In this issue:
Sneaky causes of heart attacks
What Really is the New Birth?
David Clayton
Every person who will be saved, must be born again. Nicodemus learned this truth when he had a discussion with Jesus one night:
“…. Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:2-3)
Why would a person need to be born again anyway? When my first son was born I went to see him in the hospital. Beside him on a nearby bed was a little girl and she was beautiful. She had been born at the same time as my son. I looked at this little girl and her face was so perfect that I thought, “what a beautiful baby!”
But Jesus’ verdict is that that baby was born wrong. Judged by the true moral standard of the universe, this attractive baby was ultimately, unfit for eternal existence. The only thing that could make such a person fit for the kingdom of God was to be born again!
This is not a trivial matter. Jesus meant what He said when He taught this truth. Let us consider the implications of the following passage:
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. (24) But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, (25) And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. (John 2:23-25)
Here were some people who believed in Jesus. This situation seemed to be perfect, now all that was left was to baptize them, bring them into the church, and they should have been ready for the kingdom. But notice, Jesus did not commit Himself to them! Why not? Because He knows what is in man. He knows that we make our promises, and we make our professions but Jesus is not fooled, He knows what is in man and He knows that what is in us, by nature, is unfit for eternity, He knows that the only hope for the best of us is to be born again.
So when the Bible talks about being born again, it is not something to be taken lightly. We might understand all prophecies, all doctrine, but until we settle this most important question everything else is meaningless. Have you been born again? If the answer is no, we might as well drop everything that we have been doing in life; stop it and go and settle this issue before we go any further. Until this takes place, everything else is a waste of time.
The Issue is Birth
Now let us not miss the critical point: God’s answer to man’s problem can be expressed in just one word: Birth . God’s answer is birth, we must be born again . We need to understand the implications of this. First, we need to ask ourselves, what is birth? I found one definition in the dictionary that I don’t fully accept. It says that birth means, “to be brought into existence.” But when Adam was brought into existence, was he born? No, he was not born, he was created , so I don’t agree with the dictionary. When God created the trees they were not born and if we accept such a definition we will end up in confusion.
I do agree that birth involves being brought into existence, but it is necessary to add that it means to be bought into existence from pre-existing life . It is to come into existence from a life that already exists. Everybody who is born has a mother or a father, or at least, there has to be a parent. There has to be an originating life for birth to take place. So when Jesus says a man must be born again, inherent in that statement is this truth: There must be a pre-existing life from which he is going to be born.
When I was a thirteen years old without any understanding at all, I got baptized because they said I needed to do it in order to be saved. I never knew that in order for me to be born again I had to partake of a pre-existing life, a life which I knew nothing about. My understanding was that God was saying, “if you are not baptized your destiny is to die without hope.” But I knew nothing about the life that is in Christ, I knew nothing about the righteousness of Christ, I knew nothing about the gift of God.
Birth involves pre-existing life, and this is one of the most important things that we need to understand about this new birth. When a person is born again, has he figuratively partaken of a pre-existing life or does this actually, literally happen? We need to consider the implications of what that means. I know I received life from my mother and father because I am here, but what about the life from God, did I receive this? That’s the question all who profess to be Christians must ask and when we have found the right answer, it ought to make us behave in an extraordinary way. It ought to, because it is the actual transmission of life from one entity (Christ), to another entity (you).
Alternatives
Are there alternatives to being born? Are there other means by which a living being might come into existence? Of course there is creation, but some people believe that it is also possible by means of evolution (as crazy as that may seem).
As we know, evolution is a process of slow gradual development where something changes from one state to another state. An unbelievably large number of Christians believe in religious evolution. They believe that you start out trying to do good, and you improve on that as you go through life and as you learn more you become better and better and one day you will be good enough to make it into the kingdom.
I remember one day talking to somebody and I said, “I am a Christian.” The lady interrupted me to say, “don’t say you are a Christian, say you are trying to be a Christian.” Well I was somewhat amazed, but then I realized that she was speaking on the basis of what she had learned in her religious education. She believed that Christianity is a matter of gradual development as humanity seeks to become better and better and works towards that goal. You become better and better, and gradually you might be called a Christian, you might say, “I hope to be saved,” but it depends upon reaching that place of ultimate moral development.
But what would we think of my child who came out of my wife’s womb, and as he grows up he says, “I am trying to be a Clayton, I am going to work towards it, I’m hoping to become a member of this family!” After being born of her life and her blood, the child says, “I am trying to be, I am hoping to be.” We would have to conclude that something is wrong with the thinking of that child. But this is the mindset of many professing Christians who do not understand the beauty and simplicity of the new birth.
Another false idea which is another form of evolutionary thinking, is the idea that the new birth may be achieved by education. That the new creature may be brought into existence by diligent study. Of course those who believe this will insist that they mean biblical education, they mean religious education. However, this is one of the Devil’s substitutes for the truth.
Birth is not a long drawn-out process, it is an event, it happens, usually in a few brief moments, and when it happens, a new entity has come into existence. Whatever happens to that entity afterwards, whatever development, whatever improvement, it never takes away from what that person was when he came into existence. He became a human being, a member of his family, the life of the parents was in this person, that’s what made him a member of that family. That is how birth is, and when God talks about the transition from the old life to the new life, the words that He chooses are instructive. He talks about creation and He talks about birth.
