Richer By Far

Faith in THE LIVING GOD, when released in us, brings life changing power. Sometimes people think faith is something that has yet to be obtained, rather than something that is sufficient in the Believer immediately as an individual decides to commit his/her life to following YESHUA, (JESUS) The Messiah. The truth is, faith is a gift given by GOD in full measure, as a result of HIS GRACE. Once we've believed that JESUS/YESHUA died in our place, in order to redeem us from Adam's fall through the shedding of HIS DIVINE, PURE yet SOVEREIGN BLOOD, our spirit is renewed, resuscitated from the dead, completely reborn.

JESUS' Death was substitutional. The shedding of HIS Blood paid our debt of sin. Without this sacrificial act, there would be no redeeming grace for sin.

In other words, I could not die for my own sins, because being human, I have inherited the sinful nature of Adam, making my death insufficient. I am lacking in the characteristics of purity necessary to revive the GOD-BREATHED Spirit that died when Adam chose to do what Eve suggested, rather than to follow what GOD Communicated to him.

My dying in the place of another person, even if I did so in order to repay the debt of that person's crime would be insufficient as well, because substituting one unholy, impure, sinful life in place of another has no redeeming capacity. Now, if there is anyone out there who thinks humans are not "impure" by nature, I ask you: did you need to be taught how to lie or covet as a child? When as a child you said a bad word, did you know it was bad ~ if not by definition, then because of the reaction that word received?

I have never met an individual who was deceived enough to believe that bad characteristics are all taught characteristics. Certainly, there may be one or two things about an individual that (s)he could say, "I would never ever do that!" But for the most part, there is no such thing as an individual who is completely innocent, sinless, or blameless in character. No one except Jesus, that is.

Jesus was blameless. Jesus was sinless. This is the reason HE Alone could be a substitutional offering for my debt of sin. This is the reason HE IS the only way a person can have spiritual revival (rebirth).

JESUS' SACRIFICIAL DEATH was acceptable to GOD as a recompense for the sin of Adam for these reasons:

1. It took one temporarily sinless being to break the relationship between humankind and GOD; therefore, it became necessary to provide another sinless human being to restore that break.

2. When Satan tempted Adam, the temptation came from fruit off "The Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil". Satan led Eve to understand that GOD Was withholding something wonderful from her. Satan was insinuating that GOD Didn't want Eve's "eyes to be opened" because if her eyes were open she would be "like GOD". The Truth is: Eve already had knowledge of good. What she didn't have was knowledge of "evil". Neither did she desire to be "like GOD" until Satan told her she should desire this. But GOD Didn't actually tell Eve not to eat of the fruit of this tree. GOD Told Adam. So, Eve sinning was the lure for Adam, who loved his woman enough to want what she wanted. In fact, it was not until Adam disobeyed GOD that death occurred. Furthermore, disobedience served only one purpose: Adam already knew "good". What he didn't know was "evil". When Satan tempted Adam through Eve, the only thing Adam accomplished was an awareness of evil, something he was innocent about before the sin. This was not what caused him to fall though. The fall was a result of the act of disobedience, what he gained/lost as a result was a consequence of his disobedience.

3. Once Adam disobeyed GOD, he broke spiritual laws established in GOD'S Kingdom. One of the consequences of breaking GOD's Spiritual Laws was spiritual death. Satan knew this. Satan also knew that if Adam fell out of relationship with GOD, Adam would become a slave to the counterfeit god he chose to obey rather than remain a friend of THE LIVING GOD, Who Created him. This may have been the greatest reason Satan wanted Adam to disobey GOD. When Adam's eyes were opened, suddenly he understood about evil. Suddenly, he became aware that he was naked, something he was blissfully oblivious to before sinning.

When GOD Came back into the Garden and found Adam trying to hide his nakedness behind a fig leaf, GOD Was forced to show Adam that a fig leaf wouldn't cover his sin. Not only did Adam immediately die spiritually, but in order to cover his sin, (not wipe it out completely, but just cover it up) there had to be a substantial covering. That substantial covering necessitated the death of another creature. The death of another creature would only temporarily cover Adam's nakedness though. The only way to eternally cover Adam's nakedness was to provide a covering that would completely wipe away Adam's sin, not just push it under the rug. GOD would have to provide Adam with a covering that wouldn't fall apart easily. Again, this was true because there were spiritual laws in place in The Kingdom of GOD that GOD Needed to keep in order to provide that covering. One of those spiritual laws made it necessary for the shedding of blood in order to cover sin.

4. Another spiritual law made it necessary for the blood to have the equivalent value of what it replaced in order to provide a substantial, acceptable replacement. In other words, Satan tempted a pure being. Adam was pure when he decided to sin. Therefore, it was going to take another pure being to disobey Satan and obey GOD in order to restore that relationship. However, it was going to take the death of that "pure being" in order to provide an equivalent replacement for the death of the impure being that Adam had become. Jesus was that PURE Being. The Shedding of HIS Blood, because HE IS GOD INCARNATE, therefore, completely pure, holy and divine was sufficient to pay the debt for the disobedience committed by Adam against A HOLY, SOVEREIGN PURE CREATOR!

Why do I repeat this over and over? Only because so many individuals fail to see, fail to understand and fail to admit that humankind is impure. Also, there are many individuals who fail to admit that when the bonds of relationship are broken, it takes an act of humility to restore that relationship. And, sometimes, an ordinary act of humility is not even enough. For example, if someone murdered a person you love, would saying "I'm sorry..." be enough? Not for 99.9% of the world. But if that person were so repentant that they offered to spend the rest of their lives making up that murder, by working to help you back on your feet, by being a shoulder to rely on, by giving up every possible opportunity to enjoy life personally, in order to make your world a better place, then maybe... just maybe, you could forgive the murder... over time... maybe.

