You already KNOW the REAL God
Scripture describes God’s call on our lives in a multitude of ways. So, where do we start if we want to form a biblical understanding of how the Bible speaks about the call of God? We are talking about the almighty God of the universe, whose sovereign decree is executed in creation and in His ongoing providential care of all His creatures and all their actions. He has, in His sovereignty, redeemed us. This God, our God, has placed calls on our life that frame who we are and what He expects us, commands us, calls us to do in this world He has made, this world in which we are His servants.
Every person and everything in the universe knows God, the REAL Creator God. Everything in the universe obeys God, even Fallen Angels and Demons, because the Almighty will punish them for disobedience, and they are deathly afraid of His wrath. Everything obeys except for man.
18 Indeed, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest among them, for God has manifested it to them;
20 For the invisible things of Him are perceived from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that were made—both His eternal power and Godhead— so that they are without excuse;
~Romans 1
Answering the call of God means following God’s instructions, accepting the call and giving up anything that doesn’t align with His goals. He uses people’s strengths, weaknesses, and experiences to shape their hearts and prepare them for their calling. In a word, this process is called “Metanoia”, and begins with REPENTANCE.
12 “Therefore even now,” says the LORD, “turn to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.
13 Yes, rend your heart and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.
~Joel 2
Gods mercy is conditional
24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
25 With the merciful, You will show Yourself merciful; with an upright man You will show Yourself upright;
~Psalm 18
Gods mercy is unconditionally offered, but only conditionally received.
9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
~Proverbs 28
15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
~Isaiah 1
12 And they made their heart disobedient, so as not to hearken to my law, and the words which the Lord Almighty sent forth by his Spirit by the former prophets: so there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty.
13 And it shall come to pass, that as he spoke, and they hearkened not, so they shall cry, and I will not hearken, saith the Lord Almighty.
~Zechariah 7
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
~1 Peter 4
15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you be either cold or hot.
16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and are neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth.
~Revelation 3
The forgiveness and mercy of a righteous and holy God is contingent on our turning away from Sin by Repenting.
What is SIN?
Sin is the opposite of the Spirit and Nature of the Almighty. The Lord has articulated exactly what Sin is in His written Word, the Bible.
4 Everyone who practices sin is also practicing lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.
5 And you know that He appeared in order that He might take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.
6 Everyone who dwells in Him does not practice sin; anyone who practices sin has not seen Him, nor has known Him.
7 Little children, do not allow anyone to deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.
8 The one who practices sin is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Everyone who has been begotten by God does not practice sin because His seed of begettal is dwelling within him, and he is not able to practice sin because he has been begotten by God.
10 By this standard are manifest the children of God and the children of the devil. Everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, and neither is the one who does not love his brother.
~1 John 3
God is not following a moral code because He is good. He is not following a moral code that makes Him good.
God IS the moral good. Its WHO He is. Its His very nature.
God is the absolute pentacle of morals, there is no moral above Him, if there were, then THAT would be God.
Murder is wrong because God is not a murderer
Adultery is wrong because God is Faithful
Stealing is wrong because God is not a thief
Lying is wrong because God is Truth
Blaspheme is wrong because God is not profane
The entire Bible is in full force and fully applicable to our lives today. All the Torah and the Prophets are pointing the way to eternal life.
Someone might say, my preacher told me we don’t have to keep those archaic laws of the Old Testament because Jesus abolished those “weak and beggarly laws” commanded by the Father, by nailing them to His cross. In modern times we follow the Lamb of baby Jesus and not the angry wrathful God of the Old Testament.
That philosophy comes from not reading their Bibles for comprehension and watching television evangelism programming.
New Testament Bible Verses that point to Torah Keeping
The paradox of antinomian philosophies
Why you need a High Priest
No Unclean thing or Sinful person will stand in the courtroom of Almighty God, He will instantly obliterate that filthy thing. We need a “go-between” to make peace with God on our behalf, because we are all criminals (Sinners) against His Kingdom. That is the job of a Priest.
In times past, when we had an earthly Tabernacle/Temple, once a year the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies (The literal presents of God on earth). He would offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. But if that High Priest did not atone for himself, or had reservations or made any kind of misstep, God would kill him on the spot. That is why they had to tie a rope to the Priest before he went in, so they could drag his body back out should he make an error in judgement. And thus the sins of the people would NOT be forgiven for that year.
So, why would people want to draw close to an ALL Powerful, Righteous, and Holy God, if it is so incredibly dangerous for sinful man to be in His presents?
