Why God had to Die for the Sins of the World?

(Sabbath Before Passover)

Mankind can't save himself; only God can convert the mind
through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the Savior for all mankind!

Fred R. Coulter—April 13, 2019

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Sabbath before the Passover.

What is God's plan for the solution or solving the problem of human sin? In order to understand that, we have to go clear to the very first chapter of the book of Genesis!

Keep in mind we find in 2-Tim. 1:9 that God's plan and purpose was before the ages of time! and Christ was slain from the foundation of the world!

God's plan is so vast and so great that God is going to solve the problem of human sin. Let's see that revealed in Gen. 1:26 is something that is not really understood unless you have the rest of the Bible.

After God had renewed the surface of the earth, and after the rebellion of Satan the devil and the angels that followed him—a third of the angels of God—then God made it habitable for human life. You can read all of it up to v 26, then the crowning glory of God's creation being mankind!

Genesis 1:26: "And God said, 'Let Us...'" So, right in the beginning, it is revealed that there is more than one God! We find that also revealed in:

John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

There are two God beings in the Godhead. In the Old Testament, as we have learned, there is The Lord God and The Most High! In the New Testament we find there is Jesus Christ our Lord and God our Father, both being God. The Old Testament revelation carries right through the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Genesis 1:26: "...'Let Us make man... [that's all mankind] ... Our image, after Our likeness...'"

Understand that from the point of conception—though there must be development until birth—we are all made in the Holy image of God for a great and fantastic purpose.

"'...and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of heaven and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that crawls upon the earth.' And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female" (vs 26-27).

Those are the only two genders that God made. All of the 'modern' things, all of the filthy things that Satan has put upon this civilization have come up to 15 genders, which is idiotic and stupid! And satanic beyond belief!

Verse 28: "And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of heaven and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.' And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree upon which is the fruit of a tree bearing seed—to you they shall be for food'" (vs 28-29).

That's an amazing thing that God gave. Now Gen. 2, some people think is a second creation. Some people say that Gen. 1 is creation of pre-man man. But that's not true. Gen. 2 tells us about how He created man in more detail. It's not a second creation of human beings.

The first thing that God did after creating everything that He created for man, and everything on the earth:

Genesis 2:1: "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And by the beginning of the seventh day God finished His work, which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work, which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it..." (vs 1-3).

Now, to bless it means to set it aside, and to sanctify it means to make it Holy, Holy time! That is the time that God set aside from the beginning for all human beings to have contact with God, IF they chose to do so.

"...because on it He rested from all His work, which God had created and made. This is the account of the heavens and of the earth when they were created; in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens" (vs 3-4).

Verse 7 was done on day six. That's what we have over here in Gen. 1. That's what it says right up here:
Genesis 1:31: "...And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

So day 6, then comes, day 7. Now then, God backs up one day and He shows how He made Adam and Eve. Remember, all of this is after the image of God and the purpose of God, male and female.

Genesis 2:7: "Then 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 being. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The Tree of Life also was in the middle of the garden, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" (vs 7-9).

Now then, we're going to learn a lesson here. The first lesson that comes: God gave His commandments. Why do we know that? Later we will see that if there is no Law there is no sin! If there was no Law, then Adam and Eve could not have sinned. It's just that simple!

Verse 15: "And the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it"—it also has the meaning of guarding it!

Verse 16: "And the LORD God commanded..." So, there were commandments, and many more than these! But they're not related here. How do we know that? Because God is the same yesterday, today and forever! In order to have Adam and Eve start out the way that they should, they had to have the commandments of God. Here's an additional command:

Verse 15: "And the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'You may freely eat of every tree in the garden, but...'" (vs 15-17). There's always that three-letter word as well!

Verse 17: "But you shall not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for in the day that you eat of it in dying you shall surely die."

That's the meaning of the Hebrew. It doesn't mean if you eat it you're going to die instantly. If that had been the case, then there wouldn't be any human beings on earth, because all came from Adam and Eve. Let's see what God did then:

Verse 18. "And the LORD God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone... [and that's true all down through history] …I will make a helper compatible for him.' And out of the ground the LORD God had formed every animal of the field and every fowl of the air—and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them...." (vs 18-19). Now, there was another purpose for this, too.

