Last week we had looked at verses 23 and 24, but they are only part of the sentence. Today we are going to focus on the next verse (25) and examine what it means for us today just as it did during the time the Book of Hebrews was written. Looking briefly at verses 23 and 24, we see that believers in Jesus Christ should hold on tight to the object of their faith, Jesus Christ. Why? Because He is faithful toward believers. Yes, He is faithful toward believers – He reaches out to the lost, those that have not trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation and He shows them great mercy – but they are not under Jesus Christ’s grace. Jesus Christ always keeps His promises and He will save those that have truly come to Him – holding nothing back in repentance – and will save them to the uttermost.

People must turn to Him and trust in Him and repent of their sins – looking to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the payment for their sins.

D.L. Moody wrote: Professor Drummond once described a man going into one of our after meetings and saying he wanted to become a Christian.

“Well, my friend, what is the trouble?” He doesn’t like to tell. He is greatly agitated. Finally he says, “The fact is, I have overdrawn my account” — a polite way of saying he has been stealing.

“Did you take your employer’s money?” “Yes.” “How much?” “I don’t know. I have never kept account of it.” “Well, you have an idea you stole $1,500 last year?” “I am afraid it is that much.”

“Now, look here, sir, I don’t believe in sudden work; don’t steal more that a thousand dollars this next year, and the next year not more that five hundred, and in the course of the next few years you will get so that you won’t steal any. If your employer catches you, tell him you are being converted; and you will get so that you won’t steal any by and by.”

My friends, the thing is a perfect farce! “Let him that stole, steal no more,” that is what the Bible says. It is right about face. Take another illustration. Here comes a man, and he admits that he gets drunk every week. That man comes to a meeting, and wants to be converted. Shall I say, “Don’t you be in a hurry. I believe in doing the work gradually. Don’t you get drunk and knock your wife down more than once a month?” Wouldn’t it be refreshing to his wife to go a whole month without being knocked down? Once a month, only twelve times in a year! Wouldn’t she be glad to have him converted in this new way! Only get drunk after a few years on the anniversary of your wedding, and at Christmas, and then it will be effective because it is gradual!

Oh! I detest all that kind of teaching. Let us go to the Bible and see what that old Book teaches. Let us believe it, and go and act as if we believed it, too. Salvation is instantaneous. I admit that a man may be converted so that he cannot tell when he crossed the line between death and life, but I also believe a man may be a thief one moment and a saint the next. I believe a man may be as vile as hell itself one moment, and be saved the next. Christian growth is gradual, just as physical growth is; but a man passes from death unto everlasting life quick as an act of the will — “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”

Think this phrase in your head: “God does not care if I sin a little.” That does not sound right, does it? What did Jesus Christ tell the woman caught in adultery? “Go and sin just a little.”? No! He said, “Go, and sin no more.”

Hebrews 10:23, 24 are blessings to the believer and encouragement to the believer. Because believers can trust in Jesus Christ — because He is faithful – then we should exhort one another in love and encourage good works to be done by each other. Note again, the good works mentioned in verse 24 comes AFTER the faith in Jesus Christ. Good works are the product of faith.

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (24) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: (25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

How can verses 23 and 24 happen if believers are not gathering together in order to exhort one another? And what better place to come together than at church where believers should praise God and worship God and read from His Word and hear His Word preached?

Romans 10:13-17 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (14) How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (15) And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (16) But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? (17) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

We all need to hear the Word of God preached! Thus, we all need to come together and worship God together and hear His Word preached together! I imagine that all of us have been to some sort of sporting event in our lifetime. As you watch the game you get caught up in the action and the players will feel the energy coming from the crowd and it is something everybody is doing together. The crowd cheers and boos and does the wave and applauds and so forth. But can you imagine what the game would be like if there were nobody in the stands. Can you imagine the Carrier Dome being empty except for the two teams playing basketball? How much different an event that becomes. We need to be here and the more there are that are of a Godly mindset, the better. Hebrews 10:25 is for the believer and about the believer. Now the lost person needs to come to church too, because they need to hear the Word of God rightly divided, but this verse is for the believer, encouraging them to praise God and edify each other.

Believers need to spend time together and lost people should be among them to see the difference Jesus Christ makes in their lives. Is going to a football game the same as watching it on TV alone? Is going to a NASCAR race the same as watching it on TV alone? No, to both of those. We need to gather together as part of the body of Jesus Christ to help each other and to encourage each other and , yes, sometimes rebuke each other.

Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Sunday mornings are special times because that is when we gather together here at God’s house. We should look forward to being together and look forward to spend time together with God. Can a person be a Christian without joining the church? Yes, but it is like a soldier without an army; a student who will not attend school, a salesman without a customer, a sailor without a ship, a bee without a hive, an author without a reader, or a baseball player without a team. These situations might exist, but they would not be very satisfactory. And a lost person should come to church as well – how else are they going to get to know God if they do not spend time with His people? For example, none of you have met Dr. Crowley, but each of you know at least a little something about him. Why? Because I have talked about him. We have him and his wife on our prayer list. I have quoted him. The same is true for a lost person and God. The lost person does not personally know God, but they can know more about Him by hearing about Him through His people. Statistically, being in church is one of the safest places to be.

1. Do not ride in an automobile (or get in the way of one), as automobiles cause 20 percent of all fatal accidents.

2. Do not stay at home; that’s where 17 percent of all accidents occur. 

3. Do not walk across the street; pedestrians are victims of 14 percent of all accidents.

4. Do not travel by air, rail or water; 16 percent of all accidents are the result of these activities.

5. Only .001 percent of all fatal accidents occur at church and almost none of these during worship and Sunday School.

Obviously, the safest place to be is in worship and Bible Study with your family and fellow Christians.

