Sin burdens the heart, forgiveness frees it. The burden of sin is that we must pay its consequences: death. With sin, we live knowing we will die. That is a life in fearful anticipation of the doom day — a life bound with paranoia and dark view of the surroundings, blinded to the opportunities that came before had sinned, for they are gone from us, because we no longer have eternal life to invest in them and enjoy them. They are worthless to us, knowing we won’t have the time to delight in them.

But when the sin is forgiven, freedom is restored, opportunities come back before our eyes, the burden of death is taken from our shoulders — we no longer live in anticipation of our innevitable death, but rather, we start anticipating the joys with which eternal life is filled with. We get the passion back to invest in these opportunities, for we know they will happen, and we no longer live in dreadfull state because we now have the time to delight in them, for death is taken away from us — there is no end to what we can do in a life that never ends. Fear is no longer our master, and paranoia is no longer our vision. We see clearly in light and in the value of life which was vailed to us when we knew we will die — then, we valued life in that bounded prism, with things we can enjoy until we die. And these things were not eternal, and they never satisfied the hunger and thirst of the soul.

Forgiveness restores freedom, and sin takes freedom away. Freedom is life and death is bondage.
iI death, the grave is the prison and darkness its substance, where as, in life, the heavens are the fields and light their substance.

And hope and faith are the engines to life and freedom — forgiveness moves them. Love is forgiving.

And hopelessness and faithlessness are the dead engines — sin is their motive. Hate never forgives.

We all have sinned, we are all dead, since one Person died for us all — God has offered His forgiveness to all of us,

2 Corinthians 5:15-18 — And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
¹⁶ Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
¹⁸ And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

but not all of us have received forgiveness; and not all of us will receive forgiveness.

Matthew 7:13–14 — “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
¹⁴ Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

John 8:24 — “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”

Acts 13:46 — “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”

Hebrews 10:26–27 — “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
²⁷ But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

2 Thessalonians 1:8–9 — “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
⁹ Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”

Revelation 21:8 — “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

In fact, most of us will die in their sins paying the wages of sin with their own lives. And if forgiveness is offered, and you do not cherish it to make it your own — why do you need life? If you freely choose death, then you did not choose death out of having no choice. But because you knowingly chose riotous living, and, unlike the prodigal son in the parable of Jesus, you did not come to yourself.

Luke 15:13–16 — “And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
¹⁴ And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
¹⁵ And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
¹⁶ And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
¹⁷ And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”

Why would anyone do such thing? Evil is its own mystery: it has no origin. It comes out of nothing — hence it is called vanity.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 — “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”

Ecclesiastes 7:29 — “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

Isaiah 14:12–14 — “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
¹³ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Ezekiel 28:15, 17 — “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
¹⁷ Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”

John 8:44 — “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

Great Controversy, p. 492–493 — “It is impossible to explain the origin of sin so as to give a reason for its existence. Yet enough may be understood concerning both the origin and the final disposition of sin to make fully manifest the justice and benevolence of God in all His dealings with evil. Nothing is more plainly taught in Scripture than that God was in no wise responsible for the entrance of sin; that there was no arbitrary withdrawal of divine grace, no deficiency in the divine government, that gave occasion for the uprising of rebellion. Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin. Our only definition of sin is that given in the word of God; it is ‘the transgression of the law;’ it is the outworking of a principle at war with the great law of love which is the foundation of the divine government.”

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 33–34 — “Sin originated with him who, next to Christ, had been most honored of God, and who stood highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven. Lucifer, ‘son of the morning,’ was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. He stood in the presence of the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding the eternal God rested upon him. ‘Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.’ Ezekiel 28:12. … Little by little Lucifer came to indulge the desire for self-exaltation. … Though all his glory was from God, this mighty angel came to regard it as pertaining to himself. Not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly host, he ventured to covet homage due alone to the Creator.”

God did not create evil —

“Sin is transgression of God’s law” (1 John 3:4) — why would God go against Himself and destroy His immaculate glory?
Why would He invent an act that deliberately breaks the Law that He protects with His whole being? As stupid as it is to assume something like this, yet many people live their life believing that.

Matthew 12:24–30 —
“But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
²⁵ And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
²⁶ And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
²⁷ And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
²⁸ But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
²⁹ Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
³⁰ He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”

Mark 3:22–27 —
“And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
²³ And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
²⁴ And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
²⁵ And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
²⁶ And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
²⁷ No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.”

Luke 11:15–23 —
“But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
¹⁶ And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
¹⁷ But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
¹⁸ If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
¹⁹ And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
²⁰ But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
²¹ When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
²² But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
²³ He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.”

Their desire for sin blinds them to the light of the truth and their common sense gets blunted, no longer able to smell the stench of their vanity.

But “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” — 1 Corinthians 3:19^{(Job 5:13)} …and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.” — Job 5:13

He only allowed it, but warned against it.

James 1:13 — “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”

Genesis 2:17 — “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

And when men still chose it, because he was tricked, God warned again, giving them escape from it.

Genesis 3:13,15 — “And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat…
¹⁵ …And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 — “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

And when they chose it twice — they sealed their doom.

Romans 1:21 — “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Romans 1:32 — “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

The Laws that Govern our Choices

Two laws govern two choices; and only one of them gives the ability to choose freely. The Law of life allows the choice of both life and death; while the law of death does not allow the choice of life; but binds you to the choice already yielded — for a dead person can no longer choose. Selling your choices — your will — to sin makes you overcome by the law of death ^{(the wages of sin)}, thus making you a slave to evil, a slave to death and rottenness, a slave to decay.

Luke 11:21–23 — “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
²² But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
²³ He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.”
Romans 6:16 — “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

We need life to do the works of life, which are the works of love. Life without love cannot be sustained. And love is service to others. And life is service to others. And service to others is self-sacrifice — laying down your own life for the benefit of others. But if life is taken from you, what can you lay down as a benefit for others? (Surely no body will benefit from the so-called “pleasures” of death.) How can you render service to others through self-sacrifice when you no longer have a living self to give? What interest would you have in loving, if you are doomed to death? And why would the living allow help or benefit from one already dead or walking the path of death?

Ecclesiastes 9:4 — “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:14–15 (NIV) —“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
  - (KJV) — ¹⁵ For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
    ¹⁶ And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Luke 6:39 — “And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?”
Isaiah 8:19 — “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?” [shell we ask the dead for the living? and also shall we ask spirits of the dead for what the living God says?]
Malachi 2:13 — “And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.”

Sin removes from us the God-given right and ownership of life, entrusted to us as a sovereign possession. Forgiveness restores that right, returning life into our dominion.
And life is required to serve others — life is required for acts of love. Life is required for freedom of choice. And all life is governed by the Law of life. Obedience to this Law preserves our freedom. This is the Law of love. God is love. It is the Law of God. And God has given us this life to serve. If we refuse to serve, we sin.

1 John 4:7–21 —“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.⁸ He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
⁹ In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
¹⁰ Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
¹² No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
¹³ Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
¹⁵ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
¹⁷ Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
¹⁹ We love him, because he first loved us.
²⁰ If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
²¹ And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

Life is sustained by service to others — by the principle of self-sacrifice. Not because the Life-Giver is tyrannical, but because only in service to others does life find its true meaning, purpose, joy, and love. In all of God’s creation, nothing can sustain itself on its own — even the Immortal God Himself chose, in accordance with His infinitely wise and loving character, not to exist and spend eternity alone — in solitary self-sufficiency — but rather, in service to others and in fellowship with His only-begotten Son and with those He made in Their image, after Their likeness.

He entrusts to us the power of the Gospel, making us His instruments to carry it to those He seeks to reach. And we know God used no instruments in creating everything; yet, in His greatest work of eternity, He unceasingly chooses to work through us, making His cause dependent on our free will to serve Him. He demonstrated the greatness of His glory by allowing it to be freely chosen by us.

He does not hold Himself, but us, responsible for the souls who, because of our selfish choice, were not touched by His words of salvation — for He did His part, and now calls us to do ours. He paid the greatest sacrifice, and now it is our turn to pay our small sacrifices — as small as we are beside Him. The price we need to pay is the value of a grain of sand: and to choose not to pay it, speaks of the love we have for God and for our fellow brothers and sisters who bear His image.

Moreover, although the results do not depend on us, but on His Sovereign will, and all His souls are in His dominion, not letting any soul die in vain, yet He exercises His all-powerful providence to shape the circumstances so that His work is accomplished through us, by our cooperation — always providing us with sure paths to succeed; and all we need do is to choose Him and act on that choice, without flinching. He sees no purpose in loneliness or isolated operation.

Genesis 2:18 — “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”

We find no record of the Father working alone. Even in the very beginning of HIs ways, “before the mountains were settled” God had a Helper:

Proverbs 8:22–36 — “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
²³ I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
²⁴ When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
²⁵ Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
²⁶ While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
²⁷ When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
²⁸ When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
²⁹ When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
³⁰ Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
³¹ Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
³² Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
³³ Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
³⁴ Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
³⁵ For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
³⁶ But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”
Genesis 1:26 — “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34.1-2 — The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate—a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6. His “goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: “The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting…. When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” Proverbs 8:22-30.
The Father wrought by His Son in the creation of all heavenly beings. “By Him were all things created, … whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.” Colossians 1:16. Angels are God’s ministers, radiant with the light ever flowing from His presence and speeding on rapid wing to execute His will. But the Son, the anointed of God, the “express image of His person,” “the brightness of His glory,” “upholding all things by the word of His power,” holds supremacy over them all. Hebrews 1:3. “A glorious high throne from the beginning,” was the place of His sanctuary (Jeremiah 17:12); “a scepter of righteousness,” the scepter of His kingdom. Hebrews 1:8. “Honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” Psalm 96:6. Mercy and truth go before His face. Psalm 89:14.
John 1:1–3 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Colossians 1:16–17 — “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
Hebrews 1:2, 10 — “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”
¹⁰ “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.”
Ephesians 3:9 — “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

All His sovereign works are carried out through the trusting obedience of His Son, not by His Hand alone. And He calls the Hand of Jesus “His Hand” — because that Hand serves His Father in perfect self-sacrifice. And He calls our hands the hands of Jesus, when we serve Christ by renouncing our lives, the world, and its riches.

As a loving and caring Father, He teaches His children how to grow to be like Him, living by the same principle of selfless, self-sacrificial service that defines His own being. The cross of His Son Jesus Christ is the supreme revelation of that principle — the role-model of life itself, which justifies His existence. The only way we ought to live and by which life can exist and endure. The only life possible and attainable. The only truth:

John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Now let us understand more deeply the laws that govern our choices and the responsibilities we bear as sons and daughters of God, bearing His image and name:

The falling man

When one jumps off a cliff, he cannot stop himself reaching the destination it leads to, whether it is water, ground, grass, or deadly stone. There is a free-fall that is taking place which he has no control over — no power to change its course nor remove its gravity. He has no power to reverse his choice. He must, by all means, reach the inevitable destination it leads to — the consequence of his choice.

The man has no power to save himself from the fall. He has surrendered his freedom of choice when he chose to jump, and he is left without freedom of choice, but with the certain reaching of the destination whether that choice leads to — he is left with the fate of that choice, with the law that is governing that choice, in this case, the law of gravity.

Under dominion of Physical Law:

When one jumps off a deadly cliff, while falling, he knows there is no return, for he no longer has the choice to choose not to jump, for he is already falling and is certain of his fate and destination — certain death. Therefore, while falling, he has no power to do good, to choose life, to love others, to self-sacrifice himself for those he loves, for HE KNOWS HE IS ALREADY DEAD.

A man who has jumped, who is falling, and who cannot stop himself. He knows what will happen. He cannot reverse the fall — the consequence of his decision. He can no longer choose to act differently. He has no power anymore. He is slave to the law which governs the consequence of his choice. He cannot fight it back, however hard he tries.

“They put leaves of the fig tree to cover their nakedness” — they couldn’t cover their sin, their nakedness, that they betrayed God’s righteousness and that they were stripped of His holy covering, that they no longer have the freedom of choice to do right, but they were in bondage to their choice, constantly blaming one another, haunted by their guilt, running away from the inevitable consequences that surrounded their choice. they had no longer eyes to discern truth from error, good from evil, but each word and thought of their heart was evil continuously — like the free-fall of the falling man — a free-fall of evil.

So freedom of choice is only valuable BEFORE one chooses the path leading to certain death. After death is chosen, the ability to choose life again is no longer available — an intervention from without must be made instead. Freedom of choice is only valuable when one continuously refuses to choose certain death BY FREEDOM OF CHOICE. ↑

Sounds paradoxical at first sight? But look deeper: it is the completeness of truth.

“Do not choose to eat of that tree, for the day you eat thereof, you shall SURELY die.”

Genesis 2:17 — “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Genesis 3:4 — “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:”

Freedom of choice is valuable so that you have the power to say NO to SIN and DEATH and DECEPTION. After using the freedom of choice to choose these evil attributes, freedom of choice is a thing of the past — it is no longer valuable and useful — it is a concept of imagination, an illusion, a Fata Morgana, a mirage.
If you already surrendered to sin, what use is to use the freedom of choice when you already chose death? A dead man requires no freedom. If he is given the freedom of choice, that freedom would be an illusion — a dream — for he cannot perceive it: for he doesn’t know anything; and has no power to act upon it, for there the law of death immobilizes him. A dead man doesn’t know is alive. The falling man doesn’t know he will life. But he knows he will die.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 — “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”

Likely, whoever has surrendered his choice unto the pathway of death, the law of death works in him, and he has no strength to overcome it — unless by the power of the One who has conquered death.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 — “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”.
Romans 6:9” — “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over him.”
Revelation 1:18 — “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and Hades.”
Matthew 28:6 — “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” This verse, spoken by an angel at the tomb, directly states Jesus’s resurrection.
Luke 24:1-7 — “The women who visit the tomb find it empty and are told by angels that Jesus has risen.”

Under dominion of Spiritual Law:

Spiritual laws work in the same manner as physical laws. They are both God’s laws. You break them, you suffer the consequences — each spiritual transgression brings the corresponding consequence as each physical transgression does.

And no, one cannot obey one law and break the other: both physical and spiritual laws work together, interchangeably, and disobedience of one is disobedience of all.
Read more in sermon on:
Gods’ Physical Law: The Tangible Means to God’s Moral Law Opens in new tab)

Gods’ Physical Law: The Tangible Means to God’s Moral Law

Indeed, there are gradations, but the value of the consequence corresponds to each gradation — like in a balancing scale, you put one measure on one side, the other side lifts exactly for that measure, whether it is 1, or 100, or 1000, or infinity.

In essence, all sin is of infinite value. Jesus paid an infinite sacrifice — the worth of His value — to rescue us — the worthless of value — from the infinite consequences of sin — the eternal death. By our sin, we bashed at His infinite value. And how can we recompense? We cannot. What price can we pay to pay an infinite sacrifice? To pay the cost of infinite damage?

However, even though all sin is of infinite value, there is one infinity bigger than another infinity. And in terms of sin, the greater infinity is the one in which the infinite sacrifice paid by our Lord is not cherished. The sin of infinite consequence is the sin against the Holy Spirit — hatred towards mercy and forgiveness. This sin is beyond forgiveness. Its end is in the bottom of the bottomless pit.

All infinite sins will be forgiven, except the greater sin which disagrees and bargains with the infinite price paid — the innocent life of our Holly Lord. The price of true love.

So the difference between these two infinities is in category, not in number — one infinity is merciful, and another one is ruthless. And in number — the wrath of God extends greater than His mercy does. For whoever manages to escape the length of His mercy — which is inescapable — will fall right into His wrath — which is also inescapable. Darkness surrounds His throne, and death awaits beyond the infinite remoteness of the margins of life. God is bigger than these two infinities — and both of them are held in the palm of His hands, primed as soldiers and ready as children, with uninterrupted faith and inexhaustible obedience, waiting to be released, at His will, into the purpose He ordained for them.

So, consequences are the effects of a cause — whether that cause is obedience or disobedience. Disobedience brings effects of death, and obedience brings effects of life. Disobedience is sin, while obedience is active faith — faith is obedience, and distrust is disobedience. Sin is distrust. Distrust paralyses. Distrust leads to death because it cannot cause us to freely move and live as if we were truly alive — thus, sin, the absence of faith — and of freely, willingly chosen obedience — leads to death.

Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Leviticus 18:5 — “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 18:4 — “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
Deuteronomy 5:33 — “Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.”
James 1:15 — “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
1 John 3:4 — “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
- Hebrews 11:6 — “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
- Romans 14:23 — “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
- [Disobedience is transgression of the law][Lack of faith is sin][Lack of faith is transgression of the law]
Ezekiel 18:22 — “All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.”
Proverbs 11:19 — “As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.”
Romans 2:7 — “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:”
Ezekiel 33:18 — “When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.”
Proverbs 21:21 — “He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.”
Romans 8:13 — “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit [by faith] do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
Psalm 106:3 — “Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.”
Galatians 6:7-8 — “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit [faith] shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

Romans 5:1 — “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Romans 8:1 — “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Galatians 3:11 — “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
Genesis 15:6 — “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
Romans 4:3 — “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
Galatians 3:6 — “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
James 2:23 — “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

The choice of distrust and disobedience binds us into the effects of that choice: the loss of freedom; freedom that can only come with willful obedience to the truth — willful obedience to that one Law, which is irrefutably holy, just, eternal, and compassionate, loving, and self-sacrificing.

The choice of distrust and disobedience chains us to the effects, or consequences, of that decision: the loss of true freedom. Real, lasting freedom can only come through deliberate obedience to the truth — willful obedience to the one Law that is unassailably holy, just, and eternal, yet also compassionate, loving, and self-sacrificing. Obedience freely chosen.

Romans 6:16-18 — “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
¹⁷ But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
¹⁸ Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
John 8:34 — “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”

Freedom is maintained by order, order by obedience, obedience by law, and law by the will according to which the city operates. ^{22 ⤴} Imagine a destroyed city. Can you freely move within it? You are hurdled with ruins on all pathways. The grass is filled with poking stones, the streets blocked with chunks of concrete, the houses without protective roofs, the rooms littered with dust, sand, and fragments of broken walls on tables and sofas. What freedom can one enjoy in a city of disorder? Disorder is destruction. And yet, many people claim that lawlessness and disorder are freedom — freedom to destroy.

Freedom is defined by the type of law, not by freedom from law — by whose law and which law you obey, not by freedom from obedience to any law. Because even lawlessness follows a law — it obeys the disobedience to external authority; it obeys its own authority.

Proverbs 14:12 — “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Proverbs 16:25 — “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Jeremiah 2:31 — “O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?”

Proverbs 3:7 — “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”

Isaiah 5:20 — “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Romans 1:22 — “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”

1 Corinthians 4:6 — “And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.”

Galatians 6:3 — “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.”

Judges 21:25 — “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Isaiah 53:6 — “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Romans 1:21,28 — “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened…”
²⁸ “…Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.”

2 Timothy 3:2-4 — “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

2 Peter 2:10 — “This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.”

Romans 7:25 — “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Romans 8:2 — “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Galatians 5:16 — “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
¹⁷ For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

Ephesians 2:2 — “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

Colossians 2:18 — “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.”

James 4:17 — “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

1 Corinthians 10:23 — “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”

Lawlessness is a law unto itself, negating all others laws; it is dictatorship and tyranny in its essence. It allows no place for diversity and does not respect the principle of freedom of choice. Therefore, destruction can indeed be freedom — but only when it destroys itself, clearing a path for order and the maintenance of creation. But from the outside, destruction can only be destroyed, or undone, by the gentle healing force found only in creation and in the established order that set courses of the sun, moon, and stars above; that assigned the winds their paths; that weighted the waters by measure and directed their flow so that all the earth might be soaked with fresh life; instructed the roots to draw life deep from the soaked soil, keeping the big, majestic trees safe and stable from falling. This order of God further marked the boundaries of the seas so they cannot pass over, hung the earth to stand firm on nothing, and sustains all growth according to His design — the will according to which life itself operates. A
And if God is the Life-Giver, then it is only right to conclude that life can only operate according to His will; thus, by His design; by His Law. Therefore, obedience to His Law — the very Law of life — makes one alive to begin with, and thus, truly free in life.

Psalm 78:26 — “He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.”

Psalm 135:7 — “He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.”

Job 28:25-26 — “When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder,”

Amos 4:13 — “For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth; The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.”

Psalm 107:29 — “He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.”

Psalm 147:18 —“He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.”

Ecclesiastes 1:6 — “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.”

Jeremiah 5:22 — “Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?”

Psalm 104:7-9 — “At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.”

Job 26:12 — “By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.”

Psalm 107:29 —“He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.”

Psalm 147:18 —“He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.”

John 3:8 —“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Psalm 104:4 —“Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.”

Tо disconnect ourselves from the Law of life, and with that bind ourselves to the effects and consequences of that choice, we enter freely into the Prison of fear — without the freedom to escape. We freely, willingly enter into a constant state of fear — panic and paranoia that somebody will harm us; running away when nobody is chasing us; trembling when there is no danger.

Leviticus 26:17 — “And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.”
Leviticus 26:36 — “And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.”
Deuteronomy 28:65-66 — “…and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
⁶⁶ In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.”

Read full chapter: Deuteronomy 28

Deuteronomy 28:1-68 — “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
² And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
³ Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
⁴ Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
⁵ Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
⁶ Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
⁷ The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
⁸ The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
⁹ The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
¹⁰ And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
¹¹ And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
¹² The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
¹³ And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
¹⁴ And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
¹⁵ But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
¹⁶ Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
¹⁷ Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
¹⁸ Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
¹⁹ Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
²⁰ The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
²¹ The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
²² The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
²³ And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
²⁴ The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
²⁵ The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
²⁶ And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
²⁷ The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
²⁸ The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
²⁹ And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
³⁰ Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
³¹ Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
³² Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.
³³ The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
³⁴ So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
³⁵ The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
³⁶ The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
³⁷ And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
³⁸ Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
³⁹ Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
⁴⁰ Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
⁴¹ Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
⁴² All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
⁴³ The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
⁴⁴ He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
⁴⁵ Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
⁴⁶ And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
⁴⁷ Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
⁴⁸ Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
⁴⁹ The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
⁵⁰ A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
⁵¹ And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
⁵² And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
⁵³ And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:
⁵⁴ So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:
⁵⁵ So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
⁵⁶ The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
⁵⁷ And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
⁵⁸ If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
⁵⁹ Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
⁶⁰ Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
⁶¹ Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
⁶² And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
⁶³ And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
⁶⁴ And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
⁶⁵ And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
⁶⁶ And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
⁶⁷ In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
⁶⁸ And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.”

