The Good Of The Father (Under New Management} # 2109

 

Now at their being affrighted and inclining their faces to the earth, they say to them, "Why are you seeking the living among the dead?"  He is not here, but was roused.  Be reminded how he speaks to you, while still being in Galilee

Lukes Account 24: 5-6, Concordant New Testament 

I've seen a few signs around town lately which proclaim "Under new management."  When I see signs lie these I immediately think of one thing, that the old is gone and that someone new has taken over.  I think that it's safe to say during this Easter season that we, too, are under new management.  This has been assured us through the work of Christ Jesus on the cross.  One of my favorite passages of scripture comes as the women arrive at the empty tomb of Jesus early that morning.  There they encounter the angels, who inquire "Why are you seeking the living among the dead?" {Lukes Account 24:5}.  For these women, who only a few days before had more than likely witnessed the death of Jesus on the cross, this had to be a confusing question.  Jesus is alive?  Not only is Jesus alive and well, but our life is now lived within Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  For all intents and purposes, we're now under new management.  That which was, is no more.  I was reminded of this the other day when a good friend forwarded me a video from the self-proclaimed "Worlds most outspoken bible scholar" Martin Zender.  In this video, Zender goes over the uselessness of the so called sinners prayer.  Why is this important?  Because this goes to the core of why Jesus Himself, being innocent, was made the sacrifice for what we had done {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  So, if Jesus has died to take away the sin of the world, why do we still need that prayer of the sinner?  Are we still to be seen as sinners in the eyes of God?  After all, those within the church will repeatedly quote the words of the apostle Paul and proclaim that ALL have indeed sinned {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  But this is where their knowing of the scriptures often ends.  For they ignore the words Paul in the following passage which proclaims that we are no longer sinners, but "Justified gratuitously" through the grace of Christ Jesus {Paul to the Romans 3:24}.  We're under new management. 

As far as the new management sign goes, I would omit that entirely.  Those within the church will have us believe that our sin needs to be managed.  That it has somehow separated us from God.  Both of these statements are lies spoken by the church.  For how can we manage something which Jesus has already died to {Paul to the Romans 6:10}?  Will Jesus tell us that we need to manage our sin?  Where in the scriptures is it written that Jesus requires this of us?  It isn't, because Jesus has already done away with it!  We no longer live in what was, but that which is.  What remains is the forgiveness and grace of the Father.  Those within the church would have us believe that Jesus intentionally missed a few sins before dying on that cross.  That despite His sacrifice, sin still remains.  Martin Zender comments that Jesus should very well have recited the sinners prayer as He hung on that cross.  That way, there would have not been any sin left which to forgive, right?  It doesn't work that way.  For Jesus Himself is that propitiation for that which once convicted us {First Epistle of John 2:2}.  As He hung on the cross, He proclaimed "It is accomplished!" {Johns Account 19:30}.  Jesus knew and understood that His purpose here on earth had been fulfilled.  There was nothing more for Him to do.  Sin has been put to death through the sacrifice of the innocent {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  We no longer need that sin management because there is no longer any sin to manage.  What remains is to live within the forgiveness and love of the Father. 

And He is the propitiatory shelter concerned with our sins, yet not concerned with our only, but concerned with the whole world also 

First Epistle of John 2: 2, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Jesus Scam) # 2108

 

Knowing this, that our old humanity was crucified together with Him, that the body of sin may be nullified, for us by no means to be still slaving for sin, for one who dies has been justified from sin.  Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also, having perceive that Christ, being roused from among the dead, is no longer dying.  Death is lording it over Him no longer, for in that He died, He died to sin once for all time, yet in that He is living, He is living to God.  Thus you also, be reckoning yourselves to be dead, indeed, to sin, yet living to God in Christ Jesus our Lord

