The Deceitfulness of Sin

                                                            By Delvin Arnold

Take care brothers lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart leading you away from the living God. But, exhort one another everyday as long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin

                                                                                                                        -Hebrews 3:12-13

The writer of Hebrews is exhorting the believers to remain in faith and not to be unbelieving as their ancestors were during the time of Moses in the wilderness wanderings. Their unbelief led to their death, and them not entering into God’s rest (Psalm 95:7-11).

So, what sins are you engaged in, enjoying that have deceived your heart, led you astray? What vices have captured you to the point where you initially felt guilty about the sin, but now since you are practicing it, you are now enjoying your perversion, justifying and minimizing its wickedness? That is the deceitfulness of sin. 

Your sin is leading you astray.

My brothers and sisters our sins not only affect our lives negatively, it affects those around us. When we are deceived by our sins, we become a wrecking ball, a derailed train destroying everything in our path. Sometimes the collateral damage we cause is irreparable due to our unwise choices and deviant behavior. A person that does not care who they harm is dangerous to be around and should be avoided. A person without contrition is a person with an untamed spirit.

Another problem with the deceitfulness of sin is our attitude toward it. Do you laugh at sinful situations? Do you mock at sin instead of feeling sorry for the sin you commit or the sins of others?

Proverbs 14:9 says, “Fools make a mock at sin, but among the righteous there is favor.”

I understand the struggle we face fighting our sin (provided you are indeed fighting your sin) but, if we are endeavoring to please God by living holy, then we MUST engage in the struggle to conquer sin in our lives. If we do not, we will be continually deceived by our sin. Child of God, we can not abide in that terrible space. Jesus did not redeem us to live in our sins; he died and took away our sins. Remember the words of Paul in 

Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! 

How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

The answer to that question is we can’t! We must confess it before God and forsake it (I John 1:9).

The deceitfulness of sin causes backwards thinking. How you may ask? When we allow our sin to drive our thoughts and deeds, God is an afterthought or dismissed from our lives altogether. For instance, when people are living in sin, and someone lovingly confronts about them about their wicked ways because they love them, and are concerned about their destructive behavior, the sinner gets offended, hostile, and curses that person out. They often will use God’s name in vain, and pile more sin in their lives yelling “DON’T JUDGE ME! ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME!” Instead of acknowledging their sin and repenting, they commit more sin and love it. Their sin in their eyes is right. Repenting is wrong.

Because after all, everyone sins right; so what’s the big deal? I’m not as bad as him or her…

The person in this condition does not see their sin as exceedingly sinful as Romans 7 declares. They have become desensitized by sin to the degree that their sin does not sting them with  shame. Sin’s deceit has morphed into a pleasure principle instead of the heinous cancerous spiritual disease that it is. They fall into the category of those described in Romans 1:18-32 and those in I Corinthians 6:9-10. Those described in those verses are non believers who will never see the kingdom of God. I pray you are not one of those.

Here are a couple tragic and sobering verses I have discovered in Isaiah 5:20-21: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitterness. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes.”

As I segue off of those verses, the next thing regarding the deceitfulness of sin I need to mention is that it breeds ignorance and a lack of objectivity to scripture. What I mean is when a person is deceived by their sin, they do not want to accept the word of God because it contradicts their wayward lifestyle. The last thing someone wants to hear is that they need to examine their lives to see if they are abiding in the faith (II Corinthians 13:5). Our sin clouds our judgment, and magnifies our ignorance which clearly screams to our need for a savior and for deliverance. This happens to saint and the unbeliever alike.

Folks deceived by their sin are usually woefully biblically illiterate, and only have their own godless reasoning to lean on. When this occurs people usually respond this way when they hear the word of God, “Well, that is your opinion!” Sinfully deceived people will not accept objective truth. Why? Because they can not. The gospel truth is veiled to those who are perishing (II Corinthians 4:4).

Sin has enslaved you. Sin has become your master (Romans 6: 15-18).

Talk to someone lately who simply refuses to hear the gospel? The reason why is that they are perishing and they are walking in darkness. Tragic thing about it is that they love their darkness (John 3:19). We can only pray that they have a change of heart.

Another problem with the deceitfulness of sin is that it causes a person to minimize their sins and maximize everyone else’s. This person is the hypocrite described in Matthew 7:1-5. Take careful examination of your life. Are you this way?

