Tag Archives: Resurrection

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Spiritual

Benefits of Confessing to God and Confessing to Man

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Introduction

A confession is an act of meekness and, to some, humiliation. It often entails revealing what we would rather conceal and forget. What are matters that would motivate the desire to hide and forget?
 
These matters often cast the person in a negative light. It potentially exposes anything from embarrassing and stigmatizing shortcomings to acts of evil. 
 
The latter may also carry elements of punishment, as confession is self-recriminating. It is no surprise to deem it inappropriate for one to say they are confessing their achievement.
 
The New Testament reveals the will of God concerning confession in 1Jhn1:9 and Jam5:16. 
 
1Jhn1:9 is the confession of sins to God.
 
Jam5:16 is the confession of moral faults and sins to man. This man hearing the confession is not necessary the aggrieved party of the confessed sins. This post will demonstrate that confession to man is NOT to seek forgiveness as only God can forgive sins, and the reason to confess to man is very important.
 
 

The Purpose and Significance of Confessing Sins to God

1Jhn1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
 

If we confess our sins, Abba Yahuah is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness, according to 1Jhn1:9.

 
His faithfulness is operative by the faith that our confession is made possible only by His Son, the Lord Jesus, crucifixion, death, and atoning blood.
 
Therefore our confession of sins honors the finished work of Christ.
 
By this confession, we TAKE up the shield of faith, in Christ’s finished work, of Eph6, to STAND against the spiritual enemies, recruiting the heavenly host to defend our souls in this spiritual warfare.
 
In summary,  the confession of 1Jhn1:9 has the following purpose, meaning, and significance.
 
1. Honors the finished work of Christ – the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and atoning blood.
 
2. It channels one’s faith in the Lord Jesus’ finished work to seek forgiveness from Abba Yahuah.
 
3. It channels one’s faith by the Lord Jesus’ finished work to fight the spiritual warfare of Eph6 by weaponizing the shield of faith into the hands of the heavenly hosts.
 
 

The Purpose and Significance of Confessing Sins to Man

Jam5:16 – “Confess your faults (in Greek, it means moral faults and sins) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
 
The prayer of faith of 1Jhn1:9 is supercharged when combined with the confession to man of Jam5:16.
 
 There is much benefit to being vulnerable to confess moral faults and sins to one another. According to Jam5:16, the benefits are –
 
1. There is physical healing in confessing moral faults and sins to man.
 
The subject of prayer and healing flowed from Jam5:14, the prayer of elders, and Jam5:15, the prayer of faith, in the Lord, of both the person needing the healing and the elder praying.
 
The person to whom the sin is confessed has the opportunity to save the confessor’s soul from death, as revealed in Jam5:20.
 
Jam5:20 – “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner (this sinner is a believer in error from the truth mentioned in Jam5:19) from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
 
This death is the death arising from Rom8:6 – “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
 
It is an honor to support the confessing brethren in their journey to return to the will of God (the truth of being spiritually minded). 
 
Because it involves spiritual repentance, this support offered must be led by the Spirit. 
 
 
2. There are answered prayers in confessing to man. But why is that the case?
 
Could it be that God considers confessing moral faults and sins to man as a righteous act?
 
The righteousness in Jam5:16 is not a noun. Meaning it is not the same as the imputation (by Grace) of the righteousness (this word is a noun), e.g., in Rom4:22.
 
According to Blue Letter Bible (BLB) Greek Lexicon, the righteousness of Jam5:16 is an adjective that describes the acts of righteousness.
 
It would appear that Jam5:16 implies that God deems the act of confessing moral faults and sins to man as a righteous act!
 
And this righteous act of confessing moral faults and sins has the benefit of answered prayers!
 
This last point of answered prayers by confessing is where the compounding positive feedback loop effect with the prayer of 1Jhn1:9 and Eph6 occurs.
 
 

Imagine this Scenario

One comes to Abba Yahuah to confess, according to 1Jhn1:9, the sin of unbelief and worship of money due to suffering a significant financial setback.
 
After that, this same person relates the 1Jhn1:9 confession to the spouse (spousal confession is highly recommended as there are the added benefits of honoring the marriage). God deems this confession as a righteous act that supports answered prayers, especially for bodily healing.
 
