Why Do Human Beings Need a Savior?

The reason is because of Satan the devil, human nature,

the society we live in and our own individual sins

Fred R. Coulter—March 20, 2021

- Video |  - PDF | Audio | [Up]

Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services!

Why do human beings need a Savior? After all, those who don't believe in God think that they're able to handle everything themselves! They've done that from every generation from Adam and Eve.

• How has it worked out? Not too well!
• Why? Because it goes clear back to the beginning when Adam and Eve made the wrong decision!

They decided not to believe God, but believe the serpent. Now that's one big thing that a lot of people today do not like to ascribe to; that there is a Satan the devil! That he is evil, the author of sin and rebellion and everything against the true God!

To show you how far the 'cancel culture' goes, there was one man who said that 'Jesus discriminated against the woman'! I don't know if you saw that on the news or not, but it was that:

She came asking to have her daughter's demon cast out and that He wouldn't speak to her.' And that 'she kept yelling at Him and finally the disciples said, 'Lord, please'! So the woman came up and said that her daughter was possessed of demon and would He cast them out.' Jesus said, 'it's not proper to give the children's food to the dogs.'

So, that's discrimination against the woman!

But like everything else that human beings do, they didn't read the rest of the story. The dogs eat the crumbs under the children's table! Jesus said, 'Great is your faith, go home, your daughter is healed.' I bring that out as a perfect example, because people:

• forget
• deny
• block everything about God out of their lives hoping that He will go away

But He never goes away! And we can be thankful that that's true!

Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, here's what kind of nature we have. You can be nice and sweet, but you can still be hostile against God. You can be ever so mean and nasty that you're glad that you're that way. Like Saul/Paul was until God knocked him down on the road to Damascus and his attitude changed.

Here is what human nature is. All of us can see in our children from a very early age that it is there:

Romans 8:7: "Because the carnal mind…"The mind of the flesh!

That means the mind absence of God's Spirit. On the other hand there is a spirit in man that God gives every human being. But that spirit doesn't have any righteousness; the spirit in man gives us life and gives us the ability to think, act and do.

To be carnally-minded is death; the wages of sin is death, and 'as in Adam we all die'! Every time I drive by a graveyard and see all those crosses, headstones or little houses—where the rich people can bury their dead in a house—but they're all dead.

What's one of the things that men are always trying to do? Find out how to live forever! They've been looking and looking for the death-gene from the day that they understood that they could look and try and find genes. They haven't found it! Here's something else:

"…is enmity against God…" (v 7). That means an enemy of God! There are a lot of people out there in the world today that are good, nice people and they are told that they are, and they wouldn't think for one minute that they are an enemy of God. Because in their view of God—and many of them do things that are good—but you bring up about God and the commandments of God and you're going to find that even the sweetest little old lady is an enemy of God! Because that's human nature!

Mankind has spent 6,000 years trying to change that nature. Think of all the plans and programs that you've heard just in America on how to raise children so we will be better and do better, and if we could get all people together and do good, then all of these crimes wouldn't continue. They forget something else.

Jer. 10—they don't believe this, especially out of the Bible. However, if you look at all the graveyards that there are in the world, it's got to be true. Jeremiah knew and lived in a time similar to what we are approaching right now, which was that the nation was going down and he had to live through all the evil, double evil and triple evil. He found out how evil people were, because they were after him because of what he was telling them.

After pointing out idols and the Christmas tree, then Jeremiah starts talking about the true God. That's interesting because there are many gods in the world. Where did they come from? The true God is what people don't want.

• they claim they want truth, but they lie
• they claim they want to do good, but all their plans fail

Jeremiah 10:7: "Who would not fear You, O King of nations?…. [He rules all nations; judges all nations all the time] …For fear belongs to You because among all the wise men of the nations… [the philosophers] …and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. But they are altogether foolish and animal-like; the tree is a doctrine of vanities" (vs 7-8).

You've heard me talk about the Christmas tree, which is a celebration of eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Everything on there is fake.

• they get an evergreen tree, because that's fake eternal life
• they get all of the cute little things on there because that's supposed to be the fruit to help make them wise
• they coil it around the tree clear to the top and put a star on top

It doesn't dawn on them that that is Satan on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil!

Verse 10: "But the LORD is the true God, He is the living God, and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to stand His fury."