Paul to the Romans 6: 6-11, Concordant New Testament 

It's usually hard for someone to understand just why it is that I left the mainstream church.  They just don't seem to understand what I've come to see.  That the theology of the church speaks to the forgiveness freely given by Jesus as though it were a scam.  There was one Easter Sunday morning where I was sitting in the church I had been a part of for more than a few years.  The pastor had just finished the traditional Easter message, that Jesus was crucified on the cross to take away the sin of the world.  Not only that, but He was risen three days later, very much alive.  Yet at the conclusion of his message, the pastor asked the congregation that if anyone had unresolved sin issues, to come forward for prayer.  That was the last time I ever stepped foot in a church.  The Jesus scam was alive and well.  But what is this Jesus scam you ask?  Well, think back to the early days of the mainstream church, where the church leaders decided that the forgiveness of the Lord could be used for church profit.  Wait, the freely given forgiveness of God used for the profit of the church?  Yes, and it's already been done for generations.  The early church leaders decided that they could institute the practice of indulgences into the church.  What are indulgences?  Indulgences are fees paid to the church for the forgiveness of sin.  If you felt that your bad behaviors or bad decisions were amounting to sin, then you could pay a fee to the church with the assurance that this sin would be wiped away.  The Jesus scam in full effect.  For its part, the church would preach, and continues to preach today, that it is sin which has separated us from God.  Of course, back in the day all one would need to do is pay a simple indulgence fee and they would be right once again with God.  

I debated quite a bit on the title for this page.  I finally decided on the Jesus scam because this is exactly what the church is practicing.  While they proclaim that Jesus died for the sin of the world, they do not practice what they preach.  Instead, they speak to the lie that sin continues to be the issue in the lives of believers.  That their sin has indeed separated them from God.  To illustrate this point, they point to the words of the prophet Isaiah who has proclaimed that "Your iniquities have separated you from your God" {Isaiah 59:2}.  Of course, this was years before the death of Christ Jesus on the cross.  Years before He shed His blood for the forgiveness of that sin condition.  But the forgiveness of God has never built a handsome church building.  The forgiveness of God has never stuffed the church coffers with money.  For this the church needed a way to a steady revenue stream.  They found it with the institution of the indulgences created for mans forgiveness of the sin of mankind.  This is what the Jesus scam is in a nutshell, mans forgiveness of sin.  Man stepping into the realm of the Father and declaring that he has the power to forgive sin, and that forgiveness comes at a price.  But the forgiveness offered us by the Father comes free of charge.  For Christ Jesus has paid that price with His blood {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  But free forgiveness never built a church.  

For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may becoming Gods righteousness in Him 

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5: 21, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (He Who Knew No Sin) # 2107

 

For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may becoming Gods righteousness in Him

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5: 21, Concordant New Testament 

When we understand the sin of man, we understand that someone needed to die.  Somehow, there needed to be a death, a sacrifice in order to cover that which we had done in the eyes of the Lord.  Anyone familiar with the writings of the old testament knows that the priests of Israel would offer up sacrifices for the misdeeds of the people.  We know that Abraham also offered up his sacrifice upon the deliverance of his son Ishbak (Isaac).  For His part, Jesus made no friends among the leaders of the Jews when He drove out the moneychangers from the temple, who were there to exchange money for the animals the people needed for their sacrifices of atonement {Matthews Account 21:12-13}.  So it is that mankind needed a sacrifice to atone for our sin.  Not just any sacrifice would do, this sacrifice needed to be guiltless, sin free.  The death of the innocent needed to cover the sin of the many.  This was accomplished through Gods dispatching of His Son Jesus {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  For it is through the willing sacrifice of Christ that the sin of the many has been blotted out forever {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  In the eyes of the Father, that which once convicted us has been washed away by the shed blood of His Son.  Interestingly enough, this is celebrated as one of the truths of Christian theology.  That Jesus came, suffered for many and gave His life to the death of sin {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  We also believe that Jesus died but once to accomplish this.  Jesus Himself, on that cross, declares that what He has been sent to accomplish has been done as the Father willed {Johns Account 19:30}.  This is the truth which those within the Christian religion accept and celebrate at this time each year.  Indeed, we celebrate this truth, but we do not practice it. 