Then this person who made the 2 confessions of 1Jhn1:9 to God and Jam5:16 to the spouse has to deal with the consequences of the financial loss. It remains stressful to deal with the consequences.
 
There is an additional step before waging the spiritual warfare of Eph6 that recruits God’s resources. This person needs to experience the restoration of Heb10:22 –
 
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
 
 
Heb10:22’s restoration involves
 
1. Restoration of the assurance of the faith in Abba Yahuah by the mediating role of the Lord Jesus. This faith is clarified as follows 
 
– in Heb10:35-38 as the reward that comes by the promise of His (Jesus) return in the 1000-year rule and 
 
– the heavenly citizenship mentioned in Heb11:13-16.
 
Man can be assured as He (Jesus) suffered as a human, empathizing with compassion for the sinner as revealed in Heb2.
 
 
2. Restoration from an evil conscience. BLB renders evil as wickedness and resentment towards God and man due to injustices in life.
 
This restoration also includes the body being cleansed.
 
Remember that this restoration is made possible by the assuring faith of Jesus’ return and eternal life in God’s kingdom as revealed in the word of God, which is the pure water spoken of in Heb10:22.
 
 

Conclusion

 
The spiritual battle of faith of Eph6 can now take place with the following advantages –
 
1. This person has a cleansed (forgiven) conscience of all unrighteousness of 1Jhn1:9.
 
2. This person is honored as righteous with prayers that avail much of Jam5:16.
 
3. This person’s conscience and body receive cleansing restoration in the faith-power of the HOPE of His return and eternal life of Heb10:22.
 
For details about the spiritual battle of Eph6, see the link below.
 
 
 
Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Relationship, Spiritual

A Pure Heart – Sincere Love and Sincere Faith

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Introduction (Pure Heart Towards Man)

This post about the pure heart shares a video by Zac Poen on the same topic and is closely related to the previous posts, “The Life not in Want and The Life not in Want – King David’s Life.” A life not in want would necessarily have a pure heart at its core.

 
The link for The life of not in Want – King David’ Life : https://sincerelawrence.com/2022/08/30/the-life-of-not-in-want-king-davids-life/
 
This video by Zac Pooen has the theme of a pure heart – of love and a good conscience in sincere faith.
 
This reflection will describe this love from a pure heart as sincere love. It is also helpful to look at the good conscience of sincere faith concerning matters of justice, fairness, and righteousness.
 
This sincere love and the sincere faith themes are from 1Tim1:5 –
 
“Now the end (GOAL) of the commandment is charity (love)  out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (sincere without hypocrisy)”
 
1Tim1:5 carries great significance as it presents the goal of God’s commandments for the believer. These goals are found in the pure heart that manifests two traits 
 
1. sincere love.
 
2. good conscience of sincere faith
 
Zac draws from Mat6 forgiveness as a prerequisite for a good conscience (sincere faith). This forgiveness is sought from others and to forgive others. This forgiveness concerns a good conscience among man.
 
Zac then draws attention to the fact that a person with a pure heart will see God (Mat5:8) in all situations who works all for good (Rom8:28).
 
Zac’s conviction is that a pure heart will spring forth sincere love and the good conscience of sincere faith.
 
 

Pure Heart Towards God

This post complements Zac’s video by offering how scriptures guide the believer’s purity of heart toward God in sincere love and sincere faith.
 
These scriptures are-  1Jhn:9, Heb10:22, and 1Pet3:21.
 
1Jhn1:9 is about humbling before God, in fear and trembling of 1Pet1:17, confession of sins seeking forgiveness from God is the believer’s ongoing (daily) initiative of sincere love and sincere faith to reconcile with God. It is a replay of Rom10:9; confession Jesus is Lord.
 
Heb10:22 is a rich verse – 
 
 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
 
The true heart of Heb10:22, according to Blue Letter Bible (BLB) Greek Lexicon, means a sincere heart.
 
The “full assurance of faith” in Heb10:22 is God saying, He welcomes the believer to experience the truths of Heb10:22.
 
The evil conscience of Heb10:22 is the opposite of the good conscience of 1Tim1:5. 
 
Heb10:22 is God’s solution to possess a good conscience towards Him by sprinkling the polluted heart with pure water so the soul and body may be washed clean to meet God’s standard of purity and holiness.
 