• to name all of the creatures
• to how to Adam that he needed a wife

"...And whatever Adam called each living creature that became its name" (v 19).

So, immediately a lot of responsibility! God created in Adam, and later in Eve, a viable, functioning language, so that He could communicate with them. They could communicate with Him. They were fully functioning complete adults.

Verse 20: "And Adam gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field, but there was not found a helper compatible for Adam"—out of all the things that God created.

Verse 21: "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall over Adam, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, and afterward closed up the flesh underneath. Then the LORD God made the rib (which He had taken out of the man) into a woman, and He brought her to the man" (vs 21-22).

Now, these next two verses tell us that there was a lot of communication between God and Adam and Eve:

• purpose of life
• purpose of children
• purpose of why they were here
• why there needed to be man and woman

It's all contained in the next two verses. It also shows the projection of mankind down through time through man and woman. Remember that no man has ever delivered a child. No woman has ever conceived on her own, not even the virgin Mary.

Verse 23: "And Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." That shows that God and Adam had a conversation about it! Probably a very instructive one. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.

Sidebar on this: They know that genetically, that all males have two genes in their inheritance: X and Y. The woman has two genes for an inheritance: both X. When there is conception, when there is a Y gene connecting to the X gene of the mother that's a male.

When there's an X gene that comes from the Father, to X gene of the mother that is a female. That's the way that God made it. That's why man is the head. God made it that way. Every time that that is undone:

• there is trouble
• there is sin
• there is wretchedness
• there are all kinds of problems

Verse 24: "For this reason... [man and woman] …shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife—and they shall become one flesh."

This tells us, God explained everything to them about how children would come. How families are to be developed. How the man is to leave father and mother and cleave to his wife. That's the way that God created it from the beginning. This is important to understand, in this civilization of Sodom and Gomorrah with fifteen different versions; how wrong it is today!

Now then, we're going to see that God gave independent free moral agency: IFMA. He didn't want automatons, or robots. He wanted thinking, originating, building, construction! Building the family, teaching the children and communicating with God. All of that is all tied up in the language that they had.

They had a lot of knowledge by time the serpent was released into the Garden of Eden. The first thing that Adam failed in doing was guarding the Garden of Eden. He should have gotten rid of this serpent. But he didn't. This serpent didn't go to the man, but went to the woman because she is the 'weaker vessel.' A lot of women today will dispute that. But nevertheless, that is true.

Genesis 3:1: "Now, the serpent was more cunning than any creature of the field, which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Is it true that God has said... [he starts out with a lie, and that is the bait] ..."You shall not eat of any tree of the garden"?'"

We know that's a lie. Notice what the woman said, she had to answer him back! She should have called Adam over and said, 'Look, what is this? Get rid of it? But there's free choice. God will never take away free choice from any human being. Men like to take it away from other people. But God will never take it away.

He wants us to choose! This way we can learn to love God and serve God and keep His commandments and receive His Holy Spirit. All of these things are the part of the plan of God. So, let's see what happened here.

Verse 2: "And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may freely eat the fruit of the trees of the garden… [she knew; she had been instructed; she understood what it was] …but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has indeed said, "You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die"'" (vs 2-3). That isn't exactly what God said. God said, 'In dying you shall die.'

Verse 4: "And the serpent said to the woman, 'In dying, you shall not surely die!'" First introduction of immortality of the soul! And Satan knew that if they ate of the tree, they wouldn't die immediately.

Verse 5: "For God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened..." And we'll see to evil, but not to good! Close off your eyes to the goodness of God!

"...and you shall be like God, deciding good and evil" (v 5). That's the only way they became like God!

If they really could become like God, they would have to be transformed from flesh to spirit. But that didn't happen. Only to take an arrogate to themselves, deciding that they'll set the rules of right and wrong and good and evil. God is the One, the only One Who can do that, because human beings do not have that ability.

Verse 6: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate..."

This shows the whole process of desire, temptation, lust and choice to go against what God said. Believing a lie, that you could become like God.

Sidebar: That may have been a little bit more plausible then. Why? Because no man can look upon God in His glorious form and His face and live! God did not appear to them in His glory. He appeared to them much like a human being. Can God do that? Yes, indeed!