Proverbs 14:27 — “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 — “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 — “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
¹⁵ And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
2 Timothy 1:7 — “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Isaiah 59:8 — “The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.”
Proverbs 14:27 — “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”

And anything that is left in isolation eventually dies out — it loses the will to live, for it no longer perceives a purpose to live. Such is the case in the prison we enter by disobedience to the Law of life.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 — “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Romans 7:24 — “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
Psalm 34:19 — “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”

And anything that is joined in fellowship with God lives on — it grows stronger, trusting the purpose for which the Creator made it, and seeking to fulfill that purpose.
It rests in the confidence that God will not allow anything to harm us until, by His guidance, we succeed to fulfill His purpose; walking forward though perceived danger surrounding us; standing firm though the earth shakes beneath us.
The choice of obedience is the possession of eternal freedom — it is faith in our Maker.

And who would, in his right mind, freely enter is such a state?

The deceived. (These are not fully in their right mind, for their reasoning, yielding to consideration, is undergoing an amalgamation through the introduction of deception. Distracted from the truth, their mind is clouded, dimmed to the clarity of God’s commandment.
The stupid. (These are likewise not in their right mind, for God created no one inherently stupid. Yet, deprived of formative experiences that develop their God-given potential, the mind can lock itself into weakness. Its cognitive “motors” function poorly, making further improvement far more difficult—though never impossible while life continues.)
The evil. (The depths of evil have no bottom, and to search them is to fall in them. To consider evil is to forget truth. For evil is deception, and deception leads away from goodness.)

2 Thessalonians 2:7 — “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
Revelation 2:24 — “But unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.”
Romans 1:21-32 — “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened… Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”
Ephesians 5:11 — “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”
Proverbs 20:2 — “The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.”

There is no such thing as a stupid person by nature, for all are made in the image of God. Some, however, grow up in deception, never given the opportunity to develop their reasoning skills and discernment of good and evil. Such are the deceived. Due to the absence of light, they bear no guilt, although they live in sin. Yet, God’s desire is that everyone receive His light and has commanded His servants, to whom He entrusted His light, to carry it across the world, so that none should die in deception. Thus, the destiny of the deceived ones rests in the hands of those who were assigned to share His light and glory. When they refuse, due to selfish choices, the cost of those who never received the light falls on them.

Matthew 18:6 — “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Ezekiel 33:1–20 —
Ezekiel Is Israel’s Watchman
“Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
² Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
³ If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
⁴ Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
⁶ But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
⁷ So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
⁸ When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
⁹ Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Why Will You Die, Israel?
¹⁰ Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
¹¹ Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
¹² Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
¹³ When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
¹⁴ Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
¹⁵ If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
¹⁶ None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
¹⁷ Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
¹⁸ When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
¹⁹ But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
²⁰ Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.”

These are the willingly evil. They choose sin knowingly, against love, against reason, and against life itself—a choice that remains a mystery, born of pride and the desire to be as God, rejecting His caring treatment as newborn babies. A sick baby may resist the help of its parent, yet once healed, it gladly receives it and clings to the one who saved it. But the sickness of those who freely choose sin is beyond healing. There is no explanation as to why the evil would choose what eternally destroys them — yet they choose, out of unexplainable love for the darkness which they use to hide their rottenness.

If sin were to be explained, it would cease to be sin — for explaining its origin justifies its existence. But when sin is out of nothing, for no reason, then it is an intruder.

Great Controversy, p. 492–493 — “It is impossible to explain the origin of sin so as to give a reason for its existence. Yet enough may be understood concerning both the origin and the final disposition of sin to make fully manifest the justice and benevolence of God in all His dealings with evil. Nothing is more plainly taught in Scripture than that God was in no wise responsible for the entrance of sin; that there was no arbitrary withdrawal of divine grace, no deficiency in the divine government, that gave occasion for the uprising of rebellion. Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin. Our only definition of sin is that given in the word of God; it is ‘the transgression of the law;’ it is the outworking of a principle at war with the great law of love which is the foundation of the divine government.”

Yet, out of these three options — the Stupid, the Deceived, and the Evil — there is hope only for the deceived, whether fully or partially deceived. Adam knew he was sinning, but did not grasp the full extent of his sin.

The consequences of his second choice, now entirely free from deception — unlike the first, by which he lost Eden — restored him to Eden, only this time, without the possibility of ever sinning again — for he knows far better now. Nor can he any longer be deceived again, for he had witnessed the fruits of both deception and yielding to deception which traumatized the whole universe. If only he had trusted God the first time — he would have already known then what he later learned the hard way: that God means what He says, carries out what He means without leaving a crack open for negotiation, and that what He says is perfect in all aspects; and it is sheer folly — bordering on evil — to search for an aspect where His Word might be done away with.

The Falling Man — continuation

The picture of the falling man is what happens to us when we sin. Just like the man who jumped, we too made a choice. And after that choice, we were no longer free to un-choose it.

The choice we made might have been under a partial, or even under a full deception and darkness; but we made a choice, nevertheless. The responsibility for our choice rests on the light of the truth available to us. But we are free agents, and all choices are made by our free will, even when our free will is fully deceived and thus in bondage to that deception — the dimmer of light.

We are slaves to the choice we made:

When we yielded to sin, we surrendered our freedom of choice to do right, and we know that there is no return from that point on — we fall into the abyss of sin, and can no longer escape its inevitable consequences, which is reaching the bottom of the bottomless pit: eternal falling into the vacuum of darkness. While falling, we are slowly perishing into non-existence, and meanwhile, we attempt to escape that consequence, but futilely.

By yielding to sin we became prisoners to sin, resulting in living life on automation ^{19 ⤴}— the prisoners have no choice but to comply with the rules of the prison, no power to resist. They are overcome by the laws of the prison.

By yielding to sin, we lost control. We are still alive, but not truly free. We move, but not by our own power or choice. To become overcome by sin means to become its slave. Slavery to sin means having no power to fight back, no freedom to act differently than the principles of its dominion. Everything we do — the way we move, think, and live — must follow the policy of what rules us. And it rules us because we succumbed to it.

By yielding to sin, we begin to live like that man who is falling — doing what sin commands, with no power to stop it, no way to escape.

It is so powerful that it suffocates our will for righteousness and holiness that we completely lose our identity of who we are, breaking our link to God, forgetting we were made in His image to reflect His glory.

We do not just lose control — we forget who we are. We forget why we exist. We forget God. We forget that we were created to reflect Him.

We become puppets, brainwashed, like somebody can control us from a joystick, as players do to characters in a video game. The character does not have a will on his own, but does what command of the button, which the player presses, tells him to do. He does not have an individuality of his own. No freedom of choice to choose to resist the command of the player. He is programmed to do exactly what the buttons dictate that he will do.

This is what slavery to sin looks like — a video game character that cannot resist the button press. Like a person moved by someone else’s control. No freedom. No choice. No power.

Psalm 89:44–49 — “Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.
⁴⁵ The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.
⁴⁶ How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
⁴⁸ What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
⁴⁹ Lord, where are thy former loving-kindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?”

The master of all sinners is the devil. For he was the first one to jump in the free-fall of the abyss, aware of its consequences, but disbelieving that God will be faithful to his word, which he knew to be true. He blasphemed God for lacking the Backbone to sustain his truth — he blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. But he is the biggest slave out of all slaves. He commands the sinners where to turn, but he is being commanded by the inevitable fall of the abyss itself and of the imminent reaching of its destination — death.

Revelation 12:12 — “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
¹² Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
Romans 16:20 — “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
²⁰ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”

He commands others because he knows best of the nature of the abyss, where others are partially deceived by him, which is why they still have hope for a Savior. And the Lord will not let anyone die in vain, unless he freely chose regardless of having the true light about Who God is and where sin leads.

While others are falling, they have no power to resist the commands of the devil and the commands of the abyss.

But something changes when God steps in surrounded with all His glory. He adds life to the video game, bringing the characters into the realm of existence, outside the television, the screen, up to the level of the player — he breathes life into the animated picture, and now the picture animates on its own, by its own willpower, and has the freedom of choice to oppose the commands of the players.

This means that when God intervenes, He breaks the control of sin. He gives us back the ability to move on our own. We are no longer puppets, no longer programmed. We are alive.

So what is the situation of the falling man? From where should his help come if i cannot come from himself? A man who has jumped, and is falling, and cannot stop himself, is surely on his way to reaching the ground — creating a hole when he hits it, which is his grave. He knows what will happen but cannot reverse the fall — cannot escape his doom, cannot act differently — he has no power to defy the law of gravity. He attempts to use his clothes as a parachute, but this attempt is no less vain than the attempt of Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. He is a guaranteed slave to the law which governs the consequence of his choice. Oh what a wretched man he is…

Romans 7:1–25 — “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
² For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
³ So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
⁴ Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
⁵ For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
⁶ But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
⁷ What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
⁸ But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
⁹ For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
¹⁰ And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
¹¹ For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
¹² Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
¹³ Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
¹⁵ For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
¹⁶ If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
¹⁷ Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
¹⁸ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
¹⁹ For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
²⁰ Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
²¹ I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
²² For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
²³ But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
²⁴ O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
²⁵ I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

But when God steps in, while that man is on his way to hit the ground, free-falling, He promises him that he will not die when he hits the ground, but will live forever, if he believes upon His Son’s name and chooses to act on faith and, even though falling, to do the things of life — rather than things of death dictated by the free-fall. This seems impossible to the free-falling man.

Matthew 19:26 — “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Luke 18:27 — “And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Mark 10:27 — “Jesus looked upon them, and said, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”

God does not pull him out of the fall — instead, He gives him a promise: if you trust Me while falling, you will not die. This is a test of faith. If God were to pull him out of the fall, it would no longer require trust and faith — for the man would have already seen his rescue. He might then disobey again. And even if he obeyed, it may be out of fear of dying rather than love for the Life-Giver and love for life embraced in His divine glory and fatherly presence. He might even attribute his rescue to some imaginary force, leaving God out of the picture — just as the Israelites in the wilderness, and in Egypt, often credited God’s miracles to natural phenomena — and thus re-enter the free-fall of sin.

Natural phenomena

Ellen G. White — Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 297
“Many look back to the Israelites, and marvel at their unbelief and murmuring, feeling that they themselves would not have been so ungrateful; but when their faith is tested, even by little trials, they manifest no more faith or patience than did ancient Israel. When brought into strait places, they murmur at the process by which God has chosen to purify them. Though their present needs are supplied, many are unwilling to trust God for the future, and they are in constant anxiety lest poverty shall come upon them, and their children shall be left to suffer. Some are always anticipating evil, or magnifying the difficulties that really exist, so that their eyes are blinded to the many blessings which demand their gratitude. The obstacles they encounter— instead of leading them to seek help from God, the only source of strength— separate them from Him, because they awaken unrest and repining. Do we not oftentimes forget that God is as willing and able to supply our needs now as He was to supply Israel in the wilderness? Our unbelief is strikingly similar to theirs. Some, even, in explaining the wonderful works of God, seek to find a natural explanation of His miracles.”
Ellen G. White — The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 227 (on manna and water)
“The Lord gave His people water in abundance. But they were not satisfied. They wished for the luxuries of Egypt. They were not content with the plain food that God gave them. Some even declared that the manna might be accounted for on natural grounds.”
Ellen G. White — Signs of the Times, March 10, 1881
“Unbelief will ever seek to explain the works of God upon the ground of natural causes, and to account for the miraculous display of His power upon the ground of human reason.”
Exodus 16:2–3 — “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
³ And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Exodus 17:1–3 — “And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
² Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
³ And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”
Exodus 14:11–12 — “And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
¹² Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.”
Exodus 15:24 — “The people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’”
Numbers 11:4–6 — “And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
⁵ We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
⁶ But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”
Numbers 14:2–3 — “And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
³ And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?”
Numbers 20:2–5 — “And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
³ And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
⁴ And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
⁵ And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.”
Psalm 78:12–17 — “Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
¹³ He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
¹⁴ In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
¹⁵ He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.
¹⁶ He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
¹⁷ And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.”
Deuteronomy 1:27–28 — “And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
²⁸ Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.”

Therefore, the man must trust without seeing — trust while falling — that he will live, even though every sound, sight, and sensation — every perceivable evidence of his carnal mind — declares his death is certain. This trust allows way for God to recreate Eden all over again. Rest in God is recreation. True recreation is only found in Eden. The invisible Eden is beyond comparison to the visible Eden in which Adam lived — for this Eden lives in Adam; it is a food of a hunger that no tree in the garden could satisfy, not even the physical tree of life. For in this Eden, there is not only life eternal, but a purpose to live forever; a reason to never shed a tear, for the Creator of the universe is your Father and He lives in you. He lives because He died. He lives in you because He died for you. He died for you because you died from Him. And fear not little flock, it is your Father’s will that you spend whole eternity unraveling the mystery of His love for you.

Luke 12:32 — “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
1 Timothy 3:16 — “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Ephesians 2:7; 3:18-19 — “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus…”
¹⁸ …May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
Psalm 145:3 — “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”
Romans 11:33 — “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
Colossians 1:26–27 — “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: ²⁷ To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Romans 5:5 — “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
1 John 4:16 — “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
John 17:3 — “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Psalm 36:7 — “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.”
Jeremiah 31:3 — “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Isaiah 55:8–9 — “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

By faith we know God created this world, because we can see the fruits of creation

We did not see God creating the world, let alone the universe. We did not see God creating men, us, let alone the angels. We know He did because of the authority and trustworthiness of the Creator, whose Word declared it. This trustworthiness, we are called to test and investigate throughout our lives, seeing and interacting with all creation — both living and static. Yet, many choose not to believe, for they do not trust the Creator, nor seek intimate relationship with Him. Instead, they invent their own theories and call them science; so that this way, they may enjoy intimacy with themselves — self love. The most miserable existence one can have.

1 Timothy 6:20-21 — “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.”
Colossians 2:8 — “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Romans 1:21-22 — “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
1 Corinthians 3:19 — “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.”

It is The Word alone that tells us God created both heaven and earth, and all that fills them. This Word also tells us that He created them by His Word alone — that He spoke them into existence. And it is this Word that now speaks to the man, declaring: “you will live by faith — you will live if you believe — if you trust what I say to be true”. If the man believes this Word, the Word is faithful to fulfill His faith and bring the promise into existence — as it once brought the heavens and the earth into being, and there was not one particle out of order, but all was declared — by the Word, which is truth — to be “very good.” And in that perfection, God rested. He rested together with the perfect, unfallen man, whom He created “very good.” — and now also bids the falling man to rest with Him, in His love and in His Word — in the certainty of His promise … ^{24 ⤵}

God said, Let there be life. And there was life in the falling man that believed.
God creates the man’s inner heaven by His Word.

Only the Word of the Creator — He who formed all things by His Word — speaks life to the man. This life is spoken under the condition of believing what it says. And this Word, through the mans faith, brings forth fruits in the man’s life likened only unto those who have never lost eternity and the holiness that comes with it: in the same way He spoke heaven and earth into being, if the man truly believes, God speaks life into the man’s existence. God will create Eden all over again within the man’s heart — “for the kingdom of heaven cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:20-21). It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof (Matthew 13:31-32). And the Lord God will dwell in them, and walk in them; and they shall be his people, and he will be their God (2 Corinthians 6:16). Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14:23). For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17). Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field (Matthew 13:44). For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20). And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12).”

Luke 17:20-21 — “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Matthew 13:31-32 — “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.”

Matthew 13:33 — “Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.”

Matthew 13:44-46 — “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
⁴⁵ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
⁴⁶ Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

Romans 14:17 — “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

1 Corinthians 4:20 — “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.”

2 Corinthians 6:16 — “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Matthew 11:12 — “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”

Luke 12:32 — “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Matthew 5:3,10 — “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…
¹⁰ …Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Luke 22:29-30 — “And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

John 14:23 — “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

Mark 9:23 — “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

… ^{24 ⤴} And if he turns away from the noise of the wind, the fire, and the shaking of the earth, as did Elijah while fleeing the persecutions of the world, and bows his heart low, and incline his ear to the Eternal, the unseen Majesty — the Source and Sustainer of all things — in whom we live, and move, and have our being; who is before all, and by whose word the heavens were made, and by whose breath all their host stand — the tender Shepherd, the Tender of herds, who gently leads His flock, sanctifies their souls, and guides them into eternal life, holiness, and incalculable delight beyond what eyes can see, ears can hear, nose can smell, tongue can taste, fingers can touch and heart can imagine — he will hear a still small voice speaking to his soul, saying, “Rest with Me — in My love, in My Word, in the certainty of My promise.“

Elijah and what God has prepared

1. Elijah Fleeing — 1 Kings 19:1–13 — “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.”
² Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
³ And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
⁵ And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
⁶ And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
⁷ And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
⁸ And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
⁹ And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
¹⁰ And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
¹¹ And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
¹² And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
¹³ And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”
2. Incalculable Delight — 1 Corinthians 2:9–10 — “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
¹⁰ But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
Isaiah 64:4-22 — “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.”
¹⁵ Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
¹⁶ But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
¹⁷ And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
¹⁸ But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
¹⁹ Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
²⁰ Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
²¹ Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
²² Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?

It is not obedience that will save His life, but the invisible faith in the heart. God reads hearts and knows the inmost thoughts of men — thoughts that escape even their own conscience.
The visible fruits of obedience are a natural reaction to a heart that truly believes : they are not the condition of salvation — but the inevitable evidence of a heart that truly believes.

Matthew 16:26 — “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Psalm 49:7-8 — “None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)”
1 Samuel 16:7 — “For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
Jeremiah 17:10 — “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

God needs no external evidence that we believe — for He has infinite access to the realities within our hearts. But to everyone else, including ourselves, and to both men and angels, the acts of obedience are the evidence of these converted hearts.
Therefore, Jesus warned us, lest we ourselves be deceived — that “if we truly love Him, we will,” inevitably “keep His commandments.” (— John 14:15)

He did not say this to beg us to be obedient — but to help us discern between truth and error. Truth always leaves a trace — an evidence behind. Therefore, faith, if true, must leave the trace and evidence of obedience.

Luke 7:35 — “But wisdom [truth] is justified of all her children.” [the truth becomes the visible reality] [BY THE WORD OF GOD WERE THE HEAVENS AND EARTH CREATED — by the truth extends towards outside.]

Whereas obedience without faith can never endure the demands of holiness — just as makeup on a woman’s face is clearly recognized as artificial beauty when compared to the natural glow of a face reflecting the image of God — so such obedience is exposed as counterfeit when set beside the natural obedience that flows from faith. It is the dead giveaway of an attempt to cover the rotting faithlessness of a dying soul.

Holiness requires faith to be holy, and faith requires freedom of choice to be freely yielded out of trust and Spirit-guided personal discernment. That which is holy is pure acts of love and selflessness — self-sacrifficialness and service to others . All these, love, selflessness, self-sacrifficialness, and beneficial service to others require freedom of choice to be meaningful, trust to be intimate, and obedience to be carried out.

Holiness would not be holiness if it were not interwoven with faith. Why? Because holiness is love — the free, self-sacrificial giving of oneself for the good of another. Such acts of love require certainty, and faith is that sense of certainty — the unwavering assurance that this way is both good and best and fully attainable. Thus even in God, faith is essential: faith within Himself is what moves Him to acts of self-sacrifice. And since true faith can only exist where freedom of choice abides, holiness likewise requires freedom — the free yielding of the heart, discerning and choosing, “This is what I desire, and this is what is best for all.”

He said that In order to help us recognize our brothers and sisters in Christ, lest we be deceived by the evil one who roams about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour,” and believe we are saved by faith, while we’re, in reality, living with and dying in sin. “For faith without works,” the apostle warns, “is dead.” (James 2:20,26)

Seeking whomever to devour

John 8:44 — Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
1 Peter 5:8 — “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
Mark 13:5–23 — “And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
²² For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
²³ But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.”
Full Context:
“And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:”
⁶ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
⁷ And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
⁸ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
⁹ But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
¹⁰ And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
¹¹ But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
¹² Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
¹³ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
The Abomination of Desolation
¹⁴ But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
¹⁵ And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
¹⁶ And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
¹⁷ But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
¹⁸ And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
¹⁹ For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
²⁰ And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
²¹ And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
²² For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
²³ But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.”

Faith without works

James 2:14-26 — “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”
¹⁵ If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
¹⁶ And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
¹⁷ Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
¹⁸ Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
¹⁹ Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
²⁰ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
²² Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
²³ And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
²⁴ Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
²⁵ Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

And if we believe, we will inevitably obey or live according to that which we trust to be for our biggest benefit.
Faith leads, and obedience follows — faith never follows obedience. The first cannot follow the second.
We can, however, try to strengthen our faith by obedience — but we cannot try this unless we have a faith as small as a mustard seed to begin with.
But there is something even before faith. That is the Word of God. The evidence of His love. The perfection witnessed throughout creation which was brought forth by His Word. The Self-sacrifice made — the giving of His divine, perfect Son, for us, sinners.
That with precedes faith is evidence: faith follows the evidence and promise of God. “We love Him because He first loved us.” — (1 John 4:19) We trust Him because He died for us to save us from sin and death. The Word says so, the Word of the witnesses says so, the Word of the Holy Spirit, which witnesses within, us, the Word of God, also says so. The Word of prophecy — a prophecy which never failed to come to completion — says so. And this is the sure Word of prophecy.

