Author Archives: Ron

About Ron

Author of these articles has served in his church for 54 years, as a teacher for nearly 45 years, a deacon, treasurer, and leader of several groups. He has also sung as a bass in the choir for about 60 years. He became a Christian with a profession of faith at the age of 19. He is a veteran of 6 years years in the Air Force (4 on active duty). He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Quantitative Business Analysis. He has been writing articles and lessons for nearly 15 years. He is now a widower with 2 grown children and four grandchildren.

JESUS OPENED MY EYES TO THE TRUTH

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Click this picture to watch the video or go below to read the article= or do both.

This article gives you actual proof, instructions, and examples how Jesus can open your eyes to the life that is best and provides joy. Also to share the real way to live forever with Him.

     JESUS OPENED MY EYES TO THE TRUTH

Perhaps you have heard the expression: “The hardest part about being deceived is that you don’t know you’re being deceived.” Something similar could be said about our “sight”, our ability to see the truth. We can convince ourselves that we see life as it really is when, we  are blind. It is only when we encounter Christ that our perspective can change and we gain a proper understanding of the truth and life. When we come in touch and meditate on Jesus do we see the truth- and see it clearly. Jesus led me to increasingly see who He is. Ask God to open our spiritual eyes through our study of the Bible- anytime we study it and always seek to study it daily.

                                        Read John 9:1-7

9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

       As Jesus passed by: The previous chapter ending as Jesus passed by those who wanted to stone Him, considering Jesus guilty of blasphemy. John continues the account, noting now Jesus passed by a man who was blind from birth.

       The sense of the flow of the text is that Jesus was not shaken or disturbed by the almost deadly confrontation with the religious leaders that just happened. “We find Him calm and self-possessed, acting with a profound disregard of His enemies and their hatred.” Jesus was often reviled, but never ruffled. “One of the things worthy to be noticed in our Lord’s character is his wonderful quiet of spirit, especially his marvelous calmness in the presence of those who misjudged, and insulted, and slandered him.” 

       “The blind man was sitting begging (John 9:8), possibly proclaiming the fact of his having been so born; for otherwise the disciples could hardly have asked the following question.” Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? The disciples regarded this man as an unsolved riddle. They showed no interest in helping the man, but in discussing the cause for his condition.

       Jesus will soon show a different way. He won’t dwell on the theological puzzle, but on actually helping the man. “It is ours, not to speculate, but to perform acts of mercy and love, according to the tenor of the gospel. Let us then be less inquisitive and more practical, less for cracking doctrinal nuts, and more for bringing forth the bread of life to the starving multitudes.”  We often suspect that where there is a more than ordinary sufferer, there is a more than ordinary sinner. The disciples believed this so much so that they wondered if this man had actually sinned before he was born, causing his blind condition. “In their thinking about divine retribution they had not advanced far beyond the position of Job’s friends.”

       “It was widely held that suffering, and especially such a disaster as blindness, was due to sin. The general principle was laid down by Rabbi Ammi: ‘There is no death without sin, and there is no suffering without iniquity.’”  Dods suggested five possible reasons behind their question.

     Some of the Jews of that time believed in the pre-existence of souls, and the possibility that those pre-existent souls could sin.

     Some of the Jews at that time believed in some kind of reincarnation, and perhaps the man sinned in a previous existence.

     Some of the Jews at that time believed that a baby might sin in the womb.

     Others thought the punishment was for a sin the man would later commit.

     While many were so bewildered that they threw out a wild possibility without thinking it through.

        Jesus responds to the question, without answering it, as He often does.

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” First, Jesus said that the man’s blindness – essentially a birth defect – was not caused by some specific sin on the part of the man or his parents.

Birth defects and other such tragedies are sometimes due to sinful behavior of the parents. Yet far more often – and in the case Jesus spoke of here – it is due simply to sin and our fallen condition in general, not due to any specific sin. The sin of Adam set the principle of death and its associated destruction in the world and we have had to deal with it ever since.

         Speaking to this man’s situation, Jesus told them that even his blindness was in the plan of God so that the works of God should be revealed in him. Think of all the times the little blind boy asked his mother, “Why am I blind?” Perhaps she never felt she had a good answer. Jesus explained, it is because God wants to work in and through even this. Jesus pointed the question away from why and on to the idea, what can God do in this?

       In this man’s case the specific work of God would soon be revealed: to heal him of his blindness. God may reveal His works in other lives other ways, such as joy and endurance in the midst of the difficulty. “In the economy of God’s Providence, his suffering had its place and aim, and this was to bring out the works of God in his being healed by the Redeemer.” Evil furthers the work of God in the world. It is in conquering and abolishing evil that He is manifested. The question for us is not where suffering has come from, but what are we to do with it.

       This does not mean that God deliberately caused the child to be born blind in order that, after many years, his glory should be displayed in the removal of the blindness; to think so would again be aspersion on the character of God. It does mean that God overruled the disaster of the child’s blindness so that, when the child grew to manhood, he might, by the recovering of his sight, see the glory of God in the face of Christ, and others, seeing the work of God, might turn to the true Light of the World.”           “We must suppose that every sufferer will in the long run be made aware of his share in promoting that advance; though to-day he suffer blindly, little conscious of his privilege.” man as a This man’s problem was theology and Jesus saw him as an opportunity to work the works of God. Jesus sensed an urgency to do this while it was still day – the time of His earthly ministry.

       I must work is a marvelous statement of Jesus. The Worker is “a well-earned title to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the worker, the chief worker, and the example to all workers.” He worked under the limitations of mortality and recognized in the brevity of life another call to eager and continuous service. “Whenever you see a man in sorrow and trouble, the way to look at it is, not to blame him and inquire how he came there, but to say, ‘Here is an opening for God’s almighty love. Here is an occasion for the display of the grace and goodness of the Lord.’” 

      The night was coming when no one can work: Jesus understood that opportunities for service and doing good don’t last forever. Jesus knew that healing this man on the Sabbath would bring greater opposition from the religious leaders who already wanted to silence and kill Him. Yet His compassion for the man drove Him to do it anyway. This should remind us that “Our Lord as a man here on earth had a day. It was only a day-a short period, and not very long; he could not make it longer, for it was settled by the great Lord.” 

       So He took advantage of the time and spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva: Jesus used what was undoubtedly one of His more unusual methods leading to a miracle. We can suppose that Jesus wanted to emphasize at least two things. Just as God used the dust of the ground and clay to do a work of creation in Genesis, so Jesus did a work of creation with dust and clay for this man. Jesus found it important to change His methods of healing so one could never make a formula of the methods. The power was in God, not in a method. This is an extremely important observation.

        “The emphasis of John seems to be on compassion rather than creation. The touch of a friendly hand would be reassuring. The weight of the clay would serve as an indicator to the blind man that something had been done to him, and it would be an inducement to obey Jesus’ command.”  “In His ministry to the souls of men Jesus adopted no stereotyped approach. He dealt with each man as his particular need required.”

