12 Steps to Become a True Christian #1

The calling of God, repentance, belief/faith, forgiveness and justification

Fred R. Coulter—July 27, 2019

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Today we're going to go through the 12 steps to conversion. What is the first step to becoming a true Christian? That's what it's all about!

In the world there's a lot of fake Christianity, and they take part of the words of God and they reject others. But you have to understand what Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God that proceeds out of His mouth!

Think on that for just a minute. This tells us that if there are some things in the Old Covenant, such as all of the temple worship and sacrifices, all of that has been elevated to a higher spiritual level:

• instead of animal sacrifices, there is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
• instead of a temple on earth, we pray to God in heaven above

That's what God showed that He has changed. Anything else He hasn't changed. We will see that everything that God does, and our response back to Him, has ultimately got to be based on love. For God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life. For God gave His only begotten Son that whoever may believe in Him, may not perish, but may have eternal life! How does that come?

• God's Calling

The first thing to understand is that God is not trying to save the world today, obviously! That's important to see. It's not going to be a church or organizations of churches that's going to bring salvation to the world. It's going to be the return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the saints so that combined together the world can be saved. But now God is calling those who in the Bible are called the firstfruits! We find this one statement twice:

Matthew 22:14: "For many are called, but few are chosen." Why? Because few are seeking God, and few repent! Let's see how God does it.

A lot of people think that they can come to God on their own. But that's not true; you have to come to God His way! Let's see what that is. How does God choose? "For many are called, but few are chosen." Here's why, and listen to how particular that this is:

John 6:44: "No one can come to Me unless the Father, Who sent Me, draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."
That's quite something! God begins to intervene in your life. How? You have to start seeking God! We'll see how that works, and you have to come to realize this as you're seeking God. You have to make the effort, and we will see what that effort will be. It's not because that you're the intelligent or wise of the world, but generally people begin to seek God when there are troubles in their lives. They can't find any answers and that's precisely the one's whom God is looking for. So, God has to begin drawing that person in those circumstances.

John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life…"

Jesus did not say, 'I am a way, a truth and a life.' There's only one way to God and that is God's way, not our way. Our way will only lead to death! Jesus is "…the Way, and the Truth…" The Truth means all of the Word of God! You have to begin to love the Truth of God! Knowing that Jesus is Truth personified, and called The Word Personified!

Jesus is the One Who was called The Word, was with Godand created all things that come into being. That is the One Who became Jesus Christ! Now we're dealing with how God does this.

"…and the Life…" there is only one eternal life, and that eternal life does not come by people going to heaven. There are no souls going to heaven. You read the Bible—Old and New Testaments—and the Bible only teaches the resurrection from dead, and that at the return of Christ.

• How does God call?
• Who does God call?
• What are the circumstances of it?
• How does God know where people are who need Him?
• How does God know where people are who want Him?

Sometimes the very first thing that a person does when they're wondering what on earth is happening in their life with all the troubles and difficulties. They cry out to God and say, 'O God, help me!' Does God hear that? Of course!

John 4—Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman at the well, and He says; John 4:23: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers…" Since there are true worshipers, that means that there are false worshipers.

What are false worshipers? The fake Christianity! They take some of the Scriptures, but they leave out the most important ones. We'll see that in a little bit. God's way is all of you, not part of you, not what you're willing to do, but what God says that you must do!

"…the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth…: (v 23). God's Word is Truth, so you worship Him:

• according to the way that God says to worship Him
• on the day that God said to worship Him
• in the manner that God said to worship Him

That is spirit and in truth! No fake confessions made to a priest in a confessional booth. But true confession of sins to God in heaven above.

"…for the Father…" (v 23)—the great Ruler and Sovereign of the entire universe! You're not just dealing with men, you're dealing with two that are God:

• Jesus Christ Who is God
• God the Father Who is God

Sidebar: Nowhere does the Bible call the Holy Spirit God! That's part of fake Christianity. If you believe that then you're part of fake Christianity since it's not taught in the Bible

{note sermons on the Holy Spirit of God https://www.cbcg.org/holy-spirit/holy-spirit.html}

I'll give you a couple of words to define the Holy Spirit: the power of God by which He accomplishes His will! It is what God gives to the true believers to accomplish His will in them as they yield and respond to God.