How do you think He appeared to Abraham in Gen. 18 & 19? As a man! He was there with two angels. So, this was a little more plausible for them, then if someone told them that today. Notice what she did then. Adam apparently was watching all of this go on. Why do I say this? Because Adam could have stopped it at any point before he ate! That was also his responsibility to do, because God made it that way.

"...She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate" (v 6).
I was wondering: Was Adam sitting there and saying 'She's not supposed to touch it, she's not supposed to pick it, not even to touch the tree. But look, she touched it and she didn't die.' He's wondering what death is? Of course, they would have no understanding what death was, the way that God meant it to be. That you would expire as a human being in time. Nothing happened to her. She came over and said, 'Here Adam, this is really good stuff. Try it! You'll like it!'

Verse 7: "And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Then Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden" (vs 7-8).

God knew where they were all the time. He knew what they were doing. He knew what they had done. They had misused their independent free moral agency. God wants our independent, free moral agency used

• to love Him
• to keep His commandments
• to obey Him

Verse 9: "And the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, 'Where are you?'…. [God knew where he was] …And he said, 'I heard You walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, and so I hid myself.' And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you that you should not eat?' And the man said..." (vs 9-12).

Here's true human nature. It's always someone else. But the truth is, since we have free moral agency, independent free moral agency, we are responsible for what we choose and do! It can be done under the duress of other people seemingly forcing us to do it, but that's no excuse. We have to use it to:

• stay with the Truth
• stay with the righteousness
• stay with God's way

which they didn't do!

Verse 12: "And the man said, 'The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate'…. [Whoa!] …And the LORD God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' And the woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.' And the LORD God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this you are cursed above all livestock...'" (vs 12-14).

God's judgment comes with sin. Here He personally pronounces it, because this is the beginning of mankind.

"…and above every animal of the field. You shall go upon your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (vs 14-15)—a prophecy of the coming Savior, the One Who was giving these words personally to Adam and Eve, and to Satan the devil, because that was God's plan from the beginning.

If you give free moral agency and they do not follow the commandments of God, and do not follow loving God, it's going to lead automatically to wrong choices. God is making provision from the beginning to take care of the sins of human beings. Nothing else but God's way is going to do it!

Verse 16: "To the woman He said, 'I will greatly increase your sorrow and your conception—in sorrow shall you bring forth children….'"

That is more than just the pangs of birth pains. This is the sorrow because all women are emotionally attached to their children throughout their lives. If their children sin and do wrong, it brings sorrow and grief and wretchedness. That's what it means.

Verse 17: "And to Adam He said, 'Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree...'"

This means that Adam listened to the voice of his wife above the voice of God! What does it tell us in the Bible? the three words? Obey My voice! What did God tell them? Guard the garden! Don't eat of the tree! If you do, 'in dying, you're going to die.'

Verse 17: "And to Adam He said, 'Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree—of which I commanded you, saying, "You shall not eat of it!"—the ground is cursed for your sake. In sorrow...'"

So, there's sorrow all the way around, for women and for men!

"…In sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life. It shall also bring forth thorns and thistles to you, and thus you shall eat the herbs of the field; in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (vs 17-19).

Quite a thing! That's how we all started. Now then, this cut man off from salvation. Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden, and cherubim were put there with a great sword to keep them from going into the Garden of Eden and eating of the Tree of Life. They could not do that.

God had held off the knowledge of salvation from that time until the fulfillment of Gen. 3:13, the coming of Christ and why we have the Passover the way that we do, and why that is necessary. We know they did have contact with God, because they could come to the east entrance of the Garden of Eden. And by the way, there are many similarities in the setup of the tabernacle and temple that come directly from the Garden of Eden.

Then we have human choice again. Cain was born, then Abel was born. Abel was righteous, and Cain was not. God still expected them to obey Him in the letter of the Law. And once they were cursed, they had the law of death in them, and the carnal nature of the law of sin. Paul writes that the law of sin and death is given to every human being. Only God can overcome that within us with His Spirit. This is why we have the Holy Spirit.

But think about this for a minute. For over 4000 years mankind—except God dealing with certain individuals—was cut off from God. We find this in the letter of the Law. Abel was righteous, and Abel turned out to be the very first martyr, killed by his own brother. God had respect to Abel's sacrifice, but not unto Cain's. So, he got mad.

Genesis 4:6: "And the LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you so angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well...'" (vs 6-7).