That's a prophecy way out clear into the book of Revelation!

Verse 11: "Thus you shall say to them, 'The gods who have not made the heavens and the earth, they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.' He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His judgment…. [all that goes back to the first part of Genesis] …When He utters His voice, there is a noise of a multitude of waters in the heavens. 'He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings with rain, and brings forth the wind out of His treasures'" (vs 11-13).

Think about that! Everything I just read is something that we had this week: rain, sunshine and we were happy to get the rain because we need the water. We're thankful that God is merciful enough to send it. But people don't think about that.

Verse 14: "Every man is stupid for lack of knowledge…" That's quite a statement!

They have on the Fox channel what is called Fox Nation. They have the 'wise' men; these are supposed to be the smartest men that Fox knows and they sit around and discuss all human problems, political problems and educational problems. I saw the advertisement for it, and they had Bill Bennett who is supposed to be the leader of the pack. I thought, here you are discussing all of these things and you have a program, paid to do it, and you're looked up to because you're 'wise.' But:

• What have you really changed?
• What have you done?

It is true that once in a while someone comes along who does really good, and that happens in nearly every generation. Jeremiah goes on to show that there are idols:

Verse 15: "They are vanity, the work of delusion; in the time of their judgment they shall perish…. [notice the comparison all the way through] …The Portion of Jacob is not like them; for He is the Maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the LORD of hosts is His name" (vs 15-16).

Jeremiah laments some more, but here's the sum of it, and you know that you've done this:

Verse 23: "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his steps."

That's why we need God, His Word and we don't know how to do things. I'll tell you one thing: When you're growing up and approach age 20, you think you're an adult and you can handle everything on your own. Stretch that out another 60-70 years and the reverse happens. You realize that you can't do anything! You don't know how to do it. Oh, you can do the things you've learned to do, dress, clean and all of that, but as far as life goes it has to come from God!

Verse 24: "O LORD, correct me…"

Here Jeremiah is called as a young man to bring a message of the downfall of the nation of Judah and Jerusalem. He was born a priest, especially chosen of God, had God's Spirit and saw all of this nonsense going on. Then he says, "O LORD, correct me…" when he was the most righteous man at the time!

"…but with judgment; not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing" (v 24).

That's a real good lesson for us, and that's why we have the Passover and Unleavened Bread, because we need a Savior! We cannot direct our own steps! We need the Word of God and the Truth of God!

When we look out at the heavens and see all that there is what's transpiring, and we think: I wonder what that is like? He has a plan and purpose. He has called us and He brings us into something that He thought of a long, long time ago.

We covered this recently, but we'll do it again because it's so important. As we come to Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it helps us:

• think about God and His Spirit
• forgiveness of our sins
• eternal life
• the promises God has given us

And in a span of time, we are less than one blip!

2-Timothy 1:7: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sound-mindedness…. [vs being stupid] …Therefore, you should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but jointly suffer with me for the sake of the Gospel, according to the power of God, Who has saved us…" (vs 7-9).

He is our Savior! We can't save ourselves! Know this:

• Salvation is a Process

It requires time, living, choice and all f the things that God has laid out for us. It all begins with God drawing us! (John 6). Here we are, of all the billions of people on the earth, and if you could count everyone as in the same situation we are, it would be in the thousands; maybe tens of thousands, but I doubt more than a hundred thousand. Who knows? That's just a guess! Out of all the billions of people on earth!

They're living, eating, breathing, working, building, planting, doing all these things, manufacturing, buying, selling and everything that we have and do is all there.

Then something happens in our lives individually to each one of us! That's when God begins to draw us! The Father—Who is the Highest—is the One Who does it! Think of that! Think about how important what God is doing and that we are part of!

Living in the world, especially now with the society going down into evil and corruption, we're confronted with a lot of difficult problems that we have to face. Remember that:

• God the Father is the One Who has drawn us; that's a call
• you answered the call, because you wanted to know about God
• the next thing you knew you were confronted with sin and rebellion, and the choice of repentance

So, you read the Scripture that says to 'repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the Holy Spirit.'

• you look at your life and say that's exactly what you need and you repent.
• you look at all of your sins and everything that your have done, how you've lived your life

And what a mess it really, really is!

