© December 5, 1995 -- August 2, 2002 Caleb Suresh Motupalli

Apostle Paul writes that the purpose of the Law is to make us conscious of sin (Romans 7:7). That is, the Law lets us know how degenerate we are and draws us near to Jesus Christ. While this is true, we have to understand that this is true only for those who are applying the Law of God to their lives! It is only these who will realize God's standard of living. Without the Law we would be clueless as to where we stand. It is like a bride trying to adorn herself without a mirror. So love we must, which is indeed the way of the Spirit but it is with the Mirror (the Law) we examine ourselves. If "through the Law comes the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20), does it not follow that we use it when we remember our Lord around the Lord's Table who died for precisely those sort of sins. Woe unto me if i do not use it for introspection around the Lord's table! Days are coming when no one will need to tell his neighbor, "Know the Lord" for they will all know him -- the Word, the Law -- from the least to the greatest.

Jesus said, "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached; and everyone is forcing his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail" (Luke 16:16,17 NASB). Yes, the Law of God is perfect; only we are not. So let us make every effort to keep all the Commandments (not suggestions) of God to "the smallest letter" (Matthew 5:18) even as the Spirit helps us to. We further read in v.19, "Whoever then annuls one of the least of the Commandments and so teaches others shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven." If a Commandment says we have to keep the Seventh Day as a Sabbath to the Lord, by all means let's do it. And if it says we have to work the rest of the six days (Exodus 20:9) including the first, by all means let us, just as Jesus did. Similarly the Seventh Year: a Sabbath for the land. The Ten Commandments are especially important as they are the foundation of the covenant we have with God (Deuteronomy 4:13). The Ten were written on stone tablets and were placed inside the ark and remained there even when the gates of heaven were opened (Revelation 11:19). They are that important that He allowed His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to be nailed to the wood on our behalf only so that the Commandments themselves get riveted to our hearts. Charles Stanley writes, "our lives are to become living expressions of the Commandments of God. People should read our behavior and know what God considers to be right and wrong." If we talk about a way of life without the Commandments, it defeats the very purpose of why Jesus Christ came to this earth and died for us. By sacrificing Jesus Christ on the wood, we know that God really means it when He issues a Command. In other words, God is not sadistic or just "trigger happy" when He is dealing with us! He is a loving God but a just God as well. "He is divinely obligated for the good of all to judge the few or all if need be." He has called us out of the world to be a peculiar people and for us not to conform to the world. So let us not be the ones who set "aside the Commands of God in order to observe our own traditions." Indeed it was the custom of Jesus Himself to meet on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16). So should it be with the Church, to the glory of God the Father. So let us not be like the elephant that goes back to the dust after a glorious bath. Let us devote ourselves to the worship of God on the Seventh Day, because it is His Day and He hallowed it, calling it "a Sabbath to the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:10-11). Note in verse 11 that the appeal from God to keep the Sabbath is in reference to creation rest. Through the Sabbath, He was making a memorial of creation. By keeping the Sabbath we acknowledge our creator as distinct from us. It is the foundation of divine worship (Chapter 19: The Sabbath, Seventh-Day Adventists Believe). The Sabbath was instituted, that is, the 7^th day was sanctified by God even before the Law was given (Genesis 2:3). Indeed it was instituted even before sin entered the world! As R.C. Sproul points out, "the Sabbath holiness is the zenith of God's creation and models the final day of our redemption." And in the Law we are asked to remember it because God foreknew that we would forget it. As a matter of fact it is given so that the small and the big, rich and the poor would not forget Him! The Sabbath is a day set apart for sacred assembly, a day for Holy Communion with our Lord (Leviticus 23:1-3) -- a rest from our labors so we can meet with our Lord and have faith fellowship. The authors of Seventh Day Adventists Believe write, "without the Sabbath all would be labor and sweat without end. Everyday would be alike, devoted to secular pursuits." Indeed Ezekiel prophesied that we the priests would one day not distinguish between the holy days (the Sabbaths) and the common days (Ezekiel 22:26).

