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The Transformation of Saul to Paul

Bill Alderson
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The Transformation of Saul to Paul

Jesus came to us 2,000 years ago to introduce a new covenant, one that would solve the deficiency that the Law of Moses did not address. I’m referring to the reliance on man to keep the Law. A good case study dealing with the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant is the process of Saul of Tarsus becoming the Apostle Paul. Looking at his life before and after his day of salvation through his own writings enlightens us in the conversion he faced.

Saul of Tarsus was brought up the son of a Pharisee and followed in his father’s footsteps, moving to Jerusalem as a young teenager to study the Law under Gamaliel. As a committed Jew, he grew up to be an esteemed Pharisee and was a leader against the Christian movement taking place after Pentecost. In fact, he was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians for trial, “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord”. It was with this mindset that Jesus visited him, blinding him, knocking him off his horse, and speaking with him directly. When Saul understood that he was facing the Lord and His name was Jesus of Nazareth, it became the most profound moment of his life.

Jesus told him that God was “rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance” (Acts 26:17-18). And in Acts 22:14-15, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.” It would be this personal experience with the Risen Lord that would strengthen him to be willing to suffer for this divine purpose.

Galatians 1:11-17

11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.

In this passage, Paul is giving us insight into the transformation that needed to take place in Saul of Tarsus. The importance of his “revelation of Jesus Christ” cannot be understated; it was the signature moment of Paul’s ministry. In 1 Corinthians 15:6-8, he tells us that at least 500 others saw the Risen Christ, including James, the half-brother of Jesus. In verses 9-10, Paul was humbled by the experience, testifying that he was “not fit to be called an apostle” and then acknowledged that his ability to fulfill his ministry was only because of God’s grace, namely His favor and empowerment. It was this reality that enabled him to devote himself completely to the divine task.

The Torah and the Temple

Paul identifies the impartation of God’s life in him as necessary to His ministry to the Gentiles. Saul of Tarsus was a scholar of the Law of Moses, so he needed to understand this new life in the context of the Old Testament. The Jewish concept of religious life revolved around two foundations, the Torah and the temple. The Torah or Law of Moses established the ground rules for worship while the temple served as the center of religious and social life within the Jewish family. So that these pillars would become negotiable, God was making Himself real in Paul’s life like few Old Testament leaders would experience. The fact that the gospel is not according to man (Galatians 1:11) is fulfilled through the new relationship with God, that believers are the temple and the Torah is fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ received by faith.

Paul testified throughout his letters and ministry that Christianity was not a new religious system with seismic differences from Judaism, but rather its completion. This is evidenced by the fact that he never denied his Jewish faith, but embraced it as a critical part of his new-found spiritual life. He writes in Ephesians 2:20 that Christianity is built on the foundation of the apostles (New Testament) and prophets (Old Testament).

Ultimately, Paul instructed his Jewish heritage that “For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:2-4). When the believer connects with God on the basis of faith in Jesus as Messiah, he receives and becomes subject to His righteousness. This is the end (completion) of the law! In verse 10, “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” When the heart is truly engaged in faith, His righteousness is the result.

Gospel in One Minute

Matthew Schoenherr
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Gospel in One Minute

I found this music while rummaging for a different project months back. I really liked the tune but had no idea what I would do with it. This video “The Gospel in One Minute” is totally experimental. Please comment and let me know what you think! Matthew

P.S. Words flying by too fast? Below is the full script:

In the beginning a perfect world.
Sin through self-will;
Rebellion brings decay, disease, death.
Covenants made; covenants broken.
The shadow of law and sacrifice teach
the need for holiness and atonement.
Creation apart from its Creator self-destructs.
Prophets warn of judgment
pointing to a perfect sacrifice to end all sacrifice.
Through a future deliverer;
king of Judah; root of Jesse; son of David;
promised one; Messiah.