Are you so jaded by your sins that you dismiss your obvious issues to point the finger at your neighbor’s smaller ones? As the scriptures command, deal with your own problems then you can see clearly to help someone with their problem.

The deceitfulness of sin causes a person to be pretentious toward God. What I mean is when someone is caught in serious trouble because of their sin, they will call on God with impure motives for deliverance knowing within their hearts that they have no desire to repent. They in effect mock God as if God does not know the evil motives of their heart. Their sin has so clouded their judgment, they think their false sincerity in approaching God is honorable. They have no desire for change, they only want to escape the present pain they righteously deserve for their wickedness. Jesus repeats Isaiah’s oracle in Matthew 15:8, “These people draw near me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far away from me.”[1] Galatians 6:7 in the amplified Bible reads this way, “Do not be deceived and deluded and misled. God will not allow Himself to be  sneered at (disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside). [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.”

            

Summation: You try to play God, you play yourself; stop the madness![2]

The last area I will mention regarding deceitfulness of sin is that it prevents godly sorrow.  When we are deceived by sin, godly humility and sorrow is far from us. Are you the type of person that unashamedly sins and says, “Well God knows my heart!”  As if that statement is going to get you off the hook from the consequences of your sinful behavior? Since we know God knows our hearts, that should prevent us from committing the evil we do, but sadly it often does not.

We know we are going to sin, but we should not just give in to temptation without a fight. When we do sin, we must be quick to confess it to God and forsake it; being mindful that sin breaks God’s heart and incurs His wrath.

No one in their right mind desires the wrath of God or desires to break the Lord’s heart.

As I wrap up, I see the sum of the matter like this, the more we spend time with God and His word, the more we love Him and desire to serve Him. We must develop an insatiable appetite for the things of God. This reality will determine the success or failure in a Christian’s life. The decision is ultimately ours. If we vigorously pursue this path, our sin goes from being something we love at first, to something that should make us uncomfortable, and guilty when we commit it.[3] Hopefully to something we are afraid to commit and love to hate. You see the progression in the decrease of the level of sin in our lives? We should all desire this pursuit! We have to look at sin through the lens of God’s word. And how does God view sin? He hates it to the degree that He sent His Son Jesus to die for it and judicially remove it forever.  When we hate the sin in our own lives, we will hate the sin in others which should drive us to pray and share the love of God with them in Jesus Christ. This is thinking with a God consciousness. That type of person is no longer deceived and blinded by sin. Their view of the Lord is high.

On the unfortunate flip side, those who decrease their fellowship with God along with prayer and study of the word will have no desire for the things of God. For they are a spiritual desert. For them corruption comes easy. They will ruin their witness for truth, and will live like the devil. Deceit will prevail over them to the degree they will forget the goodness of God and will lose the assurance[4] of their salvation (if they ever had it). Sin will become their lover and bedfellow. God will give their body over to Satan so that hopefully their soul will be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (I Corinthians 5:5). This person is hastening to a quick death. Why? Because sin prevailed in deceiving them. Remember, sin always writes death checks (Romans 6:23). 

This person view of God is way too low!

I heard it said to me this way, “Sin keeps you away from the Bible. The Bible keeps you away from sin.”

C
hild of God, let’s allow the word of God to dwell in us richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed (italics mine), do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him (Colossians 3:16-17).

Let those who name the name of Christ depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19b).

The apostle John said those who are of God listened to his words (I John 4:6).

Those that love God will not practice sin as a way of life. For Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Notice Jesus said commandments, not suggestions.

Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey it’s lusts (Romans 6:12).

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[1] Amplified Version

[2]These delinquent attitudes described here are indicative of Christians behaving

Carnally instead of spiritually

[3] When we feel guilty and confess and forsake sin, godly sorrow has prevailed. Godly sorrow

leads to true repentance of sin.

[4] Losing one’s assurance of their salvation does not mean they have lost salvation in the eternal sense.

What the writer means is that for that sinning believer their confidence in salvation’s assurance has temporarily

Departed from them due to the evil they are currently engaged in. A truly born again believer will never lose salvation for it is eternal, but based on  current behavior assurance for that person becomes lost. Sin will always

Erase any confidence we have in Christ until we repent.

