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  TRUTH Cutting the Roots of the Tree Knowledge
 

The Alpha and the Omega, the Alef and the Tav of Almighty God proclaims the TRUTH of the Good News:

For God so Loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes IN His Son should not perish, but have ever lasting Life. (See John 3 verse 14 thru 16.)

Being justified freely by God's Holy Grace through the redemption that is IN Christ Jesus: Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith IN His Blood to declare His Righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance (tolerance) of God: To declare, I say at this time, His Righteousness, that He might be just, and the Justifier of him, which believes IN Jesus/Yeshua. (See again Romans 3 verse 24 thru 26.)

The above Scriptures presents the TRUTH of God's Salvation Grace IN Jesus/Yeshua: But, is there something wrong with the message of faith that is currently being preached by many churches?  The evidence of persistent sin being ever present in this world of darkness, and in the flesh of Christianity, says Yes!!!  The evangelical tendency is to by pass the fullness of Paul's message in Romans 3 verse 25, as if the new Christian, with a few incantations, has no other responsibility for their future foolish actions. To be sure, the Faith of Jesus Christ declares that God is Righteous, and is Just to remit the sins that were committed in the past.  But the word 'past', transliterated from the Greek word 'proginomai', presents a definitive line of demarcation for the new believer IN Christ Jesus. Therefore if any man be IN Christ, (then) he is a new creature: Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17.)  A person needs to be IN Christ Jesus to be a new creature that will flourish IN the LIFE of the risen Christ.

In the beginning verses in 2nd Peter 1 verse 1 thru 8, Peter speaks about the virtues that the believer is to promote within his soul. 

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partaker of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  Beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue add knowledge, and to knowledge add temperance, and to temperance add patience, and to patience add godliness, and to godliness, add brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness add Love.

Then Peter admonishes the same: 

But he that lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. therefore brethren, the rather, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.  For if you do these things, you shall never fall.  (2nd Peter 1 verse 9 thru 10.) 

Peter and Paul, as witnessed within their letters, both agree that God's judgment for past sins of believers were completely obliterated in the propitiating Serum Water and Life giving Blood of Jesus Christ.  Therefore being justified by faith, (like  Abraham's Faith in his Redeemer), we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Grace of God's mercy, the believers IN Christ are made free of past condemnation, and have Peace with God Almighty with our new born living faith IN the Life of Christ Jesus.

Therefore, if any man be IN Christ Jesus, he is a new creature for old things are passed away: Behold all things are become new. All things are of Yahweh God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has give to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that Yahweh God was IN Christ Jesus, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, but has committed unto us His Word of reconciliation. (See 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17 thru 20.)

The Word of God was incarnately born as the Only Begotten Son of God, therefore IN Christ birth, Yahweh God was IN Christ Jesus, reconciling the world unto Himself.  If Holy, Holy, Holy Yahweh God was IN Christ, then it would behoove the believer to be holy as He is, and to be holy committed to Yahweh's Word of Reconciliation that is One with IN Christ Jesus.  Are you IN Christ, even as Yahweh Father God is well pleased to dwell IN Peace with His Son Christ Jesus?

Do you know what is Yahweh's Word of reconciliation?  Are you among those who think they are righteous without the TRUTH of Yahweh's Word of reconciliation? 

In our flesh: We are 'all' as an unclean thing, for all our righteousness is as filthy rags, and we fade as a leaf, for like the wind our iniquities have taken us away. (Isaiah 64 verse 6.)

Are we, the enlightened, to be found in the 'all' of this reproving Word of God or is the Scripture, only for the blind Jew alone?

Let's consider the Word of God in full view with the Light of the TRUTH, as we examine the Apostle Paul's revelation of the Law of Sin and Death.

Saul, whose name would later be relegated to Paul, was on the road to Damascus to further persecute the Christians, when all of a sudden he encountered a remarkable experience when the Light of Jesus Christ surrounded him.  Saul having fallen to the ground in apparent astonishment, hears in the midst of the Light a Voice saying unto him:

Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute Me? Then Saul asked the Voice: Who are you Lord? And the Lord said: I AM Jesus/Yeshua, Whom you persecute. It will be hard for you to continue to kick against the ox goads. The trembling Saul asked the Lord: What would you have me to do? And the Lord Said: Arise and go into the city, and it will be told you what you must do.

