking for it, search the scriptures daily, see if you can find any such teaching or instruction.  Paul sure had lots of space to write such dogma in his 14 epistles, but he never wrote one word about it being ONLY ordained persons that could baptize and lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit.  And none of the other writers of the NT did either !       Philip, in Acts 8, did not lay hands upon those people he baptized not because he was not qualified, but because he DID NOT KNOW he should do so!  That knowledge had not been made known to him until Peter and John came down from Jerusalem to explain it to him and to those he had baptized.      Philip went on after this experience and explanation to BAPTIZE the Ethiopian eunuch and, now knowing what he knew, he would have also laid his hands on him (Acts 8:26-39).  Philip was a servant of God.  He had the gift of God's Spirit.  Was he qualified to pass on that gift to someone else?  The eunuch went on his way back to Ethiopia as a baptized Spirit filled child of God.  Philip was qualified as a true child of God to pass on that gift of God's Holy Spirit!      But some may say: Philip was ordained to the "diakonos" (Acts 6:1-7) and so could perform the laying on of hands and baptism to receive the Holy Spirit.      What about the eunuch then?  Are we to suppose he never shared his faith with anyone in Ethiopia?  Are we to suppose that God never used him in that part of the world to bring others to Christ?  Hardly now, it certainly would not seem logical to so reason.  It is I submit more logical to believe that God had Philip taken to this eunuch to baptize him (and so receive the Holy Spirit) so that God could use him to bring others to repentance and salvation in Ethiopia and other parts of the African continent.  It is again unrealistic to think that those brought to baptism in Ethiopia would have to wait for the laying on of hands by the ordained ministry in Jerusalem.  It is far more realistic to view this eunuch as a chosen vessel in the hands of the Lord to spread the Gospel in Ethiopia, to baptize and lay hands on those whom God would call to receive His Spirit.      This is all SPECULATION, someone will shout.  Well, let me show you an example that is part of God's word - no speculation!      We have referred to this passage already - Acts 8:10-18, but many MISS an important teaching and lesson from this example, concerning WHO can baptize and pass on the gift of the Holy Spirit.      Notice.........Paul was indeed baptized and received the gift of the Spirit of God (verses 17,18).  WHO baptized and laid hands upon him?  Why, it was ANANIAS.  Now, WHO was Ananias?  Look in your Bible Dictionaries or Bible Hand books.  VERY little is known about him!  Was he called an "apostle"?  No!  Was he called an "evangelist"?   No!   Was he called a "prophet"? No!  Was he called a "deacon"? No! What was he called then?        Verse 10,  "And there was a certain DISCIPLE at Damascus."      Ananias is mentioned ONLY as a "disciple."  He was a FOLLOWER of Christ; a child of God.  The Greek word here used for "disciple" is the SAME one used EVERYWHERE in the NT for "disciple" and means, literally:  "a learner (from "manthano" to learn, from a root "math" - indicating thought accompanied by endeavor).  Hence, it denotes one who follows one's teaching, as the disciples of John, Mat.9:14;  of the Pharisees, Mat.22:16;  of Moses, John 9:28.  It is used of the disciples of Jesus" (Vine's Dictionary of NT Words, page 308).      Now, an apostle is a disciple of Jesus, as is any of the ordained Ministry or Eldership.  But as NO OTHER DISTINGUISHING remark is made of Ananias other than that he was a "disciple" in Damascus, the FIRST and most important logical understanding is that he was a FOLLOWER - a baptized Spirit filled child of God, who held no other function or ordained position in the church of God.      It was he whom the Lord chose to baptize and lay hands upon Paul, a man whom the Eternal would greatly use to do His work.      Summary:  A person that has himself been baptized, had the laying on of hands, and is filled with the Spirit of God is qualified, and can be used by that same God to pass on His gift of the Holy Spirit to other repentant believers.                ......................... First written in 1983.  Re-written and revised in June 1997.