Everything written in the Bible is not true

Shocking statement? To most it definitely is. Why would I make what seems like a most blasphemous phrase? Well, before anyone brands me a heretic let me defend my position. There are indeed statements in the Bible that are simply not true. In fact, the Bible records lies.

            

          Let me explain.

In John 8:41 the religious leaders said to Jesus that they were not born of fornication. In the 48^th verse they said Jesus had a demon.

Neither one of these statements are true of Jesus, but it is true that the statements were made. Although I’m sure this is obvious to most readers, but to perhaps some, this may not be obvious. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this account, they may be led to believe that these remarks regarding Jesus are true because they are recorded in scripture.

We know that Jesus was virgin born. The religious leaders underlying thinking was very insulting. By saying they were not born of fornication, they were implying that Jesus was a bastard, and his mother was a whore.

In Matthew 11:18-19 we read, “For John came neither eating or drinking and they say, “He has a demon!” The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, “Behold a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”…

Here we see again the true recording of the account, but the accusations being untrue. John the Baptist was not demon possessed, and neither was Jesus a glutton and a drunk.

In Matthew 12:22 Jesus heals a demon possessed man who was also blind and mute. In verse 24 the Pharisees said that Jesus casts out demons by Beelzebub the prince of demons. Jesus himself refutes the remark as being untrue. In verse 26 He said, “If Satan casts out Satan he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?”

For so in review, we see that the religious leaders said that Jesus was:

1       Born illegitimately

2        Was demon possessed

3     Was a glutton and drunk

4     Casting out demons by the power of Satan instead of the Holy Spirit

Everyone of these statements was truly made, but none of these statements were true of our Lord.

    Unrecorded accounts and statements that are true and are counted as scripture

There are a few instances where a statement was made or event occurred that was not previously mentioned or recorded in scripture.

For instance in Luke 13:4-5 Jesus says, “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men that live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no but unless you repent, you will likewise perish.”

This account Jesus mentioned is not recorded anywhere in the Old Testament, yet it is a true account by virtue of the fact that He makes reference to it. The issue Jesus is preaching to His audience is repentance. He used this tragic situation of death to say that death is sudden and does happen to all. We do not know when death will occur so repent now or you will perish; that is eternally perish!

In Acts 20:35 Paul says remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

These words are not recorded anywhere in the gospels which tells us not all of Jesus words are recorded in scripture, yet the words are true by virtue of the fact that Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit recites them to the Ephesian elders.       

We read in Jude 14 that Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied that the Lord will come with many of His holy ones to execute judgment upon the ungodly.

The book of Enoch is a non biblical or a pseudepigraphal book (false writings). However, the prophecy of the biblical Enoch is true. We only know of this prophecy through Jude.

The Spirit of God inspired Jude to quote the writer (most likely not Enoch) of this non biblical source regarding God’s coming judgment on the wicked. The quote from the book of Enoch fits perfectly with Jude’s theme of righteous judgment on God’s enemies.

Concluding, we have statements recorded in scripture that aren’t true, and also we have events and statements that are true not recorded in scripture until mentioned by the writer who was divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Why did God regret creating man?

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them.

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

                                                                                                                        -Genesis 1:26-27;30        

In the book of Genesis 6:5-7 we come to an apparent dichotomy in God’s character. These verses read, Then the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was very sorry that He had made man on earth, and He was grieved at His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry I have made them”.

It seems rather strange to the reader that God would utter these statements since He knew what man would do before He created him. God knew He would destroy man due to his inherent wickedness. And since God knew all of this, why would God destroy man save Noah  and his family and some animals when He declared that all He created was very good?

Was God confused?

Obviously God is not confused. Due to the wickedness of man, it was only right for God to destroy him. Men perpetually committed the sin of  their father Adam, which was disobedience to His word. As a result, the Lord made the decision to send the global flood to wipe evil men from the face of the earth.

So, the next question we must ask is, “Did God change his mind in creating man?” The answer is no.  The NKJV renders Genesis 6:6 as God  saying He repented that He had created man.

In what way did God have to repent? What we see here is the writer Moses is depicting God in  the anthropopathic mode[1]; meaning Moses is describing God with human experience, knowledge and emotion. It allows us to understand God better. God is seen as a loving caring creator and father who has to for His own holiness sake destroy man whom he loves. God can not deviate from His own righteousness and judgment. So destroying what He created was good although it pained the Lord to do it. God reserves the right not to be grief stricken due to man’s wickedness so he decided to get rid of the pain (i.e. evil mankind) that He called very good.