As for the observance itself, let us not be like those who wind off business with God quickly on Friday evening and rob the Lord of the Seventh Day. No doubt the Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday (Leviticus 23:32; Mark 1:32) but that is only to usher the Sabbath in and is not the core. It is more obvious that we ought to give Him the Day more than the night (cf. Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 35:3; Genesis 1:5a). Also, the Father did not designate a day to be the 7th day but He said the 7th day of the week to be the Day of Sabbath. And the 7th Day of our week it is. Notwithstanding, the 7^th Day has always been the Sabbath even though the month or the year has changed. Even if you were to stand at the International Date Line with half your body on one side and the other half on the other side, know that your left side of your body is controlled by your right brain and vice versa. Let us not be contentious about these matters. While a promise remains of entering His rest, let us be diligent to enter the rest set before us, lest anyone fall through, following the same example of disobedience or obstinacy (Hebrews 4:1,9-11). For if Jesus had meant the 7th Day Sabbath rest in Matthew 11:29, He would not have spoken of another day after that (Matthew 24:20). The author of Hebrews too acknowledges that on the day that we will enter God's rest we will cease from all labors (Hebrews 4:10). So the Sabbath is not a curse that we should do away with but rather it is a sign of the ultimate rest for our souls that God has in store for us (Revelation 14:13). A gospel that does not contain this truth is not gospel at all. The keeping of this Sabbath day Commandment is a proclamation that we will have that rest in Heaven one day. It is not only a Commandment that we keep but it is also an aspect of our faith (Hebrew 11:1 KJV) in God that we will have that rest. By observing the Seventh Day, we are making "substance of things" we are hoping for in the future. That is, commune and rest with our God. What is it that makes one keep a Commandment as seemingly and humanitarianly insignificant as the Sabbath Commandment except were it not for the fact that one has first of all a belief in the existence of a God and that of the God of the Bible and trusts the Bible itself to be the revelation of God! That, my friend, is the Mark of God that distinguishes you from the crowd. It is a Hallmark of a child of God who loves his God and is keeping the Commandments with all his heart, mind, strength and soul overcoming the world, the flesh and the Devil. It can indeed be counted as the least of the Commandments because no human body will be effected by it when one breaks it. It is a mark of relationship with our God, our maker. The Sabbath is also a sign of our redemption from the house of slavery to sin just as it was for the Israelites a sign of redemption from the house of slavery in Egypt. It is a sign of redemption because we now have rest when we should have been bonded to sin and death.

While we have this promise of rest by believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the promise itself is only for those who are repenting from their disobedience. This is so because disobedience is an expression of unbelief. And "he that does not obey [believe] the Son, shall not see life and the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36 NASB). Now why did Jesus say, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life?" (John 3:16) Why the emphasis on belief in the Son? Who is Jesus that we should believe in Him? When and who do we generally believe? The answer to these questions comes when we examine the life of Jesus Christ from what the apostles have testified trustworthily. His was a life of sacrifice and love for the people -- people who are in enmity with God. Now a good man would see His life and love Him. Trust and belief would be a by-product or the result of the love we have back to Jesus. So in God's plan for the whole "world," He wants none, especially the good, to perish. So everyone would "listen" to Him and "believe" in Him because He laid down His life for them. Having got the answers to our questions, another question to ask ourselves is what is it that God wants the whole world to believe? What is the need of the hour? Is it just justification? That is, is it just receiving Him as our savior? Is it not also to come into the Biblical Order of things! Is it not also to receive Him as our Lord! Is it also not to be sanctified and be transformed into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Or is this a deception that the people of God have fallen into in these end times? The verse that helped me with this question was Deuteronomy 13:1-4:

Do we love our God with all our heart and with all our soul that we keep His Commandments and obey Him? Jesus Himself set us an example by obeying the Father till His death. (Cp. Acts 10:9 - 11:18; 15:13-29). In working a new thing however (Acts 9:15; Isaiah 43:19), God prepared a new wineskin for the new wine and in so doing He preserved both the old and the new. The new, Jesus Christ is preparing to be handed over to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24). It could well be that Jesus was hallowing the LORD's name lest any hypocrite profanes it. Gentiles who did not have the Law had not yet consecrated themselves. Jesus, like Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 30:2,3) chose a different day until even these are consecrated and then He can hand them over to the Father. It is a process whereby all the true Gentile believers who walk by the Spirit of God, would have their spiritual eyes opened to the Sabbath Commandment and all the true Jews come to believe Jesus is the Messiah (Christ). Until then we are, so to speak, in the outer court. The saints are those who keep God's Commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. These are the ones who are harassed by Satan (Revelation 14:12).

But today, given the choice between 7th day (Saturday) worship and 1st day (Sunday) worship, what would we choose? We have to carefully take note of what Jesus said to His disciples at the Last Supper. "Do this in remembrance of me." So Paul writes, "For when ever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). While Thursday, the day of Lord's death on the Passover, can be used for corporate introspection, Foot-Washing and Communion, Sunday may seem right for proclaiming the Lord's corresponding resurrection through Worship and Communion. What better day is there to proclaim, than on the Lord's resurrection day--Sunday--when we are all jubilant! So Sunday we should reserve as a day for corporate worship of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if we have chosen only Sunday as the only day for worship, we would be Unitarian, not obeying the Commands of the Father. It is the 7th Day God consecrated ("blessed it and hallowed it" -- Exodus 20:11). If we substitute Sunday as our Sabbath day, we would only be making for ourselves a counter-sabbath, which amounts to idolatry. Thus desecrating, not consecrating the LORD's Day. Even though the majority of us are of Gentile origin we cannot distance ourselves from Jews who worship the Father on the 7th Day. Indeed we too are Jews and Abraham's descendents having the right to enter into the Sanctuary if we are circumcised in the heart and flesh (Romans 2:29; Galatians 3:29; Ezekiel 44:9). (Baptism for the believers takes the place of circumcision of the flesh, as both are outward signs of affiliation and identification. Jesus however had to be circumcised because there were no baptisms then and the new covenant was not yet established.) While we have to show ourselves distinct from the Hebrews (the so-called Jews), we cannot so much as alienate ourselves from them. We are Trinitarians, believing in the supremacy of the Father (John 14:28), the sonship of Jesus Christ, the assistantship (Spirit of prophecy) of the Holy Spirit and that we ourselves are the Bride of Jesus Christ. What shall we say then of the number of working days. As a servant of God rightly pointed out, after the curse has been removed, God does not want us to labor and to toil much. However, he wants us to complete all our works of obligation in the six days permitted. But on the Sabbath we should rest and worship God.

