058. Jesus. His Willingness And Ability To Heal. Mark 1:40-45

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

The Healing Service in St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney has been operating almost every Wednesday night for the last 51 years. In that time thousands of people have received various degrees of physical, emotional and spiritual healing. There are also hundreds of other healing services in Australia and overseas where people receive prayer and later testify to healings received. What are the common factors behind them all? In this gospel story today we find two factors that show us why Healing services exist. They are firstly, God’s love and compassion for people and secondly, His willingness to bring blessing and healing to those who ask for them. We see this in Jesus’ ministry. The first of these factors is compassion. 1).           THE COMPASSION OF JESUS.  The word that is used for compassion in the New Testament is the Greek word splagchna, It is the word used to describe the deep innermost part of a person; the heart, the lungs, the liver, and the intestines. These were thought by the Greeks to be the seat of the emotions. The word stands for the emotion that moves a person from the very depths of his or her being. i).            Jesus used it to describe the good qualities of the main characters in some of the parables. People reached out in a loving way to someone in need.

  • In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, the word is used of the master who out of  compassion, freely forgave the man who owed him millions of dollars. Mt 18:27.
  • In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, it is used of the compassion of the Prodigal son’s father. When he saw his son returning home in the distance, he ran out to warmly welcome him home. Lk 15:20.
  • In the Parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ it is used of the Samaritan who out of compassion went to the help of the wounded traveller on the Jericho Road. Everyone else passed by on the other side. They didn’t want to get involved.  But the most unlikely person, a despised Samaritan was the one who had compassion. He went to the man’s aid. He really cared for him. Lk 10:33

ii).           The Gospel writers used it of Jesus. Mark used it of Jesus in Mark 6:34, in the feeding of the five thousand. Mark says that Jesus saw a great multitude and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He was touched by their confusion. He cared about them. He ministered to their needs by teaching them. He wanted to satisfy their spiritual needs. He also miraculously fed them to satisfy their physical needs. We also see compassion in action in Mark 8:2, in the feeding of the four thousand. Jesus recognised that some of His followers had been listening to His teaching for 3 days.  They were without food. In His compassion He moved to meet their need of food. In Mark 9:22, we have the healing of the boy with the unclean spirit.  The boy’s father cried out to Jesus, “Jesus have compassion on us and help us if you can.” Jesus demonstrated His compassion. He rebuked the spirit and healed the boy. In Lk 7:11, He saw a woman weeping as the body of her dead son was being carried out to be buried. Moved with compassion He said to her, “Do not weep.” He came and touched the coffin and told the dead son to arise. He did! The crowd cried out “God has visited His people.”  He had! They saw in Jesus, the compassion of God. They also saw God’s power at work in Him. The power of God restored a dead son to his broken-hearted mother. Here in this passage in Mark 1:41 we read of the healing of the leper. He had challenged Jesus with the words, “If you will, you can make me clean”.  Filled with compassion, Jesus did the unbelievable. He touched the untouchable! He said to the leper,  “I will, be clean”. The leper was instantly healed. In all these healings, we see that the motivation for healing, came from compassion, from the love of God in Christ. Compassion notices human needs. Compassion reaches out to meet the needs of others. That’s what Jesus did. That’s what happens in healing services as people motivated by compassion for others in need, reach out to pray for them.  We turn now to the second ground for healing. ie., 2).           THE WILLINGNESS OF JESUS TO HEAL. The two questions we sometimes have in our minds about healing, come out in the story of the boy with the unclean spirit, and in the story of the healing of the leper. i.   The first question concerns the ability of Jesus to heal. The father of the boy with the unclean spirit said to Jesus “Help us if you can”.  Jesus replied “If you can? All things are possible to him who believes”. In other words, “I am able to heal. But you need to trust me to bring the healing you need.” ii.  The second question concerns the willingness of Jesus to heal.   The leper said, “If you will, you can make me clean”. Jesus replied “I will, be clean”.  In other words, “That’s my desire. I want to bring blessing and healing”.  It reminds us that God is on the side of healing. He healed through Jesus, He healed through the disciples. He has healed people throughout history. As we pray for God’s healing and blessing, we know we’re praying according to His will. He is willing and He is able to heal. That brings us to a very big question we need to answer in today’s world. If God is compassionate, and has the ability and the willingness to heal, why aren’t more people healed? A QUESTION TO ANSWER. Why Isn’t There More Healing?  There are many hindrances to receiving healing. We look at just a couple of them. i).  We can have a wrong attitude towards God and towards Jesus.   The sort of attitude that thinks that God isn’t concerned with us as individuals. The attitude that thinks that He’s got more important things to do, than to care about you and me. The mind-set that thinks He has more important people to worry about than you or me. We need to remember that it was “while we were yet sinners” that God sent His Son Jesus to die for us. It wasn’t just for the good people. It wasn’t just for the important people. It wasn’t just for the clean people. Rather His loving compassion and power were seen in Jesus’ ministry as He reached out to touch the untouchable, the leper, and to heal him. No matter how insignificant people may think they are in the sight of others; now matter how dirty or unclean they may feel within; the compassion of Christ reaches to all those who are willing to receive it. ii).  Having a wrong attitude towards God as Father.  The truth is that He is a loving Heavenly Father to His children. Some people may not believe that, or feel it to be true. A bad experience of an earthly father may have tainted their minds. They find it hard to think of God as a loving Father. Some people may need to replace their faulty concepts of fatherhood, with the biblical picture of fatherhood. That is, to see that God is the true pattern of Fatherhood.  Every human father is only a pale reflection, or in some cases, a terrible distortion of the perfect Father. But He is the perfect Father who gave His only Son to die for us. He is the loving, compassionate Heavenly Father who gives us everything we need in Jesus. That was in the mind of a woman who came to a Sunday afternoon healing service in St Andrew’s Cathedral many years ago. She was over 8 months pregnant and came to the service supported by her mother. When the time came for prayer with the laying on of hands, she told me that her legs were badly swollen and that her doctor was very concerned for her. But she felt that God as her loving Heavenly Father could do something about her situation. As we prayed over her I thought of the passage where Jesus told His disciples to have faith and pray, Mark 11:22 “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.   I then felt led to pray that the “mountains” in her blood stream go, by dispersing and vanishing from her body.  Even as I prayed those words I felt it was a pretty dramatic thing to pray out loud, especially in a Cathedral! Especially St Andrew’s! After the service I wondered about what I had prayed. Then came Wednesday. The phone rang and it was the woman who had received prayer at the service.  Her conversation went something like this, “I went to my doctor yesterday and he looked quite baffled. He said after examining me that he could find no trace of any swelling even though he knew how swollen my legs were when he last saw them. He commented that that sort of swelling just can’t reduce like that. It would take weeks of the very best medication to reduce it in any measure. Then he asked what I had done to bring about such a surprise result. I told him that I had received prayer at a Healing Service in the Cathedral on the previous Sunday. He looked puzzled and said , ‘Well it must have worked. There can be no other explanation’.” Our Heavenly Father gave us His Son. Paul reminds us that God gives us all things in Him.  This includes all the blessings and healings we need to live for Him in today’s world.  As St Paul reminds us in Romans 8:31-32,  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? PRAYER.  Heavenly Father we thank you for Your amazing love. We see it in this story of a leper made clean. Help us to turn to You in all our need, so that we too may know Your loving and powerful touch on our lives. We ask it in Jesus’ name. AMEN.  Blog No.058.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 12th February 2012