In like manner we as parents must discipline our own children when they disobey. It pains us because we love them yet it is good and righteous to punish them when they disobey so that they stay in line. Disciplining our children doesn’t diminish our love for them, rather it shows another dimension of our love for them. In this instance tough love.

In Exodus 32:14 we read where the Lord repented of the harm He was going to inflict on the Hebrews for their disobedience of worshipping the golden calf. This the Lord did for Moses’ sake who pleaded for their lives. So we see here God recanted the judgment He was going to inflict. It’s not that He couldn’t destroy the Israelites, He decided not to due to Moses’ intercession (Exodus 32:11-13). God displayed his mercy in this instance (Exodus 33:19).

God never regretted creating man essentially for he saved Noah and his family to preserve and repopulate mankind. He regrets that man chose the path of sin. This is what breaks God’s heart and grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

God essential attributes are immutable, meaning they will never change (Malachi 3:6; Heb 13:8). When man repents of evil God doesn’t change his mind, man has actually changed his disposition in God’s eyes and now he puts himself in a favorable position where God’s favor will rest upon him instead of wrath. In other words, God repents of the harm He would have done to that person since he repented (Jonah 3:4-10). 

In the final analysis  God is a God of grace and mercy, and He is also a God of justice and wrath.

God indeed was sorry for what Man, chose to become, evil. It breaks his heart. Yet God delights in man because he is made in God’s image and that was and is good still.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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[1] This word means ascribing human emotions and attributes to a non human being (God in

Particular) or thing. By using this literary device, it allows us as finite human beings to relate to

God a little better.

What is the Antediluvian period?

The term antediluvian means pre-flood. From the creation of the universe in Genesis 1 up to Genesis 6 was the existence before the flood of Noah. I want to concentrate in particular on  some the activity in the sixth chapter of Genesis.

In Genesis 6:1-4 we read, Now it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves all of whom they chose. And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not always strive with man forever for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”[1] There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children  to them, those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

There are two views regarding who the sons of God are. The first view is that they are angels and second view is that they are the sons of Adam and Eve’s third son Seth (Genesis 4:25).

Notice when the text says the sons of God took wives for themselves all of whom they chose, and immediately afterward God says, “My Spirit will not always strive with man forever for he is indeed flesh. It seems odd that God would become upset with the sons of God if they are human men (i.e. sons of Seth), and they desired to marry the daughters of men. Men and women were put on this earth to marry and procreate. For this reason, the writer does not believe that the sons of God are the descendants of Seth or any other mere mortals.

The view that the sons of God are wicked angels that cohabited with women and produced offspring is one of the accepted interpretations of this text. This is the interpretation the writer leans to. The phrase sons of 

God also appears in the book of Job 1:6 and Job 2:1. In these two texts sons of God refers to angels and not men. The argument against this view comes from Matthew 22:30 where Jesus has to rebuke the Sadducees for their lack of understanding of marriage in the eternal state. Jesus said regarding men, “for in the resurrection they (men and women) neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven (italics mine).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Jesus is letting his audience know that heavenly angels do not procreate.[2] The amount of angels that were created by God is fixed. So as a result of this reality, there are many that do not believe the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 are angels. This is a plausible view in my opinion.

Another view why some believe the sons of God in Genesis 6 are angels is because many believe that the angels indwelt men and produce giants; perhaps some type of hybrid offspring. This conclusion is a misreading of the text. Notice Genesis 6 vs. 4 says there were giants (Hebrew Nephilim; meaning to fall or fallen ones) already. So the union between the sons of God and daughters of men did not necessarily produce the nephilim. It says their union produced men of old, men of renown (vs 4).

Two texts II Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 makes reference to angels who did not keep their first estate or proper domain or dwelling are consigned to hell; Greek word Tartarus which the Hebrew writers borrowed to describe the lowest hell. Many scholars believe these are the angels who sinned and had intercourse with the daughters of men in Genesis 6 producing an evil offspring. This act along with the wickedness of men in the antediluvian race precipitated the judgment of the earth producing the worldwide flood.