As someone quipped, "what would Jesus do (WWJD)" when He comes to reign on this earth? He would keep and enforce (cf. Luke 19:27) all the Laws of God including the Sabbath (Ezekiel 46:1) as a testimony of His love for the Father and to sanctify and establish the Law abiding into God's holiness and rest. Indeed our loyalty would be tested in the last days when we will have to make a choice between following God (that is, "keep the Commandments of God and the faith in Jesus") and to worship the beast and his image (Revelation 14:9-12 NASB) receiving his mark. Many however will go through the tribulation. Freedom of Religion is only relevant when Jesus Christ is not physically present and reigning on the earth, as it would then be our faith. As for the Sunday-mark or the Sunday law it will not be enforced until the people of God make a willful pledge of allegiance to God's Law because God already has believer and unbeliever alike bound. It is only when the time of testing comes, which is at the end of the age, the choice will be given to us by the angel who has the seal of the living God (Revelation 7:2,3), and the true believer will surface. It is only then we will receive the crown of life (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10).

No doubt we ought to proclaim the Lord's death till He comes through Sunday worship and communion. In other words we are inadvertently keeping the Law of God including the Sabbath commandment but on a different day. We have been led not by the hand by some external agency but by what is written on our own hearts (i.e. we were willing to love God and His house). But now however, we have the written Word in each of our hands, so to speak written on our minds as well. We know the Sabbath is on the 7th day. Even though it is written that He will hand over the kingdom to the Father at a later date (1 Corinthians 15:24) we cannot say here that the Lord Himself will change the Sabbath then, because Jesus said, "The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28). We should not on one hand stop proclaiming the Lord's death which is best done on the day of resurrection and on the other hand we should not disregard the Word of God but obey it because obedience is better than sacrifice. So therefore we should keep both the days as it is only our work that is in jeopardy (Exodus 20:9).

When the Church makes a corporate choice to keep the Sabbath, the Sabbath will be instrumental in bringing the Church together.

As i mentioned earlier what brought resurrection for our Lord Jesus Christ holds good for us too. That is, when we also walk in His footsteps, in keeping the Commandments we will be resurrected to life eternity (Philippians 3:10,11; 1 Corinthians 7:19; John 5:28-29). We must bear much fruit including the fruit that is contained in the Commandments. After being illumined of the truth, drawn out in this article, the Church has to make a corporate choice by answering the question similar to the one posed by Joshua to the House of Israel: "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

The time has now come for the judgement of the family of God (1 Peter 4:17)-- for an office of Judge to be instituted in the Church and judges ordained. Jesus Himself talks about a Sanhedrin in Matthew 5:22. Indeed Moses will be the standard that will be used (John 5:45). James too states "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the Law of liberty" (James 2:12 NASB). Even as I am writing this article, God confirmed it to me as I randomly picked Amos 7^th, 8^th and 6^th chapters particularly verse 8 of Chapter 7: "Look I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer." Remember that the big brother is not going to keep quite if the prodigal son continues to squander the wealth after he returns home. Neither will the Father whose judgement will be final and decisive. God cannot be mocked. While Jesus Christ is our advocate, He will cease to be, if we trample Him under foot, treat as unholy the blood of the covenant that sanctified us, and insult the Spirit of Grace. "For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the Law might be fully met in us [at justification; and now in sanctification that the righteous requirements of the Law might continue to be met in us] who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:3,4). Note here that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is also Judgement (John 16:7-11). Therefore ministers who are empowered by the Holy Spirit and have the gift of discernment need to hold offices as Judges within the Church apart from other ministers. Matthew Henry in his commentary writes: "ministers are reprovers by office, and by them the Spirit reproves." Blaspheming a minister while he is executing his official duty amounts to blaspheming the Holy Spirit for which there is no forgiveness. The office of Counselor too has to be strengthened. This is not for a Church of tomorrow but should have been for the Church of yesterday because the ruler of this world already stood condemned 2000 years ago (John 16:11) when Jesus was crucified. What does this mean to the layman in the Church? Everything! The minister's responsibility is to see good and justice done and righteousness prevail for this is what the LORD desires (Micah 6:8). Hear to what the Lord says in Isaiah 58:6 - "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?" Watchman Nee too in his book "God's plan and Overcomers" writes that the Church has been commissioned with the task of judgement since Jesus Christ died according to the dictates of the Law of God.