Sanctification is not Birth
So what about “sanctification?” Isn’t there a process of sanctification in the Christian’s life which is a process of growth? This is how many of us define it. I do believe in growth in the Christian life and I believe in sanctification. But I believe sanctification as taught in the Bible, is a process of continuing to live the born again life. When some speak of it they mean a process of gradual improvement. You’ll hear them say, “first of all you have justification, it means God sees you as being good even though you are not, then you have sanctification, it means you begin to grow to the place where you are becoming good, and thirdly you have glorification, it means that you have now become good and are ready for heaven and so God is going to take you
to heaven.” But the new birth is the event by which we partake of eternal life, it is the moment when we receive this gift. Sanctification is not a further means of obtaining this gift, it is the continuation of our life in Christ from day to day.
These terms have been misused and wrongfully defined. If Christianity has seemed hard and difficult and challenging and it seemed like a hopeless thing, maybe you have thought, “I will never change, I’ve been like this for forty or fifty years ….” if that is your thought, then you need to recognize that you will never change yourself. The solution is that you have got to believe in the gift of our gracious God. The answer is the new birth, you need to be born again. It is not an accident or a mistake that Jesus put it that way. He wanted us to understand.
The New Creation
Can we see the beauty of it? Here is the old life, the old man Adam, this man is dead and lost, everybody born into that old life of Adam was born the first time, each one of us existed in a lost state because we were born into that life. Our problem was not that we were bad or wicked or ugly, we were lost because we existed in this life, the life itself is hopeless. On the other side is the other life that God provided, the life of the new Adam, the last Adam. In this life is righteousness, perfection, purity, goodness, everything that we need, and God says, “you need to be born, you need to be transmitted from the old life to this new life.” And how does that happen? It happens when God gives you the very life of Christ. He gives you the holy spirit which is the life of Christ and by this means translates you from the existence of the first Adam, to the existence of the last Adam. We receive this when we believe that God has given it to us and accept it.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Col 1:12-13)
This is not to say that when we have received the new life everything is instantly perfect. We do need to learn to walk by faith, faith is the challenge. We need to believe the truth, if we believe the truth it makes us free. Suppose we have received the life of God yet we find it hard to accept it, what will be the consequence? The fact is, we will continue to live the old life even though we have been born again because we believe God is a liar. Believing God is a simple thing, yet it is often difficult because the very atmosphere around us is filled with unbelief. We have been bred to think of ourselves as being so unworthy that God cannot have anything to do with us. It is a lie, but it weakens the experience of many Christians. We sing the song, but we need to believe it,
Just as I am without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidst me come to thee,
Oh lamb of God I come, I come
We come without any qualification, that is why even murderers in prison on the day they were about to be executed have found their way to this new life because on that day they learned to believe the truth.
What is the Spirit?
The true meaning of the New Birth has been distorted by false ideas. People have believed in church membership, water baptism, indoctrination, even reincarnation. But there is something else which also works to mar the picture.
A leader in the godhead movement once told me that the spirit of God is not something which actually comes into the body of the Christian, as a literal entity or an actual presence. I objected by pointing out that God dwells in us and that He is omnipresent, everywhere at the same time. This person said, “yes, but if you are sitting somewhere and you have a telescope you may see someone far away through your telescope and in a sense you are where that person is. Because God is sitting there and He can see everything, in this sense He is present everywhere but it doesn’t mean that some aspect of God is present everywhere at every spot.” What he was suggesting is that God is not actually, personally present with the Christian, that Jesus is not living inside of us, but always is able to see us and it is in this sense that He is here with us.
Some years ago a song became very popular. The tune and music were beautiful, but I never got around to liking it because the words were distasteful to me. It was entitled “ From a Distance .” While it seemed to focus on God, the message was, “God is far away, very far away, but still He is watching you.” It suggested to me that God was a person who kept tabs on us, but was not personally in touch.
This is an important issue and I mention it because our understanding of this is critical to how we understand the new birth.
One of the reasons why this issue poses a challenge is because we have never seen a spirit. A part of our human problem is that we are always trying to relate to things we don’t understand, but we are limited by what we have already seen and experienced. None of us has ever seen a spirit or touched a spirit or even understand what spirit is, but we know that God’s spirit is the agent of spiritual birth. Jesus said,
…. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:5-6)
The Nature of Spirit
So what is this spirit? We know that when we receive the spirit it produces a life of victory over sin, but what is this spirit? The Bible does not tell us very much, but it gives us some ideas and we can draw some conclusions from what is revealed.
We know that angels are one kind of spirit, so are demons. In fact there are some who believe that the phrase, “the spirit of God,” or “the holy spirit,” actually refers to the angels! We know that God Himself is a spirit Being, however, there is not very much that we know about any of these entities in terms of what are they made up of and how they operate. But the Bible has told us some things about their attributes that make us understand that they exist in a realm that is entirely different from ours.
Normally these beings are invisible to human sight and we cannot touch them unless in some extraordinary way they make themselves tangible. As far as our ability to discern them is concerned, they are not real. Using all the means that humanity can use to assess the things around us, they don’t seem to exist.
Scientists have tried to study this spiritual world. They have employed sophisticated instruments in an attempt to learn more about this dimension. Sometimes Satan plays tricks on them. But there is nothing in the physical world that can really discern the presence of these beings, so while these spirit beings are real, they exist on a plane where humanity cannot discover anything about them using our own abilities. But the Bible does tell us things about spirits that make us understand that they do interact with humanity.
Let us look at a few passages which give us some insight into the work and nature of the spirit realm and how it affects us when it interacts with us.
Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. (6) And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. (Judg 14:5-6)
The Bible says that Samson was a strong man, was he really a strong man in himself? When a woman cut off his hair he was as weak as another man, so Samson himself was not really extraordinarily strong, yet he did extraordinary things. Once he took a donkey’s jaw bone and killed a thousand men, another time he took down the gates of a city, a huge thing, threw it on his back and carried it to the top of a mountain and left it there. When you look at the things he did they were extraordinary. At another time he caught an attacking lion with his bare hands and ripped him apart. But the Bible explains how he did it. It tells us that the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him.
How does this happen? What is involved? We don’t fully understand, but we can learn something from what the Bible tells us. Is the spirit working through his hands? Or is the spirit really doing the work while Samson himself does nothing? Is it an angel who is fighting the lion or is it Samson? We can see that something comes into his body and is working in such a way that his hands are moving but there is a power in them that did not exist before, can we see this? Samson is fighting the lion. It does not make much sense to say that the spirit here represents the work of angels. It is evident that something has taken over Samson’s body and is working through his body, through his fingers, through his hands. This power is working through him and is producing a result that is beyond human capability.
So this is one of the things we can understand: When a spirit interacts with a human being, one of the consequences is that his body can be taken over. We have seen it happen with evil spirits, but here we see it happening with the spirit of God. God’s spirit takes over Samson’s body and works through him in a superhuman way.
We find another example of this in 1 Samuels 19:22-24. This is the story where Saul is hunting for David to kill him. Something strange happens.
Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. (23) And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. (24) And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? (1 Sam 19:22-24)
Now in verse 23, it says that the Spirit of God came upon Saul while he was hunting for David to kill him, but when the spirit came upon him he started to prophesy. The spirit was working through him through his mouth. I don’t believe the spirit was acting on his mind because his mind wasn’t changed, he was hunting for David to kill him and this was the second time that it was happening to him. But we see that Saul loses control of his faculties and the Spirit of God is working through his mouth and upon his body. This is a strange thing, he strips off his clothes, the Spirit of God is humbling him because he is hunting for the servant of God to kill him. He strips off his clothes and he lies on the ground and prophesies. The people don’t understand and ask the question, “is Saul also one of the prophets?”
More than “Mental Disposition”
The point I am really making is that the Spirit of God is something more than just the thoughts of God. When the spirit of God comes upon a person, it means far more than simply that the person’s way of thinking changes. It is important that we understand this, because there are some who are involved in the godhead movement who teach that when the spirit of God comes into a person, all it means is that the person’s way of thinking changes. His mind is changed because he has a new understanding of God and His ways and that is what the new birth means. The Bible demonstrates that it is much more than this, The spirit of God includes a power that impacts upon humans in such a way that sometimes behaviour appears in us without us even choosing to behave in that way.
In Genesis 1:2 it teaches us clearly that the Spirit of God is some kind of power, not just a mental disposition, it says that “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” It wasn’t God’s mental disposition or God’s thoughts that were moving on the face of the waters, it was the power of God that was brooding there. God was about to start His work of creation and His power was resting upon the planet, it was about to produce a mighty work of creation. But in Genesis 6:3 we see where God says that His spirit would not always “strive with man,” so we see also that the Spirit of God is not just a power that can impact upon our bodies as it did with Saul, or a power that can create worlds, but it is also an influence which impacts on our minds, our mental faculties. It is something that can affect and influence our thought processes. So it is not reasonable to say that the Spirit of God is merely the angels or that the Spirit of God is merely the mental disposition.
At the resurrection of Jesus, He arose from the dead as a spirit Being. It is true that He told Thomas, “a spirit does not have flesh and blood like you see me have,” but what He was saying to them was, “I am not a ghost.” The Bible teaches that He was made a spirit.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. (1 Cor 15:45)
When the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked, he passed through the walls. Whatever material He was made up of was not interacting with the material of this planet, He went through the wall and it didn’t matter to Him because He was now of a nature and state that was different from the things that are physical. These are some of the truths we can understand when we look at what the Bible reveals about spiritual things.
What is my point in all of this? My point is, when the Bible says we are born of the spirit, it is trying to tell us that we have entered a realm where the normal rules no longer apply. In this planet the first rule is the rule of sin and death. All of us have experienced the power of that rule. We have experienced the reality that it was not possible to stop sinning. But when a person is born again, what happens to that rule? 1 John 3:9 says,
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. (1 John 3:9)
The law of sin is the first rule of this planet which you break, because you have entered a realm where the rules of this planet no longer apply! We are told that God has translated us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear son, that’s what it means to be born again, We have become spiritual entities and the rules of this planet no longer apply to us. So we live on a different plane, and that’s the first consequence of experiencing the new birth, that’s the first thing we need to understand, we have become different entities. Our minds are renewed, we now exist in the realm of spirit as far as our minds are concerned, so he that is born of God does not commit sin.
But we can’t accept that without accepting the rest of it. If we are logical people, we have to accept the rest. Is it possible for the life of Christ to be in me and yet I do not live that life? That’s the next challenge that comes to us. Do we have the spirit of God living in us, affecting our minds, giving us a new mind, but not affecting or influencing the rest of our being? Is it that as we grow sick, or weary, or afflicted that God’s spirit is not involved in that aspect of our lives at all?
When Jesus was here He was living the life of the model man, He was producing this perfect life so He could give it to us. But many of us believe that only some parts of what He did applies to us today. It’s the part of overcoming sin, but the part where He healed the sick and cast out devils and raised the dead, that part doesn’t apply to us today. But how can we accept part one without accepting part two? If we reject part two, there is every reason to reject part one.