You repent and then you're baptized and your receive the Holy Spirit. At this point you have been saved with the Holy Spirit—because now you are baptized—from the world!

What does God do for us that we don't live in the world like the rest of the world that is out there. What does God have us do so we're not like the rest of the world?

• He gives us His Spirit
• He gives us His Sabbath and Holy Days

This is what keeps us out of the world! He reveals His Truth to us through His Word, by keeping the days that He has designed!

Verse 9: "Who has saved us and called us with a Holy calling… [what I just described] …not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace…"

We're saved by grace, and we know that grace is our relationship with God, which begins with the forgiveness of sins. Then it grows into a relationship through prayer and study. That's all through the grace of God!

"…which was given us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time" (v 9).

Here we are! Who are we—all the people of God—that we should know of something that began before there was ever time? I don't know about you, but that's overwhelming to me! That's a tremendous and fantastic thing to understand that before the ages of time we're a part of! Titus 1 talks about eternal life that was before the ages of time!

So, here we are the Sabbath before Passover, and we go through all the things concerning what God did through Jesus Christ to save us, and eventually save the greatest majority of all people: past, present and future! Think of that! That's an awesome thing indeed to understand!

• He has Saved us from Satan the devil

The second part of salvation! We have to fight against Satan and the world out there, and still against our own nature. Why is that? Wouldn't it be simpler if God would just change that and all of that would go away? Well, He's not going to do it, because He wants us to understand:

• the value of eternal life
• what Jesus went through
  • so that could take place
  • so we could receive the Holy Spirit of God

God has revealed this: There was a time in the distant past that Rev. 12 accounts for being the only text in the Bible that gives us how far back in time that it was before the ages of time! We get a glimpse of it. Rev. 12 talks, in symbolic language, about the plan of God and what happened.

Revelation 12:1: "Then there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." That symbolizes:

• God's plan
• Mary who gave birth to Jesus
• the Church when it's married to Christ

There's a lot that this brings out!

Verse 2: "And being with child, she cried in travail, and was in pain to deliver." That's what it was going to be when Jesus was born!

Verse 3: "And another sign was seen in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads; and his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth…." (vs 3-4).

That's the rebellion of Satan! This is another reason why we need a Savior. We cannot get rid of Satan ourselves; impossible!

Then it comes all the way forward to the birth of Christ, and that goes all the way back to Gen. 3 about the prophecy of the coming Messiah. So, both! God thinks in terms of things a lot larger than we do.

What happened that there was this rebellion? We know that Ezek. 28 talks about that there was 'an anointed cherub that covers and was perfect in his way until sin came about.' This cherub was the archangel who became Satan the devil.

What else does this tell us? The angels have free moral agency, too! If he was perfect and he sinned, he had to choose to sin! He pronounced himself to be like God! With a third of the angels he was ascending to the Throne of God to go above the heights of the clouds (Isa. 14) and 'become like the Most High'!

He was cast back to the earth! How long in the distant past that took place, we don't know. But when we come to Gen. 1:2 the earth was covered with a flood.

Then there came a time when God decided to continue with His plan and He created mankind: man and woman—male and female—and there are only two genders for all of the idiots who don't understand the Truth!

In making Adam and Eve, they were perfect physically. He gave them a language so that He could talk to them. He sat before them life and death:

• the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
• the Tree of Life

IF they would eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil then they would 'surely die.' So, they chose, and they believe Satan! That tells you the kind of power that Satan has. You know for sure that God would have instructed them on what was going to happen. But here's a perfect example of why we need to be saved!

Satan is a fallen archangel and he has power, so much power that he's called 'the god of this world.' So much power that when Jesus came in the flesh He had to first of all be tempted by Satan the devil to overcome him in order to become the Sacrifice to save mankind from their sins. That's quite a story there!

What happens to every society, every empire?  Gen. 6 shows what happens because of the evil that this all brought about. Today we're living in a time that Jesus said, 'As it was in the days of Noah before the Flood, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man.'

Let's see what it tells us, and that it shows us how God deals with people, both! We're getting more and more of this today. Jeremiah saw this as Judah and Jerusalem were going down.

Genesis 6:5: "And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

That's quite a statement, continually! When we're children growing up, what's one of the things that kids do? They do what mom and dad tells them not to do! They can hardly wait for when mom and dad aren't around so they can do what they want to do. That is childhood evil! That's why God says to:

• honor your father and mother
• teach your children

Evil continually! It was so bad:

Verse 6: "And the LORD repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart."