God wants His people to gather together to worship Him and hear His Word. Jeremiah 7:2 Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. Psalm 5:7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Believers should need to come to God’s house to sing songs of praise and hear His Word preached. The result is Psalm 138:3. Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Note the last phrase: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. What does this mean? What day is approaching? Again, this book was written to believers in Jesus Christ who were also Hebrews. They were meeting daily at the Temple (Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple,). They were at the Temple for the Day of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Peter and John were going to the Temple when they met and healed the lame man at the gate. But there was coming a day when the Temple was going to be destroyed. Jesus Christ had prophesied that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. So the writer to the Hebrews was telling these believers to continue to assemble together after the Temple was destroyed. The believers were not to forsake each other in the difficult times. I think those times are coming in America. There may be a day coming when it will be against the law to have churches. At this point, the school board in New York City is moving forward to evict churches from school property, but the New York City Housing Authority has backed off and will continue to allow churches to meet in city-owned community centers. If our meeting place is outlawed, then we will find another meeting place. Why? Because believers are not to forsake the assembling together to worship God and hear His Word.

We have been looking at the role of death and life in the life of the Christian. And death is important for the believer in Jesus Christ: the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross and the death of self in order to better follow and love God. Believers are to set aside their desires in order to follow God’s desires and commandments. This means that believers are to mortify their members in order to accomplish God’s will in their lives. And believers are to mortify the deeds of the body in order to follow God.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:1, 2 are very well known verses and let us compare something about them with Romans 6:13.

Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

The word that is translated as “present” in Romans 12:1 and the word that is translated as “yield” in Romans 6:13 is the same Greek word. And the idea is the same in both verses: as believers in Jesus Christ we are to present ourselves before God and we are to yield before God. One day, believers will stand before Jesus Christ at the Judgment Seat and our works will be tried in fire as to our obedience to Christ.

1Corinthians 3:12-15 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (13) Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. (14) If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. (15) If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

But remember, we are to present ourselves to God everyday as a living sacrifice to Him. The idea here is that we are to yield to Him – let our will go in order to follow His good, acceptable, and perfect Will. Consider how a sacrifice was made during the Old Testament: a man would come to the Brazen Altar and present a bullock or a lamb to the priest for sacrifice on the altar. The animal would be slain and placed on the altar for burning. The sacrifice of the animal would temporarily atone for the man’s sins. The man had to present the animal to God and he yielded the animal to God – it became God’s to use as God wished, not how man wanted. God wanted the sacrifices performed as a sweet savor to Him. God had no need for the animals, what He wanted was man’s obedience to Him. God wants us to yield ourselves to Him and present ourselves to Him on a daily basis. I repeat the quote by Francis Schaeffer that I read last week. We are to live by faith now as though we were now dead, as though we have already died. We are to live now by faith as though we have now already been raised from the dead [Francis Schaeffer]. It means: That in our thoughts and lives now we are to live as though we had already died, been to Heaven, and come back again as risen [Francis Schaeffer].

That requires, as Paul stated in Romans 12, that we do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds to the things of God. That can only happen when we yield ourselves to God and not to sin. Yielding ourselves to sin will not renew our minds or bring us closer to God. Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. When believers go back to the things of the old man, they are yielding to unrighteousness. When believers go back to the things of the old nature, they are yielding to sin. Once sin is yielded to, it is hard to get back under control. Charles Spurgeon wrote: An officer in India had tamed a leopard. From the time when it was a kitten he had brought it up, till it went about the house like a cat, and everybody played with it. But he was sitting in his chair one day asleep, and the leopard licked his hand. But as he licked, the skin was broken, and the taste of blood came to the leopard. It rushed forth to kill, and was no more at ease till it reached the jungle. That leopard, though tamed, was a leopard still. So a man, sobered by moral motives but unchanged in heart, is a fallen man still, and the taste of blood, I mean the taste of sin, will soon reveal the tiger in him.

As believers, we have to choose to whom or what we are going to yield to – to whom or what are we going to present ourselves to? The old man or to God? Paul wrote:Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Someone wrote about this verse: One of the best men I ever knew said, at eighty years of age, “I find the old man is not dead yet.” Our old man is crucified, but he is long at dying. He is not dead when we think he is. You may live to be very old, but you will have need still to watch against the carnal nature, which remains even in the regenerate [Spurgeon]. As believers in Jesus Christ we must yield ourselves to Him and not to sin.

And our yielding or presenting to God is to be heartfelt and sincere. God does not want us to be hypocritical with Him or anyone else. Going through the motions may fool everybody here on earth, but God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. And what are your actions or inactions saying to others around you? What are your actions or inactions saying about what is important to you? And what are your actions or inactions saying to God about what is important to you? Turn to Isaiah 66.

Isaiah 66:1-4 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? (2) For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (3) He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. (4) I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

God wants us to be good stewards of what He has given us, but remember, the earth is His footstool. The earth is not as important to Him compared to His children. The Lord asks, where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? The earthly temple could not contain God. Solomon declared: 1Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built? God does not need an earthly home, for He is far beyond that. So where is at least some of His dwelling place today? In the blood bought, born again believer in Jesus Christ.

1Corinthians 3:16-17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (17) If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

2Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Every believer is the temple of God, so shouldn’t we act that way? In 1 Corinthians 3:17, Paul wrote that the temple of God is holy, so shouldn’t we be holy? Believers are the temple of the living God, so believers should act that way! There should be a difference in our lives and we should behave that way! D.L. Moody said: A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.

Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

God is looking to use men and women that realize who they are before the all holy God. God wants men and women that are contrite or broken hearted about their sin and the sin of others. God wants men and women that tremble at the Word of God and have the proper fear and respect of Him. God wants men and women that are obedient to Him, not out of obligation, but out of love for Him.