       Applying medicine upon the eyes – was not so strange in the ancient world.  “Spittle, and especially the spittle of some distinguished persons, was believed to possess certain curative qualities.” (Barclay) Mark recorded two other healings that Jesus performed with the use of His saliva (Mark 7:33 and 8:23). Jesus then said to the man- Go, wash in the pool of Siloam: In this miracle, Jesus took all the initiative. Jesus came to the blind man; the blind man did not come to Him. Even so, He expected the blind man to respond with faith-filled action. The healing would not happen unless the man responded with those faith-filled, obedient actions. Not many people would appreciate having mud made with spit rubbed in their eyes. Some would look at how Jesus did this miracle and object, saying that it was offensive, inadequate, or even harmful to rub mud made with spit in a man’s eyes.

       In the same way, some feel that the gospel is offensive. It is true that it offends man’s pride and human wisdom, but it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21) In the same way, some feel that the gospel is inadequate. But have all the psychiatric and political and social programs in the world has done more good that the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ? SADLY, MANY BELIEVE THAT TO BE TRUE. In the same way, some feel that the gospel is harmful, that the free offer of grace in Jesus will cause people to sin that grace may abound. But the gospel changes our life for the good and the pure, not unto wickedness.

       The water for the pool of Siloam came through king Hezekiah’s tunnel, a remarkable engineering feat built in Old Testament times about 700+ years before, that the king was called Siloam, which, it was said, meant sent, because the water in it had been sent through the conduit into the city to protect that cities water supply. It was from the Siloam stream that was drawn the water which was poured over the great altar at the Feast of Tabernacles just past, which pouring out was regarded by the Rabbis (and is still) as typical of the pouring out of The Spirit in the ‘latter days’.”

       Which is translated, Sent: “Again and again John refers to Jesus as having been ‘sent’ by the Father. So now blindness is removed with reference to and with the aid of the ‘sent’.”  To do what Jesus told the blind man to do took faith, even when Jesus did not even promise the blind man sight in the doing of this. It was surely implied; but the man acted on faith even in the implied promise of Jesus. Still as a blind man he had to find his way down to the pool of Siloam and down its steps to the pool itself. He likely could think of a dozen reasons why this was a fool’s errand, but he went and washed in faith and obedience, because Jesus told him to (and because there was mud in his eyes).

       This is the first time in the Biblical record a person born blind was healed of their blindness. From Genesis to John, no prophet, priest, or apostle ever gave sight to eyes born blind. Since healing blind eyes is the work of the Lord, Yahweh, Jehovah, it shows that Jesus is God: The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. (Psalm 146:8) Has He opened your eyes? 

       Opening the eyes of the blind was prophesied to be a work of the Messiah: The eyes of the blind shall be opened. (Isaiah 35:5) Came back seeing: “The word rendered received sight is literally, recovered sight. Sight being natural to men, the depravation of it is regarded as a loss, and the reception of it, though never enjoyed before, as a recovery.” As the impotent man of chapter 5, cured after his thirty-eight years of sickness, may be viewed as a type of the Jews who are yet to be healed: so may this man of chapter 9, blind from birth, be viewed as a type of the Gentiles whose healing was about to begin and who were about to believe into Jesus as Him who was ‘the Sent’ from God.”

                         Read John 9:32-33

32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

       The man speaking these words, so far as we know, is the first person in all of human history to be cured of lifelong blindness. Jesus’ miracle not only showed His godly power (John 12:37–38), it also fulfilled prophecies about the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; 42:7). In Scripture, concepts such as light and darkness, or sight versus blindness, were used to represent spiritual matters. In prior verses, the recently-healed man has pointed out that the miraculous healing Jesus performed on him ought to be evidence that Jesus is from God (John 9:30–31).

       Further, Jesus’ miracle is unique. Not only has Jesus done something supernatural, He has done something no other prophet or priest in Israel’s history had ever done. Earlier, the scribes and Pharisees interrogating this man rejected Jesus on the grounds that they didn’t know where He’d come from. This response, from the one who’d been healed, points out that such excuses are just that: excuses to be prejudiced, not valid answers. The “bottom line” of the formerly-blind man’s argument comes in the next verse, in simple and common-sense terms.

       When Jesus healed a man born blind, His religious critics responded in a predictable way. Jesus had already challenged them for willful ignorance (John 7:17), and for “refusing” to follow their own Scriptures in order to believe in Him (John 5:39–40). Here, these men have twice interrogated the healed man (John 9:13, 24), looking for any reason to dismiss Jesus’ work. The formerly-blind beggar, for his part, responded with bravery and remarkably clear thinking. His overall point, delivered with heavy sarcasm, has been that Jesus’ miracles themselves ought to be evidence enough that He’s been sent by God.

       Here, the healed man makes this statement in clear and direct terms. This is almost identical to the conclusion Nicodemus brought to Jesus earlier in the gospel of John (John 3:1–2). This verse is the summary of the man’s response to the insults of the scribes and Pharisees, who tried to reject Jesus as a “sinner” instead of accepting His miracles. At this point, the religious leaders of Jerusalem have been thoroughly embarrassed. They have failed to debunk Jesus’ miracle. They responded in angry insults to one of their witnesses. And they’ve been “taught” some common-sense spiritual truth by a man they consider beneath them.
                              Read John 9:35-38

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

       The man Jesus healed of lifelong blindness has been excommunicated by the scribes and Pharisees (John 9:22, 34). Beyond his support for Jesus (John 9:25), this man also embarrassed local religious leaders by exposing their hypocrisy. Though he knew little about the man who healed him, this formerly-blind beggar knew more than enough to recognize a messenger of God (John 9:30–31). His challenge to the religious leaders earned him their insults, and their hatred (John 9:28).
       Prior to this moment, this man has not actually “seen” Jesus. His blindness was healed when he obeyed Jesus’ command to wash off his eyes (John 9:6–7), so Jesus was not there when the beggar gained eyesight. Now, Jesus finds the man after his run-in with the scribes and Pharisees. As He often does, Jesus challenges the man by asking him to explain his own beliefs. This question is important for several reasons. The term “Son of Man” is one that Jewish people associated closely with the Messiah. To this point, the once-blind man has not said he thinks Jesus is the Messiah—only that he believes Jesus has been sent by God (John 9:11).
       As the following verses show, this once-blind man is more than willing to follow what he has learned from his experiences; he only needs to be told how (Matthew 7:7).

