Many are deceived as to their true condition before God. They congratulate themselves for the wrong acts which they do not commit, and forget to do the good and righteous deeds which God requires of them, but which they have neglected to perform. "Through Your precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way." Psa_119:99, Psa_119:104.

Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from the milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.  Isa_28:9-10

1.  We are to teach the “pure milk” of the Word to new believers

· 1Co_3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

· 1Pe_2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

· Heb_5:12-13 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.

· Act_7:37-38 "This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, 'THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN. HIM YOU SHALL HEAR.' "This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai , and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us ...

· Isa_28:9-10 "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little."

 

2.  The “Law and the Prophets” is the Word

· Luk_16:29, 31 Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

· Luk_24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

· Luk_24:44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."

· Joh_1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote— Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

· Act_17:11 These [men] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

· Act_26:22 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come:

· Act_28:23  So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God , persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.

· 2Ti_3:15-17 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus . that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

3.  His Word endures forever

· Psa_119:89 Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.

· Psa_119:152 Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever.

· Psa_119:160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

· Mat_5:18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

· Mat_24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

· 1Pe_1:25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

 

a.         We are not to add or subtract from this Word

· Deu_4:2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

· Deu_12:32 "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

· Pro_30:5-6 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

 

4.  God does not Change

· Mal_3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; ...

· Psa_102:27 But You are the same, And Your years will have no end.

· Heb_13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.)

 

5.  Sin is the breaking of God’s Law (His instructions on how men should live).

· Lev_5:17-19  "If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering; he has certainly trespassed against the LORD."

· Num_15:15-23 One ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.' " ... 'If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses—all that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations ...So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional ...

· Eze_18:21 "But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.

· 1Jo_3:3-10 And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Who ever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

· Rom_6:14-18 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness

 

6.  We can not be born again without repentance (turning from evil/wickedness)

·   1Ki_8:47-52  "When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near; yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness'; and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace), that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.

· Jer_26:3-6 Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.' And you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD: "If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth."

· Eze_11:17-21 Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel ." ' And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD.

· Eze_14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel , Thus says the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

· Eze_18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel , every one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel ? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"

· Mat_3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea , And saying, Repent!: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

· Mat_4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

· Mar_1:14-15 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

· Mar_6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

· Act_3:19  Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

· Psa_51:13, Psa_51:16-17 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. … For you do not desire sacrifice; else would I give it: you not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

· Eze_36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

 

7.  Righteousness is “the way” of life, it is an action

· Pro_12:26-28 The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray. … In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

· Pro_6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

· Psa_106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that does righteousness at all times.

· Eze_18:24 "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.

· Mal_3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves him not.

· 1Jo_2:29If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

· 1Jo_3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.

· 1Jo_3:9-10 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

 

8.  The opposite of righteousness is wickedness

· Exo_9:27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

· Exo_23:7 Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.

· 1Ki_8:32 Then hear in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

· Psa_58:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

· Eze_18:24 But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

· Mal_3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves him not.

· 1Jo_3:12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous

 

9.  Righteousness denotes conformity to the laws of Moses

· Deu_6:24-25 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

· Isa_58:2 Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.

· Isa_51:7 "Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings.

· Luk_1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea , a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

 

10.    Justification is a status with our heavenly Father. He sees us as perfect because of faith in His Son

· Rom_3:23-25 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus : Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.

· Rom_2:13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

· Eze_18:5, 9 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, ... [if] has walked in my statutes, and has kept my judgments faithfully; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.

 

11.    Sanctification is a process of growth (change) which requires setting ourselves apart to “the way of righteousness”                         

· Ellen White said, "Sanctification is a process that takes a lifetime to complete."

· Rom_6:13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

· Exo_31:13 "Speak also to the children of Israel , saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies (sets you apart) you.

· Lev_11:44-45 For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate (sanctify) yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. … For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt , to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

· Lev_20:7-8 Dedicate (sanctify) yourselves to me and be holy because I am the LORD your God. I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.

· Joh_17:17-19 Sanctify (Set them apart) them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

· Eph_5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify (set it/us apart) and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it (the church, the bride, us) should be holy and without blemish.

