Concerning Righteousness with God and Eternity: Hebrew v. Greek Scriptures…

From Adam forward, mankind has found righteousness (a right standing) with God through their “faith” in God; that is, believing that He is true and that God is Sovereign and will do exactly as He has promised. From Adam to Enoch to Noah to Abraham to Moses to Jesus to the Revelation…nothing has changed concerning covenant relationship with the Father; that is, covenant relationship has always been established by “faith”…see Hebrews, Chapter 11.

The most relevant difference between the Hebrew Scriptures and “faith” and the Greek Scriptures – Jesus – and “faith” is the destiny of the soul of man upon death of the body in Time. In the Hebrew Scriptures, prior to the blood atonement provided by Jesus at Golgotha, anyone who died having faith in God was immediately translated to the region the Holy Spirit refers to as Sheol (Hades in the Greek) and these righteous dead, their soul – fully conscious and cognitively aware, remained in Sheol (Abraham’s Bosom – Paradise, Luke 16), awaiting the only acceptable atonement for their sin, Jesus Christ our Messiah.

Messiah’s blood atonement was essential as nothing impure is permitted to enter the Kingdom of God (Rev. 21:27). Though they had established covenant relationship with the Father by faith, their sin had not received the only acceptable sacrifice for atonement as Messiah’s first-advent had not manifest yet God is faithful and preserved their soul for that Day of Atonement – the Cross.

The Holy Spirit tells us that while the body of Jesus laid in the Tomb subsequent His crucifixion, Jesus in Spirit, entered the region of Sheol/Hades-Paradise and preached liberty to the captives there through the Gospel that was ordained as God’s battle strategy “before Time began” (2 Timothy 1:8-10; Ephesians 4:8-10). Jesus then escorted these Old Testament saints into the Kingdom; therefore, Sheol/Hades-Abraham’s bosom is currently EMPTY.

Subsequent Messiah’s blood atonement at Golgotha for our sin, when the faithful in Jesus die in body, they are immediately translated into the presence of our Lord as Jesus paved the path for our salvation and eternal life through the forgiveness of sin seeing that nothing impure is permitted to enter the Kingdom of God (Rev 21: 27; 2 Corinthians 5:8). It is by faith in Jesus, alone, that we enter into covenant relationship with the Father and it is by the shed blood of Jesus as atonement for our sin that we experience eternal life in the Kingdom subsequent to the death of our body in Time.

The Curse of the Law in the lives of the religionist; cult member; Hebrew Roots disciple; SDA Church; those idolizing Torah observance…

NO ONE but Jesus keeps the Law in mandated perfection (Matthew 5:17; James 2:10) and PLEASE listen…the Christian does NOT seek Laws and Rules and Regulations and Days whether or not they’re etched in stone or scratched upon parchment; Christian’s do NOT proceed through life worrying about Laws and rules and days; Christians walk in peace with God the Father through faith (Romans 5:1) wholly depending upon the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us in God’s will for our life through His Spirit who works through our conscience via the process of sanctification (Galatians 5:16).

An overwhelming majority of the “religious” world can’t let go of damning self-righteousness and come to terms with their failures and pitiful, hopeless, positioning before our Holy God who, with unfathomable mercy and grace, has suffered and died for you in the flesh of Jesus Christ in order to impute (given as a gift) His own perfection and righteousness into your life by covenant promise through faith (Hebrews 8:12; 2 Corinthians 5:21); that is, a righteousness, perfection, mandated by the moral law of God that no man or woman born of the seed of Adam can attain in this life constrained by Time and physics and the curse of sin (Romans 5:12). You cannot “earn” God’s righteousness – YOU CAN ONLY receive God’s righteousness as a GIFT through faith in Jesus as your Lord (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

I grow so weary of hearing the facade of law observance by the self-righteous and its “attributes” as per the self-righteous when the Law is a CURSE to anyone seeking God’s favor through it (Galatians 3:10). The Holy Spirit IS my Law in the New Covenant, not letters that kill and destroy the soul in Hell but the Spirit is my Law and He gives life and peace with God the Father by faith in Jesus as my Lord.

Religious, Jewish, Israeli, Cultic, obsessions with the facade, the LIES of “law keeping” is so very wearisome and demonic at its root. The Devil glories in the self-righteous as they are his victory and his fodder of battle for boasting.

You’re a sinner dying daily in sin, acknowledge that truism and allow God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ into your life by faith and find life NOT condemnation, cursing and death that are attributes of THE LAW for those seeking righteousness through the facade of observance via self-righteousness (Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10).