And Saul arose from the earth, and with opened eye lids he saw no one; but the men that were with him, led him by the hand, and brought Saul into Damascus. (See Acts 9 verse 1 thru 9.)

In the Light of God, all of mankind are revealed to be blind, and Saul was no exception. In Damascus, the physically and spiritually blind Saul would encounter Aninias, a disciple of the Lord, who saw in a vision the Lord Jesus instructing him to go to Saul and give him God's Salvation healing.  Aninias was obedient to the Word of the Lord, and went to where the blind Saul was staying.  After entering the house, Aninias laid his hands upon Saul, and told Saul he was there to give sight to Saul.  Immediately, the scales of blindness fell from Saul's eyes, and he was made to see, and in seeing Saul was then baptized IN the Water of the Word of God. (See Acts 9 verse 10 thru 18.)

Saul, now being led by God's Holy Spirit through his trials of faith, would come to understand the infallible TRUTH of the Word of God that is the Lord Jesus Christ.  "Except a man be born again, he can not see the Kingdom of God!"  The old man of Saul was born spiritually blind in sin and death, but then having been born of faith through the Grace of God's Holy Spirit, he was now a brand new soul in the likeness of God's Spirit of Holiness.  In a moment of time, the old life of Saul had passed away, and a new Life had begun in Saul's soul because of his new faith IN the death, burial and resurrection of the the crucified Christ.  Saul was made alive for the first time in his existence; for the soul of Paul was born brand new in his faith IN the resurrected Christ, Yeshua haMashiach.  The old sinful things of Paul's previous life of self righteousness, had passed away into oblivion, and behold all things of Life had become brand new in the mind of Saul. (See Romans 3 verse 23 thru 25.)

Paul would grow in the knowledge of God, through experience with God's Holy Spirit that would reprove him of sin, with judgment.  The day came when Paul would come to understand that the root of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil continued to exist in his whole body of flesh,

We have seen in a previous chapter that the soul and the life of a person resides in their blood, and the life in the blood courses throughout the flesh of the whole of man's being. (See The Soul and the Life.) Now it should appear to the reasoning mind that the unredeemed soul knows only the will of the flesh, and as such, the soul, being one with the body of flesh is held in the possession of sin and death.   The enslavement of sin and death in earthly man is expressed by the innate self centered actions within the corrupted flesh of man, for that flesh will inevitably pass away in the corruption of death.

Now the ax is laid to the root of the trees: Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit, is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3 verse 10.)

For Life to exist in man kind, then there needs to be a change in the possession of the soul that is made dead because of sin. God's Savior of mankind, Yeshua haMamashiach, declares to Nicodemas: Truly, Truly I say unto you; except a man be born again of the Spirit of God, He can not see nor enter the Kingdom of God. 

But oops; what do we do about the new transgressions of the flesh? Say what; I thought all things were finished, and there are no more sins to condemn us?  Nay, the vanity of the idolatrous flesh of man has not changed, and heresy flourishes in man's burden of self idolatry. Witness again that when sin finds the wretched man Paul out, he concludes that the good Law of God convicted him of sin, and it is like he is already in the grave of the dead under 6 feet of earth.  

Paul originally saw himself to be alive IN Christ Jesus, with Christ being his all sufficiency, (See 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 5.) but the reborn Paul states:

For when we served the flesh, then the (stirring) motions of sin, Which were revealed by the Law in Commandments, worked in our members to bring forth its fruit of death. But now we are delivered from the condemnation of the Law that showed us to be dead with death holding us as prisoners.

What shall we say then? Is the Law (Decalogue) sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin but by the Law (Decalogue): For I had not known 'lust' except the Law said: "Thou shall not covet."
For Sin, revealed by the (10 good) Commandments, worked in me all manner of concupiscence
. [Concupiscence was first used in English language in the 14th century. Now not to minimize sin, but to maintain continuity with Greek Scripture - the Greek word epithumia {ep-ee-thoo-mee'-ah} should be interpreted simply as 'lust'.] For without the conviction of the Law (Decalogue), sin (lust) was dead in my mind.

For I was alive once without the Law (Decalogue), but when the Commandment came, sin was shown to be alive, and I was dead. The Commandment, which I thought was ordained to promote Life, I found to reveal my death. For sin, being revealed by the Commandment, deceived me, and by sin's deception sin slew me.