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057. A Prayer For Freedom From The Powers Of Darkness

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

In the previous article I wrote about a young fellow who came to be released from his addiction to pornography. In that article I outlined the steps he needed to follow to become free. I repeat them here and include a suggested prayer to pray to allow God to set us free from that which has bound us or to which we are addicted. It is a prayer that we can pray for release from the many things that have adversely affected us in life. Sometimes we don’t even know what they are but we know that we are not as free as we feel we should be. It is a prayer asking God to set us free from whatever He sees has been (or is) a problem in our lives. 

The suggested steps to freedom from bondage to the powers of darkness 

The first one is repentance. God commands us to repent of all known sin in our lives by confessing it before Him, and asking for His forgiveness and turning to follow Him.

The second step is renunciation.  The word means to forsake, to cast off,  have nothing to do with. If we have tapped into supernatural powers through our own wrongful activities, it’s to say, “I’m handing all this over to God. I no longer want any part of it. I’m renouncing it, forsaking it.” It is saying to God, “I don’t want anything to do with the powers of darkness. Please set me free”.  

The third step is to submit oneself completely to the Lord, so that He can do in our lives what He wants to do as He ministers to us in Kingdom power. It means asking Christ to be the Lord of every part of our lives, the past, the present and the future.

The fourth step is to pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It means asking God to fill us with His presence so that we live by the power of the Spirit of God. It means allowing Him to set us free of any wrong supernatural power in our lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The suggested prayer.

“Lord Jesus Christ, I thank You that when You died on the cross, You made forgiveness possible. I thank You for the forgiveness I now have in You.

I thank You too that the cross showed Your victory over all the powers of darkness.

I want to be free from all that may have bound me in the past. I want to be released to fulfil Your plan and purpose for me.

I repent of being associated with the powers of darkness in any form, whether it be through my own personal involvement, or through the involvement of members of my family or other people.

I renounce everything to do with the powers of darkness, and I want nothing to do with them. I want you to set me free. 

Lord Jesus, I submit to You as the Lord and Master of every part of my life.

Please heal me in body, mind and spirit by the power of your Holy Spirit.  

I now thank You by faith for the victories and release I now have in You.

Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and lead me and empower me to live for You from this day on. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Blog No.057.   Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Sunday 29th January 2012

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056. Jesus Sets The Captives Free. Mark 1:21-28.

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

Jesus began His ministry with the news that the kingdom of God had come in Himself. That meant that He would be operating with Kingdom authority in the various aspects of His ministry. God’s power would be at work through Him. In this passage we see this authority being exercised in His teaching and in His ministry.

1).        THE AUTHORITY IN JESUS’ TEACHING. The authority in Jesus’ teaching came from God, Mark 1:22)  They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. People recognised that His message wasn’t a second hand message, telling people what other scholars had written. They were amazed at the authority with which He spoke.  It was as though God Himself was speaking through the lips of Jesus. That’s what Jesus said, was in fact happening, John 14:10  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. His teaching came from the mind of God and not just His own thoughts. Jesus was imparting the words the Father wanted Him to speak. How? Because of the intimacy of their relationship as Jesus said, John 14;11  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. It was amazing that people could hear Jesus speaking the words God had given Him to speak, but many rejected Him. In rejecting Him and His words they were rejecting God Himself.

