Scripture and Temptation

While visiting with a friend a few nights ago, he made a very interesting statement that a lot of professing followers of Jesus should consider. He was talking about making a website where he could sell religious items of various kinds. As he went on about it he mentioned that he would have Bibles, crosses, etc. on the site. The comment he made that was noteworthy was about the crosses. He said that he wouldn't sell any crosses with Jesus on them because "Jesus is not on the cross any more, he is risen." That is what he said, and that is absolutely the truth. The impact of that statement may not seem like much at first thought, as supposedly everyone knows that; or at least everyone who has faith in Christ. But the truth is that very few DEMONSTRATE that they know it by what they claim to believe about the gospel of Christ. Here is what I'm talking about: Yes, it is true that Jesus died a terrible death on the cross of Calvary to pay the price for our sins, and it is just as true that we should forever honor that unfathomable act of divine love with untold reverence and thanksgiving. If we do not, then we have missed it all. However, the REASON that he died on the cross for our sins was because he was in the process of fulfilling the Levitical priesthood, and in that part of the process he became the sin offering that was slain for the sins of the people (Lev. 16:5,9,15). But that was not the end of that process, but rather the means to the end. The end was to provide the new testament remission of sins for all who would believe, which remission the old testament and its sacrifices could not literally provide (Heb. 10:1-4). It wasn't until Jesus rose from the dead AND ascended back to heaven to fulfill both the role of the high priest and the sacrifice that was offered, that the remission of sins according to the "new and living way" could be given to men (Heb. 9:7,12,24-26; Heb. 10:14,15,20). Absolutely no one had the new testament remission of sins, meaning a literal remission and true removal of sin, before Jesus entered back into the heavenly tabernacle as the new testament high priest to offer the merits of his sacrifice to God his father who sits between two cherubims in heaven. That is simply not possible because the Levitical priesthood was not fulfilled until the new offering was made before God, and the high priest of the new covenant was established thereby (Lev. 16:15-19; Heb. 9:7-9,12-14). The apostle Paul said it most clearly: "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins" (I Cor. 15:17). The high priest alone made intercession for the people's sins under the old covenant in the EARTHLY TABERNACLE, and the high priest alone can make intercession for the people's sins under the new covenant, and that only in the HEAVENLY TABERNACLE. That is the meaning of this statement of infinite power by the apostle Paul: "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Heb. 10:12). And again, WHERE did Jesus make this all time redeeming offering? "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into HEAVEN itself, now to APPEAR in the presence of God for us... but now once in the end of the world hath he APPEARED to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9:24,26).

What these things mean is this: Jesus died on the cross SO THAT he could go back to heaven and present the merits of what he had done before his father, SO THAT he could provide and send back the experience of the literal washing away of sin from the inner being of those who truly did and would believe on him (Heb. 9:13,14). That is what the old covenant could NOT provide, and that is why he had to come here and pay that awful price. So this is the real point: Jesus fulfilled the law and provided the true holiness, love, and power OF the law of God for the inner man of all who believe. Now all who believe have that law embedded into their hearts and minds by the power of the holy Ghost, which in fact IS the law of God (Heb. 10:14-16; II Cor. 3:3). That is why Jesus told his followers just before he ascended; "Wait for the promise of the Father... For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence... But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:4,5,8). The reason they would be baptized with the Spirit not long after he ascended back to heaven is because that is what would take place when he would become the high priest and mediator of the new covenant at the right hand of God, and that is when those first believers would receive the result of that heavenly priesthood; which result was and is the new testament remission of sins. And that new testament remission of sins was and is the baptism of the holy Ghost with the same accompanying heavenly sign of speaking with other tongues (Acts 2:4). That is what Jesus was saying with his final instructions to his followers before he left this world, and the apostle Paul was in full agreement with these things as well: "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us" (Heb. 10:14,15). The original SPIRIT baptism is the ONLY new testament remission of sins, and this is why Jesus had told his followers previously that the holy Ghost could not be received until AFTER he left the earth to go back to heaven (Jn. 7:38,39; Jn. 16:7). So now if we give any honor to anything that Jesus did NOT have to die and raise in order to provide, we are simply TAKING AWAY honor from Jesus, and from everything he died and rose again for. All of the so called born again teachings of modern Christianity are in error, as they ALL relegate the baptism of the Spirit to a secondary 'Christian' experience at best. For any affiliation to operate under the title 'Pentecostal' and not uphold the very Pentecostal experience as the ONLY new birth and remission of sins, may be the greatest of all modern hypocrisy! If the body of Christ expects to go forward with God rather than fall into utter apostasy in time to come, it will have to flush down all of its "getting saved" methods, along with its water baptisms, so called "communion" observances, and every other ceremony and/or religious tradition of men that Jesus did NOT have to die and raise again to provide.

The only thing worthy of the focus, and regard, and confidence, and the diligence of God's people, is the POWER OF GOD that raised Jesus from the dead! Because I've got news for you my friend, if that is not ALL of our confidence, and if that is not ALL that we give honor to, we are going to be in jeopardy of not raising from the dead ourselves at the first resurrection. You think not? Well, you can always go to the end thinking like that, and find out for yourself if you like. Do you actually think someone can be 'saved' before or apart from being baptized with God's Spirit with the sign of speaking in tongues? "But IF the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8:11). No my friend, you CANNOT be raised from the dead at Christ's coming without having the SAME power that raised HIM from the dead (I Pet. 3:18). And that power is the power that is received after the holy Ghost comes upon us, as Jesus said. I'm not talking about a make believe Christian holy Ghost, but rather the same exact holy Ghost that the high priest from Judah sent back on the day of Pentecost (Heb. 7;14; Acts 2:4). Myself, I honor with trepidation daily what Jesus did here on earth for us all, up to and very much including his death on the cross. But I am serving and worshiping a Jesus who is no longer dead OR on the cross, but rather he who is "alive forevermore" (Rev. 1:18). There is only one way that you or I can do that, and that is by means of the power and divine life of his Spirit that he sent back for the remission of sins to all who believe. Because it is ONLY by means of the resurrection power of the holy Ghost that we can first have our sins taken away, and afterward KEEP them taken away (I Cor. 6:11; Rom. 8:9; Tit. 3:5). And there is still only ONE hope of the Gospel, and ONE way to attain unto that hope: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath THIS hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (I Jn. 3:2,3; Eph. 4:4; I Thess. 5:8). And Peter specified by what means we are to purify our hearts: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth THROUGH THE SPIRIT unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently Still the 'Pentecostal' world has the audacity to relegate the purifying power of the holy Ghost baptism to be a secondary experience AFTER being born again. Someone needs to think again my friend, and a whole lot of someones need to read the Bible again. Amen.