GOD, Who realized that mankind could never restore the broken relationship that occurred when Adam chose to listen to Satan rather than to HIM; had no choice but to punish Adam in the manner He Had Communicated originally: death. What GOD didn't stipulate was the type of death man was going to face if he dared to disobey the condition placed upon him in The Garden. Therefore, GOD Didn't just kill Adam. HE Wanted more than to just wipe man off the face of this earth. The penalty Adam faced was spiritual death. GOD Wanted to give humankind a chance to regain that perfect friendship Adam had with HIM in the beginning. But, the offer became a personal offer... an individual offer.

Furthermore, GOD Promised that HE HIMSELF Would restore the relationship to anyone who was repentant of sin and wanted Friendship with HIM. In order to do so though, HE Needed to become partly human. HE Needed to set HIS Divinity aside. HE Needed to live a blameless, sinless life. HE Needed someone to do what GOD, The Creator told Adam to do, to TRUST HIM rather than Satan the liar, because obedience would counter the disobedience of Adam.

There are so many other factors involved in HIS Becoming a Man in order to redeem man, but then I would be writing a book again. So, I'll leave off on this subject now. Let's resume the former discussion:

If a person has sincerely believed JESUS' SACRIFICIAL DEATH RESTORES the relationship between him/her and GOD, then that person has been Redeemed. The decision must not be the result of someone else telling him/her what to believe, nor can it be based on what other people who say they believe have chosen to do. The decision must be based on a sincere desire to ask for forgiveness, believe that GOD GIVES forgiveness because JESUS PURCHASED that option through HIS Death, and then accept JESUS' Death on The Cross of Calvary as a Substitution for sins committed, personally.

Redemption is not something we obtain through association, but by personal belief. If you have believed, then you have been Redeemed by the Sacrificial Offering of BLOOD, Shed by Jesus, on your behalf, HE IS your SAVIOUR!

The decision to believe JESUS' DEATH RESTORED you in relationship with GOD equals "faith". Faith, while not tangible, is very real. Faith is the essence of established thought perceived and accepted as truth.

Sounds complicated? Maybe in my desire to make it clear, I've actually made it difficult. However, GOD's Intention, from the beginning was to be a friend to HIS human Creation. When Adam chose to believe a liar over GOD and the relationship was broken, GOD Couldn't just pretend everything was normal. HE IS HOLY, and HE Cannot fellowship with the unholy.

Satan, being unholy, didn't want humans to fellowship with GOD. The attitude may have been born of revenge, or it may have been born of a desire to hurt GOD, but whatever birthed Satan's desire to cause Adam to disobey, the motivation was pure evil. When Adam believed the lie over the truth, he opened the doorway for Satan to enter into his world and take something away from him that GOD Had Given him as a gift: dominion over this world.

As a result, mankind no longer was the authority over this world, Satan took that priviledge away. Again, I could write a book on the precepts that back up what I am saying. And, "no" I haven't provided any Scripture for what I have shared, but those of you who read The Bible know GOD WANTED to be a Friend to man. Those of you who read The Bible know Satan meant to destroy the relationship between GOD and man. Those of you who read The Bible remember the story of Adam's disobedience and The Promise of GOD in Genesis 3:15 that HE Would put animosity between Satan and the seed of woman (not the seed of man) ~ (because GOD Already knew HE Would have to come into the world as a sinless human in order to take back Authority over the earth that Adam gave away by sinning and dying spiritually). Those of you who don't read The Bible need to pick one up and read the account for yourselves. You need to acquaint yourselves with the theology behind the reasons why GOD ALLOWED HIS OWN SON TO DIE for the sins of humankind.

Of course, reading The Bible is not easy... but if you hunger to know the truth, and if you ask GOD to help you understand that truth, HIS Promise to us is that HE WILL grant you insight into THE TRUTH.

In Hebrews 11:1 we are told, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen". This single verse caused me to ponder for more time than I can report, but once I finally understood what it meant, my heart exploded with the realization that GOD Gifts those who hunger for HIM with the vision, with the clarity and with the wisdom to understand that there are things in this world we cannot see, but that are more real and more valuable than the world's weight in gold. Faith in GOD's Substitutional Sacrifice of Death, through JESUS, HIS SON made it possible for me to have Friendship with GOD RE-ESTABLISHED! My reason for writing this Hub is to share this Truth with you.

You may not agree. You may think me insane. You may consider everything I've shared simply lunatic. However, regardless of what others may think, this is what I know: I am richer by far for being filled with faith in GOD's GIFT of Redemptive Grace. I am richer than words can express as a result of HIS Friendship with me.

I don't have everything I've ever wanted in life. Yet, this one possession, "Redemption by faith in JESUS" has been the treasure I tuck into everyday, especially when my world is threatened by the chaos that infiltrates every now and again. As I stand on the precepts of my faith, I discover a strength, a purpose, a passion and a peace that surpasses any joy or satisfaction money could ever buy.

I pray you will search for the truth. "The truth will set you free" (John 8:32). The truth will also fill you to overflowing with a treasure otherwise unobtainable... except by THE GRACE of GOD, through JESUS, HIS SON, for HIS GLORY, HONOUR and EXALTATION! Amen.

MAY HE BLESS you. Amen.