There again, 'if'; 1,700 in the Bible, all applying conditionally to us as human beings.

Verse 7: "If you do well, shall you not be accepted?…." Accepted by God, to the way of coming to Him at the east entrance of the garden!

"...But if you do not do well, sin lies at the door..." (v 7). That was the entrance to the Garden of Eden, Cain's own sacrifice from the ground!

If it would have been the firstfruits, if it would have been the tithe, that would have been accepted. But he wanted to do it his own way instead of God's way. Isn't that the way people act all the time? Even when they have some knowledge of God they want to do it their way instead of God's way.

"…Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it!" (v 7). In other words, because I've given you free moral agency, you are responsible for your choices, and you must control your own life and choices! That's for every human being. That's why 'all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.'

Because this human nature in all human beings, and only God can change that; only God can remove that! It can't be done by animal sacrifices. It can't be done by good works. It must be done by the Passover of God! Then he killed his brother and you know the rest of the story there.

Let's get a preview of what it's like today. Because Jesus said, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man. Everything upside down and backwards and sinful and wretched. Think about the fact that they lived hundreds of years and had many children. There may have been two or 3 billion, some estimate as low as 1.5-billion up to more than 3-billion people on the earth. But how did they behave? They all rejected God, except the patriarchs that are listed in Gen. 5 and Noah. Think about that for a minute!

So, here's the condition that the earth was in, all because of free moral agency, misguided under the direction of Satan the devil to rebel against God, and think:

• we can take care of ourselves
• we can save ourselves
• we will show God what we can do

Isn't that the same today? Yes indeed!

Genesis 6:5: "And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man... [all of mankind] ...was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." This is what God wants to change in conversion, not offered to them here.

Verse 6: "And the LORD repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. And the LORD said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the crawling thing, and the fowl of the air; for I repent that I have made them'" (vs 6-7).

Here's another thing to understand in the Bible: One man makes the difference!

Verse 8: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." You know the rest of the story from there.

After that we have Abraham, who was one who chose God's ways all the time! Through Abraham and the sacrifice of his son Isaac, was a prophetic foretaste of the coming Savior Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of the world!

We're going to see why God had to die for the sins of the world. That's the whole thing we need to understand. But we need to realize, how bad and evil that human nature really is.

Jer. 17—you know this one very well. You've heard it quoted a lot. But during this time leading up to the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover before it, we need to understand the treacherousness of the human heart. How many times have you been surprised at the evil that someone has done, when everyone thought he's a good guy or a good woman. Can't understand why they did it:

• because they made the wrong choice
• because after Adam and Eve's sin they were given the nature of sin and death

Our minds run to sin! You can see it even in young infants growing up. Let's see what God says, because we're entering into a time today, exactly like this:

Jeremiah 17:1: "The sin of Judah is engraved with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond; it is carved upon the tablet of their heart and upon the horns of your altars."

Everything that they do—even though it appears good—is sin! Look at thing with religion. Look at the religions of the world, which Rev. 17 says are abominations and filthiness. I just got a brand new book: In the Closet of the Vatican, showing that homosexuality fills the whole church. And the truth is, there is nothing in Catholicism that is good from a Godly point of view!

Every good deed they do on the outside is to cover up the evil that they all know is on the inside! It is full of abominations and blasphemy, and doesn't recognize God. That is every religion in the world. Religion doesn't change the heart. Only God can!
Verse 5: Thus says the LORD, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD."

IFMA: I'm going my way. When God says, 'I set before you life and death,' You've got to choose.

Verse 6: "For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes. But he shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land that is not inhabited."

Notice the contrast, because this is where we are today; v 7: Blessed is the man..."—or the woman. Always remember women; the last three letters of woman is man. Why? Because you came from man. There you go.

Verse 7: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose hope is the LORD."

Let's see how it was given to the children of Israel in Deut. 30. Quite a thing, indeed! Yes, human nature left to itself is evil, wretched, abominable and sinful to the utter most. The longer that people live, the more evil they become so wretched and crippled and unable to do anything that they must wither away and die. God says to them:

Deuteronomy 30:15: "Behold, I have set before you this day..." That's for us, too! Even people in the world, to obey in the letter of the Law.