Then…

[silence]

A child born in Bethlehem.
A cry in the desert,
“Make straight the way of the Lord!”
12 chosen
Power
Authority
Compassion.
Lame walk; Sick healed; Blind see;
Dead raised; Captives freed.
Kingdom of God established.
Cornerstone rejected
New covenant
Sheep scattered
“Crucify Him!”
Love nailed to a [Roman cross]
It is finished!
Third day He rose.
Peace be with you.
Go. Baptize all nations in the name
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
He ascended to heaven.
He sits at the Father’s right hand.
Pentecost.
Holy Spirit descends;
Fire + wind
3,000 added.
Day of the Lord judgment.
He will return to judge the living + dead.
Kingdom without end.
Jesus

How to Stop Being Offended

Matthew Schoenherr
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How to Stop Being Offended

An oxymoron is a short phrase that contradicts itself, like “seriously funny,” or “deafening silence” or “government intelligence.” A kingdom example of an oxymoron is “Christian vulnerability”—or, at least, it should be.

  • Do your feelings get hurt frequently?
  • How do you overcome offense and stop the cycle of becoming offended?

How often are your feelings hurt each week? Do you find yourself offended by the careless or hurtful words of others? Are you holding onto past hurts and traumas that continue to influence your decisions and life perspective to this day?

Christians often find themselves vulnerable on several fronts. Those fronts may include:

  • temptation,
  • pride (which often gives life to things like criticism, rejection, offence, bitterness, rebellion, etc.),
  • fear,
  • the triplets of shame, guilt and condemnation,
  • ignorance,
  • spiritual sloth/passivity,
  • generational patterns, and
  • curses and assignments.

I’m sure there are more. These listed here often spring up from one another, overlapping and feeding cycles in our lives that are unhealthy and certainly not kingdom. There are vulnerabilities that all persons—saved and unsaved—experience, but there are some (that we in the Church embrace and call normal) that nip and claw at professing Christians long after we said we died and now claim Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Unfortunately, this turns out to be the way that seems right to a person but whose end leads to death (spiritual, emotional, financial, physical or otherwise.) (Proverbs 14:12)

The world says you’re awesome, just the way you are

If you’re troubled, the world would have you believe you may just need more self-care. In fact, we’re inundated with all sorts of messaging to help us become more “self-actualized” these days.

  • We’re taught to honor the self-made, self-reliant person.
  • We’re told of the importance of building our self-confidence, self-esteem and self-image.
  • Our heroes and superheroes are all self-assured and self-sufficient.
  • We’re told we need to grow in self-love; that we must develop healthy self-talk as a self-defense to keep ourselves from self-destruction.

Is all our self-interest misplaced?

What does the Bible say about the humanistic self-esteem movement? As I recall, it was self-will that brought about the Fall. Actually, I think the only place where the Bible is “pro-self” would be in reference to self-control as one of the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22) Jesus Himself says we are to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow Him. (Matthew 16:24-26)

In fact, if we know God is love (1 John 4:8) and we know we’re made in His image (Genesis 1:27), doesn’t that mean we’re to walk in His seemingly-impossible love, forgiveness and mercy as well? Last time I checked, God sent His Son while we were yet sinners. (John 3:16-) That means if someone betrays, slanders, deceives, cuts off, berates, disrespects or otherwise maligns us, our response is not flesh-driven rebuke or retaliation. Our response is to ask, “What would love do?” and then do that. Love takes no account of its own! (1 Corinthians 13) If freely we have received, freely we are to give and forgive. (Matthew 10:8) We forgive, not just because the Bible tells us we should—that would be religious legalism. We forgive because we’ve been forgiven much! (Ephesians 4:32)

But we’ve grown up in a world that teaches us to “be true to ourselves.” Funny thing though. That’s very similar to, “Do as thou wilt,” which was the mantra of Satanist Aleister Crowley.

