Isaiah 53:5 " But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Unconverted minds often struggle to understand how a sinner can be declared righteous through the righteousness of another. Many, blinded by unbelief, object to the truth that the perfect obedience and sacrificial death of the LORD Jesus—imputed to sinners chosen by God the Father—is their entire justification before Him. As Scripture says, “Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16).  This is a profound mystery that human reasoning cannot fully grasp—but it is not beyond the understanding of those whom the Spirit of God teaches. When the Spirit opens the eyes of a sinner for whom Christ has paid the penalty of sin, they bow in humble awe and joy, just as the hymn writer expressed:  “As at the cross I humbly bow,  And gaze upon Thy thorn-crowned brow,  And view the precious bleeding form  By cruel nails so bruised and torn,  Knowing Thy suffering was for me.”  Sin is a terrible and deadly curse. Unless it is cleansed, the only outcome is eternal condemnation. The healing can only come through the full payment for sin and its complete pardon by God Himself. This is the heart of the Gospel message. The healing must be thorough, and it is accomplished only through the suffering and death of the LORD Jesus Christ.  When the eyes of those for whom Christ has paid the debt of sin are opened to see what He endured for their complete justification, they are made to feel the weight of their sin, mourn over their guilt, and yet rejoice in the One who took their place. Through Him, they stand redeemed, justified, sanctified, and glorified.  The LORD reveals to sinners—spiritually sick and depraved—that the only remedy for their condition is His sacrifice. He makes it clear to His elect that their sin is beyond any remedy they could produce through their efforts. Only through the obedience of the LORD Jesus unto death can their sins be fully and eternally put away (Philippians 2:8). He assumed their human nature—yet without sin—and bore their guilt by imputation. All the sins of His chosen ones were laid upon Him. In His death, He fully satisfied the curse of the law, becoming the curse in their place. He was treated as a criminal—not for any sin of His own, but for the sins of His people. As their Substitute, He was wounded, bruised, and put to death by the hand of divine justice.   There is no salvation apart from Christ and His suffering. Therefore, we do not look to anything or anyone else, but only to His stripes—His fatal wounds. It is through Him alone that we are saved. The heart of the Gospel is the suffering and substitutionary death of the LORD Jesus Christ for His people. The words, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed,"   are not mere poetry—they are the sovereign declaration of God's redeeming love, accomplished through the suffering and death of His beloved Son. For those given faith to see it, this truth silences every boast, humbles every proud heart, and brings rest to the weary soul. Christ alone bore the full weight of our sin, and by His finished work, we are fully justified, eternally saved, and perfectly reconciled to God.

Ephesians 5:8 "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:" Here we see the glorious contrast between what we were by nature and what we now are by God's saving grace in Christ. In ourselves, we were not merely in darkness—we were darkness. But by the effectual work of Christ and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, we are made light in the LORD. This is not our doing, but His mercy. May we behold the sovereign transforming grace of God in Christ, Who calls His redeemed to walk in the light of His Righteousness, no longer defined by sin and its condemnation, but by union with Him Who is the Light of the world. By God’s Grace, all regenerated children of God have this one testimony. “ Whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).   All of the elect children of God have been redeemed by the blood of the LORD Jesus, shed unto death. When they are taught of Him, they will look back on their lives—up to that moment when the Spirit of Christ entered in—and wonder how they could have lived in such darkness and blindness, without ever seeing Christ or longing for Him and the Salvation found in Him. The reason is this: being spiritually dead and blind, they could not see, nor would they have seen, were it not for the gracious Spirit of the LORD Who gave them eyes to see and ears to hear. “ The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.” ( Proverbs 20:12)   Just as children love to hear of how they were born and welcomed into their family, so God’s children never tire of hearing, not only the story of their election in Christ but how He redeemed them, how the Father once and forever justified them by Christ’s shed blood unto death and how the Spirt of God gave them life in Him, ( John 3:3-8).   When we that are the objects of such Amazing Grace look back on what we were in our lost deplorable deceitful state, we can only ascribe praise to the LORD for having raised us out of the dust and lifted our needy souls from the dunghill to set us with the princes of His people ( Psalm 113:7-8).       There is a “ye were,’ "and a “you are,” in the salvation story of every child of God. “YE WERE”:   “ Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” (Ephesians 4:18) But now:  “YE ARE washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the LORD Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)       What Grace, not only to be enlightened BY the LORD, to have Light FROM the LORD, and to have Light IN the LORD. Praise HIM, to have HIM Who is THE LIGHT and eyes and ears to see HIM as all our: “...Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). As children OF the Light (Christ Jesus) born of His Spirit, we, therefore, walk as children of Light (Christ Jesus). He is for us, not only the Light of Life  (John 8:12) but the very Sun of Righteousness  (Malachi 4:2)  in Whose life and perfection we walk. That light, life, and righteousness are in Him and not inherent in us.         Those who are children of the Light, see the very Glory of the Father shining in the face of Jesus Christ and behold Him: all Grace and Truth with all of God’s precious promises fulfilled in Him and by Him. Here is one of those precious promises:  “And if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleansers from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7).