"…life and good, and death and evil, in that I command you..." (vs 15-16)—again, to obey the voice of the Lord your God!

Verse 16: "In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments so that you may live and multiply..."—that it will be well with you! People want their lives to go well, but they go out in sin, commit all kinds of sins:

• sex sins
• lying
• cheating
• stealing
• robbing
• killing
• murdering
• adultery
• homosexuality
• abortion to the tune of 55-million

That is the greatest sin America has done—by choice!

Now the legislature in Vermont does not want to even give recognition of life of the newly conceived or developing child in the womb. It has no rights at all. Woe be to those who live in Vermont! If that passes and the government signs it, it is sticking sin right up in the nose of God to the worst kind possible. So, this is what God wants:

Verse 17: "But if... [independent, free moral agency] ... your heart turn away so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days on the land where you pass over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth..." (vs 17-18).

• Is heaven and earth still here? But of course!
• Does this apply? Yes!
• What did Jesus say? Heaven and earth will pass away but My words shall never passed away!

Verse 18: "I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days on the land where you pass over Jordan to go to possess it. 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, so that both you and your seed may live, that you may love the LORD your God, and may obey His voice, and may cleave to Him; for He is your life... [He gives life to all] ...and the length of your days, so that you may dwell in the land, which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give it to them" (vs 18-20).

Jeremiah 17:7: "Blessed is the man who trusts... [yes] ...trusts in the LORD and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters... [Psa. 1; see how consistent the Bible is?] …it sends out its roots by the river, and it shall not fear when the heat comes, but its foliage shall be green; and he is not worried in the year of drought, nor will it cease from yielding fruit. The heart... [the human heart; every human heart] ...is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (vs 7-9). God does!

Verse 10: "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."

(go to the next track)

Let's see Paul's description taken from the Psalms, which talks about the way that human beings are. Read Rom. 1 and why when sin reaches a certain point, God abandons people to their own devices and their own sins.

Sidebar: Everyone was so happy when they brought in legalized marijuana. All the politicians were jumping for joy because of all the tax money that they would get from selling marijuana. Well, guess what? It's worse than tobacco! There is now a disease for those who consume too much of it, that it virtually destroys their life. They vomit and scream and writhe, because they have so much THC in their brain and in their system, that they're killing themselves. That's what human nature is like.

Romans 3:9: "What then? Are we of ourselves better?…. [We who are Christians, are we better than anyone else in the world?] …Not at all!….  [because we have to overcome sin] ...For we have already charged both Jews and Gentiles—ALL—with being under sin, exactly as it is written: 'For there is not a righteous one—not even one!'" (vs 9-10).

You can't be righteous the way God defines righteousness, even if you in the letter choose the things that are right, because mentally and in your mind, you have the law of sin and death in you and you have wicked and evil thoughts up there. And they are there! Anyone who denies that they are there, is ludicrous.

Remember what Jesus said about Nathaniel; 'an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile.' Only one man in the whole Bible is it said that way.

Verse 11: "There is not one who understands; there is not one who seeks after God." No!

• they all want their own solutions
• they all want their own way
• they all want to know
• what they're doing
• where they're going
• how it's going to be done

You listen to these talk shows day and night and watch the news. Everybody's got a solution, but no one has God! That's why what we are doing—all the Churches of God and all of the brethren—is where God is! It's important that we understand that.

Verse 12: "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! 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; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways" (vs 12-16). Look at:

• the Middle East
• the whole world
• all of the wars
• the murders
• the abortion
• all the things in the world

Is that not true?

Verse 17: "'And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.'…. [How does God look at it?] …Now then, we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law..." (vs 17-19),

Every human being in the world is under the Law and judgment of God for good or for evil, whether they know God or not. Those who have been called are in an entirely different category before God!

"…so that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (v 19).

Now with all of that said, let's see how Paul says that it came to be this way.

Romans 5:12: "Therefore, as by one man… [Adam] …sin entered into the world, and by means of sin came death..." The law of sin and death is inherited and passed on from father and mother to children; that's the way that it is.

"…and in this way death passed into all mankind..." (v 12)—because of Adam and Eve! Adam knew better, Eve was deceived. So, the bulk of it falls upon Adam. That's what he's saying here.

"…and it is for this reason that all have sinned. (For before the Law, sin was in the world. However, sin is not imputed when law does not exist)" (vs 12-13).

