GOSPEL SIMPLICITY

“Blessed and happy and favored are those whose lawless acts have been forgiven,  And whose sins have been covered up and completely buried.  “Blessed and happy and favored is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account nor charge against him.”  Rom. 4:7-8 (AMP) ( 63 AD )

“He (Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.   He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”  Isa.53:5-8 ( 700 BC )

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.  11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isa. 53:10-12

“Because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile; for the same Lord is Lord over all [of us], and [He is] abounding in riches (blessings) for all who call on Him [in faith and prayer]. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord [in prayer] will be saved.”  14 But how will people call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher (messenger)? 15 And how will they preach unless they are commissioned and sent [for that purpose]? Just as it is written and forever remains written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”  But they did not all pay attention to the good news [of salvation]; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.”  Rom. 10:9-17

What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient, genuine faith produces good works.] If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,” but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? …James 2:14-26.   “Whereas Israel, [though always] pursuing the law of righteousness, did not succeed in fulfilling the law.  And why not? Because it was not by faith [that they pursued it], but as though it were by works [relying on the merit of their works instead of their faith]. They stumbled over the stumbling Stone [Jesus Christ]. 33 As it is written and forever remains written, Rom.9:31-33  “Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense;  And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].“I will make justice the measuring line. And righteousness the mason’s level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And waters will flood over the secret [hiding] place. “Your covenant with death will be annulled,  And your agreement with Sheol (the place of the dead) will not stand;  When the overwhelming scourge passes through,  Then you will become its trampling ground.”“As often as it passes through, it will seize you;  For morning after morning it will pass through, by day and by night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”  For the bed is too short to stretch out on,  And the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself [and likewise all their preparations are inadequate].   Isaiah 28:16-20

So very simply, your eternal destiny is sealed here on earth by your faith that Christ Jesus in your LORD and HE provided the “WAY” to deal with all of your sins before Almighty God.  That our Creator God is dealing a death blow to your self centered ego and pride so that HE might form the righteousness of Christ Jesus in you by faith and humility and not hold you accountable for your sins.  Like a good father teaching a child to walk, it is not in how many times you fall down as long as you are trying to learn to walk.   His only option for you is for you to learn to walk no matter how much damage you do in the process in pulling on the table cloths with broken dishes.

John teaches it this way:   1 John 1:5-10:   “This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]. 8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] 9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. 10 If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.

Yours, in HIS great Love and wonderful Grace & Mercy, Ken<><    www.OhanaChurch.Life