It only took 300 years for it to get back to where it was. Under Satan the devil men and women never give up. Men and women dedicated to evil never give up!

Once they have lied so much to themselves and to other people, they cannot tell the truth. So, they built the Tower of Babel, and here is where we are again:

Genesis 11:6: "And the LORD said, 'Behold, the people are one and they all have one language. And this is only the beginning of what they will do—now nothing, which they have imagined to do, will be restrained from them.'" So He confounded the languages!

Look at it today, all the evil going on. Look at the things in Washington, D.C. Right now at the Capitol building is the cesspool of evil in America!

They can pass evil laws and force them down the throats of all the people, and that's how God punishes a people for their sins. IF you don't repent and come to me, I will stuff your sins down your throat until there's nothing left!

That's what's happening and why we need a Savior! Let's see what Paul wrote about this in Rom. 5. I know how it is, you watch the news and you think: Why don't they do this? Why don't they do that? Why don't they do the other thing? That's because there's so much sin they won't do it!

Then they get into a position that they have the power and now we are going keep the power and it makes no difference what the people think, 'we're going to do it!' Why would God allow that? You all know! Look at the thousands pouring over the border! God is making it happen! Why? Why would god do that? Because no one listens to God! Could it be that there is one immigrant—legal or illegal—coming to America for every aborted baby? 62-million!That's means we have 62-million unrepented abortion women, doctors, nurses and scientists.

How did all this start? This is a perfect description of what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is: a little leaven leavens the whole lump!

Romans 5:12: "Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world…"—Adam!

This tells us—we can surmise, we don't know for sure—that sin coming by Adam does not excuse what Eve did, but if Adam would have said, 'Eve, get away from the tree and don't pick it or touch it' this wouldn't have happened. So, he is responsible.

"…and by means of sin came death; and in this way death passed into all mankind; and it is for this reason that all have sinned" (v 12). That's why we need a Savior!

• because of Satan the devil
• because of human nature
• because of the society we live in
• because of our own sins

• we can't save ourselves
• we can't give ourselves life

Impossible!

(break)

How is God going to solve the problem? It gets down to the choices that we all make, and whether we choose God's way or not!

How is God going to solve the problem that the 'heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things. He's providing a sacrifice for us. That sacrifice is the One Who is called the Son of God! Who, as we know and have covered, was God and was with the Father and He became flesh. He was born as a child and He came to full manhood. When He began His ministry the first thing He had to do—just like it was with Adam and Eve and choices that they had to make—was come against Satan the devil.

• as God He could win hands down
• as an angel, He could probably win

But could He come as a man against Satan the devil and win? This was the test!

This had to be, and He had to do it when He was the weakest. He had to be tempted with everything that all men and women are tempted with, under the power of Satan the devil! But He had to do it when He was the weakest so that He could rely on the power of God!

We know that Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came upon Him and led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days, day and night. What we're reading is only a summary of what He went through for 40 days and 40 nights.

Forty is the number of trial, so He had to prove in the flesh that He would trust God, that He would rely upon God, that He would not rely upon any human thought that He had. That's quite a test!

Luke 4:3: "Then the devil said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command that this stone become bread'"—which He could do; He had the power to do it!

He was tested: 'Would you misuse the power of God for your own benefit"' That's quite a temptation! He didn't! Notice how He put it down, and this is for us in how we overcome:

Verse 4: "But Jesus answered him, saying, 'It is written…'"

That's why we have the Word of God! What do you hear me say all the time? Prayer and study! Why? Because living in this world we need to keep close to God and the spirit of God because there are all these things in the world coming at us as never before!

Look at this way: We're not being confronted by Satan personally as Jesus was, but Satan walks into our house via the television any time of the day or night and in any degree of evil that you would like to have. Here's how you overcome it:

• you don't rely on your intelligence
• you don't rely on your strength
• you don't rely on someone else

You rely on this:

Verse 4: "But Jesus answered him, saying, 'It is written, 'Man… [every man and woman] …shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.'"

It says in Matt. 4 'that proceeds out of the mouth of God,' which is obey the voice of God! That's how you do it!