Of course we still have the challenge of faith, we cannot receive unless we believe, but Jesus told us plainly what He gave us when He gave us the gift of the holy spirit.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:15-18)
How is it possible that these signs do not follow those who believe? How can we neglect this reality when we read it in the Bible? How can we say we have been born into the life of Christ, yet we do not experience the power of that life? When I am born into Christ, as I begin to mature in my experience and my understanding I am expecting the life of Christ in all its fullness to be reproduced in me. If this is not our understanding, it is because we have not really grasped what the new birth means.
The new birth is something unique. What do I mean by this? Birth is something which can only be experienced once. It can happen only once because birth is the beginning of existence from pre-existing life. Once you have come into existence, the only thing that remains for you to do is to die, there’s nothing else in that life that can either be a beginning or a conclusion except death. So when a person is born of his mother’s womb, he is born of the flesh and there is no second birth into that flesh. He cannot enter into his mother’s womb the second time to be born again. We can escape from that first life by death, but apart from death, there is only one other way to escape from that life.
The second way of escape from the flesh birth, is to be born of the spirit. If you are born into the second Adam then you can begin another life, but it is important to remember that in each case, birth can only take place once. I have met one person who has been baptized five times, I know people who have been baptized for every new truth that they discover. This practice arises from a misunderstanding of the new birth. This kind of behaviour really makes a lie and a mockery of the new birth. But these things happen because people think that going to church is the new birth, they think that believing a doctrine is the new birth, they don’t understand that the new birth is an experience where the Spirit of God, the life of Jesus Christ comes into a person’s body. How many times in the lifetime of a human being does this ever take place? According to the Bible it is one time, and I believe this is why Paul says,
One Lord, one faith, one baptism. (Ephesians 4:5)
When we are baptized several times we are making a lie of the truth, because a person can’t be born into Christ more than once. When a person is born from his mother the first time, it is not possible to repeat that experience. He can escape from that life by death, but he can never re-enter it. So why do we make a joke of spiritual things by supposedly being born over and over, by being baptized over and over and over? It is because we don’t understand what happens when we are born again. In this birth we have become partakesr of a different existence, the Bible teaches that if we lose this existence we become spiritually dead, and are lost. Some refer to this as the unpardonable sin.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, (5) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, (6) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (Heb 6:4-6)
Notice that such a person has been made a partaker of the holy ghost (he has been born again) and has tasted of the powers of the world to come. He has seen the power of Christ manifested in His life and in his body. What kind of powers are these “powers of the world to come?” They are the powers of spirit beings. When a person has tasted the powers of the world to come, it means that he experiences the abilities of spirit beings. He is able to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out devils, he is able to move mountains.
But notice that when a person falls away from this experience, when he loses this life, it is impossible for him to repent. It is impossible for him to return to that experience. If you turn your back on it, how can God bring you back? What does He have to bring you back when you have tasted the best and choose to turn your back on it? This is not referring to ignorant people like me when I was thirteen, who go and dip in the water without having any experience with Christ. This is not what it means to be born again? I fell away speedily, I had never tasted the good word of God, I had never tasted the powers of the world to come, I had never been made a partaker of the Holy Ghost, there was ample room for me to be saved, and many of the people who go and are baptized again and again they are in that condition, they have never tasted, they don’t know what they are doing. But once you have been truly born again and you choose to turn away from that, God has no more power to draw you, you are dead spiritually.
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26-27)
Notice he says, if we sin willfully. That means if we choose to go back to the way of sin. It doesn’t mean that if a person slips, he is lost. All of us have slipped from time to time, in our humanity sometimes we forget or we are careless. This is sad, but it does not mean we have turned from Christ and returned to sin. To go back to sin we have to make a decision that we don’t want Christ anymore. Just as we made a conscious decision to choose Christ, so we can make a conscious decision to turn away from Him. If we willfully do this, the word of God says there is no more hope for us.
We human beings tend to be a little afraid of things that we do not understand fully, most of us are afraid of spiritual things actually. We don’t mind the idea that our minds have been changed, but the idea that some alien force actually comes to live inside of this body is a little frightening unless we trust that entity absolutely. I suppose when Saul woke from his prophesying he said, “what hit me?” And he was afraid because something had happened to him that he couldn’t explain. But when the apostles got hit on the day of Pentecost they were not afraid, I am certain that they were praying every day for a repeat of that experience because they recognized in this power the presence of their risen Lord. Those who love Jesus can say, “He can do anything with me, I don’t care, He can do anything that He wants.”
I hope that this is the attitude that all of us find ourselves with. It is beautifully simple to receive the life of Christ and to become in Him, a new creation, not through human endeavour and struggle but as a gift from God. I want to encourage you to follow up on your conviction, go to Christ, invite Him to take charge of your life and He will. The Spirit of God changes people, but you don’t need to be afraid of that change and its effects when you are dealing with somebody that you love. Don’t let this day pass until you have the certainty that you have truly given your life to Him and received His spirit in your life.
Sin and Guilt
One of the great challenges of the Christian faith is the issue of how to correctly balance the Old Testament with the New. Some of the greatest criticisms of Christianity have arisen because of the God described in the Old Testament and the things He commanded and did. The God described in the Old Testament is difficult to deal with at times, He is represented as the God of the Jews, not of other nations and while He protects Israel, He mercilessly destroys others, wiping out entire cultures with the command to spare neither sex nor age. Not even babies and dumb animals are spared in some of these annihilations which are today referred to as acts of genocide. How can we reconcile this with the picture of the merciful, gentle and loving Jesus whom we find in the New Testament and who insists that God is our Father who loves all men?