Canceling our self-deception

So—when it comes to canceling our self-deception—we actually need less self-confidence, self-esteem and self-love. Our self-worth isn’t worth anything, though we live in a world that teaches it is everything! Our self-perception is always going to be askew until we see ourselves and others as God sees us. In John 15, Jesus says apart from Him we are withered branches ready for the fire. He also says that apart from Him, we can do no good thing. (John 15:5) And yet, when He was called “good teacher” by a rich ruler, Jesus corrected him declaring only the Father was good. (Luke 18:19, Mark 10:18)

God is the straight line to our crooked lines. He doesn’t lose His patience with us. He doesn’t get hurt and wounded when we ignore Him. He doesn’t go into an emotional tail-spin when we lose our senses and our humility and rail at Him from our prayer closet because our spouse snapped at us or because we got passed over for a job promotion or we got rejected or ridiculed one more time.

Jesus was, and is, and forever shall be the fullest expression of love from the Father. Jesus—in the face of anger, contempt, abuse and the greatest injustice this world has ever or will ever see—didn’t lose His identity and was still praying for our forgiveness as we nailed Him up on that Roman cross.

We see the same love in Stephen, when—while being stoned to death—he asked for forgiveness for his persecutors. (Acts 7:54-60)

We see the same love in Paul, when—after also being stoned and left for dead—he would get back up and go back into the same city and resume teaching!

Have you been born-again? Your rights died with you.

What rights do we think we have to harbor hurt, offense and unforgiveness toward another?! In each of these instances, do we see any offense? Was it a response of love or a response of offense? Certainly, the men in these examples would have been justified in defending themselves, but they did not.

Through your baptism and declaration, you have died to your old you; you have died to your past. By all rights, that person has ceased to exist. When you signed on with Christ, you agreed to represent Him and His heart to this lost and dying world. That means you’re His ambassador; His copy. All authority has been given to Him and He’s given you and I, the believers, the great commission to go forth into all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them in all He has taught us. That’s what we’ve said yes to.

Therefore, if we don’t see it in Jesus, we’re not to see it in ourselves. For the believer abiding in the Lord, the days of being offended is over! Jesus wasn’t so offended at our sin that He cut us off and refused to go to the cross. So, being offended by our spouse or our kids or our parents, in-laws, boss, coworkers, friends, neighbors—whomever—that offense in us is to die. Nail it to the cross.

We died, remember?

Just to drive the point home, here are some rights we born-again believers give up when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We have given up:

  • The right to be offended, insulted or to hold grudges; we’ve been forgiven much.
  • The right to feel rejected, neglected, or abandoned by anyone; we’ve been adopted into the kingdom of God.
  • The right to be impatient or to lose our tempers; God has shown us amazing grace and mercy.
  • The right to pursue our weakness and temptations; Jesus has overcome the world.
  • The right to play small and remain self-focused; we are called to carry the Light of the World (Jesus) to all nations.
  • The right to retaliate, enact revenge, or take justice into our own hands; God knows and sees us and He says vengeance is His.
  • The right to do what we want, when we want; we’ve been bought with a very high price—the blood of Jesus Christ. We are no longer our own.
  • The right to remain in fear, worry or anxiety; how can we remain in darkness now that the Light has come? If our spiritual house is built on sand, when the storms of life come, we probably won’t do well. But if we’re rooted on the rock of Jesus Christ? We’re solid, no matter the power of the storm or the height of the waves.

Stop being offended

At the end of the day, a professing Christian no longer has the right to be offended; not by loved ones, not by strangers on the street. If we find ourselves still offended, it simply means there are places in our lives waiting to be placed upon the Potter’s wheel. In faith, yield to God’s hand in your life. Ask Him to burn away the dross of offense, the root of offense, the spirit of offense. Jesus came to set the captives free and that includes freedom from offense. Spend time in private prayer, worship and fasting and thank God for setting you free from offense. Continue in that way, and soon you’ll find yourself more patient and at peace than you’ve ever been.

The Authority of Humility

Bill Alderson
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The Authority of Humility

“When we see that humility is something infinitely deeper than contrition and accept it as our participation in the life of Jesus, we shall begin to learn that it is our true nobility, and that to prove it in being servants of all is the highest fulfillment of our destiny, as men created in the image of God.”

This is a quote from Andrew Murray and his book “Humility” and it captures the essence of the importance of humility. It means that humility is not just a critical part of our relationship with Jesus, but also the foundation of our relationship to others. Peter strongly encourages every believer to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another” (1 Peter 5:5) since God is watching and “gives grace to the humble.” So what is humility?