Sure Word of prophecy

2 Corinthians 13:1 — “This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
- 2 Peter 1:1-21 — “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
  ² Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
  ³ According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
  ⁴ Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
  ⁵ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
  ⁶ And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
  ⁷ And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
  ⁸ For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  ⁹ But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
  ¹⁰ Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
  ¹¹ For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
  ¹² Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
  ¹³ Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
  ¹⁴ Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
  ¹⁵ Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
  ¹⁶ For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
  ¹⁷ For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
  ¹⁸ And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
  ¹⁹ We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
  ²⁰ Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
  ²¹ For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Deuteronomy 19:15 — “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.”
John 5:31–32 — “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
¹³² There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.”
John 5:36–39 — “But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
³⁷ And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
³⁸ And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
³⁹ Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
Acts 2:32 — “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.”
Acts 10:39–41 — “And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
⁴⁰ Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
⁴¹ Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.”
2 Corinthians 13:1 — “This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
Hebrews 2:3–4 — “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
⁴ God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?”
1 John 5:6–9 — “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
⁷ For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
⁸ And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
⁹ If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.”
Hebrews 4:12 — “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Revelation 1:16 — “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”
Revelation 2:12 — “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;”
Revelation 2:16 — “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Ephesians 6:17 — “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”
Revelation 11:3–12 —
“³ And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
⁴ These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
⁵ And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
⁶ These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
⁷ And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
⁸ And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
⁹ And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
¹⁰ And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
¹¹ And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
¹² And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”

Faith comes by hearing the Word

Romans 10:1–21 — “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
² For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
³ For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
⁵ For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
⁶ But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
⁷ Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
⁸ But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
¹¹ For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
¹² For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
¹³ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
¹⁴ How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
¹⁵ And how shall they preach, except they be sent?…
[this is the evidence — that many preach the same witness, which they would not be able to if they were not sent by Him, Whom they believe. And many are converted in the heart of the Gospel, to sin not, which they wouldn not be able to do if they did not receive Higher Power from the One Who cannot sin. The evidence of the holy life of the preacher is the driving force behind the faith of the hearer. Jesus said, “By loving one another they will know you are My disciples, and there is no greater love than the one that I have showed you, to lay down your own life for the one who you call brother.“]
- John 13:35 — “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
- John 15:13 — “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
- 1 John 3:16 — “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
…as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
¹⁷ So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
¹⁸ But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
¹⁹ But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.
²⁰ But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
²¹ But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.”

Faith comes by evidence of God’s love.

Romans 5:8 — “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 Corinthians 15:3 — “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”
Hebrews 2:14 — “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”
2 Timothy 1:10 — “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”
John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 20:30–31 — “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
³¹ But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Hebrews 6:17–18 — “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
¹⁸ That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”
Isaiah 1:18 — “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Psalm 34:8 — “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Romans 10:17 — “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” [The Word is the evidence, for “God cannot lie.” ]
- Titus 1:2 — “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
- Hebrews 6:18 — “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”
- Numbers 23:19 — “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
- 2 Timothy 2:13 — “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
Exodus 14:31 — “And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.”
John 11:41–42 — “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
⁴² And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”
Acts 17:31 — “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”

If this Word is enough for the man’s faith, his trust will manifest acts or works of faith. By these works, we may discern whether his trust is genuine or merely professed — whether or not He obeys the Word of God which directly contradicts the prevailing mirages — the Illusions perceived in front of his carnal eyes that assertively declare to his senses his inevitable destruction that comes with the fall.

This changes everything. The man is still falling — but now he has a promise. And with that promise comes a choice. A choice to — even though falling — act as if he is not falling; but rather, as if standing firm, trampling on solid ground — just as Jesus walked on the raging sea in the heart of the tempest.

Matthew 14:25–27 — “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a spirit’; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.’”
[they perceive illusions, Jesus speaks truth — some believe some disbelieve]
Matthew 14:29–30 — “And He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, ‘Lord, save me.’”
Matthew 14:25–30 — “Jesus walked on the sea in the midst of the storm — and called Peter to walk too.”

And when the falling person truly believes this — even though he doesn’t see — he acts as if he is not falling, by the faith imparted to his heart through the trustworthiness of the Word of God. He lives as though the promise were already fulfilled, acting not by sight, but by faith. For he KNOWS that his future, and all future, is mere history to God.

Isaiah 46:9–10 — “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
¹⁰ Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure”
Isaiah 41:4 — “Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.”
Revelation 22:13 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

2 Corinthians 5:7 — “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”
Romans 8:24–25 — “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
²⁵ But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”
Hebrews 11:1 — “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
- John 20:29 — “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

And he surrenders — his faith placed in God’s hands — leaving the outcome to Him, knowing that God, who promised, is trustworthy and cares, and will bless his efforts. And God, in turn, renews the man’s spirit with hope — not expecting to land abruptly, shattering into pieces, but to descend gently, whole, into the new — spiritual — uncorrupted city of the heavenly Jerusalem. ^{17 ⤵}

He descends rather than ascends, for his fall began by lifting himself in pride above that which is highest — but now, through humility, he returns downward to the top, from where he chose to lift himself upper. For he has learned that anything beyond the truth is of the devil — anything beyond the top is the lowest bottom, even the bottom of the bottomless pit.

Luke 14:11 — “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Matthew 23:12 — “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”

Proverbs 16:18 — “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Isaiah 14:13–15 — “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
¹⁵ Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

James 4:6 — “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

James 4:10 — “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

1 Peter 5:6 — “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”

Mathew 5:37 — “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

He who climbs beyond truth falls below it.
He who descends beneath truth rises into it.

This is the turning point. The man chooses to act as if the promise is true — accomplished and fulfilled — even though it SEEMS untrue — unaccomplished and unfulfilled. He chooses, NOT because he sees it — but because he believes it.

Luke 17:20-21 — “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation ^{17 ⤴}:
²¹ Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

By mere sight he acts like a fool, but by reality, God, reading the faith and trust in the man’s heart, blesses his attempts of faith, surely fulfilling the promise. Because, let us not forget, when God speaks, His words become reality — for by His Word alone He created all things, whether it be mountains or skies, or death or life, or angels, or principalities, or powers, or things present, or things to come, or height, or depth, or any other creature.

Romans 8:38–39 — “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And such person has restored his freedom of choice back to his life because HE HAS BELIEVED GOD’S PROMISE, that HE WILL LIVE — before he had no freedom of choice to act as if he was living and alive because he knew he was dead and dying — because he yielded his freedom to sin, disobedience, and disbelief and chose death by deception, and could not, by himself, undo the doom of his choice. But now, because God intervened and reversed his doom, he is able to choose life and acts of life because of God’s intervention — however, he once again has the freedom of choice to yield his choice to death, only this time, there will not be a second intervention, and this time, it will be by fullness of light that he chooses, not by deception as the first time was.

Romans 6:8 — “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.”
¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.”
Hebrews 9:26–28 — “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
²⁷ And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
²⁸ So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
Hebrews 10:10-12 — “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
¹¹ And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
¹² But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God””
Hebrews 6:4–6 — “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
⁵ And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
⁶ If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
Hebrews 10:26–29 — “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
²⁷ But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. ^{18 ⤵}
²⁸ He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
²⁹ Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”

Such person, who was empowered by God to live by faith and choose life, now continually chooses, freely — day by day, hour by hour, action after action, step after step — to never surrender his freedom of choice to anyone or anything again, because doing so is to renounce the image which he was made in — and why would he renounce the image that he loves?

God gives us sense of responsibility for our choices, which is what makes us humans. Such person will never again abuse this freedom of choice — not because he cannot, but because he freely chooses not to, for he has seen the fruits of careless living — and loathes them.

The devil wants to control us by force, God wants to trust Him, and, by self-control — which He give us power and choice to use — to follow His path. The devil wants to surrender him our freedom of choice, while God wants us, by our freedom of choice, to do His will — not because we must, but because we trust. ↑ The devil has no power to make us free-willingly choose his lead for ONE reason alone — He is not trustworthy. So he must use force instead (because his motive is not life, but pride; not freedom, but control; not love, but self exaltation) — and since God limits the force the devil may exercise over us, he must use deception to make up for the gap which God imposes on him. This gap is the choice God allows us to have — for without His imposition, we would have no choice to fight back the wiles of the devil. But God, due to His infinte wisdom and mercy, limits this deception of the devil just as well — He limits it by the truth, and His love, He allows us to witness throughout our lives; truth and love which radiate from His Spirit and His Son’s cross on Calvary. For our God, precisely because He is infinitely trustworthy, every other way to win our obedience, but by freedom of choice, is beneath His dignity and glory — dignity and glory which is love by readiness to die for His servants and call them sons and daughters.

Yet, many people do not appreciate the responsibility God bestows upon us as sons and daughters of God through the freedom of choice He gives us — they do not desire to carry within them the image of the Holy One. They will get, therefore, what they will, what they freely chose — it will be unto them according to their faith in God, which is none. They will be left without a choice indeed.

Matthew 9:29-30 — “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
³⁰ And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, Seethat no man know it.”
Mark 10:52 — “And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.”
Matthew 15:28 — “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
Matthew 8:13 — “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”
Luke 17:19 — “And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”
Matthew 9:29 — “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.”
Mark 10:52 — “And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.”
Matthew 15:28 — “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
Matthew 8:13 — “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”
Matthew 17:20 — “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

For true love bears consequences, and belief awakens the soul to both the glory and the gravity of what is at stake: life, death, and the eternity between them.

By freedom, many people yet choose prison

After a long life of sin and darkness, God challenges each individual with the awareness that life itself awakens. We reach a crossroad, a threshold, where we are shown what we must do to be saved and live forever: acts of self-sacrifice, empowered by faith in God — a faith offered from the cross and flowing like an abundant spring of pure, refreshing water. We are made aware that life calls for responsibility and demands sacrifice to preserve its purity. This purity is uncorrupted love and unhypocritical faith in the Life-Giver.

Nevertheless, in the midst of their dark prison, after being offered light and opportunity, many people still freely choose to act as though they had no freedom of choice, seeking to escape the responsibility that freedom brings. It is true that their sinful nature surrenders this freedom to acts of death; yet the very fact that they live testifies to their hearts that God still grants them the chance of repentance — the chance to choose life again. For if death were final, they would not still be living.

But they suppress this witness, silencing the truth, so that sin may continue ruling unchecked by their conscience. They cast away the responsibility that comes with the life the Creator sacredly entrusted to us, forgetting the intimate relationship with God that always seeks to guide us — in gentle, unimposing communication through the still, small voice of His Spirit within — in choosing works of life: works of self-sacrificing service to others.

The purpose of forgiveness

The purpose of forgiveness is to eliminate sin — to encourage us into repentance and move us to cease from sinning — to show us that life cannot be preserved by sin. Its purpose is to reveal to us the necessity of the law of life and defeat the false allegation which portrays God’s law as a whimsical decree of a tyrannical master. And thus, forgiveness seeks to restore the intimate relationship with our Life-Giver.

The purpose of forgiveness is to eradicate sin in a society of free agents — to abolish sin and remove its power while still preserving the opportunity to sin and freedom to choose it.

Forgiveness intends to eradicate sin not by forceful forbidding, but by the free choice and personal approval of the discerning agent — by his willing recognition of its alien, damaging nature and its pestilential character — a corroding disease that seeks to destroy that which gives life its power, purpose, and zeal.

It destroys love and turns life into a wish that it had never begun. It renders existence itself a curse — a misery that yearns to end. A life that looks forward to dying. This is sin, and a free agent recognizes this.

And the only reason — arrogantly presumed instead of carefully investigated — why a free agent would freely choose sin is hatred toward the Sin-Forgiver — presumption and pride: it is because they sustain their enjoyment in sin at the cost of God’s forbearance, abusing His patience, which — through eternal pain, unfathomable by human heart, glimpsed only at the cross of His Son from which it radiates in full measure — endures their sinful rebellion to bring them to repentance and, with that, into eternal life.

Yet they abuse this tolerance of God’s mercy by twisting His long-suffering into a license to sin all the more, and thus, they entrench themselves in sin for eternity, further blinding themselves beyond hope to the truth that, were it not for God’s constant protection, they would have long ago destroyed themselves.

Thus, when God destroys the sinner, He does not act out of vicious vengeance to exact repayment for what has been stolen and lost forever, but permits only the reality that the sinner freely, willingly and unwaveringly chose for himself and would inevitably reach when left to himself alone — as his pride forcefully drives him — isolated from light, from reason, from community and from dependence on the only One who can supply his needs.

What is the Power of God?

We speak much of God’s love. Why then does nobody speak of God’s power? Why is this so?

Because, “in the last days, men shall be lovers of their own selves, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.”

2 Timothy 3:1–5 — “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
²³ Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
²⁴ Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
²⁵ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Because through God’s power, His love is made manifest.

The power of the Cross brings His love into the light of the truth.

Love is not a feeling — but an act empowered by faith. ^{23 ⤵} An act of self-denial for the purpose to benefit those in need. Self-sacrifice with a purpose to serve the weaker. The love of God and for God is doing this very thing. * “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” And the commandment is to love one another like I loved you. The only way we can love God is to love those who are created in His image by acts of self-sacrifice.

Love God by Loving your Neighbor as YourSELF

Matthew 22:36-40 — “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.
³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
- Isaiah 58:6–7 —“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
  ⁷ Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?”
- 1 John 3:17–18 — “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
  ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
- Deuteronomy 15:7–8 —“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
  ⁸ But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.”
- Proverbs 19:17 —“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
- Proverbs 31:8–9 —“Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
  ⁹ Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”
- Psalm 82:3 —“Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.”
- Jeremiah 22:16 —“He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.”
- Zechariah 7:9–10 —“Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
  ¹⁰ And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.”
- Leviticus 19:9–10 —“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
  ¹⁰ And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.”
- Matthew 25:35–40 — “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
  ³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
  ³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
  ³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
  ³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
  ⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
- James 1:27 —“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
- Luke 3:11 —“He answered and said unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.”
- Matthew 6:1–4 —“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
  ² Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
  ³ But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
  ⁴ That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”
- Acts 20:35 —“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Love for the Greatest is love for the weakest. God loves the weakest. He made Himself as weak as they are, to enable Himself to serve their needs — so they can surely receive His service. If we love the weakest, as He does, we love Him who created them and made Himself of no reputation to save them. Thus, love for the Greatest is love for the weakest: not that the Greatest is the weakest, but because the Greatest made Himself the weakest and served all who were in need. If Jesus, who was equal with the Greatest, humbled Himself to the lowest, then to love Him in His weakest form is to love the Greatest. Therefore, to love those who are persecuted and suffering, as Jesus was and as Jesus did, is to love God. Hence, we cannot love God until we first become the weakest, receive His love and provision, and only then, serve those whom He served.

People who love sin and darkness, but seek to avoid the shame that comes thereby, they proclaim love, but hide its power — they hide it because there is none. They hide it in the same darkness where their sins are kept, and thus, it is swallowed thereby.

If love has no power to yield works of self-sacrifice, it is love of self — which is hate towards our neighbors.

Romans 1:16 — “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 — “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

The power of God is not only in creation, or in the shaking of nations, or in the flood and fire of judgment. The power of God is in this: that He destroyed those who hate us, in order to provide a way for His ultimate act of Self-sacrifice. He destroyed others in order to let us destroy Him — so that we can see the power of His love: the works of His love which sanctify us. He let us destroy Him so that we can see the power of His love — the truth which sanctifies us. The truth which — like “a city on a top of a hill” — “cannot be hidden.” The truth which, like “a candle,” that “cannot be covered.”

2 Corinthians 4:4 — “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
John 8:12 — “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
John 9:5 — “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
John 1:4–9 — “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
⁷ The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
⁹ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
Matthew 5:14–16 — “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
¹⁵ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Mark 4:21 — “And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?”
Luke 8:16 — “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.”
Luke 11:33 — “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.”

He destroyed those whom he created in order to clear us a way for eternal life in peace in the knowledge of the truth which declares His eternal love for us — God truly laid down eternity beneath our feet so that we can walk on it forever, and fall not.

He let us destroy Him in darkness so that the truth could be revealed in light.

The truth is the power of His love.

The truth is the works of His mercy.

The truth is the acts of His blessings.

The truth is justified by her children — by the good fruits it yields.

Matthew 11:19 — “The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.“
Luke 7:34-35 — “The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
³⁵ But wisdom is justified of all her children.“

The Cross is that truth made visible.

“If anyone wishes to come after Christ, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him” — in that same “way as He obeyed unto death” — by works of faith. “For faith without works is dead.

Works of faith is obedience unto death. ↑

Matthew 16:24 — “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Luke 9:23 — “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Revelation 2:10–11 — “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
¹¹ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”
Philippians 2:8 — “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Revelation 12:11 — “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
Matthew 10:38 — “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”
Luke 14:27 — “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Romans 12:1 — “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Hebrews 12:2 — “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

And to die through obedience is eternal life. This is the faith of the cross — the truth. ↑

Love cannot be spoken without its power to obey. The power of God cannot be spoken of without obedience unto death — the without the cross. And the cross cannot be spoken without a cross — our cross. For His power is not given to preserve self, but to crucify it and clear a way for our neighbors.

John 15:12–13 — “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Mark 12:30–31 — “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
³¹ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

The power of God is the Cross — where truth and love shine in self-sacrifice. Death to oneself. The power of God is death to self. ↑

1 Corinthians 1:18 — “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Philippians 2:8 — “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Galatians 2:20 — “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Psalms 85:9-11 — “Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
¹⁰ Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
¹¹ Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

The power of God is the Spirit — who raises us from the death of sin, into holiness and everlasting life.

Romans 8:11 — “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you”

The power of God is obedience — where His love compels us to follow.

1 John 5:3 — “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome”
2 Corinthians 5:14 — “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died”
John 14:21 — “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me”.

The power of God is truth — which sanctifies and makes us free.

John 8:32 — “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 17:17 — “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

To speak of God’s love without His power is to preach a shadow on a hot day without a tree. But to preach through power is to proclaim His love in fullness: it is ti preach like Jesus, “as no other man preached before” — by the love that lays down life, the love that conquers sin, the love that cannot be hidden in darkness, the love that is stronger than death.

John 7:46 — “The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.”
Matthew 7:29 — “For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
Acts 6:10 — “And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.”
Hebrews 4:12-13 — “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
¹³ Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

The power of God is faith. ↑

Faith is obedience unto death — and obedience unto death is love. ↑

John 15:12-14 —
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

Faith

This is what believing does — it restores what was lost. It gives back the power to choose, breathing life into a falling soul. But believing comes with responsibility: that if you make the wrong choice, a loved one will die, and you will lose an eternity with them. That is weight. Fullness. Substance. It is awe-inspiring. It is the substance with which love is filled — trust that empowers the right choice — FAITH. The trust that chooses truth, even when it costs everything.

Faith is the trust that chooses the Hands beneath you while falling the steepest slope, with the fastest gravity pulling you into nothingness — the unseen thread that binds love to eternity. Trust that turns the unseen belief into living reality.
Not a feeling, sensation, emotion, an instinct, an impulse, a reaction, a reflex, or a sentiment, caprice, whim, or an urge, but the INVISIBLE POWER that drives the decision for the right choice.

Trust is the sacred burden of freedom. It is burden because our choice does not bring independent consequences to our life alone, but to the life with which all heavens and earth are filled with. This is the burden of love — one wrong choice can murder all life — an act of disbelief and distrust. And one self-sacrificial choice — and act of faith and trust — can save all life.

Faith binds one soul’s decision to another soul’s destiny.

When we trust, we save lives—when we disobey God, we destroy lives, for all life is intertwined with His. To turn from Him — by disobedience and distrust — is to send shockwaves through every soul.
God is the sure cushion beneath us, with His hands outstretched, to catch us when we fall, laid before the bottomless abyss. Every life that refuses that cushion — by distrust and disobedience — shatters into nothingness—and in that shattering, all life trembles. But when one life — Jesus Christ — trusted that cushion, all life found rest in harmony. Even the one who has splintered can be held again—God offers a second chance to reckon with our reckless choice and embrace the faith that gives life. When the falling man fell off the cliff beneath the supporting cushion, He was shown the trust of Jesus Christ. God has placed another cushion for the trembling souls just before the bottom of the bottomless pit, so they do not have to break into nothing. And they are bidden to follow the example of trust of Jesus Christ. And now, by one man’s trust, all life came back into harmony from the disharmony caused by one man’s distrust. Adam was the falling man. The Second Adam is the restorer of faith.

Trust does not rescue you from the fall or from the consequence of your choice, but it teaches you to trust the Hands that wait to catch you. It does not silence the information that your senses communicate to you, which perceive the pain and weight of the reality of the choice you already made. To your senses, the consequences of your choice are fully developed and present around you, while trust teaches you to rest in the Father’s love instead of fearing His correctness.
For His justice is revealed in mercy, not in His punishment; though He allows punishment to warn us against choosing evil and make us fear taking such choices. And to our senses, this punishment feels as though no mercy remains to save us from the fall — yet trust enables us to act beyond what the carnal senses dictate.
It enables us to live with responsibility, feeling the weight of consequence upon our senses as we stand before new choices, while at the same time proactively choosing and embracing the promise of God — embracing it by faith that looks ahead and knows the lightness prepared at the end as if already present, just as Moses endured by looking to the invisible God as though He were visible (Hebrews 11:27).

Hebrews 11:24–27 — “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
²⁵ Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
²⁶ Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
²⁷ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”
Hebrews 11:1 — “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:13 — “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
Exodus 33:11 — “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”
Numbers 12:8 — “With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
Deuteronomy 34:10 — “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”

FAITH — that is the trusting fire in the heart of love that refuses to let go of the promise of the Father which rings its divine melodies in out believing hearts — “I will be with you even to the end. Trust in Me unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Matthew 28:20 — “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Revelation 2:10 — “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

Faith is what gives love its consequence, its urgency, its life-or-death reality.

Faith impacts lives to extremes and drives the choice of whether one will inherit the Kingdom of heaven where lives are eternal. It alarms love into timely decision and action, preventing delays and neglect. Faith alone moves us to renounce personal benefit so that others may profit.

How does faith relates love to consequence?

By love we seek to act to benefit another; by faith we overcome the fear of failure in that pursuit.

Verses

Galatians 5:1-6 — “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
² Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
³ For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
⁴ Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
⁵ For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
⁶ For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”
→ Faith is the cause, love is the working channel by which faith operates — the fruits of love come by faith.
James 2:18 — “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
→ Faith is spiritual, but it is shown by outward action (the effect).
1 Thessalonians 1:3 — “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ…”
→ Work of faith, labour of love — again, faith causes action.
Matthew 7:20 — “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
→ Fruits are the visible outcome of those who truly believed invisibly in their heart, not in their mouth alone.
John 15:5 — “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit…”
→ Abiding (faith) produces fruit (effect).