Concluding, no one knows for absolutely sure who the sons of God are. Once again I Iean toward them being fallen angels for the reason I mentioned above while others believe they are the sons of Seth because there are those that believe his line were godly (Genesis 5:6-32).

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[1] The one hundred twenty years is believed to be the time from God’s pronouncement of His declaring that He will not always strive with man until the flood. Other believe that man’s life span would be reduced to 120 years of life. Man still lives beyond 120 years after the flood; e.g. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel). Life spans drastically declinded thereafter.

[2] Heavenly angels do not commit sin but the sons of God in Genesis 6 (if they are angels) were evil and left their natural abode as Jude 6 and II Peter 2:4 declare to have inordinate relations with human women and produce wicked offspring.

Does God show partiality?

Another way to ask this question is, “Does God treat everyone the same way?” The answer to the question is no. The opponent of that statement  would say, “God is partial then isn’t He?” The first thing we to do is define the word partiality which means to  show favor to someone or something over something or someone else.

We show partiality to a particular person when we are fond of them. That means that person will receive benefits from us that others will not receive because of the importance of the relationship.  The person we favor has said or done something to merit or earn our favor. But God is not that way. Whoever we are, God rewards obedience and punishes disobedience as a universal rule. There are several passages that tell us that God is no respecter of persons:

"Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour." (Leviticus 19: 15 KJV)

"Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous." (Deuteronomy 16: 19 KJV)

"For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, 
that his banished be not expelled from him." (II Samuel 14: 14 KJV)

"Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." (II Chronicles 19: 7 KJV)

"These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment." (Proverbs 24: 23 KJV)

"To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress." (Proverbs 28: 21 KJV)

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." (I Peter 1: 17 KJV)

"God is no respecter of persons." (Acts 10: 34)"For there is no respect of persons with God." (Romans 2: 11)"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors." (James 2: 1-9 KJV)

The verses in James says it all.  We are not to treat a rich man with honor just because he’s rich and a poor man with contempt and disrespect just because he’s poor. Both should be respected the same. That is being impartial – no respect of persons based on socio-economic status, gender, education, pedigree, popularity, ethnicity, etc.

When God chooses someone like for instance Abraham over all the other people in the earth at that time, it wasn’t because of Abraham’s good looks, education, money or anything else. God did not need Abraham. Abraham discovered he needed God after God revealed Himself to him in a mighty way (Genesis 15:1). God does not choose someone because of what they have, He chooses them because of what they do not have; The Lord God Almighty.

That is clearly why God is not a respecter of persons or shows partiality for if He did, no one would receive grace or mercy. Everyone would only receive benefit from God based on something virtuous in them and/or something they did which would give them reason to boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

   Since God chooses those who are saved does that mean He is showing respect of persons?

That is a valid question. The answer is no. Why? Salvation is unconditional by nature. God created it that way. We must remember every human being born is a sinner and under the wrath of God as His enemies (John 3:36; Romans 5:10). The reason for this is because of the original sin of Adam (Romans 5:12).

God chooses some for salvation with no pre-condition. We see this clearly in Romans 9:10-16 where God sovereignly chooses Jacob and not Esau, twins before they are born. This account clearly proves God is not a respecter of persons because neither one of them had committed any good or evil because neither one had been born. Once again, God would have been a respecter of persons had he chosen let’s say Esau over Jacob after they had been born because Esau was a mighty hunter and Jacob was not. That type of salvation would be based on man’s ability, intelligence or skill. In other words conditional.

Another account of sovereign election is when Peter preaches to the Gentiles at Cornelius’

house. We read in Acts 10:34 that God is not a respecter of persons. In what sense in this passage? What God did for the Hebrews in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit fell and they spoke with different languages or tongues, He also did for the Gentiles in Acts 10:34. God was declaring that whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile, we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). God does not favor the Jew over the Gentile in salvation.

                                  Jesus did not heal all oppressed of the devil, why?

When we read in John 5:5-9 that Jesus healed a paralyzed man that had been in that condition for thirty eight years. We also read in verse 3 that there were a multitude sick people, blind, lame, and paralyzed. Yet Jesus healed only one man. Why? Did this man have something that compelled the Lord’s choice to have mercy on him and heal him and leave the rest sick? No he didn’t. It was Jesus divine initiative to do so to extend a miraculous benefit to him. Notice the man didn’t ask for a healing because he had been in that condition for a long time and was not expecting to receive anything. Tremendous divine favor was granted to him, nothing more.