This pure water can be synonymous with the Word of God. 1Pet3:21 offers clues that clarify God’s specific word that leads to a good conscience towards God. 
 
The Word is the belief-hope of Christ’s resurrection and, by extension, the hope of the believers’ resurrection mentioned in 1Pet1:3-5. 
 
This resurrection focus is a replay of Rom10:9’s belief of Jesus’ resurrection on the 3rd day.
 
1Pet3:21 –
 
“The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”
 
It is noteworthy that Heb10:22 evil conscience, according to BLB, can mean wicked conscience of the carnal love of the world of 1Jhn2:16. But it also can mean the resentment the believer bears towards God and man for the perceived injustices experienced according to God’s will. 
 
Therefore, the focus of the resurrection of Christ will cleanse the soul and body from the stains of both moral wickedness and resentful thoughts and emotions.
 
 

Conclusion

To live a life of pure heart, one needs to –
 
1. Submit to God to confess their sins daily to seek forgiveness. A forgiven person is free to love and receive love.
 
2. Draw near to God daily, in full assurance of the faith in the resurrection to clean their conscience and body of moral wickedness of resentment towards God and man. This daily cleansing restores the believers’ souls as mature sons of God (Rom8:14).
 
Such a person will praise and give thanks to God in all circumstances, enduring in sincere love and sincere faith, for they see God in all things.
Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Relationship, Spiritual

The Life of Not in Want

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The Psa23:1 – “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

The “shall not want” is the Godly contentment of wanting nothing, clarified in Jam1:4.

Jam1:3-4 –

“Kneeowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

This patient Godly contentment that wants nothing is of great gain, according to 1Tim6:6, and is a reality for the believer because of 2 reasons.

1. Man brings nothing into this world and will bring nothing away when they die (1Tim6:7) is an immutable fact.

The first reason is the realization of the futility of being earthbound by material and relational reasons.

 2. The second reason is Psa23:1’s relationship of the Shepherd fulfills all the soul’s and body’s (wanting) desires.

What is the Earthly Life of this Godly Contentment?

1. His grace is sufficient to endure the challenges and human weakness (2Co12:9) and the temporal earthly suffering (Mat5:3-11, 2Co4:16-18).

b. To bear each other burdens to fulfill the Law of Christ (Gal6:2),

c. To avoid evil and do good works of faith (Jam1:22, 1The5:22), and

d. To discipline the body’s desires (1Co9:27)

What are the Motivations to Live Such an Undesirable Earthly Life?

These motivations compensate for the undesirable earthly life and to fulfill the transformed soul’s and body’s wants are –

a. The 1st resurrection of Rev20:6 as a reward (Phil3:10) to rule with Christ in His 1000-year rule and share in His divine nature (2Pet1:4).

b. The eternal rewards of good works of 1Co3.

c. Avoid the 2nd death of Rev20:5, avoid the outer darkness mentioned in the Gospels, and avoid the eternal fate of outside heaven’s gates of Rev22:15.

Conclusion

Without this shepherd relationship, 1Pet2:25 describes the believer as –

“sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (overseer) of your souls.”

The realization of the futility of being earthbound and an intimate relationship with the Lord as the Shepherd are the foundations to live the life of wanting nothing in Godly contentment.

The motivations support this realization and Shepherd’s intimate relationship with the Lord.

End Times, Life's Journey, Spiritual

Spiritual Warfare

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Eph6:12 – “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

The unseen realm is where the war over our soul-mind (Rom12:2, 2Co10:3-5, Phil4:7) takes place. 

God wants the believer to be strong in the power of His might to fight this spiritual war, according to Eph6:10. 

What is this might of Eph6:10? It is found in the armor but are there practical truths about Eph6’s armour of God and the Word of God as a sword in Eph6:17 to support, clarify, access, or empower this might? 

Eph6:13-17 presents the whole armor of God. The actions of “stand” and “take” of the armor of God are employed to fight this spiritual battle.

Apart from Eph6’s strategy, one can flee (2Tim2:22) and watch and pray to be aware of the weakness of the flesh although the spirit is willing (Mat26:41).

This post is my noob reflections, taking baby steps in spiritual warfare, where  the focus is on the battle and leaving the outcome to God.

When I say focus on the battle, I do not mean that we are directly waging the battle in the unseen realm, not directly anyway. 