Earlier, Jesus healed a man who had been born blind, but was not there when the man completed Jesus’ instructions (John 9:6–7). All the newly-healed man knows is that someone—sent from God—has given him the sight he’d never had (John 9:1–2, 11). After being insulted and abused by local religious leaders, the man is found again by Jesus. In the prior verse, Jesus asked this formerly-blind man if he believed in the Son of Man. This is a phrase heavily tied to the Jewish concept of the Messiah. The now-seeing beggar has admitted that he knows very little about Jesus (John 9:25), but he certainly believes that Jesus is operating on divine power (John 9:30–31).
       Here, the man responds to Jesus’ question with an admission of his own ignorance. This statement is similar to the cry of the father of a demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:24: “I believe; help my unbelief!” Here, the healed man wants to follow the truth, but simply does not know how. This is a strong contrast to the hard-headed scribes and Pharisees (John 5:39–40), who know more than enough about the Scriptures, but “refuse” to follow them by accepting Christ. As promised (Matthew 7:7), Jesus will respond to sincere seeking, and give this man the wisdom he needs.

       Jesus is speaking to the man He’d healed of lifelong blindness earlier in this passage (John 9:1–7). At that time, Jesus had sent the still-blind man off to wash his eyes, resulting in sight. This conversation is the first time the man has actually “seen” the person who granted him vision. Jesus’ question, posed in verse 35, was a chance for the beggar to explain his own faith. Jesus asked the man if he believed in the “Son of Man,” a phrase heavily tied to the Jewish concept of the Messiah. In response, the man admitted his own ignorance, and his willingness, to believe. This is a strong contrast to the scribes and Pharisees who have more than enough information (John 5:39–40), but who simply did not want to understand (John 7:17).
       Since the formerly-blind man does not know who the “Son of Man”—the Messiah—actually is, Jesus tells him. It’s Jesus Himself, the one standing right there speaking with the now-seeing man. Once again, the man’s response differs drastically from that of Jesus’ religious critics. Following his own advice (John 9:27), the man will immediately confess his faith in the Promised One.

       This moment is similar to how Thomas will respond to his encounter with a resurrected Jesus later in this gospel (John 20:24–29). Prior to this moment, all the once-blind man knew is that he had been healed by “a prophet” from God (John 9:6–7, 11). When that healer—Jesus—found the man, he admitted that he did not know who the Son of Man was, but wanted to know so he could respond in faith. Hearing that this Messiah was Jesus, the man immediately responded with worship.
        The religious leaders of Jerusalem respond to Jesus in exactly the opposite way. This man accepts the evidence he has, rather than looking for excuses about what he does not know (John 9:25). He seeks to follow God faithfully, but admits his own ignorance (John 9:36). The scribes and Pharisees don’t want to understand the truth (John 7:17), and they reject all the knowledge they already have (John 5:39–40).
       This moment is also important when discussing Jesus’ claims to be God. In other portions of Scripture, worship of any being other than God is forbidden (Exodus 20:3–4). When someone mistakenly worships other beings, such as angels, those beings respond by refusing that worship (Revelation 19:9–10). As with Thomas, Jesus accepts the worship of this newly-seeing man. By implication, Jesus is agreeing that He can be worshipped, which from a Jewish perspective means He is claiming to be identical to God.

THIRD BAPTISM – NEW TESTAMENT

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To watch the video click the picture or to read the article drop below the picture. They both clearly give the New Testament Scripture and truth that there is truly a third baptism. If you want to know the biggest Scripture that shows this from Jesus Himself- watch or read!

       Is there anything about a third baptism in the New Testament? I have talked with a couple of us in the church that either don’t believe in it or don’t know what it is. One could fill a library with the books that have been written about the first two baptisms. In the life of Jesus, our Perfect Example, we find Him being baptized with water by John the Baptist. In quick succession, the Holy Spirit “descend[ed] like a dove, and light[ed] upon him.” It is easy to see two baptisms here; one with water, and the other with the Holy Ghost.

         This third baptism is largely ignored today. In fact, it has in some cases been replaced with a baptism that is just the opposite of suffering. By this I mean what may well be called a “baptism of blessings.” This so-called “Prosperity Gospel” is what the Apostle Paul called “another gospel” in 2 Corinthians 11:4 and Galatians 1:16. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks of “another spirit” and “another Jesus.” So if someone comes preaching a Jesus that does not live and act like the Jesus in the four Gospels, then we need to beware. In connection with the theme of this article, we can easily deduce that whoever does not preach that the disciples of Jesus should follow their Master into His baptism of suffering, it is “another Jesus.” The Jesus that Paul preached told His disciples, “he that taketh not his cross, and followed after me, is not worthy of me.” Mt 10:38

       But further on in the Gospel story, we see Jesus commenting about a baptism that He had not yet accomplished: “But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” Lu. 12:50

      LETS LOOK AT THE THREE BAPTISM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

First Baptism: The Holy Spirit baptizes us IN Jesus.

  • 1 Corinthians 12:13 – For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
  • Galatians 3:26-27 – You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
  • John 20:23 – As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
  • Luke 24:45-49 – Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Second Baptism: The disciples baptize us in water.

  • Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
  • Romans 6:3–4 – Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
  • Matthew 28:19 – Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Third Baptism: Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit.

  • Matthew 3:11 – … He will baptize you WITH the Holy Spirit and fire.
  • Mark 1:8 – … he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
  • Luke 3:16 – … He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
  • John 1:33 – … he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

ALL OF THE “HE” IN THESE SCRIPTURES IS JESUS!

The Bible is grammatically correct- without faults. Look at the difference in the subjects and the pronouns in the first baptism versus the third baptism. They clearly are different. To say they are the same and mean the same says you don’t believe that the Bible is infallible.

Scripture confirms all three baptisms.

  • 1 John 5:7–8 – For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.
  • Acts 2:38 – And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture shows that all three baptisms are separate moments of experiencing God’s grace.

  • Acts 8:12–17 – Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
  • Acts 19:5-6 – On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

So, there is SALVATION, WATER and SPIRIT. Jesus had these three baptisms. He needed the dove to descend upon Him WITH the Spirit -not IN. Paul asked “into what then were you baptized”. Their answer was “into John’s Baptism” Acts 19:3 – that is Salvation and water baptism followed their salvation. In Acts 19:6 “And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirt came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied”. This is the third baptism here. Four times just in the book of Acts the Holy Spirit came upon people- after Salvation and water baptism- the Holy Spirit baptism was needed according to Paul. 25 years after Pentecost in Acts 19 Paul found some believers -who were saved and also water baptized-and he asked “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Paul was telling them to get baptized WITH the Holy Spirit (third one)

Look at 1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear witness in heaven; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one”. They bear witness to the supernatural life. 1 John 5:8 “And there are three that bear witness on earth. The Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” Remember Matthew 3:11 where it states Jesus baptizes with the Spirit.

When you get saved you become a new person. When you get water baptized the old person is cut off. When you get Spirit baptize you get power to walk in the new.