"…for the Father is indeed seeking those who worship Him in this manner. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must… [absolutely obligatory] …worship in Spirit and in Truth" (vs 23-24).

Once you begin to understand that, you might ask, 'How does God do this?' Let's see that as Jesus said, He has the eyes of God. What are the eyes of God? There are seven of them! This is how God finds those wherever they are on the earth. It doesn't matter where they are. And just a little thing to think on: God is not so far away from the earth as a lot of people imagine that He is!

• He's close at hand
• He knows what's going on
• He knows what's going on in your life

So, if you're seeking Him, here's the answer to the question: How does God do that to find those

• who are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth?
• who are calling out to Him?
• who are beginning to understand that they need God and know nothing about Him?

But they really, really down deep inside they have this sincerity and willing to admit the truth of their sins and repent. You will find God, because God will find you and here's how:

Revelation 5:6: "Then I saw, and behold, before the throne and the four living creatures, and before the elders, was standing a Lamb ashaving been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes…"

This is a depiction of Christ, and the seven horns are the seven churches of Rev. 2 & 3, just to help you understand a little bit about the book of Revelation.

"…and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God… [there are seven spirits called the seven eyes of God] …that are sent into all the earth" (v 6).

They are seeking those who are seeking God. Then the gap between you and God begins to close as you draw to Him, as you understand what you need to do.

Let's see that even in what is called the Old Testament, the Truth of God is available. As matter of fact, very few people realize this, but when the apostles began preaching the Gospel, they didn't have the New Testament because they hadn't written it yet. They preached Christ out of the Old Testament. Imagine that!

When you go to Acts 16 you find that there were those who were in the town of Berea called Bereans, and in that town was a Jewish synagogue. Remember, none of the New Testament had been written with the exception perhaps the Epistle of James and part of Matthew to explain how to take the Passover. That was it! But it says the Bereans went to the synagogue and they checked the Scriptures in the scrolls of the Old Testament to prove whether these things were true or not. They found that they were true!

Isaiah 55:6: "Seek the LORD while He may be found…" That's quite a statement because God says that there may come a time when He won't be found. That's true because there may come a time when He won't be found in your life because you are not willing to totally surrender yourself to God in what the Bible says is repentance!

"…call upon Him while He is near" (v 6). That's something to understand!

• Repentance

Mark 1—these are the words of Jesus Christ, and also tells us that if you're seeking God and God is going to find you, then you must repent! Repentance means to stop living your way and start living God's wayby keeping His laws, His commandments and the instructions of Jesus Christ!

Mark 1:14: "Now, after the imprisonment of John, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God"—the good news of repentance and forgiveness so that you may qualify through the power of God to become a son or daughter of God, and enter into the Kingdom of God as a spirit being!

Verse 15: "And saying, 'The time has been fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is near at hand…'" And it was. Jesus was the representative of the Kingdom of God!

"…repent…" ( v 15). You can't come to God because you're good, because no one is good, no not one!

"…and believe in the Gospel" (v 15). The Gospel is the whole message of Jesus Christ! It's defined by two things:

• Gospel of the Kingdom of God meaning the rule and reign of God
• Gospel of the Grace of God, which is the grace of mercy, forgiveness, pardon of sin and receiving the Holy Spirit

All of that is included in there! Are you willing to believe the Gospel? Let's see how that comes.

Let's see that God is the One Who wants you to repent and also, if you're truly, truly, truly seeking God, He grants you repentance! That means to see yourself for what you really are, the real sinful self of the inside of your mind and who you truly are! People can have a wonderful facade out here, and can ever so good, and ever so nice, but wickedness rules in their mind.

During Jesus' day the religious leaders were thinking that when the Messiah comes, He's going to come and join them. That they're going to work together and bring the Kingdom of God on the earth and restore the Kingdom back to Israel.

No, no, no! God is calling the weak, the few, those who will repent! Notice what the Pharisees and the religious leaders were accusing Jesus of.

Matthew 9:11: "And after seeing this, the Pharisees said to His disciples, 'Why does your Master eat with tax collectors… [the most hated people then and still are today] …and sinners?' But when Jesus heard it, He said to them, 'Those who are strong do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick" (vs 11-12)—or weak!
The Pharisees and Sadducees, priests and Levites, and religious leaders figured that they were the strong ones. After all, they had been 'chosen by God' to lead the people.