This focus invites and empowers the divine beings to come to our aid. They are the one’s doing the battle while we offer them the weapons of our faith in the Word.

This post explores what about the Word this faith needs to focus on for the spiritual battle.

The Focus

The Bible is overflowing with the consistent theme of God’s love (grace, mercies, and forgiveness) and God’s justice (righteousness, dominion, power, restoration) in His word and life circumstances

Rom10:9-10 Is the core salvation verse. To confess Jesus is Lord is about remission of sins thru His blood, Christ crucified. It is about God’s love.

And to believe in the heart, He was raised on the 3rd day, is about God’s justice, for He was raised for man’s justification (Rom4:15-Rom5:1). 

God’s love is manifested in Christ crucified and His shed blood for the remission of sins and foundation for justification (Rom5:9). 

God’s justice is manifested by the power that raised Jesus from the dead and the promise of His return, the coming of His dominion (His Kingdom come and His Will is done).

The above are the tools or weapons for the spiritual warfare that speaks of the double-edged sword of the Spirit of His Word in Eph6:17.

Drawing from Eph3:20 -” Now unto him, that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”

The “think” is to perceive; visualize, and imagine. I imagine the love of God (faith in the love of Christ crucified and faith in His sanctifying blood) represents the shield (of faith) and is the defensive spiritual weapon for the divine beings (angles and NOT me) to reclaim and make holy the battleground.

This defensive shield, a spiritual weapon, creates a safe space, a clam in the storm offering respite for the weary and troubled soul from the spiritual attacks.

I imagine the justice of God (faith in the power that raised Jesus and faith-hope in His coming dominion) is the offensive spiritual weapon for the divine beings to overcome the forces of darkness (naming the spirits takes place).

Closing Statements

I am a lay Christian. The above are personal thoughts with some scriptural basis.

I embarked on the above after listening to Pt1 and Pt2 of Derek Prince’s video on this subject of spiritual warfare. There are 4 parts to this series.

Part 1 – https://youtu.be/r3q3GgIIONs

Part 2 – https://youtu.be/o348jdFeFOI

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Spiritual

Truth about Faith

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Faith is not limited to religious persuasions but is universally embraced by man. However, faith’s purpose, meaning, and significance are not universal. This post explores the purpose, meaning, and significance of the Christian faith; The truth about faith.

Imagine the following two private conversations-

“Have faith,” my best friend offers me these consoling words, with a lump forming in her throat while gently brushing my hand at my husband’s funeral.

“Have faith,” the father smiles with encouragement while his eyes convey worry, comforting the family as his wife undergoes a major operation.

These scenes are repeated worldwide, albeit in different ways but centralized on the issue of faith. Regardless of which religion, this kind of faith is directed at something or someone that transcends the earthly realm.

The Bible, especially the New Testament (NT), reveals many nuances concerning the Christian faith. This post will explore the truth about faith to determine if this truth supports the above two imaginary conversations.

Hope, faith, and love are the pillars of Christianity (1Co13:13). Love has greater clarity and a defined focus. 1Co13 is a whole chapter dedicated to what love means to God.

Moreover, the NT’s only Law is to fulfill the commandment of love (Rom13:10), also known as the Law of Christ in Gal6:2.

The Christian faith and hope in the two conversations have an earthly focus. Does the NT truth about faith and hope support an earthly focus?

Spoiler alert – As this post examines the scriptures for the truth about faith, the truth about hope will also be revealed.

Let’s start with two relatively well-known scriptures concerning faith and two lesser-known ones.

  1. 2Co5:7 – “We walk by faith and not by sight.”
  1. Heb11:6 –“But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
  1. Rom14:23 – “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
  1. 1Pet1:7 –“ That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”

Without going into the context (the context will be explored later), the 4 verses above describe faith as a walk (conduct, living the Christian life) that is absolutely essential to please God. Else it amounts to sin. Furthermore, when this faith is tested, its eternal values increase for the Day of the Lord.

To avoid this post becoming an overwhelming Bible study experience, these 4 verses, contextually (meaning when one read the whole chapter), all share one contextual thing in common. They all share the context that this faith is about the belief in the resurrection of Christ and the believer’s resurrection.