ETERNAL SECURITY (Once Saved Always Saved)

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Sorry but the video is said to be too large to download on this site- even though is only about 37 min. I may re-film this content in a few less min.

      ETERNAL SECURITY  -Once Saved Never Lost

       Can a Christian lose his or her salvation? This subject is critically important for one simple reason- we all sin. But each phrase centers on these questions: What happens when believers sin or backslide? Can a person’s sins or failures result in the loss of salvation?

      John 10:22-30 is a key New Testament passage on the security of the believer, However, before going there let’s look at a verse that years ago led me to the understanding of and the great value of the Holy Spirit. It is Jude 24!

       When people come to know Christ as their Savior, they are brought into a relationship with God that guarantees their eternal security. Jude 24 declares, “To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.” God’s power is able to keep the believer from falling. It is up to Him, not us, to present us before His glorious presence. Our eternal security is a result of God keeping us, not us maintaining our own salvation. This verse has helped me to know that I can count on, believe in, trust in, and always call on the Holy Spirit. There can be no misunderstanding in what it says. If we are baptized in the Spirit, keep Him close to us- He will keep us from stumbling and present us blameless before the presence of God.

                                                       JUDE 24-25

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

       The word of the Father reinforces Christ’s words and work: “God’s gifts and His and His call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29) and the inheritance He gives “can never perish, spoil, or fade” (1 Peter 1:3-5). God assures believers that Jesus will “keep us firm to the end” (1 Cor.1:7-9) and that He is able to “present” us “without fault” in that final day (Jude 24). For God’s purpose to be thwarted by human weakness or fickleness would make God’s word dependent on human actions.

         Then we move on to the key promise of eternal life- John 10:28-29. The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29b). Both Jesus and the Father have us firmly grasped in their hand. Who could possibly separate us from the grip of both the Father and the Son?

                                    JOHN 10:28-29

28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

       Someone may say about this verse 28- that says “no one” can snatch the believer out of Salvation-that they say what about the person themselves -can they “snatch themselves out of eternal salvation? What they seem to forget or dismiss is verse 29 where it says that the Father has given the believer into Jesus’ hand. That says the believer is from the one who is “greater than all” and then no snatching is possible. The question then becomes- “Do we believe the Bible”? Or is this the case where you just add your own interpretation that ignores the total context of the Bible?

Humans many times take a Bible verse out of context and those changes make the meaning something different than what it was meant to say or what our Lord says it means. We always need to read verses in the context of what God intends, More than that- humans often put their own belief on a Bible verse. So, what John 10:28-29 states “if a believer is in God’s hand (a true believer) – no one- not even the one’s whose eternal salvation may be in question- can take that salvation. Thus, some say the one who is NOT the “person permanently saved” can lose their salvation by them being the one who is rejecting it. But that person is also a “no one”. So, Jesus is making no exceptions- “no one” in John 10:28 is everyone and “no one” can snatch them out of the hands of God.

The Protection of Eternal Life. Jesus words in 10:28, 29 paint a picture of believers being held in His hand. This is a tremendous image of security.

                    EPHESIAN 4:30

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

       Ephesians 4:30 tells us that believers are “sealed for the day of redemption.” If believers did not have eternal security, the sealing could not truly be unto the day of redemption, but only to the day of sinning, apostasy, or disbelief. John 3:15-16 tells us that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will “have eternal life.” If a person were to be promised eternal life, but then have it taken away, it was never “eternal” to begin with. If eternal security is not true, the promises of eternal life in the Bible would be in error.

       This goes right in line with Matthew 12:31-32, where Jesus says that the unpardonable sin is to blasphemy the Holy Spirit. Regarding the Spirit’s confirmation, Ephesians 1:13 says “When you believed, you were marked in Him with a zeal, the promised Holy Spirit”. Paul states the Spirit serves us as a mark of permanence and security in our lives- a guarantee that the Christian’s destination will not be interrupted.

                                  Matthew 12:31-32

 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.       

         This reaffirms that as long as a person has not blasphemy but received salvation and is “sealed” with the Holy Spirit- it will be forever. What this is saying in essence, is we are “lost forever” if we never accept Jesus. And we do not blasphemy the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus as our Savior and are sealed in baptism with the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7-8).

            So, we look at likely the most spoken verse in the Bible   John 3:16.

                                      John 3:15-16

  15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”  16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

       This verse clearly states that all who believes shall NOT perish but have eternal life. So, we either believe what the Bible states or we try to interpret verses on our own. This goes right back to does the person truly believe or were they not serious. This tells us if we truly believe we have eternal life with God.

                                     Romans 8:35

. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (New Living Translation)

       This statement sets the stage for Romans 8:38-39. Paul writes that we must never interpret the darkness of earthly life as evidence of God’s lack of love for us. Nothing we do can keep Christ from loving us, and nothing that happens to us can mean that Christ no longer loves us. And all the previous verses tell us because of God’s love He will provide eternity.

                              Romans 8:38-39

        Then the most powerful argument for eternal security is Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our eternal security is based on God’s love for those whom He has redeemed. This states nothing can separate us from God’s love and eternal salvation. Our eternal security is purchased by Christ, promised by the Father, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Our security is not in our ability to hold on to Christ’s hand but in His ability to hold us in His. In case, you did not catch this last thought- The Trinity seals us to Him (Ep. 4:30 and Ep. 1:13).

                                Hebrews 10:10

10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

      The doctrine of the believer’s security does not rest just on Christ’s words in this one passage in Romans. All three members of the Godhead are involved in salvation, and Jesus’ perfect, one-time work to atone for all sin (Hebrews 10:10) is the basis for that assurance. Believers cannot save themselves or keep themselves saved, only the collaboration work of the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit can do that. So, we need to stop thinking we are the ones who has any real part in getting our salvation or in keeping it. We don’t earn our salvation, but once we use our free choice to claim Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and the Father assures that we retain this salvation. This free choice by the true believer must be real so he will know how grow in “the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

       Anyone who treats the security of a believer as an insurance policy so that they can sin without consequences probably does not know the Lord to begin with That is simply not the heart of a born-again follower of Christ. As Paul said, “We are died those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer” (Rom. 6:2)? Or in James’ words, “Faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). True faith results in a transformed life.

       Those who have truly known the forgiveness of their sins and are in the habit of thanking God for His love will not use their forgiveness and salvation as a license to sin. True believers in Christ look for ways to exploit their promised salvation.

       The proof of eternal life: (John 10:27)27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me”, gave rise to the Puritan theologians to the two marks of Christ’s sheep: the marks on the ear (“My sheep listen to my voice”) and the mark on the foot (“they follow me”). Just as cattle are branded today to identify their owner, so followers of Jesus are “branded” by these two truths: A true Christian is one who listens to the words of Jesus and who follows Him.