But this is not the only area of conflict. The commandments of the Old Testament sometimes seem arbitrary and pointless and even more so when we see the terrible penalties imposed on those who failed to obey them. People were to be uncompromisingly put to death for crimes such as cursing one’s father or mother, or having sexual relations with an animal. Homosexuals were not to be permitted to live. How can this be reconciled with the mercy and patience revealed in the God of the New Testament?
In other areas such as the interpretation of prophecy, the understanding of law and grace, the nature of Israel today – in all these and other areas, we see massive disagreement and confusion in Christendom today. It is evident that there is need of a clear and consistent understanding of the difference between the Old and the New Testament and the reasons for these differences. Some Christians present a very good explanation of type and antitype, or perhaps of God’s unfolding purposes in different ages, but very often, the principles applied in explaining one area, are not followed through consistently in explaining other areas. So a person or a group may give a very good explanation of the difference between physical and spiritual Israel, or the sacrificial types versus Christ the true antitypical sacrifice, but at the same time, they have a very poor understanding of the law and its purpose in the Old Testament, versus the law and its purpose in the New Testament.
In this article, we cannot attempt to look at all the areas of conflict, even in a superficial way. However, there is one particular area of misunderstanding which has had devastating effects on the religious experience of millions over the centuries and has resulted in major false doctrines and significant misrepresentation of God. This false concept is still strongly promoted by every single church or group on the planet and even now is the root cause of serious conflict and division even among those of us who believe the truth about the Father and His Son.
Innocently Guilty.
And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. (Lev. 5:17)
This verse presents a strange idea for a person who believes in justice. It states that a person is guilty if he breaks any of the commandments of God, even if he does not know that he has done it! Furthermore, such a person “shall bear his iniquity.” Our first response when we read such a statement is, “this cannot be fair. How can somebody be guilty if he does not know that he did wrong?” “Guilty” may be defined as a state where one is accountable for wrong actions, but should a person be held accountable for wrong actions when he did not even know that they were wrong? In the unfair and unreasonable judicial systems of the world, this often happens, but in God’s system of justice which is supposed to be fair and which takes motives into consideration, is it acceptable that a person be held accountable for ignorantly breaking the law?
Before we go any further in examining this issue, let me say that this verse lays a good foundation for those who believe in the doctrine of Original Sin, or original guilt. The doctrine of original sin teaches that all men are accountable for the sin which Adam committed in the garden. This includes even newborn babies. I prefer to refer to this teaching as the doctrine of “Original Guilt,” rather than “Original Sin,” in order to avoid the confusion which has been floating around. It is clear that all men have suffered the consequences of Adam’s original sin. In this sense, every Christian believes in original sin. However, some go further to say that we all inherited Adam’s guilt, and therefore are guilty and accountable before God for what Adam did. In this sense, I and many others do not believe we inherited Adam’s sin. But many of us still build on a faulty and confusing platform in approaching this question of sin, even though we reject the doctrine of original guilt.
The verse quoted above, Leviticus 5:17, along with several others found in the book of Leviticus, teaches that a person can be guilty of a sin, even if he does it innocently, in total ignorance. This seems to establish the idea that a person can be innocently guilty! He does not need to be aware of sin, he does not need to consciously commit sin, even if he accidentally does something wrong, he is guilty! This is not far removed from the concept of original guilt, the idea that we can be guilty of sin and accountable for it without actually participating in the act itself. It is not the same, but it seems to be based on similar principles. How can this be understood? How can it be explained?
Understanding Sin
There is a difference in the way sin is understood in the Old Testament and how it is understood in the New Testament. This is something which has not been understood by the masses of Christendom over the past two thousand years. The key to understanding this issue properly, is to maintain the perspective that the Old Testament presented the truth in types and symbols, while the New Testament deals with the reality of those symbols. As stated earlier, we see this when we look at the sacrificial lambs and the ceremonies of the law. We understand that these represented Christ and His work. However, on the issues of sin, and the law, there has not been similar enlightenment.
The Bible teaches that there is a huge difference between the law of the Old Testament and the law of the New Testament. The principle of type and antitype exists here as fully as in the system of sacrifices and ceremonies. The New Testament refers to this difference by speaking of “the letter” and “the spirit.” It refers to the law written on stone, versus the law written on the heart. One was on the outside, the other is on the inside, one consisted of written instructions, the other consisted of a changed nature, one was carved by God’s finger into stone, the other is produced by the spirit of God transforming the heart of the believer. One could affect only a person’s behaviour, the other transforms the very thoughts, intentions and motives of a person. It is God’s rules, versus God’s life.
Some even manage to understand this, but it is in the area of sin that we find the greatest failure to understand this principle of type and antitype. In the Old Testament, sin was always represented as an act of law-breaking. Whenever a person did anything wrong, he was guilty, even if he did not know it. We can see that this understanding of sin depends on the Old Testament understanding of the law. The law was seen as a set of rules and a person’s innocence or guilt depended on his actions, with respect to the law. But what about in the New Testament? What if we apply the New Testament understanding of the law to the question of sin? What do we see then?