Verse 13: "Now, go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'…. [God wants to extend His mercy to those who repent] …For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." That's what God wants! We have to understand what repentance really means. Let's see something very important concerning that.

Acts 2—this is something because Peter was preaching on the Day of Pentecost at the temple, and all the apostles were preaching about Jesus Christ, too. There were many Jews from many countries there on this particular Pentecost. That's particularly true because of the ministry of Jesus Christ that spread abroad to all the synagogues throughout the Roman Empire in the Middle East, both.

Then the word went out that He was crucified, died! Then the word went out that they can't find His body and the disciples are saying that He has risen from the dead and we have seen Him!

So, God has inspired a lot of the Jews to come to the temple. And among those there were those who were standing demanding that Christ be crucified when he was brought before Pilate. Think about the tremendous message that Peter brought here. Here's what he said, and this applies to every one of us, because Jesus died for the sins of every human being, because He was the Creator of Adam and Eve and subsequently all human beings through pro-creation.

Acts 2:36—Peter said: "Therefore, let all the house of Israel… [and it went to all the Gentiles after that, so the whole world] …know with full assurance that God has made this same Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

The truth of the matter is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is applies not to Israel, but to every human being on earth! There's no forgiveness without the sacrifice of Christ! That must be applied to each one individually.

Verse 37: "Now, after hearing this, they were cut to the heart; and they said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized…'" (vs 37-38). Remember that, because baptism is essential! Baptism is by complete immersion in water! We will explain why later.

"…each one of you…" (v 38). Repentance and forgiveness of sin is between the individual and God! Not a group thing!
"…in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you yourselves shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (v 38).

Isn't that something? That's the whole purpose of answering the call, so that you can receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is only given to those who obey God!Let's see that; when Peter and the apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin to explain what they were doing, and they answered and said:

Acts 5:29[transcriber's correction] : "But Peter and the apostles answered and said, 'We are obligated to obey God rather than men.'"

When you repent and God blots out your sins, in order to receive the Holy Spirit of God you've got to obey. You've got to live God's way from that time, because you're seeking God and you want God.

"…We are obligated to obey God rather than men." He's talking to the Sanhedrin! What was it that the Jewish religion had that rejected the commandments of God? Their traditions,which were not the commandments of God, but only the traditions of men!

Do you belong to some church? Especially if you're a Catholic, they have so many traditions and idols and things against God, they're the #1 fake Christianity in the world! Protestantism is a pretty close second.

• Why would I say that? I'll answer that in a little bit!
• Why is it then, that if the world is trying to be saved by the Catholics and the Protestants, that it isn't saved? Because they're fake Christianity!

Just like the Sanhedrin, they were fake rulers for God!

Verse 30: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus Whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. Him has God exalted by His right hand to be a Prince and Savior, to give repentance and remission of sins to Israel" (vs 30-31). Receiving repentance is a gift from God, because you're coming to Him and you want your sins blotted out and He grants you the deep repentance necessary!

As you will see, that is something we do the rest of our lives in growing and overcoming. It's notjust a one-time repentance, and it's all over. No! It's a deep repentance that is on-going as you come to know God, His Word, His Truth and what God is doing.

Verse 32: "And we are His witnesses of these things, as is also the Holy Spirit, which God has given to those who obey Him."
So, there's the calling and you answer the call. The call is to, Acts 2:38: "…'Repent and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you yourselves shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" When that happens you are to obey Him! Think how fantastic that is! Along with this comes:

• Belief and Faith

Jesus said to repent and believe the Gospel. The Gospel is everything about God, all the Truth about God, all of those things that God is going to give.

The book of Hebrews is a very interesting book, and undoubtedly written by the Apostle Paul, but many theologians don't believe it. That's because they don't understand the circumstances of why Paul had to write it in the way that he did. He could not attach His name to it because when it arrived in Jerusalem, if his name would have been on it, those in Jerusalem—even in the Church of God at that time—so despised Paul, because God called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. They were thinking that he was doing away with the Law of God—which he wasn't doing.

That false lie is believed by fake Christianity to this day!