Philippians 4:18 "But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God." The apostle Paul speaks of receiving from Epaphroditus “an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.” This expression is more than a note of gratitude. It is a testimony to the gracious fruit that flows from hearts opened by the sovereign love of Christ. Paul does not see their gift as mere human kindness, but as a Christ-wrought offering, made acceptable and pleasing through the merits of the LORD Jesus. In this, we see the beauty of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ: that even our sacrifices, tainted and weak in themselves, are accepted in the Beloved. All spiritual fruit, all gospel generosity, arises not from fleshly will but from the life of Christ in His redeemed people. Herein is grace glorified and God well-pleased. Anyone who is in the LORD Jesus, by God’s electing grace and His redeeming death, has everything they need. There is no greater “rags to riches” story than the testimony of a child of God. Hannah described it in her prayer in 1 Samuel 2:8: “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory…” How happy and fulfilled are those whom the LORD has made the objects of His grace in Christ Jesus! He is infinitely richer than the wealthiest monarch on earth. Left to ourselves, we would have lived and died as poor, wicked, covetous wretches, foolishly chasing vain riches and pleasures, like the prodigal son who spent all and ended up in a pigsty. What grace it is to be chosen in Christ, redeemed and justified before God by His righteous obedience unto death, and called effectually by the Spirit to Him! Now, having ALL in Him, we lack nothing pertaining to our salvation and eternal well-being. Paul expressed this in Colossians 2:10: “And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power…” Everything Paul had strived to obtain in his former religion, he now counted as dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (Philippians 3:8) . Therefore, Paul could declare, as do all of God’s children when Christ is revealed in them: “I have all, and abound: I am full… ” There is nothing more the child of God needs or wants. Being Christ’s, our wealth lies in “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). Our greatest treasure is found in the LORD Jesus Christ and all that He is and has done for us to make us “heirs of God and joint heirs with Him” (Romans 8:17). Having all things in Christ does not mean a life of ease. Our contentment lies in knowing that, no matter the hardships, temptations, and trials we may face, as the apostle Paul did, we can still say: “I have all things and abound: I am full.” Christ is All in all. He is made unto us “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). In Christ, we have everything we need. Yes, our sinful flesh may crave more, but the Spirit of Christ in us causes us to crave Him more than our flesh might ever do to draw us away. “For all things are yours; and ye are Christ’s” (1 Corinthians 3:21).