While judgement has to be administered (Matthew 23:23; 1 Corinthians 6:1-8) it has to primarily take the form of introspection, confession and foot washing at the Lord's Table. Foot washing symbolizes the inward washing of our hearts with the Word (Ephesians 5:26). As for what Jesus said about uprooting the wheat (good) along with the tares in Matthew 13:24-30 it has to be understood that He is referring to hypocrites and not those who are openly the children of the wicked one in His field, the world. (For the whole world is Jesus' now usurped by Satan.) These should not be admitted into the ordinance of the Lord's Table unless they are baptized or foot washed as is appropriate. Corporate introspection where one member of the body who is clean, washes another should be practiced. This entails rendering justice to individuals by the ministers (judges). As for those who call themselves Christian but are openly living in sin, even excommunication, as Paul suggests to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5), has its merits. When judgement is made and bound here on earth it will be bound in heaven (Matthew 18:15-20). Restoration efforts should however follow, on the other hand (Galatians 6:1). God does love the enemy and He is his Comforter too. But the sin of rejecting the only remedy one has is without a pardon. The minister first lays open the sore and then applies the healing touch. This can be traumatic at times. While God is abounding in Love, He is also a consuming fire for those who reject His Love. Thus says the Lord: "Be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

When asked, "What must we do to do the works God desires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent" (John 6:28,29). It is true when we believe that He is the bread of life (v. 35) and that He laid down His life for us (John 10:11) we have eternal life. But this believing in Him or accepting Him attitude can come across as though Christ is applying to us rather than us to Him. Dr. A.W. Tozer writes: It makes Him stand hat-in-hand awaiting our verdict on Him, instead our kneeling with troubled hearts awaiting His verdict on us for the things that we have done here on earth. It may even permit us to accept Christ by an impulse of mind or emotions, painlessly, at no loss to our ego and no inconvenience to our usual way of life. For this ineffectual manner of dealing with a vital matter such as eternal life, he draws a couple of parallels. For instance, Israel in Egypt had "accepted" the blood of the Passover but continued to live in bondage or the prodigal son had "accepted" his father's forgiveness and stayed on among the swine in the far country. Is it not plain that if accepting or believing Christ is to mean anything, there must be moral action that accompanies it? Yes indeed faith without works is dead. The Father's Command leads to eternal life (John 12:50). And our Father's (Yahweh's) message to the world, which our Lord brought to us, is the same today and it applies to all: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the Commandments." With men this is impossible but praise be to God, with His Help, the Holy Spirit, it is possible (Matthew 19:17, 26; Mark 10:19,27; Luke 18:20,27).

Even though Jesus died for us (without which we wouldn't be where we are) it was not until we appropriated the gift by the working of the Holy Spirit who first drew us to Jesus nailed to the wood, then convicted us or forced us to own our sins, then conceiving us anew, and now sanctifying us daily by His inner working and enabling us to conform to the Commandments (that is, bear forth fruit) ... that we enter life (John 15:1-6,10; Matthew 24:12,13). Of course, the moment we accepted Him as our savior, we have been justified and eternal life is ours - a free gift by the grace of God lest anyone should boast. But you don't get salvation like you get food out of a vending machine by dropping a coin in it. The word salvation means rescue from God's judgement. A type of our salvation experience is the rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt till they finally enter the promised land. As Pastor Jerry Oster put it, salvation is like electricity. When you switch on the light, someone back there is generating the required energy to keep the bulb burning. Jesus Christ is sitting at God's right hand as High Priest (Hebrews 8:1), Advocate (1 John 2:1), Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5) and Intercessor (Romans 8:34) and is continuing to cater the salvation to us even as we are abiding in His love by keeping His Commandments including that of washing of your neighbor's sins by your own sacrifices. Justification is only the first phase of salvation. The second phase of salvation is sanctification where we will be made fit to occupy our respective places in the temple of God by our work done through faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. As someone put it, justification is our title to heaven where as sanctification is our fitness for heaven. God promises to sanctify those whom he justifies⁸. But the promise is only for those who are willing to repent and are doing so from all their sins. How can one repent except he know what to repent from? That is, how can one stop sinning or judge himself without knowing the Law? If not our conscience, the creation declares God's Law. If our conscience convicts us it is through the Law written on our hearts. Therefore, everyone is without an excuse. Indeed all have sinned (that is, transgressed from the Law) and come short of the glory of God. Therefore all stand condemned already were it not for Jesus Christ. The Father's Law alone is applicable to all for eternal life because Jesus, who, having been put to death was raised to life because he had kept all that Law! With that sacrifice the Father (Yahweh/God) condemned sin in all sinful men. There is one standard and that is the Law of God that came through Moses and it applies to all men (Numbers 15:16; Leviticus 24:22). The Ten Commandments are especially important because they are written on stone tablets and are placed inside the Ark.

After receiving the gift of life, we have to hold on to it to the very end to be saved (Matthew 10:22). Indeed we will only then receive the crown of life (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). And like wise our rewards too (Revelation 3:10,11)-- we have to hold fast to them. When we were baptized into Christ we have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). But if our behavior is improper we will be putting off Christ (Romans 13:13) and be found naked. If we don't continue with the good works that Jesus did we are essentially putting off Christ because we know the good we ought to do and don't do it (James 4:17). We have to fulfil the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) which is the Law of Love. We have to keep our garments (Christ) and not be found naked. Which means continue in the footsteps of Jesus Christ --of what the robes stand for. If we are found naked we will have to get new clothes to wear. And such is the case with many Christians today. They are found to be naked. This phenomenon of nakedness is not so much due to an intrinsic lack of a potential to do good works, but rather a by-product from the inertia of the Grace revolution for those who are perishing with dead faith. Worthy is he who does good. Apostle Paul too does not mince his words when he is writing his first and second epistles to the Thessalonians. In the first he writes in verse 1:3, "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." In the second he writes in verse 1:5, "that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer." The whole theme of this epistle is about the lawless one -- one who has no love; one who does no good; one who does not keep the Commandments of God. In Revelation 19:8 we read "Fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)" What does this mean? It is a righteousness apart from the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is given the Bride to wear. The fruit of her hand was not given her all along. She had to dress up all along without the mirror and with the return of Jesus Christ the adorning (good works) will result in praise, honor and glory. So it is grand adornment that the Lord wants to bestow upon His Bride and not leave her as she is. Jesus Christ is our good shepherd. Just as Caleb followed the LORD wholeheartedly and got Hebron (Joshua 14) we too will have our inheritance when we follow the Lord Jesus Christ wholeheartedly in His footsteps. It will be then, that no one will need to tell His neighbor, "Know the Lord" for they will all know Him through us -- when we reflect Christ in us. For we are those that have the Law written on our hearts and we will be walking Christ-ians! By the acts of the body, the glorified Christ gets His identity.