Verse 5: "Then the devil led Him up into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time." The greatest power in the world, to rule the world!

• How many people have sold their souls and lives to rule the world?
• What happens to every great dictator that comes along and thinks he's going to do better than God?
• Remember the Third Reich that was to last a thousand years?

There was one point in Hitler's life, when He was their 'Fuhrer' when he was moving and conquering against Russia and had already conquered west into France and was absolutely devastating the armies of the Russians, and Hitler said, "I am the greatest German ever!'

• Who raised him up? Satan did!
• What did Satan give him? Total control!
• What's coming in the future? A worldwide leader that that's going to happen to!

Verse 6: "And the devil said to Him…"

Now, this is why we have the Sabbath and the Holy Days and the Passover, so that we can constantly be renewed and refreshed by God continually.

• we still have our carnal minds to work against
• we still have the world to resist
• we still have Satan the devil to resist

So, the devil said:

"…'I will give You all this authority, and the glory of them all; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I desire. Therefore, if You will worship me in my presence, all things shall be Yours'" (vs 6-7).

Think about what Satan said there. I want you to think about an even that takes place every year in Switzerland in what is called Davos, where the super-elite of the world—the powerful, the leaders, the dictators—all get together and they're all discussing how their going to reset the world in the world-government that we want. Who is giving that to them? Satan the devil! That means that our battle in the future is going to be that much more difficult.

Verse 8: "But Jesus answered and said to him…"—because Satan wants to be 'God'! He's called the god of this world because he's worshipped by most people!

A lot of people don't think so. A lot of people think they're good Christians. No, you're not! They think they have good pastors. No, you don't! Why? Because they don't teach the Word of God, and they don't live by it! You are ruled by the lies of Satan the devil! They say, 'I'm a good person.'

• By what standard?
• Do you really worship the true God?
• What is the best way that you worship the true God?
• live by every word of God
• know that He's given you life and everything
• you have His Spirit because you've repented and been baptized

Jesus said:

"…'Get behind Me, Satan; for it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve"'" (v 8).

He's not telling Satan to worship only the true God, because he won't do it. This is God's direction for man and woman, and Jesus was the man of God sent to overcome Satan. He's to worship only the true God!

That's means that if you worship the true God, you worship Him with His Word in Spirit and in Truth! It's the only way!

Verse 9: "Then he [Satan] led Him [Jesus] to Jerusalem and set Him upon the edge of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here'"—and God will save you! NO! You're not to tempt God with things that God doesn't want you to do! Tempted in every point like we are!

• Why did He have to do that?
• Why did He have to come as a man?
• Why did He have to have human nature, which He got from his mother Mary?
• Why did that have to happen?
• Why did He have to live a perfect life?
• Why did He have to be tempted in every way that we are?

Because Christ was the One Who judged mankind through Adam and Eve with the penalty of the law of sin and death! The only way that He could overcome that was never to sin, and then willingly lay down His life as a sacrifice!

Rom. 5 explains it, and why we need a Savior, and why it has to be Jesus Christ; can't be anyone else!

Sidebar: I'm going to give some Church at Home on this. I had Randy Vild download for me all of the false claims of men saying they were Jesus the Messiah; there were over 30!

The sacrifice had to be a human being, but it had to be God Who became human. Then He had to live a perfect life so His sacrifice could cover all human beings who repent.

Romans 5:5: "And the hope of God never makes us ashamed because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us."

That's the most important thing: the Holy Spirit and love of God, and the whole purpose. We can get this down to the whole purpose in one saying. It is a statement that encompasses everything that God wants us to do: obey My voice! and To love the Lord your God with all heart, mind, soul and strength! That encompasses everything, a summary of everything that God wants from us. It also involves the mind and heart, our actions, and our thoughts! It's something I pray about all the time: God help me to love You with all my heart, mind, soul and being! We know that the way that the world is and the things that have happened in the Church that that is the test for every one of us.

Think about this: When did Christ die? 2,000 years ago, and we weren't even thought of at that time! How about for all of those who went before who lived, died and didn't know. Everybody wonders what is going to happen to them? The Baptists say that they didn't believe in Jesus  and they're going to burn in hell forever. How is that for loving your neighbor as yourself? That's not true!