Song of Solomon 1:2 "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine." The language used here to describe the affection between a virgin and her spouse is a deeply intimate one. It mirrors the love between the LORD Jesus Christ and His Church, to Whom she is espoused, longing for His Presence and affection. When the Spirit of Christ reveals His love in the heart of a sinner—one chosen by God the Father, given to His Son, and for whom Jesus came to pay their sin debt—that sinner's heart is drawn to the LORD Jesus in love and affection. As the apostle Peter wrote, "Unto you therefore which believe, He is precious." (1 Peter 2:7)       This love is not mere intellectual understanding but a God-given affection that stirs a deep desire for Christ as the Object of their love. “We love Him because He first loved us,”  giving Himself as the ultimate Sacrifice for our sins, ( 1 John 4:10 ). The love of the virgin in Solomon's Song of Songs mirrors this, as she is so drawn to her beloved that she searches for him even in the middle of the night, asking, "Saw ye Him whom my soul loveth?" (Song of Solomon 3:3)  Similarly, when Mary Magdalene sought Jesus at the empty tomb, she asked ,  "Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him." (John 20:15)  The apostle Paul expressed a similar longing: "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). Also   Peter wrote, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8)  .     The desire of the redeemed sinner is captured in the cry, "Let Him kiss me."  It is His love for us that stirs our love for Him. The "kisses of His mouth"  represent His Word, through which He draws those He loves. Christ, the Word made flesh, uses Scripture to reveal Himself and draw us near. Those whom He has set His love upon from eternity past are irresistibly drawn to Him in time, having justified them at the cross, and they now set their hearts on Him Who lived, died, rose again, and ascended to the Father. There, seated in glory, His work of redemption is complete and He continues to intercede for each one for whom He paid their horrible sin debt ( Colossians 3:2).       Every heart touched by the revelation of Jesus will hunger and thirst for more of Him, desiring to know His love in ever-deeper ways. "Let Him kiss me!"  is the cry of the heart, and nothing else can satisfy. For those that He has redeemed, there is only One Object of their love: He Who loved them and gave Himself for them.

Psalm 122:1 "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord ." This verse breathes out the joy of a redeemed soul drawn by grace into the presence of God. It is not the natural heart that delights in the things of God, only the regenerate heart made willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3) . The gladness expressed here flows from the work of Christ Who by His blood has opened the way into the true house of the LORD—not a temple made with hands, but the assembly of His saints, His church, redeemed and gathered by the Spirit. It is Christ, our Peace, Who brings us near (Ephesians 2:13–14) , and in Him, we rejoice to go where His glory dwells. This Psalm was one of many called ‘Songs of degrees’ because they were sung by pilgrims journeying up to Jerusalem and the temple. Many people from all parts of the promised Land journeyed up to Jerusalem each year for the feasts, especially the Passover in the spring, the Feasts of the Tabernacles and the Harvest in the autumn. During these seasons, companies of people went up, step by step from one town and another and would meet up and journey on together.       What a beautiful picture of the LORD’s people today who walk together in Christ, members of His body, belonging to the house of the LORD, His church. The word ‘church’  means 'called out ones’.   And so it is of those sinners, chosen by God the Father from eternity and in time called out to the LORD Jesus by His effectual grace, from every tribe, nation and tongue, ( Revelation 7:9). He has made them a kingdom of priests unto God by the shed blood unto death of the LORD Jesus, ( Revelation 1:5).       In the Old Testament, the house of the LORD was a physical temple where people went to worship with their sacrifices offered up by the priests unto God.  Today, the temple is not physical but the Spiritual body of the LORD Jesus, John 2:21.  The house of the LORD in the Old Testament foreshadowed the Person and work of the LORD Jesus as God’s House, made up of those sinners that He has redeemed and they are joined together as believer priests to offer up sacrifices of praise through Him Who is God’s High Priest and Mediator ( Hebrews 13:15).   “But Christ as a Son over his own house; whose house are we, if [as] we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” (Hebrews 3:6)       People today talk about ‘going to church’ as if it is a place, when it is a chosen, redeemed, and called out people. The church is a community of believers that the LORD Jesus has bought by His shed blood unto death on the cross,  Ephesians 2:13-22 ,. Therefore, they meet together around the throne of Grace, wherever they can join in that oneness of the Faith once delivered unto the saints, Jude 1:3.  Just like the church of old that would journey to meet together, so we walk this pilgrim path together in Christ, rejoicing in His work accomplished for chosen undeserving but thankful sinners. As we serve out our life sentence, we rejoice together in God’s work of Grace for us and in us, and cherish the fellowship that we enjoy together being members of His House.  As the LORD’s House, we are His household, members of one another as the true family of God ( Ephesians 3:15).        1.)   A household whose members value one another, understanding our need for one another’s fellowship but more importantly our continual need of the LORD Jesus our Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption 1( Corinthians 1:30-31, 12:15-24).     2.)   A household that  relates to one another  with a true caring concern for one another, putting differences aside by the Grace of God, all being sinners saved, forgiven, and justified by the work of the LORD Jesus, therefore one  in Him ( 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 ).     3.)   A household whose unity  is one in heart in Christ, not mere formalism or outward appearance ( Ephesians 4:1-6 ).     4.)   A household that seeks the common good of the other members, not looking out for their own interests ( Philippians 2:1-4 ).       As David declared , “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” So also are the members of Christ’s household who rejoice whenever we can meet together in Him to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth ( John 4:24).