Humility is the quality of being humble. Dictionary definitions accentuate humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. In a religious context, humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to God. Outside of a religious context, humility is defined as being “unselved”, a liberation from consciousness of self and a form of temperance that is neither having pride nor indulging in self-deprecation. It is defined most clearly in relation to Jesus, found in Philippians 2. In verses 3-5, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus”. This kind of humility, exemplified by Jesus’s public ministry, is motivated by a self-sacrificing love.

God does the exalting

The Father honors those who operate in humility. Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and life.” In fact, He says that the humility of Jesus will be highly exalted, the Father bestowing on Him the name which is above every name (Philippians 2:9-11). The truth is it is best when the Father is the one who does the exalting which takes the pressure off the individual. Consider, 1 Peter 5:6, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” The contrast spoken of here is that the believer humbles himself, to be brought low and God will do the exalting, the lifting up. This is one way that God gets the glory in any situation.

There is the story of a Roman centurion who came to Jesus asking for his servant to be healed in Matthew 8:5-10. This soldier, not a Jew, said to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Then he explained to Jesus what he was thinking, “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” This man, like many in military service, understood authority. This non-Jew recognized the authority of Jesus and that when He spoke the healing of the servant, that was sufficient. Jesus acknowledged this centurion’s recognition of God’s authority when He said, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” The believer’s faith demands that he wait for God to bring about His will in any given situation and the result will be greater than anything man can accomplish. In Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.”

Moses and Paul

Let’s look at a couple of examples of this kind of humility in Scripture. Moses has spent forty years in the backside of the desert after running for his life and then God starts speaking to him through a burning bush (Exodus 3). God would use this man, Moses to lead His people from their bondage in Egypt into the land promised to Abraham. Why Moses? Numbers 12:3 gives the answer, “(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)” Moses would be able to speak with God’s authority because of his humility. It was in this environment that the Lord gave Moses authority to confront Pharaoh and lead His people. In Exodus 4:1-5, the Lord changed the staff Moses had in his hand into a serpent and then back to a staff. He was proving to Moses that Moses would speak with His authority, as He says in verse 5, “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

Another example is the Apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Paul’s testimony is that “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” Paul came to the conclusion that for him to fulfill the call of God on his life, it would only happen when he acknowledged his weakness before God in humility so that God would be strong in his weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-10). The demonstration of God’s power, God’s ability, and God’s authority would cause men to put their faith in God and not man. The humility of man is the doorway into the authority of God.

A bag of chickens becomes a herd of goats

A story is told about a great sage, Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa, who lived in the Galilee about two thousand years ago. Rabbi Chanina was known for his saintliness and also for his extreme poverty. One day, a merchant was on his way to the market when he put down his bag of chickens next to a dilapidated house and went through the neighborhood in search of some food. The man got his food, but then he couldn’t find the house where he had left his chickens. That night, Rabbi Chanina’s wife heard the chickens and brought them into her home.

To make a long story short, Rabbi Chanina and his family cared for the chickens, awaiting the return of their owner, for many years. During that time, the chickens laid many eggs. Rabbi Chanina could not afford eggs, and here his whole yard was covered in them! But he would not touch them because they were not his. Those eggs became more chickens, and soon there were so many chickens that Rabbi Chanina had to trade them in for goats, which became more goats, until there was a large herd.

One day, a man was walking by Rabbi Chanina’s house and said, “That’s the house! That’s where I lost my chickens many years ago!” Rabbi Chanina heard the man’s words and quickly opened the door. “If you are the man who left chickens here, I have something to show you…” And with that Rabbi Chanina gave the man a small fortune, an entire herd of goats!

This rabbi recognized through his poverty (humility) not to accept anything that did not belong to him, but became a steward of it, accountable to God for it. In this way, the bag of chickens was multiplied into a herd of goats. This principle can apply to many different aspects of life, but it basically means that when the believer waits for God to give something, it will be that much greater than when he takes that thing for himself. When God gets the glory due Him, the believer gets exalted.