Today humans in their free-will can close their ears and their minds to the word of God in the Bible. They can also close their hearts to Jesus, and in doing so, to the living God.

2).        THE AUTHORITY IN JESUS’ MINISTRY. A man with an unclean spirit interrupted His teaching, Mark 1:23-24,  Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24)  and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”  It was the demon, or the evil spirit speaking through the man.  It’s as though the demon was challenging Jesus’ authority, for the words can mean, “Why do you interfere with us?” or “Mind your own business.” Evil spirits recognised who Jesus was. This one called Jesus “the Holy One of God.”  But Jesus did not let the truth about Himself declared by the powers of darkness go unchallenged, Mark 1:25-26, But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26)  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

A spiritual power encounter had taken place. Jesus commanded the spirit to “be muzzled”, to be silent, and to come out of the man, and it came out.   The people were again amazed, Mk 1:27)  They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching–with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” What an exciting, scary time for those who were there. Here was Jesus operating with kingdom authority in His teaching and with kingdom authority and power in delivering the man of a demon.

The late Professor C.S. Lewis saw 2 dangers as we read a story like this. We can either deny the existence of the powers of darkness. Or we can take an unhealthy interest in them. In doing the latter we take our focus off God and put it in the wrong place, on the devil and his cohorts. As we focus on the powers of darkness we give them more power than they really have.  These two warnings are relevant today, for there are many who have gone too far in both extremes, and lost the balance of Scripture.

3). THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS OVER THE POWERS OF DARKNESS TODAY. People today can come under (or are already under) various degrees of control by the powers of darkness. This is seen in many areas of life.

i).         People can be blinded to the gospel message. Paul wrote of some people who did not know the gospel, 2 Corinthians 4:4)  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  Satan has blinded the minds of all those who don’t believe. They don’t realise they are spiritually blind. They don’t give Jesus His rightful place in their lives because they don’t understand Who Jesus is or the significance of His death and resurrection. We need to realise that it includes those who are in outright rebellion against God. But it may also include our dear loved ones, our close friends and other fine people who haven’t yet come to trust in Jesus. They simply don’t understand how wonderful God is. We need to pray that God would open their blind eyes to enable them to see who He is and to come to know Him and to love and serve Him.

ii).        People can be under the power of Satan and his demons. God said through the apostle John, 1John 5:19  We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. People may not realise it but they are under the devil’s power. They think they are “calling the shots” for their lives, but He has control over them.  St Paul was sent by God  to preach to the Gentiles like those of us who do not have a Jewish background, Acts 26:18  to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’  Praise God that in His love for us from gentile backgrounds He has opened our eyes to understand the truth; He has given us power over the evil one; He has forgiven us in Christ and He has accepted us in His Son.

iii).       People many actually be doing what the devil wants rather than what God wants.  Paul saw that many people had been deceived by Satan and had come under his power.  They needed God to touch their lives so that they would repent,  2Timothy 2:26  and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.  Such people may not realise they are “snared”. They may not realise that they are captives to do Satan’s will and not their own will or God’s will. They need spiritual enlightenment and release by God. We need to pray for all our loved ones that they might be set free from any power of evil in their lives. Then and only then can they know and experience God’s power in their lives.

Victory is possible for those who seek it. We see it in Paul’s teaching, where he states that the powers of darkness have been dealt a mortal blow. For example, he reminded the Colossians that when Christ died on the cross, He not only died to take away sins so that forgiveness might be available to the people of God, but He also disarmed the principalities and powers.  (Col 2:13)  And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14)  erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15)  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

The cross was the placarding, the public proof, that He had defeated the powers of darkness. These powers need no longer have the power they once had in human lives. Victory is ours through the victory Christ won on the cross and made available to the people of God.

iv).       People may be in bondage to the evil one by allowing Satan to have footholds in their lives.   It may be opening their lives to the powers of evil by continuing in anger and unforgiveness, Eph 4:26  Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry–but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. 27)  Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life (NIV). Or the door might be opened to the powers of darkness by getting involved in any of the things that are taboo for the believer, such as the occult or pornography. A young fellow in his early 20’s once came to see me. When I asked him how I might be able to help him, he replied that he was a Bible Study leader in his church, but in recent times had not been able to say the name of J J J J. When he could not get the word out I said, “Jesus?” He nodded. It turned out that he had been heavily involved in pornography and his mind was filled continually with all the images he had seen with a longing to see even more. He was addicted to porn. But now he saw the need to be set free.

I told him that the way out of bondage to freedom involved 4 things. The first one is repentance. God commands us to repent of all known sin in our lives by confessing it before Him, and asking for His forgiveness and turning to follow Him.

The second step is renunciation.  The word means to forsake, to cast off,  have nothing to do with. If we have tapped into supernatural powers through our own wrongful activities, it’s to say, “I’m handing all this over to God. I no longer want any part of it. I’m renouncing it, forsaking it.” It is saying to God, “I don’t want anything to do with the powers of darkness. Please set me free”.

