God and Sin

GOD AND SIN

I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. (Leviticus 11:45)

To be holy is to be free from unclean spirits, and therefore free from sin and unrighteousness.

It may be true that in our day, at least in America, we assume that sinful acts come only from our human nature. The truth is, most sinful acts performed by human beings are prompted by the unclean spirits that dwell in us.

The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. (I John 3:8)

This does not mean that an individual who sins is possessed with Satan. All of us Christians may be snared in a sin on occasion. It does mean, however that the compulsion to sin in our nature originates in Satan.

You may have noticed in the newspaper the number of people in positions of prominence who are falling into the sin of immorality. This is because the demons of lust are increasing.

The sexual scandals among the Catholic clergy, the sexual assaults in the military, and the number of molestations taking place in the public schools, are but three examples of the intense fires of lust that compel otherwise disciplined people to act in a manner that can ruin their life.

Satan and his workers are behind these disgraces. The sooner we recognize this the quicker we may find ways to combat this problem. These fiery temptations are going to increase in the future until all but the strongest Christians will find themselves unable to resist the satanic compulsions.

“The one who does what is sinful is of the devil.” The solution is not in self-control, although we are to control our behavior to the best of our ability. But because the problem has a spiritual basis, true deliverance can come only as we interact with the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

We are obligated to live as a Christian, reading our Bible and praying every day. The most important action we are to take is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord Jesus. The strongest part of our defense against satanic deception is our personal cross. When we try to make this present world a heaven, avoiding all unpleasantness, we will be deceived.

The main message of today’s Christian teaching seems to be that God has given us “grace” in such a manner that He does not see our sinning. He sees us through Christ, it is maintained. We are wrapped in the robe of Christ’s righteousness.

This is true when we first receive the Lord. But after that it is not true. The blood of the Lamb will continue to cover us and keep us without condemnation. But the moment we become aware that we are sinning we are obligated to confess the sin and turn away from it. If we do not, we are guilty of willful sin. Christians never, never, never are to continue in known sin.

We may be committing many sins. God regards these as sin, and they hinder our fellowship with Him. We will suffer the consequences of them, like the Christian who dies from lung cancer as a result of smoking cigarettes.

As soon as he becomes aware that smoking defiles the temple of the Spirit of God, he must press into Christ until he is forgiven and has the strength to stop smoking. Even then, if he has been smoking long enough, he may die of lung cancer. However, he has stopped smoking and so he is guiltless of that sin regardless of the consequences to his health.

This pattern of suspended judgment was true also under the Law of Moses.

When anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned. (Leviticus 5:5)

Notice that the individual has been guilty; but it is not until he is aware of his guilt that he is to take the actions required by the Levitical Law.

The same is true under the new covenant. We may be guilty of sinning, but we are not held accountable until we become aware of it.

For before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. (Romans 5:13)
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26,27)

While we are walking in the Light of God’s Presence we have fellowship with God. But when we are made aware of a sin we are committing, we absolutely must confess and turn away from it, with the help of the Lord.

There is a teaching common among Christian people. It is that as long as we are in this world we are obligated to sin. This is a lie. Christ gives us victory over all sin when we turn to Him.

Deliverance from sin does not come by dying. Sin is a spiritual matter and began in Heaven, not on the earth. When we die, the unclean spirits dwelling in us, which we have not confessed and renounced, will go with us. They are not going to remain in dead flesh.

Can we be tempted with lust after we die? Indeed we can, even though we have no way of fulfilling our desires. The demons of lust flock to the earth so they can satisfy their burning cravings.

Can people in the spirit world be delivered from these spirits? I expect so. Otherwise we will never have a church without spot or wrinkle, will we?

How will they be delivered? The same way they would have been on the earth if they had been obedient to Christ.

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. (I Peter 4:6)

I am not preaching “second chance.” If an individual is made aware of a sin, and knows what to do about it, and doesn’t obey what he has been taught, he will not get a second chance after he or she dies.

The problem is, most people born on the earth have not understood what sins they are committing; or if they do know, they never have been told what to do about them. They can be delivered after they die. But people who have had a chance to be delivered, and refused to be obedient, will not have another chance to be delivered after they die.