The Great Commission

Jesus commended His authority to His disciples just before His ascension in Matthew 28:18-20 when He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” When the disciple goes in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, he goes under the authority of the Trinity to accomplish the Great Commission, that all nations would hear the Gospel and become disciples, revealing the authority of humility.

A Sin List for Confession

Matthew Schoenherr
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40
A Sin List for Confession

The following is a list of sins that can be used when walking someone through a confession session. Leading someone in confession is appropriate when that person is seeking forgiveness (general repentance) in order to make the way clear for healing or when an individual is approaching baptism. Burning this list once talked through can be a nice way to close a confession session, laying the past to rest.

REBELLION

Rioting / Treason
Seditions: Stirring up opposition against authority
Murmuring / Grumbling / Complaining
Wickedness: Evil practices, crime
Witchcraft / Sorcery (practicing magic with aid from evil spirits)
Astrology (Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3-7; Isaiah 47:13,14; Acts 7:42; Ezekiel 8:16, Deuteronomy 17:7)
Hating God
Speaking Against the Holy Spirit
Disobedience to Parents / Disobedience to God
Divisions: Forming splits or schisms in groups
Divorce / Covenant-Breaking
Having Evil Treasures in the Heart
Having Pleasure in Them That Do Things Worthy of Death: Enjoying the company of sinners
Evil Thoughts: Mentally pursuing worthless, injurious, or depraved thoughts
Unthankfulness
Not Entering by the Door Into the Sheepfold: Seeking salvation through means other than the blood of Christ
False Teaching / Heresy / Teaching the Traditions of Men as Doctrine
Eating the Bread, or Drinking The Lord’s Cup Unworthily
Becoming a Stumbling Block: Causing another to fall spiritually by our example
Swearing: To take oath (as in court)
Speaking Evil of Dignities: Speaking ill of those to be honored
Blasphemy

SLOTH & PASSIVITY

Laziness
Knowing to Do Good, but Refusing to Do It
Hearing the Sayings of Christ, but Not Following Them
Burying Skills, Talents & Resources: Not making wise use of what God gave us

FEAR & TIMIDITY

Discouragement
Anxiety
Unbelief / Faithlessness
Timidity: Afraid of people or circumstances (Psalms 112:7)
Denying Christ: Afraid to confess Jesus to people (John 12:42)

UNFORGIVENESS

Unforgiving Heart
Hard-heartedness (without normal affection)
Unmerciful
Stiff-Necked and Uncircumcised in Hearts and Ears / Obstinate / Stubborn

IDOLATRY & PRIDE

Idolatry: Loving someone or something more than God or Jesus
Lovers of Self
False Humility
Self-Will
Self-Esteem
Puffed Up: Overestimating your ability or knowledge
Desiring the Praise of Men: Doing things to gain praise
High-mindedness / Arrogance / Boasting
Hypocrisy
Fault-Finding
Emulations: Ambition to surpass someone else

LUST & GLUTTONY

Wantonness: Lustful, morally unrestrained
Inordinate Affection: Passion, lust
Reveling: Overindulgence at feasts, merrymaking
Banqueting: A drinking party
Drunkenness
Defiling the Body / Abusers of Self: Self-polluters, having unnatural lusts
Adultery
Fornication / Chambering: Unmarried people living and sleeping together
Homosexuality / Effeminate: Unmanly or womanish man
Rape / Incest / Bestiality
Inventors of Evil Things: Those who contrive evil ways to satisfy their carnal lusts
Whoremongers: Associates with whores

GREED & ENVY

Filthy Lucre: Receiving personal gain through unrighteousness
Trusting in Riches
Laying Up Treasures on Earth: Pursuing material success at the expense of spiritual growth
Living in Pleasure: Fond of luxury and sensual pleasure/gratification
Greediness / Covetousness / Envy / Jealousy
Evil Concupiscence: Longing or desire for forbidden things
Evil Eye: Having selfish motives
Extortion