The third step is to submit oneself completely to the Lord, so that He can do in our lives what He wants to do as He ministers to us in Kingdom power. It means asking Christ to be the Lord of every part of our lives, the past, the present and the future.

The fourth step is to pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It means asking God to fill us with His presence so that we live by the power of the Spirit of God. It means allowing Him to set us free of any wrong supernatural power in our lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That is what he did in all sincerity. He repented of his sin. He renounced the powers of darkness. As he tried to pray “Lord Jesus, be the Lord of my life” he got stuck on the “J J J J J” again. But as we continued to pray, he struggled to eventually say loudly, “Jesus is Lord, and I want you Lord Jesus to be my Lord”. As he said those words, he was set free. God had released him from the power of the evil one.  Some months later he brought back a Christian friend who had also been heavily involved in pornography. He too was set free as he followed the same steps of repentance, renunciation, submission to Christ and asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

What God did in Jesus’ day through His ministry, He does today through Christian ministry which is based upon His word and is open the guidance and leading (and empowering) of the Holy Spirit.  It means that if we have friends, neighbours, even family members who are under some sort of control by the powers of darkness, they can be set free. They don’t have to stay as they are. We don’t have to give up on them as a lost cause. They too can walk in Christian freedom. As Jesus said, “If the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed” John 8:36. It’s as true today as it was then. The victory is there in Christ. But we have to personally appropriate that victory through faith in Him.

(In a later article No.057 we look at a suggested prayer for being released from the powers of darkness.)

Blog No.056.  Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Sunday 29th January 2012. 

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055. The Body As A Temple Of The Holy Spirit. 1Corinthians 6:19-20

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

“Don’t tell me what to do! It’s my life and I can do whatever I want to do with it.” Words such as these may be heard outside many homes in our world as parents try to correct a child’s inappropriate behaviour. Or the words overheard might be, “It’s my body and I can do whatever I want with my body.” Inside a home a mother may be questioning her daughter about her choice of clothing (or lack of it) as she prepares to go out for yet another night on the town. Or it might be the expression of a young woman who discovers she is pregnant. She is planning to have an abortion and her best friend asks whether she has considered options apart from abortion.

Both of these statements are understandable, but they carry no weight in the sight of God. He says in His word that we are responsible and accountable to live in the way He wants us to live. We are accountable to use our bodies in the way He has planned for us to use them. Paul used very strong language to show that believers are responsible to live their lives God’s way and not theirs. 1Co 6:19  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own… . What does it mean that our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Spirit”? We look back into the Old Testament to see what the temple meant for the people of that day.

1).        The Temple Was Seen As Housing The Presence Of The Lord.  We see that on the day that King Solomon dedicated the Temple.  2Chronicles 7:1  As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2Ch 7:2  And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. 2Ch 7:3  When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” The glory of the Lord, the presence of the Lord filled the Temple.  The Temple represented the presence of God among His people.

2).        Jesus Saw His Body As A Temple. The Dwelling Place Of God. We read in John 2:14-16  how Jesus cleansed the temple. The Jews present asked Him to declare by what authority He had done that dramatic action.  His answer confused them, 19  Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” They thought that He was talking about the temple building.  20  The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But as John explained, 21  But he was speaking about the temple of his body. He saw His body as a temple of God, as housing the presence of God within Him.

The writer to the Hebrews in Chapter 10 wrote of Jesus’ attitude to His body. Jesus saw His body as God’s gift to Him. Heb 10:5  “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6  in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7  Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'” Jesus was saying that His incarnation, His becoming a human, meant accepting the human body that was God’s gift to Him. He determined to live in His body in such a way that God’s will was always done for every moment of His life, in and through His body.

3).        The  Bodies Of Believers House The Presence Of God By His Spirit. The passage goes on, 1Co 6:19  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 1Co 6:20  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.  What does that mean for us?

It means that we belong to God, body, mind and spirit.  In 2 ways. We are His

a.  By right of creation. He made the universe and everything in it. your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own. We belong to Him, lock, stock and barrel. AND

b.  By right of redemption. 1Co 6:20  for you were bought with a price. Before Jesus came humans were in slavery to sin and to Satan. They were under the control of the powers of darkness. Jesus came to set them free. But it cost Him His life. He shed His own blood on the cross for you and me. As St Paul wrote, 2Co 5:15  and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.  You and I are people who have been died for and by none other than the Son of God Himself. We owe Him big-time. We owe Him everything. We owe Him “us”. As Paul concluded 1 Cor 6:20, So glorify God in your body.  In other words let His presence be seen in you for every moment of your life. Let His transforming power be seen in you as He keeps transforming you into the likeness of Christ by the power of His Spirit, 2 Cor 3:18.  Let His love be manifest in you for every moment of your life. Let His love be experienced through you for every moment of your life as God fills you with His own love, Rom 5:5, ... God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Theodore Monod once wrote a hymn which depicted his deep desire to glorify God in his body, to live for the One who had died for him. He wanted to have less of self and more of Christ in his life. We see the progression in the words of the hymn. At the beginning Christ meant nothing to him. However there is growth as he desires more of God in his life. In the last verse he wants Christ to be all in all in his life. The closing words of the hymn have become the prayer of many people since he wrote them:-

1,. O the bitter shame and sorrow,
That a time could ever be,
When I let the Saviour’s pity
Plead in vain, and proudly answered,
“All of self, and none of Thee!”
 2. Yet He found me; I beheld Him
Bleeding on th’accursèd tree,
Heard Him pray, “Forgive them, Father!”
And my wistful heart said faintly,
“Some of self, and some of Thee!”
 