Bellow this parragraph starts a breakdown of this truth — the spiritual cause and physical effect relationship between invisible faith and the visible fruits, consequences, and effects of love: a sacred dissection of how the deeply hidden, sacred, living, and vital roots of faith manifest outwardly, making love blossom visibly and impart life through its nourishing edibility:

What is love?

Love is a desire to benefit another — the inward disposition or intention to seek another’s good.

This benefit is of tangible value, whether physical or spiritual, it is a benefit that can be measures, even if the measure is infinite — a priceless benefit, as the one of Jesus Christ in the cross, paying our sins to save us from eternal death and adapt us into His kingdom of divine glory beyond description.

So, benefit is a consequence

What is consequence?

A consequence is the real‐world effect that follows an action or decision.

Must Love have a Consequence?

If love requires the benefit of another, and if benefit is a consequence, then yes. WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE LOVE CANNOT bring benefit to another. It cannot fulfill its desire, which is to benefit another.

Without consequence, love becomes a mere feeling of love ^{23 ⤴}— without acts. A sensation without movement. Without outward movement or action, love produces no real effect — no benefit to another. It cannot fulfill its purpose. It remains internal — paralyzed, inert. Without the consequence of an action. Dead love. And death smells despicably. The most abhorrent physical stench known is that of a corpse. A decaying body is the most detested experience in the natural world — even the most evil, even the most suicidal shrink back from death’s reality. When faced with rotting flesh, they mourn the very choice that paved the way. The stench stamps itself onto their memory, corrupting and destroying even their most joyful moments before they came into contact with death. How much more despicable is the stench of dead love from a dead spirit walking in a living body? Without consequence, love reeks abominably.

What Leads to Consequence?

Action.

Action gives life to love. And we know that all living move, breathe, and interact visibly and audibly, and by all senses — they give and receive, they eat and they feed, they help and they get helped, they heal and get healed. They give out service and receive the same. If anyone refuses in ANY ONE OF THESE, they die out. The cycle of life is interaction — and without reaching out in effortful expression and without opening space to host within such expression from without, life cannot be sustained. To end the cycle is to commit a murder — both in the form of suicide and homicide.

The word interaction refers to an action — action that comes from within — in order to be received — also — from within. When provided help is and received, gratitude from within is awakened, which is expressed outward — not inward — as a reaction to the help given. That outward expression of gratitude, when received, awakens motive for more provision, more help: and so, the cycle continues without end. And only the outward expression is seen. And whether it was truly received within is shown only by the outward expression of the one who received it. So interactions are many inner benefits — expressed through many external actions. The action of giving help is a benefit received inwardly as gratitude — and gratitude, too, is expressed outward as an action. Thus, every interaction is a circle: something good enters the heart — and from that heart, something good flows out.
How many actions are enough to keep even one interaction alive? Infinite. For the internal parts, where the spirit dwells, must at all times be cared for through visible interventions.
Love does not pause — it flows without ceasing. Love lives by unceasing motion — forever giving, forever receiving. Thus, love is immortal, because its actions never stop.
Only love that moves is truly alive — and only in active movement do we resemble the God who never ceases to give.

When some are passive, actionless, ^{19 ⤵} they produce works of death — carelessness, indifference, recklessness, chaos, selfishness, destruction: a refusal to self-sacrifice: this is an approval for suicide.

But what leads to action?

Decision.

Decision leads to action, and action leads to consequence. Without decision, we cannot move.

The undecided is the hesitant — always wavering between two choices, and in the end, taking neither. The reluctant, the fearful — always seeking to maximize the benefits of his choices, dreading that one choice may cause loss to benefits found only in the other — remains paralyzed by his fear and blind to the double loss he encounters from procrastinating his decision-making, until both choices pass away before him until they are out of reach.

So, without decision, there is no escalation into action..

BUT WHAT EMPOWERS DECISION-MAKING?

Freedom of Choice.

Freedom to choose, without being barred by a worry for a loss. Freedom to take risk, without fearing that the risk will be too high to handle.

Without freedom of choice, we cannot decide. We cannot decide on something that may be unprofitable for us — or damaging to our perceived value in and of life. And all acts of self-sacrifice are potentially so.

But what Gives Freedom?

Knowledge.

Knowing our potential losses are covered.

When we have no hope of living, we have no motive to benefit lives — because we cannot spend eternity with them. What is the point to give my life for my son if I cannot spend eternity with him? If I do not have this hope, my acts of self-sacrifice will be merely acted out. I will not renounce worldly pleasures — for there is my treasure and my heart. Why would I care for his eternal future if I know I have none? And if I truly care, I will seek to get one with him as well. But hope of living precedes the freedom to choose among all acts of love and self-sacrifice.

Love is the giving of life to another, and sacrifice is the giving up of life for another.

WITHOUT THE HOPE OF ETERNAL GLORY AND LIFE, WE CANNOT COMMIT ACTS OF SELF-SACRIFICE AND LOVE. Forgiveness brings us to forgive. And forgiveness gives us a chance to live again. So this chance to live again brings us to forgive and self-sacrifice. And even the natural logic would tell you the same: how could one sacrifice that which he doesn’t have? If he has no life, he cannot commit acts of self-sacrifice, because there is no life to sacrifice.

Certainty.

— Surety over the risk — security against the loss of the benefit missed by the choice not taken — full control over its consequence.

A guarantee that, had we taken the wrong choice, any loss we may thereby encounter will be recompensed to us with a greater benefit.

That if we take a choice with less or no benefits, our trials will be blessed by Him, Who has power over consequences, having us restored with benefits beyond those perceived in either choices. A warrant that God will provide escape had we stepped in the mud of the imperfectly calculated choice.

1 Corinthians 2:9 — “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
Isaiah 64:4 — “From of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.”

Sure knowledge.

A trusted witness that the benefit of our choice will be greater than the loss of choosing the other:

Romans 8:28 — “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Immortal hope.

A hope that never dies, but anticipates with peace the unseen results it knows will soon arrive, and stay forever to enjoy.

So, the consequences of love empower the value of love. Actions empower consequences, decision-making empowers actions, freedom of choice empowers decision-making as it carries within it a certainty to choose — that our choice will not be a mere gamble, but will be certain to produce the desired results — the consequences of love: the benefit of another.

And certainty empowers freedom of choice.

Who is immortal? Who can cover our losses for certain? Who can provide us with irrefutable knowledge? Who is omniscient ^all-knowing and omnipotent ^all-powerful?

How can we know that this benefit of choosing — or deciding upon the acts of love — is GREATER than choosing love without acts?

Not by sight.

But by the promise of the All-Knowing and All-Seeing and Almighty Father, Who is trustworthy to the jot and to the tittle. The promise that, after the fall, after you hit the bottom, you will live — IF, and only IF, you believe in His promise, and let faith enable your holiness and let the cross implant unto you His righteousness, even the righteousness of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

By trust you will know.

By trusting His promise—by believing it is true, of absolute value. That it is not subject to change, viewpoint, opinion, theory, science, consensus, group belief, or agreement, nor to personal desire, feeling, pain, or pleasure. That once spoken, it stands forever as truth, as the very building block upon which reality was created by His caring and mighty hand.”

Psalm 33:6 — “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”
Psalm 33:9 — “For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”
2 Peter 3:5 — “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:”

BY FAITH WE WILL KNOW and be certain.

Faith empowers certainty.

Faith in His Word which promises protection, and offers us certainty for the choice we make and the risk we take and the perceived loss we encounter — that the end there of is the way of life and peace and joy and purpose and meaning.

Proverbs 14:12 — “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 12:28 — “In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.”
John 6:63 — “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
1 John 5:11–12 — “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son:
¹² He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Psalm 16:11 — “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
Romans 8:2 — “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Proverbs 3:5–6 — “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Jeremiah 10:23 — “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”
John 10:27–28 — “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
²⁸ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
Isaiah 30:21 — “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”
2 Corinthians 3:5 — “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”
John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Faith is the TRUST — CONFIDENCE IN A PROMISE or reality not yet seen: a promise that is not yet fulfilled, or that has only been partially fulfilled — and partially glimmering before tender eyes, with uncertain anticipation over its sure outcome.

Hebrews 11:1 — “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
1 Corinthians 13:12 — “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
Romans 8:24–25 — And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
²⁴ For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”
²⁵ But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”
Hebrews 10:35 — “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.”
2 Corinthians 5:7 — “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”

THIS CONFIDENCE is certainty in the decision — or the choice we make. It is that which gives us the FREEDOM to choose, erasing the fear of the loss that choosing might bring.

2 Timothy 1:7 — “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Galatians 5:1 — “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
1 John 4:18 — “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

It removes the perceived risk. It provides us the special opportunity to choose, not out of obligation, but out of true appreciation of the end, the outcome.

John 14:15 — “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
Matthew 13:44–46 — “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”
⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:”
⁴⁶ “Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
1 John 5:3 — “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
Romans 12:1 — “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
2 Corinthians 5:14–15 — “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:”
¹⁵ “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
Titus 2:11–12 — “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,”
¹² “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
Psalm 40:8 — “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
Galatians 5:13 — “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
Deuteronomy 30:19 — “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”
Joshua 24:15 — “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 9:7 — “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Matthew 6:21 — “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
→ The heart chooses what it values — not by force, but by deep appreciation.
Luke 14:33 — “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
→ Not a demand for loss, but an invitation to joyful surrender for something greater.
Psalm 119:127 — “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.”
→ Loving the commandment — not obeying under weight, but out of value.
Psalm 119:32 — “I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.”
→ Obedience is not drudgery — it’s free and joyful when the heart is opened.
1 John 5:3 — “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
→ When love is real, obedience is not burdensome — it flows from delight.
2 Corinthians 5:14–15 — “For the love of Christ constraineth us… that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
→ Not forced, but compelled by love — by what He did and who He is.
Hebrews 11:24–26 — “By faith Moses… choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
⁵²⁶ Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”
→ He chose by value — seeing the end was greater than all loss.
Philippians 3:7–8 — “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
⁸ Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
→ Deep appreciation changes our values — and makes all loss seem small.

Faith gives and restores the freedom of choice. And the freedom of choice encourages acts of self-sacrifice. And acts of self-sacrifice give love its consequences — the physical benefits, as well as the eternal benefits, of the ones we love.

Romans 6:17–18 — “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
¹⁸ Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
Galatians 5:13 — “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
Romans 5:1–2 — “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
² By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

This invisible TRUST enables you to act based on the promises made — to build based on a certain rock — that, IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACT SACRIFICIALLY, your action will not be devastating in any way, even when it seems or sounds or feels so.

Luke 21:12–19 — “But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.
¹³ And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
¹⁵ For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
¹⁶ And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
¹⁷ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.
¹⁸ But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
¹⁹ In your patience possess ye your souls.”

The certain rock that: whoever decides to act on faith or trust in the promise, WILL BEAR many fruits for harvest.

Faith empowers acts of self-sacrifice — acts of love.

Faith in that harvest empowers the falling man — now a believer — to choose, decide upon, and commit to the actions that demand great effort and a sacrifice to carry out, even when those actions oppose his natural inclinations while falling. He now has the power to surrender what he would otherwise desire to pursue while falling in the knowledge that his fall is fatal — having no reason to act on mercy, no benefit in helping others, but being full of bitterness toward his destination. That bitterness directed his desires before choice came anew. He was hopeless and all his desires — a mere illusion of hope, leading unto death — futile in essence, bearing no fruits of love.

John 15:2 — “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Galatians 5:22–23 — “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law [the fall won’t crush these who walk by the Spirit by faith.].”
1 John 4:8 — “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

Without faith in that sweet harvest, the decision upon the choice for commitment to such self-sacrificing actions is impossible to be made and the actions — impossible to be performed. Without faith in that harvest promised by God, the falling man will instead seek to maximize pleasure before death — his personal benefit, alone, severed from others — grasping at as much enjoyment as possible — while falling — before he crashes at the point of no return.

Hosea 4:15-19 — “Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.
¹⁶ For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
¹⁷ Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
¹⁸ Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye [Give us more, Bring us more gifts to enjoy].
¹⁹ The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.”
Hebrews 10:23-31 — “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised:)
²⁴ And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
²⁵ Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
²⁶ For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
²⁷ But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
²⁸ He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
²⁹ Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
³⁰ For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Numbers 15:30-31 — “But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
³¹ Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.”
Romans 2:5-6 — “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
⁶ Who will render to every man according to his deeds:”

Yet these pleasures, are always short-lived, because joys of eternal duration require the relinquishing of everything — at all times: throughout eternity, beginning now.

Matthew 16:24-26 — “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
²⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
²⁶ For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Luke 14:33 — “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
1 John 2:15-17 — “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
Hebrews 11:24-26 — “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
²⁵ Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
²⁶ Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”
Luke 14:33 — “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
1 John 2:15-17 — “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
Philippians 3:7-8 — “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
⁸ Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
Mark 10:29-30 — “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
³⁰ But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

But what empowers faith? What makes the promise trustworthy?

Evidence empowers faith and evidence makes the promise trustworthy.

The cross of our Lord empowers faith and gives trustworthiness to God’s Word — His promise.

Certainty is empowered by a trustworthy promise — which is received by faith.

A trustworthy promise is a sure guarantee that our endeavors will not go to waste. The cross is this guarantee: the pledge of the life of the Creator.

Hebrews 6:13–18 — “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
¹⁴ Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
¹⁵ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
¹⁶ For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
¹⁷ Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
¹⁸ That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”
Romans 8:32 — “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Romans 5:8 — “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 John 5:11 — “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
Genesis 22:16–17 — “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: ¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.”
Isaiah 45:23 — “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
Numbers 23:19 — “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Psalm 110:4 — “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”

The trustworthiness of the promise, which makes one believe it, is empowered by an eternal, non-negotiable evidence: The cross of our Lord.

And how is this Trustworthiness Recognized and Received?

Through the act of beholding it and the act of hearing it.

Through beholding God’s original acts of self-sacrifice, so that we can gain a sure witness they are real — that One before us has done them, and did not looked back in the doing. And yet more, He resurrected after losing all that was valuable to human , to which He willingly bound Himself, unable to see more than we are, so that we can believe with certainty in the reward awaiting the saints who decide to act on love — in self-sacrificing devotion — to benefit those they love by reaching the kingdom of heaven, saving them from their perishing doom on which they tread, yet perceive not.

By this witness we get the role model according to which we shape our acts of self-sacrifice and, by it, we also receive the courage to copy them.

By beholding we become changed. By beholding His glory we become like Him. By beholding His acts of love, we reproduce them.

2 Corinthians 3:18 — “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

God’s acts of love, sacrificing Himself on the cross, fuels our faith, certainty, decision-making, actions, and their consequences when we hear the Word of God or see the same sacrifice in the people who follow Jesus. It is the chain of love.

Romans 10:17 — “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Hearing the Word of God empowers our faith.

And what empowers hearing or beholding?

Humility.

The imperfect seeks perfection — the Perfect seeks recognition. If we believe we are perfect, we can no longer seek perfection, nor cherish words of salvation. We seek recognition in our vanity. The pride blinds us to the truth, thus, we cannot behold nor hear the Word of the Promise of salvation.

Honesty.

The will to be like the One Who is greater than we— not in position, but in character. This will is honesty in action, for it recognizes our own shortcomings.
We cannot endure the condemnation, nor recognize and treasure the forgiveness that the truth hold, unless we are fully aware of, and disgusted by, our worthlessness and poverty. ^{21 ⤵}

Self-abasement.

The proud cannot hear. The self-exalted are blind to see. Those aware of their wretched condition, their sinful past and tendency, who are in a desperate need of a Holy Savior, are open to hear the sweet Words of redemption and their eyes are open to see His love for them, through His self-sacrifice — they marvel at His acts of love. In order to be able to see His love, and acknowledge His provision, they must be aware they are in need of Him — they must be honest and humble to acknowledge their infinitely lowly value compared to the One infinitely Great.

And What Brings Humility and Honesty?

Personal Freedom of Choice and the Sovereign Choice of God.

How the will is imparted to the individual, along with the freedom of choice, is a mystery known only to God. ^{20 ⤵} Yet we can rest assured in this truth: God’s choice does not override our free will ↑. We accept this by faith — because we TRUST our Creator: we trust that He is infinite in wisdom — that, truly, His ways are perfect — most rich in reason, fully filled with meaning, and enduring forever. We trust that He will not fill our eternity with anything less than the infinite — we will not lack a hair.

Luke 21:18 — “But there shall not an hair of your head perish.”
Luke 12:7 — “But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

All creation is finite. Unlike its Creator, it has a beginning and an end. And a restricted human mind cannot comprehend infinity — indeed, it will always remain a mystery to it.

Exodus 3:14 — “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
Psalms 102:25-27 — “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
²⁶ They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
²⁷ But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 — “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” — Implies creation has bounds; humans cannot fully grasp its span.
1 Timothy 6:16 — “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”
Hebrews 7:3 — “Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.”
Isaiah 41:4 — “Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.”
Isaiah 43:10 — “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”
Isaiah 44:6 — “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
Isaiah 45:21–22 — “…and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. ²² Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
Revelation 22:13 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
Revelation 1:8 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 — “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Job 11:7-9 — “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? ⁸ It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? ⁹ The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.”
Psalm 90:2 — “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”
Isaiah 40:28 — “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.”
Isaiah 51:6 — “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”
Hebrews 1:10-12 — “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth… they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment…”

If anyone truly wishes to obey, God gives them strength to succeed and grants victory. No one is excluded from His mercy, provided they desire the Kingdom.

However, if their desire is only partial, leaning partially toward the world, God warns them and presents the option to choose His Kingdom and fully renounce worldly pursuits. Should they pass this offer, God’s choice passes them, and the longer they ignore it, the opportunity is withdrawn until it is fully out of reach.

Romans 9:10–29 — “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
² That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
³ For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
⁴ Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
⁵ Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
⁶ Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
⁷ Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
⁸ That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
⁹ For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
¹⁰ And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
¹¹ (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
¹² It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
¹³ As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
¹⁵ For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
¹⁶ So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
¹⁷ For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
¹⁸ Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
¹⁹ Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
²⁰ Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
²¹ Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
²² What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
²³ And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
²⁴ Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
²⁵ As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
²⁶ And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
²⁷ Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
²⁸ For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
²⁹ And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.”

Faith: Summary, Application, and Contrast

Now back to the relationship between the spiritual cause (faith) and physical effect (consequences) that we looked into:

“Faith is what gives love its consequence, its urgency, its life-or-death reality.”

Love desires good.

Faith makes love decide and act.

That act carries urgency (it must be done, not delayed)

and life-or-death weight (it changes destinies, eternally and sometimes physically)

It lays down one’s temporal life to save one’s eternal life. (The ultimate sacrifice)

It lays down one’s worldly assets to benefit one’s physical poverty and to add to one’s spiritual richness.

When you trust someone or something, you choose to act on what you trust. And when you don’t trust someone or something, you choose, again, to act on what you trust: your distrust towards that thing or a person, and thus, your act will be to distance yourself from that entity and restrain yourself from doing the words it speaks.

When love is guided by faith, it moves from desire to decision to act on behalf of the benefit of another. Love gives you the desire to help; faith gives you the confidence to decide how and when to help.

This decision, motivated by pure love, guarded by the Highest Power, fuels the performing of the self-sacrificial action.

Every decision born of love+faith becomes a concrete action (e.g., a word spoken in self-restraint, a hand extended to help, a sacrifice made, a useful service done to an appreciated equal).

And if the decision lacks faith, but claims that it is out of love – this is not yet love.
And if the distrust is never overcome, this is hate — not love, as claimed. And if the decision claims faith but lacks actions of faith, this is not yet faith.
And if the risk to choose the action is never overcome, then this is unbelief. And unbelief is sin.
It is hypocrisy — enmity towards the one you falsely claim to be your friend.

For love cannot be performed without action, and action cannot be performed without faith; because love requires self-sacrifice— which is an active noun. And self-sacrifice requires faith in the One who will restore your sacrifice. And faith requires overcoming the risk that God will not provide restoration.

Every action carries real-world effects — consequences—it blesses, heals, protects, or, if misdirected, can harm, injure, and condemn.

Because it transforms love’s desire into confident decisions and actions, faith is the engine that generates real‐world outcomes, — the consequences of love. Hence, faith give’s love its consequences. Therefore, faith is the catalyst that transforms loving desire into self-sacrificial actions and gives beneficial consequences to another. Contrary to faith, distrust murders. It destroys the soul for eternity.

Faith seeks to be a victim, distrust seeks protection out of victimhood, making our peers the victims instead. By protecting ourselves from them, we attack them instead. Distrust gives actions that harm the wellbeing of another.

Result:

Without faith, love has no pathway to act and produce effects — no voice to speak, no hands to reach, no breath to move, no light to give. But the effects are those of neglect — like a flower left without water, sunlight, warmth, air, and soil. It withers — it has no means to move and no power to bring forth life. And so does hate thrive where love dies. These are the effects of hate — for hate is neglect, neglect is distrust, and distrust is the perception of ill traits: traits seen as dangerous to be near, contagious, and thus left in abandonment to rot away.

Faith is the cause of the fruits of love — their root. And God is the fertile soil: His ever-available nurturing care toward us. The Cross is His emblem. We are the branches; Jesus is the stem — the whole tree in which we are planted.

With faith, love becomes powerful, urgent — on alert — and life-redemptive, for it must result in tangible consequences, or else it collapses into hate. True love always strives to preserve its lovingness — at all cost. The actions motivated by pure love carry heavy consequences—the consequences of love.

So when love is united with faith, it necessarily yields consequences by means of urgency, responsibility, sense of impact.

Without faith, love never crosses the threshold into the world; with faith, it becomes world-shaping and destiny-turning. Without faith, love remains in the imagination — a mask for cunning hatred or a cover for an idle heart — its consequences are life-destroying, soul-burning. But with faith, it turns the world into a beautiful garden, after the likeness of Eden.

Without faith, love remains trapped inside, projecting outward as indifference, ignoring, neglect, and dismissal — escalating into carelessness, recklessness, chaos, and disaster — a disorder that culminates in total destruction. ^{22 ⤵} Thus, without faith, love becomes pure and blazing hatred: to be indifferent to a newborn child is to despise and destroy it, since no one will rise to meet the child’s needs. But when a father and mother step beyond their own comfort zones, they act by faith, seeking the good of the child and striving to give it a life worth living, trusting that God, their Father and Provider, will grant them success.