That means before the Law given to Israel, sin was in the world. Which says there was Law. Why? Because where there is no Law, there is no sin! Therefore, if sin we're in the world, from the time of Adam, down to Moses, and from the time of Moses down to Christ, and from the time of Christ down to His return, it is because that is the nature of mankind.

They have to be saved, so what is God going to do about this? How is it going to be? John 3—let's read a verse and analyze it a little bit more than just to memorize it and say it.

Why don't you do this? Check out a lot of verses! It doesn't work out that way all the time, but it's very interesting. Remember what we've covered in Gen. 3:15, the promise of the Savior? Well, John 3:15 tells us the same thing. 1-Tim. 3:16 says, God manifested in the flesh. So, there are a lot of things that have to do with God and Law in 3:16.

John 3:15: "So that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life." Belief means also to obey, because if you believe you will do. Right? Yes you will.

Verse 16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..."

Now let's talk about this for a minute. How did God do that? The One Who became the Word, we find in Phil. 2 that He divested himself of His glory to become a pinpoint of life to be impregnated in the womb of the virgin Mary. The power of the Highest, that's the Father, overshadowed her and that which was being conceived in her at that time shall be called the Son of God, the only Begotten. No other human being was begotten by God in that way! When we upon repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit have the begettal of God, that is entirely different.

"...so that everyone who believes..." (v 16). Again, you must obey! Not just to say, 'I believe Jesus is the Lord, the Son of God.' NO!

• What did Jesus say how we are to live? If you believe Him, you believe what He said!
• What did He say with the temptation of Satan the devil?

'Man (talking about himself) does not live by bread alone.' But how? 'But by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God does man live.' You find that in Matt. 4, Luke 4 and Deut. 8.

That's what it means to believe, because if you believe you will do. If you say, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and you don't obey Him:

• you don't love God
• you don't keep His commandments
• you are not brought to repentance so you can be baptized
• your belief is empty and vain

Tim Tebow had John 3:16 under his eyes when he played football.

Verse 16: "...everyone who believes in Him may not..." In the Greek that is subjunctive meaning there are conditions.

"...may not perish, but may have everlasting life" (v 16). That's quite a thing when you understand that!

Let's see why it had to be one of God to save mankind. Mankind can't save himself. Who put the law of sin and death in us? God did! That's a curse! Everlasting life comes from God! Since God created mankind and it came into all human beings, from the time of Adam and Eve until the last human being that there is. So, God took it upon Himself.

Let's see that; very important to understand. This is why God has to do the calling, we have to do the answering and we have to love God and keep His commandments. There is no other way! Grace does not give license to sin. And some people are so stupid, that they say you don't have to have works. They say baptism is a work, so you don't need to be baptized. They forget what it says in Eph. 2:10; that we are to do the 'good works' that God has foreordained that we do them. What is that?

• the commandments of God
• the love of God
• the love of each other
• the love of our neighbor

All of those are the good works God wants us to do!

But salvation must come through Christ, and no other way. God the Father, through Jesus Christ is the One Who gave all human beings life. Physical life all comes from God. The instant of conception; 480,000 volts of electricity celebrates a new creation of another person to be made in the image of God. God made that happen. Only God can give eternal life!  There's only one life that could possibly save us from sin. That is if God:

• would become human, which He did
• never sin, which He did
• give His life and sacrifice that can pay for human sin, which He did
  • no other work
  • no other sacrifice
  • no other way

Hebrews 10:4: "Because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."

Why? Because they are lesser than a human beings! God gave that to the Old Covenant for the forgiveness of sin in the letter of the Law. It did not convert and change the mind.

Today we're to have our minds converted, our minds changed by the power of God's Holy Spirit. That can only come from God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the Savior for all mankind! That's what we are going to go through this coming Thursday night at the Passover.

Verse 5: "For this reason, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but You have prepared a body for Me.'" There had to be a human physical body that God would be transformed into as the person of Christ!

Verse 6: "You did not delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then said I, 'Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the Scroll of the Book) to do Your will, O God'" (vs 6-7).

Note sermon: The Covenant Between God the Father and the Son. That is a tremendous sermon for you to understand the Truth of God concerning this.