This explains another case of God through Christ not being a respecter of persons or showing partiality. God never chooses anyone because they choose Him first.  As a matter of fact, we CAN NOT choose God unless He chooses us first (John 15:16a; Rom 3:11). We do not have the ability or the willingness to come to God of our own initiative for prior to coming to Jesus we are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13; Titus 3:2-5). God has to bring us back from the dead spiritually speaking.

       

                                                                  Conclusion

Anyone that believes God will do for all what He does for one assume God is under obligation to bless everyone the same way. The truth of the matter is God is not obligated to bless anybody. God blesses undeserving sinners because He is good beyond comprehension and comparison. It’s a lack of understanding of the character of God and the scripture to have the audacity to say God is unfair if He chooses to save some wretched sinners and leave others in their depravity for all of us deserve eternal damnation for all have sinned and keep on sinning (Romans 3:23). If one does not believe they deserve hell they are terribly deceived. They think of themselves more highly than they should  and really need to take a careful look at their lives and compare it against scripture. I have said it before but it bears repeating. It is amazing that God chooses anyone; an innumerable amount of souls. Certainly He is under no compulsion to choose and save all for that would make God a Universalist and there would be no hell.

For God to show respect of persons actually humanizes God and deifies man. In what way you might say? Partially by it’s very nature demands that there is something virtuous in the person to compel God to choose them; it’s based on condition. It is what theologians called synergism. What that means is man and God are co-participants in the salvation process. The sad part of synergism is that man is the initiator because he has something that God needs (e.g. faith, wisdom). As a result, God chooses him, but man can still exercise his “sovereign right” to reject God once the gospel is preached to him. So God’s choice of man is rendered null and void unless God comes on man’s terms. That is the Arminian’s view of salvation which is conditional.

If one believes salvation this way, then God is no longer sovereign. If God is no longer sovereign, then He is no longer God.

What the Bible actually teaches is that salvation is monergistic – a work of God, alone.  Since God is not a respecter of persons, He chose before the foundation of the world who He would save (Ephesians 1:4; I Peter 1:20). Salvation as I mentioned earlier is unconditional. In this way God is praised for the loving sovereign that He is.

So in the final analysis, partiality is synergistic. Meaning salvation is based on what man has to contribute to salvation. A man centered salvation is no salvation at all. God operates on impartiality which is monergistic. He chooses those He wants to bless based solely on his sovereign divine initiative. It is always based on His unconditional love.

How were Old Testament Saints saved?

Galatians 3:8, “And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the  Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all the nations shall be blessed.”

Romans 4:3b says, “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”       

The above text was originally recorded in Genesis 15:6 by Moses.

Romans 4:3b and Genesis 15:6 is synonymous with II Corinthians 5:21, “He (Jesus) who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

What all three verses declare is that when the sinner believes the word of God, God places His righteousness in the sinner’s account; God treats them as if they had never sinned. Here we  see the congruence between the OT and NT.

Old Testament Saints were saved or justified by their faith in the word of God just like New Testament Saints are. The difference is that the OT Saints were looking ahead to the cross, whereas NT Saints look back at the cross. The cross is the epicenter for all the redeemed whether an Old or New Testament believer.

When Jesus died on the cross, He paid for the OT Saints past sins which was on credit. Jesus sacrifice paid their debt. For NT Saints He paid for our sins which were all future.

In Isaiah 6:5-7 we read about Isaiah regarding himself when he sees the glory of the Lord, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of people with unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of Hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it and said: “Behold this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.”

Here we see the Lord pardoning Isaiah’s sin so that he could be fit to be the Lord’s prophet which tradition tells us he was for 60 years.

King David knew of the pardoning of sins by the Lord for he said, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom does not impute iniquity (Psalm 32:1-2). “

 David comes from a different angle in that he mentions the effect first; one believing (forgiveness of sins), but the logical conclusion is that if one’s sins have been forgiven, they have been justified (saved) by God who is the righteous cause. 

Jeremiah 31:31-34 says, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more .”