Acts 13:39 "And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." In this single verse, the Holy Spirit declares the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ . Here, the apostle Paul proclaims the utter sufficiency and exclusivity of Christ's redemptive work. This is not a conditional offer but a triumphant declaration of what Christ has accomplished for His elect. The law could never justify sinners—it could only condemn. But by the perfect obedience and blood of the LORD Jesus, all who are given faith to believe are freely and fully justified, eternally cleared of every charge. This verse sets forth the finished work of Christ as the sinner’s only Righteousness before God, magnifying grace and exalting the Redeemer. Some would interpret this verse to say that it is by our believing that we are justified from all things before God. Doing so however is to miss the very heart of what the verse declares and what the Gospel teaches. It says, “...BY HIM all that believe are justified...” The tense of the word ‘justified’ is the present passive and means that by the LORD Jesus Christ, all that believe by His grace are being shown, exhibited or made manifest as ones whom God has already declared righteous by the LORD Jesus Christ and His Righteousness imputed to them at Calvary, " 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" (2 Corinthians 5:21). One commentator explains it, ‘Christ, as God, is not only the Justifier of His people, Who pronounces them righteous in the sight of God; but His righteousness imputed to them is the matter of their justification, or that by which they are justified and not the works of the law, or obedience to the Gospel, or internal holiness, either in whole or in part, or the Grace of Faith, but the Object of it, Christ, and His righteousness and justification by this is complete and perfect; it is from all sin, original and actual, secret and open, greater or lesser sins; sins of presumption and ignorance, of omission or commission; from all things the law can charge with, as breaches of it; from all things which the justice of God can demand satisfaction for.’ If we, by God’s Grace, are trusting Christ, our faith is not the cause of our justification before God but the evidence of God having justified us by Christ in His obedience unto death, having then and there forgiven us all our sin because He put them all away, " Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:" (Acts 13:38).