Walking daily as a Christian…an interesting scenario of repetition over the years…

It’s rather odd yet predictable and eternally intriguing, but if one belongs to God the Father by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and they walk daily seeking to honor the Holy Spirit within them, it’s almost a predictable scenario in one’s life that when circumstances arise manifesting in stress and anguish and depression and doubt…there is, almost without fail, a very bright cloud on the horizon and the inundation of darkness is the Evil One’s (or his servant) desperate attempt to dissuade you from that which is poised to manifest in your life, that which brings you unspeakable joy and that which is clearly our Lord’s work and will.

On these occasions, I pause and look toward the Heaven and say “thank you Father, thank you Jesus, thank you Holy Spirit…I know that was You!” When darkness surrounds me in my daily walk either by sight or by conscience…I now interpret this as the challenge I must endure to see God’s will on the other side of the “Son” rise; so now, in this stage of life with wrinkles in the skin and scars on my heart and in my flesh…I can see through the darkness with joy and expectancy (Romans 5:1).

Concerning the Jewish-Israeli/Religious/Cult error of law-keeping and the misunderstood “Rich Young Ruler,” Matthew 19

Where you err Jon is not understanding that Jesus was born under the Law and was in the process of redeeming those under the Law through faith in Him as Messiah, not works of the Law (Galatians 4:4-5). Jesus is fully cognizant that no one but Himself could find righteousness through the Law because the Law mandates absolute perfection (James 2:10) and mankind is under the condemnation of sin as we’re all sinners (Romans 3:23); actually, the Law condemns anyone seeking righteousness through it (Galatians 3:10) because absolute perfection by humanity is not possible; therefore, no one but Jesus is justified before God the Father through Law-keeping as the Law only defines our sin void atonement (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16).

How does mankind find righteousness (a right standing) before God the Father and avoid the “second death” in Hell?

The ONLY righteousness (right standing with God) mankind can attain in this life constrained by Time is the righteousness Jesus earned for us by His sinless perfection and His shed blood as atonement for our sin (John 3; John 14:6). When we trust-believe in Jesus as our Lord who died for us, the Father, by covenant promise (Hebrews 8:12), imputes the perfection and righteousness of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, into and over our lives and subsequently declares us “not guilty” (Hebrews 8:12) and in addition, the Father endows the faithful in Jesus with the indwelling Holy Spirit as the Guarantor of covenant relationship with God, forever (Ephesians 1:13-14) and it is the Holy Spirit who then methodically, daily, guides the redeemed in Jesus in accordance with God’s will via the process of sanctification as the Holy Spirit prepares the redeemed for service in the New Jerusalem (Galatians 5:16; 1 John 2:27; John 14:26).

Concerning the Rich Young Ruler, Matthew 19…

In Matthew 19, Messiah’s conversation with the rich young ruler is often times misunderstood. Consider this…

The young ruler had asked Jesus what he must do to inherit or earn eternal life and Jesus responded (under the Law) to keep the Commandments; this, in response to the young man’s self-righteousness thinking himself sufficiently “good” to enter the Kingdom…Jesus reminded the young man that no one is good but God…Jesus at this point asked the young man if he recognized Jesus as God as this would have been key to salvation…but the young man insisted that he was sufficiently righteous to earn his own salvation…then…Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy and sin of the young man by commanding him to follow Jesus and sell all that he had and give it to the poor…the young man could not obey because the young man loved his wealth, his money and possessions more than God thereby violating the Greatest Commandment of all.

Jesus knows that we cannot keep the Law sufficiently to earn our own salvation as the Law mandates perfection (James 2:10; Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 27:26) and we’re under the condemnation of sin as we’re all sinners (Romans 3:20-23) and Jesus understood that only by trusting in Him as Messiah would the young man find righteousness (a right standing) with the Father and eternal life (John 3:16-28;14:6).

Jesus provided the young man no less than two-opportunities to find eternal life through Him, Jesus as Messiah, but the young man did as most Jews and Christian cults do today, they trust in their own righteousness to save them and deny the righteousness of Christ offered them by faith in Him as their Messiah who died for them (2 Corinthians 5:21).

You can dedicate your entire life to the Law Covenant and works of righteousness and die in Hell…how can this be?

You can obey the Laws and edicts of God and man to the very best of your ability and work your fingers to the bone in philanthropy and die in Hell as your works, on your best day, are equated to a bloody menstrual cloth in God’s nose (Isaiah 64:6).

