God’s plan and purpose relevant to the Torah, the Sabbath, in the New Covenant,

Nothing about the Law or ordinances or dietary mandates or days or festivals wins favor or righteousness with God the Father…these were a shadow of the Messiah that was to come (Colossians 2:16). When Jesus entered Time, His primary goal was to destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8b) and provide victory over sin, death, Hell, the grave, through grace and faith for those who believe in Him as Messiah. Also, Jesus came to free mankind from an arduous and condemnative Law that defined culpability void atonement (Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10).

The Law of the Covenant, the Torah, was a sign-post indicating mankind’s inability to please a Holy and Righteous God through works and self-righteousness as this was first demonstrated in Genesis 3:21 via the fig leaves used in an futile attempt to mask sin. In the New Covenant, the primary focus is upon “relationship”…not Law or days or ordinances or diet…but love and intimacy with God the Father by grace through faith in Jesus as Lord and receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit as the SEAL and Guarantor of that relationship, forever.

The New Covenant is about a Sabbath fulfilled in Jesus as our REST and our PEACE through the Spirit. The Law in the New Covenant is for the defiled and defines their culpability before God while God’s desire for His children in the New Covenant is intimacy/relationship with Him through sanctification via the Holy Spirit given to all who believe in Jesus as Messiah > the One who suffered and died to pay our sin-debt – a debt we could not pay ourselves.

Concerning the Deity of Jesus Christ and what it means to you…

God is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2) and the everlasting God left t the eternal realm and entered the realm of Time through the virgin seed (Genesis 3:15) as the “only begotten” God (John 3:16) to destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8b) via the Gospel that was ordained “before the beginning of Time” (2 Timothy 1:9-10). The deity of Jesus as the Son of God is essential for your salvation as only God could keep the Law in perfection (2 Corinthians 5:21), successfully destroy the works of the Devil and offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin (Genesis 3:21; John 14:6).

God the Father speaks of the Son in this way, Hebrews 1…

8 But regarding the Son He says,“Your throne, God, is forever and ever,And the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His kingdom.9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your companions.”10 And,“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,And the heavens are the works of Your hands;11 They will perish, but You remain; And they all will wear out like a garment,12 And like a robe You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed.But You are the same,And Your years will not come to an end.”

Jesus tells us that His Kingdom is not of the Realm of Time,

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” John 18:36 (NASB)

Are those who walk in the Law of the Lord truly blessed? “How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of the Lord.” Psalm 119:1

Christian response,

There are NO undefiled/blameless that walk in the Law as we’re all sinners and condemned by the Law (Romans 3:20-23). The only undefiled/blameless in the eyes of God the Father are those who have trusted in the perfection of Jesus Christ and received the imputation of His righteousness in their life by grace through faith in Him as Lord and Messiah who died to pay their sin-debt (John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:21). If you trust in Law, you will die in Law and sin and Hell as you live under a curse (Galatians 3:10).

What is God’s will for your life?

The Law Keepers and Cult members who prowl these pages seeking a soul to devour in slavery to Law and days and rituals and religious affiliations are the blind and deaf; religious hypocrites who gag at a gnat and swallow a camel; those who point your soul to Hell with sincerity.

What is God’s Plan and His will for you in the New Covenant of Grace?

When one is born again by faith in Jesus as Messiah who died to pay our sin-debt, that person walks in sanctification as administered by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16); that person seeks Messiah’s “Commands” as these teachings are written upon our heart in the New Covenant (Hebrews 10:16) and brought to our remembrance by the Spirit who prepares us for service in the coming Kingdom (John 14:26).

Relationship,

The Plan of God in the New Covenant has NOTHING to do with Temples – LAW – rituals – race – creed – color – talents – beauty – intelligence – education – denominational affiliation – what you wear – what you eat – your lineage – a day of the week. God’s Plan has everything to do with trusting in our Heavenly Father to do exactly what He has promised and to love Him in and through faith in Jesus Christ and through obedience to His Spirit – a Covenant RELATIONSHIP that will grow in intimacy for eternity.

This is our God’s Plan for you and for me and that Plan was initiated before Time began and has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord via the Gospel established in Messiah’s blood (2 Timothy 1:8-10; Matthew 26:28). Don’t let the demonically rooted Pharisaical legalism inundating these pages steal your joy and peace in Messiah Jesus; enjoy relationship with our God; trust in Jesus Christ and live in peace and Joy through the indwelling Holy Spirit; allow the Law Keepers and cult members to go to Hell if they desire, don’t follow them; follow Jesus and the Holy Spirit, exclusively – and LIVE!

Why do Christians ask for forgiveness?

An individual who has chosen death in Hell having rejected Jesus as Mediator for their sin mocks the Christian in this way: “Christianity is a religion where someone’s sins are forgiven by blood yet they repent by continuously reciting Matthew 6:9-13, always! If it’s not so? Why then are you asking for forgiveness if you are forgiven by blood?”