Isaiah 66:3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

This verse really stuck out to me this week. God wants our sacrifices to be true. If we are presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to Him, then our sacrifices to Him must be true, not hypocritical. Our sacrifices must be done His way, not our own way. Look at again at what the LORD said in verse 2: Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. The Israelites were performing the sacrifices that God had asked for, but they also offered up sacrifices to other gods as well. And when they did sacrifice to the LORD, they chose to do them their own way, not God’s way. Sadly, they were not truly presenting themselves as a living sacrifice to God and they were not yielded to God like they should have been. They were half-heartedly serving God because they were also serving idols and false gods. Half-heartedness consists of serving God in such a way as not to offend the devil. And we do the same today. Are you delighting in what God would call an abomination? Is your heart set on following God and loving Him with all of your heart and soul? Or is your delight in things that are not godly? Or is your time spent in forsaking time with God for other delights? Some people can talk Christianity by the yard, but they cannot walk it by the inch. Look at what God said He would do to those that act as in verse 3:

Isaiah 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

God called for them, but they were so busy with their false sacrifices and false living, that they did not hear. God called, but they did not answer. They chosen to yield themselves to unrighteousness and present themselves to sin rather than to God, so when He came calling, they were not able to answer. Why? Because they were busy doing evil before God’s eyes and chose to do that which God takes no delight in. Note whose standard God is using: His Standard! Too many of us justify our actions, or our words, or our thoughts and use our own standards and pretend they are God’s standards. God has His Own Standards and they are written down in His Book so there can be no mistaking them! Believers must follow His standards, not our own standards. Sin is sin and you hate sin just insofar as you love Christ. Relevation 3 has a similar passage to Isaiah 66:4.

Revelation 3:19-20 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

This is not a salvation verse – this is Jesus Christ speaking to believers. Are we listening for Him? Are we looking for His knock? Are we following Him the way He wants us to follow Him?

Romans 6:22-23 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The wages of sin have never been reduced and when believers regularly remember what our sin cost, then believers will look to regularly follow God.
Sin, when viewed by scripture light,

Is a horrid, hateful sight;
But when seen in Satan’s glass,
Then it wears a pleasing face.

For the past few weeks we have looking at the importance of death in the life of the believer in Jesus Christ. In Romans chapter 6, the apostle Paul contrasts what everyone was before salvation, and what believers should be like after salvation. The blessing for the believer is that they no longer have to fear physical death, but now they must die to self – to mortify their members (body parts that can lead to sin) in order to walk in obedience to God. That does not mean believers literally slay their members, but that the believer should set aside their fleshly desires in order to follow God’s desires.

Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Note that Paul points out that covetousness is also idolatry and really, all sin is idolatry because the sinner has decided that they know what is the best way for them to go. The believer should flee from sin in order to properly follow God. However, the Christian life is not about NOT doing certain things. The person cannot declare that they are right with God because they do not do certain things or that they DO certain things. The believer must have the right motivation for the things that they do and have the right motivation for the things they do not do. And that motivation must be because they love God and want to honor and glorify Him. A believer cannot do that if they have idols in their life.

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Thankfully, God has given every believer the means to be able to properly follow God. That means is the Holy Spirit. People are able to mortify their members and the deeds of their body, their people that can lie down on a bed of nails believing that action brings closer to their god. Some people live in monasteries and nunneries and deny themselves marriage and wear uncomfortable clothing believing this brings them closer to God. But God does not require these types of actions by the believers in Jesus Christ. These actions are going beyond what is taught in the Bible. God gives the believer to not sin if they would follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. The believer can have triumph of sin if they would continuously follow the Holy Spirit.

J.N. Darby wrote: For there is power of life in Christ to enable us to triumph over sin and death, and not to live unto ourselves, but unto Him who loved us, and died for us, and is now seated at the right hand of God. We are already risen in Him and to be manifested with Him in the glory. Shall I, then, allow any wretched object or idle vanity to occupy me instead of Christ? It may be perhaps some folly, or some piece of self-importance, or some evil disposition, or even the cares of this life!

Ephesians 4:29-30 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (30) And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

When believers are not following the Holy Spirit, they are grieving the Holy Spirit. To grieve the Holy Spirit, means to bring pain to Him because we are not following His leading. The Holy Spirit will lead the believer, but the believer must be willing to be led. D.L Moody said, “I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.” Think about this: if you take a dog out for a walk, the dog will want to decide where it wants to go. If the dog is big enough and determined enough it will pull the dog walker all over the place even if it has a leash. The dog will dash to one spot because something smells interesting and then will want to quickly run elsewhere because something has caught its attention. But if the dog is properly trained, no matter how big the dog, the dog walker will be able to decide where the dog will walk. And the first thing that happens is that the dog is trained to follow the will of the walker not the desires of the dog. The dog is trained to obey the dog walker. The same is true for the believer in Jesus Christ – the believer must be trained to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and go where God wants. The believer must humble themselves and walk where God wants, not where the believer wants to go. The believer must be willing to say to God, “Not my will, but thine.”

D.L. Moody was to have a campaign in England. An elderly pastor protested, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, “No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody.” D.L. Moody desired to be sold out for God and he determined to follow God, not fight God.

Each believer in Jesus Christ must not grieve the Holy Spirit, because when that happens they lose discernment. The longer the believer grieves the Holy Spirit, the less and less discernment they will have in their lives. They will have trouble knowing what is right or wrong in the eyes of God, because they will have stopped praying and have stopped reading their Bible. When the believer grieves the Holy Spirit, then sin is working in the believer’s life and makes it more difficult for him or her to follow God. Sin begets sin and the believer’s neck will stiffen and their heart will harden about the things of God. The believer’s spiritual sense will dim and sin will lead the believer further away from God. This is why the believer must daily die to self and humble themselves before God so they can be led by the Holy Spirit and follow God in love and obedience. The believer must decrease so the God can increase.

Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, “How can I get the air out of this glass?” One man shouted, “Suck it out with a pump!” Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by “sucking out a sin here and there,” but by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Go back to Romans 6.