Not until such time you have FIRST established covenant relationship with the Father by faith in the Son, Jesus Christ, as your Lord (John 3) and you’ve received the Holy Spirit as Guarantor of that covenant relationship (Ephesians 1:13-14) will your works done in the Spirit be received by the Father as validation of the authenticity of your faith, but if Jesus is not your Lord, neither your prayers or your works of righteousness mean anything of eternal relevance to the Father (John 9:31).

You must FIRST do the will of God for your life; that is, BELIEVE in the One the Father has sent into the World to provide blood atonement for your sin (John 6:29). Until you’ve humbled yourself before the Father, acknowledged the truism that you’re a sinner in need of a Redeemer and sincerely believed in Jesus as your Messiah, Lord, Savior, you have no relationship with the Father (1 John 2:23) and you are an alien to the promise of the Father and you will ultimately perish in your sin and in Perdition (John 8:24; Galatians 2:16).

Where is the evidence in the Hebrew Scriptures of “righteousness” (a right standing with God) apart from the works of the Law?

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3b concerning a “blessing to all the families of the Earth” and those who receive that promise by faith in Jesus as Lord are also considered children of Abraham whether they’re Gentiles or Jacob’s children (Jew or Israelite) as our father having received the promise by faith; that is, Abraham, was a Gentile, not a Jew or Israelite; therefore, the promise of eternal life through the forgiveness of sin is not through the Law of the Covenant or Israel but of faith as demonstrated by Abraham who “believed” God 430-years before the giving of the Law at Sinai (Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:17).

It is written,

“Thus Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are men of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith.”

17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

Galatians 3

In closing,

The Law of the Covenant, a reiteration of the moral law extant from the creation of the angels, given Jacob’s children 430-years subsequent to the promise, was simply a school-master or tutor to point Israel to their need for a Redeemer; but now, in the New Covenant, the fulfillment of what the Law foreshadowed has come to fruition in Jesus Christ; therefore, we are no longer in need of a tutor as its reality has manifest in Time and performed that which the Law could only point to but not accomplish due to the weakness of the flesh (Romans 8:1-4); that is, faith in Messiah Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life through the promised covenant established first by God with Abraham, our father through the promise by faith. Again, it is written,

13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, then faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.

16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that do not exist. Romans 4 (NASB)

Why the vastness of our Universe? Why the “speck” called Earth?

God the Father commissioned the Son (John 3:35), Jesus Christ, to create Time, the Universe, our Earth, our Genome, for cause with rapidity (Genesis 1; John 1, Hebrews 1, Colossians 1; 1 John 3:8b).

Jesus Christ, in response to the Father’s will (John 6:38), proceeded to take unseen elements composing the Spiritual Realm and fashion those elements into matter that can been apprehended by life constrained by Time and physics (Hebrews 11:3). This Universe was formed with rapidity as a repository for the destructive war that raged within the Spiritual Realm and the Father elected to move that conflict into another realm partially constrained by Time – physics as the Father is presently dealing with those warring against Him while simultaneously restoring peace and order to His Kingdom and simultaneously maintaining volitional love and relationship with those angels that did not follow the Evil One in the rebellion (Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28:11+; 1 John 3:8b).

The Battle – a strategy,

Elohim’s battle strategy (Genesis 3:15; 3:21), the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was ordained for this purpose before Time was initiated (2 Timothy 1:8-10). Elohim’s strategy to destroy the works of the Evil One and maintain volitional love with His angelic creation is based upon selfless love first demonstrated in Genesis 3:21 through the shedding of innocent blood to clothe humanity in an imputed robe of righteousness provided by Elohim, Himself, apart from the works of man’s efforts (demonstrated by the fig-leaves that were rejected by Elohim as Adam attempted to cover his own sin through human effort) (John 3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9); to this end, the Son of God entered the Realm of Time four-thousand years subsequent to Genesis 3:21 for one specific purpose; that is, “to destroy the works of the Devil” (1 John 3:8b) and this was accomplished by Messiah Jesus at Golgotha with the words “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Other reasons for the vastness of our Universe,

Elohim also created the vastness of the Universe as testimony of His reality, His sovereignty, His power, His glory, His strength, His omnipotence, so that all of creation intuitively knows of His reality and those who reject Him and deny Him will be “without excuse” in the coming Judgment of the Condemned (Romans 1:20; Revelation 20:11-15). What we see is temporary and will be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:10; Matthew 5:18)…but God’s Plan is cleansing and restoration of all that is Holy and Pure.