Isaiah 50:8 "He is near that justifieth me who will contend with me? Let us stand together: who is mine adversary? Let him come near to me." This verse, spoken prophetically by the Servant of the LORD, finds its ultimate fulfillment in the LORDJesus Christ. It reveals the unshakable confidence of Christ in His Father who justified Him—not by pardoning sin in Him, for He knew no sin, but by declaring His perfect righteousness as the Representative of His people. As the spotless Surety, Christ stood in the place of sinners, and having fulfilled all righteousness, He was vindicated by God in His resurrection. No adversary could lay a charge against Him; therefore, none can lay a charge against those He redeemed. His triumph is the triumph of sovereign grace, for in Him God's elect are justified with the same certainty. When wicked and evil men condemned Christ to die, no one stood with Him. Even His disciples were scattered from Him. Yet with confidence He could say, “He is near that justifieth me.” The word " justifieth"  here is not used in the common Scriptural sense of a sinner being justified before God, but in the proper judicial sense—that He would be declared righteous, He who knew no sin, though tempted in all things. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). The Father would vindicate His character and show Him to be perfect before His law and justice. All the testimonies of God the Father were in His favor: by the voice which spoke from Heaven at His baptism; by the miracles which He performed, showing that He was commissioned and approved by God; by the fact that even Pilate was constrained to declare Him innocent; and by the wonders that attended His crucifixion, demonstrating that He was the righteous Man—even in the view of the Roman centurion, who "glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47). Ultimately, He was raised from the dead, taken up into Heaven, and placed at the right hand of the Father—thus showing that His whole work was approved by God the Father and furnishing the most ample vindication of His character from all the accusations of His foes. In all His suffering as the Substitute for His people, the LORD Jesus did not open His mouth to defend Himself; rather, He willingly and patiently submitted Himself to God the Father, Who would justify Him through His sacrificial death for His own: “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously”   (1 Peter 2:23) . Peter declared that although they had taken Him and crucified Him with wicked hands, it was all according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain”  (Acts 2:23). Therefore, even as the LORD Jesus suffered and cried, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” His confidence remained: “He is near that justifieth me!”   It is the Father Who sent Him into the world. It was the Father Who purposed to save a great number of sinners by a just payment for their sins. It was the Father Who raised Christ from the dead, having done all  that was required for Him to be just and to justify — "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus"  (Romans 3:26). By His death, the Son satisfied every just demand of the Father. He laid down His life willingly and sacrificially in the place of those sinners the Father gave Him to save. He came in the flesh as God’s Substitute, to completely satisfy HIS law and justice on their behalf. There is no other way that God has ever granted pardon to sinners and declared them righteous except through the death and imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus at the cross. God must grant us repentance from thinking it can be in any other way. If Christ was justified as the Effectual Substitute—having finished the work and being raised from the dead—then it must be that His people were justified in Him at the same time, and therefore can, by the Spirit of God, say: “He is near that justifieth me” (Isaiah 50:8).

Revelation 1:4-6 "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." This opening benediction grounds this prophetic book in the real-time suffering and spiritual encouragement of the first-century church. Written by the Apostle John to the seven churches of Asia during a time of intense persecution—likely under the reign of Nero—the Revelation is not merely a future forecasting but a divine unveiling of Christ's present reign and redemptive victory already at work in His church. Much of what is revealed in this book pertains to events then unfolding or soon to take place in the first-century world, especially the judgment upon apostate Israel and the vindication of Christ and His people. In these verses, John exalts the sovereign grace of God in Christ, who “loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (v.5). He identifies the LORD Jesus not as a distant king but as “the prince of the kings of the earth,”  already reigning, already victorious. This is no hidden grace but a triumphant gospel for a suffering church of Christ's redeemed ones. What follows is not a message of fear, but of hope anchored in Christ’s finished work, His present glory, and His eternal dominion. The opening of this revelation of Jesus Christ is not a message of dread for the believer, but of triumphant grace in Jesus Christ. Written to the seven churches in Asia, it speaks to a specific people in a specific time, at the end of the Old Covenant age, yet its Truth is eternally relevant. In these verses, we behold the glory of our Redeemer and the Surety of His finished work. " Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:1). Grace and peace flow not from men or institutions but from “him which is, and which was, and which is to come” —the eternal, unchanging I AM (Exodus 3:14). This is the God of sovereign grace, who rules all things by His immutable counsel. The troubled churches were not left to chance or chaos but were under the care of Him who reigns eternally. Verse 5 declares, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.” Christ is the faithful witness—He alone has perfectly declared the Father (John 1:18) . In His life, death, and resurrection, He bore witness of God’s righteousness and love in redeeming His elect. As “the first begotten of the dead,” He is the guarantee of the resurrection of His people, having conquered death by His blood shed unto death (1 Corinthians 15:20). And even then, He was already “prince of the kings of the earth,” not waiting for future enthronement, but reigning then and now (Psalm 2:6; Acts 2:36). As King and LORD He came in judgment upon apostate Jerusalem (AD 70) as a manifestation of that reigning power, (Matthew 24:30). But most gloriously, John breaks into praise: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (v. 5). Here is sovereign grace in its fullest glory! He loved us—freely, eternally, sovereignly. He washed us—not by law, nor by ritual, but by His own blood. This is by the substitutionary Lamb of God. Christ did not make redemption possible—He accomplished it for His people (Hebrews 9:12). And “hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father” (v. 6) . This is not future potential; it is present reality. All believers, united to Christ, reign with Him and have direct access to God. What the Levitical priesthood could never accomplish, Christ has fulfilled in us. “To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (v. 6b) . All glory to Christ! The One who came in the fullness of time, who judged the harlot system of unbelief, now reigns in glory, having saved the church of His elect by grace. Let every heart given to Him echo this doxology—not in fear of wrath, but in thanksgiving for redemption already accomplished and grace eternally bestowed.