The central focus of the resurrection common to all 4 verses is returning to the roots of Christian salvation, which is found in Rom10:9-10 –

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The belief or faith that saves is meant to have the singular focus on the resurrection of Christ. These 4 verses reinforce the paramount importance of this faith of the resurrection in the Christian walk on the earth that has eternal significance.

As if God is concerned that the importance of the resurrection escapes the Christian awareness, Paul said this in 2Co13:5, where he urged the believer to self-examine whether one is in faith, living by the power of God as displayed in the resurrection of Christ (2Co13:4). Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit then says this in 2Co13:8 –

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.”

What truth is Paul alluding to? This truth is the truth of the resurrection mentioned a few verses earlier. In other words, paraphrasing 2Co13:8 – to live by the faith in the power of the resurrection is God’s truth concerning the Christian faith.

For those interested in a deeper dive to support the above claim, below explores the supporting context.

  1. 2Co5:1-6 shows the context of the walk of faith in 2Co5:7 is an eternal heavenward’s focus of the resurrection vs. the temporary earthly body (2Co5:1-6).
  1. Heb11:16 shows the context of faith that pleased God in Heb11:6 is the faith in the hope of a better heavenly country (Heb11:16) vs. being a stranger and pilgrim on the earth (Heb11:13). Moreover, the reward mentioned in Heb11:6 would likely be referring to the eternal rewards of the out-resurrection of Phil3:10-11 and 1Co3, derived from the good works of gold, silver, and precious stones.
  1. Rom14:8-9 talks about whether the believers live or die, it is done unto Christ who died and rose again. As the believers are not eyewitnesses to the Lord’s death and resurrection, the believers require faith in this regard for the Lord’s death and resurrection to be real for them.

Therefore, Rom14:23’s “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” has contextual support. This faith is the faith in the death and resurrection of Christ that He loved us. Thus when the lesser faith about eating certain foods is disputed, know that FAITH of the Lord’s death and resurrection compels one to respond in love.

  1. 1Pet1:3-5 talks about the faith in the living hope of the resurrection. 1Pet1:6 discusses how suffering can be experienced in unspeakable joy because of this hope. Therefore, it stands to reason that the context of the faith tested in 1Pet1:7 is the testing of the faith in the living hope of the resurrection on the Day of the Lord.

It should be more apparent now that Christian hope is the hope of the resurrection and not an earthly hope.

Conclusion

The above narrative offers compelling evidence that the Christian faith in God is not about hoping to be healed, to get a better job, or for a soul mate, any earthly needs-wants.

While these are legitimate earthly need-want, this faith that pleases God of the Christian walk focuses on the heavenward goals, especially the resurrection, and not on earthly need-want.

Life's Journey, Relationship, Spiritual

Self-Examination or To Examine

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Self-examination or prove (KJV) is related to the Greek word dokimazo.

It means to test, examine, and scrutinize to recognize as genuine and deemed worthy.

Dokimazo is used in the NT in various contexts. 

Inward (self) Proving

 1. 2Co13:5, self-examination focuses on examining whether one is in faith, living by the power of God as displayed in the resurrection of Christ (2Co13:4).

This faith of 2Co13:5 is the belief in the hope of this resurrection, our resurrection, especially the 1st resurrection of Rev20:6 that needs to be earned according to Paul in Phil3:10-11.

Paul goes on to frame this faith in the resurrection as the truth in 2Co13:8.

The other inward proving is related to taking the holy communion found in 1Co11:28.

Outward Proving

2. The other forms of examining in the NT are no longer, about an inward examination but an outward examination

2.1 Rom12:2,  Rom2:18, andv 1Th5:21- Prove what is good to discover and align with God’s will.

2.2 2Co8:8 and Phil1:10 are about proving love and excellence for sincerity, Gal6:4 proving one’s own work (of bearing burdens to fulfill the Law of Christ), 1Jhn4:1 is about proving every spirit relating to false prophets.

In-Summary

Personally, I practice self-examination using a clear and pure conscience to guide me in areas of sincerity, bearing the burdens of Gal6:2 and testing and validating God’s will.

I talk, think and dream about the resurrection daily, so the encouragement to examine one’s faith in the resurrection is moot for me but needful for the body of Christ.

Other forms of self-examination or examinations would be outside the wise counsel of the NT scriptures.