This new covenant the Lord will make with Israel has also been called the everlasting covenant because it is a permanent covenantal relationship with the children of Israel which will ultimately result in her salvation. This covenant parallels the relationship Jesus has with the church; NT believers.

In conclusion, all those who God has declared righteous look for a complete redemption; that is when we are glorified. The OT Saints like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets, et al died not seeing the promise fulfilled in their lifetime, but by faith realized it afar off for it had been promised to them (Hebrews 11:39-40).

We too look for that final redemption so we persevere in faith, believing the promises of God knowing as each day passes, we are nearer to our salvation than when we first believed (Romans 13:11).

  

The Bible and slavery

To all, these are mutually opposed realities. They should never be paired in the same phrase most would say. But, does the Bible condone slavery in any way? The answer is yes. Bible translators uses the word servant in place of slave because of the negative connation the word slave has. The word servant contains several meanings. Two of those meanings in the Greek language are: doulos, meaning “in bondage”. It also means to be in subjection without bondage. The verb form of doulos is douloo which means “to enslave to bring into bondage”

Because of the horrendous, evil slave trade enterprise of blacks by whites, the Trans Atlantic Slave trade/Middle Passage of the last few centuries along with the inhumane treatment of blacks slaves by white slave masters in America, the reality of slavery in the Bible is abhorrent by all people. That is why many people do not believe the Bible because they automatically assume the slavery that was permitted in scripture was the same harsh servitude that occurred against our black ancestors centuries ago and as recently as last century; the early 1900’s.

The Bible has never condoned harsh treatment of any innocent human beings. It has never endorsed human trafficking. It definitely hates racial slavery. The Bible has never approved of subjugation of a race because of their ethnicity or skin color. God indeed made all men equal. For we are all made in His image (Genesis 1:26).

                        

  

                          What the Bible says about the master-slave relationship

Exodus 21:2-6 says: When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh year he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

Deuteronomy 15:12-18 says: “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year, you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household since he is well-off with you, then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever.

This Deuteronomy passage is a recitation of the Exodus 22 passage before it.

Leviticus 25:39-43 says, “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired servant and as a sojourner (italics mine). He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God (italics are mine).

When someone became destitute and was not able to meet their financial obligations, they would sell themselves with their family (if they had one) to someone with means. The purchaser was not to treat his own countrymen like a slave but as a hired servant.  In the seventh year, they were allowed to go free with resources from their master.

Proverbs 17:2 says, “A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

Here we see that a wise slave would be treated as well as a member of his master’s own family.

Deuteronomy 24:7 “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

Kidnapping, human trafficking was a violation of Hebrew law; punishable by death. It was forbidden to sell a brother or sister as a slave and gain a profit.

In Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom for many.”

Jesus, in essence, is saying the way to the top is humility, serving God and your fellow man willingly. That’s when a person gains praiseworthy recognition. Not for who he/she is, but what he/she does that is righteous.

Colossians 4:1 declares this, “Masters grant your slaves justice and fairness knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.

Ephesians 6:5-9 is dealing with the employer-employee relationship, “Slaves be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ; not by way of eye service as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. With goodwill render service as to the Lord and not to men knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord whether slave or free. And masters do the same things to them and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours are in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

Both parties are required to be faithful in their roles for both have a Master in heaven to whom they must give an account.

I Peter 2:18 says, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.”

Romans 6:16-18 says, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

What the Apostle Paul is declaring here is that in this sense-regarding good and evil, the whole world is in slavery no matter your status in life. You are either a slave to sin or to righteousness. Whichever one you serve is your master. No one alive can escape this reality.

                                                               

                                               Conclusion

The aforementioned proves without any doubt that the slavery mentioned in the Bible was under the providence of God almighty. Nothing like the inhumane slavery that was allowed here in America and other countries where blacks and others were treated worse than a beast of burden. As a matter of fact, scripture says salvifically we are all one in Christ Jesus whether one is a slave or free (Galatians 3:28).

When the Bible commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, that would include those who were hired servants and slaves (Leviticus 19:18; John 13:35; I John 3:11; 4:7).

Jesus God incarnate humbled Himself and became a servant doing only what pleased the Father. For Jesus said, “for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me (John 6:38)”. Jesus willingly submitted himself as a slave. Like or not, we must do the same. The question is, “who or what are you going to serve?” Remember what or whoever you obey, is who you are a slave to.