1 John 3:9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." How I long to be free from sin in my experience! There was a day when it was not so, being yet dead in sin, without the life of God in me, by His Spirit. However, since God graciously crossed my path with the Good News of Christ’s death and satisfaction for sin and the Spirit of God brought me from darkness to Light, I am more aware of sin in me now than ever before. On the one hand, I can understand, because now with the Spirit of God in me, as the Light, it exposes what I truly am by nature- a sinful, wicked, wretch. Like a cancer, I long to be rid of it and be free forever from its deadly effects. Therefore, when I read that “whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,” I wonder how this can be? I hear different ones explaining their theories that if born again, there is a ‘sinless nature’ that we have that is created in us, that does not sin. However, as I have questioned these about this, I can never get a straight answer as to exactly how this keeps me from sinning. Some say that it is by this ‘imparted righteousness’ that we can actually love God as we ought, and pray, witness, believe, etc. And yet, when I ask those who claim to have such a nature to tell me one instance where they have prayed a sinless prayer, or done a perfect work, or believed as they ought, they “hem and haw.” For any who are honest and indeed troubled by their sin, I believe there is a clearer explanation that John is writing of, under the inspiration of the Spirit. He wrote earlier in 1 John 1:9 that if we say that we have not sinned [having sinned in Adam with continuing, ongoing effects], we make God a liar. Then again, in 1 John 2:1 , John affirms the necessity of Christ’s ongoing role as Advocate because of our bent to sin. If there were a sinless nature imparted to us at regeneration, what then would be the need for Christ’s ongoing advocacy? Why the call of Scripture to be transformed by the RENEWING OF OUR MIND, Romans 12:2 ? The only answer I can find is that it refers to our standing in Christ and His IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS through His obedience unto death. If I am born of God, it is because Christ has already put away ALL my sin in His death, His wrath is removed and I am thereby JUSTIFIED and acquitted of ALL charges against me, ( Acts 13:39) . Yes, I acknowledge that ongoing, unchangeable sin nature within me, which the Spirit of God causes me to confess continually before God. However, in so doing, I have the assurance that He is faithful and just to continue to forgive and cleanse me of all my unrighteousness because of the death of His Son on my behalf, ( 1 John 1:9) . The renewing of the mind then is by the Spirit of God causing me to look away from my sinful flesh to the ONLY righteousness of God, that was already imputed to me at the cross and by which God continually looks upon me as sinless, ( Hebrews 8:12; 10:17) . “...for where no law is, there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15) Christ satisfied the law; therefore, there is no more sin to condemn those He redeemed by His shed blood ( Romans 10:4). When John writes of His Seed remaining in one who is born of God, that Seed is the very Word of Christ, revealed to the soul through the Gospel, ( 1 Peter 1:23). Also, in ( 1 John 1:10) , “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and HIS WORD is not in us,” is not referring to some seed of righteousness implanted in us, but the revealed Word of God, which remains in one born of God and causes them to see themselves as JUSTIFIED before God by the imputed righteousness of God in Christ. What hope can I have that it is so for me? Having been born of God, I know that He gave me Life because He has already declared me perfect through the death of His Son, ( Hebrews 1:3) . In that I rejoice and look to the day when I shall indeed in my experience be completely rid of my sin, through the changing of this body and my final glorification in HIM! ( Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2; Romans 8:30).

