Transcript This presentation shall look at what must be changed in sinners and how God works to change them. UNBURDENING THE MIND Studies on The Books.

This presentation shall look at
what must be changed in
sinners and how God works to
change them.
UNBURDENING THE MIND
Studies on The Books of Romans and Galatians Part 3
Abe Simpson
THE GOSPEL: CENTRAL THEME OF
ROMANS & GALATIANS
•
Rom 1:16 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.
•
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.
Revelation 14:6
THE GOSPEL WAS BEING CHALLENGED
BY ANOTHER GOSPEL.
•
Gal 1:6, 7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that
called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which
is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would
pervert the gospel of Christ.
per·vert (pr-vûrt)
tr.v. per·vert·ed, per·vert·ing, per·verts
1. To cause to turn away from what is right, proper, or good; corrupt.
2. To bring to a bad or worse condition; debase.
3. To put to a wrong or improper use; misuse. See Synonyms at corrupt.
4. To interpret incorrectly; misconstrue or distort:
Free Online Dictionary
THE TWO
GOSPELS
AND THE
LAW
Above The Law
1
2
Under The Law
All are sinners and
under the Law.
Romans 3:23
There are two ways to
elevate a sinner
above the Law!
The True Gospel does
this by changing the
sinner to meet the
requirements of the
Law.
The False Gospel
does this by changing
the Law to justify the
Condition of the
sinner.
Above The Law
To rescue a sinner from
under the Law, God
needs to deal with three
factors.
THE
SINNER’S
PROBLEM
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what
things soever the law saith, it saith to
them who are under the law: that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the
world may become guilty before God.
• Guilt
• Weakness of the flesh
• Carnal Mind
Under The Law
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can
be.
This section looks at how God deals with the Guilt Problem
Rom 3:24, 25 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;
GUILT: RESULTS FROM SINS COMMITTED –
SINS THAT ARE PAST
GAL 2:18 – WE ARE PERSONALLY
RESPONSIBLE FOR SIN
•
Mark 7:15 - 21; Prov. 4:23
•
Sin proceeds from within. It is acted out in the mind
first and may or may not be acted out in the body.
•
Cannot blame flesh – ‘out of the heart’
•
we cannot blame others for our actions. Gen 3:12, 13
– Adam & Eve
•
cannot blame our ancestors or our genes. Eze. 18: 20
•
freedom of choice makes us responsible and
accountable for our actions. Josh 24:15
WHY DO WE DIE?
•
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned:
•
We die because we sin, not because Adam sinned.
•
Patriarchs & Prophets 306 "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate
Me." It is inevitable that children should suffer from the
consequences of parental wrongdoing, but they are not punished for
the parents' guilt, except as they participate in their sins. It is usually
the case, however, that children walk in the steps of their parents. By
inheritance and example the sons become partakers of the father's
sin. Wrong tendencies, perverted appetites, and debased morals, as
well as physical disease and degeneracy, are transmitted as a legacy
from father to son, to the third and fourth generation.
WHAT GOD DOES NOT DO!
• Sin is an act already committed – in the past.
• Cannot rewind and re-live;
• Cannot compensate for the past by living a righteous
life in the future;
• Cannot compensate by penance, money or any
other form; Steps to Christ 37
• Cannot rely on our parents, friends or other’s
righteousness. Ezekiel 14:14
THE GOSPEL SOLUTION TO GUILT
•
Rom 3:24, 25 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 4:3-8 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and
it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh
is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord
will not impute sin.
ABRAHAM
•
Heb 11:8, 9, 10 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into
a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed;
and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he
sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in
tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same
promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God.
•
Heb 11:17 - 19 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up
Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only
begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be
called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from
the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
DAVID
•
2Sa_11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she
came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified
from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
•
1Ki_3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes
and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I
will lengthen thy days.
•
1Ki_14:8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David,
and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant
David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me
with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
DAVID
•
Psa 51:3, 4 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever
before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil
in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and
be clear when thou judgest.(Accepted full responsibility)
•
Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I
shall be whiter than snow.