Romans 6:12-13 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (13) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

In verse 12, Paul warns that believers should not allow sin to control them. Sin is never full for long, once it starts it will continue to grow if the believer does not realize the sin and repent of it. Believers cannot allow sin to control them nor allow it a foothold in their lives. There’s an old story about a man who tried to save the city of Sodom from destruction by warning the citizens. But the people ignored him. One day someone asked, “Why bother everyone? You can’t change them.” “Maybe I can’t,” the man replied, “but I still shout and scream to prevent them from changing me!

In verse 13, Paul warns the believer to decide who or what they are going to yield to: sin or God. Believers have the choice and Paul is urging them to yield to God’s will and not their own will. Believers must look to follow God and not their own desires that are contrary to God. This can only happen when believers humble themselves and do not grieve the Holy Spirit. This means that the believer needs to grow and mature in Jesus Christ and not remain stagnant. J. Vernon McGee wrote: A little girl fell out of bed one night and began to cry. Her mother rushed into her bedroom, picked her up, put her back in bed, and asked her, “Honey, why did you fall out of bed?” And she said, “I think I stayed too close to the place where I got in.” And that’s the reason a great many of us fall, my friend. It is because we are actually yielding ourselves to our old nature. We’re following the dictates of the old nature; that is what gets us into trouble.

Believers are always going to have a sin nature, but believers do not have to choose to yield to it. Remember that: we choose to sin, but we do not have to sin. Romans 6:4-6 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

The believer’s old man is his or her sin nature – that desire to please the flesh – but the believer does not have to be the servant of sin. Please remember that sin does not serve us, because sin does not have our best interests at heart. We become servants of sin because once we start, we desire to add to it and build it up. Sin becomes our every thought and our every imagination.

Please remember that the Christian life is not a matter of simply following certain rules and avoiding certain things. Keeping the Law that Moses delivered does not save anyone. J. Vernon McGee wrote: The Christian life is not following certain rules; you can follow rules and regulations and still not be living the Christian life. Somebody asks,”The what is the Christian life?” The Christian life is to be obedient unto Christ. It means communication with Christ. It is not how you walk, but where you walk – are you walking in the light, walking in fellowship with Christ? Sin will break the fellowship, of course, and then we are to confess our sin. The Lord Jesus said to Peter in the upper room, “If I wash you not, you have no part with me (John 13:8)”. We do not have fellowship with Him unless we confess our sins to Him as we go along. Our part is confession; His part is cleansing (see 1 John 1:9). The important thing for you and me is to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and to obey Him. Then we will be living the Christian life.

Romans 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

When the believer is dead to sin, then they are free from sin. Why? Because a dead man cannot sin! Furthermore, because the believer has died with Jesus Christ on the cross, was buried, and rose with Jesus Christ, the believer is no longer under the penalty for sin. God looks upon the believer has has declared him or her righteous. The believer is declared not guilty, why? Because Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for the believer.

Romans 6:8-9 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

Remember, the three steps for the believer: rejected, slain, risen. Every believer must go through those steps, just as Jesus Christ did for the believer. If the believer died with Jesus Christ then they will also be risen with Him. The believer has newness of life now and the believer will be resurrected one day after they have physically died. Look at verse 9 – what is the first word? Knowing, not hoping, not maybe, not possibly, but KNOWING. Paul wants the believer to realize that they should KNOW death no more has dominion and that Jesus Christ forever lives. As Jesus Christ told the apostle John: Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Romans 6:10-12 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Jesus Christ died once and will never die again. The believer has the same promise. The believer must realize that they are dead to sin and do not have to choose to sin. If the believer chooses to not sin, then they will live a fuller life following God in love and obedience. That does not mean they will live an easier life, but it will be a life more satisfying. Charles Spurgeon wrote: We are one with Jesus being both dead with Him, and risen in Him; ours therefore it is to live the new life, and view ourselves as dead to all the sinful joys of our former lives. Of for grace to carry this out to the full.

Death is central to the Christian life. Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? But death is absolutely essential to the life of the believer in Jesus Christ. First, it is because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ that gives everyone the good news of eternal life with Jesus Christ – if people would repent and believe in Him. Second, it is His sacrificial death on the cross that paid the wages of my sin debt. Third, death is an ongoing process for the believer as he or she seeks to mortify their members and die to self in order to better love and serve God and to better love and serve their neighbor. Turn to Luke 9:

Luke 9:22-26 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. (23) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. (25) For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? (26) For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.

Look at verse 26: Jesus Christ is putting in practical terms what the believer is going to go through every day of his or her earth-bound life. Every day believers are going to be in situations – whether purposely or by accident – that their actions and words will demonstrate whether or not they are ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Words. Believers live in a world that encourages them to “Just Do It” and “Do whatever feels goods,” but those they are probably not the right things for believers to be doing or saying. It is natural for the believer to want to follow their fleshly desires and to say “YES” to themselves, however, God tells believers to deny themselves in order to love and serve and others better. People want to be accepted by others, that is a natural characteristic of people: we want others to like us. But to be a believer in Jesus Christ, there will be times that we have to choose whether we want others to like us or if we want to follow God. In Acts 5:29, Peter and the apostles, after being imprisoned and scolded by the high priest and the chief of the temple, declared: We ought to obey God rather than men.

For the believer to grow and mature in their walk with Jesus Christ, they must be willing to slay their desires and wants when they conflict with God and His Holy Word. Believers must be willing to reject themselves and things in order to better follow Jesus Christ. The question becomes, what are you going to do or say, when a situation arises: are you going to be ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word or are you going to be willing to say, “Thus saith the Lord!” Look at Luke 9:26 again, if we are going to be ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word, then Jesus Christ is going to be ashamed of us! That alone should be enough to motivate us to serve and love God. And to serve and love Him in the fashion that He desires, not the way that pleases me. Believers need to be willing to let go of their fears and doubts and trust that Jesus Christ will work things out to His glory.