It is no secret that those within the mainstream church continue to proclaim that it is our sin which has separated us from God.  I have written on this practice many times.  My question has always been, if we celebrate the death of Jesus as one of our core principals of the Christian faith, why do we continue to falsely believe that sin continues to be an issue in our lives?  Did Jesus somehow miss a few sins as He hung on that cross?  I find that difficult to believe.  So do those in the church, which is why they continue to preach that He died for the forgiveness of sin.  They proclaim it, yet they don't practice what they preach.  The apostle Paul speaks in his evangel that Jesus gave Himself to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  The apostle also reminds us that we're to consider ourselves "Dead, indeed, to sin" {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  Indeed, He Who knew no sin has accomplished what He has been sent to do.  So, either we believe what the scriptures have declared or we don't.  There is no room for lukewarm belief on this matter.  Do you believe that Jesus has died for your iniquities?  That He is the propitiation of that which once held you captive?  Or, do you trust in the lie of the deceiver who will proclaim that sin remains?  This brings another interesting aspect into this conversation, what is sin?  If Jesus has died to take away the sin of the world, what is it that the mainstream church continues to wring its hands over?  Bad judgement?  Bad behavior?  Wicked thoughts?  These ARE NOT SIN.  These are simply man following the lead of his flesh.  When we trust in the knowing of our life lived within the Fathers love, we can be confident in proclaiming that sin is not the issue {Johns Account 14:20}.  For Jesus has given Himself for the death of sin.  He Who knew no sin became the death of many. 

Seeing that Christ also, for our sakes, once died concerning sins, the just for the sake of the unjust, that He may be leading us to God; being put to death, indeed, in the flesh, yet vivified in the spirit

Peter to the Dispersion (1) 3: 18, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Living Separate) # 2106

 With Christ have I been crucified, yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me is Christ.  Now that which I am now living in the flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me

Paul to the Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

Paul got it.  Paul wasn't like so many of our so called luke warm believers of today.  He knew in his heart that he wasn't alone in this life, that the spirit of the Lord Jesus is the epicenter of all who he is.  In essence, Paul WAS Jesus.  He speaks to this is his foundational passage we find in Galatians.  That I am no longer, that it is Christ Jesus who now occupies this vessel of mine {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Paul definitely wasn't living separately from Christ.  Jesus was right there in the thick of it with him.  We could learn a lot from the life of Paul.  First and foremost is living knowing that we are not alone in this life.  Knowing that each and every decision and event is not simply ours alone.  For to know that we do not live separate opens up a whole new understanding not only of who we are, but how we now live.  I hear a lot of once united couples declaring that they now live separated.  Not divorced necessarily, just separated.  I see this as a life lived in limbo.  The same can be said of far too many believers today who live in the delusion that they are separate from God.  This is the lie spoken by the deceiver.  The lie spoken to Eve that if she were to take of the forbidden fruit that her eyes would be opened and that she would "Be like God, knowing good and evil" {Genesis 3:5}.  The trouble is, the eyes of too many believers have not been opened.  They continue to live within the lie that they are separate from God.  One of the verses those within the church spit out in order to prove this point comes from the words of the prophet Isaiah, that "your iniquities have separated you from your God" {Isaiah 59:2}.  When someone reminds me of this passage, I ask them one important question, what about Jesus?  Isn't Jesus the One who came to erase the sin of the world?  Isn't it Jesus Who took our iniquities upon Himself at the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}?  

In all my time in the church, I was never introduced to a life lived within the love of the Father.  However, I was in fact reminded at every opportunity of my sinful life lived outside of Him.  Again, those within the church will point to scripture to emphasize their teachings.  They recite the words of Paul which we find in Romans, that ALL have sinned and are wanting of the glory of God {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  This is that hill they die on!  However, they cringe at the context of the following passage, that we are now justified "Through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus" {Paul to the Romans 3:24}.  Yes, we all were once sinners, but we're now redeemed through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us {Paul to the Romans 5:8}.  So, apparently in spite of our sin condition, God loved us enough to dispatch His Son as the propitiation of our sins.  Not only that, but it is Christ Jesus Who has spoken to the truth of our life lived within the Father {Johns Account 14:20, Johns Account 17:21}.  It is Jesus Who speaks to the truth that we do not live separate from God.  It is those within the church who continue to preach the lie that we do.  Who are you going to trust, God or misguided men?  Has God ever lied to you?  Has He ever revealed to you something which wasn't true?  As far as I'm concerned, if the Father has spoken it, I believe in it.  Therefore, I believe in my heart that I now live within the love of the Father, not within the lie of the deceiver.  