That's why we have the Holy Days, because there's a Holy Day that shows what God is going to do. He brings them back to life to give them an opportunity for salvation.

Verse 6: "For even when we were without strength…" Strength only comes:

• from the Holy Spirit of God
• from the Word of God
• from living by every word of God

"…at the appointed time Christ died for the ungodly" (v 6)—a place in history for those of us at the end-time to understand the truth of when it took place and so forth: 30A.D. on the Passover. He is called our Passover is sacrificed for us!

"…died for the ungodly"—He didn't wait for world to repent! Why? Because the world couldn't repent until after He died and the Holy Spirit came!

Verse 7: "For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, although perhaps someone might have the courage even to die for a good man. But God commends His own love to us…" (vs 7-8)

• What verse does this remind you of?
• One that everybody knows by heart?
• What is that?

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life."

Romans 5:8: "…because, when we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

What was Saul doing before he became Paul? He was alive at the time that Jesus died, and was part of the Jewish opposition against Christians! He counted himself the sinner because he persecuted the Church and killed some of them. Amazing!

What was the first thing that Jesus said when He was hung on that tree that became the cross? Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing!

Verse 9: "Much more, therefore, having been justified now by His blood…"

The only thing that can forgive sin before God in Heaven above is the blood of Jesus Christ. That's why when we partake of the Passover, we have the wine symbolizing the blood and the bread symbolizing the body. Those are the tokens of the New Covenant.

"…we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His own Son, much more then, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (vs 9-10). He had to be resurrected from the dead!

Verse 11: "And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have now received the reconciliation."

The most important part of the Passover and the forgiveness of sin is to be brought into one with God. That's the reconciliation. It says that we were enemies of God, but now we're reconciled! That is tremendous, and it all comes from God.

Verse 12: "Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and by means of sin came death; and in this way death passed into all mankind; and it is for this reason that all have sinned."

We come to the point of calling, repentance and forgiveness through the grace of God. Then we are baptized.

Rom. 6 is going to tell us quite a bit about the sacrifice of Christ. As we go through this, let's think of it as it's applied to each one of us personally, because it is!

Romans 6:1: "What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? MAY IT NEVER BE! We who died to sin…" (vs 1-2).

• How did we die to sin? By baptism, that's how you die!
• What is required with a covenant?

Each participant of the covenant must show a symbolic death, or in the case of Christ, He showed His real death! That's His part. But for a covenant to be, both parties have a sacrifice. We'll see that baptism is our sacrifice. That's why you're put under the water, full immersion. Why? Because if you weren't brought up you would be dead! It is a symbolic death! But let's notice how close that really is:

"…how shall we live any longer therein? Or are you ignorant that we, as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death?" (vs 2-3).

Jesus said, 'I have a baptism to be baptized with,' and He was in straits until it happened. That was His crucifixion and the baptism was His own blood. Let's see how God applies this:

Verse 4: "Therefore, we were buried with Him through the baptism into the death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, in the same way, we also should walk in newness of life."

That's what repentance is all about, what reconciliation is all about. We don't live our lives the way that we were living them before God called us.

Verse 5: "For if we have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death, so also shall we be in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man was co-crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (vs 5-6).

• baptized into His death
• conjoined to Him
• co-crucified with Him

How could that be? As Creator of all mankind—all men and women—when He died His death would be sufficient as a sacrifice for all the sins of all human beings for all time, because He made them all!

We are who we are and what we are as human beings, because all of those genes came down every generation from Adam and Eve to us. Think of it this way:

co-crucified—when you are put into that watery grave, it almost like God laid your body on Christ's body and that sacrifice that He gave to cleanse you from your sinful nature.

Forgive all the sins that are past. Not future sins, past sins! There's nothing else that can forgive sin except God. There's nothing else that can do away with sin and wipe the slate clean except the sacrifice of Christ. You are laid right on that crucified body of Christ when you were baptized into that water in your burial death, symbolically!

But you're raised out of that now and you walk in:

• newness of life
• newness of thought
• newness of purpose
• newness of everything

All that's been in the past has been forgiven!

Everything else that you need to overcome in the future you now have permission to come to God with repentance. The blood and sacrifice of Christ covers those as well. But we don't sin with determination and willfulness and spitefulness, because there is the grace of God.