Christian response,

A Christian asks forgiveness when they insult our God via disobedience NOT because we fear losing our salvation as that is secure by Covenant via the Holy Spirit, forever. The Christian apologizes to God for the same reason we apologize to our loved-ones in this Realm of Time…our family, our friends, we have wronged or insulted; we apologize because we love them and we want NOTHING interfering with the intimacy between us.

For the Christian, the most precious thing in this life is our relationship with our Heavenly Father, Jesus our Lord, the precious Holy Spirit; so then, when we insult the One we love, we apologize out of love and respect for their sacrifice for us…we want to maintain intimacy, love, respect, genuine friendship in relationship, forever.

The unbeliever considers this foolishness; the faithful understand that there is no joy or peace unless we’re right with our God positionally, eternally, intimately.

Question concerning Hell on FB: “If when you die you go to heaven or hell what is the purpose of judgment Day?”

Christian response,

Those who have trusted in Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, at the moment of death, they are translated directly into the presence of our Lord in a disembodied, spiritual, state…fully conscious, fully aware, fully interactive, awaiting the resurrection of the righteous (2 Corinthians 5:8; Acts 24:15; John 5).

Hell is not currently occupied by human kind (only the most horrific of demons/angels – Jude 1:6) as Hell was created specifically for the Devil and his rebellious angels (Matthew 25:41). Mankind will enter Hell by choice, not mandate.

Those who die rejecting the mediation for sin only available through faith in Jesus as Lord (John 3:16-18); these, at the moment of death are translated to Sheol-Hades/Torments in their disembodied state, fully aware, fully conscious, and they will remain there until the resurrection of the condemned (Luke 16; John 5:29).

The resurrection of the condemned will manifest prior to the Judgement of the Condemned (Great White Throne Judgment) manifesting at the end of Messiah’s Millennial Reign (Rev 20:11-15). The resurrected rebellious/condemned will receive a resurrected body of corruption and stand before Jesus Christ to be judged according to their works and they will be found guilty of sin and that sin cannot be permitted to enter the Kingdom (Rev 21:27); therefore, they will receive sentencing/adjudication and ultimately die the “second death” subsequent to suffering commensurate to the sin committed in the body while constrained by Time and physics.

Hell/the Lake of Fire/Gehenna will be a place of suffering and ultimately death, a cessation of all life, for all of mankind who has rejected God the Father by rejecting faith in Jesus as Lord; why Hell?

Why Hell?

The sin of mankind will not be permitted to enter the New Jerusalem nor will sin be tolerated in the presence of our Holy God (Revelation 20:11-15). The Devil, the fallen angels, the Beast, the False Prophet, will all suffer eternally in Hell as it is the Devil and his rebellion that is causation for the creation of Time, our Universe, the human genome, in order deal with that rebellion apart from the Kingdom where nothing impure is permitted to enter or exist (Rev 20:10; 21:27).

Theological question on FB: “Jesus and the Holy Spirit, are they the same?”

Christian response,

God has presented Himself as Elohim = a plural noun with a singular verb (Genesis 1:1)…God the Father; God the Son; God the Holy Spirit; as He functions within the created Realm of Time among creatures constrained by Time and physics and flesh yet God is a Spirit (John 4:24). Human intelligence is far too inferior to God’s omniscience, His omnipotence, His omnipresence, to comprehend the beauty, excellence, majesty, of a supernatural Being with the capacity to create such wonders as this Universe and our complex human genome. God the Father is not God the Holy Spirit and God the Son is not the Father or the Spirit but these three are One-God according to Scripture beginning with Genesis 1:1; then, the Holy Spirit introduces Himself in Genesis 1:2. The Father, the Son, the Spirit, collaborate during the creation of the human genome (Day 6) in Genesis 1:26-28; the Son, Jesus Christ, born of the virgin seed to circumvent Adam’s fallen nature, is introduced in Genesis 3:15 and prophesied to do battle with Satan and be victorious over the Evil One by destroying the works of the Devil at Golgotha (1 John 3:8b); then, the Holy Spirit provides us a word picture relevant to the Plan – strategy – that will be used by God to defeat the Devil in Genesis 3:21 e.g. the shedding of innocent blood to clothe mankind in a robe of righteousness – a work done by God in selfless love while rejecting the work of mankind who will naturally attempt to cover his own sin by the works of his hands in self-righteousness (demonstrated by fig leaves).

Void the Trinity of God in Scripture, mankind could never know God with intimacy nor could God’s Plan of redemption from sin and victory over the Devil via selfless love have manifest in a comprehensible Plan; a Plan and strategy that is available to all who possess the Holy Spirit as Guarantor of relationship with the Father and are willing to listen and obey the Son.

Can the human mind explain God, a Trinity? No…if our 3-pound brain could adequately explain our omnipotent God, He would not be God. I simply believe what God the Holy Spirit has provided in Scripture and I trust Him as He is perfect love and He is my peace.