Wherefore, the Torah is Holy, and the Commandments Holy, Just and Good. (See Romans 7 verse 5 thru 12.)

Witness Paul's spiritual rational as He came to understand that his body was already corrupted thru and thru by spiritual sin, and was just awaiting death's ultimate corruption. Paul continues to elaborate on man's inextricable dilemma. Remember Paul says the Commandments are Good.

Was then the Law, which is Good, made to be death to me. God forbid! But that Sin may be revealed to be sin working its death in me by that which is good, so that now sin being revealed by the the Good Commandment of God,  might be revealed as being exceedingly sinful in that sin causes death.

For the Law (Decalogue) is spiritual, but I am carnal (of the flesh), sold, that is enslaved, in the bondages of (spiritual) sin.

For what I am doing, I do not approve of the evil: And what I know to do, I don't do the good. But the evil which I hate, I wind up doing.
If I wind up doing that which I know is not good, then I contend that the Law (Decalogue) is Good, for it reveals and condemns sin for the death that it is.

Paul already knows that by his new found faith IN Christ Jesus that he, Paul, also died IN the death of Christ Jesus, and IN the Resurrected Christ of God, sin's death has no more hold on Christ, and likewise sin's death has lost its hold on Paul, who is hid in the Risen Christ Jesus.  Therefore Paul can say:

Now it is no longer I that sins, but it is sin that dwells in my dead flesh.

The above statement by Paul would be an absolute cop out of irresponsibility, if it weren't for Paul's emphasis on the new birth of the soul that is to acquiesce IN the following of the LIFE of God's Spirit IN Christ Jesus. If Yahweh, who raised up Christ from the dead, dwells in you, then you will no longer allow sin to reign in your mortal body, but will mortify sin's deeds in the flesh through the LIFE giving Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Now if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, the man does not belong to Christ.  But if Christ is IN you, your body is already dead because of the law of sin in your flesh is death: But the Spirit of God gives LIFE because of the Righteousness of the One Man Christ Jesus. (See Romans 8 verse 9 thru 11.)

I have found a law that when I would do good, evil is present within my flesh.
For I see this other law in my flesh, as warring against the Torah of my mind that I delight in, for this other law is the law of sin which exist in my dead flesh.
 (See Romans 7 verse 21 thru 23.)

Oh wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death

We also have a conundrum along with St Paul.

Like St Paul, the earthly flesh that we exist in, is unredeemed and by nature our self centered flesh will sin in its own idolatry. Therefore, as it is with sin infected idolatrous flesh, sin will  always seek its own self centered gratification and the vanity of the flesh will wallow in the mire of its own independent reasons to justify its illicit actions.  Sin has a short memory in our double mindedness, for sin's self justification makes us forget what manner of man we were, before the Christ of God came into our lives to lead us IN His WAY, His TRUTH, and His LIFE that is of His Holy Father, Yahweh God. 

Mark this: The Word of God does not change in one jot or tittle, nor the Words of the prophets, for all things will come to pass, for the Torah is the unsurpassing Word of God.  Therefore the sin that kills us is revealed by the letter of the good Law in Commandments that are found in the Torah Word of God.  But now what shall we do when sin finds each one of us out?  God provides the only  WAY out of our death dilemma through Christ Jesus.  If we have God's Gift of faith IN Christ Jesus, then by the Grace of Holy God's Spirit of TRUTH, He will free us from under the weight of the guilt of sin.  For the Law of the Spirit of Life IN Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death. Otherwise the gravity of sin will continue to burden us with condemnation guilt as sin seeks its own way in the flesh.

Come unto Me, all of you that are laboring under a heavy burden (of sin), and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me for MY YOKE is easy and MY Burden is light.

Can you not hear with the ears of God's Spirit of Grace?  Holy, Holy, Holy Yahweh Lord God Almighty has not changed, for He remains Eternally Holy.  The Wisdom of Holy God has provided His WAY for sinful man to enter into His LIFE, for He has provided in the TRUTH of His Covenant of Grace, the WAY of LIFE IN Christ Jesus.  Christ's Spirit of LIFE and GRACE provides the Sanctifying Grace within the shed LIFE giving Blood of His Father's Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ; by Whom also we have access by faith into this Grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the Glory of God.  For hope makes one not ashamed, [for the shame of our weight bearing sin is obliterated in the Life Blood of Christ] and the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the HOLY GHOST, Which is given to us. (See Romans 5 verse 1 thru 5.)