      Practically speaking, that means when we read the Word of God, a spirit of agreement and of formation will well up in our hearts. We will embrace what we read, not resist it. We will affirm its truth and look for ways to apply it in our lives. We will want to follow Him. And when we fail, we will want to repent and seek His forgiveness. No true believer will be comfortable unless he or she is following Jesus.

EMOTIONAL HEALING

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                  EMOTIONAL HEALING -Bonus

This article is about a different type of human issue that is often overlooked. It was planned for my www.facebook.com/HealthAnswerr  Face Page, however, I kept getting this urging by the Holy Spirit to include it on my www.facebook.com/Revelationsofheaven Face Book page also.   This writing deals with physical and emotional trauma in the person’s body and methods to free yourself. Trauma-whether emotional or physical- is a painful, horrifying experience that overwhelms your capacity to cope, and its effects often last for decades. Vitamins are more likely to be irritable, anxious, and depressed. Focusing, missing work, having financial problems, sleeping issues, and addictions are some of the concerns facing the person with a trauma. At best this person has a major health problem; at worse they feel suicidal. There are so many ways to be traumatized and expects estimate that an astounding 75 percent of us have experienced one or more traumatic events of varying degrees. While listing many more of these examples that cause our trauma may help to identify them, it seems not to serve a useful purpose to list them here. What seems best to include here is a desire to get those experiencing any emotional trauma to seek the undying help of our Lord. So, I will deal with that also.

                                  WHAT IS EMOTIONAL HEALING?

       Emotional healing is the process of acknowledging, allowing, accepting, integrating, and processing painful life experiences and strong emotions. It may involve empathy, self-regulation, self-compassion, self-acceptance, mindfulness, and integration. Many people have a tendency to want to control the process of emotional healing by minimizing the pain and controlling their emotions, but this can actually inhibit the process of emotional healing.

       Emotional healing takes the time that it takes—which may be longer or shorter than you expect or plan on—if you allow it to be fully acknowledged, felt, moved through, and processed. Emotional healing will look different for everybody, but it may include emotional regulation skills, a feeling of lightness, and stronger relationships as you are able to be more present with yourself and your loved ones. All people will need emotional healing at some point during their lives—we all experience challenges and difficult emotions that need processing.

                                WHAT OFTEN GETS OVERLOOKED:

Beyond physical injury caused by an event, trauma leaves an imprint on our body, not just your brain, in the form of heartbreaking and gut-wrenching physical sensations. This is the emotional state that often causes many to just give up. For real healing, to take place, your body needs to learn that the danger has passed and it’s “possible to live in the safety of the present”. This statement comes from 2022 Bottom Line’s Health Breakthrough- but it is true in your spiritual being. The means when we go to our Lord for helping us to eliminate the danger, to help us deal with the events, and gives us the peace/contentment that makes it “possible to live in the safety of the present”. This tells me that much of the latest health news and scientific discoveries in a broad spectrum of fields are right in line with spiritual assistance from our Lord.

                              QUESTIONS TO ASK OR TO CONSIDER

Emotional healing is not an easy process, but it can be incredibly rewarding for many people and help them find clarity and inspiration in life beyond whatever it is they are healing from. Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself as you embark on your healing journey. What are you healing from? Maybe you don’t know, but you know you’d like things to be different:

  • How is not healing affecting your life?
  • What do you want your life to look like after you’ve healed?
  • If you woke tomorrow, how would you know you had healed?
  • Are you ready to heal?
  • Are you willing to sit through some discomfort in service of healing?
  • What will help you on your emotional healing journey?
  • How has not yet healing served you?
  • What can you do to make your healing journey gentle for yourself?

                                   GOALS OF RECOVERY

The challenge of recovering from trauma is to know what you know and feel what you feel without becoming overwhelmed, enraged, ashamed or collapsed. There are four goals to be considered. GOAL 1: Finding a way to become calm and focused. GOAL 2. Learning to maintain that calm in response to images, thoughts, sounds and physical sensations that remind you of the past. GOAL 3. Finding a way to be fully alive in the present and engaged with the people around you. GOAL 4. Not keeping secrets from yourself. Including secrets about the ways you have managed to survive from addictions or bad actions.

              TIPS TO WORK ON- BEFORE SEEKING PROFESSIONAL HELP

     Practice self-compassion—you’re not broken. It’s pretty hard to heal if you’re beating yourself up all the time, and one study showed that those who practice self-compassion show greater increases in well-being1 than those who didn’t.

     Thank yourself. Yes, that’s right—thank yourself. Despite the emotional pain you’ve experienced that’s leading you on this emotional healing journey, you have made it this far. Whatever coping mechanisms you used worked for you at the time, even if they don’t work now, or weren’t the “healthiest” in the first place. 

     Don’t go it alone. Science shows2 we heal better together. Your instinct might be to go into hiding until you are “done” healing, but the reality is that your friends and family probably want to help you! Reach out to someone who feels safe.

     Don’t try to “fix” it all at once. Emotional healing is not simple, and whatever happened to you likely has deeper roots in you than you realized and may be affecting you in many ways. Back to being realistic: don’t expect to fix all the ways your issue or trauma has affected you all at once.

     Sit through it. This may be one of the hardest things to do. You are likely experiencing a range of deep feelings such as sadness, grief or rage. Those aren’t fun emotions and it’s tempting to want to ignore them or rush through them. It will be uncomfortable but acknowledging tough feelings is part of healing. The good news is that feelings do pass even if it doesn’t feel like they will.

     Know that progress isn’t linear. You may feel like you are making the best breakthroughs, and then you have a terrible day where you feel like all of your emotional healing has been undone—or that you did something wrong. If you broke a leg, you might have a bad day where you’re in pain again despite a sustained period of healing. 

                     BENEFITS OF EMOTIONAL HEALING

      You may not like the pain that you’re in, but maybe you’re afraid to work on emotional healing because you’re afraid of what you might find in the process. This is a valid concern, but here are some of the health benefits3 that are associated with the positive emotions associated with healing.

      Better cardiovascular health

      Potentially longer life span 

      Lower cortisol (stress hormone) output

      Lower heart rate

      Less likely to develop respiratory infection when exposed to a common cold or flu

                      HOW TO FIND EMOTIONAL HEALING

        If you’re trying to heal your emotional pain, here are some ways that you can embark on your journey to emotional healing.

             SPIRITUAL HELP –Our God is the greatest source of help for all types of healing, joy, love, and mercy. We need to be in His Will and seek that Will for our lives. God will answer all of our prayers- not necessarily when we want or even sometimes the way we want the answer to be. When we are in God’s Will and the answer to our prayers are not what we desire, God will likely provide an even greater answer for our needs.

         Therapy -Emotional healing can be incredibly rewarding but it can also be painful in the interim. You might want to consider talking to a mental health professional who is trained in working with people on emotional healing journeys every day. They can help you heal at a pace that is appropriate for you and provide the insight you might not be able to reach on your own. 