The Indispensability of Faith – continued.

Faith restores responsibility.
Faith opens the door to eternal impact.
Faith connects your decision to real outcomes — even involving others.
Faith is not just personal — it’s relational, eternal, and costly.

Faith is the unseen thread that binds love to eternity.
It is the substance of choice, the anchor of hope, the breath behind obedience.

Not ease or escape, but the quiet strength to endure.
To believe is to stand still while the world shakes, to wait when nothing is seen, to love when nothing is felt ↑.
It is not the absence of foolish fear, but the refusal to act on it.
Belief doesn’t rescue you from the fall — it teaches you to trust the Hands beneath you.

Not sentiment, not softness, but the sacred burden of freedom.
For true love bears consequences, and belief awakens the soul to both the glory and the gravity of what is at stake: life, death, and the eternity between them.

Faith restores: heals the broken brings the dead to life.

By freeing us from the bondage of sin, God restores to us the freedom of choice we had lost when we yielded to sin. From the law of death that was gripping us from underneath, it frees us, and brings us to tread on the Law of Life. The falling man, who once could not walk in the law of life, being sick, broken, and dead, now is fully healed, his life restored, fully able to do the acts of life – which are love. The acts of self-sacrifice. Now, his restored life enables him to lay it down for the people who he wants to bring back to life, as he was also brought back to life ↑.

Sin makes us lose the freedom of choice, and that forgiveness gets our freedom of choice back, to be ABLE or HAVE THE POWER ONCE AGAIN. To CHOOSE RIGHT, GOOD, and HOLINESS.

So now we understand this: sin takes away our freedom. Forgiveness gives it back. And this freedom is not just a feeling — it is imperceptible power. Power which enables us to commit acts of self-sacrifice when all odds seem and feel against us — confidently declaring that our effort will not go to waste. And faith is the medium through which forgiveness is received, settled, and secured.

sin leads to death and bondage, forgiveness brings back to life and freedom. Faith stands between life and death. Between freedom and bondage. And freedom enables us to die for the people we love. Freedom gives vigor to love. Bondage forbids us to die for the people we love, because we have no power to overcome it, because we are already dead, sold to sin.

Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

By accepting the forgiveness of God we receive that which we had lost, the freedom of choice, and then we have the POWER to again CONSTANTLY CHOOSE RIGHT OVER WRONG.

It is this POWER OF CHOICE that comes in the SPIRIT OF GOD — by living by faith, we have power that is of heaven and not of this body and of this world.

Because it is the FAITH that ENABLES US TO USE THIS FREEDOM OF CHOICE, because WE BELIEVE IN HIS FORGIVENESS AND LOVE, and of the NECESSITY TO LIVE BY HOLINESS because that is the only way to love.

GOD gives us the power to do what is right by returning to us the freedom of choice that we lost by yielding to sin and therewith becoming prisoners thereof.

Now we have once again the freedom of choice to do what is right, which means we have power to do holy things, even though we feel weak — He gave us the Spirit of righteousness by which we act by faith and not by sight — we believe we are forgiven.

That is the final step — living by this restored freedom. Not because we feel strong, but because we trust that God has given us the Spirit of righteousness. We walk by faith, not by sight. And we believe we are forgiven. Therefore, we are free. Free from the burden of sin. And free to choose acts of holiness and free to renounce sin every day, for we know its deadly origin. In death we cannot love, and therefore, sin, leading to death, makes us hate. And we choose life with the Life-Giver and our fellow beings who bear the image of our Father.

The Rock: the Foundation of Truth, and Law, and Logic and Reason

All understanding, all reform, all clarity must begin from discerning who and what the Rock is: the sharply defined absolute base, the fixed cornerstone, the solid ground on which all common sense—truth and reason—is built.

Plainly: the Rock is Love. God’s Love. Self-sacrificial love.
The Rock is God in identity and Love in nature.

Now, invite the Holy Spirit to evaluate and delve into this deeper:

Building on love

God is love. The Law is love — this is the foundation.

1 John 4:8 — “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
Romans 13:10 — “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Therefore, God is the Law—not in cold vain human legality, but in character, essence, and truth: His Law is the expression of His loving character.

The Word is truth, and the Word is God.

John 17:17 — “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

God is truth. The Word is God’s will revealed. The Word fulfilled is God’s will fulfilled. God’s will fulfilled is the revelation of His glory.

John 1:14 — “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Jesus fulfilled God’s Word. Jesus is God’s Word. Jesus is God’s glory. He is the exact expression of God’s character— as the Word tells us, “the brightness of His glory.”

Hebrews 1:3 — “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Jesus is love and truth. The character of God is love and truth.

1 John 4:8 — “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

There is no other like Him. There is no other like Jesus. There is only one way, one glory, one truth, one life, one character, one God, and one Son of God—the radiance of His glory. One Spirit of God.

John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

He who enacts that one character of God carries the Holy Spirit within Him.

John 16:13 — “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
Romans 8:9 — “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

And when this foundation is truly seen, the heart is drawn to obey—not by force, but by love. By freedom of choice.

Love is a freedom of choice.

The Abyss, is a concept that is not abstract, but it is real. It is in the first pages of the Bible. Darkness fills it. And emptiness is its substance. It has an ever-falling slope to it. When one surrenders his freedom of choice to it, ^{9 ⤵} he enters a free fall.

Freedom of choice is fullness of conscience, care, love, light, service, maintanence, creativity, organizing, building, perfecting, measuring, putting together, improving — living. But when one’s freedom of choice is surrendered, he enters the free-fall of death. This is the darkness of the abyss — the rolling on its ever-falling slope. We do not effort, but it does the work for us. Little amount is reqired from us — to jump. ^{9 ⤴}

Like jumping off a cliff and then letting gravity pull you down the steep slope of the mountain covered with naked and seamless rock with nothing to hold onto, and even if there was, the speed of falling is so fast that grabbing yourself to a branch will either break the branch or tear the arm apart.

When the fall takes over, we have no control over it. The first adrenaline we feel from changing state from stable ground to free-fall fades away until we fully fade away with the emptiness that fills that place.

Reasoning is by Freedom of Choice

Reasoning, the act of discerning, requires — is empowered by —freedom of choice. ↑

To contemplate and be fully able to reason requires tranquility and peace, a broad vision, ample space to move and explore, abundant free time, and a constructive curiosity — a desire to build meaningfully or contribute to what has been built.

To be fully aware and conscious — constantly discerning ^{14 ⤴} right from wrong — demands effort, energy, devotion, dedication, clarity, and light and visibility; it demands ongoing willful observing —an immortal interest — thoughtfully processing, principled decision-making, and faithfully performing. These are the building blocks of life ^{10 ⤵} . This is willpower¹.

Can a lazy person do this?

Can a dead person?

Can a narcotic? An alcoholic?

Can the unhealthy one?

Can an indifferent person do this?

Can the weak one? The barely alive?

Can someone who is not utilizing his God-given freedom of choice do this? One who lives by circumstances, not by principles? Who has no firm backbone, but bends his will to whatever comes — adapting his morals only to survive? Is survival living? Can someone who merely subsists by mechanical instinct — automatically reacting to survival challenges of circumstances — secure an eternity of living — a vibrant life, rich in purpose, reason, and priceless worth?

Can someone with unclear objective do this? With silent motive? With unfocused intention? Someone who lives on a habit? Who take no responsibility for his actions? Who lives by instinct? By feeling alone?

Can someone with weak willpower do this?

Can the liar do this? The thief? The murderer? The adulterer? The blasphemer? The mocker? What purpose do they constantly keep before their eyes? What vision, what moral aim, what future plan — what certainty — are they following? What sustainability awaits the thief, the murderer, the adulterer, the blasphemer, the mocker? What do they live for, to sustain? To excuse their existence? Love? To which treasure is their heart given? If not to love, then to what?

That’s right. There is no answer — because nothingness fills their vision, and their heart clings to emptiness.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 — “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
³ What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
⁴ One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

And if someone has jumped ^{9 ⤵} — and is yet falling — how can he get away? Who can save him? Only the One who is greater than the abyss.

Psalm 40:2 — “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
Psalm 18:16 — “He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.”
Psalm 30:3 — “O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.”
Lamentations 3:55–57 — “I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.”
Jonah 2:6 — “I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.”
Acts 2:24 — “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”
Revelation 1:18 — “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
Hosea 13:14 — “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction…”
2 Timothy 1:10 — “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
1 Corinthians 15:55–57 — “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin… But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 7:24–25 — “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Isaiah 43:11 — “I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.”
Psalm 3:8 — “Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people.”

To live life on automation is suicide. It is to yield the building blocks ^{10 ⤴} the sanctuary of will — the seat of judgment, the command post, the office of authority — by which your life operates and from which it finds direction.

— Proverbs 16:9 — “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.”
— Psalm 75:7 — “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”

It is to renounce the authority over your life.

— Jeremiah 17:5 — “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm…”

And if you renounce it while you are still alive, where will your life receive governance and direction from?

— Proverbs 14:12 — “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

There is but one place left: the abyss — the bottomless pit.

— Revelation 9:1 — “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”

To live life on automation, renouncing your authority over it, is to throw those building blocks down the drain of that abyss — of that bottomless pit — draining them, by decay, into non-existence.

Isaiah 14:15 — “Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the sides of the Pit.”
[their free-willing choice is their punishment]

To yield control of your life is to have another — not you — act in your stead. And that ‘another’ is not God — because God never controls your life without your continuous cooperation.

Revelation 3:20 — “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”
John 14:15 — “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

He does not force Himself upon you, although He is your Creator and the Architect of the circumstances around you. Even though He is the Invisible Protector of both good and evil people, His condition to be ever present in your life is that you have a freedom of choice — not on paper, but in practice.

Deuteronomy 30:19 — “I have set before thee life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life…”
Joshua 24:15 — “Choose you this day whom ye will serve…”

And by yielding this choice, you let go of His presence. Because it was God who assigned you the control of your life, the responsibility over your actions, the freedom of choice over your decisions.

James 1:5 — “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God…”
seek and you will find

You were created in His image.

Genesis 1:27 — “So God created man in his own image…”

These are attributes of God.

Matthew 7:7 — “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find…”
Leviticus 11:44 — “For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy…”

And to live on automation is to surrender these attributes to the enemies of God.

Romans 12:21 — “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Genesis 4:7 — “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

In our case it is the devil.

1 Peter 5:8 — “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about…

And who did the devil surrender his attributes to? His own vanity, his nothingness, the abyss of his death, the abyss of his worthlessness.

Ezekiel 28:17 — “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness…” (The fall of Lucifer)
John 8:44 — “He was a murderer from the beginning…”
“God made him [Lucifer] good and beautiful, as near as possible like Himself…” from The Review and Herald, September 24, 1901 (TA 26.4)
“Though God had created Lucifer noble and beautiful, and had exalted him to high honor among the angelic host…” from The Spirit of Prophecy, Volume 4, p. 317 (TA 27.1)
Lt 42, 1910, par. 3 — “They had come to exalt themselves, and they forgot that their beauty of person and of character came from the Lord Jesus.”

To the concept of living life without God, a life without self-control, without freedom of choice. To the darkness that is there when God is not. To the slavery of his own nothingness. To non-existence. To death, darkness, and deceit.

To live life on automation is to say “No” to life and its components — the very building blocks of which it is made.

Psalm 103:14 — “He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
Genesis 1:27 — “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Genesis 2:7 — “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Job 33:4 — “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7 — “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
John 20:22 — “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”
Isaiah 42:5 — “Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out… he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein.”
Romans 8:5 — “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”

It is to disown the divine image stamped upon your soul — to erase the face of God from your will. You become a motionless picture. An icon carved from dead wood.

Jeremiah 10:3–5 — “For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest… they are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go…”
Isaiah 44:13–17 — “The carpenter stretcheth out his rule… he maketh it after the figure of a man… he burneth part thereof in the fire… and the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image… he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it.”

We were made of the dust of the earth. ^{21 ⤵} What useful instinct can we have if we allow our own nature dictate our decisions? What good are the instincts of the dust of the ground? Can a mere clay lay its life for the clays it loves? The pot moves only there where it is taken by him who has control over it. It cannot move on its own. If it is thrown in the garbage, it moves with the garbage, if thrown on the shelf — it stays there. God gave us His control over our natural bodies of dust and flesh. If we disown God from our lives, we disown that control we have over them, and we surrender to the base instincts that a mere dust can have — nothingness — death — purposelessness — worthlessness: we surrender to the free-fall of the never-ending abyss; to the bowels of the bottomless pit.

It is the Spirit of the LORD that gives the pot a freedom of choice, an authority to move on its own. ↑ When we surrender this authority, which is divine authority, we become mere mortals who are of no greater value than a grain of sand, or even a cup or a bucket thereof.

Did God choose the dust of earth to be our nature by which He made us by mere coincidence?

Hay is of higher value.

Wood is of higher value than dust.

Bronze is of higher value.

Silver.

Gold.

Diamonds.

But He chose the lowest material, the dust — fragile, dry, scattered, stepped on — so that He can decorate us with DIVINE value and worth, which is of higher value than jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, chrysoprasus, jacinth, amethyst, topaz, carbuncle, onyx, — and all the jewels combined together.

These were the very stones that adorned Lucifer in Eden (Ezekiel 28:13), that were engraved on the breastplate of the High Priest (Exodus 28:17–20), and that formed the foundations of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:19–20).

Ezekiel 28:13 — “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”
Exodus 28:17–20 — “And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
¹⁸ And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
¹⁹ And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
²⁰ And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.”
Revelation 21:19–20 — “And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
²⁰ The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.”

But we were not decorated with mere stones — we were clothed with the righteousness of God Himself: with divine wisdom: with the ability to choose rightly. Our Father clothed us with the value of good over evil, of life over death, of freedom of choice over the worthlessness of puppets.

And to throw away this authority by which He has stamped us, is to go by the instincts of the dust — of that which is, virtually, of no value:

A useless clay, made for dishonorable use — dust without the breath — without the Spirit of the Lord imparting His life, and sanctifying and eternalizing it with His reason. ^{12 ⤴}

Genesis 2:7 — “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…”
Isaiah 11:2 — “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him… the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. ^{11 ⤵} ”
John 20:22 — “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”

Having the freedom of choice, we are in control to renounce that choice and live on automation — to renounce control over our lives and the decisions we take. Whoever yields that choice yields the purpose of living, and his mere survival —which he lives for — is of no value.

The freedom of choice enables us to constantly choose between right and wrong, and to incessantly choose right. It enables us to discern between the value of life and the emptiness of death, between the value of goodness and the worthlessness of evil. It enables us to constantly recognize the worth of life and the glory of the One who gave it to us, even on the cross. It enables us to perpetually recognize the reason for living, for choosing life. It is an act of effort, and this effort is done willingly ^{14 ⤵}, because we love the fruits ^{13 ⤴} thereof. It is a willing self-sacrifice because we love the benefit — the profit ^{13 ⤵} of our life investment. To obey is to self-sacrifice. ^{15 ⤵} To obey is to GIVE AN EFFORT, not because your works will save you, but because they give others reasons to live — because they save others. You work through Jesus Christ Who saved you, and by His salvation, you save others — by carrying your cross, and following Him, the Lamb, wherever He goeth.

The effort is the sacrifice. The effort is the constant choice to die to ourselves. The effort is by the freedom of choice. This freedom of choice is investment for eternity. Whoever yields this freedom of choice yields love and its efforts to self-sacrifice for others. He lives for himself, and thus, he has no reason to live — because the LORD hasn’t given him this reason, and he is, therefore, not sharing that reason with others.

Matthew 10:7-8 — “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”

And every body that does not circulate with blood, whose organs do not exchange that blood that is streaming in the veins, is a dead body. For life is in the blood.
To live life on automation is to live for survival — to live to save yourself — to live for yourself — to live selfishly. But it is also to live foolishly — for how can you save yourself from the ever-falling devouring bowels of the abyss? ^{18 ⤵} From the bottomless pit?

Genesis 2:17; 3:4–5 — “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
…⁴ “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
1 Peter 5:8 — “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

And living life on automation is doing exactly this impossible thing — by your own effort — trying to run away from the darkest and deepest fall — while falling straight into it.

Proverbs 14:12 — “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

It is a life of constant fear and blindness, where your primal worry is attempting not to die — and your concern maximizing your survival value before dying — while overlooking the stable truth that you are already dead.

What benefit is there to maximize the wellbeing of a dead person? That’s why, those who have given themselves to this foolishness can never reverse their choice ↑ — because they have given their freedom of choice, the authority of their life to nothingness — they have destroyed the authority and the freedom of choice that God has initially given them — thus, they have no longer freedom of choice to reverse their decision ↑. That’s why, once they freely give into the rushing slopes of the bottomless abyss, their fate is forever sealed — they have no longer power to choose life, because they used this power of life to choose death.

Jeremiah 13:23 — Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

Therefore, we can only choose to do good — or choose life — when we believe that God has restored our life.

Deuteronomy 30:19 — “I have set before thee life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”

This is obedience by faith.

And how can we believe without the resurrection of Christ?

verses

Romans 10:9-10 — “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 1:17 — “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Hebrews 11:6 — “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
1 Corinthians 15:14 — “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.”
Romans 6:4 — “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: 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.”
Ephesians 2:4–5 — “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ…”
John 5:24 — “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life…”
Philippians 3:10–11 — “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection…”
Romans 8:11 — “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 your mortal bodies…”
Luke 12:8 — “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God,”
Acts 16:31 — “And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’”
Matthew 10:32-33 —
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
1 John 4:2-3 — “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”
1 Peter 1:21 —
“Who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
Romans 8:34 —
“Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”
John 12:42-43 — “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”
2 John 1:7 — “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
John 9:22 — “(His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)”
John 20:26-29 — “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
Acts 8:36 — “And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?’”
Acts 2:24 — “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”
John 6:69-71 — “And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.”

The word faithful is obedience by faith.

Romans 1:5 — “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.”

To be faithful is to do what you are told — and you can only do exactly what you are told because you love your master.

“Faithful is to do“

Matthew 7:21 — “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 7:24–27 — “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
²⁵ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
²⁶ And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
²⁷ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 12:50 — “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Matthew 21:28–31 — “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
²⁹ He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
³⁰ And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
³¹ Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”
Matthew 25:31–36 — “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
Luke 6:46–49 — “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
⁴⁷ Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
⁴⁸ He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
⁴⁹ But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”
Luke 8:21 — “And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.”
John 13:17 — “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

John 14:15 — “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
Luke 16:10 — “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
Matthew 25:21 — “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
John 15:14 — “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
Deuteronomy 11:1 — “Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.”
1 John 5:3 — “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
1 Samuel 15:22 — “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Moses desires intimate knowledge of God so He can rest in His love

Deuteronomy 6:5; Exodus 33:13; Numbers 12:7–8; Hebrews 3:5 — “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
— “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight…”
— “My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth… and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold…”
— “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after.”
[Moses DESIRES intimate knowledge of God’s inmost parts, that he may know Him as a if he is part of God — that he might find the knowledge to obey Him by the smallest, most invisible, detail, so that his obedience toward His Father may be made perfect; because the son longs to receive the favor of his father — “to find grace in His sight.”] [A son always wants to impress his father because he loves to bask in his loving protection and enjoy the comfort only his father can give. ]
- Matthew 11:28–29 — “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
- Exodus 33:14 — “And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”
- Deuteronomy 12:9–10 — “For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.
  But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit… then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there…”
- Isaiah 32:17–18 — “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
  And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.”
- Isaiah 63:9 — “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.”
- Psalm 91:1–2 — “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
- Psalm 23:1–2 — “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”
- Psalm 95:11 — “So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.”
- Hebrews 4:1, 9-10 — “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. … There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”

And you can only love your master if you know that he loves you first — despite your faults.

1 John 4:19 — “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Since your master is greater than you, it is only fair that his love for you precedes your love for him.

John 13:13–14 — “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet…”
Malachi 1:6 — “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you…”
Isaiah 55:8–9 — “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Psalm 103:13–14 — “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”
Deuteronomy 32:6 — “Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?”
Jeremiah 3:19 — “But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.”
Proverbs 3:11–12 — “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”

And only a father can be such master.

Matthew 23:9 — “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”

So faithfulness comes by love because love births trust — because we trust them who love us, because they want to keep us well and alive.

Psalm 91:14–15 — “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him… He shall call upon me, and I will answer him…”
Deuteronomy 10:12–13 — “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes…”

To be faithful is to remain in your master’s love.

John 15:10 — “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
John 15:9 — “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.”
Revelation 2:10 — “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
Revelation 3:11 — “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
2 Timothy 4:7 — “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”
Hebrews 12:1 — “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”
James 1:12 — “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

Jude 1:21 — “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
1 John 4:16 — “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
John 14:21-23 — “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
²² Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
²³ “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
Romans 8:38–39 — “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 John 3:24 — “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
John 15:4–5 — “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
John 15:9–10 — “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
John 16:27 — “For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”
Romans 5:5 — “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
John 17:26 — “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
1 John 3:1 — “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…”
2 Thessalonians 3:5 — “And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.”
Psalm 91:14 — “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.”

Obedience is love.

Obedience is love. ^{15 ⤴}

Romans 1:5 — “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.”

To obey is to love, because to obey is to trust.

2 John 1:6 — “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.”
James 2:17 — “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
John 15:14 — “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

And to trust is to love, because you love Him who loved you first.

1 John 4:19 — “We love him, because he first loved us.”
Luke 7:47 — “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

God loves us not because He trusts us, but because He trusts Himself — He trusts us in His perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, knowing that, after witnessing His perfect love, we cannot sin any longer, for the truth doesn’t allow us — which is our conscience.

John 8:31–32 — “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Romans 2:13 — “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”

This is only true if we live by the truth. It does not apply to those who do not live by the truth.