I Thank God though (the Grace) of our Savior Yeshua haMashiach, Jesus Christ.

So then with the mind I serve the Law of God as in the Torah: But with the flesh, I serve the Law of Sin and Death.  Therefore, there is no condemnation to those who are IN Christ Jesus, who do not walk after the flesh, but walk IN the Spirit of Christ. 

The obedient redeemed IN Christ Jesus are no longer under the Judgment of the Law of God: For we can avail ourselves to God's Grace through His Holy Spirit of Grace that He has given to us, whereby His Spirit of Grace that is One with the Life giving Blood of Christ Jesus, cleanses us from the guilty weight of sin in our flesh.  It is only  through the believer's trusting obedience in God's Word of Faith IN Jesus Christ that we have access to Father God through Faith in the Grace --- of our High Priest Jesus Christ: For at His Passover Table, Jesus/Yeshua says: No one comes to the Father except by Me. (See John 14 verse 4 thru 6.) Why would I or any other true believer IN Christ remain up to their neck in the mire of our sin with its inclusion of death, when we have access to the Almighty's Grace IN the Blood of His Son.   Our Holy Righteous Lord God Almighty provides the antidote for our sin IN the Life giving Blood of Christ Jesus, for the Holiness of His Blood allows us in His Spirit of Grace, to stand to our feet in the Almighty's Presence,   If sin continues unabated in our body of flesh, it will swallow us up from the bottom of our feet to the top of our heads.

You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?  Therefore whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.  Do you think that the Scripture say in vain that the spirit that dwells within "us" lust to envy?  But God gives more (of His) Grace, (through His Spirit). Wherefore He says, God resists the proud, but gives (His Spirit of) Grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and He will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. (James 4 verse 4 thru 10.)

James, the half brother of Jesus, knows what he is talking about, for he includes himself among the double minded, for when he speaks of the spirit within "us" lusting because of envy: then we can surmise logically that his own human spirit is among the inclusive "us".

Paul says to those being saved: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it (sin) in the lusts thereof. (Romans 6 verse 12.) Then a few thoughts later, Paul confirms his teaching on the form of doctrine that God had provided in the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See Romans 6 verse 17 thru 18.) That Form of Doctrine, is in the Holy Communion LIFE giving Blood of Jesus Christ. given by God's Holy Spirit of Grace that frees us from sin and makes us sanctified servants of His Righteousness.

This is My Blood, of the New Covenant, that is shed for many for the remission of sin.

In the following pages, try to witness with your own eyes of faith, the depths of the Infinite God's Faith in His unchangeable Word that repeats that the only WAY of Salvation Grace is through: Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom also we have access by faith into this Grace wherein we (are able to) stand, and rejoice in hope of the Glory of God.  The new beginning of LIFE IN Christ may have begun gloriously; but seemingly was stopped at the door of our double minded heart.  There are so many pastors and evangelist speak about the Grace of God and the Glory of God like it is a philosophical abstract permeating the space of nothingness. Apparently. we finite creatures have failed to realize that the unseen substance of the 'Glory' and the 'Grace' of Yahweh God is given by the Almighty's unseen Holy Spirit of Grace. (Zechariah 12 verse 10 and Hebrews 10 verse 29.) In Faith, the Glory and Grace of God has come into the soul and spirit of the person of faith IN Christ Jesus, and will supply new Life to the members within the Body of Christ, 

Now God's Spirit of Grace rejoices our hearts in the unseen hope of this Glory of God's Spirit of Life.  We see in the substance of faith, that through the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the knowledge of the Salvation Grace of justification, was first administered to our souls in conjunction with the spirit of our minds.  Then also, the same unifying Grace of the One Spirit of God gives the believing sinners, who give thanksgiving through their participation in the Sanctifying Body and Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. an entrance into God's Throne room of Grace, through Christ's Righteous enablement for us to stand before Holy, Holy, Holy Yahweh Lord God Almighty. (See Hebrews 10 verse 19 thru 29.)

 

To continue to the next chapter, please click on Sins Vapor Trail is the Stench of Death.

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Robert Glenn Pratten with my beloved wife Rose Labez Pratten