A drunken man entered his row boat one night to cross the river. He picked up the oars and pulled away-so he thought. He rowed all night but did not reach the destination. When daylight came, he was surprised to find that he was just where he started the night before. He had forgotten to untie his boat. So it is with many of the Lord’s followers. They are tied to their habits, desires, wills, or some cherished idol or idols of the heart. Consequently, their lives are fruitless. Shore-bound Christians never flourish and are of little or no help to others.

Luke 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

That is the order for the believer today as well: rejected, slain, raised. There will be times when people of this world will reject the believer because they are willing to take a stand on God’s Word. Believers will be called unloving and hateful. As believers, do we want to be seen as being ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word? That may be the easy route, but it will cause Jesus Christ to be ashamed of us and it will be harder to take a stand later on God’s Word, because people will not believe the strength of your convictions. Believers will be rejected by the people around them and that is not easy to bear, but Jesus Christ tells us to take up our cross daily – not weekly or monthly – but daily.

Romans 6:2-3 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Believers in Jesus Christ are dead to sin from the standpoint that Jesus Christ died for our sins. That does not mean that the believer no longer sins, but fortunately, when the believer is properly walking with the Lord, then they will not sin. If believers just continuously walk with God, then they would not sin, because God is not going to lead anyone to sin! Furthermore, God is willing to help the believer to walk the way they are suppose to walk. Isaiah 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee… Someone once said: “It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.” The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience. Turn to Galatians 2:20:

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

What does this verse mean for the believer? When Jesus Christ gave up His life on the cross of Calvary not quite two thousand years ago, believers also died with Him. The people that have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation and repented of their sin died with Him on the cross and were resurrected with Him three days later and believers are still connected to Him today. He indwells every believer. What a wonderful blessing that is and something that no other religion claims. Believers have died to sin, but believers still have a sin nature and will have that sin nature for the rest of their lives. But believers are never alone. Unashamed believers will be abandoned by the world, but they are never alone because Jesus Christ lives in every believer as it says in Galatians 2:20. Believers have no power over sin on their own, only through Jesus Christ can anyone have victory over sin. Believers cannot crucify themselves. They cannot be alone and be crucified. A person can die many ways alone – they may take poison or hang themselves or shoot themselves, but they cannot crucify themselves. The believer may be able to nail one hand to the cross, but how will they nail the other? Believers were crucified with Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. Back to Romans 6.

Romans 6:2-3 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Please realize that as we read through Romans chapter 6, that when the word “baptized” is used, it is not referring strictly to water baptism. Water baptism is important for the believer and it is commanded by God, but this passage is not solely about water. The word “baptize” is a Greek word that the King James Bible translators made into an English word. The word “baptize” essentially means “immersed” – in other words fully covered. So what the apostle Paul is stating in verse 3 is that the believer is immersed with Jesus Christ or identified with Jesus Christ. Believers are identified or baptized into Jesus Christ and His death. Think of it this way: Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the cross of Calvary and every believer was there too. But I was the guilty one – not Jesus Christ. You were the guilty one. My sin and your sin put Jesus Christ on the cross and believers are identified with Him.

In the eyes of God, believers have been identified with Jesus Christ, but what about to the rest of the world. If the believer is unashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word, then people will identify the believer as being a Christian. So do your words match your actions? The renowned artist Paul Gustave Dore (1821-1883) lost his passport while traveling in Europe. When he came to a border crossing, he explained his predicament to one of the guards. Giving his name to the official, Dore hoped he would be recognized and allowed to pass. The guard, however, said that  many people attempted to cross the border by claiming to be  persons they were not. Dore insisted that he was the man he claimed to be. “All right,” said the official, “we’ll give you a test, and if you pass it we’ll allow you to go through.” Handing him a pencil and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to sketch several peasants standing nearby. Dore did it so quickly and skillfully that the guard was convinced he was indeed who he claimed to be. His work confirmed his word! People follow what we do on the stage of life. They look to see if our conduct squares with our profession. Are we drawing the picture of Christ, as it were, or of a different person? What the world wants to see is reality in our actions. It has been said that God has great and wonderful things to display if He finds suitable showcases. Are you a good showcase for Jesus Christ?

If the believer is properly walking with God, then he or she will be identified with Jesus Christ by the world. Two little children, a boy and a girl, who played together a great deal, received Christ and were converted. One day the boy came to his mother and said, “Mother, I know that Emma is a Christian.” “What makes you think so, dear?” “Because she plays like a Christian. If you take everything she’s got, she doesn’t get mad. Before, she was selfish, and if she didn’t have everything her own way she would say, ‘I won’t play with you; you are a mean little boy.’ ” That’s what the world sees, the result of our possessing part of the fullness of God. If we have God, then we must act like Him.

Death is central to the life of the believer in Jesus Christ. To the world, death is a negative idea – why? Because they have no hope in the future. This world has seen amazing technological advancements in the last 100 years – how many kids to day know what an eight track player was? For the believer, death is necessary for their everyday life with God AND because of the death of Jesus Christ, the believer has hope for the future. Just as Jesus Christ was rejected and slain, the believer must go through the same process – there is no skipping ahead to risen. Jesus Christ did not skip over the first two steps: He was rejected and He was slain by the very people He created. The believer must also be rejected and slain. Everyday, the world intrudes into our lives through our interactions with others and the forms of entertainment we have and the things we read and watch and listen to. The believer’s viewpoint should not mirror the world, it should mirror the kingdom of God. The believer should be willing to deny themselves the things that hinder their walk with God.

