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Video Notes From P.J.’s Kitchen
Serving
God’s Word
Why did Christ have to die? 07/04/2008
When this question is asked,
the immediate response is that Christ died
because of sin.
Of course this is true, but why
die?
Was there not another way?
Answer NO, there was no other
way.
Christ prayed that if it were
possible, the cup of pain and suffering would pass
from Him, it did not. He
suffered and died.
Matthew 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and
prayed, saying, O my
Father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will,
but as thou wilt.
I believe that Christ knew
that it was not possible, and this prayer made it clear for us
that it was not possible.
If Christ had not said this we would never have known that
another way was not
possible.
There is another similar
related prayer question when He asked,
Matthew
27:46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli,
Eli,
lama sabachthani? that is
to say, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?
This was again for our
benefit, so that we could understand that He had fully become the
curse for our sins, and the
sin of the world.
The question remains but
why?
Let us go back to the very
beginning, ages prior to Adam and Eve in the garden, the
foundation of the world.
We have recently explained
that the spirit in man was made at the same time as the
foundation of the world and
the stretching forth of the heavens.
Zechariah
12:1 ¶ The burden of the
word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD,
which stretcheth forth the heavens,
and
layeth the foundation of the
earth, and
formeth the spirit of man
within him.
At this time many other
important events also took place.
The names of the spirits of
men who would be overcomers were in the book of life.
Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend
out of the
bottomless pit, and go into
perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose
names were not written in the book of
life from the foundation of the world, when
they
behold the beast that was,
and is not, and yet is.
We see that we were chosen
before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians
1: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love:
The following verse causes
many problems because many use it to say that God has
predetermined that we are
saved or lost, therefore it does not matter what we do. We
cannot influence our final
destiny.
Ephesians
1: 5 Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
to himself, according to
the good pleasure of his will,
As I have said as Christ
knows the end from the beginning, he knew how we would
ultimately turn out, just
like He knew how Satan would turn out.
It was no surprise to Him.
This is all long before a
man walked on the earth.
As we keep saying, the
Eternal God lives in Eternity.
He does not live in time
and space.
These are creations of His,
and He controls the vast endless universe as easily as you
could hold a little ball
and throw it around.
He names and numbers the
stars.
We have difficulty naming
our children and most times we use names that others have
used. Astronomers are always finding new gigantic
galaxies, and we can hardly find our
way from one town to
another.
Job
9:7
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
Psalms
147:4
He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
The point is that He can do
something in Eternity and then move it into time and space.
It is because He is God and
He dwells in eternity, that he knows the end from the
beginning.
That is why He is Alpha and
Omega.
Revelation
1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which
is, and which was, and which
is to come, the Almighty.
We are told that the works
were finished from the foundation of the world.
Hebrews 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into
rest, as he said, As I have sworn in
my wrath, if they shall
enter into my rest:
although the works were
finished from the foundation of the world.
I believe that this verse
means precisely what it says.
All the creation which was
to come was ready in Eternity from the foundation of the
world. At the creation in Genesis 1, what had been
planned and prepared in eternity was
brought into time and
space.
Another critical event took
place at the foundation of the world.
We are told that Christ was
slain at the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life
of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
After this verse we are
told that if any man have an ear let him hear.
Revelation 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
As I said things that
happened in Eternity are ultimately brought into time and space.
The implication of this is
enormous.
1. The Eternal God knew that man would
sin.
2. He immediately provided a painful
solution to this tragedy,
before man actually committed the first sin.
We truly have absolutely no clue of the love, mercy and grace
of the Eternal God.
3.It means that the law had to exist
at this time, because where there is no law
there is no sin.
Romans 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world:
but sin is not imputed when
there is no law.
4. His law decreed death as the
penalty for sin.
Ezekiel
18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
The son shall not bear the
iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity
of the son: the
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of
the wicked shall be upon
him.
5. God cannot compromise on His law.
The entire universe is
dependant on the rigid application of countless laws, which govern
and control it.
Mankind depends on these
laws to be completely steadfast and unchanging.
If it were not so the
entire creation would cease to exist in a moment.
What would happen if the
Eternal God suspended the laws of gravity for just one minute.