•
Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right
spirit within me. (Desired to be cleansed)
•
Rom 4:6 - 8 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the
man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS
•
Imputed righteousness happens when sins are forgiven;
•
There is nothing we can do (except trust Jesus) to qualify for
forgiveness;
•
Forgiveness is received by faith;
•
The merits of Jesus alone is sufficient for forgiveness.
•
Our need is our ticket to forgiveness.
•
Recognizing our need, accepting our responsibility, and asking
for forgiveness and a change within, is all that is required.
Psa 69:5 O God, thou
knowest my foolishness;
and my sins are not hid
from thee.
•
Christ takes full responsibility and
ownership of the sins of the world.
•
Our sins become His sins.
•
Sale illustration
•
If our sins are fully taken by Jesus,
then what is left over for us?
•
No sin = righteousness
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
REPENTANCE & FORGIVENESS
•
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso
confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Proverbs
28:13
•
Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it.
We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we
turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the
life. {Steps to Christ 23.2}
•
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If
we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his
word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10
REPENTANCE & FORGIVENESS
•
None are so sinful that they cannot find strength, purity, and
righteousness in Jesus, who died for them. He is waiting to strip
them of their garments stained and polluted with sin, and to
put upon them the white robes of righteousness; He bids them
live and not die. {Steps to Christ 52.3}
•
If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour,
then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are
accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of your
character, and you are accepted before God just as if you
had not sinned. {Steps to Christ 62.2}
REPENTANCE & FORGIVENESS
•
Next
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. 17For therein is the righteousness of
God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall
live by faith. Romans 1:16; 17
• Neither
is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby
we must be saved. Acts 4:12
This presentation shall look at
what must be changed in
sinners and how God works to
change them.
THE FENCE AT THE TOP OF THE HILL
Studies on The Books of Romans and Galatians Part 4
Abe Simpson
Above The Law
THE
SINNER’S
PROBLEM
To rescue a sinner from
under the Law, God
needs to deal with three
factors.
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what
things soever the law saith, it saith to
them who are under the law: that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the
world may become guilty before God.
• Guilt
• Weakness of the flesh
• Carnal Mind
Under The Law
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can
be.
This section looks at how God deals with the weakness of the
flesh and carnal mind problem
Rom 8:3, 4 For what the law could not do, in
that it was weak through the flesh, God
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit.
THE AMBULANCE DOWN IN THE VALLEY
T’was a dangerous cliff, as they freely
confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so
pleasant,
But over its terrible edge there had
slipped,
A duke and full many a peasant.
For those who slipped over that
dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers on highway and alley
Gave pounds and gave pence not to put up
a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.
So the people said something would
have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally.
Some said, "Put a fence around the edge of
the cliff,"
Some, "An ambulance down in the valley.“
Then an old sage remarked, "it’s a
marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing the results than to stopping
the cause,
When they’d much better aim at
prevention.
But the cry for the ambulance carried
the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city,
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became moved with pity,
"Let us stop at its source all this hurt,"
cried he.
"Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally.
If the cliff we will fence, we might almost
dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley.
THE AMBULANCE DOWN IN THE VALLEY
Better guide well the young
than reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is
calling.
"To rescue the fallen is good,
but 'tis best
To prevent other people from
falling."
Better close up the source of
temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon or
galley;
Better put a strong fence
'round the top of the cliff
Than an ambulance down in the
valley.
•
-- Joseph Malins (1895)
•
Prevention better than cure.
•
Preventing sin better than
forgiveness.
•
Many emphasize the
‘ambulance down in the
valley’ approach to the gospel
– forgiveness while ignoring the
‘fence at the top of the cliff’.
•
The true gospel emphasizes a
balanced approach – fence
at the top of the cliff with the
ambulance down in the valley
for those who may fall.