That they may all be one, according as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, that the world should be believing that Thou dost commission Me 

Johns Account 17: 21, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Gods Army) # 2105

 

Yet hallow the Lord Christ in your hearts, ever ready with a defense for everyone who is demanding from you an account concerning the expectation in you, but with meekness and fear 

Peter to the Dispersion 3: 15, Concordant New Testament 

I know a guy, a gym friend who has made it his habit to attempt to argue certain things about Christianity knowing that it will trigger a reaction from some people, myself included.  I recall back in my church days how I felt that it was my duty as a follower of the Lord to defend Him against any who would disparage His word.  However, the only thing this ever accomplished were arguments and hurt feelings.  Indeed, I have even known friends who have stopped talking to me due to their own views of the scriptures not aligning with what I believed.  While I regret that these brothers and sisters in the Lord have chosen that path, I also stand firm in the truth of the Father spoken in the gospels and the evangel of the apostle Paul.  The apostle Peter sums it up best in his attempt to illustrate how it is that we're to engage in discussions of this nature.  Peter speaks to our being "Ever ready with a defense for everyone" concerning our expectation, yet with meekness and fear {Peter to the Dispersion 3:15}.  Notice that the apostle never mentions that we engage in heated arguments.  Notice also that he never mentions that we're to disregard those who do not agree with our viewpoint, only that we conduct ourselves with meekness and fear in our discussions.  Obviously I could have learned this lesson earlier in life.  I certainly would have avoided more than a few tense arguments along the way.  To the best of my knowledge, Jesus never angrily confronted anyone in order to speak to them the truth we have in the Father.  What he DID do is approach those who needed to hear His words with meekness and kindness towards those around Him.  Instead of arguing His point, Jesus invited those who were curious to "Come and see" {Johns Account 1:39}.  

A few years ago I came across the question I wish I would have asked earlier.  Dos God really need us to defend Him?  Does the creator of all which we see truly need our help in defending His words and actions?  My own knowing of the truth of my life in the Father has not come from winning some argument, but from the revelation of the Lord.  I would dare say that no religious argument has ever resulted in the conversion of another into knowing the truth of the Father.  Paul has spoken that his own knowing of Christ Jesus in him came "When it delighted God" {Paul to the Galatians 1:16}.  I believe that it is not up to us to somehow convince someone to realize the truth of the Lord in us.  However, I believe that He will definitely speak through us to bring about that result.  At the end of the day, it is not we who are doing the converting, but the Father Who is speaking and working through us.  Knowing this, is it God who is arguing His case, or have we simply forgotten who we are in Him?  I would choose the latter.  The truth is that we can listen or read the words of the gospels, but it is only by the revelation of the Father that we will come to know the truth of our life in Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  Those whom the Father draws unto His Son will be raised up in that day {Johns Account 6:44}.  

No one can come to Me if ever the Father Who sends Me should not be drawing him, and I shall be raising him in the last day 

Johns Account 6: 44, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (His Eternal Love) # 2104

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor messengers, nor sovereignties, not the present, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord

Paul to the Romans 8: 38-39, Concordant New Testament 

I recently shared a conversation with a gym friend who had suffered the loss of a child through suicide.  What struck me about this conversation is just how much it led me into a deeper understanding of the love of the Lord.  As I offered to pray for my brother for Gods help in his grief, he shared with me what so many well meaning believers have been led to believe.  That suicide is considered a sin, and that those who commit the act are akin to being a murderer.  Are we not destroying what the Lord God has lovingly created?  At this moment, I was reminded of the words of the apostle Paul as he laid out all which will never separate us from God {Paul to the Romans 8:38-39}.  In fact, I ask the question, what can ever separate us from Gods love?  We're told that he who does not love does not know God, because He is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  I consider this passage to be one of the key verses to truly knowing God.  That His love transcends everything.  Paul was correct in his letter to the church in Rome that there is absolutely nothing which will ever separate us from the love of the Father, including that most desperate of acts of suicide.  As I assured my friend in that moment, God has not abandoned his son, and that he can look forward to that day when they will be reunited once again.  But let's continue this topic of the love of God.  As Paul has proclaimed, there is nothing which will ever separate us from the love of God.  If we are to agree with this, then we are to agree that not even sin will separate us from the love of the Father.  What?  You mean I haven't been separated from God by my sin, which the church continues to tell us?  No, not ever!  As Paul has said, there is NOTHING which will ever separate us from the love of the Father.  