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

To mortify means to bring into subjection or slay. It is a negative statement – to the world, to the lost. The world declares that we should grab all the gusto we can! But the Bible tells us to mortify the deeds of the body. The declares we should do and try everything! But God’s Word tells us to mortify the deeds of the body. The world declares that we should do whatever we want and not worry about the consequences! But the Bible tells us to mortify the deeds of the body – why? So the believer may live. If the believer lives after the flesh, they will die. If the believer lives through the Holy Spirit, they shall live. That means that the believer must deny himself or herself and seek first the kingdom of God, not their own pleasure. That means the believer must humble himself or herself and seek to love and serve God first, then seek to love and serve their neighbor second, then love themselves third. Jesus Christ was rejected and slain, two things every believer must go through as well before the third step: risen. Where is your spiritual walk today? I will close with five questions that each of us need to ask ourselves daily:

1. Whom are you trying to please? 2. What insecurities are you pampering? 3. With whom or what are you competing? 4. What rewards are you seeking? 5. What shame are you covering?

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Romans 6:1-10 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. (8) Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

We are continuing our look at Romans chapter 6 and how it deals with the Christian walk and following God. Because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, those that believe on Him do not have to be in bondage to sin. We can walk in obedience and love to Jesus Christ. The believer has the Holy Spirit indwelling him or her to guide, direct, and chastise when necessary. However, the believer needs to be responsive to the guiding of the Holy Spirit. How does the believer gain guidance from the Holy Spirit? Through time spent with God, reading His Word and prayer. Writing about God’s sure guidance, British pastor Frank W. Boreham recounted a time when a minister visited his home in New Zealand.  Being young and inexperienced, Boreham sought the counsel of his guest. He said that one morning they were sitting on the veranda, he asked the minister, “Can a man be sure that in the hour of perplexity he will be rightly led by God? Can he feel secure against making a false step?” “I am certain of it,” exclaimed the minister, “if he will but give God time! As long as you live, remember that. Give God time!”

Romans 6:1, 2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Romans chapter 5 deals with sin and sanctification: sin came into the world through one man, Adam; and sanctification came because of one man, Jesus Christ. We all know what sin is: an act or thought of disobedience toward God. Sanctification is act of making someone holy. Sin is an action by man against God. Sanctification is an action by God for man. Man cannot make himself holy, although people constantly try to make themselves holy. At best, man can only appear to be holy to others, but God knows the heart. Sometimes people will try to make themselves appear holy by pointing out the sins of others while not noticing their own sins. John Flavel said: It is easier to cry against one-thousand sins of others than to kill one of your own. True sanctification can only come from God working in a person’s life and God is only going to be able to accomplish that when a person is willing to humble themselves before God. “They that know God will be humble,” John Flavel has said, ‘ and they that know themselves cannot be proud.” Andrew Murray wrote: Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to have no trouble; never to be fretted or vexed or irritated or sore or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around is trouble. It is the fruit of the Lord Jesus Christ’s redemptive work on Calvary’s cross, manifested in those of His own who are definitely subject to the Holy Spirit.

It is only through Jesus Christ that anyone can live a sanctified life, anything less is a sham. We must be willing to humble ourselves before God and not worry about the consequences by our fellow man.

When a person is born again, they have been justified by the All-Holy God – in other words they have had their sin-debt paid for by Jesus Christ and they are longer considered guilty of their sin. Albert Barnes said this about justification: What is justification? It is the declared purpose of God to regard and treat those sinners who believe in Jesus Christ as if they had not sinned, on the ground of the merits of the Savior. It is not mere pardon. Pardon is a free forgiveness of past offenses. It has reference to those sins as forgiven and blotted out. Justification has respect to the law, and to God’s future dealings with the sinner. It is an act by which God determines to treat him hereafter as righteous–as if he had not sinned. The basis for this is the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, merit that we can plead as if it were our own. He has taken our place and died in our stead; He has met the descending stroke of justice, which would have fallen on our own heads if He had not interposed.

Justification is not the same as sanctification. Justification is an one time action by God toward the believer, whereas sanctification is an ongoing process by God upon the believer. Justification occurs when a man trusts Jesus Christ for salvation. God declares that man righteous and free from the guilt of sin. At that point, God begins a work on that man that does not stop, guiding that man toward living a holy life for God. Justification is the means, sanctification is the end. Justification is for us; sanctification is in us. Justification declares the sinner righteous; sanctification makes the sinner righteous. Justification removes the guilt and penalty of sin; sanctification removes the growth and power of sin. (J. Vernon McGee)

Sanctification gives the believer the ability to not be enslaved to sin and to walk in obedience and love for God. It requires the believer to recognize their sinful condition and appreciate the blessings of God. John Newton said: I am not what I might be, I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be, I am not what I hope to be. But I thank God I am not what I once was, and I can say with the great apostle, “By the grace of God I am what I am.

Romans 6:1, 2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

What is the apostle Paul saying in verse one? Romans chapter 5 dealt with salvation and chapter 6 deals with the life that the born again believer is to follow. So the reader sees in chapter 5 about salvation by God toward the unholy, and Paul asks, “What shall we say then?” Well, the born again should shout, “Praise God!” This should bring joy to the believer’s heart knowing what God has done for them through Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus Christ died for the ungodly: that is everyone before anyone gets saved! Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. People are familiar with John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son... but there is to the passage than that! You cannot stop at For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son… because that is not what saved anybody! People want to think that they are a child of God and yet still live like a child of the devil. Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Yes, God so loved the world, but He does not force Himself upon the world, the world still needs to believe in Jesus Christ and the world needs to understand the consequences of refusing Jesus Christ.

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Paul asks: Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Paul is asking, “What shall the believer say about the salvation by God through His Son, Jesus Christ?” Then Paul asks, “After a person is saved, shall they continue to live in sin? Thank God, a person does not have to choose to continue to live in sin. Paul is asking, “Shall we continue to do something negative, so that something positive will come forth?” Paul is asking an argumentative question, but it is a question that people do not vocalize, but they demonstrate it in their lives. It is never right to do wrong to do right. (Dr Crowley) For example, telling a lie is a negative thing and it never ultimately produces a positive outcome in the end. There may be a positive outcome at first (short term), but the lie will catch up to you in the end. We may fool ourselves into thinking that we are only protecting someone else’s feelings when we lie, but we are actually only protecting ourselves.