Notice what this is to do and how we are to act because we are "…no longer enslaved to sin," That means it's a process of overcoming the sinful nature. What we receive of the Holy Spirit is a begettal, not a complete transformation. It is a start and we work with God and God works with us, and we grow in grace and knowledge and overcome. Here's how it's done:

Verse 7: "Because the one who has died to sin has been justified from sin…. [put in right standing with God] …Now, if we died together…" (vs 7-8)—that's the baptism! Your baptismal pledge of death!

• What happens if you don't do what this baptismal death is supposed to be and you reject everything and go into the world?
• What are you looking at then?
• The second death!

That's why we die in the watery grave so we won't have that!

"…together with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has any dominion over Him" (vs 8-9).

Now here's how we're to do in living our lives, and we have this renewal every year with the Passover and Unleavened Bread.

Verse 11: "In the same way also, you should indeed reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord."

Here's the key: After baptism that is called the circumcision of the heart! That's the beginning of conversion. Here's what that baptism does:

Verse 12: "Therefore, do not let sin rule in your mortal body…"

That says that sin is still there, but don't let it rule. Now you have the Holy Spirit of God:

• to put down that sin
• to reject that sin
• to overcome that sin

"…do not let sin rule in your mortal body by obeying it in the lusts thereof" (v 12). Tie in James 1!

When a temptation comes along you haven't yet sinned, but there is the temptation. When you think it over and you reject it, you haven't sinned; you have put away the temptation. But if you agree with it and do it, you have sinned. So, all along there's the temptation that comes along that you can reject and get rid of; that's what it's talking about.

If you do, we have Christ Who is the propitiation of our sins (1-John 2).

Verse 13: "Likewise, do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; rather, yield yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."

When you do that, even though you still have the law of sin and death in you, struggling back and forth in your working and overcoming, here's the key: Before you were baptized, before God called you, sin ruled everything that you did! Now it doesn't rule over you!

Verse 14: "For sin shall not rule over you because you are not under Law, but under grace."

Protestants claim that if you try and keep the commandments of God, you're trying to earn your own salvation. No you're not! To try and earn your own salvation means that you try and tell God what to do, and God must save you! That's exactly what they're doing with Sunday-keeping! If you keep the commandments of God:

• Is that the will of God? Yes!
• Is that the work of God? Yes!
• Is that what God wants? Yes!

If you do that you're ruling over sin!

Romans 7:1: "Are you ignorant, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know law) that the Law rules over a man for as long a time as he may live?"

Everybody out there in the world is under Law, because the wages of sin is death! We are under grace because we have the Spirit of God, and direct access to God the Father and Jesus Christ. With God's Law, God's grace, God's Spirit and living God's way, sin does not rule over us!

What's the proof today that sin doesn't rule over us?

• We're here keeping the Sabbath!
• We're here studying the Word of God!
• We're here wanting to please God and to learn of God!

Romans 6:14: "…you are not under Law, but under grace"—which means you have direct connection with God the Father and Jesus Christ!

• with the Spirit of God
• with prayer
• with study

Verse 15: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? MAY IT NEVER BE! Don't you realize that to whom you yield yourselves as servants to obey, you are servants of the one you obey, whether it is of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (vs 15-16)—two words the Protestants don't like!

That's how we're to live! This is why we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread after we have the Passover, so that we always remember as long as we're in the flesh

• we need to yield to God
• we need His laws
• we need His commandments
• we need His Spirit
• we need His love

He has done all of this—forgiven our sins, brought us to Him—so that we can love Him and serve Him. So that He can give us eternal life! That's why we're here! That's why we do what we do!

This is the whole basis for us coming up to the Passover! Have a great Passover and a wonderful Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Scriptural References:

• Romans 8:7
• Jeremiah 10:7-8, 10-16, 23-24
• 2 Timothy 1:7-9
• Revelation 12:1-4
• Genesis 6:5-6
• Genesis 11:6
• Romans 5:12
• Luke 4:3-9
• Romans 5:5-8
• John 3:16
• Romans 5:8-12
• Romans 6:1-9, 11-14
• Romans 7:1
• Romans 6:14-16

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• John 6
• Genesis 3
• Ezekiel 28
• Isaiah 14
• Genesis 1:2
• Matthew 4
• James 1
• 1 John 2

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 3/25/21

Copyright 2021—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.