3. Day by day His tender mercy,
Healing, helping, full and free,
Sweet and strong, and ah! so patient,
Brought me lower, while I whispered,
“Less of self, and more of Thee!”
 
4. Higher than the highest heavens,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered:
Grant me now my supplication,
“None of self, and all of Thee!”
 

St Paul expressed the same sort of desire. He saw himself as dying to self so that Christ might live in and through him.  Galatians 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh,  I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  

That could be our prayer for today and every day, “Lord, work in us by the power of your Spirit so that we too can say with St Paul, ‘I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’. In Jesus’ name we pray. AMEN”. 

Blog no. 055.    Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Thursday 19th January 2012

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054. “What’s Happening?” A Search for Meaning In Life. Ephesians 3:1-12.

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

“What’s happening?” It seems to be way young people communicate today on their mobile (cell) phones.  They utter that particular phrase to find out what their friends are doing. Often the response seems to be “Come on over!” or an invitation to meet up at a later time.  However I felt it had gone a bit too far when our grandson at less than 3 years of age heard us talking excitedly in the kitchen and shouted out, “What’s ‘appening?”

On a broader scale many people are asking the question, “What’s happening? What’s going on in the world.” Some ask the question with real concern as they see so much evil in the world, the breakdown of morality and increasing revolt and rebellion.  I’m going to share with you what’s happening behind the scenes; what is really going on in the world today. It’s hidden. It’s a “mystery” as St Paul wrote many years ago.

Everyone wants to know the secret to mysteries. There was once an episode of “The Saint” on British television with Roger Moore. At the end of each episode he would declare who the murderer was. On this particular night there was an electrical breakdown over much of Britain just as Roger Moore said, “And the murderer is …”. People were in suspense to find out “Who done it.” But the TV didn’t come back on for some hours. Meanwhile the TV studio’s switchboard was besieged with calls from people who wanted to be relieved of their suspense, “Can you please tell us who the murderer was?”  We all like to know the answer to mysteries.

Let me put you out of your suspense by telling you what is going on in the world behind the scenes. It was the same thing that was going on when St Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians.

1).        GOD’S MYSTERIOUS PLAN HAS BEEN REVEALED. 3:1-5.  No one could really recognise what God was doing in the world until Jesus came at that first Christmas. St Paul wrote, Ephesians 3:5  In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind. However the mystery was revealed to those whom God had chosen. 3:5 …as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:  It needed the Holy Spirit to bring enlightenment about God’s plan and purpose for a world in darkness. He revealed what was going on in God’s world; what was happening behind the scenes.

This is what Epiphany Sunday is all about. Epiphany stands for the manifestation or revealing of Christ to the Gentiles (non-Jews). St Paul had been chosen by God to make God’s mystery known to those from Jewish and from Gentile (non-Jewish) backgrounds. He wrote in Ephesians 3:8  To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9  and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.  Paul was preaching Christ, and telling Jewish and Gentile believers about the unsearchable, unfathomable, incalculable riches that existed in Him for all who believed from any background.

2).   WHAT ARE GOD’S UNSEARCHABLE RICHES TO US IN CHRIST?  Ephesians 3:6-11.

I).         Paul made them known to all peoples. (Jews and Gentiles).  He wrote, Eph 3:8  Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ. What are the boundless or unsearchable riches in Christ? That all who respond to Christ through the gospel and receive Him, gain these three blessings. They become:-

i). fellow heirs.  As the born-again children of God from every background they share in the same inheritance of Christ. All that God has given to Jesus, is ours in Him. Paul wrote in Romans 8:17, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. It means that we are fellow-heirs with one another and also co-heirs with Christ of all the Father has given to Him.  We may have known the pain of missing out on family inheritances but as believers we have the greatest inheritance this world has ever seen. It is the inheritance that God has given to His Son and to His children in Him. To you and me in the family of God.

ii). members of the same body.  Paul is saying that all believers belong to the one body of Christ, the same body. There is only one body of Christ in the world. As Paul wrote in Galatians 3:26-29, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.  You and I belong equally to the same body of Christ as the great missionaries Hudson Taylor and William Carey. We belong to the same body of Christ as the great preachers such as John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones and others. We belong to the same body of Christ as Mother Teresa, Billy Graham and all the other great saints or believers throughout history. We BELONG! To God, to the body of Christ and to one another in Him!

iii).  sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus.  Paul wrote in Galatians 3, 3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. What was the blessing of Abraham that would bless all the nations of the earth? It seems to be the gift of the Holy Spirit who would come to indwell all believers in Christ in every generation. Paul had previously written, Gal 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”– Gal 3:14  so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Jesus had promised that His followers would receive the long-promised gift of the Holy Spirit. As Peter explained on the Day of Pentecost, Act 2:33  Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. The promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.  Jesus was anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Paul was indwelt and empowered by the same Holy Spirit. You and I as believers are anointed and empowered by the same Holy Spirit. The person in Australia who hears about Jesus today and believes in Him receives the same Holy Spirit. The man or woman on the other side of the world who believes in Jesus today, receives the same Holy Spirit. The drunkard crying out to God for mercy and sincerely asking Jesus to come into his life to make him different, receives the same Holy Spirit by believing in Him. The good news is that every person born on this earth from whatever background is a potential candidate to receive the same Holy Spirit of God if they put their trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