So, Paul didn't attach his name to the book of Hebrews, but there are plenty enough signs in how it was written and the salutation at the end that only Paul could have written. Let's see what kind of faith we are to have:

Hebrews 11:1: "Now, faith…" Faith is the noun, the verb is believe; so of faith and belief are synonymous, So if you believe, you are faithizing!

Verse 1: "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for…" It is a spiritual substance that comes with the Spirit of God to reside in your mind, so that you can truly believe.

"…and the conviction of things not seen" (v 1). You know that it is true because God has said so! Remember where we started? Jesus said, 'I'm the Way, the Truth and the Life.' There's no lie in it! So, you can be absolutely sure and have full total confidence that the Word of God is true.

There are a couple of things in there—a good number of things in there—that translators have mistranslated deliberately so they could make it appear that Paul did away with the Law.

If you don't have our Bible—The Holy Bible in It's Original Order, A Faithful Version—you need to write for it. All the errors of the King James and the New International Version—and 27 other translation—have all been found to be minus 2,500 words. All of them come to doctrinal things that are important, because men have wanted to change the Word of God.

That's why there's fake Christianity! So, if you want to get right with God, and if you're in a church out there somewhere, you better get out of that church as fast as you can and seek God with all your heart. Seek the believe and faith that we find here.

Verse 2: "For by this kind of faith the elders obtained a good report. By faith we understand… [because faith gives conviction and understanding] …that the worlds were created by the Word of God, so that the things that are seen were made from things that are invisible" (vs 2-3). That is a true scientific statement of fact, long before the microscope!

Verse 4: "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it, though he died, he is yet speaking. By faith Enoch was transported so that he would not look upon death… [he later died] …and was not found because God had transported him; for before his departure it was testified of him that he pleased God" (vs 4-5).

Notice that faith will give you the strength to do the things that please God! How do you come to God? A lot of people like to come to God with a crucifix hanging on their rearview mirror in their car. This is a 'good luck charm' to keep them from an accident. But how many of the crucifixes hanging on the rearview mirror have the highway patrol or the state police found? Thousands! Because an idol has no power!

Verse 6: "Now, without faith… [we will see what kind of faith and where it comes from in a minute] …it is impossible to please God…." You can't do it on your own. So, here's the belief and faith that you must have:

"…For it is mandatory… [absolutely required] …for the one who comes to God to believe that He exists…" (v 6)—to understand that everything that God says that He is in the Bible is true!

The very first part of the book of Hebrews talks about Jesus Who is upholding the universe by the word of His power. Think about that! Think about what you're dealing with when you come to God.

"…and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (v 6). Take the opposite of this; that means that He is not rewarding those who do not diligently seek Him. You can't have a ho-hum 'once saved always saved, God's love is unconditional…' No, no, no! Not true!

Let's see what kind of faith that we are to have. The book of Galatians is one of the most misunderstood because of key improper translations in every single one of the translations beginning with the King James Version of the Bible that inserted words that made it appear that the Laws of God have been done away. That is not true! So, you need to get this Bible, The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version! {Order at: afaithfulversion.org)

Now let's see how salvation comes. Paul explains something in Gal 2 that's very important. We will see how this applies when we come to baptism.

Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ… [the old self, the sinful man, that which is contrary to God] …yet, I live. Indeed, it is no longer I; but Christ lives in me…. [that's what happens when you receive the Holy Spirit of God; you receive from Christ and the Father] …For the life that I am now living in the flesh, I live by faith—that very faith of the Son of God… [faith is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit of God] …Who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Apply that to you! Paul applied it to himself personally. God wants us to apply that to ourselves personally, as well. Christ died, and you say, 'For me!' Everyone who comes to Him the way that God wants. That's the kind of faith that you need.

Let's see the faith that comes from God, not just the faith that you stir up yourself. We all have a certain amount of faith.

Mark 11—this is after Jesus cursed the fig tree and they came back in the morning and found it all dried up.

Mark 11:21: "Then Peter remembered and said to Him, 'Look, Master! The fig tree that You cursed has dried up.' And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith from God'" (vs 21-22). That's where true faith comes from!

Stop and think about that. That's why those through the Middle Ages and into the beginning of the Reformation, the true Christians were slaughtered. They had the very faith of God! When the Catholic authorities were taking them out to be burned, beheaded, to be crucified and tortured, they were singing hymns to God, because they had the faith of God! From God through His Spirit into their minds and hearts to truly, truly believe! Nothing would turn that back!