LYING & STEALING

Whispering / Slander / Giving False Witness
Guile / Deceit / Sneakiness
Double-Tongued / Insincerity
Dishonesty
Defrauding / Unethical
Craftiness / Cunningness
Gossip
Purloining

FOOLISHNESS

Without Understanding / Lacking Wisdom / Presumptuous
Vain Jangling / Babbling / Idle Words: Words of no value
Foolish Talking / Jesting / Teasing: Mean-spirited talking to make others laugh
Corrupt Communications: Unprofitable or impure language
Clamor: Loud, continued noises

ANGER & HATRED

Contempt / Bitterness
Wrath / Rage / Revenge
Strife / Quarreling / Debate / Contention
Seeking Superiority
Ready to Fight / Brawling
Murder / Abortion / Suicide
Implacable: Refusing to be appeased
Despiteful / Maliciousness
Railing / Slander
Mockery / Ridicule
Malignity: Being harmful or dangerous, bad character
Backbiting: Speaking evil of those not present
Fathers Provoking Children to Wrath: Frustrating children through harsh treatment or unreasonableness
Brother Taking Legal Action Against Brother

Finally, renounce any unknown or forgotten sins. Thank your heavenly Father for cancelling the effects and consequences of these sins as they are stricken from the books. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!

Are there any sins missing from this list? Let us know in the comments below!

Born From Above

Bill Alderson
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2
Born From Above

In John 3, Jesus introduces the concept of being born from above with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Most modern English translations of the Bible translate John 3:7 as, “you must be born again” in reference to the new birth of a believer. The Greek word translated “again” is “anoethen” and its basic meaning is from above or from a higher place. Of the thirteen times it appears in Scripture, John 3:3 and 7 are the only times when it is translated “again” rather than “from above”. It is my conviction that Jesus was referring to a birth that only could come from heaven and not earth and His intention was to emphasize this fact. The new birth is the result of the Spirit of God coming into a person’s life and establishing a spiritual life in the midst of the natural life.

Nicodemus’ question to Jesus in verse 4 indicates that he did not understand what Jesus was saying, so Jesus explained it further. In verse 5, Jesus clarifies the issue for Nicodemus by qualifying that the natural birth is of water while the spiritual birth is of the Spirit. Then in verse 6, He makes a profound statement that is intended to bring about a new understanding of the natural birth and natural life in comparison to the spiritual birth and the spiritual life. The natural birth and life are derived from the flesh, of the earthly, while the spiritual birth comes from the Spirit of God, from above and the spiritual life is allowing the Spirit to direct our lives just as the wind blows where it wishes in verse 8.

The battle for control

Man is a trichotomous being (three parts), made up of body, soul and spirit. The body is the physical, material part, while the soul and spirit are immaterial. I don’t want to get too technical, but the soul is defined by the mind, heart, emotions, conscience, and self-consciousness (awareness of self). The human spirit is the place in man that can commune with the Holy Spirit. The human spirit died in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve fell and it remains dead in each person until the moment of the new birth, the moment that one decides to accept Jesus as God and believe (trust) in Him for his future.

There is a battle for control of each believer as illustrated in Galatians 5:17-18, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” This “war” between the flesh (meaning the soul) and the Holy Spirit is about control. The soul wishes to be in charge and make all the important decisions while the Holy Spirit is looking for the human spirit to reign. The soul can be religious by doing what it can to live up to the Ten Commandments (the Law) and its religious requirements, but the Holy Spirit is looking to lead the believer apart from the Law. This puts God in charge.

The spirit of man

This battle between soul and spirit centers on the Word of God. In Hebrews 4:12, the Bible tells us that the Word of God is like a two-edged sword and is able to divide that which is of the soul from that which is of the spirit and is a judge (“kritikos” – critic) of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The Word defines for us where our thoughts and intentions come from – the soul (natural man) or the spirit (from the Holy Spirit).