II).        The church is to make the “mystery” known to all in the universe. Paul wrote, Eph 3:10  so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.  The “church” (Greek word “ekklēsía”) means the “called out ones”. They are called out of the unbelieving world to trust in Christ and to belong to the family of God.  It includes all who belong to God through putting their faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord from every generation, from every locality, from every background. It includes you and me as believers. We have a job to do, to make Christ known in the world. That is God’s mysterious secret plan and purpose that is going on behind the scenes. Despite everything else that might be happening in the world He is at work bringing more and more people from every nation into His family. He is filling them with His Holy Spirit and He is using them to share Him with others.

3).        WHAT IT MEANS FOR US TODAY. 3:12.  Paul concludes this section in Eph 3:12 in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. Every believer has direct access to God through Christ. I discovered that on New Year’s Eve 53 years ago when I asked the Lord Jesus to come into my life to be my Saviour and Lord. I realised then that I did have access to God. As the days went on I came to understand that I could come to God in boldness and confidence, not in arrogance.  I discovered that He wanted me to come to Him at any time and in any place in adoration, praise, thanksgiving and in prayer.  From that moment on New Year’s Eve, 53 years ago, life has meant sharing with others the mystery of Christ; that people from any background (even from a Gentile background like myself) can come to God through Him. They too can receive the same Holy Spirit of God I received, to enable them to know God, to love God and to serve God in His purposes in the world.

The Greek word for “mystery” (mustērion) means an open secret for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, all those enlightened and made alive by the Spirit of God.  The mystery of “What’s happening?” is solved.  The hidden things are now clear, but only to those who receive God’s offer of His Son into their lives and are born again of the Spirit of God. Only they really understand “What’s happening” in God’s world. Because God has made them part of what He is doing! You can become part of His plan by receiving Christ as Saviour and allowing Him to guide you by His Spirit to fulfil your particular role in His purposes in the world.

Blog No. 54. Jim Holbeck.  Posted on New Year’s Day, Sunday 1st January 2012

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053. Who Is The Jesus Christ Of Christmas? Luke 2:10-12

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Jim Holbeck

An angel spoke to shepherds on that first Christmas Day. He gave them a message that spoke volumes about Jesus. The angel said, Luke 2:10 “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

The Christmas event? A baby would be born in lowly circumstances in Bethlehem.

The Christmas meaning? This child would be a Saviour. He was the Christ, the Messiah or the Anointed One. He was and would be Lord. We look briefly at what those terms mean.

1). Jesus The Saviour. His name indicated His mission; Jesus means “One who saves”. He came to save His people. It was the name given by an angel when Mary was told she was to bear the Christ-child, Luke 1:30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Joseph her betrothed was also told by an angel to call the infant “Jesus”, and explained that His name signified His role as “Saviour”, Matthew 1:20, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The word for “save” is (sōzō) which can have the meanings to save, to heal, to preserve, to make whole. It is used more than 30 times in the gospels to describe people being delivered from demons, danger or death. There are about 20 references to spiritual salvation. Others refer to healing such as Mark 5:28, 34 (the healing of the woman with the flow of blood) , Mk 6:56 (the healing of many in the region of Gennesaret) , Mk 10:52 the healing of blind Bartimaeus, and James 5:15 (healing through the prayers and anointing with oil in the name of the Lord, by Christian elders.)

The nouns “sōtērios” (salvation) and “sōtēr” (saviour) were both used with special reference to Jesus. He was the “Saviour” who came to “save” His people and to make “salvation” available to all those who would put their trust in Him. He spoke of His mission as a saving mission to the world, Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” AND John 12:47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

2). Jesus the Christ. The word “Christ” stems from (chríō) to “anoint”. The noun is “Christos” meaning “the anointed”. The term was used in the Old Testament for those who were anointed for office such as prophets, priest, kings and others. It was also used to describe the coming “Messiah” in prophetic passages in the Old Testament. For example the coming “anointed” one, the Messiah, was spoken of in Isaiah 61 verses 1 and 2, The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn. Jesus declared that this prophecy had been fulfilled in Himself in Luke 4:16-21. He had read this passage from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue and then added, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Others recognised Him as the Messiah, the Christ. Andrew said to his brother Simon Peter in John 1:41 “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ)”. Peter himself was later to recognise Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, as he declared on the road to Caesarea Philippi, Mat 16:16 “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus accepted the veracity of this declaration as He replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. A divine revelation had been given to Peter about Jesus. Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One.

Many have summed up the work of Jesus as the Messiah, as the Anointed One, as the Saviour of the world, using the following terms.

  • Jesus has saved us from the Penalty of our sins by His death on the cross.
  • He saves us from the Power of sin by the power of his life in us as believers.
  • He will save us from the Presence of sin when He returns in glory to take us to be with Him forever.

As one song rightly puts it, “Halleluia, what a Saviour!”

3). Jesus The Lord. The angel said to the shepherds, Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. What did he mean by calling the Christ-child, “the Lord”? How could such a little infant be anything but a tiny vulnerable human?