(go to the next track)

We covered first of all the calling of God,how He calls and how we must answer. Then God grants repentance, and then belief and faith, and how important that is. That we believe and believe God and His Word and what He says.

• Forgiveness

Everyone wants forgiveness of sin. However, it is only with true forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let's see what Jesus told the disciples just before He ascended into heaven.

Luke 24—this is when Jesus first appeared to all of the disciples gathered together after His resurrection from the dead.

Luke 24:44: "And He said to them, 'These are the words that I spoke to you when I was yet with you, that all the things which were written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.'"

Isn't that something? How many of the prophecies are yet to be fulfilled, which are in the Old Testament. Again, I want to reiterate, when the apostles began preaching there was no New Testament; they had to write it! It wasn't canonized until 70 years after Jesus ascended into heaven. They wrote the words and the Truth of God as God inspired them.

So, you don't have to have any doubt about the true words of God, but be careful of a lot of these modern translations. As I've mentioned, you need The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version! We will also send you a booklet—New Testament Scripture Comparisons by Joseph Ackermann—with it showing how 27 modern translations, including the King James Version, have missing words or added words that deliberately change doctrine!

Verse 45: "Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." Howdo you understand the Scriptures? There's a Psalm that says:

Psalm 111:10: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments…."

We understand because we love and obey God! That's important! You're not going to understand any other way. You must obey God in order to understand! The Apostle John wrote, 'The one who says he knows God and does not keep His commandments is a liar'—a fake Christian following fake Christianity!

Luke 24:46: "And [Jesus] said to them, 'According as it is written, it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day. And in His name, repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. For you are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but remain in the city of Jerusalem until you have been clothed with power from on high.'" (vs 46-49). That's on the Day of Pentecost to receive the Holy Spirit!

Matt. 28—Jesus had them all come out to one of the mountains there in Galilee; Matthew 28:16: "Now the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain, which Jesus had appointed for them to meet Him. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted…. [all doubts were removed later] …And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me'" (vs 16-18).

Jesus never gave it to any pope! That's another whole topic you need to get to. You need to go to our other website churchathome.org and look up the series: Was Peter Ever in Rome? and Was Peter the First Pope?

You're going to be astonished! If you are a Catholic and you have never heard things like you're hearing here, and you think that I'm deliberately attacking the Catholic Church, NO! I'm bring to you the truth of the Roman Catholic Church! It's built on lies, false doctrine and idolatry and has nothing to do with the true God!

Verse 19: "Therefore, go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe… [obey] …all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even until the completion of the age.' Amen" (vs 19-20).

The small Church of God: God is with them, Christ is with them always!"…even until the completion of the age." Quite an amazing thing!

Forgiveness is given when you truly repent. When you truly repent and get up off your knees from praying, then you must resolve in your mind not to do that again!

Colossian 1:12—Paul writes: "Giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us qualified for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the Light"—because the Father is with us and in us with His Spirit to help us to change, grow and overcome!

Verse 13: "Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness…" That's what it is when you answer the call! God the Father Himself personally rescues you from "…the power of darkness…" which is Satan the devil!

"…and has transferred us unto the kingdom of the Son of His love" (v 13). In other words, under the jurisdiction of Jesus Christ, the King of the coming Kingdom, and we go by the Laws of God, and not the laws of fake Christianity!

Verse 14: "In Whom we have redemption through His own blood… [His shed blood] …even the remission of sins."

Let's see the model prayer, because that shows something very, very important and how we are to approach God. We are to pray all the time, but this is the model or the outline of how our daily prayers should be.

Matthew 6:9: "Therefore, you are to pray after this manner… [or outline] …'Our Father, Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name…'"—goes directly to the Father! We pray directly to the Father.

All of you deluded Catholics out there who believe that Mary is in heaven; you're completely deluded! Mary has not ascended into heaven, and it took the Catholic Church 1800 years to finally formulate the lie that she did. As soon as they did that, what happened to all of the kingdoms of the papacy? Garibaldi and the armies of Italy took away everything but the little 108 acres of the Vatican.

