The correct interpretation is; you are forgiven and
sin no more.
Not true.
No kidding. How could a man BE FORGIVEN of sin, IF he was "WITHOUT" sin?
Correct.
"believer", does not mean, Saved or Born Again.
"having faith", does not mean, Saved or Born Again.
Saved and Born again, means forever in Belief, means having received Gods forever faith-FULLNESS.
The FULLNESS, of the mans WHOLE, body, soul and spirit.
Anyone can believe, have faith, and then STOP believing, and STOP having faith.
It is a believer, who CAN SUBMIT and THEN by Gods ACT, become FORGIVEN.
It is believing men who MAY or MAY NOT, become Saved and Born Again.
It is believing men, that ARE SUBMISSIVE AND become FORGIVEN (by God), that become Saved and Born Again.
IF you study Scripture from the beginning of mankind -
You would find;
God announcing Himself, God revealing His Power, God proving by foretelling and then it coming to pass.
THAT did not change, and was the SAME, when Jesus arrived on Earth.
WHAT DID change, with GOD, was the AMOUNT of information that was given to mankind.
In the beginning of mankind ~ man was likened to a babe, a child. Taught as a child. Lots of rules, laws, prohibitions, and consequences. And missing, like with little children? Reasoning skills necessary for "understanding". Early man, "understood" little. They were immature, without history, without examples. They were like babes. Do this, period. If you do not, this is the consequence. Period.
WHAT did CHANGE, was mankind. They grow, have generations of examples, history to observe, see what happens, WHEN one obeys God and WHEN one doesn't. They mature, in using examples, as their guide, for what is not clear in their understanding.
People became lost, to hearing, seeing Gods power, waiting for the foretelling to come to pass, losing faith, because they do not SEE anything coming to pass. Their impatience overcomes them. Many begin adopting what other cultures do, ie ways of the world.
Jesus arrives on earth. He comes to rejuvenate the lost, those without faith, those who have become impatient, those who have adopted the ways of the world.
Jesus is announced, He reveals speaking the Word of God, He begins revealing His Power, via miracles; THEN, some get it, some do not. IT? What is it? Lo and behold, He IS the Christ. The one they HAVE been waiting for. IS He, He?
But, but, he is "just" a man. Nothing special about him. eh, He's from Nazareth, for crying out loud, ha, ha, a nobody. Not a king, "just", another poor 'ole prophet without wealth, or positional power, eh,
another peddler of prophecy. Or so, many thought!
You know the story, Jesus chooses men to follow Him, the Pharisees get all jealous for the crowds Jesus draws. THEN Jesus begins announcing; HE IS "thee" Son of God! HIS FATHER, IS GOD!
WHAT? WHOA! Oh, no,no,no,no,no! He is making Himself equal to God! He is making Himself God!
DEATH TO HIM! DEATH TO HIM! No one is EQUAL TO GOD! Blasphemy! Blasphemy! Death to Him!
Of course, those were the Jews charges, per their law. And the Romans' law rules the day. And no Roman law allows for Jews to carry out a death sentence for a man. So the story goes all the sneaky twisting of accusations, from the Jews to the Romans in an attempt to get the Romans to find Jesus guilty of something. That failed. However one Roman law, DID provided at a particular time, for prisoner exchange of one Jew for another, and Jesus' was party to that exchange, and thus the Jews accomplished getting rid of Jesus. So, they thought!
Now, ON TO THE POINT -
From the beginning ~ to Christ the Lord Jesus' day ~ to this day ~ ALL the knowledge has been uncovered and revealed that is necessary for a man to pick and choose, to BELIEVE or NOT.
It has over the centuries become RELAXED, from God treating mankind LIKE A BABE, to God treating mankind as men capable of being "full" of knowledge. The Pastors are plentiful around the world. The Script is written and plentiful around the world. The only EXCUSE, is on a man, WHO foregoes and
chooses to NOT hear, NOT read. Which, according to God, IS NO EXCUSE, because nothing remains secret or hidden, and He is known world wide. So a man's stubbornness to reject, and the consequence thereof, is his own choice.
Now, continuing with RELAXED. In the OT; repent and believe, was nearly equally mentioned, some 40 + times.
In the NT; repent is nearly the same as in the OT; some 40+ times. And believe, is mentioned some 260 + times.
I am not saying to REPENT is not necessary - what I am saying is to NOTICE the FOCUS is ON BELIEF.
Which is to say, what was from OLD, had an enormous FOCUS on NEGATIVE consequences, according to the Law of Moses.
The progression HAS changed to the POSITIVE
of BELIEF. Man does not acquire "faith" by his own initiative. Man can simply be aware, and choose to believe. It is God who gives him "faith".
A man who chooses, must first be aware of WHAT he can choose.
And that "awareness" NOW fills the world. God, Christ, is known WORLD WIDE.
It is NOW a simple matter of INDIVIDUAL men, choosing to Believe, "or not".
So what was Jesus' directive to His servants?
Matt 28: [
19]
Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teach AND Baptize,
in specifically; the Father name, the Son's name, the Holy Spirit's name.
We see, the teaching commencing. We see Peter, a find example...
Acts 2
- [38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We also see, the teaching
Acts 8
[
12] But when they believed Philip
preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and
the name of Jesus Christ,
they were baptized, both men and women.
The "things concerning the kingdom of God", is about an everlasting place WITH God. One receiving the baptism of Jesus Christ, allows "them" into the Kingdom of God. And on that premise, they submitted and were baptized.
Where did their "repentance" come into the mix?
Men can teach, but then WHO KNOWS, what they retain and comprehend?
POINT BEING, "WE" do not do the forgiving, God does.
POINT BEING, "WE" can simply BELIEVE and SUBMIT, And God does the changing within a man, and keeping of him.
1 John 3:7 is preceded by; 1 John 3:2 which says;
[
2] Beloved,
now are we the sons of God...
1 John 3:7 is speaking to;
[
7]
Little children
What are "little children" ? They are believers, baptized in the Holy Spirit, but NOT STEEPED in the Word of God.
It it sort of backwards. When we observe Jesus' disciples. They spent 3 years daily, hours on end, hearing, learning, receiving the Word of God. BEFORE they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
Thereafter, they were, along with other men, sent out to Baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
The churches, particular, identified in Revelations, received some visits of teachers, some letters from teachers, and the same was to other places disciples and teachers traveled and visited.
A pale comparison to what the disciples of Jesus received, in their daily 3 year communication with Jesus, eh?
The history, from the beginning, of strict laws and rules, and the disciples daily with Jesus, to shortly after Jesus' day on earth, to now - is much more relaxed, to God's focus on mankind's BELIEF and SUBMISSION to God.
Believe and Be Baptized. That is not to say, forget about repentance, or forget about continued learning;
But is is to say; It is revealed, God is wrapping up things.
A mans BELIEF and SUBMISSION to BAPTISM; IS a man, God is claiming unto Himself.
And a man God IS claiming unto Himself, God Himself, dictates the changes in a man, that IS, acceptable to God, to KEEP the man unto Himself forever.
The "little children", saved and born of God, or those "mature, steeped in knowledge and understanding" who are saved and born of God, are equally, acceptably claimed by God.
Neither will falter and ever AGAIN SIN. Never again will their standing be Against God.
They will forever have God WITH them.
Will they have issues, trespasses, with man against man? Sure. And the remedy is for forgiveness BETWEEN men.
Sin, is an issue BETWEEN man and God. And for a man WHO is born of God, that issue is resolved.
God Bless,
SBC