There had been prophecies in the Old Testament about a child to be born who would be a majestic figure. For example Isaiah 9:6, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. Jesus was this promised child. He would become great.

But He had been great from all eternity. In fact John begins his Gospel with the words, John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. He also described later in the same chapter what happened to this “word”; And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14. Jesus the eternal word became a human in the world He had created.

He was Lord, equal with God. But He humbled Himself to become a human so that He might die as a human for humans. But death couldn’t hold Him. He rose from the dead, the victor over death and evil. St Paul put it in graphic language in Philippians 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Jesus IS Lord.

What a wonderful message the angel gave to the shepherds that evening. Only later would they come to realise the immensity of the truth he gave them in such concise words.

We too need to recognise who Jesus is, so that if He were to come in our lifetime, we would cry out with love and adoration and praise, “Welcome, Lord Jesus!” Much better than to say with others who had no time for Jesus in this life, “O dear! He WAS Lord after all!”

Blog 053. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Christmas Eve, 24th December 2011

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052. A Prayer Based On 2 Peter 3:8-14. Being Prepared for Jesus’ Coming

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Jim Holbeck

In this passage from verses 8 to 14, St Peter outlines a number of important truths. One is that the “apparent” delay in the second coming of Jesus means that God is giving people a chance to repent of their sins and turn back to Him, 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Another truth is that the second coming is sure to come and people need to be prepared for it. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness. As they prepare for His coming they need to be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

How can we become more holy and godly? How can we become more without spot or blemish and at peace? By asking God in prayer to make us more like that!

A Prayer to pray

“Heavenly Father, I thank You that at His first coming, Jesus came and died, so that I might have forgiveness and eternal life by receiving Him. As I prepare for His second coming in power and glory, enable me to become the person You want me to be.

Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, so that I might become more holy, more godly, more at peace with You as I live for You in Your world.

Fill me with Your love, so that I might be motivated and empowered by Your Spirit to live the life, to talk the talk and to walk the walk You want me to.

Enable me by Your Spirit to help others come to repentance and faith in You, so that they too might be ready for His coming in glory. In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN”

Blog No.052. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Saturday 17th December 2011

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051. A Prayer Based On Romans 12:1-2. Total Commitment

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Jim Holbeck
Romans 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)

 Heavenly Father, I thank You for all the mercies You have bestowed on me.

I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins and for the gift of eternal life You have given me in Your Son Jesus Christ.

I thank You that He gave Himself for me, so that I might give myself to You.

I now present to You, all I am and all I have, as a living sacrifice to You. It’s my logical response to Your love for me. It’s my spiritual act of worship to You.

Transform me as a person by renewing my mind by Your Spirit, so that I think the way You want me to think about everything, especially about You and about Your will.

Give me discernment by Your Spirit, as I seek to put Your will into practice in my everyday life. Enable me to recognise Your will, and discover as I seek to do it, that it truly is good, acceptable and perfect.

I ask these things so that You may be honoured and glorified, in and through my life, in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN.

 Blog No.051.   Posted by Jim Holbeck.   Saturday 17th December 2011

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050. Homophobia. Who Is Guilty? A Surprising Possibility!

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Jim Holbeck

A “homophobe” is described in some dictionaries as “a person who hates or fears homosexual people.” There are many in the homosexual world who say that those who do not accept homosexuality as a life-style or who say homosexual activities are wrong, are guilty of homophobic attitudes or hate towards them. Thus they see many Christians, Jews, Muslims and others who reject homosexual practice as being homophobic and guilty of hatred.

If we live in a world where there is no God, there can be no absolutes.  Where there are no absolutes, everything is relative. People in such a world simply conform as much as possible (mainly to their own advantage) to the changing cultural patterns of the day. Those who criticise or condemn the behaviour of their fellow humans are seen as biased and bigoted. Who are they to pass judgment on another person’s behaviour if there are no absolutes to follow?  So, it is argued, in a world where everyone is free to do their own thing, people shouldn’t be critical of the behaviour of others who live differently from themselves. It would mean in such a world, that no one is in a position to criticise anyone else. In such a world different kinds of sexual activity among consenting people would have no value judgments placed on them.

BUT WHAT IF (and it would naturally be a very big ‘if’) there happened to be a God in charge of this world? One who created it? One who made certain demands of His creatures? What if this God has revealed Himself in His creation? What if He has given messages describing what He wanted to people like Moses and the prophets? What if this God gave them commandments like the Ten Commandments and many other commandments over a period of centuries? What if He has declared many things to be wrong in His sight? What if He caused to be written, the words to males in Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. And also in Lev 20:13  If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.

What if He inspired St Paul to record His will in the book of Romans where Paul states that homosexual behaviour is part of the result of the general judgment of God upon people who reject Him. Judgment in the sense that He has deliberately allowed people to do what they wanted to do, to exercise their free-will as they rebelled against Him and against His will for humans. The three verses in Romans chapter 1 stating that “God gave them up” or “handed them over” don’t mean that God has “given up” on such people. Rather He “delivered them over” or allowed them to fulfil their own will while rejecting His will, Rom 1:26  “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; Rom 1:27  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” What if this God is saying that homosexual activity is not in accord with the purpose for which He created the different sexes in His world?