How do we stand firm and hold on to what we have? By abiding in Him (John 15:10), symbolized by the "eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood" (John 6:56)! Is this a one-time event? In v.58 we read "he who feeds on this bread will live forever." And again in 1 Corinthians 11:25 NASB we read: "do this as often..." Who can partake of His flesh and blood? One who is worthy (1 Corinthians 11:27)-- one who has washed himself first of all by the blood of the lamb (that is, baptized) and who has had his feet washed by his saintly neighbor for any later sin revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Can a man who harbors unconfessed sin be considered worthy? Can a man who deliberately keeps on sinning after he has received the knowledge of the Truth be worthy? No, not at all! They will be thrown outside where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12). On the other hand we still have the LORD's declaration in Ezekiel 18: "Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right... He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my Laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live." In Leviticus 18:5 also we read, "So you shall keep My Statues and My Judgements, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord." Again in Proverbs 4:4, "Keep my commands and live." Jesus has not changed this decree. As we read in John 3:36 NASB: "he who does not obey the Son shall not see life and the wrath of God abides on him." While we do have a lot of security in being part of the body of Christ, the Surgeon General will not hesitate to remove a malignant lung, kidney or limb if that is going to affect the rest of the body's health (1 Corinthians 5).

So we must "continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose" (Philippians 2:12,13). Jesus was not without a Word after He forgave a woman who was caught in adultery. The words "Go and sin no more" should reverberate in our minds today and forever. Sanctification is as important as the new birth for if you are not being sanctified you never received the gift of the Holy Spirit and have never been born-again to begin with. You will eventually be thrown away like a branch that did not bear fruit. Such will be "picked up and thrown into fire and burned" (John 15:6). Even Paul writes "For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you [grafted branches] either." Our name can be erased from the Lamb's book of life if we fall away. Though a Son has permanent place in the house of God, if they become slaves their stay once again becomes only temporary (John 8:35). Slavery negates our Sonship. We have to hold on to what we have, so that no one will take our crown (Revelation 3:11). Some verses from the book of Revelation are worth mentioning here to those who believe "once saved is always saved". Jesus, in the message to the Church in Smyrna: "Be faithful to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life." And to the Church in Sardis, "He who overcomes will like them be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels." And James too writes, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12). And again in James 5:19: "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins." All these verses go to say that once saved is not always saved.

The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Church and we ourselves have to work in concert to bring about our salvation. Justification as we saw is by grace alone through faith. Grace makes sense when one is helpless. But in Sanctification we are no longer helpless but rather, we are gifted with the Holy Spirit within and the Church and various resources without. And therefore God decrees that it shall not be by grace alone. It is a concerted effort of all five. Prayer is the link between us and the omnipotence of God. But that omnipotence will be unleashed only when we are in a state of helplessness. Prayer is not the only resource or recourse that God has blessed us with. We have the Law itself as part of our spiritual resource. The Law is written on our hearts. The Holy Spirit has now become the part and parcel of our hearts. In Ezekiel 36:26-27 NASB we read, "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."

All four, that is Moses, Paul, John and Jesus agree that if a man practices the righteousness which is based on the Law shall live by them -- have eternal life (Romans 10:5; Matthew 19:16-19). Now as we saw, this is not impossible? Grace is not as applicable to us now as it was before we were born again. Righteousness is imparted to us rather than simply imputed to us, which is altogether a different matter. Imputation requires just the exercise of our faith and Christ's work of righteousness will be credited to us as an act of grace. But in impartation, the Holy Spirit makes known to us what is righteous which is making the Law that is written on our hearts known to us and then it is up to us to put that righteousness to practice.

In the words of Jesus: "His [the Father's] Command leads to eternal life" (John 12:50). And Apostle John writes: "We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His Commands. The man who says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in Him. This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:3-6). Paul too elsewhere writes in a similar fashion to Titus (verse 1:16)-- "They profess to know God but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed."