How is that for punishment for a false, absolutely satanic lie? If you think that is harsh, what do you think God is going to do to them at the resurrection? They have been following Satan, living lies and preaching untruths! They're going into the Lake of Fire! They are going to be burned up, perish, and their remembrance will be forever forgotten!

You are to pray directly to the Father, because the Father Himself loves you! That's what Jesus said.

Verse 10: "Your kingdom come…" that's two ways:

• the way You want me to live by the laws of Your Kingdom

We saw that we were transferred from the darkness of Satan unto the Kingdom of the Son of His love, ruling in our lives through Your Spirit of Jesus Christ and God the Father.

• with the second coming of Jesus Christ

"…Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven" (v 10). Know for sure that the will of God is constantly being done everywhere at all times, everyday down through history. It never fails! Do you think there is any sin in heaven? No!

"…Your will be done on earth…"—also means in your life! And it is being carried out that way today.

Verse 11: "Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts… [sins (Luke 11)] …as we also forgive our debtors…" (vs 11-12)—or those who forgive us!

Now we're going to see something very important concerning forgiveness. Everyone wants forgiveness! We'll see in a minute what happens if you don't forgive others.

Verse 13: "And lead us not into temptation… [temptation comes because we follow our own lust. The pope just decided that he wanted to change that section of the Bible.

Who is he? He's not God! Though a lot of people think he is. He's called the vicar of Christ, which means the replacement of Christ, which is a blatant lie!

"…but rescue us from the evil one…. [that's what we read in Col. 1] …For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (v 13).

So, your daily prayer starts out glorifying God, then you cover the things that need to be in your life. You end up by glorifying Him again. Why do you do that? Because, as Paul wrote, in God we live, move and have our being! That is every human being in the world. They live because God has given them life! That is the true fact of the Word of God!

Now, are you arise up off your knees from praying and having your sins forgiven, and go out and get someone who has done something to you and then come and beat on them until they submit to you? No!

Verse 14: "For, if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (vs 14-15). Isn't that interesting? Think about how that works!

All of this is based on the 'great commandment': We're to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and being! The second is like it: You're to love your neighbor as yourself!

That's why if you want your sins forgiven, you are to forgive those who trespass and sin against you. Very interesting, isn't it?

Let's see a tremendous example of Jesus forgiving a woman her sins. That compared in proportion of what a Pharisee thought Jesus was doing and what the woman did to Jesus, and how all of this turned out.

Luke 7:36: "Now, one of the Pharisees invited Him to eat with him. And after going into the Pharisee's house, He sat down at the table. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that He was sitting in the Pharisee's house, took an alabaster flask of ointment; and she stood weeping behind Him, and knelt at His feet, and began to wash His feet with her tears and to wipe them with the hairs of her head; and she was ardently kissing His feet and anointing them with the ointment" (vs 36-38).

Think of that tremendous repentant attitude! She knew she was a sinner. She knew that she had to have forgiveness. Here she came directly to Jesus. She knew that Jesus would forgive, because of the things she heard about Him otherwise.

Verse 39: "But when he saw this, the Pharisee who had invited Him spoke within himself, saying, 'This Man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what the woman is who is touching Him because she is a sinner.' Then Jesus answered and said to him, 'Simon, I have something to say to you.' And he said, 'Teacher, say on.'…. [he didn't know that Jesus could read his mind] …'There were two debtors of a certain creditor; one owed five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. But when they did not have anything with which to pay him, he forgave them both. Tell Me then, which of them will love him most?' And Simon answered and said… [probably thought that that was easy] …'I suppose the one whom he forgave the most.' And He said to him, 'You have judged rightly'" (vs 39-43).

Simon probably thought: 'Oh good, good for me, I got it right.'

Verse 44: "And after turning to the woman, He said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house, and you did not provide any water to wash My feet; but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. You did not give Me a kiss; but she, from the time I came in, has not ceased to ardently kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil; but she has anointed My feet with ointment. For this cause, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven because she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, he loves little.' And He said to her, 'Your sins have been forgiven'" (vs 44-48).

There are other examples of sinners in the Old Testament where there was great mercy shown to them, because they had great repentant attitudes! They were forgiven! It doesn't matter where you are. It doesn't matter what you have done. If you truly, truly, truly repent, God will forgive you!