In the New Testament, there are three particular verses that speak to the human spirit, being referred to as the “inner man”. In Ephesians 3:16, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.” The power of God moves from the Holy Spirit into the human spirit to give the believer a life of abundance. In 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” This renewal is the work of the Holy Spirit within the believer as we agree with His Word and His work. And in Romans 7:22-23, “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.” The victorious life comes from the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus who has set me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

Tower of Babel

In John 3:13, Jesus tells us that “no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” The spiritual life is the result of God coming to us and not man reaching God. This is the exact mistake that the people of Babel, led by Nimrod, made in trying to “make for ourselves a name.” The tower of Babel was man’s attempt, through human effort to bridge the gap between earth and heaven. Man always tries to accomplish things, even religious matters, by human effort, without God’s help. In this way, man can take credit for his work. This is why salvation is a work of God alone and it is the Son of God that delivers salvation to man by grace from heaven to earth. No matter how good man’s efforts may be, they can never measure up to the standard God’s justice demands (Isaiah 64:6).

The old covenant provided an opening for religious man to make himself righteous through the exercise through adherence to the letter of man created or less important laws to make them appear spiritual to the masses. Jesus exposed their basic difficulty in Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” The weightier provisions of the law represent His heart: justice and mercy and faithfulness and the Pharisees were not after His heart. The religious Jew misses the mark because he wishes to establish his own righteousness (Romans 10:3). The new covenant provides no room for self-righteousness.

Justified apart from the Law

In Romans 3:20-21, “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.” The works of the Law, human effort to maintain the laws of God apart from God, cannot satisfy God’s standards of justice. Righteousness, representing the standards of God, comes to man apart from human effort to maintain His standards. It comes by faith (“pistis” – being persuaded, having a conviction, trusting) in the person and the work of Christ. And this same opportunity to be righteous is not restricted to any particular group of people, but is offered to all in the same way, without distinction. The old covenant gives the false impression that it is the result of human effort, while the new covenant depends completely upon the work of God, Himself in Christ whom fulfills His just demands and invites those who become tired of their efforts apart from God to trust in God’s work alone.

According to John 1:12, God’s offer to become children of God is a right or privilege reserved for those who receive or accept Him strictly on the basis of faith in what God has done and not any effort associated with the will or the flesh. Being born of God means accepting the free gift of salvation on God’s terms. In 1 John 5:1-4, John writes again about this experience of being born of God and the effect it has on a believer to transform from the inside. Our faith in who Jesus is provides the vehicle God uses to bring us into the beloved (Ephesians 1:6), the place where I love and am loved and this faith also gives us the victory to overcome all the obstacles that the world throws our way.

A new heart and spirit

The prophet Ezekiel was given a vision of the new covenant relationship with God would look like in the Kingdom Age. In Ezekiel 36:25-27, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” Since Jeremiah’s original promise of the new covenant was intended for the Jews during this same period, this passage in Ezekiel also applies to believers in the New Testament age. It tells us that God is the one who makes our hearts clean and gives us a new spirit so that we will be able to walk in His statutes and be careful to observe His ordinances.

In Genesis 28, the focus of God’s plan now focuses on Jacob as the patriarch instead of his father, Isaac. Jacob leaves his father, Isaac’s house to go back to Haran to find a wife for himself with his uncle Laban. This event is the beginning of God’s focus on Jacob as the patriarch instead of Isaac, who is elderly now. After leaving Beersheba, he travels the entire day and needs to find a place to stay for the night. This is Bethel, meaning “house of God” since Jacob had a profound experience with God. God gives him a vision of a ladder going between earth and heaven, giving Jacob encouragement that God would honor him as the new patriarch in spite of his shortcomings.

Spiritual riches

This ladder, with angels ascending and descending on it is a picture of this new relationship with God that the New Covenant provides. Man is weak and continues with his sin nature after salvation, yet God is still with him in his humanity. In 2 Corinthians 4:7, Paul tells us that “we have a treasure within the earthen vessel, so that the surpassing greatness will be of God and not from ourselves.” This ladder speaks of the riches of the life that we can have with God within the earthen vessel (human weakness) so that we recognize His power and ability and rely on that instead of our own strength. Being born from above allows us to experience life in the Holy Spirit and all the benefits it provides.

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