In addition, the horror that rages around us and that same horror of sin and death that has raged for the previous six-thousand years as the resultant of sin-rebellion-self righteousness-narcissism, evil partially constrained by the Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:7), demonstrates the pure evilness of the defiled cherub angel we know as Satan, the Devil, the Serpent, and this evil not only confirms the necessity for Satan’s confinement in Hell, forever (Rev. 20:10) but the evil demonstrated by Satan will act as a bulwark against future rebellion in the Kingdom of God where free will remains extant by necessity.

Mankind, by God’s mercy, has been extended an opportunity to war with God and ultimately celebrate His victory over evil through the faithfulness of the Son, Jesus Christ. Anyone who allies with the Father by faith in the Son as their Lord and Savior will become servants of the Living God not only within the Realm of Time but for Eternity within a New Heaven and a New Earth where the Son will be King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s, forever (Revelation 20-22).

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is first introduced in Genesis 1:2 and He is God…not an “it.” The Holy Spirit is the Author of all Scripture; the Holy Spirit is the power and work of God in Time; the Holy Spirit is the Guarantor of covenant relationship with God by faith in Jesus as Lord (Ephesians 1:13-14); without the Holy Spirit, there would be no salvation and mankind would be destined to death in Hell.

It is the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11) and it is the Holy Spirit who becomes our best Friend when we trust in Jesus Christ as Lord as the Spirit takes-up residence within us and teaches us, guides us, leads us, comforts us, in God’s will for our life through the life-long process of sanctification (1 John 2:27; Galatians 5:16; John 16:13).

When all of the World might abandoned you and you have no one on your side it is the Holy Spirit who is there within you and will never leave you alone or forsake you (Proverbs 18:24). The Holy Spirit intercedes for you during prayer and takes your needs to the Father even when you’re unaware of that need (Romans 8:26).

It is the Holy Spirit that enlivens the mind and spirit of man to understand our need for God in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14) and it is the Holy Spirit that makes life tolerable through internal joy and peace as we exist in a fallen World, the majority of which is headed to death in Hell through compromise with the Devil via the rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord (Matthew 7:13-14).

Father = Administrator

Jesus Christ the Son = Messiah-Creator-Warrior

Holy Spirit = Logistics

Concerning God’s Sovereignty – Predestination – Free will – Love

Free will is absolutely essential for love to manifest in an environment of purity and authenticity. God is defined as perfect LOVE (1 John 4:7-21) and consequently He desires love – relationship (with intimacy) from both His angelic and human creation; therefore, mankind, having been created in God’s spiritual image (Genesis 1:26-28), is endowed by God with the communicable attribute of love, both in verb and noun form.

True love cannot be predestined, coerced nor can true love exist in an environment of fear; therefore, God desires a pure love from His created beings and God entered the Realm of Time, constrained by flesh and physics (John 1; Hebrews 1; Colossians 1; Philippians 2), and gave Himself via selfless-love at Golgotha to demonstrate His personal love for His created beings and desires that we reciprocate by giving ourselves, mind-body-spirit, to Him by trusting in Him as our Lord, God, Savior, Mediator; this, made possible by faith – trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord who died for us (Matthew 22:37; John 3:16-17).

Those who suggest my Lord predestines some to life and some to death in Hell are void the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and these do not know the Living God and His eschatological plan for Time and Eternity and causation for the creation narrative that is founded upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1:9-10); furthermore, God desires that all men and women come to a knowledge of the Truth and find life in Jesus Christ as their Lord for the mediation of sin (1 Timothy 2:4); furthermore, God does NOT desire that any perish in the “second death” in Hell but God gave Himself for us in Jesus Christ that we can live in Him, forever, by trusting in Jesus as our Lord who died for us (2 Peter 3:9; Ephesians 5:2).

The Cross of Jesus Christ – its relevance to the Christian and Christianity…

The Cross is Elohim’s tool of victory over the Devil…we don’t glorify implements of war but they are respected for what they are and what they accomplish when implemented with righteous hands and motives. The Cross is the tool used by the Father to redeem you from your sin and neutralize the Devil’s power through deception e.g. death, Hell, the grave, and give you victory through selfless love demonstrated by Jesus at Golgotha.

The Cross is a war implement of remembrance concerning what God has done for those who will trust in Jesus as their Lord. I believe the Cross will be on display in the New Jerusalem as a visual bulwark guiding free will and constraining future rebellion in the Kingdom. Christian’s don’t worship the Cross, we worship the One who hung there and died for our redemption from sin and the “second death” in Hell.