Question on FB: Why did Jesus say “If you love me, keep my Commandments.” John 14:15

Christian response,

Though Jesus did infuse 9 of the 10 (moral laws) of the Sinai Commandments into the New Covenant, don’t confuse the Commandments of Jesus with the old Law of the Covenant; Jesus came to bring something radically new and soul saving i.e. the New Covenant established in His blood (Mark 2:22; Luke 22:20). Jesus’ Commands are not simply a reiteration of the old Law but the Commands of Messiah Jesus are superior to the Law of the Covenant with Israel as Messiah infused mens rea or the “thought life” as culpability concerning sin (Matthew 5:27-28; 21-22); additionally, Messiah’s Law is not etched in stone or scratched upon parchment but written upon our heart, infused within our mind and administered by God the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 10:16; Ephesians 1:13-14; Galatians 5:16).

If we truly love Jesus as our God and the Holy Spirit indwells us as Guarantor of Covenant Relationship with the Father (Ephesians 1:13-14), we will seek obedience to Messiah’s words proclaimed during His ministry upon this earth; It is our obedience during the process of sanctification that validates the veracity and authenticity of our faith in Jesus that resulted in the imputation of His righteousness into and over our lives thereby making us worthy before the Father (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Question asked on FB: Is Christianity a religion?

Christian response,

No, theologically speaking (not a secular definition), Christianity is not a religion but a “relationship” with God the Father based on grace (a gift-unmerited favor unattainable by human effort) through “faith” (alone), “trusting-believing” in Jesus Christ as God, Messiah, Mediator for our sin i.e. believing that Jesus is God who died to pay our sin-debt (Romans 10:9-10).

Religion v. Christianity

Religion, theologically speaking, is based upon works; that is, the individual must perform to an exacting standard in order to “earn” God’s favor (Deuteronomy 27:26). In Christianity, God did the work for us; we must “believe” in what God did to have God’s perfection imputed into our lives (by faith), see: (John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Judaism (Deuteronomy 27:26; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10), Islam, Christian cults (SDA, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses), are “religions” based upon works of righteousness, keeping a Law to earn God’s approval; whereas, Christianity is a “relationship” based on faith in what God has done for us (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; Genesis 3:21).

The uniqueness of Christianity,

The ONE exacting differentiation between Christianity and every religion, cult, existing in the World today is the Christian knows Jesus Christ as Messiah, He is Deity-God Eternal who took-on flesh some 2020-years ago via a virgin birth in order to circumvent the sin-nature of Adam’s seed (Matthew 1:26; Genesis 3:15; Romans 5:12) and Jesus lived a sinless life before the Father and offered Himself to God the Father as a sacrificial Lamb upon the altar (the Cross) to pay the sin-debt of mankind, a sin-debt mankind could not pay himself (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16-18).

Question was asked: Can you explain James 2:10-11?“

10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[a] also said, “You shall not murder.”[b] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.”

Christian response,

The theme of James 2:10 is reiterated in Galatians 3:10 and Deuteronomy 27:26.

The Covenant of Law mandated that anyone seeking righteousness through the Law must keep that Law in perfection; otherwise, they are cursed and the Law condemns them void atonement (Deuteronomy 27:26; Galatians 3:10); problem is, we’re all under the condemnation of sin (Romans 3:23) as we’re all born of the seed of Adam (Romans 5:12) and the Law can never provide righteousness as the Law only defines sin (Romans 3:20); but the Father did not leave mankind in a hopeless condition but from the beginning, God has honored “faith” as the “key” to unlocking the gates of the Kingdom (Hebrews 11); unfortunately, Israel failed to understand the veracity of “faith” and pursued a Law of Works in self-righteousness/narcissism (Romans 11) and they stumbled over the Stumbling Stone, the Rock of Offense, laid-up in Jerusalem (Romans 9:32); therefore, only a remnant of Israel’s children will be saved and that salvation will manifest in the last days of the Tribulation era when Messiah arrives at the Mount of Olives, conquers the enemies having fought against Jerusalem, and subsequently establishes His Millennial Kingdom i.e. His second-Advent…at this time, all of Israel…those living in that dispensation, will be saved (Romans 11:26).

The New Covenant,

Messiah and the New Covenant points to grace (unmerited favor-a gift you cannot earn) through faith (trusting-believing) in Jesus as your God and Messiah who died to pay your sin-debt…a debt you could not pay yourself (Ephesians 2:8-9)…and the one who has faith in Jesus as Messiah enters into Covenant relationship with the Father (John 3:16), forever (John 10:28-30), and this Covenant is sealed and guaranteed by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14) who walks the faithful in Jesus in obedience to God’s will for their life i.e. the process of sanctification and the Holy Spirit prepares them for service in the Kingdom of God i.e. the New Jerusalem that will appear subsequent to the Millennial Reign of Messiah when our God destroys this Earth and the Heavens by fire and purifies it (2 Peter 3:7-10, remolds it, and places His Kingdom upon a New Earth within a New Heaven (Revelation, chapters 20-22).