Notice Simon's attitude and those sitting with him; v 49: "Then those who were sitting with Him began to say within themselves, 'Who is this, Who even forgives sins?'" Well, He was the only begotten Son of God, and He had authority on earth to forgive sins!

Verse 50: "But He said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.'" You can be forgiven upon repentance! But that repentance has to be deep within you. Your confession of those sins to God must be true, and must be without any gloss, but with all facts and everything known. With repentance comes forgiveness!

Romans 3:10: "Exactly as it is written: 'For there is not a righteous one—not even one!'" That is no one apart from repentance and forgiveness and having God's Spirit and having God forgive their sins! There's not one righteous, not one!

God is not just judging the external actions that are done, but the internal thoughts of the mind!We will see that's where conversion is working!

Verse 11: "There is not one who understands; there is not one who seeks after God…. [the way that God wants; that is those in the world] …They have all gone out of the way; together they have all become depraved. There is not even one who is practicing kindness. No, there is not so much as one!" (vs 11-12).

Think about a lot of the charities. A lot of the charities are done to do good works to cover up their own sinful behavior.

Verse 13: "Their throats are like an open grave; with their tongues they have used deceit; the venom of asps is under their lips, whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness" (vs 13-14). Doesn't that sound like Washington, DLC—District of Liars and Corruption?

Verse 15: "Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known" (vs 15-17).

That's why there's never been any peace! There is always war! There is always killing! Because men are under the auspices of Satan the deviland they want to make war and kill, steal and take, and get rid of the Truth of God!

Verse 18: "'There is no fear of God before their eyes.' Now then, we know that whatever the Law says… [listen carefully] …it speaks to those who are under the Law…" (vs 18-19). Everyone is under the Law!

The only ones under grace are those who have truly repented and have received the Holy Spirit of God and live a Godly life with the Spirit of God the way that God wants. All the rest of the world is under the Law to God!

The false notion of the Protestants that if you keep the commandments of God you put yourself under the Law. That is false! You are not under the Law because you keep the commandments of God, you under the Law for breaking the commandments of God! Furthermore, it takes the grace of God to keep the commandments of God!

"…so that every mouth… [every human being everywhere through all ages] …may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (v 19).

Right here, before we go on, I need to bring it out very clearly: Since Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, and he came to this earth to willingly lay down His life to become a sacrifice for the sin of the world. That sin of the world is what we all inherit from Adam and Eve that Paul writes of: the law of sin and death!

His shed blood is what forgives our sins through the mercy and kindness of God. Nothing, nothing can substitute for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

• Justification

We're going to come to a phrase, works of law. That phrase means the traditions of men and the sacrifices at the temple! It has nothing to do with keeping the commandments of God. That's where the whole world goes wrong in Protestantville! Because only the blood of Jesus Christ, through His sacrifice, can justify you to God! Justification means to be put in right standing to God!

Verse 21: "But now the righteousness of God that is separate from law…" The life and death of Jesus Christ is separate from any law!

"…has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets" (v 21). The witness was there to tell what was going to happen! It happened!

Verse 22: "Even the righteousness of God that is through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who believe… [repentance] …for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; but are being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…" (vs 22-24)—the only way to have sins forgiven; they can't be forgiven any other way!

The Eucharist and Sacrifice of the Mass is a vain empty thing that is not Godly. The 'Lord's Supper' taken by the Protestants is at the wrong time, the wrong day and many of them use the wrong emblems. Those can never take away sin! Those are traditions of men!

The only day that commemorates the sacrifice of Christ and His shed blood is the Passover of God. No tradition of men, no ceremony of men can forgive sin! With the Passover, it must be:

• exactly as Jesus said
• exactly on the day that Jesus gave it
• exactly in the manner that He did it
• exactly at the time He did it

On the Passover Day, according to the sacred calendar of God, and not any day or any time that any man chooses—period!

Verse 24: "But are being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; Whom God has openly manifested to be a propitiation through faith in His blood… [that is the only thing] …in order to demonstrate His righteousness, in respect to the remission of sins that are past" (vs 24-25).

You can't by indulgences to pay for future sins, like the Catholics do! That's blasphemous!  Every sin is a past sin, because the instant you sin the next instant or second it's past. That's why you confess daily. As imperfect human beings growing and overcoming, we need forgiveness every day. That's why the model prayer the way that it is.