Life would cease to exist
in a very short time indeed. Planes
crashing worldwide would be
the smallest of the
problems.
You can think of some of
these scenarios for yourself.
Fortunately the Eternal God
says, I change not therefore you are not ‘consumed’.
Malachi
3:6
For I am the LORD, I change not;
therefore ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed.
The law of God is Eternal,
just as His Word is.
This
verse tells us that heaven and earth will pass away, but not before every thing
which
was
written in the law was fulfilled.
It
does not say that the law will pass away.
Matthew
5:18
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from
the law, till all be fulfilled.
Death had to be brought
into existence so that when sin entered into the world the
destiny of mankind would
not be one of Eternal misery. This is
what this verse says.
Genesis
3:22
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know
good and evil: and now,
lest he put forth his hand,
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Genesis
3:24
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden
Cherubims, and a flaming
sword which turned every way,
to keep the way of the
tree of life.
This means that death was a
mercy, then and it still is now.
No one would want to live
forever a life of pain, suffering, sickness and sorrow.
6. This
is the reason that the Eternal God, determined to put on a garment of flesh and
come to the earth as the
human being to pay the price for sin.
This is what delivered us
from the penalty of the
law, which demanded spiritual death,
because as we have seen we
are primarily spiritual beings.
Romans
7:6 But now we are
delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held;
that we should serve in
newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh, God
sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh:
We can see that the Eternal
God will never ever compromise His law.
We can deceive
ourselves and let ourselves
be deceived as much as we wish, the fact is rather than
compromise His law, He
chose to die and keep his law intact rather than ignore it.
This is why we are told
that Christ came to fulfil the law.
The law demanded death.
All the sacrificial laws of
the Old Testament no longer apply because they have been
fulfilled by Christ’s
sacrifice.
Christ paid the penalty for
us.
He fulfilled the
requirements of the law.
If the Eternal God tells us
something, we promptly hasten to do the exact opposite.
He said I did not come to
destroy the law or the prophets.
Matthew
5:17 Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy,
but to fulfil.
We say, the law no longer
applies.
He said no one knows the
time of His return, so we have many so called ‘prophets’ telling us
when this is going to take
place.
Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my
words shall not pass away.
Mark 13:32 But of that day and
that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father.
The Eternal God is a God of
Truth, who is reliable and trustworthy to the uttermost.
Whereas we treat his laws
with derision, He adheres to them to the uttermost, even if
this meant horrific
suffering and death at the hands of His creation.
7. I said that the law is unchanging
this is true, however, there has been a magnification of
the law, and this
magnification is regarded as a change.
Confusing ?
Not really.
Hebrews
7:12
For the priesthood being changed,
there is made of necessity a
change also of the law.
To think of sinning is
sin.
We cannot break the law, but
the law can certainly break us.
To take two examples,
It was always wrong to lust.
It was always wrong to
covet.
This is precisely what
Satan did, so this is eternal and goes way back beyond man and the
garden of Eden.
It is still always wrong to
lust.
It is still always wrong to
covet.
What has changed is shown
by two commandments that involve actions, adultery and
murder.
To think to commit either
of these is sin.
This is long before any deed
has taken place.
The law has not been ‘done
away with’, but has rather been dramatically enhanced.
All sin takes place first
of all in the mind.
Adultery
Matthew
5:28
But I say unto you, That whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery
with her already in his heart.
Anger
– not even murder
Matthew
5:22
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without
a cause shall be in danger
of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,
shall be in danger of the
council: but whosoever shall say,
Thou fool, shall be in
danger of hell fire.
Do we need to be circumcized?
Previously men were
required to be circumcized.
In some parts of the world
the abomination of ‘female circumcision is practised.
Today all genuine believers
are required to be circumcized.
It is not a matter of the
flesh, but of the heart.
This is the entire subject of
the book of Galatians.
See our Rhema on this
entire book.
However, if men feel that
it is good to be circumcized, it is their free will choice
to do so, but it is not a
legal requirement.
8. In
order to meet these enhanced requirements requires the indwelling Holy Spirit,
the Godhead. There is no
other way.
Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you:
and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them.
9. Keeping
these laws written in the hearts of the converted does not result in salvation.
Salvation is an undeserved
gift.