So in conclusion, it is all five including you and the Church working in a concerted fashion that leads you into eternal life, but the way has always been the same. That is, the Old Testament's obedience to God's Commandments, as a way to eternal life has not changed. Our founders and forefathers appropriated the gift by mixing faith with works as they looked forward to Jesus Christ. Today, in Justification, all our past sins have been washed away and we have placed our hand in our Lord's hand. But there is nothing like eternal security. Remember the repeated verses in Revelation "Hold fast to what you have." God never drags you anywhere against your will. He is a Shepherd who is at the front and it is up to us to follow Him. Now in Jude we read, "the one who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless…" Surely this verse is only for those who are abiding with the Lord for the Lord says in John 15:5,6 NASB -- "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." Looking closely then we see that God is also working (keeping us from falling) and we too are working (abiding or holding fast). Therefore it is a concerted effort.

So "… if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offences he has done will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live" (Ezekiel 18:21-22) holds good for us now during our sanctification. Not only is our eternal life the work of the five but our rewards as well. Brother Bakht Singh uses the words "co-worker" and "partner" to denote our position in the heavenly house, which our Lord Jesus Christ is building with our co-operation. Peter the Apostle alludes to this concerted activity in 1 Peter 1:1-2-- "To God's elect ... who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood." The new covenant is also based on the Law of God except that the Law is now written on our hearts and the Holy Spirit helps us to keep it through self-judgement. C.I Scofield writes, "Moreover the Spirit works in us the very righteousness which Moses' Law requires (Romans 8:2,4)."

A preacher once gave the illustration of a Father and Child. When the child misbehaved, the father punishes him by sending him for the night to sleep in the attic. The child was very afraid but he had to take the punishment. In the middle of the night he woke up in a fright only to find his father sleeping close to him. This is the way our God deals with us -- we still have to keep the Commandments of God even though we are in the new covenant but we have the Holy Spirit right close to us as a help and comfort.

In John 6/Matthew 14 we see how Jesus Christ with the power from the Father works a miracle with a sacrifice from a lad who offered 5 barley loaves of bread and 2 fish. Work, on our part is also needed because we still posses the free will. God does not replace our will with His, automatically. We have to make that conscious decision ourselves. A. W. Tozer on the subject of Love's Final Test writes:

God does not manipulate us but He will chastise us. But chastisement is only for those who are responsive to chastisement and our invisible God reserves that only for such. Those who have their consciences seared on one issue or another, no amount of chastisement will work. Moreover God's primary will is not that we keep His commandments out of fear though this may be the case otherwise (Luke 12:5). God is patient and long suffering and wants us to obey His Commandments out of our own free will. Ultimately we have to exercise our free will, respond and yield to God, which means work on our part - work to keep the Commandments of God. This is not self-righteousness, as some would have it, since our trust is not in our own abilities but in God who empowers us. Remember goodness too is a virtue, just as trust in God is, and God wants us to have that, as do our fellow brothers and sisters. We are to become cooperating vessels for God to impart goodness to the world. Not that God cannot do without us, but it pleases Him to do it through us. The work we do may be as insignificant as sacrificing 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish compared to what Jesus turned that into, but remember the lad gave up all the food he had. On other occasions it may appear that Jesus performed miracles without any work involved. One such case is the healing of the centurion's servant. The measure (James 2:18,22) that God uses for His compassion to us in Sanctification, is directly proportional to Work times 1/Evidence or Spiritual Strength or Work on God's part. Evidence is Information transferred from God. Evidence is needed because God gives that to make known His will!

So an initial hypothesis for Compassion from God = Faith = Work/Evidence = W(-E P_i log ₂ P_i)

where
W is the work done to make substance in our minds of things not seen
P_i is the Probability of each Alternative in the will of God occurring

Sanctification = W₂WG cos q (-E P_i log ₂ P_i)

where
G force exerted by God -- Will of God or Grace given one according to His justice and choice (Acts 10:34- 43; Exodus 33:19)
q is Humility -- degree to which one has yielded to the will of God
W₂ is work to do the will of God

We have W₂ cos q because our will too has a role to play. A doctrine that removes the will of man to accommodate only the will of God is in effect saying God is to be blamed for all misery including -- if it is true -- for a place in hell. As Brother K. Phillip puts it we are not mere automatons. God rejoices when we willingly obey Him exercising our freewill. God had a good purpose or perfect will for the Pharisees and the experts in the Law but they rejected God's will for their own self will (Luke 7:30). Taking our Lord Jesus as our example it was the degree to which he yielded to God's will and the sacrificial work he did that counted. He indeed had a strong will to say "No" to temptation when He said: "Yet not as I will, but as You will." Denying to self however (Matthew 16:24) should be seen in the context of being true to oneself. When we have the fruit of the light (Ephesians 5:9) we will have a perfect balance between being right in the sight of God, doing good to others and being true to self.

When we read "he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world" it means God the father foreknew that He is going to create this world, and man. He is going to give him a freewill and then He knew that he would sin. He is going to send His Son to die for man and the Gospel is going to be preached to the ends of the earth and who ever receives Jesus Christ would be chosen to become God's children and to be God's workmanship to do good deeds prepared in advance for them to do. We have to be careful to note that it is not simply choosing us before the foundation of the world, it is choosing us in Him... After the appearance of Jesus Christ it is Jesus who then chooses us (John 15:19) based upon the leeway of freewill we had and how we put it to use. It is only then He chooses because God is not going to determine our future before we exercise our freewill. A question arises here: Is God really omniscient? Let us examine closely without making God a figment of our imagination. It is very important to find out if God is omniscient or not and how it relates to our free will because our motivation to do good hangs on that. It is a matter of being motivated or becoming complacent. If we do so we would be no better than the pantheists.