What if this God saw homosexual practice as part of a general rebellion by humans against His will, as seen in all the behaviours that He considers debased, Rom 1:28  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless? What if this God includes homosexual activity as part of the general rebellion of humans against their creator?  What if He also condemned them for giving approval to others who also practiced the same things, as St Paul wrote in Rom 1:32, “Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them?”

In such a world, with such a God, it could appear that the homophobic people (those who hate homosexuals, by their definition) are those who engage in homosexual activity. Why? Because they involve other people in activity that this God has declared to be contrary to His will.

So the “surprising possibility” might be this. If there is a God who created this world, then many of those who try to warn and discourage those engaged in homosexual activity are those who truly care about them. They care enough about them to be concerned for their present welfare and for their eternal future. On the other hand it would mean that the real homophobes (those acting with hatred towards homosexuals) in this world in which God exists, would be those who involve and encourage others in their homosexual activities! If this is God’s world then to deliberately encourage another person to participate in sexual activities condemned by Him would never be an act of love in the sight of such a God.

Mind you, if there is no God, then none of this matters one little bit. In such a world you are free to make your own choices in life about everything. But what if God does exist and has revealed His will for how the humans He created are to behave? For many people this would be the classic inconvenient truth! Better in the eyes of many such people to deny the existence of God. Better to mock Bible teaching. Better to prevent young people from hearing Bible truths which speak of these “inconvenient” truths. Better in the eyes of such people to besmirch the character and motives of those who would seek to help them understand this truth, that in a world in which God exists, actions and attitudes have consequences.

If God did exist then it means we would have the awesome responsibility of living in the way He meant us to live, and not contrary to it.  It would mean that people would need to seek His help to refrain from all sexual activity outside His will, AND from all the other things St Paul mentioned in Romans 1:28-31 as coming from a debased mind. Things such as all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossip, slander, hatred towards God, insolence, haughtiness, boasting, new forms of evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness, faithlessness, heartlessness, ruthlessness. Only a God who existed could enable people to refrain from all these things. From all the indications in the Bible, the God of the Bible would be delighted to help those who asked for His help. Many of my friends who once cried out to Him for help, have found He is always ready to help those who humbly turn to Him. Not only that but they have found that He is able to keep on strengthening them to live in the way He always wanted them to live.

Blog No.050. Posted by Jim Holbeck. Friday 16th November 2011

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049. FORGIVENESS. Guilt Cleansed And Forgiven. Jeremiah 33:8

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Jim Holbeck

“I feel so guilty!” That has been the cry of many people in counselling situations. They feel guilty because they ARE guilty before God. But how do they get rid of the guilt they feel? There is an answer in Jeremiah 33:8, I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. We have seen many references in previous articles to sins being forgiven. Jeremiah here introduces another concept regarding forgiveness. Those confessing their sins could know that their guilt had been forgiven, but in addition they could also have a sense of being “cleansed” of the guilt of their sin and rebellion.

The combination of “cleanse” (Hebrew “taher”) and “sin” (Hebrew “avon”) is also found in Joshua 22:17, and in Ezekiel 36:33. Just a quick look at those verses to get a sense of what “cleanse” might involve.

In  Jos 22:17 Phinehas challenged the hearers  Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the LORD.  He was referring to the sin committed at Peor when the people of God rebelled against Him and punishment ensued. Now later another group appeared to be heading towards rebellion. Phinehas asks the group involved whether or not they had really cleansed themselves from the sin of Peor. If they had they really cleansed themselves (obviously through repentance) then they would not now be acting in rebellion against God. However their actions were not rebellious and no action was taken against them. What is interesting in the account is the link between forgiveness and cleansing. If they really had repented and then acted on their forgiveness from God, they would have been “cleansed” (in the sense of not wanting to commit a similar sin again). True repentance brings a cleansing that in turn brings liberation and a determination to do the right thing.

In Ezekiel 36:33 God promised that when He cleansed the nation from their iniquities He would bring material blessing to the nation whom He had forgiven. God’s cleansing from sin opens the door to even more blessing. Eze 36:33  “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.

In our verse for this article in Jeremiah 33:8, there is the phrase about God cleansing the people from all the guilt of their sin. Then later in the same verse, God says that He would forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. In both cases it is not only the sin that is cleansed or forgiven but the guilt as well. “Cleanse” (Hebrew” taher”) was used for the ritual cleansing of either things or people in Leviticus. But here it seems to refer to the release from sin and from the guilt deriving from it. They could not cleanse themselves, but God could make them clean and give them a sense of being clean. Guilt is both what God sees in people as they sin, and also what people may feel about their sins.

These two concepts of forgiveness and cleansing are seen together in the New Testament in 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is wonderful to be able to point out to people who confess their sins to God and ask for His forgiveness, that they can experience freedom from the guilt of sin as well. Forgiveness means the sins are gone. Cleansing means that the defilement that sin always brings can also be dealt with.  John Bunyan summed it up well in his “Pilgrim’s Progress” as he has Christian recognising release from the burden and guilt of sin,

“Thus far did I come laden with my sin;
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in
Till I came hither: What a place is this!
Must here be the beginning of my bliss?
Must here the burden fall from off my back?
Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?
Blest Cross! blest sepulcher! blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!”

Blog No.049.  Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Saturday 26th November 2011

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