Luke 23:43 "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." When many talk of Heaven, they speak of family, friends and former acquaintances with whom they hope to spend eternity. While it is true that there will be recognition of one another in glory, yet if any are there, it won’t be because of our relationship to each other. Rather, it will be uniquely because of the LORD Jesus and His shed blood and God’s imputed righteousness for those whom God the Father decreed should be His children and whose adoption and justification the LORD Jesus purchased by His death on the cross. This is why our LORD was able to say to the thief on the cross, “To day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.” When Christ died, the thief on the cross accompanied him to Sheol, the place of the dead. After three days and three nights in Sheol, He arose from the grave and took with Him the souls of all of the elect who had awaited His coming, including the thief. He took captivity captive, leading them into glory (Ephesians 4:8) where heaven’s Glory is Christ, the Lamb slain ( Revelation 5:12). A second reality in Heaven will be that our sins, troubles, and tribulations will be remembered no more. Isaiah 65:16 states, “...because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.” This prophetic Word foresaw the putting away of the sins and troubles of the LORD’S people that would be completely and legally erased when Christ laid down His life at the cross. So complete was His work in paying the entire sin debt that the Holy God declares, “...their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17) The difficulty for us is that in our flesh, our sins and the memory of them stick to us here and now in our hearts and minds, like flies on fly paper, " For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:3). While they are no more in God’s view because of Christ’s finished work at the cross, yet, while in this flesh we are constantly reminded of them. Yet, God in mercy causes us to cry unto our Advocate and Intercessor, by His Spirit, the LORD Jesus Himself, with Whom forgiveness of sins is already and plenteous (infinite and unconditional) redemption, (Psalm 130:4-7). Yet, what a glorious hope to know that in glory, our memories will be cleansed, redeemed, healed and restored to perfection. Revelation 21:4 declares, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” This is Heaven’s Glory to which all of the LORD’S redeemed and called ones aspire in hope, ( Romans 8:18-26) .

1 Corinthians 3:12,13 "Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is." At first glance, many attribute these verses to some future trial of believers in glory, that will somehow determine who will receive some rewards and how many. However, the context shows that it is not about believers receiving or losing rewards in glory but rather the LORD testing the work of His servants, Gospel preachers, at various times in their ministries.      1.   “Now if any man builds”:    In verses 4-9 , the apostle Paul speaks of those whom the LORD appoints to declare the glorious message of Christ. One plants, another waters, but each one preaching and teaching according to the labor that the LORD has given them.      2. “This foundation”:     It is preachers of the Gospel of whom Paul speaks here because the Foundation on which they build is Jesus Christ, v. 11 . False preachers are not building on the Foundation that is Christ but rather, man and works. The Foundation that God laid in Christ is that of salvation through His blood shed unto death and righteousness imputed alone. God the Father purposed salvation and sent His Son to accomplish it completely on behalf of those He determined to save from eternity. That Foundation was only laid once in the death of the LORD Jesus, Hebrews 10:10-14 . God calls out Faithful Gospel preachers to build on that Foundation  (v. 10)  , but let every man (Gospel preacher) “...take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” (v. 10)   3. “Gold, silver, precious stones”:  This typifies the clear message of Christ and Him crucified preached in all His glory as the Effectual Substitute, Redeemer, and Satisfaction for the sins of God’s elect.  4.   “Wood, hay, stubble”:   Preaching Christ and yet intermingling the message with empty and useless commentary, intellectualism, form, ceremony, or tradition. It is not referring here to any who preach another Gospel but preaching the Gospel of Christ with fleshly motive, envy, and strife, Philippians 1:15-18 . Such were the philosophy and vain deceit, the weak and beggarly elements, and the rudiments of the world of which he speaks in Galatians 4:9 and  Colossians 2:8.     5. “The fire shall try every man’s work...” (v. 13):   It will be manifest by the fruit of that ministry, whether it was built on Christ and His grace, or mere intellectualism and ceremony.  “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he shall be saved…” (v. 15)  . The loss will be the minister’s labor in this life and work crumbling. God removing the ‘dross’. The winnowing work was done, but his soul preserved being one for whom the LORD paid the debt.         May the LORD Jesus Christ ALWAYS be exalted clearly and simply in the preaching of His Gospel.