If the law in the New Testament is the life of God, the spirit of God, the new nature, the transformed heart, then it is obvious that the issue is not really disobedience to a set of rules, but rather, resistance of the spirit of God, the retaining of the old nature, the unrenewed heart. If a person observes the rules of the ten commandments, but he does not have the spirit of God, is such a person guilty of sin? Under the Old Testament system, he would not be, but under the New Testament system, such a person is lost!
…. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (Romans 8:9)
The problem, under the New Testament understanding, is not what a person does, but whether or not the person has the spirit of God. It is not whether the person observes the rules, but whether the person has the living law embedded in his heart. Therefore, sin is not so much the actions of transgression, but the state where a person does not have the spirit of God, the state where a person is separated from God. Therefore if a person does not transgress the law, but yet is not united to Christ, such a person is in a state of sin and is a transgressor of the true law of God. He is out of harmony with God’s life and is not fit to live! Therefore, in the new Testament the great issue is not obedience to the law, but rather, the receiving of the life of God in Christ. This was never the issue under the Old Covenant, all that was required then, was obedience, but it is the great issue in the New Covenant.
New Wine in Old Bottles
As I stated before, Christendom has never really moved from the Old Testament understanding of sin. Those who believe in original guilt and those who don’t, have all viewed the fall of man as an issue of guilt. Those who believe in original sin, say, man inherited Adam’s guilt. Those who reject original sin say, man only becomes guilty when he transgresses the law. However, both groups, and all of Christendom believe that the real problem is GUILT. They believe that Jesus died to solve the problem of man’s guilt. Some believe we inherited this guilt, while others believe we bring it upon ourselves by our own actions, but all insist that the problem is guilt.
Of course, when we focus on guilt, then we must necessarily view the issue from the perspective of legal law. There can be no guilt if there is no law and if guilt is really the issue, then it is evident that legal law is the real issue. Salvation means conformity to that legal law. But this is an Old Testament concept, it is the old covenant which says, “obey and live.” The New Covenant says, “believe and live,” it says, “be born again and live.” It is not about the law, it is about the life of Christ in us. However, when we hold to an Old Testament concept of sin and forgiveness, then we cannot escape the conclusion that it is all about the law.
God’s Character Distorted
We see this confusion appearing in every aspect of Christian beliefs. One predominant theme of almost all Christian teaching is the idea that God punished Jesus on the cross to satisfy His own wrath. This is an idea which makes thinking people cringe. Every time I hear it I shudder. It suggests that there is something about God’s nature and character which necessitates torture and death in order for Him to forgive. Such an idea has never been explained in a way to satisfy our sense of justice and reason. It just makes no sense, no matter how often it is expressed. What this teaching really does is create a concept of God which makes Him appear to be an unreasonable Person with His own idea of justice which is far more unreasonable than anything we have ever seen even in the worst human tyrants. This idea is even more abhorrent when we realize that hundreds of well meaning Christians go further and teach that people will be everlastingly tortured with unspeakable suffering for all the years of eternity, simpl y because they were guilty of breaking the law.
Antitype
But when we apply the principle of type and antitype to this issue of sin and guilt, we recognize that sin is far greater than simply what we do in relation to a set of rules. Sin in actual fact infuses the entire being of the sinner and is integrated into his very nature. Such a disease cannot be expelled by outward conformity to rules even if they are good rules. The problem which the sinner has is not a problem of guilt, it is a problem of corruption. It is not a question of what he does, it is a question of what he is! The Old Testament type focused on what the sinner did. Sin was defined in relation to the law. His problem was that he accumulated guilt by breaking the law and this guilt had to be cancelled by the blood of an animal. But what a tragedy that we have not seen beyond the type to grasp the greater truths of the antitype! We have moved from the shadow to the reality in so many areas, but here, we are still clinging to the type.
The New Testament recognizes the greater truth: It is not what the sinner does, it is what he is. This is the true problem. Sin is not understood in relation to a set of rules, it is understood in relation to our connection with Christ. The problem is not accumulated guilt, but the inborn carnal nature. Our problem is not solved by the offering of blood to God, but by receiving the life of His Son. Oh thank God for such a salvation! Thank God that the plan of salvation really deals with sin to the uttermost, in the area where the problem really exists, the very nature of man.
So now, we see that Jesus did not die to appease God’s anger or to satisfy His wrath in the sense in which this is commonly understood. Not at all. Jesus died because He had to take humanity’s disease upon Himself in order to cure it. He had to become man, to take the curse of sin upon Himself. When He did this, God had to separate from Him. This is how it is with sin and God, sin always separates from God. When Jesus took this separated state upon Himself, this is what killed Him. But He had to take it! He had to take it because this was the true nature of our sin and there is no sense in which He could have been said to have taken our sin if He had not been separated from God. This separation lay at the very heart of the sin disease. ( for more information write for our DVD or booklet entitled, “The Broken Curse.” ).
So Jesus took our sin and He put it to death. Separation from God always leads to selfish, sinful behaviour. However, when Jesus took our sin, He did not become selfish and sinful. Instead, He died to self. He chose to die rather than to save Himself on the cross. In this way, he put sin to death. On the third day He rose to a new life which had completely conquered sin. In this life sin had been destroyed in its very essence, the self-oriented life of separation from God.
This is the life which is now ours in Jesus Christ. This is the life which transforms our natures when we receive it; this is the life which unites us to God and turns us from selfishness to selflessness. The life which fills us with the pure love which belongs to God alone. This is why Jesus had to die. It was not about guilt, it was not about satisfying a legal set of rules, it was not about blood sacrifice. Oh may God help us to see beyond the type to the glory of the antitype. May the veil be removed from our eyes that we may see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The end is at hand brothers and sisters. It is time we grew up to the full measure of the stature of men and women in Jesus Christ. It is time to grow beyond the childish types to the mature understanding of those who have outgrown milk and are able to eat meat.