Verse 9: "Then He said, 'Lo, I come to do Your will, O God.' He takes away the first covenant in order that He may establish the second covenant."

• What happens when you yield to God?
• What happens when you use your free moral agency
• to repent?
• to come to God?
• to want His way?
• to want His Word?
• to want His Truth?
  • What happens?

Verse 10: "By Whose will we are sanctified... [We are called Holy brethren. We are made Holy in God's sight!] ...through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

When we come to the Passover Thursday night, you think about taking the foot-washing, washing one another's feet, and taking of the bread and taking of the wine, and what that means, and the covenant with God! When we enter into the covenant with God through the sacrifice of Christ, we put our sacrifice there. Our sacrifice is baptism, and baptism is symbolic of death. If you didn't come out of the water, you surely would die. Likewise you're telling God, I will be faithful to the end, and you're joined to the covenant of Christ, the sacrifice.

Verse 11: "Now, every high priest stands ministering day by day, offering the same sacrifices repeatedly, which are never able toremove sins."

Never able to change the mind! That requires the Spirit of God! That's why we have the Passover. That's why we do what we do.

Verse 12: "But He, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time, He is waiting until His enemies are placed as a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has obtained eternal perfection..." (vs 12-14).

The whole process of eternal perfection! The final perfection is the resurrection. There's no eternal life without the resurrection!

"…for those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after He had previously said, '"This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days," says the Lord… [this is the covenant that we are in now with Christ] …I will give My Laws into their hearts, and I will inscribe them in their minds"'" (vs 14-16). The New Covenant is:

• a conversion of mind
• a conversion of thought
• a conversion of purpose

All of God! That's what it's all about. It's not just a ritual. It is a renewing of the covenant of eternal life with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Verse 17: "'And their sins and lawlessness I will not remember ever again.' Now, where remission of these is, it is no longer necessary to offer sacrifices for sin. Therefore, brethren, having confidence to enter into the true Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He consecrated for us through the veil (that is, His flesh) and having a great High Priest over the house of God" (vs 17-21).

This is what we need to do. When we pray, when we come to God—and we need to pray every day and we need to study every day… And listen, brethren, having been given all the Word of God that we have today and all of the things that we have to learn to grow, to change to overcome, think about the responsibility that is upon us. As Jesus said, 'Live by every word of God.' That's how you prepare to become a son or daughter of God!

Verse 22: "Let us approach God with a true heart, with full conviction of faith, our hearts having been purified from a wicked conscience, and our bodies having been washed with pure water. Let us hold fast without wavering to the hope that we profess, for He Who promised is faithful" (vs 22-23).

1-John 2—so that we understand the great magnificence of the Passover and our covenant with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

1-John 2:28: "And now, little children, dwell in Him... [Christ Jesus and God the Father] ...so that when He is manifested we may have boldness, and not be put to shame before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been begotten by Him" (vs 28-29).

Yes, as we have covered and will cover on the Passover night, you have the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son dwelling in you! You become a spiritual temple of God. For what purpose? So that at the resurrection we can be changed from flesh to spirit!

I John 3:1: "Behold! What glorious love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God! For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; but we know that when He is manifested, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him exactly as He is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He [Christ] is pure" (vs 1-3).

This is why we have the Passover!

Scriptural References:

• Genesis 1:26
• John 1:1
• Genesis 1:26-29
• Genesis 2:1-4
• Genesis 1:31
• Genesis 2:7-9, 15-24
• Genesis 3:1-19
• Genesis 4:6-7
• Genesis 6:5-8
• Jeremiah 17:1, 5-7
• Deuteronomy 30:15-20
• Jeremiah 17:7-10
• Romans 3:9-19
• Romans 5:12-13
• John 3:15-16
• Hebrews 10:4-7, 9-23
• 1 John 2:28-29
• 1 John 3:1-3

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 2 Timothy 1:9
• Genesis 18; 19; 5
• Revelation 17
• Psalm 1
• Romans 1
• 1 Timothy 3:16
• Philippians 2
• Matthew 4
• Luke 4
• Deuteronomy 8
• Ephesians 2:10

Also referenced:

• Book: In the Closet of the Vatican by Frederic Martel
• Sermon: The Covenant Between God the Father and the Son (#27 Hebrews series)

FRC: po/bo
Transcribed: 3/27/19

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