1 John 2:4 — “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
1 John 5:3 — “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
Deuteronomy 11:1 — “Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.”
1 Samuel 15:22 — “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

So to obey is to love. To love is to live by the truth ^{16 ⤵} — that is, to trust.

Galatians 5:6 — “Faith which worketh by love.”
Proverbs 3:5–6 — “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
1 John 3:18 — “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
2 Corinthians 10:5 — “Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

And to trust is to believe that God loved you first. ^{16 ⤴} This is the truth. If you love Jesus, you will obey Him because He loves you.

John 14:21 — “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
John 15:10 — “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”

And obeying Him means doing what is best for you — because what Jesus requires of us is what is truly best.

Jeremiah 7:23 — “But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.”
Ezekiel 20:11 — “And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.”
Deuteronomy 10:13 — “To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?”

We trust His love not to fail us. We love His love, which takes care of us. Therefore, we trust, and because we trust, we obey. And we obey to benefit. ^{13 ⤵}

Deuteronomy 30:16 — “In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee…”
Psalm 119:44-45 — “So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
⁴⁵ And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13 — “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

And obedience defines whose servants we are — because to trust means not to know by a perceivable evidence, always available to the senses , but by the unperceived reputation of the trusted; and trust means yielding to his will and knowledge, which we do not receive by sight, but we accept by faith. And yielding is surrender, surrender is submitting, submitting is submissive, and submission is humility. Therefore, trust is humility. Obeying is humility. And humility is willfully transferring —surrendering— your dependence to Someone Else, Who is bigger and knows better than you, and yet, loves you, and is willing that you do not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 6:16 — “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey…”

Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” — John 14:15

{TOC9 }But what He really meant was: “If you love yourselves, keep My commandments…” {}
“…Because My commandments give you what is best for you — because I love you.”

What He meant was, “I love you, therefore, keep My commandments!” ↑

And if we love ourselves, we will love our brothers and sisters who are in our image.

Ephesians 5:29 — “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.”
John 13:34 — “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
1 John 4:21 — “And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
1 John 2:9 — (NIV) “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.”

And we will love Him, according to whose image we were made — and reborn in.

Romans 8:29 — “For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
Genesis 1:27 — “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
James 3:9 — “With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.”
Matthew 22:37–39 — “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

It is pointless to live by the law once you break it.

For what use is a law if it allows for departures? If two people live in a house, and the law of the house is “do not kill,” and if one of them departs from the law for the time being, then how has this law protected the victim? To stop killing will not bring the victim to life. What good of living by a law which says, “Do not kill,” after killing the only one sharing that law? There will not be anyone left to kill anyway. And if there is, how can this other person have peace knowing the law cannot provide him 100% security? So he would render the law of no value — useless.

The usefulness of a law is that it would leave no place for transgression, in that it would leave no transgression left unpunished: where the punishment is too great for anyone to bear, and yet live. The utility of any law comes from the mercilessness of its punishments for departures. The punishment might have different degrees of recompense of the damaged, or stolen, or destroyed. But if there is no recompense, the Law is a mere decoration of justice, rather than empowered justice. Every law must be like a balancing scale, where on one side there is an eye, and on the other side, also an eye — tooth for a tooth, eye for an eye.

The only exemption from a punishment must be if the victim allows it. But if the victim is dead, who will allow for the mercy? It must be the Creator of that soul, which is killed.

Romans 3:20 — “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Does Paul here refer to the Ten Commandments (the Moral Law) — the Law of God which condemns us to death after transgressing it?

Romans 6:32 ^{1 ⤵} — “For the wages of sin is death…

Is he saying that the Law opened his eyes to his sinfulness —made him aware he was a sinner(?) that knowing this Law only points to us as sinners, rather than making us sinless? For the Law is there to show that we have sinned, and enable us to realize the extent of our sinning — it is not there to help us sin not, nor to call us to obey it; ^{7 ⤵} for why would we obey it when we already broke it? When it already condemned us to death, what is the point and the benefit of living by it ^{13 ⤵}?

Romans 7:7 — “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”

But rather, the Law is there to show us how deep into sin we have fallen, that no obedience to ‘a Law’ can save us from the wages of the disobedience to it, except God’s grace — the mercy of the Lawgiver…

But rather, the Law is there to show us how deep into sin we have fallen: that no obedience to a Law can save us from the wages of disobedience to it, except by God’s grace… the mercy of the Lawgiver… unless it is Someone higher than the Law who takes the blame upon Himself — either by professing imperfection in His Law, saying, “My Law is imperfect; I was wrong to demand such holiness from you,” or by bearing our guilt upon His back (carrying the cross). And since the Law represents the very character of this Higher Being (everything He stands for, all that He is, the core essence of His being, the fullness of Who He is ^{2 ⤵}), any transgression of it falls on Him: casting doubt on His name, diminishing His glory, flawing His essence — questioning the very purpose of His eternal existence. And what is worse pain than to know your existence is meaningless, useless, vain, empty, of zero value?
Meaningful death is better than a meaningless life.²

Ecclesiastes 9:5 — “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”

But when all hope and reward of life is lost, when life has no holy purpose of eternal value:

Job 3:16 — “Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.”

Our sin puts shadow on God’s dignity, sovereignty, integrity, wondering whether He should exist as such, and whether He is truly God, and the Creator of everything. How base and prideful sin is? Sin requires recompense of the damage we cause to God — Who can recompense damaged divinity? God alone. Surely not beings made out of the dust of the earth. ^{21 ⤵} We are worthy of non-existence. And if it wasn’t for the love of God, and for His eternal patience, we would be “of untimely birth who know not any thing“.

If you disbelieve the Lifegiver, you commit a murder. ^{3 ⤵}

God’s character is His image and the purpose of His existence — the soul of His immortality, the face of His unseen nature. And faith in this Character is the evidence of things unseen, the purpose of His eternal existence, and the substance of things hoped for — the tangibility of His love: that God is our Father, that we bear the image of our Creator, that He has given us His essence — the essence of His Being, the essence of His existence, the essence of His purpose and will: the knowledge of His Law, which is His character — giving us a free space for choice, to be like Him — to freely choose to live by it and reflect the glory of the One Whom we have received as our only true Father, Whom we trust and honor.
The Law says, Love your neighbor — or rather, love Him who bears the same image you bear: that of God, your Father and Creator.
The Law says, Do not kill: ➔

➔ If we kill them who God made in His image and who carry the purpose God designed them for — the murder is against God; because, to destroy the one who bears God’s image and carries His purpose is to strike at our God-given essence and render God purposeless — a fool unable to discern useful from useless, good from bad; to assign him the character of the devil. If we create our own purpose, we place ourselves higher than God. And we give God a purpose rather than trust God for the purpose He gave us, that it is perfect for us throughout eternity.

Isaiah 5:20 — “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
Mark 3:28–30 — “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.”
Luke 12:10 — “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.”
Hebrews 10:26–29 — “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. ^{18 ⤵} He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
Hebrews 6:4–6 — “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
1 John 5:16 — “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”

Every act of murder is not merely against flesh, but against the glory of the One who gave that life of Himself and assigned a meaning to it — the same meaning which God’s existence bears/carries — which is to love and be loved; to do service to others and receive service from those greater than you. If you disbelieve the Lifegiver, you commit a murder. ^{3 ⤴}

John 11:25–26 — “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
John 5:26 — “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself”
“Still seeking to give a true direction to her faith, Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. “He that hath the Son hath life.” 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life. “He that believeth in Me,” said Jesus, “though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?”” The Desire of Ages, p. 530
“In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as his personal Saviour.” Selected Messages, Book 1, page 296

Disbelieving God’s purpose is to count every life He gave as of no value — useless — and thus to count God Himself as of no value; for He has that life of Himself… ^{4 ⤵}

Psalm 118:22-23 — “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”
Matthew 21:42 — “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”
1 Peter 2:4 — “To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.”
Psalm 14:1 — “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”
Romans 1:21 — “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Genesis 1:27 — “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Ephesians 2:10 — “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Psalm 138:8 — “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Luke 7:30 — “But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.”
Romans 8:28 — “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.“
Jeremiah 29:11 — “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
1 Thessalonians 4:8 — “He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.”
Matthew 12:31–32 — “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

… ^{4 ⤴} and gave that life to His Son to have of Himself, and through His Son, He shared it with all of us, to have it through faith in His holy name, which He spoke to Moses, face to face: “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” — Exodus 34:6–7
This speaks that we are alive because God is love; we are alive because of God’s Law, Character, Purpose, Name, Glory, Will…: we are alive because of the meaning of God’s life — We are alive because of God’s purpose. Because of His reason ^{12 ⤵} to be alive..

verses

Proverbs 8:22–23 — “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.”
Proverbs 8:24–25 — “When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth.”
Proverbs 8:26–27 — “While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth.”
Proverbs 8:28–29 — “When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth.”
Proverbs 8:30–31 — “Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.”

Without this meaning, ^{5 ⤵} God cannot exist, and His life is of no value — dead.

verses

Revelation 1:17–18 — “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.”
Revelation 22:13 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
Luke 20:38 — “For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.”
Romans 14:11 — “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
Ezekiel 18:3 — “As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.”
Hebrews 10:31 — “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Job 19:25 — “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.”
Psalms 18:46 — “The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.”
Ezekiel 33:11 — “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.”
Ezekiel 5:11 — “Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary… therefore will I also diminish thee.”
Numbers 14:28 — “Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you.”
Galatians 2:20 — “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
2 Samuel 22:47 — “The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.”
Mark 12:27 — “He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.”
Matthew 22:32 — “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
1 Samuel 25:34 — “For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee…”
1 Samuel 26:10 — “David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die…”
1 Samuel 28:10 — “And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.”
1 Samuel 29:6 — “Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright…”
Revelation 15:7 — “And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.”

And He gave that meaning ^{5 ⤴} for us to also have, and we can only access it by faith. And whoever destroys this meaning ^{2 ⤴} and murders a brother who shares in this meaning of life—which God has imparted and appointed to him—revokes both his life and the meaning which God has given him. He refuses to accept that life without meaning is death ↑, and that, to revoke the meaning which God has assigned to him, is to revoke the life God has given him—for God’s life never coexists with the absence of its meaning.
And to give our own meanings is to create our own lives. And who among us has ever created life? Why do we believe so determinately that we have the power and the right to create a meaning to a life we did nothing to receive nor did we contribute anything to bring into existence? Its almost as if an external, devilish force, is forcing this unreasonable beliefs upon us, to render fools out of those who bear the image of the Holiest, Most Reasonable and Most Loving and Caring Being out there: the Ruler of kings and Creator of world and Father of spirits and the Exemplar of perfection, the Cornerstone of laws, the Beginning of time, the Measure of infinity, the Trainer of light, the Model of beauty and glory and the Warmth of love and care, the Firmness of truth, the Counsel of wisdom, the Essence of hope, the Straightness of righteousness, the Breath of life, the Voice of joy and salvation and purpose, the Space of infinity, the Time of eternity…
We only borrow this life; and we can only keep it when we fully accept the meaning it comes with. And that happens when we surrender our own meanings and when we die to ‘our lives we have created in our fantasy and illusion’—lives we blindly cling to with supernatural strength, gripped by deluded fear, as if our eternal salvation depended on them, committing idolatry towards our Creator and Father: the gravest sin. Murder.

Thus, either our life or His life will be required to recompense the damage caused by the transgression. ^{2 ⤵} in both cases, Divinity must bear the punishment—the full pain of the cost: if you kill those who bear God’s image, God bears the pain; if you kill the Son of God, Who is the express image of His person, the brightness of His glory, torn from God’s bosom, God bears the pain.

So when the devil killed Adam by his lies, he killed the Son of God, and caused God’s heart to bleed the blood of forgiveness shed on the cross, to recompense Adam’s sin — else, Adam, and all of us who came from him, would have been long lost in oblivion, like the memory of last year’s snow.

So, the Law is there to show us the value of our life, and thereby, to reveal the knowledge of sin: that, being made in God’s image, by our sin — breaking the Law — we have killed the Law Giver³, destroying everything He stands for and upholds ^{2 ⤵}: And now, the punishment requires either our life, or His life. One is mercy, the other—strict justice. Is our God a legalist, or is He our Father? His Law is perfect, holy, and just, and death was inevitable; therefore, He took our death upon Himself, because He loves us. For the value of any sin equals death. And if 2+2=4, God cannot say “sin does not equal death,” because it does. Thus, the wages of sin is, indeed, death…

Romans 6:32 ^{1 ⤴} — …but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“

God is the value of our lives. And the cost of sin is the value of God: it is the value of His life which He gave us to live in the full measure of His value.

John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

So if God withheld nothing back when giving us life, and with that life, His full glory, He will withhold nothing back

Revelation 14:10-13 — “He shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”

when we sin against Him—against His Law and His character—in this life He gave us; and we will be compelled either to accept the death of His Son as recompense, and never sin again, or to face our own death for holding onto the sin that destroys the life of Him who gave us life.

John 3:36 — “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Jesus is the Life,

John 11:25 — “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

the Truth,

John 1:17 — “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

the Law,

Romans 8:3-4 — “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us…”
Matthew 5:17 — “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”

the Word,

John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
➝ …but by faith in God’s name, glory, purpose, image, character. Jesus is the full expression of God and is God’s Will manifest.
John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
- John 1:14 — “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Matthew 3:17 — “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- Mark 1:11 — “And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- Luke 3:22 — “And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”
- Matthew 17:5 — “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”
- Luke 9:35 — “And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.”
- 2 Peter 1:17 — “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Psalm 2:7 — “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
Colossians 1:19 — “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.”
- Colossians 2:9 — “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
- John 1:16 — “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
John 1:18 — “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
John 14:9 — “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
- John 14:10 — “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

the Promise,

2 Corinthians 1:20 — “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”
Acts 2:39 — “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off…”

the Love,

John 15:13 — “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
1 John 4:9 — “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world…”

the Name by which God made Himself known to us—which means ‘God Saves‘.

John 17:6 — “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world…”
Philippians 2:9-11 — “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…”
Isaiah 9:6 — “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

In other words, as God is His Glory, so is Jesus—being the brightness of His Glory—God. We knew God by witnessing His glory.

Hebrews 1:3 — “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
Revelation 21:23 — “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”
Colossians 1:15 — “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”
Psalm 36:9 — “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 — “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
John 17:24 — “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.”

We knew God by beholding Jesus. By believing in the Son, we believe the Father.

John 12:44 — “He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.”
1 John 2:23 — “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”
1 John 5:1 — “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…”

Isaiah 49:3 — “And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

In Jesus, on Calvary, we see the death of God’s glory murdered by our sin. And In His resurrection we see the value of our lives.

1 Corinthians 6:20 — “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
1 Peter 1:18-19 — “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Acts 20:28 — “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
Revelation 5:9 — “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.”

The identity of God is His glory, His Law, His Character, His Image, His Will, His Name — and His Son carries God’s name in Him, executes His will, shines His glory, makes visible the spotlessness of God’s character, makes His intentions visible, gives His love tangible value,

Exodus 23:21 — “Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.”
- Deuteronomy 18:15 — “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.
  - 18–19 — I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
    And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearkenunto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”

John 1:3 — “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 3:34 — “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.”
John 5:30 — “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
John 17:5 — “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

Life without a purpose, life without intention, is a life of no meaning — a life of no value.
Therefore, to do things in life which are without purpose, without intention or meaning, is to live a life of no value.

And the wages of sin is death.

By definition, a life of no value is death.

Therefore, to speak words which are without purpose, without intention, is sin, because they promote a life of no value.

To do things without a reason, without a cause, is to do things out of spite — just because. No reason. And no reason is a bad reason.

Therefore, sin is to do things out of spite, for no reason, without a purpose.

For God has assigned to us His divine purpose, and to throw away this purpose is to do things out of spite, without any good reason, purpose, or intention.

And to throw away God’s purpose is sin.

And sin is spitefulness:

It is living on automation rather than thoughtfully, carefully, mindfully, patiently, caringly, discerningly, with a plan which is sustainable throughout eternity, and not with a plan that is only sustainable until it is exposed — that sprouts out of nothing, no good reason, no purpose to achieve anything, but out of a purpose which is sheer death.

Hebrews 5:14 — “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age… who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Proverbs 14:12 — “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 16:25 — “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Turn ye from your sins, for WHY would you die, O house of Israel?

What reason?

There is no reason!

Ezekiel 33:11-20 — “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for WHY will ye die, O house of Israel?
12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. [when the man who was created to reflect God’s glory and fulfill God’s purpose turns away from that which He was created for, and commits thereby iniquity, he shall even die thereby]
19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. [If the wicked beholds the Glory of God and repents for drifting from it, and by faith opens God’s way to make His abode in him, his iniquity shall be forgiven and he shall live thereby.]
20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.”

Reason is value. Spiritual discernment is valuing that which is of God, — the eternal and the invisible — rather than that which is of men — the temporary and the visible—this is spiritual blindness. It is to find the reason to our actions and constantly attempt to bring their causes to light. He who hides the causes of his actions and words lives in darkness lest they be exposed, for they have no causes because their actions are evil.

He who chooses death chooses no reason, a life of no value.

He chooses spitefulness — spitefulness towards God’s wisdom.

And since there is no greater wisdom than that of God, such spitefulness is sin — for it is the despising of the holy, and of the good, and of the true, and of the perfect, and of the righteous, and of the living, and of the lovely, and of the beautiful.

To hate God is to hate babies.

For they all carry the character of the Almighty and express His image.

The great wisdom of babies is that they never lie, steal, kill, envy, dishonour, betray — and Wisdom is the fear of the Lord ^{11 ⤵} , and reason is keeping His commandments.

Psalm 111:10 — “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”
Proverbs 1:7 — “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 1:29 — “For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD.”
Proverbs 2:5 — “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”
Proverbs 8:13 — “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
Proverbs 9:10 — “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
Proverbs 15:33 — “The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.”
Isaiah 11:2 — “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.”
Isaiah 11:3 — “And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.”
Isaiah 33:6 — “And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.”
Job 28:28 — “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”
Psalm 119:73 — “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.”

We may or may not believe in the purpose which God assigned to us, which is His own purpose. And with that, we may choose a new purpose, unaware that there is nothing new under the sun, and that whatever GOD HAS ASSIGNED IS ALREADY PERFECT, AND THERE IS NO NEED FOR A SECOND OR A THIRD. And to disbelieve in this purpose is to render God purposeless, of no meaning, of no value — that He randomly assigns purposes, without any correlation to our sustainability throughout eternity. That we can very well sustain ourselves living according to our ways, the way we please and deem right.

Acts 14:16 — “Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.”
Isaiah 65:2 — “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts.”
Psalm 81:12 — “So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own counsels.”
- Psalm 81:12 (parallel) — “So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels.”
Jeremiah 7:24 — “Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.”
Jeremiah 16:12 — “And ye have done worse than your fathers, for behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto Me.”
2 Kings 17:14 — “But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.”
Isaiah 46:12 — “Listen to Me, you stubborn people, far removed from righteousness.”
Acts 14:16 — “Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.”
Isaiah 65:2 — “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts.”

Jeremiah 2:31 — “O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?”
Genesis 3:5 — “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Judges 21:25 — “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
Isaiah 30:1 — “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin.” [to cover sin by sin, to add one transgression to another like a pile of garbage that adds up with garbage]
Ezekiel 20:32 — “And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that [which] ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.” [Serving our own thoughts is serving dust.]
Hosea 8:4 — “They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.”
Psalm 10:4 — “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:1-18 — “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
  ² But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
  ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
  ⁴ (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
  ⁵ Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
  ⁶ And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
  ⁷ Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s.
  ⁸ For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:
  ⁹ That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
  ¹⁰ For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
  ¹¹ Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.
  ¹² For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
  ¹³ But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
  ¹⁴ For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:
  ¹⁵ Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
  ¹⁶ To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand.
  ¹⁷ But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
  ¹⁸ For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
Hosea 4:6 — “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
Hosea 5:4 — “They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.”
Ezekiel 18:25 — “Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?”
Isaiah 5:21 — “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”
Zephaniah 3:2 — “She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.”
Malachi 3:14 — “Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?”

Unbelief is sin. Fear is unbelief. Fear is sin.

Fear is sin. Sin is unbelief. Unbelief is fear.

Fear is going after our own ways,

whereas faith is walking in the one and only way of God, accepting and acknowledging the one and only purpose He holds for us, determinately striving for His perfection and holiness alone, mimicking His self-sacrificial love, reflecting or bragging with His glory, showing gratitude for His mercy, expressing awe and reverence for His Law, speaking and using His word as a proof for that which is true and worthy, valuing only His worth and greatness.

We excuse our fears, as if they are not fear, but reasons, good reasons — that they are reasonable.

That our worry is not worry but that it is care. That our unbelief is not unbelief, but responsibility.

But is any fear, but the fear of God, reasonable?

The Word says that the fear of the Lord is wisdom and understanding — it is keeping His commandments. That, alone, is reasonable. And only the fear of the Lord helps us keep His commandments, and that is wisdom — to walk by His statutes.

What other fears are there, which sound reasonable to our cunning hearts, but the end thereof are the ways of death?

Proverbs 14:12 — There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Proverbs 16:25 — There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

—The death of our children.

Who is under control? We or Him? What can we change with our worries and fears? Did we cause our children to come forth at birth? Did we cause them to grow or be conceived in the womb?

Exodus 23:26 — “There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.”
Psalm 139:13–14 — “For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
- Psalm 139:13 (parallel) — “For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”
Isaiah 66:9 — “Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?” says the Lord.
Genesis 20:18 — “For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”
Genesis 29:31 — “When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.”
Genesis 30:22 — “Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.”
1 Samuel 1:1-20 — Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.
20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
Job 1:21 — “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 32:39 — “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”
Jeremiah 1:5 — “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
Isaiah 44:2 — “Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 — To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
— [TIME WHICH GOD HAS APPOINTED! Whether or not we respect it or not:]
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
Psalm 31:15 — “My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.”
Acts 17:25 — “Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”
Job 14:5 — “Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;”
Isaiah 38:5 — “Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.”
Psalm 41:3 — “The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.”
Exodus 4:11 — “And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?””