SIN IS THE OUTCOME OF CHOICE
•
Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the
LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve;
whether the gods which your fathers served that were
on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and
my house, we will serve the LORD.
Sin
Righteousness
HOW IS SIN PRODUCED?
And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and
sins; Wherein in time past ye
walked according to the course
of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires (margin: wills) of the
flesh and of the mind; and were
by nature the children of wrath,
even as others. Ephesians 2: 1 -3
Sin is dictated by the flesh with the acquiesce of the mind
Will of
the
Mind
Will of
the
Flesh
HOW IS SIN PRODUCED?
•
•
Jas 1:14, 15 But every man is
tempted, when he is drawn
away of his own lust, and
enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth
sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth
death.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the
Father, but is of the world.
Will of
the
Mind
Temptation
External
Will of
the
Flesh
Sin is dictated by the flesh with the acquiesce of the mind
Appeals to
the flesh
through the
five senses
FLESH HAS A BIAS (PROPENSITY) TO SIN.
The sins of the parents will be
visited upon their children,
because the parents have
given them the stamp of their
own lustful propensities.” Child
Guidance EGW p442
Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
By applying the brakes we can stop the car
from rolling backwards.
By pressing the accelerator and pumping
fuel to the engine the vehicle will move up
the hill.
Propensity is a force not an act therefore it
can be counteracted.
Sin is an act, firstly in the mind then in the
body
THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS
•
Matthew 26:39 O my Father, if it
be possible, let this cup pass
from me: nevertheless not as
I will, but as thou wilt.
• What
was the
Will of Jesus –
To die or not to
die?
The will of the flesh
The will of the Father
Jesus chose to do the
will of His Father
HOW DO WE OVERCOME?
• We overcome even as Jesus overcame. Rev 3:21
• Jesus denied the flesh. Matthew 26:42; Romans
8:3,4
• Flesh is not converted.
• He chose righteousness and overcame by faith.
• We must have the faith of Jesus. Rev 14:12
• Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus. Philippians 2: 5
DEALING WITH THE CARNAL MIND
•
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be. Romans 8:7
•
The carnal mind cannot be made a friend of God.
•
It cannot be reformed.
•
The only solution is to get rid of it. What do you do
when you have a corrupted computer program on
your hard drive?
DEALING WITH THE CARNAL MIND
•
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. And be not conformed to this world: but be
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1,2
•
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
DEALING WITH THE CARNAL MIND
•
“You should keep off from Satan's enchanted ground,
and not allow your minds to be swayed from allegiance
to God. Through Christ you may and should be happy,
and should acquire habits of self-control. Even your
thoughts must be brought into subjection to the will of
God, and your feelings under the control of reason and
religion. Your imagination was not given you to be
allowed to run riot and have its own way, without any
effort at restraint or discipline. If the thoughts are wrong,
the feelings will be wrong; and the thoughts and feelings
combined make up the moral character. Testimonies for
the Church," Vol. 5, p. 310.
DEALING WITH THE CARNAL MIND
•
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil
the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are
contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do
the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:16, 17
•
“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of strong
holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of
God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10: 4, 5
“And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be
any praise, think on these things.” Philippians
4:8
negative
SIN
Will of
the
Flesh
negative
Flesh & Mind In Agreement
Ephesians 2:3
Will of
the
Mind
Will of
the
Mind
Will of
the
Flesh
SIN
negative
Flesh & Mind In Disagreement
The Flesh Dictates Romans 7:14 - 20
positive
Will of
the
Mind
Will of
the
Flesh
RIGHTEOUSNESS
negative
Flesh & Mind In Disagreement
The Mind Dictates Galatians 2:20
positive
Will of
the
Mind
Will of
the
Flesh
RIGHTEOUSNESS
POSITIVE
Flesh & Mind In Agreement
This will be the state in the new
Heaven & Earth. Philippians 3:20,21
positive
•
“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. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Romans
1:16; 17
•
“For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by
faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing,
nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”
Galatians 5:5,6
•
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. Acts 4:12