People do not fall into sin, so much as they choose to sin. Why would Christians choose to sin rather than choose what they know God wants them to do? Four answers are commonly given today.

1. Some would point to Romans 8:16 and explain that Christians who willfully sin have forgotten their true identity as “children of God.” While it is true that Christians can forget who they are and sin as a result, Christians can also be well aware of who they are and sin anyway.

2. Some say Christians choose to sin because they have lost sight of what God has done for them. 2 Peter 1:9 indicates that Christians can be “blind or short-sighted, having forgotten [their] purification from [their] former sins.”

3. Some wisely state that Christians consciously choose to sin because they have forgotten that God will severely discipline disobedient believers.

4. Some have said that Christians who consciously sin have lost their focus on the future. These Christians have forgotten that God will reward in heaven only those who have lived faithfully for Him here on earth (1 Cor 9:24). Christians who fail to keep eternity in mind often sin in the here and now. (J. Kirk Johnston)

Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Paul answers his questions with, “God forbid.” Paul declares that there is no good reason to choose to sin. And why? Because the born again believer in Jesus Christ is dead to sin. The believer has been declared justified by God from the penalty of sin, but not from the power of sin in this life. Believers still do sin, but why? Because they do not always choose to live a sanctified life. So what does Paul mean when he wrote, How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Paul does not mean that no believer sins anymore, because every believer here today should realize that we do sin. Think about the verse this way: Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and He paid the penalty – the debt – that everyone has when they sin and are disobedient to God. Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. When person comes to Jesus Christ for salvation, we state that they have been born again. Think about it: in order to be born again, doesn’t that person have to die? That person dies in order to be born again. Jesus Christ had to die first before He could be resurrected from the dead. Go to Romans 6:6. When a person trusts Jesus Christ for salvation, they essentially have died on the cross with Jesus Christ. Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Paul puts it like this in Ephesians: Ephesians 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. And in Colossians. Colossians 3:1-3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (2) Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (3) For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Believers are not walking around dead, but they have died to sin. Believers are not dead to sin, because we still choose to sin, but believers have died to the penalty to sin through the substitute: Jesus Christ. Believers died to sin in Jesus Christ. J. Vernon McGee wrote: We are never dead to sin. Any honest person knows he never reaches the place where he is dead to sin. He does reach the place where he wants to live for God, but he recognizes he still has that old sin nature.

Because of His death on the cross, Jesus Christ freed all believers from the penalty of sin. Because of His resurrection, the believer now has the power to walk in newness of life and away from the power of sin. That can only happen when the believer humbles himself or herself and realizes how holy God truly is and how unholy they are. Paul recognized that in his life, How about you?

Joshua 8:30-35 Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal, (31) As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lifted up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. (32) And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. (33) And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. (34) And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. (35) There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.

At this point in history, the Israelites have conquered Jericho and marched on to Ai. Sadly, at Ai, they fell in battle because of the sin of Achan. Furthermore, they had not talked to God first before deciding to go to battle. When we plan to do something, the first thing we should do is pray to God for guidance before attempting the task. Too often we get ahead of God or do not do what God wanted in the first place. After the Israelites separated out the sin that was in their camp, they went to God and He guided them to victory over the people of Ai. Now they have come to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal and will do what Moses had directed the Israelites to do.

Where are Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim? About twenty miles north of Ai, which is just a few miles north of Jericho. These two mounts form a valley and in the center of the valley is the city of Shechem. It was in Shechem that 600 years earlier, Abraham stopped as he traveled from Ur and built his first altar to God. Jacob had gone to Shechem during his escape from his father-in-law, Laban. Joseph looked for his brothers in Shechem before they had sold him to the Midianites and into slavery. Jacob also dug a Shechem – the same well that Jesus Christ sat at as He talked to the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4.

Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are about a mile and a half apart at the top, but are only 500 yards apart at the bottom. Mount Ebal is taller than Mount Gerizim. Francis Schaeffer wrote: There are two interesting things about there mountains. First from the top of Ebal or Gerizim we can see a great deal of the promised land. Second, at one place a natural ampitheater exists, and as we stand on the top or on the sides of these mountains, we can see and hear everything occurring on both of the mountains and in the valley below. Through the years many people have tested this. They have stood on one of the mountains and had other people stand on other parts of the two mountains or in the valley. As they read something in a loud voice but without amplification, the other persons were able to hear all that was spoken. This is God’s own ampitheater.

Deuteronomy 11:29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

Every one of the Israelites was to be at one of the two mountain sites – not just the men. Mount Gerizim was to be the place of blessing and Mount Ebal – the taller mountain – was to be the place of curses. This was to be a very real lesson to the Israelites as they were in the land that God promised to them: were they going to choose to live in the blessings announced on Mount Gerizim by keeping God’s Law or were they going to be in the curses announced on Mount Ebal because of their rejection of God. They had a choice to make and God wanted to be sure that they understood the consequences of their decision. When the Israelites arrived at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, they had to build an altar. What is very interesting is on which mountain the altar was built.

Deuteronomy 27:1-8 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. (2) And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster: (3) And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. (4) Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. (5) And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. (6) Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God: (7) And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. (8) And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

The altar was built on Mount Ebal – the mountain where the curses were going to be proclaimed. Note that God’s Word was going to be prominently displayed on the altar, just as God’s Word was to be placed on the doorposts of each home as taught earlier in Deuteronomy. The Word of God had been written down so it could be read and re-read – this was not oral tradition as some will try to teach. Oral tradition always changes something along the way through time, but the written word does not change.