 

12.    The end of sanctification is salvation

· 1Th_5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

· Jam_1:19-22 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

· Heb_10:36, 39 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: ... But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

· Heb_10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

· 1Pe_4:17-19 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now "IF THE RIGHTEOUS ONE IS SCARCELY SAVED, WHERE WILL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?" Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good (doing righteousness), as to a faithful Creator.

· Php_2:12-13 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

· Eze_18:4-5,  Eze_18:9 "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die. But if a man is just And does what is lawful and right; ... If he has walked in My statutes— And kept My judgments faithfully— He is just; He shall surely live!" Says the Lord GOD.

 

13.    Fear God

· Ecc_12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

· Lev_25:17 Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

· Deu_6:1-2 "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

· Deu_6:13-15 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

· Rom_3:10-11, Rom_3:16-18 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understands there is none that seek after God. … Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

 

14.    Do not fear men

· Psa_118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear what can man do to me?

· Pro_29:25 The fear of man brings a snare: but whoever  trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

· Isa_51:7-9 Hearken unto me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of men, neither be afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.

· Heb_13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

· Mat_10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

15.    Our ways are wicked

· Jer_17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?  I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

· Eze_33:11 Say unto them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

· Isa_55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

· Eze_3:18-19 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou gives him not warning, nor speaks to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and hast delivered thy soul.

 

a.  We are a shadow, a vapor; here for only a very short time

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· Psa_103:15-18 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

· Isa_40:6-8 The voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."

· Dan_4:35  All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?"

· Jam_4:13-14 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

 

b.  God tries men’s hearts and minds to reward each man according to his doings

· Jer_17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

· Ecc_12:13-14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

· Ecc_11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

· Joh_5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

· 2Co_5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

 

16.    Jesus always obeyed His Father

· Joh_10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

· Joh_15:10 If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

 

a.  We are to imitate Christ and obey His Father also

· Joh_14:24 He that loves me not, keeps not my sayings: and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

· 1Co_11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

· 1Th_1:6 And you became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

· Joh_14:21-23 He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

· Joh_15:10 If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

 

17.    Any nation that does not want to follow all of the Father’s ways is not His nation

· Deu_4:5-8 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

· Eze_11:17-20 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people [My nation], and I will be their God.

· 2Co_6:17-18  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

 

18.    His people do not have covenants with the Gentiles

· Exo_23:32-33 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

· Exo_34:12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goes, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

· 2Co_6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 

19.    The kingdom of God is the main theme of all the scriptures

· 1Sa_8:4-7 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.

· Psa_24:1 The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

· Isa_52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace; that brings good tidings of good, that publishes salvation; that says unto Zion, Thy God reigns!

· Isa_33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

· Mat_6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

· Mar_1:14-16 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

· Rev_19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

 

20.    Jesus ’ “Good News or Gospel” is about His Father’s Kingdom

· Mar_1:14-15 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

· Mat_4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

· Mat_24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

· Mar_10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

 

a.  When Paul speaks of “the gospel of Christ” (τοÌ εὐαγγεìλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ·) he is literally speaking of “Christ’s good news about the kingdom.” Christ’s gospel is God’s power unto salvation!

· Rom_1:15-16 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

· 2Th_1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

· Rom_15:16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

· 2Co_11:7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?

· 1Th_2:2 But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi , we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

· 1Ti_1:11-12 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

 

b.  YHWH’s kingdom is invisible

· Luk_17:20-21  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.  It is in us when we obey Him!

 

c.  His people “see” it and “enter” it when they are born again

· Joh_3:3-5 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God .

 

d.  The highest authority in the Father’s kingdom is Christ

· Isa_9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

· Isa_9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.

· Luk_2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

· 1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

 

e.  A woman is under a man’s authority; her father’s or her husband’s. With few exceptions

· Gen_3:16  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

· Num_30:16 These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.

· 1Co_11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is [her] the man; and the head of Christ is God.

 

f.   We come out of the kingdoms of men when we choose to enter into God’s kingdom

· Exo_32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

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