          Mindfulness -When we are attempting emotional healing from something, it can be very easy to get pulled back into past events or to catastrophize what the future will be like if you don’t heal. Mindfulness practices can help you be in the present moment and see that, at this moment, you are just fine. Journaling is often suggested—and for good reason. Research shows4 that journaling is an effective way to reach insights into the unconscious by helping people work through their feelings and make meaning of what has happened to them. Allow yourself to feel the fullness of your grief, anger, pain, or loss without attaching further meaning, stories, or thoughts. This can be deeply healing and helpful in processing emotions.

         Research indicates the cycle of an emotion may last only 90 seconds.5 This information can help emotions feel less overwhelming. When you are overcome by an emotion, you can keep an eye on the clock to note how long it takes before the feeling dissipates—employing mindfulness skills in the meantime. Notice, allow, and describe the physical sensation of the emotion moving through your body without judging it or attempting to change it. Breathe through the sensations. You can perform exercises to ground yourself such as putting your feet on the floor, drinking a sip of water, or running cold water over your hands.

        Move Your Body -As you’re experiencing difficult emotions, try to move your body to help process your feelings. Move your body in ways that it wants to move (i.e., slowly or quickly, shaking or running). Moving the body to process stress or trauma can be seen in the animal kingdom as well. In his book “Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma,” therapist Peter A. Levine notes that in the wild, an impala that escapes its predator will instinctively “shake off” the traumatic event, regaining full movement of its body.6             Therapeutic techniques like somatic experiencing (SE) and trauma release exercises (TRE) can help process and move trauma and emotions from within the body. SE involves a person becoming aware of their internal bodily sensations and bringing awareness to them.7 TRE involves a person intentionally moving their bodies to decrease stress levels.8

       Get Support -Be open to receiving support from your community. Allow yourself to be seen, supported, and cared for by friends and loved ones. However, your best support will come from asking for God’s help. You need to be specific and ask for God’s Will. Your relationship to the Lord needs to be strong, consistent, loving and never failing (Faithful). This means first to become a true believer in Jesus as your Savior and ask for forgiveness of sins. Then we are promised to get our salvation and eternal life through faith in the Lord. It is a gift from God. We can do nothing (like good works) to be saved, all we need to do is to accept God.

                      MORE TO COME ON EMOTIONAL HEALING SOON

               SOME SCIENTIFIC SOURCES AND HELP FOR EMAOTIONAL HELP

  1. Eye Movement Desensitization (EMDR)
  2. Yoga
  3. Neurofeedback
  4. Talk Therapy with Qualified Group
  5. Writing of All Types

THE SUPREME MOMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY

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Read the article and/or go to bottom and watch the video.

KEY PASSAGE: Luke 24:13-26

        SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE: Genesis 2:17 | Ezekiel 18:4 | Ezekiel 18:20 | Matthew 27:46 | John 1:29 | John 12:27-31 | John 19:30 | Acts 2:22-24 | Romans 1:18 | Romans 6:6 | Romans 8:1-3 | 2 Corinthians 5:6 | 2 Corinthians 5:10 | 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 | 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 | Philippians 3:21 | Colossians 2:13-15 | Hebrews 9:22 | 1 Peter 2:21-24 | 1 John 1:9 | Revelation 1:18

                    SUMMARY: The Crucifixion

       If you asked a historian, philosopher, and scientist to identify the supreme moment in history, they’d all have different answers. But from God’s point of view, that moment was the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. As humans we can’t comprehend all that happened at the cross, but God has given us deeper understanding of what transpired in His Word.

                  THE STORY OF OUR SAVIOR

      After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-26). They’d been in Jerusalem and were aware of Jesus’ death and reported resurrection but were disappointed and confused about these events. Jesus responded, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?” (vv. 25-26). Then He explained to them all that was written about Him in the Old Testament. Jesus was the only one on earth who knew what had happened, and His Word is still explaining it to us today.

                God judged sin the day Jesus was crucified.

     Because He is holy and righteous, the Lord hates sin. He warned Adam and Eve that they would die if they disobeyed Him (Gen. 2: 17), and He continues to warn us in the scriptures not to rebel against Him because His wrath “is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).

      In the Old Testament, God set up a system of animal sacrifices to deal with sin. According to Hebrews 9:22, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” But those sacrifices were insufficient. What was needed was a perfect sacrifice, and that’s what Jesus came to be. When John the Baptist announced Him, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

      Christ was the only qualified sacrifice because He was perfect. On the cross, God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus was our substitute who bore the guilt and penalty of our sins so we wouldn’t have to. This was all according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. He sacrificed His Son to bear the condemnation we deserved (Acts 2:22). Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).

                    Christ defeated Satan on the cross.

      Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus said, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). Even though Satan is still working powerfully in this world today, Jesus won the war against him on our behalf with His death and resurrection.

       The devil cannot condemn us. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt in full. Since we’ve all sinned, we have a certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, but Jesus has canceled it, having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). At the cross, God disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Christ.

      Satan is a defeated foe even though he still tempts and attacks us. Christ’s victory over him guarantees that none of his accusations against us can stand because the record of our sins has been removed, and we stand in Christ’s righteousness. When we sin and confess, God promises to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). In fact, His blood is continually cleansing us every day of our lives. God will never condemn one of His blood-bought children.

       Satan cannot make us sin. Christ defeated the power of sin in our lives. According to Romans 6:6, “Our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so we would no longer be slaves to sin.” Satan rules over unbelievers, and they have no power to defeat him, but he can’t make any believer sin. Yes, we sometimes do, but we have God’s supernatural power to resist if we’ll use it.

        Satan cannot take our lives. Jesus alone holds the keys to death (Revelation 1:18). We are held securely by Him, and nothing happens to us apart from His permissive will. Death will eventually come, but God is the one whom the cross demonstrated how wicked he is. He tempted Jesus to come down from the cross and save Himself, yet despite the humiliation, abuse, and suffering, Christ did not revile in return, but quietly endured in obedience to His Father’s will, leaving us an example to follow in His steps (1 Pet. 2:21-23).

        God reconciled us to Himself through Christ. Reconcile means to bring back together two parties who were formerly estranged. Our sin has alienated us from a holy God, and there is nothing we can do to remedy the situation. But the Lord took the initiative to reconcile us to Himself by sending His Son to satisfy His righteous justice on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). Jesus bore the tidal wave of God’s wrath that we deserved so we wouldn’t have to. He was forsaken so we could be accepted (Matthew 27:46). Right before His death, Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Redemption and reconciliation were complete. Through faith in Christ, the enmity is gone, and as God’s beloved children, we’re clothed with the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

                                     WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE?

