Behold I Tell You A Mystery

"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel… they all shall know Me...For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

This of course is a promise to ISRAEL. Remember them? They are the ones who delivered Jesus their Messiah to the Romans to be crucified. I cannot think of a greater sin than this. However, God says He will "forgive their iniquity" and their sin He will "remember no more".

"Father forgive them, they do not know what they doing" (Luke 23:34)

Jesus said this from the cross and his request included both ISRAEL and the ROMAN empire who conspired together to crucify Jesus. Jesus asked God to forgive them because the cross was God's plan to save sinners. Christians think God is going to put them in hell and torture them forever unless they repented and accepted Jesus as their Savior before they died, because that is what they would do to them. But God delivered Jesus up "for us all"...

"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all......this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again" (Romans 8:32; Acts 2:23-24).

All those "godless men" who had part in the crucifixion of Jesus died for their sin, just like Jesus did, and we will all eventually die for our sin. The amazing thing about God, and what separates Him from men, is he is going to save those "godless men". This truth had remained a mystery until revealed to the Apostle Paul...

”...we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people...Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable...thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Timothy 4:10; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

Now that should get a standing ovation for God and Christ Jesus, the Savior and Redeemer of the whole world!

"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2)

Destined To Be Delivered!

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of tresspasses, according to the riches of his GRACE that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." (Ephesians 1:7-8)

What Jesus did brought "redemption" to mankind and our sins are now forgiven.  What he did was to shed his blood for our sins. And his motivation was simply "the riches of his GRACE" - his unmerited favor toward mankind. 

He has "committed to us" this "word of reconciliation"...

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. He made him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:19-21)

The whole world is reconciled to God and the righteousness of Christ is now ours, and because of "His great love for us" God will resurrect and transform us from the status of "dead in our trespasses" into a righteous new creation destined to do the good works which He has prepared for us to do.

"...because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in MERCY, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus...For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance.." (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Did you notice that our deliverance is so certain that Paul speaks of it as if it were already completed and that God has already "seated us with him in the heavenly realms".  

Therefore, according to the "riches in GRACE" of Christ Jesus, we are destined to be delivered from death by our God who is "rich in mercy".

Only God "Can Forgive Their Wickedness"

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples indeed, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32)

You “will know” the truth he said. Jesus was talking to the Jews who had believed in him. Yet they were not free yet for they did not "know the truth". Believing in Jesus does not set you free, only the "truth" about Jesus can do that.  

The promise was that if they “hold to” his teaching (when they received it) they would then be his followers and the truth of his resurrection, and theirs, would "set them free" from the fear of death. They were Hebrews who because of the law were “held in slavery by their fear of death” which comes to all who are unable to perfectly obey it. The devil would see that all sin and therefore die…

“…by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants." (Hebrews 2:14-16)

We all share in that fear of wrath and death if we are honest, both Jew and Gentile. And only when we “hold to” the hope of resurrection do we become, like the Jews, “Abraham’s descendants” "by faith" in the grace of God...

“…because the law brings wrath…the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.” (Romans 4:15-17)

After God gives "life to the dead", and all are "made alive", then all will know the truth and all will be set free from the fear of death. For now however, only those who hold to the truth of the resurrection in faith are “just” and capable of being set free.

“Now the just shall live by faith...As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 10:38; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Hebrews 8:11-12)

There is a lot of wickedness in this world, and I do NOT FORGIVE it, and I do not believe we should.  We should fight to eliminate all evil from the world by any means that is available - but after they get what is coming to them in this present evil age, and when they are "made alive", God will "forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more".

That is grace, and that is love - we do not possess it now -  Soooo....

Vote for Trump, lock and load, help him rid this world of the bad guys and let's make America Great Again!

“…when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:5-8)

The simple prayers of those Israelites who prayed “in secret” were rewarded in accordance with what their Father God knew they needed. All other prayers were just “babbling” like pagans. It seems to me this is good advice for us as well.

“…if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

Those Israelites that Jesus was speaking to who did "not forgive others their sins" were not forgiven by their Father God for their own sins.

Let me ask you, does the above apply to Christians?

Well in my opinion it applies to everyone…even now!  And what is the result of sin?

“the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a),

But the cross changed everything and God added the promise of "not counting people's sins against them", and the "the free gift of eternal life" to his plan for sinners. After the cross Paul tells "the world" of sinners...

“…God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation…God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:19-21)

AND THE RESULT…

“the free gift of God is eternal life…" (Romans 6:23b)