I grew up in a church theology which spoke to the fact that I lived here in a sinful world and that God dwelled in heaven.  This was the separation between myself and God.  This, of course, is the separation theology which continues to be preached by those within the church.  Of course, this belief not only ignores the truth spoken by Paul in his evangel, but the truth that Christ Jesus gave Himself for the forgiveness of our sins, to take away the sin of the world {Johns Account 1:29}.  That Jesus is that propitiation of that which we were once guilty {First Epistle of John 2:22}.  How can we be found guilty for that which Jesus has died to {Paul to the Romans 6:10}?  So, what is it that will ever distance us from the love of God?  It is for this reason that I see the separation theology spoken by the church to be an outright lie.  Believe me, I have faced much push back for speaking this belief.  But I am speaking the truth of the love we find in the Father.  The world may condemn us, but God never will.  He has found us to be innocent through the blood shed by His Son on the cross.  That ship has sailed.  What remains is we who have been redeemed and reconciled unto the Father {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:18}.  This is exactly why Paul has proclaimed that we consider ourselves "Dead, indeed, to sin" {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  In our times of heartbreak, we can be assured that the love of the Father covers all. 

He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love

First Epistle of John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (No Relation) # 2103

 

Nothing, consequently, is now condemnation to those in Christ Jesus,  Not according to flesh are they walking, but according to spirit

Paul to the Romans 8: 1, Concordant New Testament 

A good friend sent me an article the other day which asked the question, why is it that men dislike being in groups?  Well, let's first address the elephant in the room in that women are more relational than men.  Therefore, I'm not shocked when I hear that men are not inclined to participate in church small groups, it's not in our DNA.  I can speak to this from the experience of having been involved in more than a few small groups in my day.  Does this mean that men are not relational?  Not at all, we're just not designed to be as relational as our female counterparts.  Think of a group of guys gathered around a TV watching a football game.  Think of a group of friends gathered together at a bar shooting the bull.  It's not that we're non relational, we just often prefer to be that lone wolf.  But how does this play out in the church setting?  Well, I can recall being involved in more than a few accountability groups where I came away feeling much unlike a good person and more like that condemned sinner.  Has anyone ever felt that way?  I would say that accountability groups are designed not for accountability, but for accusations.  Sure, we can sugar coat it and say that we're in it for the accountability, but what happens when someone eventually opens up in true accountability and is immediately accused of being weak in their faith or commitment to the Lord?  Yes, this has happened to me in a few of these groups.  I came away feeling not like a valued friend, but as someone who had been condemned by others.  By definition, being accountable consists of taking responsibility for our own actions.  If I mess up, I fess up.  I have no issue with this part of being accountable to others.  What I DO take issue with is the practice many well meaning Christians take in response to someone admitting their faults.  It seems that pointing the finger of accusation is the most common response to someone who admits their faults.  Tell me, is this how God has approached our own failures?  

The apostle Paul has spoken to the practice of condemning others in his letter to the church in Rome.  That "Nothing, consequently, is condemnation for those in Christ Jesus" {Paul to the Romans 8:1}.  Paul also asks, who is it that condemns us?  Is it Jesus?  He Who is also "Pleading for our sakes" {Paul to the Romans 8:34}.  Therefore, if Christ does not condemn us, who is left?  Nobody except those in the flesh who surround us.  One thing I've learned is that when others accuse us of something, they feel convicted of it themselves.  The true meaning of a group centered on accountability should be to uplift and never to tear down.  For this is the desire of the Father.  As Jesus has proclaimed, we are to love one another {Johns Account 13:34-35}.  The apostle John takes this a step further when he claims that those who do not love have not known God, for God is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  The Father has graced mankind with His one true love nature by dispatching His Son to be that sacrifice for us {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  What has man done but to condemn others?  Again, who is it that condemns?  Is it God?  No!  I would say that accountability is not accountability without the forgiveness and grace granted us by the Father.  The forgiveness which we are free to give unto others if we choose to.  Accountability grows the individual in the Lord, it never condemns. 

Who is the condemner?  Christ Jesus, the One dying, yet rather being roused, Who is also at God's right hand, Who is also pleading for our sakes? 

Paul to the Romans 8: 34, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~