  • How has your understanding of the events on the cross been enlarged? What will you do in response to this supreme moment in human history?
  • In what ways have you believed Satan’s lies and accusations and allowed him power in your life that is not rightfully his?
  • The cross of Christ is the only way of salvation. Have you trusted in Jesus for reconciliation and forgiveness, or have you tried to add to His work on the cross to earn your acceptance?

              Back to the first question that this study asks:

         What is the supreme moment in human history? Well, if you were to ask people that, for example, if you were to ask a historian or a philosopher or a scientist, probably all of them would give you something different. In fact, if you asked most any person, “What is the supreme moment in all of human history”? you’d get a thousand or more different answers. But if you and I were to ask God that question, I think the answer would come very clear, very quickly. Because I do believe that, from God’s perspective, the supreme moment in human history was the moment His Son, Jesus Christ, was crucified.

       Now, a lot of people disagree with that. They just have to disagree with God. And I can understand why, rationally speaking and from a different perspective, somebody would say, “Well, that certainly was not the supreme moment of human history because this was just one man dying between two thieves, two criminals”. Well, you see, the reason a person would object to that answer is simply because they don’t understand what happened at the cross. In fact, most people don’t really understand what happened at the cross. They look at the cross and they see Jesus hanging there, having been nailed there and having been crowned with thorns, and finally pierced in His side. And they see all the events surrounding the cross and they say, “Well, you know, Jesus died for my sins or Jesus died on the cross”. What they don’t realize is that the most important things that were going on that day, you and I never really understand by simply looking at a scene.

       So, what I’d like to do is to show you why the most momentous, supreme, zenith, pinnacle event in all of human history is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And I want you to turn, if you will, to Luke chapter twenty-four. And this is a passage that really does not describe the crucifixion, but it’s a passage I want to read because of one particular verse here. And it’s almost humorous in some sense of the word, but sort of sad on the other. And Jesus has been crucified and resurrected from the dead and now here are a couple of His followers on their way. And in this twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, beginning in verse thirteen, here’s what you read, “And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about the things which had taken place. And while they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, ‘What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?’ And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, ‘Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?'” Now, when I read that, and I’ve read this verse many, many times. When I read this verse, I just sort of fell on my knees in laughter. And I’ll tell you why. He was the only one who knew what was going on that day. And they asked Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days”? And He was the only one who knew what happened the day He was crucified. “And He said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to Him, ‘The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things have happened. But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women had also said; but Him they did not see.’ And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for Christ to suffer these things and to enter His glory?'”

        Now, if somebody should ask you: What happened the day Jesus Christ was crucified? What happened at the cross? The first thing is simply this, and that is God judged sin the day Jesus Christ was crucified. When Jesus Christ was crucified, God judged sin. This He prophesied all the way back in the Garden of Eden when He said to Adam and Eve, “Of all the trees of the Garden you are freely to eat. But if you eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, ye shall surely die”. Then if you’ll recall all through the scriptures, God warns us about sin. He says, “The soul that sins will die”. In Romans, that first chapter, He makes it very clear in the eighteenth verse, he says that the wrath of God, God’s animosity toward, His uncompromising hatred of sin, God’s wrath is revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousness of men who hold or suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness. God hates sin. When we say that God judged sin, God did exactly that. Because all through the scriptures we find God expressing His, listen, His vehement opposition to all sin. For the simple reason He knows its destructive power in a person’s life. All you have to do is look at a newspaper, look at a magazine, watch the television, listen to the radio, and you and I see the awesome consequences of sin in people’s lives every single day. God judged sin at the cross. When we say that God judged sin on the cross, here’s what that means. He says that Jesus Christ bore our sin in His body. Which simply means, listen, now watch this, that God capsuled all the sin of mankind from Adam all the way back from Adam, all the way to the last person who will ever live. He capsuled all of that sin with all of its penalty, and what did He do? He placed every bit of that upon the person of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. He placed all of that sin upon Him. And then when He placed all of that sin upon Him, what did He do? He killed His only begotten Son and He killed Him and separated Himself from Him as a sinner. He placed all of our sin upon Him. He bore the total weight of all of our sin, all of our guilt. Any one of us could come up with enough sin in our lives over these years, that our sin would be enough, but multiply that by hundreds and thousands and millions and billions of times, God placed upon His only begotten Son. Listen, the sum total. He capsuled all of sin and placed it upon the life, upon the body of His only begotten Son, and then He condemned Him. The key word, if you could just ask for what’s one word that sums it all up, it is substitute. And that is that Jesus Christ went to the cross, listen, with your sin-debt and my sin-debt, every single sin we’ve ever committed, will ever commit, plus everybody who’s ever lived. Put it all upon Him. And then when He put it upon Him, then He killed Him. That is, He crucified His only begotten Son. So, when we say that God judged sin at the cross, what He did, listen. He judged and condemned sin in the person of His Son. There isn’t anybody who’s ever lived that could possibly ever live with whom God could have done that because every single one of us have sinned against God. And therefore, it took one who was absolutely sinless in order to bear the weight and the penalty for the sin of all mankind. But there’s a second thing that He did at the cross that makes it the most momentous moment in human history, and that’s this, that He defeated Satan. Somebody says, “Now wait a minute. Satan certainly isn’t defeated because he works on me daily”.

           We look around and see all the destructive things that are going on in the world today and we see that Satan is behind so much of what’s happening. And somebody says, “Well, if He defeated Satan, somewhere along the way, Satan got away”. No, he didn’t get away. He defeated Satan that day. Well, how did He do that? Well, let’s just think about it for a moment. Because when Jesus was talking to His disciples, and they were… He was talking to them and some others about what was going to happen, here’s what He said to them in that twelfth chapter of John. He says, “My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’ But for this purpose, I came to this hour”. Jesus knew He came for the purpose of being the ultimate Lamb of God to, listen, to bear the sin of all mankind. “‘Father, glorify Your name.’ Then a voice out of heaven said: ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ So the crowd of people who stood by heard it, were saying that it had thundered; and others were saying, ‘An angel has spoken to Him.’ Jesus answered and said, ‘This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.'” Satan will be defeated. And what happened at the cross? Satan absolutely was defeated. Now, let’s think about it for a moment. When you think about how he looked like he was going to be victorious, look, if you will, in Colossians chapter two, because this probably sums it all up best of all. Colossians chapter two, and notice another very important passage of scripture. And look, if you will, beginning in verse thirteen. Colossians chapter two, verse thirteen. Scripture says, “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He,” that is, God, “made you alive together with Christ, with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions”. Now, watch this, “Having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us; and He’s taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him”. Now, what does he mean when he says that He canceled out the certificate of debt? Person was in debt, oftentimes they would list on a scroll or on a parchment all the things that they owed and they would nail it to the doorpost of their house. When those things were atoned for or paid for or paid down or paid off, the debt was fully paid, they would oftentimes strike a nail through it or take it away. And what he’s simply saying is this. Watch this, when Jesus Christ went to the cross and He paid your sin-debt and mine in full, God took it away. That is, it’s destroyed. There is, listen, we have no debt hanging on our name in heaven. And I remember when I was a kid growing up, in the church I grew up in, they used to sing this song. “There’s a new name written down in glory and it’s mine”. And they sang a song like this, “There’s an old account was settled long ago,” and talking about sin and victory and glory and all of these things. An old account was settled long time ago. Well, all of us have an account in heaven. Well, let me tell you something, if you’ve trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, there’s one thing I know about your account and my account, watch this, that on your account and my account, listen, however He stamps it, He stamped on your account and mine “Paid in Full”. How do I know that? Here’s how I know that. Because when Jesus Christ went to the cross, He went to the cross as payment for our sin.