Exodus 1:19 — “The Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.”
18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
Psalm 22:8-12 — “He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.”
Psalm 127:1-5 — “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”

Genesis 25:21 — “And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.”
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb...”
Judges 13:2–3 — “And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.”
Psalm 17:14-15 — “From men which are thy hand, O LORD… and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”
Psalm 66:9-10 — “Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.”
10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.”
Psalm 71:6-7 — “By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels:
my praise shall be continually of thee.
7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.”
Job 3:10–11 — “Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.
11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?”

Genesis 4:1 — “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
Genesis 18:14 — “Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
Genesis 25:21 — “And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.”
Ruth 4:13 — “So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.”
Luke 1:13 — “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”
Luke 1:31 — “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.”
Luke 1:36 — “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.”
Luke 1:41 — “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.”
Luke 2:6–7 — “And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son…”

Can we control the number of their days or the value of their health? Only by relying on God’s word which says,

“If you honor your mother and father, I will prolong your days. And if you walk in my statutes and laws I will not send any of the plagues I sent to the Egyptians.”

Exodus 20:12 — Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Deuteronomy 5:16 — Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Exodus 15:26 — And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

How can we force our children to obey? By teaching them from youth the fear of the Lord, which is reason and understanding ^{11 ⤴}: to discern right from evil. To live a healthy life without dependence on appetite, but on the freshness of fruits from the ground which God has assigned us for food: and moderation in indulgence even in that which is designed for us for food. Because Adam and Eve sinned by eating from the freshness of food. We need to eat from the Word of God, which is obedience, and the food is truth. God does not only say “Eat this.”, but He also forbids to eat more than necessary.

What other fears?

— I am afraid that God is good, but I will not act according to His goodness. I am not afraid that God will not act according to His goodness, of course He will — I have faith in Him — but I am afraid of my actions, that I will act not in faith that He will make all things good for me. I am afraid of myself, not of God.

This fear sounds reasonable at first, but not if you expose it:
Doesn’t God have full control over our faith, and over our salvation

Didn’t God create us and cannot He change our hearts? And didn’t Jesus pray that our faith doesn’t fail?

Ezekiel 11:19 — “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:”
Ezekiel 18:31 — “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a newheart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
Ezekiel 36:26 — “A new heart also will I give you, and a newspirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
Luke 22:31-32 — “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

How is this fear faith? It does say “I have unbelief in myself, not in God.” (for fear is unbelief) and this sounds reasonable, but the reality is that unbelief in ourselves is unbelief in God — not because “We are gods” but because God has promised to give us faith which makes us believe “we can do all things through Christ Who strenghtens us.”

To have unbelief in ourselves is to have lack of self-confidence, or better, authority over ourselves, or self-control — ability to execute that which we believe in. Strong willpower.
So to have unbelief in ourselves means that God will not act according to His word. That is why such unbelief is unbelief in God. For our actions are indeed governed and guided, not only by our free will, but also, by God. When our free will is surrendered to God, He governs our actions without bypassing our freedom of choice. Doesn’t that sound contradicting? For it is we, who need to act, and not God. And if is we who need to surrender our will, and not God. But we surrender because of the faith and we act through the faith which he imparts in us by ruling the events and shaping the circumstances that enable us to behold the witness and testimony of His love for us.

collapse for smooth reading

Revelation 14:12 — “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Revelation 13:10 — “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”
Romans 3:22 — “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…”
Ephesians 2:8–9 — “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God — not of works, lest any man should boast.”
John 6:44 — “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:65 — “And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”
2 Peter 1:1 — “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:”
1 Corinthians 12:9 — “To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;”
Philippians 1:29 — “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;”
Galatians 2:16 — “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ…”
Hebrews 12:1–3 — “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us;
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God;
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
Romans 12:1–5 — “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service;
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God;
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me… God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith;
4 For as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office:
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”
John 6:25–35 — “And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, ‘Rabbi, when camest thou hither?’
26 Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 29 And Jesus said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 30 They said therefore unto him, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?”
31 Jesus answered and said unto them, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” …
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
- Jesus says:
  “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” — John 6:29.
  Meaning of “work of God”: It is God’s work to give faith — to cause belief in Jesus. Our faith is not generated by our own will or effort; it is a divine gift, sovereignly granted by God.
  The question “What shall we do… to work the works of God?” reveals human misunderstanding. They think they must perform actions to achieve salvation or please God.
  Jesus’ answer says, in effect: The true “work” God requires is simply believing in Him. Not ritualistic or human works, but faith itself — which God enables.
  Is the answer “nothing”? Yes and no. It’s nothing in terms of human effort to create faith. But believing is the response God commands and enables. It is not a human work in the sense of earning salvation, but a trust given by God’s grace and received by us.
  Summary:
  Faith is God’s work in us — a gift.
  Our “work” is to believe — enabled by God, not by ourselves.
  Therefore, salvation and true “works of God” are not about human deeds, but about the faith God grants.
  This aligns with Paul’s teaching: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” — Ephesians 2:8.
  In short: The “work of God” is faith, which God creates in us; human effort to produce it is futile.
Acts 18:24–28 — “And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he was come, he greatly helped them which had believed through grace;
28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”

Then, freely, we choose to trust Him, for we have never seen a greater love than the one to give your life for those you love or to whom you give your only begotten son. And the witness in us, which is His Spirit, convicts us that, indeed, there is no greater love than that of God in His Son, Jesus Christ. Then, we choose to rest in His love, rely on His goodness, and trust in His judgement. And whoever is drawn by love will receive His testimony of Jesus which is the Holy Spirit.

But you would ask, “Do we get to choose whether or not we are drawn by love ^{20 ⤴} or is it the circumstances or our wiring from mother’s womb that shaped the tendency of this decision for us? Or is it God’s choosing before we were even born? Then what part do we have in salvation?”

NONE!

We do not have a part to play in our salvation.

The Lamb was slain from the beginning of the world. We didn’t exist then, only in God’s intention, which is certain to come to being. Paul was a chosen vessel before the world was — how can we play a part when we were not there to play while salvation was “finishing its work on the sixth day, and on the Seventh, God rested from all His works,” and required us in Adam to enter His rest — the rest of love and tranquility: a certain protection by His love, and complete delivery from our sin?

He has chosen us, before the world was, to be His pots that carry His light and reflect His glory. Isn’t He Who formed both honorable and dishonorable pots together and placed them in the same shelves for the time being? Yes, yes. So isn’t He limiting the freedom of choices of those who hate? Why do you care? Are you asking these questions because you are one of them? Because if you aren’t, why aren’t you glorifying Him and thanking Him for choosing you for throughout eternity? You cannot beat His wisdom — you will only condemn yourself with your own mouth. If you think yourself deprived of freedom of choice to choose love, He has given a promise that He will give love to whoever asks for it. You cannot ask for it because He didn’t give you the choice to ask? Ask for the choice then. He will give you the choice. He is abundant in mercy. You don’t want to, because He hasn’t given you the opportunity? Why are you complaining then? Why are you judging God for crime that He has not put you in the place of love and eternity where you yourself don’t want to be part of? You may say, He made me not want! Well, if He made you not want, He can make you want, just ask for it in full sincerity. If He hasn’t given you sincerity, ask for sincerity. He will give you sincerity. If He hasn’t given you the power of humility to ask for sincerity, ask Him for this power of humility, He will give you this. But if you are too good to ask, and if you do not want to abide in the place of love He has prepared for the ones He has chosen from the beginning of the world, then how can you blame Him for stealing you the freedom of choice to choose love? Just go near to Him right now, and He will come to you. And if you speak just to speak, out of sheer hatred, your words will condemn you to death — you will ask for death from your own mouth. And even if God has made you that way, you will still wish to die with self-love more than to love others and live. And what compassion would the chosen ones have for these dry rods? Don’t we all cut dry rods and use them for the fire while we make space for the young and living ones, full of vigor and zeal for the life of love and eternity?

If you hate, you have freedom of choice to choose His love. If you do not believe God gave you this choice, challenge Him. Dare to prove He is wrong — and jump to His embrace. And if you cannot choose His love, how can you blame Him for creating you that way? Because to blame Him for not giving you the ability to cherish love means that You yearn for His love — and those who yearn, they get it. So don’t worry. If you love death, you’ll get it. If you are deceived into loving death, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. And if you love life, you will get life.

Many reasonings which seem justifiable to our hearts are masked fears, which intent is to cast us into unbelief, which is sin. It is reasonable to a human’s limited perception to blame God for limiting their choices, but they are entangling themselves into the web of hypocrisy: they get betrayed by their own beliefs: they proclaim freely, not as inferior slaves, but like lords, “I WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH GOD! IT IS MY CHOICE, AND I CHOOSE FREEDOM FROM HIS TYRANNICAL LAWS AND PRINCIPLES!” And then they blame God for not giving them freedom of choice to choose Him. Oh, how hot they will burn the fire of everlasting perdition!

Let them who hate hate and let them be there for your lesson. Don’t complain like they do, but return good for evil — your heavenly Father doesn’t take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but wishes that all come to repentance.

We do not have the spiritual eyes to see which ones would hate love to the end, as God alone inspects the hearts of men, and it is hard to discern who despises the Gospel out of knowing the Gospel or out of ignorance. But nevertheless, we can know them by their fruits, and we ought not have fellowship with those who despise the Gospel of for any reason — christians did not have fellowship with Saul when he was persecuting the christians — regardless if they are innocently tricked or guilty for hell, because that way we succumb to their devilish beliefs and we are pushed to share their works which attempt to put shame to the work of God. Even Paul said “Surrender him to the devil, in order to be taught a lesson.” — cut him off so that he feel the burden of not being part of the family of God, so he can be caused to repent. Even if these people are our first families, we ought not take part in their habits unless they do not interfere with the principles of faith. And the only reason why we would not say No to them at those times is the hope that they might be converted so they may be given a chance to share the blessings for the kingdom.

We are supposed to love our enemies, but not the enemies of God, unless “they don’t know what they are doing,” while crucifying the Lord. WIth them, who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, not only the Son of Men, we should have no fellowship, not invite them in our house, not eat at the same table with them — because they will infest us. And our love of God cannot reach their hearts. So we ought to protect ourselves form their disease which is sin unto death. Nevertheless, we should greet strangers — we should invite to our houses everyone and be hospitable to them becasue some, in the past, unknowingly, welcomed angels. We ought to eat and drink with unbelievers and sinners who haven’t crossed that line — who haven’t been introduced the Gospel in its full light and Spirit — because that way, we get the opportunity to hunt souls for God, like dogs hunt birds and then carry them to their masters to brag them with thier labor: we will likewise say to our Lord: “Look Jesus, whom did I catch for you r pleasure!”

But if they hate love, why would you love them? If they have witnessed the goodness of God and choose evil, why would you hunt them for Jesus? No master loves when their dog catches ill and dead mouse. If they hate love to the end, your love toward them will also diminish as their lives come to fruition to death. If you create two houses, one despicable and one brighter than a palace, would you keep the filth just because you created it? Or you would destroy it to make space for the palace and it’s yard?

It is sin to waste your pearls to pigs and it is sin to save your pearls from lost souls who look like pigs and behave like pigs. Why are these sins? Because we are given spiritual discernment and we don’t use it. And the Word says: DISCERN WHAT IS GOOD and HOLY! Height from weight from witdh from length …

Ask yourself to check if you are dead of alive:

Why do you live?
Who do you live for?

Life without a purpose and life without the Life-Giver is a life of no value. Death.
It is a spiteful life — an existence for itself, for the sake of existing. Not for a special reason or cause, but just because! What’s the use of it? Who benefits from it? Not even him who whom existence is given. The flood in the time of Noah was an act of mercy. And so will it be the flood of fire and brimstone at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Even God’s wrath ^{8 ⤴} is an act of mercy — How can you not love Him! You cannot! That’s why, whoever claims differently, they are LYING, because God is love, and just like their lies are based on nothing—on that which is not: which doesn’t exist— so will they, also, be whipped out of existence. Whoever clings to nothingness, non-existence, void, abyss, they will get it.

But God’s mercy takes no pleasure in the death of the sinner, but wishes that they all come to repentance

2 Peter 3:9 — “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Ezekiel 18:23 — “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”
Ezekiel 33:11 — “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
1 Timothy 2:3–4 — “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
Romans 2:4 — “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”

God is calling us to repent

Acts 17:30 — “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.”
2 Peter 3:9 — “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

through His glory

2 Corinthians 4:6 — “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
John 1:14 — “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

through His love

Romans 5:8 — “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

through the right hand of His righteousness

Isaiah 41:10 — “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Psalm 98:1 — “O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.”
Acts 5:31 — “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

through His patience

Romans 2:4 — “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
2 Peter 3:15 — “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation…”

through the power of His Word —

Hebrews 4:12 — “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…”
John 6:63 — “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

— the Wisdom, who was made flesh

Proverbs 1:20–23 — “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
‘How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you…’”
- 33 — …But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
Proverbs 8:1-3 — “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? ^{6 ⤵}
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
1 Corinthians 1:24 — “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 — “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”

and came to dwell upon us: the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father. ^{6 ⤵}

John 1:14 — “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”
John 1:18 — “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” ➝ Wisdom has declared the value of God.
Matthew 1:23 — “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
- Exodus 33:18–23 — “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”
  - Exodus 34:5–7 — “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

Proverbs 8 (full chapter)

Proverbs 8 ^{6 ⤴} —

¹ “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
² She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
³ She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.

Matthew 11:28–29 — “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me…”
Revelation 3:20 — “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock…”

⁴ Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
⁵ O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
⁶ Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
⁷ For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

John 14:30 — “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”
- 1 John 3:5 — “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
- 1 Peter 2:22 — “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”
- John 8:46 — “Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?”

⁸ All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
⁹ They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
¹⁰ Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
¹¹ For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

John 17:17 — “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
John 7:37 — “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
Isaiah 55:1 — “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

¹² I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.

¹³ The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Psalm 19:9–10 — “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

¹⁴ Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

Isaiah 9:6 — “…Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 11:2 — “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him… the spirit of wisdom and understanding…”
John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

¹⁵ By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

Revelation 1:5 — “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”
Romans 13:1-4 — “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power [Wisdom], resisteth the ordinance [Will] of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good.
But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
Daniel 2:21-23 — “Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.”

¹⁶ By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

Isaiah 32:1 — “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.”
John 15:5 — “…for without me ye can do nothing.”
1-7 — “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine [which is the Word and Wisdom of God which Jesus expresses] ; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

¹⁷ I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

John 14:21 — “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
Jeremiah 29:13 — “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

¹⁸ Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

Matthew 6:33 — “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

Colossians 2:2-3 — “ That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
John 6:63 — “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

²⁰ I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:

Hebrews 1:9 — “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

²¹ That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.

John 6:35 — “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
John 14:2 — “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
Revelation 2:7 — “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
John 15:5 — “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”

²² The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

Micah 5:2 — “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
John 1:1–3 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

²³ I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

Micah 5:2 — “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
Revelation 1:8 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

²⁴ When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
²⁵ Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
²⁶ While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

Colossians 1:17 — “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

²⁷ When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
²⁸ When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
²⁹ When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
³⁰ Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
³¹ Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.

Hebrews 1:2 — “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”
Proverbs 3:19 — “The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.”
John 1:10 — “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”
Luke 10:21 —In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

³² Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.

John 14:23 — “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
Revelation 22:14 — “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

³³ Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
³⁴ Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
³⁵ For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

John 8:31–32 — “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:34–36 — “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 5:24 — “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
1 John 5:12 — “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
Deuteronomy 30:19 — “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
Luke 11:28 — “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
John 11:25 — “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
John 5:40 — “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

³⁶ But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”

Matthew 10:37 — “He that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” [whoever doesn’t put me above everything is not worthy of the life that is in me.]

In other words…

God’s character as His image and purpose — His Law is an expression of His character
- Romans 7:12 — “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
The Law is Love:
- God is love.
GOD is the Law -for the law is merciful, trustworthy, perfect, truth, loving.
So to break God’s law, you kill God — or at least attempt a murder on His holy image, which is the same. To put shame on God’s name is equivalent of a murder, because His name is pure, perfect, holy, good, reliable, truthful.
The law of God is the Law of love, because God is Love. “Love thy neighbor as thyself and love God with all you have.” Because God has created man in His image and His likeness. God is love. Who doesnt love his neighbor doesnt know that God is love. If God is love and man is created under the image of love then men is created to love and be loved). Whoever commits crime against the image of God, against His law, against Love, refuses the purpose which God created Him for, and he chooses to live a life without purpose, denying His Creator and his Father. And what is the use of a person who denies His purpose of creation? What is the use of a computer who acts not according to what it was designed for? Who eats apple to receive the taste of a strawberry? Who buys goats to get orange juice? Who trains dogs for singing? If a man loses his purpose, it is better for him never to have been born or milestone to be hung around his neck and be tossed in the midst of the ocean.
Murder as an offense against the image of God — (Genesis 9:6 — “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”).
God bearing the pain when His image is attacked — Isaiah 63:9 — “In all their affliction he was afflicted…”

To continue…

Romans 7:12 — The law is holy and good

But the law is like a mirror — it shows the dirt, but it cannot wash it off.
It reveals sin, but cannot remove sin.
It defines what is right and wrong, but cannot give us the power to obey.

But isn’t the Law God Himself? Isn’t the Law the very Character of the Almighty? And isn’t Jesus the embodiment of God’s Character and Law and Grace and Mercy? Aren’t God and His Word One? And isn’t Jesus the Word of God? And If God is His Law, and His Word and His Law is God and His Word is God, who can make us obey God if not God Himself?

The Law cannot save us, but the Law acted upon us can save us. The Tablets of the Ten Commandments are not God, but they speak who God is—they reveal our Saviour. They promise that God is good. Jesus is the enactment of this promise, the fulfillment of its value — the Word who was made flesh and came to dwell upon us. The knowledge of God’s existence and righteousness and holiness and perfection cannot save us, but its enactment upon us gives us the faith of salvation.
Looking at the Law cannot bring us salvation, nor can it give us the power not to sin anymore than looking at the sun can give us the power to shine. But when the light of the sun, which is the light of the Son of God, comes to dwell upon us, we will be enlightened as if a lamp is shining upon us.

And this love of God, the Light of His Law, Word, Character, Name, Image, can only live in us when we witness God doing great things for us — and what greater things can we witness if not seeing God dying for our filth of sin?

Psalm 118:23 — “This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”

undeniable realities that transform the Law from being a mere opinion to an absolute authority.

The Law of God DID save us, in that it’s real value was exposed in the death of its Giver sacrificing His own life for the benefit of ours — the Law was nailed on the cross because it was the life of the Lawgiver. And by nailing Itself on the cross, it breaks its own condemnation towards us, that the sinner must die — It does not break the weight and validity of it, but, rather declares and reminds the lowly in spirit with the same weight and validity that the sinner who repents will live.

And it further affirms that the sinner who,
—AFTER KNOWING SIN,
—and AFTER KNOWING WHAT SIN DID TO HIM WHO KNOWS NO SIN,
—and AFTER KNOWING THE VALUE OF HIS LIFE,
—and AFTER KNOWING WHAT GOOD IS,
YET CHOOSES TO LIVE IN SIN,
WILL SURELY DIE.

John 9:39–41 — “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”
Matthew 12:31–32 — “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
Mark 3:28–29 — “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”
Luke 12:10 — “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.”
1 John 5:16–17 — “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.”
Hebrews 6:4–6 — “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
Hebrews 10:26–27 — “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” ^{18 ⤴}
Matthew 7:6 — “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
Proverbs 29:1 — “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

For the wages of sin is INDEED death, HOWEVER, the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, who did not come to destroy the law, or the word, but to fulfill its value — to make it shine, to give reality to it, to validate a theory by putting it to practice in the exact words it was hypothesized.

Thus,
—God’s Word becomes a LAW.
—God’s love becomes a LAW unto which all living must live.

Why it becomes a LAW?

Because before we had seen both the fruits of sin and the fruits of God’s grace, the Law was a mere opinion to us.

But after seeing the undeniable realities, the inevitable consequences, and the irrevocable value from transgressing the Law:

its irrefutable correctness
Unassailably irreproachable justice,
its eternal worth which cannot be made unknown,
the irreversible outcome from a free life of disobedience to it,
the unquestionable finality,
its unchangeable standard that gives life fuel,
the inescapable truth,
its unshakable authority due to its undeniable witness of its seamless perfection,
the witness that stamped our soul with unerasable ink,
the testimony which cannot be unseen…

…after seeing the undiminishable worth and witnessing its irrefutable majesty,

then, from being a mere opinion, the Law becomes a DICTATOR, a TYRANT, THE ONLY WAY, the aboslute authority: the Law becomes the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And no body would go to the Father, but by bowing down to its irrefutable majesty — glowing with love and mercy and forgiveness in the face of Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 — “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

By asserting its indelible witness of its seamless perfection, and the unchallengeable glory of its design, the Law forces us
to bow to it, engrave it to our hearts, and yield our flawed and fantasized authorities to that of God.

Mathew 5:17 — Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

The Law itself is but a combination of words, put together: they may sound nice, harsh, true, false, overwhelming, easy to bear… in themselves, the words carry no value, for they are uphold on nothing. Jesus came to uphold the value of the Law throughout eternity, and engrave it on His eternal palms and nailed feet.

The Word is a promise, and the fulfillment of the Word is the value of that Word.

The Law doesn’t provide a recompense for sin, once it is broken. It requires the death of the sinner—not forgiveness of the sinner. It shows that he who breaks it deserves no life.

But the fulfillment of the Law provides the recompense there is but One who is sinless and who has fulfilled the requirement of the Law. He is the requirement. He is the value, much like God is love, Jesus is the Word, their character is God’s Law: and the Law is life, a life full of love and joy.

The Law teaches us what sin is, so that we can understand and value the sacrifice of God, Who paid our sins. Therefore, the Law points us to Christ, calling us to repentance.

Galatians 3:24 — “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

To be sinless by our own effort would require that we had never sinned at all — not even once. But the law, though it reveals what sin is and shows the standard of sinlessness, it requires a state of sinlessness, of holy perfection, to start with, which we no longer have. It cannot remove the record, the stain—nor the guilt—of past sin. Thus, the law shows us how to live without sin, but it cannot restore us to that state once broken.