Ephesians
2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God:
10. If
you are going to be in the New Jerusalem, you will keep ALL the commandments,
including the Sabbath rest,
and I am not speaking about Sinday, but the seventh day.
Right now we are hopefully
learning that to obey is better than sacrifice 1 Samuel 15:22.
Whilst
the Sabbath rest is something we should all aspire to enter into, the vast
majority
in
‘Churchianity’, continues to do their own thing.
Not
to enter into the reality of the Sabbath rest is a curse that is what the
Eternal God
says
through the Psalmist.
It
is not a pain and a burden.
It
should be a joy and a blessing.
The
very opposite to how it is regarded.
Psalm
95:10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation,
and said,
It is a people that
do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Psalm
95:11 Unto whom I sware
in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
11. We are told that we must love God and
neighbour.
How this is accomplished is
explained by the 10 commandments.
To love God is to obey
these commandments.
John
14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
When Christ said these
words the only commandments that existed were the 10
commandments.
He gave one new
commandment, which again raises the standard.
John
13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
12. We
have to separate the previous from the vile, the clean from the unclean.
Jeremiah
15:19 Therefore
thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee
again, and thou
shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile,
thou shalt be as my mouth:
let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
Why do we have to do that?
Matthew
5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Is anything else perfect?
Psalms
19:7
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:
the testimony of the LORD is
sure, making wise the simple.
Leviticus
22:21
And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD
to accomplish his
vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be
accepted; there shall be no
blemish therein.
And ultimately the perfect
sacrifice,
1
Peter 1:19
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot:
Separating the precious
from the vile.
We have to do this in our
daily lives.
On judgment day Christ will
do the very same thing.
Jeremiah
15:19
Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee
again, and thou
shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile,
thou shalt be as my mouth:
let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
To put it another way,
separate the clean from the unclean.
Leviticus
10:10 And that ye may put
difference
between holy and unholy, and
between unclean and clean;
If the Eternal God tells us
something is not good for food,
then we had better believe
it, Leviticus 11.
If He has told us this, it
is a law, and we disobey it at our own peril,
we reap the consequences of
poor health etc. etc.
This applies to any
activity that the Eternal God condemns as an abomination.
Political correctness
prohibits me from saying,
Leviticus
18:22
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Leviticus
20:13
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have
committed an abomination: they
shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon
them.
I am not suggesting that we
go around killing a single person, but under the Old Covenant
that is how the land was
purified.
Exodus
22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Deuteronomy 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one
that maketh his son or his
daughter to pass through
the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or
an
enchanter, or a witch,
Deuteronomy 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar
spirits, or a wizard, or a
necromancer.
Deuteronomy 18:12 For all that do these things are an
abomination unto the LORD: and
because of these
abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Deuteronomy 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
You see it is a fact that
many governments and their oppositions, businesses,
churches and those in the
‘entertainment’ business, do these things.
I suggest that any who
objects and dares to complain, please do not come back to me,
takes your complaints
directly to the court of heaven, and
tell the one who
had to die to pay the
penalty for all our sins including the above mentioned sins,
your objection, and be sure
to let us know how you fare.
Christ had to die.
It was a requirement of the
law of God.
There could be no
compromise whatsoever.
It is high time for us to
wake up and carefully consider
the terrible price that has
already been paid for our transgressions,
even before the foundation
of the world.
1
John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin is the transgression of the law.
If the Eternal God did not
compromise with Himself, by coming as Christ to bear
the vicious cruel death in
our stead.
Do you really think that He
will compromise with you, and the way you live,
‘the better way’, which you
have engineered to get through your very short time
on planet earth?
I will answer that question
for you.
The answer is a resounding
NO.
The Eternal God will never
compromise His law for anyone, not even you.
There still seems to be a
little time left, but the final curtain is surely
on its way down. When it
finally drops where will you be standing?
This is some very
sober food for thought.
. The only way out of
this dilemma is Jesus Christ.
. He is the only
way of escape.
.
We have to be
under His Care and Protection.
Salvation by any
other name or means,
Simply does not exist.
. Complete Obedience is required
Praise the Lord.
. Come soon Lord Jesus.
Amen.
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