Firstly, for justice sake God would rather not be omniscient! Because justice demands that if one should be punished for his sins, he should have been responsible for those sins. If a man is predestined to hell a natural question arises, why create that impure man in the first place and then put him through hell fire? The answer may lie in the Theory of Relativity or simply put in the Tree of Good and Evil. God in His love for man left us a choice to decide whether to eat of the Tree or not. Then He sent Jesus Christ who in turn chose us. But omniscience means God choosing us even before deciding to send Jesus Christ. And that He destines some to hell even before they exercise their free will. This is very much unlike God. Secondly, if God were to have joy or grief as in Genesis 6:6 over the current decisions we make, He should not have omniscience. If for example God knows that i will pray today with tears in my eyes for something He will give me tomorrow, it will totally not make any sense because my prayer with tears today is intended to invoke God's mercy in the face of God's judgement. Thirdly, if He has to actively intervene (be omnipotent) in the present time or in the future, He should not have omniscience. In modeling the mind with Computer terminology we can think of an omniscient God as having a vast database and a quick method of retrieval of that data. There is no place for thinking here -- just dishing out data. But we know that the Bible talks about a thinking God, in whose image we are. "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD, in Isaiah 55:8. Fourthly, if God should abstain from prejudgment, He should not be omniscient. C. I. Scofield uses omniscience on both sides of the equation when he says God is omniscient then makes the divine decisions (election as well as predestination), and then he foreknows, logically and not chronologically. But this is double talk as omniscience and foreknowledge speaks of one and the same thing. Scofield stands to gain if he took God's omnipotence into the equation. Fifthly, omniscience means that God chooses not to work in the present, which is not true, as we know that He is Almighty (omnipotent) and ever working (John 5:17). If God is omnipotent, He does not need to be omniscient! For instance God need not know whether i will put my left foot forward or my right as long as He has control of my destination. Sixthly and most importantly, if God loves me, He will not impose any omniscience on me, for it would lead to fatalistic thinking on my part--which is believing all events are subject to fate, and happen by unavoidable necessity. And this leads to a lack of effort on my part even to pray, in the face of threatened difficulty or disaster. Finally, God is not omniscient because He will come across as apathetic. He is not apathetic but is full of compassion even today. Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth again to rule and judge.

It is only because of the wrong choices we make within the scope of the free will that we have, that God gives us over to impurity (Romans 1:21-32). God is not fully omniscient but has foreknowledge because He has made divine decisions in the past and logically planned our lives. But we have a free will by which we can call on God Almighty to move a mountain or two and thus even change the plan. Since God is Almighty He can afford it for His Children. But since these Children are living and have a growth, they are either cast out if they grow to become bad or they are placed in the temple of God. It is well worth considering a vision i got 10 years ago in 1989, of a model of the universal order of things, to understand the interaction among bodies.

Think of magnets scattered everywhere with a central magnet. Lines of forces ensuing from these magnets and going through other magnets. The smaller magnets aligning themselves or being aligned with and by the lines of forces so that the lines go through them centrally. The central magnet is bigger and has bigger lines and scope whereas the smaller magnets have lesser scope. Some of the smaller magnets are satellites, that is to say, the line of force passing through the satellite forms a circle. And yet others are outside the scope with lines of force passing through but not making a circle at the central magnet.

As it is beyond the scope of this article, I leave it as an exercise for you to apply the model to Psalm 139, Isaiah 14, Job 39-42. In conclusion God is omnipotent (Almighty) but not omniscient (rather he seeks not to be). When I say He is not omniscient, I am not saying His knowledge is limited like that of man.

So election is based on God's providential care in an arena where He is an active participant. While God calls many, only a few are chosen as time would tell (Matthew 20:16; 22:14). He calls many because there is our freewill-works factor. Then based on how we exercise our freewill, God chooses some. Indeed as we read in the parable of the banquet "not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of [the] banquet" (Luke 14:24). Thus says the Lord, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life." We are working and God is also working on our behalf through our prayers and petitions. God foreknew through providence that Jacob would respond to the love and rebuke of the Lord and become Israel. He in His active participation in the affairs of men was going to make Esau serve Jacob. Indeed Jacob did the works "God prepared in advance" for him to do (Ephesians 2:10). God strives with those whom He foreknows will yield results. But since this striving can be no more than 120 years, the maximum life span of man (Genesis 6:3), He destines some to be saved and others to be damned. Nevertheless He gives a "long rope" even to the damned to prove His justice (cf. Exodus 7:13, 8:15, 19, 32, 9:7, 9:12). Now one of you might say, "Is there anything impossible with God?" The answer is "Nothing" but the general or universal will or striving of God is demonstrated in the giving away of Jesus Christ that whosoever just believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. What then of those who have never heard of Jesus Christ during this 120 years? Does God condemn them if the Law dictates it? Yes he does! And does God choose among those who are good even among the Gentiles? Yes, He does, as He did with Cornelius (Acts 10:1-6). So consider dear friends the importance of spreading the Gospel to all people groups. God's perfect way is such that Salvation is given to us not as a future event but as a present benefit that we may do good works out of our own freewill. However eternal life will be ours for keeps only at the end (at the time of judgement). But for now we have to hold on to Him till the very end to stay saved (Matthew 10:22).