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:14-16)
Sneaky Causes of Heart Attacks
Lenworth Frankson
A strong and healthy heart is vital to good health and being aware of some of the less known factors which might negatively affect your heart might just be able to save your life. It is reported that nearly half of all heart attacks happen to people whose hearts seem to be funcitioning perfectly well. It may be that yours seems to be in great shape. Your weight is down, your waist is trim, your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels are under 100, and your blood pressure is pretty good ( 110/70) However, this does not necessarily guarantee that you have a good heart. There are some sneaky factors which might be affecting your heart.
Air Pollution
Ozone can kill heart cells, throw off the heartbeat, and increase the risk for a heart attack even if you don’t have heart disease. Ozone is a colorless gas with a noticeable odor. When inhaled, it can damage the lungs and irritate the throat. Although ozone is naturally found and produced in the atmosphere, it is also a significant part of air pollution called smog . In the upper layer of the sky, ozone is helpful in protecting us from some of the effects of the sun. However, when it exists in the lower layer, close to the earth (outdoors and in our homes); it can be harmful. Inhaling fairly low amounts of ozone can result in symptoms such as coughing, congestion, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest pain in otherwise healthy people.
People with already existing asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, and emphysema may find their conditions worsen while inhaling ozone. Breathing ozone may also increase the risk of getting certain lung diseases. People can recover from short-term exposure to low levels of ozone but breathing it in over a long period of time may have more damaging and longer-lasting effects than we might realize. Also, the use of some equipment, such as certain types of “ air cleaning ” devices, can cause increased levels of ozone in our homes or work environment. If an air cleaning device produces ozone at a level that is effective in killing molds and viruses, then it is also at a level that can be harmful to human beings and pets. Ozone can be released into the air from some office equipment such as laser printers, copiers and from some types of “air cleaners” such as some electric or ion generators, and certain industrial processes such as ozone treatment of bottled water.
Exercise indoors on high ozone days and avoid exhaust-choked streets, if you live in a built up area. If you have to walk use routes that are less traveled. The exhaust from vehicles and factories spew out chemicals and tiny particles that can inflame lungs and arteries, rupture plaque buildups, encourage blood clots, and elevate blood pressure.
Our Kidneys
What do kidneys have to do with our heart? Kidneys are vital to our body’s waste-disposal system, but in many adults these filters are not working properly and over time, this triples the chances of heart problems because when they are not working properly our bloodstream starts to get clogged-up, which stiffens arteries, support inflammation, and sets the stage for a heart attack. High blood pressure and diabetes, are risk factors for kidney problems too. Most people with kidney failure develop circulatory problems and go on to have heart attacks and strokes.
These are thought to be due to cellular changes that occur in kidney disease that raise the risk of circulatory diseases by the same amount as smoking. We can all take a break after a hard day but our heart and kidneys can’t. We know that the heart’s job is to pump oxygen-rich blood from our lungs to each cell in our body, minute after minute and day after day. If your heart beats at the average rate of about 75 times a minute, this means more than 39 million beats a year and with each heartbeat, blood is pushed through our kidneys for filtering. Though our two kidneys are each just about the size of your closed fist, they process about 200 quarts of blood per day to make about two liters of urine. To do their work, our kidneys need a constant supply of blood at a normal pressure. Too little blood or too little pressure can cause acute, sudden kidney failure. Too much blood or too much pressure can lead to scarring that can cause chronic, permanent kidney disease.
Siblings’ Heart Health
In the February 27 th issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association a report based on a large new study from Sweden suggests that when a brother or sister dies, especially from a heart attack, the risk of a surviving sibling also dying from a heart attack increases sharply in the following years. To see the effect of a sibling’s death on their other siblings, the team collected data on more than 1.6 million people in Sweden, aged 40 to 69. The data from the study was very interesting. They found that the risk of dying from a heart attack increased 25 percent among surviving sisters and 15 percent among surviving brothers compared to people who had not lost a sibling. If their brother or sister died of a heart attack, risk of also dying from a heart attack in the following years increased by 62 percent among women and 98 percent among men.
Death from a heart attack was not likely to happen immediately after siblings died, the researchers said but rather the risk rose in four to six year after a sibling’s death among women and in the two to six years afterward among men.
Many siblings whose brother or sister died from a heart attack have undiagnosed heart disease. If you know of a family member with a history of heart disease or a family member who died from heart disease, it is important to talk with your primary care doctor or a cardiologist to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
Having a sibling with heart disease before age 60 could easily double your risk of a heart attack. Make sure to tell your doctor about this part of your family history, and then do everything you can to stay healthy, from exercising to eating whole grains, fruits and lots of vegetables. I have to also mention the obvious: DO NOT SMOKE, ANYTHING!
Inflammatory Diseases
The scaly skin of psoriasis, the fatigue of lupus, and the joint pain of rheumatoid arthritis may seem worlds away from your heart, but these are all inflammatory diseases, and inflammation packs plaque into our arteries. Researchers believe that chronic inflammation may be at the root of heart disease. Inflammation can cause blood clotting. Those clots, in turn, block the blood flow to your heart, leading to heart disease and, eventually, a heart attack. There are numerous causes of hidden inflammation. Stress, inadequate sleep, nutritional deficiencies, and a diet high in processed foods, are only a few. This is why it is vital to live an active, healthy lifestyle. Psoriasis increases heart disease risk by nearly 80 percent, lupus doubles it, and rheumatoid arthritis raises heart attack risk by 60 percent. We have to be serious about keeping our blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and inflammation levels down. Gum disease also fires up internal inflammation.