       Now, there are people who say, “Well now, I know that God has forgiven me of my sin but you know what? I’m just not sure about this matter of being eternally secure, that I’m eternally secure”. Well, let me ask you a question. If, when He went to the cross and God the Father put all your sin upon Him and He died and paid that penalty and the Father condemned Him because of sin, your sin and mine, let me ask you a question. If that didn’t atone for all of your sin, then listen, the atoning death of Jesus Christ was only partial payment. And you know what? If I have only, listen, if I am only partially paid, I’m still a debtor. And you who happen to believe, for example, in purgatory, that you have asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your life and to forgive you of your sin, but one of these days you’re going to have to die and pay some more, do you know what that says? It says, listen, it says the atoning death of Jesus Christ was inadequate. It didn’t work. There’s something got left over. Something got left out. You’ve got to pay. Listen, how could you pay for sin when the spotless, eternal, unblemished, holy Son of God? If He couldn’t pay for it, you’ll never be able to pay for it. Once you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you acknowledge He paid your sin-debt in full, you don’t ever have to wonder about that anymore. That is, listen, God defeated Satan, and He cannot come back with you and grab you out of the grace of God, the eternal security that God has provided for you. Because what that means is if it’s possible, then His atoning death was only partial payment. And how many times have we said, listen, His death means payment, listen, sin-debt paid in full. There is no hope, no assurance, no confidence and no security if all the sin was not atoned for by Him. Listen, Satan is a defeated foe. Naturally, what He wants us to believe is that He’s not defeated. And in fact, if you look around you and you listen to the devil, you will agree with him. For example, we still face temptation, we still face trials and difficulties and hardships. And there’s war and bloodshed and murder and rape and violence and all the other things going on. And you say, “Well, if Satan’s defeated”, listen, he is defeated in the life of every single believer. Every single child of God is in the hand of a sovereign, omnipotent God. He says He has established His throne in the universe and that He rules over-all. Therefore, whatever comes to us has to come to us by the permissive will of God. If you step out of the will of God, if you choose to live disobediently before God, if you choose to live in rebellion toward God, what happens? God certainly will allow, listen, He certainly will allow chastisement. He certainly will allow Satan, listen, He will allow Satan to work you over, but Satan cannot take your life. So, what happened at the cross? Well, when I think about what happened to Jesus and I think about the fact that He not only, listen, He not only stripped Satan, listen, He defeated Satan, He stripped him of his powers. Not only that, He exposed him for what he was. How wicked and vile and dark and devilish and hellish can you be to dress the Son of God almost naked, nail Him to a cross before a mob of people and jeer at Him and laugh at Him and mock at Him till He dies. You want to know what Satan will do to you? Look at the cross. You want to know what he’ll do to your life? He will strip you of everything that is of value to you. He will cheat you out of your love, your goodness. Listen, He’ll cheat you out of the joy, the peace, the happiness. He will strip you emotionally. He’ll strip you spiritually. He’ll strip you materially. He’ll do everything in his power to absolutely destroy you.

        If he would do that to the Son of God, you think you are a chosen vessel of the devil? On the other hand, he will, very good to you in order to deceive you and cause you to walk in darkness and blindness until the day you die and face Him eternally in hell. God exposed the devil for who he is. Satan did everything in his power to make Jesus look like less than he was. You know what He wants to do in your life? You can mark this down. Satan is going to do everything he possibly can in your life to keep you out of the will of God. He will give you money. He will give you opportunity. He will give you privilege. He will give you things you desire, anything He can get you to do to keep you out of the will of God, that’s how absolutely hateful and, listen, how wicked and vile he is. The third thing that happened at the cross is this, and that is, God, in Christ Jesus, was reconciling the world unto Himself. Now, what do we mean by that? Simply this. The word “reconcile” means to bring back together, two that have been separated, two that have been estranged, those that are enemies. And so, what is He doing? God, in Christ Jesus, is reconciling the world to Himself. Now, watch this. We are not reconciled to God. That isn’t something we do. Reconciliation, this bringing back together. And when I think about the whole issue of the cross, I think about the fact that they stretched Him out on the cross. It’s as like no matter how low in life people are or how far out yonder, they are or where they are in life, God’s wonderful, loving arms were reaching out. What was God saying? I want to bring you home. I want to forgive you. I want you to be who I created you to be. I will enable you to become the person I created you to become. God was in Christ reconciling, bringing back together. What was He doing? God took the initiative to reconcile us, to bring us back by doing what? By condemning sin in the life of His Son and making Him the sin-bearer who paid our sin-debt in full. Here’s what that did. That satisfied God’s demands. Watch this, it satisfied God’s demands for the penalty of sin. What was the penalty of sin? Death. Therefore, death was hanging upon every single person who ever lived. And therefore, in order to satisfy that judgment, somebody had to pay the price. Jesus paid the price that satisfied God’s requirement for justice. Therefore, God can be just and righteous and holy, having forgiven all of us of our sin, though His decree said, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die”. Because He was the sin-debt paid in full, now He can accept every single one of us. The cross isn’t a couple of sticks. The cross, listen, is our only hope. The cross is the way of salvation. It is man’s only possibility of being reconciled to God. And when Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me”? Suppose that had been the last thing He said? Suppose that’d been the last thing He said? That’d be a sad note. But I thank God that John said in that nineteenth chapter, then He finally said, in the Greek or the Aramaic, it would have been “tetelistai,” just one word, “tetelistai,” which means “it is finished”.

       This is not the word of a victim. This is not the word of somebody who lost a battle. This is not the word of a martyr. This is the word of a victor. This is the word of someone who has come through victoriously. This is the word of, listen, this is the word of someone who has won the battle. Jesus says, “It is finished”. God’s awesome, eternal, redemptive plan for mankind, listen, was absolutely sealed forever. And as a result of Christ dying on the cross, every single one of us who’ve trusted Him as our Savior, listen, it is so finished, we are eternally secure, not in our behavior, not in our promises, but in the awesome, atoning, sacrificial, substitutionary, vicarious death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. That is the hope of all mankind.