Since there is our free will involved, the one who tramples on the Son of God whose blood sanctified him, only judgement and raging fire awaits him. The author of Hebrews explains in 10:28, 29, why there is greater punishment for such as these "who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age" (that is, ones who go under the banner of "believer" or "Christian"). "Anyone who rejected the Law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Where then is eternal security? Only within the confines of the walls set by God - the perfect Law that gives freedom! (James 1:25; cf. Psalm 19:7-11) While speaking on parenting, June Hunt succinctly put it: "a fish enjoys freedom only as long as it remains inside water."

A child born to a Christian parent is born clean (spiritually though not in nature) since a tree that is good, bears forth only good fruit (Matthew 12:33; 1 Corinthians 7:14; Acts 2:39). Therefore infant baptism should be discouraged as there is no stain of sin to clean. Coming to Christ and being baptized is indeed like a marriage but it is child-like faith (humility) and not childish faith God desires. The child remains eternally secure as long as he/she remains under the fold and discipline of the Christian parent who must bring up the child in the fear of the Lord and to follow carefully the words of the Law (Deuteronomy 31:12,13). They are entrusted with not only the first birth but also the second (through the Holy Spirit of course). Until the child comes to the knowledge of where the sacrifice of Jesus Christ figures with his/her sin nature and is ready to make a pledge/commitment to consciously resist yielding to that nature he/she should remain under the fold and discipline of the parents. He/she remains secure as long as he remains under the proper discipline of the parent(s).

Women, be submissive to men folk even as you are in submission to your own husbands and just as they are in turn in submission to Jesus Christ who is lesser than the Father (John 14:28). Be strong and a good steward of the God given role you now have and you will have your reward in proportion to your faithfulness of the strength God has given you (Matthew 7:2). Do not overextend yourself or usurp authority from men. Have home as your priority as our redemption is drawing near.

Men love your wives not only just when you feel like it but also as a choice and as a command from God because you are a stronger vessel by nature and even as God who is stronger first loved us. Be fair with them and the Lord will vindicate you for your right stewardship. Know that the family is a microcosm of the Church.

If Satan was not successful in being able to deceive us at justification, he is surely succeeding during sanctification. Where Paul's epistles stop short of is at sanctification. All we have is Philippians 1:6 or Ephesians 2:10 or Galatians 5:22,23. And all the while lending themselves to destroying our wedding garments so much so that they don't look like the original any longer but rather full of holes. What's more? That has become the "in-thing." So let us remember what God said in Revelation 16:15 -- "Behold I come like a thief! Blessed is He who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." What does it mean to have our clothes on except to continue on with the works that Jesus did because it is His robes that we are wearing! Paul himself talks of being further clothed in 2 Corinthians 5:3 (Gideons Bible) meaning to say, clothed with a righteousness over and above that of Jesus Christ. Indeed the fine linen in Revelation 19:8 given the Bride to wear is the righteous acts of the saints. No doubt Love is all that which is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13, but Paul misses out on an important truth about Love. Though it is unconditional and we should love those who do not love us, it thrives when it is mutual because our God is a just God and rejoices with the truth. That is, we can expect more love back⁹ from anyone when we love him or her more. If this is the case with us humans how much more with the one in whose image we are. Our relationship with our God is dependent on how we demonstrate our love back to God. Otherwise as David Lampel says, "Love expressed but poorly demonstrated is a hollow affection."

While God loves His enemies with selfless agape love, it is not to the same degree as to His children. Otherwise where is justice? So let us overcome the flesh, the world and the devil and remain in His Love. Let us repent from our sin, which means stop doing what we were doing and start doing what we were not doing. That the Lord may sanctify us and say on that Day, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."

Save us, O Lord our God the Most High, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to Thy holy name, and glory in Thy praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, "Amen." Praise the Lord!

8 Many confuse the terms Salvation, Justification and Sanctification. As mentioned earlier Salvation is rescue from the penalty and power of sin and thus the judgement of God. Since anyone is liable to come under God's judgement (believer however being spared of condemnation) Salvation encompasses Justification and Sanctification. To illustrate the distinction between the three lets take the example of a man who commits murder out of anger. Justification is when the blood of Jesus Christ has been paid for the crime of murder and he is treated as not guilty. Salvation here is the rescue from the clear and present danger of judgement for murder. Sanctification is getting rid of the propensity to become angry and instead have a heart filled with love towards God and neighbor. Salvation here is rescue from imminent danger of judgements.

9 Notice that I have always used "loving God Back" rather than "loving God" because he first loved us, as Paul writes, "while we were yet sinners." He sent His only begotten Son who laid down His life for us. By reciprocating that love, God's love is truly made complete in us (1 John 2:5).

• Lovest thou Me? :Part 1
• Lovest thou Me?: Parts 3, 4 and 5
• Lovest thou Me?: Part 6 Altar of God
• Lovest thou Me?: Part 7 Baptism of Fire