Hebrews 4:15 "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." This glorious verse stands as a comfort to weary sinners and a testimony to the finished work of our great High Priest, the LORD Jesus Christ. It declares the perfection and sufficiency of Christ in His once-for-all priestly work. The Scriptures affirm that this High Priest has already fulfilled all that was required to reconcile His elect to God. The shadows are past. The reality is Christ (Colossians 2:17). The context of the epistle to the Hebrews is rich with contrast between the fading Mosaic Old Testament Covenant and the accomplished and consummated New Covenant in Christ. The old priesthood, with its continual sacrifices and human mediators, was weak through the flesh (Hebrews 7:23-8:7). The Levitical priests could not fully sympathize with the people because they, too, were sinners, needing sacrifices for themselves (Hebrews 7:27) . But now, we are told “ we have” —present tense, continuing reality—a High Priest unlike any other. Christ, our High Priest, is “ touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”   He did not remain aloof from our frailty but took on flesh and walked among us (John 1:14). He did not pretend to suffer—He truly did. He experienced hunger, thirst, sorrow, rejection, pain, and even the weight of divine wrath, though without sin. This means He knows. He understands. He is not merely aware of our infirmities intellectually—He feels  them. Yet, unlike us, He remained perfectly holy in all. His temptations were real. In the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11) , He faced the cunning of the devil who sought to offer shortcuts to glory apart from the cross. In Gethsemane, His soul was “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death”   (Matthew 26:38). On the cross, He bore abandonment and wrath in our stead, crying, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  (Matthew 27:46). Yet in all this, He did not sin. He obeyed perfectly where Adam failed, where Israel fell, where we daily falter. He fulfilled all righteousness as the spotless Lamb of God. This means our salvation is not contingent on our efforts, feelings, or responses—it is founded in the finished obedience of Christ, Who was “made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law”  (Galatians 4:4–5). The High Priest did not merely sympathize; He satisfied divine justice on behalf of His elect people. He is both merciful and faithful—merciful in that He knows our frailty, and faithful in that He did not fail in His mission. The old system—temple, priests, sacrifices—was already fading and would shortly vanish (Hebrews 8:13). When Hebrews was written, the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 loomed near, bringing a visible end to the old covenant. But Christ had already entered not into the earthly tabernacle, but “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us”   (Hebrews 9:24). His priesthood is eternal, and His once-offered Sacrifice has forever perfected them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). Therefore, we do not look for another mediator, nor do we wait for another redemptive event. Christ has already come, already conquered sin, already entered the heavenly holy place, and already sat down in triumph. The veil is torn. The law is fulfilled. The shadows have fled before the rising Sun of righteousness (Malachi 4:2). What comfort this gives to the believer in Christ! In all our weakness, sin, and struggle, we are not left to ourselves. We have a sympathetic High Priest Who has stood in our place, and ever lives to intercede on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25). He is not remote but present. Not awaiting future fulfillment, but reigning now in glory, interceding for us according to the will of God (Romans 8:34). Let us, then, hold fast our profession, not in our strength, but in His (Hebrews 10:23) . Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, not because of our worthiness, but because of His sufficiency. For this High Priest has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, and He has obtained for us eternal redemption. “He hath done all things well.”  — Mark 7:37 “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.”  — Romans 8:33