But rather, the indwelling of the Law—its fulfilled righteousness—can restore us. For the Law shows that “Greater love hath no man than this…”

John 15:12–14 — “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

Since God is love and His Law is love, Greater Law hath no man than this, to lay down His life for his friends. Greater god there is none else, for God has laid His own life for His children.

And who will give his life for his friends unless the Law of God dwells in them? And how would the Law of God dwell in them if God doesn’t dwell in them? And How will God dwell in them, if God doesn’t first die for them, and thereby fulfill the requirement of His Law?

And who will better fulfill the requirements of the Law, if not He who is the value thereof?

The Lawgiver knows best how to live by it. He knows and understands every jot and title He spoke thereof, similarily like He knows every cell of our bodies, and how they work together, in perfect harmony to sustain us physically alive. Every jot and title of His law are the spiritual cells of our Spiritual Body which is Christ.

Only by being washed in the blood of Jesus Christ can we be brought back into a state of righteousness. And only then can we use the Law to REMAIN in that state ^{7 ⤴}: after the pardon of sins does the law serve its rightful purpose — not to justify us, but to guide and keep us in the way of holiness, which we have received by the grace of the One who kept every jot and title of it intact. We have received pardon by the grace of the Law which points at us as sinners and condemns us to death.

O mystery of godliness!

1 Timothy 3:16 — “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Before sins, the law serves a purpose to teach us not to sin.

Genesis 2:17 — But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

After sinning, the law serves a purpose to pardon our sins—by Him who fulfills it and who is full of it: and, also, who is filling us with it.

Romans 8:3-4 — “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.”

After pardon of sins, the law serves, once again, its initial purpose — to teach us not to sin.

Romans 6:15 — “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”

After it has taught us not to sin, and we sin still, the law serves a purpose to condemn us to eternal death — a place of no return, everlasting darkness and purposelessness, throwing us in the abyss of non-awareness, where we will not know we ever existed, nor that the Son of God has given us a reason to live and a life of no sin and the joy of eternity.

Hebrews 10:26-27 — “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.”
Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

So how did the law reveal to us we were sinners?

Romans 7:7 — “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law.”

By God’s grace. By transgressing against the one Who kept the Law — for the Law is grace and mercy. And when you sin against holiness, when you torture mercy, when you kill somebody who is capable to do that which you are not, it reveals within you a testimony that your reasons and excuses for doing evil are false and cunning — that you have no excuse to do sin — that you are indeed capable not to sin amidst a sinful world, however, you chose not to, because you are evil, selfish, and self-absorbed.

John 15:22 — “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.”

Before Jesus, we thought we were good, that we were only defending ourselves against evil — but Jesus, who did not defend Himself against evil, showed us the true value of goodness — that it is to turn the other cheek when somebody slaps you, to give the shirt to him who steals your jacket, and to walk two miles with him who forces you to walk one.

Matthew 5:39-41 — “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil…”

He taught us never to do evil for evil, but to overcome evil by doing good.

Romans 12:21 — “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Never to avenge, but to put our hopes on God’s justice, which will come in due time. That patience is crucial to wait on a fallen brother to turn from his evil ways.

Romans 12:19 — “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Love overcomes evil by allowing evil upon you — because love is the only way that can turn a sinner from his dark ways. That God’s vengence only steps in when a sinner refuses a self-sacrificial love.

1 Peter 2:23-24 — “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again… by whose stripes ye were healed.”

For what is his purpose of living then, if he hates love? What will he do throughout eternity? A life without self-sacrificial love is a life of self-torture, not only torture of others.

1 John 4:8 — “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

So how did the law revealed to us we were sinners?

Romans 7:7 — “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law.”

By God’s grace. That God allowed us to put His Son to shame and death through sinning, while blinded by sin, not knowing we were sinning. And how did we find out we were sinning? There was no fulfillment of justice, after killing the One Who we thought deserved death. Rather, there was horror, an infesting eating doubt that we might have committed a murder towards the One Who gave us life and who gave us a second chance to live again (another life). And there was this silence that no sense of our own righteousness could fulfill. But this terror did not convict us — but it was rather the beginning of the testimony. The resurrection of Jesus convicted us, by giving us choice to repent. The fact the we had place to reflect, that we were not killed right away, that we did not get eye for an eye, showed us by our own eyes how big sinners we were.

It was the fact that God had us realize we killed the Life-Giver of our life and that we killed the one who is holy and just and innocent like a newborn baby.

The One who never killed — and yet life is His to give and take from whoever disobeys His perfect glory and flawless word — we killed;

Acts 3:15 — “And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead.”

The One who never stole — and yet all is His, for He created all things by His mighty arm — we stole from;

Colossians 1:16 — “All things were created by him, and for him.”

The One who never lied or changed His word — and yet truth is His to change and adapt as He sees fit — we falsely witnessed against;

But His Word, the Truth, remains as when it was first spoken — for the first Word was perfect, and the last Word is the same as the First: for perfect needs no change.

Nothing New Under the Sun
- Ecclesiastes 1:9 — “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
- Ecclesiastes 3:15 — “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”
Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End
- Revelation 1:8 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord…”
- Revelation 21:6 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”
- Revelation 22:13 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
He is the Truth, the Way, the Life
- John 14:6 — “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
He Changes Not
- Malachi 3:6 — “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
- Hebrews 13:8 — “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
- James 1:17 — “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

“My way is the Only way. My Law is the only Law. My life is the only life.” And if it is the only, that means all others are flawed copies of the original, which failed to preserve its full purpose and true essence. If the first is perfect, there is no need for a second.

Galatians 1:6–7 — “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”
Matthew 7:13–14 — “Enter ye in at the strait gate… because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
John 10:1 — “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold… the same is a thief and a robber.”
Isaiah 8:20 — “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
2 Corinthians 11:14–15 — “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness…”
1 John 2:4 — “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

This does not mean that what God originally made was flawed — for He made it very good. But anything that comes to challenge or replace the original perfect Word is, by definition, a flawed counterfeit.

Not that God created a bad copy — but he did create a copy, nevertheless. A copy meant to shine with His glory — which is what makes it a perfect copy. That is, when He is present in it, the copy will reflect His glory. And His presence remains when the copy, which we are, welcomes and maintains His presence through faith, trust, and obedience. This is how faith, trust, and obedience in His Word build God abode to dwell in and give His original glory the opportunity to shine through the copy which God designed for this very purpose.

But without God’s presence, without our surrender to His perfection, which is His love and truth, the copy is flawed: because in the place of His glory, our ignorance and shame is added — thus, it becomes a flaw. Wanting to put ourselves in the place of the Perfect, we become flawed— and we chase away Him who makes us perfect, the Only One who is perfect. Thus, we are second if, to us, the First, which is perfect, is not enough. And everything which is second is new and flawed, for the Original doesn’t change because He is perfect, the First and the Last. And if the First is enough to us, or perfect, we are not seconds or substitutes, but extensions; extensions of His perfection. Extensions of the First. We are kings of the King. Not rebels.

Revelation 1:6 — “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 5:10 — “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
1 Peter 2:9 — “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Romans 8:17 — “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

Those who are seconds put themselves in the place of the Most High:

Isaiah 14:13-14 — “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
Ezekiel 28:2 —”Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.”

And we all know that there is nothing “new” under the sun. All that is advertised for “new” is a flawed copy of the original.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-13 — “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
¹² Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
¹³ There is no remembrance of former things: neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Maybe that is why Jesus is God’s ONLY Begotten Son, for He was perfect, and there was no need for a second one.
We are the second ones, for we are not perfect — being made out of the dust of the earth ^{21 ⤴} — but we are made perfect through the First One and the Last One: for God made us in Their image, the image of the Father and of the Son, and gave us His breath of life. And we became perfect reflections of His perfection — living souls.

Genesis 2:7 — And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
1 Corinthians 15:45 — And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

By faith, we see the Invisible. By seeing Him, we are changed — by seeing Him He enters in us and changes us. And by His indwelling, we reflect His glory. So by faith in Him we reflect His glory

For faith opens the door. Vision beholds His beauty. His beauty is His presence in us. His presence transforms us. And His life becomes ours.

So by seeing the invisible we become changed — by faith we see. By faith we become changed. By seeing He enters. By faith He enters. By entering, He shines and we reflect. By faith we reflect.

by beholding we become changed.
We walk by faith not sight.
Faith is our sight, we look at the invisible as if it is visible
faith is the evidence of things hoped for… substance of things unseen
Without faith you cannot satisfy Him
Believe in me and I will make My abode with you.
Here I come knock, open the doors.
Hebrews 11:1 — “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
2 Corinthians 5:7 — “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 4:18 — “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Hebrews 11:27 — “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”
John 20:29 — “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 — “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
Romans 8:24-25 — “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”
Romans 10:17 — “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Matthew 5:8 — “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
Ephesians 1:18 — “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”
2 Corinthians 3:18 — “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
John 1:14 — “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Psalm 34:8 — “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Isaiah 6:1-5 — “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings… And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory… Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips…”
Hebrews 12:2 — “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
John 14:23 — “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
Revelation 3:20 — “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
1 Corinthians 3:16 — “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
Galatians 2:20 — “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Colossians 1:27 — “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”
Matthew 17:20 — “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Matthew 9:29 — “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.”
James 1:6 — “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Isaiah 43:19 — “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

Then, by sin, we became broken copies; And again, through the First and the Last, we were made perfect — like the Original.

So there is but ONE perfect and ONE perfection, and all are by Him, and through Him. He died for us all for we were all dead: “There is none righteous, no, not one,” but “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

2 Corinthians 5:14 — “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:”
Psalms 14:3 — “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
Psalms 53:3 — “Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
Romans 3:9-20 — “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin:
¹⁰ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
¹¹ There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
¹² They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
¹³ Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
¹⁴ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
¹⁵ Their feet are swift to shed blood:
¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their ways:
¹⁷ And the way of peace have they not known:
¹⁸ There is no fear of God before their eyes.
¹⁹ Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 3:21-23 — But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
²² Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We were all short of His perfection, and He took from His and gave it to us, so that we can have a part in His glory and perfection — by His mercy and love, not by our own making. That is why, “if anyone wishes to glory and boast, let them glory with God and boast with His perfection which was given to you by the blood of the Perfect Son who is according to God’s will.”

Jeremiah 9:23-25 — “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;”

The One who never betrayed — yet His eye was illuminating every atom of the air in the dark rooms where we all conspired against Him, against His truth and against His selfless love — we betrayed;

Luke 22:21-22 — “Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.”

The One who never blasphemed — yet we are all as filthy rags against the glory of His love and purity of His justice — we blasphemed;

Isaiah 64:6 — “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”

The One who never mocked — and yet all are fools compared to His majesty — we mocked;

Luke 23:36-37 — “And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar.”

The One who never hated — yet He has no fellowship with the sins we married, but loved us unto death while we were still sinners — we hated.

Jeremiah 3:20 — “Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord”
Hosea 3:1 — “Love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress… according to the love of the Lord.”
James 4:4 — “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?”
Romans 7:2-3 — “If… she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress.”
Romans 5:8 — “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

The One who never condemned — and yet holds the keys of judgment and mercy — we condemned;The One who never condemned — and yet holds the keys of judgment and mercy — we condemned;

Revelation 1:18 — “I am he that liveth, and was dead… and have the keys of hell and of death.”

We did not know such things were evil then. Because we didn’t know of anyone who doesn’t do these things. Now that we know Him, we cannot be indifferent to our sins…

John 8:32 — “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Jeremiah 9:24 — “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
John 10:4–5 — “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”
John 10:26–27 — “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Luke 6:46 — “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
Ezekiel 34:31 — “And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.”
Matthew 7:21–23 — “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
^₂₂ Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
^₂₃ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Jeremiah 23:1–2 — “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
₂ Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.”

Hebrews 3:18–19 — “And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
1 Samuel 15:22–23 — “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
Isaiah 30:9 — “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.”
Zechariah 7:11–12 — “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath ^{8 ⤵} from the Lord of hosts.”

For His innocence sheds light on them, and shows them for what they really are. His holiness whiter than snow is a contrast to our devious hearts darker than night. Without His light, we did not know our darkness was darkness, that our evil was evil, that our hearts were cunning, that our selfishness was selfish. We believed that we do evil for the greater good (link), that the end justifies the means.

Jesus is my glory. He is the reason why I’m living. He gives Me a purpose for my life. He is my treasure,

1 Peter 1:18–19 — “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Hebrews 9:12 — “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 9:14 — “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
Hebrews 10:19 — “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.”
Revelation 1:5 — “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”
Revelation 5:9 — “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
Ephesians 1:7 — “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
Colossians 1:19–20 — “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
1 John 1:7 — “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Romans 5:9 — “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”
Acts 20:28 — “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

Deuteronomy 7:6 — “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” [We are His treasure because His worth is to give His life for us, which is our treasure — we are His treasure because our treasure is His self-sacrificing love for us. Because He died for us, we know we are His treasure.]
Malachi 3:17 — “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.“
Isaiah 43:4 — “You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.“
1 Peter 2:9 — “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Revelation 21:19–21 — “The foundations of the wall of the city [the spiritual Jerusalem, which is in heaven] were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,
²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst [symbols of its eternal worth].
²¹ And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.“
Ezekiel 28:13 — “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.” [These previous stones symbolize God’s glory in Jesus Christ which was given to reflect all His creatures, including Satan before His fall. But he, Satan, and third of the angels, denied these previous stones — the stones which the builders refused, which became the head of the corner]
- 1 Peter 2:7 — “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,”
2 Peter 1:1 — “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” [faith is given by God’s grace — this faith is our precious treasure, and it is given in Jesus Christ, that He gave Himself for us, to BELIEVE. Believe what? How much He and God love us!]

and it is kept where immortal angels and their Father are guarding it, where no thief can steal or worm decay.

Colossians 2:3 — “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Psalm 119:72 — “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”
Psalm 16:5–6 — “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
⁶ The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”
Lamentations 3:24 — “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Jesus is my Law, Christ is my name, the Son of God is my truth, my life, and my way. There is no body who can steal me from His love for me and from His Father’s love for me in Him.

Isaiah 28:16 — “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”
1 Peter 2:4 — “To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,”
1 Peter 2:6–7 — “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
⁷ Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,“
Psalm 118:22–23 — “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”
²³ “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”
Ephesians 2:20 — “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;”

His Father is my Father — I belong in His embrace. Held tight by the might of God. Nailed to the palms of His hands. That is my hiding place, where my treasure is. My Greatest Love.

John 1:18 — “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
John 16:28 — “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go unto the Father.”
John 6:38–39 — “And this is the Father’s will which sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”
“The Eternal Father, the unchangeable one, gave His only begotten Son, tore from His bosom Him who was made in the express image of His person, and sent Him down to earth to reveal how greatly He loved mankind.” — Review & Herald, July 9, 1895, par. 13
Luke 22:69 — “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
Acts 2:33 — “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”
Acts 7:55–56 — “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
Hebrews 1:3 — “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person… sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
“He was now to Heaven, to sit down at the right hand of God… through the prophet John He said, ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.’ … So He has not yet received His kingdom, but also upon His Father’s throne, which is a throne of grace… procuring pardon and salvation for all who come unto God by Him.” — Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, August 1, 1889
Psalm 32:7 — “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.”
Psalm 119:114 — “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”
Isaiah 32:2 — “And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”
Psalm 91:1 — “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

If we invite Him in, we will reflect His glory.
If we live His purpose, we will be cleansed by His righteousness.
If we make Him our treasure, we will be the richest.

Matthew 13:44 — “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Matthew 13:45–46 — “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Luke 12:33–34 — “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
1 Timothy 6:17–19 — “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
¹⁸ They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
¹⁹ thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”
Proverbs 8:10–11 — “Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹ for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.”
Proverbs 2:4–5 — “If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”
Exodus 19:5 — “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.”
Philippians 3:8 — “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
2 Timothy 1:14 — “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

So what is sin? Treasuring that which is of no value — the temporal.

“Why is the temporal of no value?”

— “Because it fades away.

“Can’t I temporarily value it then?

— “And what will you value when its time expires?

“I will value the eternal treasure then!”

— “And why didn’t you value it before then?”

“I did, but I also value this thing. And there was no time to dedicate for both.”

— “Why didn’t you dedicate all the time for the eternal treasure then?”

“I was waiting for the temporal to pass away.”

— “Why would you, when the eternal one was at hand and ever unfolding in plain sight?”

Isaiah 65:1 — “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.
2 I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices.”
Psalm 16:11 — “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Luke 19:42 — “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
John 1:11 — “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.”
Matthew 21:31 — “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.”
John 1:11 — “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.”
Matthew 21:31 — “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.”
Matthew 11:12 — “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”
Wisdom crying calling!:
Proverbs 1:20–21 — “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,”
Proverbs 8:1–4 — “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.”
Isaiah 55:1 — “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Matthew 11:28 — “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
John 7:37 — “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
Revelation 22:17 — “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

“So I do not miss the value of this which is passing! The eternal is always there! But the temporal one is gone — and I want to take advantage of it while it lasts!”

— “Doesn’t that show which treasure you love more?”
— “The eternal one is there, lasting, all the time, and you do not want ат all timeс to take advantage of it? Is that love towards the eternal one?
— “If there was no necessity to spend your time with temporal things, and yet, you choose them over the ternal one, then why do you take advantage of them over the eternal ones who hold infinite advantages over the temporal ones?

Luke 19:22 (20-24) — And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
²¹ For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
²² And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
²³ Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
²⁴ And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
Matthew 6:24 — “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Matthew 13:44-46 — “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
⁴⁵ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
⁴⁶ Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

Psalm 17:10 — “They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.”
Proverbs 27:2 — “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.”
Jeremiah 23:16 — “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.”
Jude 1:16 — “These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.”
Matthew 25:26–27 — “His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.”
Job 15:5–6 — “For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.”
2 Samuel 1:16 — “And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed.”
Matthew 12:37 — “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
Proverbs 26:27 — “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”
Proverbs 28:10 — “Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.”
Psalm 7:15–16 — “He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.”
Ecclesiastes 10:8 — “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.”
Psalm 9:15 — “The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

The only true value is in the eternal, for it never fades away. If you don’t take that which you value with you in heaven, don’t value it — use it if you must, but don’t place your heart in it, because when you lose it, your heart will be broken. You cannot break your heart with that which is always there.

Matthew 6:19–21 — “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 12:34–35 — “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”

Footnotes

Willpower — Enthusiasm, Will to Live, Vigor, Joy, Caring, ↩︎
Even Solomon wrote, ‘the living know that they shall die,’ and ‘a living dog is better than a dead lion,’ — because where there is life, there is still hope.
But Job cried, ‘Why did I not perish from the womb? Why was I not as a stillborn infant?’ — for a life without meaning, a life of pure torment, is worse than never existing.
Thus, we say: Meaningful death is better than meaningless life.
For the value of life is not in breath alone, but in purpose. And without purpose, life becomes a torment.
But in Christ, even the suffering has meaning — and the dead shall rise with hope.
Torment is that which has no fulfillment for the soul and the spirit. Physical torture filled with spiritual purpose and justice and truth and hope of love and joy and peace is light on the soul. Thus, Jesus said,

• Matthew 11:28–30 — “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ↩︎
Breaking the Law means disobeying God’s divine purpose, distrusting His loving Character, hating His good Will, killing life itself: because life is sustainable only by perfectly nurturing faith in that which expresses God’s value, which is His image or glory: His purpose, will, name, character… Jesus is the express image of His person. Jesus is the Word, the Law, the Truth, the Love, the Brightness of God’s glory…
Breaking the Law is killing Jesus. Breaking the Law is killing God, because God is love, and the Law is Law of Love. We kill Him because we do not have faith in His love for us. But since God is immortal, He offers forgiveness: not accepting this forgiveness, we kill our own life instead, which is in the image of God. ↩︎

The Knowledge of Sin

The Law Vindicated

The responsibility of choice

The consequences of choosing

The limits of freedom

The Laws that Govern our Choices

The falling man

Under dominion of Physical Law:

Under dominion of Spiritual Law:

The Falling Man — continuation

We are slaves to the choice we made:

By faith we know God created this world, because we can see the fruits of creation

God said, Let there be life. And there was life in the falling man that believed.God creates the man’s inner heaven by His Word.

By freedom, many people yet choose prison

The purpose of forgiveness

What is the Power of God?

Faith

Faith is what gives love its consequence, its urgency, its life-or-death reality.

By love we seek to act to benefit another; by faith we overcome the fear of failure in that pursuit.

What is love?

What is consequence?

Must Love have a Consequence?

What Leads to Consequence?

Action.

Decision.

BUT WHAT EMPOWERS DECISION-MAKING?

Freedom of Choice.

But what Gives Freedom?

Knowledge.

Certainty.

Sure knowledge.

Immortal hope.

How can we know that this benefit of choosing — or deciding upon the acts of love — is GREATER than choosing love without acts?

Not by sight.

By trust you will know.

BY FAITH WE WILL KNOW and be certain.

Faith empowers certainty.

Faith empowers acts of self-sacrifice — acts of love.

But what empowers faith? What makes the promise trustworthy?

Evidence empowers faith and evidence makes the promise trustworthy.

The cross of our Lord empowers faith and gives trustworthiness to God’s Word — His promise.

Certainty is empowered by a trustworthy promise — which is received by faith.

And how is this Trustworthiness Recognized and Received?

And what empowers hearing or beholding?

Honesty.

Self-abasement.

And What Brings Humility and Honesty?

Personal Freedom of Choice and the Sovereign Choice of God.

Faith: Summary, Application, and Contrast

Result:

The Indispensability of Faith – continued.

Faith restores: heals the broken brings the dead to life.

The Rock: the Foundation of Truth, and Law, and Logic and Reason

Building on love

God is love. The Law is love — this is the foundation.

Love is a freedom of choice.

Reasoning is by Freedom of Choice

The word faithful is obedience by faith.

To be faithful is to remain in your master’s love.

Obedience is love.

It is pointless to live by the law once you break it.

Proverbs 8 (full chapter)

In other words…

To continue…

undeniable realities that transform the Law from being a mere opinion to an absolute authority.

Footnotes

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