Verse 26: "Through the forbearance of God; yes, to publicly declare His righteousness in the present time…"—the sacrifice of Christ on the Mt. of Olives for all:

• to see
• to be written about
• to be preserved
• to be preached
• to be taught

the way that God wants it done!

"…that He might be just, and the One Who justifies the one who is of the faith of Jesus" (v 26).

• you must believe that Jesus is your Savior
• you must believe the He died to pay for your sins
• you must believe that His shed blood is adequate for your sins and the sins of the whole world

But God's timing and doing it for the whole world is yet to come! God reveals that in His Word.

Verse 27: "Therefore, where is boasting? It is excluded. Through what law? The law of works? By no means! Rather, it is through a law of faith." That law of faith is repent, believe and be baptized for the remission of sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ! That is the law of faith!

Verse 28: "Consequently, we reckon that a man is justified by faith, separate from works of law." Those are the traditions, those are the things of men!

• the commandments of God we are to do
• the Laws of God we are to do

But no law can substitute for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! You can't go into a confession booth and confess your sins to the priest and he says that you do 200 'hail Marys' and 200 'our fathers' and your sins are forgiven. If you don't do them your sins aren't forgiven. WRONG! BLASPHEMOUS! NOT TRUE! NOT GODLY!

Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and nothing else will do! Remember that no sacrifice of any animal, no work of any law is going to justify you!

Romans 2:13—listen carefully and read it carefully: "Because the hearers of the Law are not just before God…"

How many times have you gone to church and questioned the Sabbath and idolatry, and they tell you that's the old Law. Well, it is eternal, and always new, so that is a lie! No man has the power to change what God has said! So, if you keep Sunday, and you're told that if you keep Sunday, the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper and if you do good works, and if you give money to the church you will be saved. NO! NO! NO! You can't even be justified, because Sunday is the law of man. Sunday-keeping a work of law. Not the keeping of the Laws of God!

"…but the doers… [that means those who are practicing] …of the Law shall be justified" (v 13). This tells us that you can't be living in sin!

Nor can you be justified if you do it any other way than through the sacrifice and shed blood of Jesus Christ. The only ceremony picturing that is God's Holy Passover according to the Passover Day of God's sacred calendar, and that is kept in faith and remembrance of the true sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

Romans 3:29: Is He the God of the Jews only?…. [the Jews think so, but that's not true] …Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? YES! He is also God of the Gentiles since it is indeed one God Who will justify the circumcision by faith…[Belief in the sacrifice and the shed blood of Jesus Christ and your repentance of sin!] …and the uncircumcision through faith" (vs 29-30).

Verse 31: "Are we, then, abolishing the Law through faith? MAY IT NEVER BE! Rather, we are establishing the Law." It will be kept by faith, because God commands you to do so!

'The doers of the Law shall be justified,' because justification is ongoing thing. In some cases daily when you pray and repent of your sins, justification comes! That's what justification means.

The next step will be baptism, and we will cover that in part two. This is how you start believing in God, going through all of these things here:

• the calling of God
• repentance
• belief and faith
• forgiveness of sin
• justification

Those are the first five, there are 12 altogether, and that will give you a perfect detailed outline on how to become a true Christian and how you continue to remain a true Christian!

Scriptural References:

• Matthew 22:14
• John 6:44
• John 14:6
• John 4:23-24
• Revelation 5:6
• Isaiah 55:6
• Mark 1:14-15
• Matthew 9:11-13
• Acts 2:36-38
• Acts 5:29-31
• Acts 2:38
• Hebrews 11:1-6
• Galatians 2:20
• Mark 11:21-22
• Luke 24:44-45
• Psalm 111:10
• Luke 24:46-49
• Matthew 28:16-20
• Colossians 1:12-14
• Matthew 6:9-15
• Luke 7:36-50
• Romans 3:10-19, 21-28
• Romans 2:13
• Romans 3:29-31

 Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Revelation 2; 3
• Acts 16
• Luke 11

 Also referenced:
Booklet: New Testament Scripture Comparisons by Joseph Ackermann

Church at Home: churchathome.org series:

• Was Peter Ever in Rome?
• Was Peter the First Pope?

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/4/19

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