Unhappy Relationships
Studies show that unhappy relationships increase heart disease risk 25 percent. Bad relationships do cause stress even when we try to ignore them. The Bible says that “ a merry heart does good like medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones ” and “heaviness in the heart of man makes it stop : but a good word makes it glad.” My advice; break up with the bad crowd and find real friends. If your marriage has relationship problems, work on it (every marriage has challenges at some point) When a person is happy their blood pressure drops, their arteries will be cleaner, and they usually live longer.
A study performed in 2006 by Tim Smith, a University of Utah psychologist, revealed the relationship between heart disease and unhappy marriages. Smith conducted interviews with married couples, gauging interactions as hostile, dominant, submissive or negative versus friendly. One hundred and fifty healthy couples were enrolled in the study.
The couples underwent CT scans to measure plaque buildup in the coronary arteries. The scans measured risk of heart disease. The results showed that “women who behaved in a hostile and unfriendly way and who were interacting with husbands who were also hostile and unfriendly”, had more calcification in the arteries that provide blood flow to the heart. Couples who were the most hostile had more severe calcification. Smith concluded that hostile marriages seem to increase the chances of developing atherosclerosis that can lead to heart disease and heart attack.
A happy marriage can reduce heart disease risk in ways not previously understood. One of the researchers had this to say: “ I’ve been doing these scans for years. Many people with no physical risk factors for cardiovascular disease still have calcification of the arteries just on the basis of stress alone and studies continue to show a strong connection between mind, body, happiness and health. It is a known fact that tress can lead to heart disease. Strive for a happy marriage and relationship, they lower our risk of heart disease ”
Vacation Time
Research shows that regular “getaways” can increase longevity by preventing heart disease. A nine year study showed that men who took at least one vacation per year were almost 30 percent less likely to die from a heart related cause compared with the men who kept on working without a vacation break. The study indicated that regardless of the men’s overall health and income, their risk of dying from heart disease was clearly connected to their willingness to take a break. It is suggested that vacation takers may have better heart health because time off helps reduces stress, which is one of the biggest contributors to heart disease. Some people will worry about being away from their jobs in this tough economy, and others can’t afford a getaway but if you can’t head for the beach, stay home and relax. Eat out or cook meals you enjoy cooking, go in the pool, turn off your phone and computer, watch a few good movies, take long walks, read stories from your Bible and other good books and unwind. Plan and aim f or that great vacation feeling. Your heart will love it, and you will too.
Baby Aspirin
If you take low-dose aspirin for any reason, PAY STRICT ATTENTION TO THIS. Stopping baby aspirin suddenly can triple the risk of blood clots forming in 10 days; this is not a typing error. I am not a doctor, as I have mentioned many times in previous articles but my research has shown me the seriousness of this issue. I do not recommend that anyone should take aspirin because I know and have seen what they can do to a person who is addicted to the drug. I am also aware that many doctors recommend taking baby aspirins as a blood thinner but as a health advocate I would recommend using a natural alternative to this drug. One such alternative is Fine Natto Kinase ; an extract of Natto (Fermented Soybean) is known to be effective in preventing thrombosis ( clotting of the blood in a part of the body ) and arteriosclerosis ( thickening and hardening of the walls of arteries ) by reducing LDL cholesterol in the blood and reducing the tendency of platelets to clot. It is used as a natural alternative medicine, as a blood thinner, blood clot dissolver and as a substitute for taking daily aspirin.
Natto Kinase is found in fermented soybean called Natto and is derived from the extracts of non-GMO fermented soybean, onionskin extract, and garlic extract. The ingredients have demonstrated a natural ability to assist the body in preventing blood clots, strokes and promoting healthy blood, arteries and veins. Natto Kinase is a natural remedy that has been shown to help reduce blood pressure and reduce blood clots. Natto is an enzyme rich, traditional, Japanese fermented soy food, consumed for many centuries. Vitamin K2, known to assist the body in promoting blood clotting during injuries, has been removed. Vitamin K1, believed to build calcium in the body and fight osteoporosis remains.
Other natural substances have been shown to act as blood thinners: Garlic, ginger, ginkgo, dong quai, feverfew, fish oil, vitamin E, and tree ear mushrooms (available in a dried form in Chinese grocery stores) all appear to have anticoagulant activity. But although these products may thin the blood, that alone doesn’t make them the suitable prescription for blood thinners. I would strongly recommend having a talk with your doctor first before taking them. Also, if you are on prescribed baby aspirin medication, talk to you doctor about the pros and cons of suddenly stopping your baby aspirin regimen, especially if you have surgery scheduled.
Eating healthy along with regular exercise is crucial for being in good health. But we must also be aware of the other sneaky factors that can contribute to heart disease and become vigilant in avoiding them.
Because of the lack of symptoms, heart disease is often not detected in its early stage. A person may feel great and yet be on the verge of a major heart attack and perhaps even sudden death. Approximately 60 percent of heart attack deaths occur suddenly or outside of a hospital before treatment can be administered. The sad truth is that for many their first heart attack is their only heart attack. Sudden death offers no second chance. The good news is that heart disease is preventable, treatable and even reversible.
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