Now let us think about why “grace” does not take care of the problem of our sinning.

God is holy, free from spiritual uncleanness. He has commanded us to be holy as He is holy.

God, because of the atonement made on Calvary, is willing to forgive us while we do not realize we are unclean.

The problem here is, although God has forgiven us, the unclean spirits still have their home in us. God’s forgiveness does not result in the purging of uncleanness from us unless we become aware of our sinning. Then we immediately must confess our spiritual uncleanness and, with the assistance of Christ, renounce it, turning away from it.

If my understanding is correct, the Catholic penance is of little effect. The one who comes to Confession lists his or her sins. But instead of being given the means of deliverance from the sins, penances are commanded. Actually, doing penance is a way of atoning for sin, and this should never be practiced. The one all-sufficient atonement has been made, and it cannot be improved.

The action that must be taken by the sinner is not an attempt to atone for his sins but to confess and then turn away from them. The Lord Jesus will make this possible. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. He accomplished this with a perfect atonement. Now He stands ready to deliver the sinner from the bondages of Satan.

Grace, as it is preached today, does not make the believer holy. It does not remove the compulsions of sin. Therefore our holy God cannot have fellowship with the believer because of the uncleanness that is in him or her.

As I said, the blood of Christ covers our spiritual uncleanness while we are ignorant of the sin in our behavior. But once that sin is revealed, it absolutely must be confessed and renounced. The Lord Jesus will make this possible if we will but call upon Him until total victory is gained.

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” (II Corinthians 6:16,17)

Can you see how deceiving the current teaching of grace is? Grace would say, “Yes, we ought to do this, because it is in the Bible. But we always must remember that grace trumps this. Even if we do not come out from the uncleannesses of the world, God loves us so much that He will take us to Heaven by His unconditional grace.”

Do you see how we have destroyed the effectiveness of the Word of God, by our traditions?

The issue is not one of forgiveness, the issue is one of deliverance from evil spirits. We cannot have true, lasting fellowship with God except as we are moving ahead in the program of deliverance. When that is true, the blood of Christ is making up the difference.

God is holy and He requires that we be holy. God will have no fellowship with unclean spirits!

What provision has God made for our deliverance from uncleanness?

As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. (Matthew 13:40-43)

Let’s take a careful look at the above, because here is the answer to the holiness every true Christian is seeking.

“At the end of the age.” As of the present hour we are moving into the spiritual fulfillment of the last three of the seven feasts of the Lord: The Blowing of Trumpets; The Day of Atonement; and the festival of Tabernacles. These three festivals portray the removal of sin from the Body of Christ and the fullness of the indwelling of God.

“The Son of Man will send out His angels.” Please keep in mind that the term “angel” means messenger. It can be a human being.

“They will weed out of His Kingdom.” This is speaking of the cleansing of the Kingdom of God, isn’t it?

“Everything that causes sin.” The cause of sin is unclean spirits, as I have pointed out. They presently dwell in the bodies of the members of the Kingdom but shall be weeded out.

This sounds as though it is something performed by the messengers alone, but such is not the case. We have to be actively involved in confessing and renouncing our sin. Otherwise we would not develop the internal resistance to sin that God requires.

If I am not mistaken, the deliverance from the bondages of sin is taking place now, both in the earth and in the spirit world. The saints in the spirit world must partake of the program of redemption as it proceeds on the earth. If this were not the case, there never could be a Church without spot or wrinkle. Can you see that?

“And all who do evil.” There are people who choose not to be delivered. They prefer Satan over God. The messengers by force shall remove them from the Kingdom. This is the Battle of Armageddon.

“They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Such is the destiny of those who choose Satan over God.

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” We cannot shine as the sun, being the lights of the world, until all the evil is removed from us.

We have been chosen to be in the image of God. There is no uncleanness of any kind whatever in the image of God.

It appears to me that the work of cleansing the Kingdom of God has commenced already.

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (II Corinthians 7:1)
Seventy “sevens” are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (Daniel 9:24)

(“God and Sin”, 3440-2)