A few months back I was reading Reader’s Digest and there was an advertisement that declared that the end of the world was coming. The ad even gave the date: May 21, 2011. They provided a website and I checked it out and as everyone knows now: the man Harold Camping and his “ministry” Family Radio is behind the prediction. And as you can see, we are still here. I had not realized that Harold Camping had predicted that at 6PM in New Zealand there would be an earthquake and the judgment would begin. Judgment would then roll around the world as each area hit 6PM. New Zealand is about fifteen hours ahead of us, so judgment would have started at 3AM Saturday morning EST. So what happened?

Harold Camping has made end of the world predictions before and this was his latest one. In 1992, he wrote a book titled: 1994? and he predicted the world would end on September 6, 1994. When the world did not end, he determined that he had the right date but had interpreted the Bible wrong. Harold Camping then had a 2005 book titled Time Has an End: A Biblical History of the World,11,013 BC – 2011 AD. Sadly, many people have bought into his failed prophecies and spent outrageous amounts of money to warn people about the end of the world. It has been reported that one man in New York City spent $140,000 of his own money advertising on billboards and signs in the subway in New York City trying to get the word out. What are these people going to do now? Harold Camping teaches his followers to not go to church and listen to him on the radio instead. People have been making end of the world predictions for many centuries now and when the predictions have not come true people have killed themselves, fallen into deep depression, and attacked the false prophets. It was reported that back in 1843, all over the Northeast, half a million Adventists — disciples of New York evangelist William Miller — awaited the end of the world on April 3, 1843. Journalists had a field day. Reportedly some disciples were on mountaintops, hoping for a head start to heaven. Others were in graveyards, planning to ascend in union with their departed loved ones. Some high society ladies clustered together outside town to avoid entering God’s  holy kingdom amid the common herd. When April 4 dawned as usual, the Millerites were disillusioned, but they took heart. Their leader had predicted a range of dates for the end — dates that have also come and gone.

The fact is that nobody does know the time when judgment will come. Jesus Christ told His disciples: Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Make no mistake, Judgment Day is coming, but we do not know when it will be. The Apostle Paul wrote his epistles fully expecting the Rapture to happen during his lifetime. That should be our attitude as well: Jesus Christ is coming soon. I only wish those people that advertised May 21, 2011, had spent their money focusing more on the Gospel and less on the specific date.

The Rapture is the first event that will happen before the Tribulation period will begin. Paul wrote: 1Corinthians 15:51-53 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Paul also wrote:

1Thessalonians 4:14-18 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.1Th 5:1-6 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. (2) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (4) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (5) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. (6) Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

Jesus Christ will come like a thief in the night to rapture the church out before the Tribulation begins. Just as a thief does not call a homeowner ahead of time to tell him that the thief will be robbing his house that night, Jesus Christ will not tell us when He is coming. There is no point in setting a date, people across the world have been warned for the last two thousand years that Jesus Christ is coming. Now the most warning we will have will be a shout from the Lord and a trumpet call. Believers do not know the day or month or year or decade or century! That is why we must always be prepared. While on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, “It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!” They replied, “We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, ‘The boss may come today.’”

Jesus Christ told His disciples: Act 1:6-8 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (7) And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. (8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. The disciples expected Jesus Christ to usher in the kingdom at that time, but Jesus Christ knew that the Gospel had to get out across the world first. The disciples focus was to be on evangelism – preaching the Word of God to the world.

The Israelites are now ready to enter the Promised Land. Joshua is now the leader of the Israelites and he sends two spies across the Jordan river to look over the city of Jericho. Jericho was the first large city that the Israelites would encounter after they cross the Jordan river. It was a heavily defended city built on a hill and with large thick walls. This would be a potentially difficult battle with the people of Jericho, however, the Israelites had God fighting for them.

Joshua 2:1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

Why did the two spies go to Rahab’s? Rahab was a harlot, the Bible tells us and it is not unusual for strange men to come and go at odd times of the day from a harlot’s house. There is absolutely no indication that the men went to Rahab’s for any other reason than to be able to hide. Rahab provided the spies with shelter when the king of Jericho found about about the spies and where they were staying.

Joshua 2:2, 3 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country. (3) And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.

The king of Jericho sent men to search the house but Rahab had hidden the two Israelites in the roof of her house. And then she told the men of Jericho that the spies had left Jericho.

Joshua 2:4-7 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I know not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. (6) But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. (7) And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

When the men of Jericho left Jericho to search for the Israelites, they shut the city’s gate behind them. The gate was the only way in or out of the city. Obviously, Rahab lied to protect the spies – was she correct in doing this? Is it ever right to lie, even when it could save someone’s life? Let me rephrase the question: is it ever right to sin? The Bible makes it very clear that it is never right to sin and lying is a sin. Proverb 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.

Proverb 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

Would the Israelites spies died if Rahab had not lied? Would they still have escaped if Rahab had not lied? We do not know. For all we know, if she had let the men of Jericho inside to look for the spies, perhaps God would have blinded those men to the presence of the spies. The point is that Rahab was not asked to lie by God or the two spies: she chose to lie. Yes, the circumstances worked out very well, the spies were able to leave Jericho and Rahab and her family were protected when the Israelites attacked the city of Jericho. However, the Bible does not record that Rahab was blessed or honored for her lie. Note what was written about her in the Book of Hebrews: Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. Rahab was blessed and honored for her faith in God, not for her lie. It is never right to do wrong to do right. Charles Spurgeon wrote: Rahab had effectually misdirected the pursuers, and lulled to sleep all suspicion against herself. Her success does not, however, justify her deceit. Whether it succeed or fail, falsehood is always wrong.

Austin O’Malley said: A lie has no legs. It requires other lies to support it. Tell one lie and you are forced to tell others to back it up. Stretching the truth won’t make it last any longer. Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow colorblind. John Wesley declared: I would not tell one lie to save the souls of all the world.

Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: (17) A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, (18) A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, (19) A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

God would have still provided for the Israelites even if Rahab had not lied. God’s will would have still been accomplished despite the actions of Rahab.