Because the Father ALONE is the source for ALL, Life, Truth, Peace, Joy, Love, Knowledge, Power… Happiness. There is nothing that exists that exists outside of the Almighty. He is the originator/ wellspring/ author/ genesis/ fount/ begetter/ Father of all things.
So, if you want Happiness and not darkness, misery, and death, then you have to go to the Great Creator of the Universe to receive it. And the Good News is He is overjoyed to give it to you. But its conditional, we have to be obedient to the rules of His Holy Spirit. Because ALL human suffering comes from Sin.
Because we are all unclean sinners something must happen first. Jesus has worked out the legal details, to make ATONEMENT (Cover your sin), so that you can go before the Father without Him destroying you. You can boldly pray and petition the High Court of the Universe to act on your behalf.
Jesus has been given all authority and is both our KING and our High Priest. He has ordered the Holy Spirit to be poured on all people, not just prophets and earthly kings. This is the down-deposit of the New Covenant. After Judgment Day, those accepted into His Kingdom will receive NEW BODIES and our sin will be completely REMOVED, not just covered. On that day, we will become the Children of the Most High God, born again into the Elohim Family.
Church/ Israel /Christian
The past 150 years or so a new kind of “repentance” has emerged. With Billy Sunday and his “Sinners Prayer” and Billy Graham with his “Souls Saved” messages, the old way has been lost. Christians for 1800 years believed if someone wanted to take up the cross of Christianity they had to be counseled first, this could take hours or months, depending on the situation.
Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, had his name changed to “Israel” (Struggle With God). Israel is a nation of people who are in covenant with the Almighty. To join the commonwealth of the nation of Israel it is a “Cutting-Off” and “Grafting-In” process.
The words “Christian”, “Israel”, and “Church” all point to the same body of people, the body of Messiah. Messiah does not have multiple bodies for different people or different eras. ALL people will receive salvation the exact same way, from Adam to the present Christians/Israel.
Steven said,
Act 7:38 “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.”
ANY country, race, tribe, nation can become Christian, you don’t have to be born in the bloodline of Jacob to be grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel. What it requires is the the Worship of our Father and His Son (Our King and Kinsman Redeemer), and adherence to Kingdom Law and behavior.
The Greatest is LOVE
A young man asked Jesus, perhaps the most profound question in all of scripture (Matt 19:16).
He asked, “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” WOW! There it is, no mincing of words, no beating around the bush… the exact question for the hope that is within us.
How ever Jesus answered that young man, I pray your ears are good and clean, because this may be the most important answer of your entire life.
Jesus said, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” And there it is, clear as a bell. Even a child can understand it.
Now that you know you have to keep the commandments, maybe it would be a good idea to MEMORIZE the 10 commandments.
A Pharisee who is an attorney of the Law, asked Jesus, “Which is the GREATEST Commandment?” (Matt 22:36-40)
Jesus told him:
1) ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
That is the Greatest Commandment of them all,
But the Second Greatest Commandment is like the first one.
2) ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Did you notice the two Greatest Commandments have a common word? The word LOVE.
Jesus completed the puzzle, when He told that Pharisee, ” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And yet, if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father; Jesus Christ the Righteous;
2 And He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And by this standard we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments.
4 The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 On the other hand, if anyone is keeping His Word, truly in this one the love of God is being perfected. By this means we know that we are in Him.
6 Anyone who claims to dwell in Him is obligating himself also to walk even as He Himself walked.
~1 John 2
What about non-believers that don’t murder, steal, or lie, yet they are not christians? Each individual will have to answer to the Lord on that day of Judgement. What we do, we do BECAUSE we love the Lord and want to please Him always. Love is the fulfilment of the Law, because God IS LOVE.
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I give away all my goods, and if I deliver up my body that I may be burned, but do not have love, I have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and is kind; love envies not, does not brag about itself, is not puffed up.
5 Love does not behave disgracefully, does not seek its own things, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil,
6 Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there be prophecies, they shall cease; whether there be languages, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part shall be set aside.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I reasoned as a child; but when I became a man, I set aside the things of a child.
12 For now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know exactly as I have been known.
13 And now, these three remain: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.
~1 Corinthians 13
The Two Repentances
Just as there are 2 Greatest Commandments. Love can be directed toward God, and Love can be directed toward mankind. And the 10 Commandments are in 2 parts, the first 4 are how we are to behave toward God and the last 6 are how we are to behave toward each other.
When we Sin we not only commit a crime against our fellow person, but we also break a Kingdom Law. So, there are amends and remedies for both the Lord and toward the victim.
Christianity is a call to righteousness. Christians don’t knowingly practice ANY sin, not even ONE.
25 For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it; but whoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.
26 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?
~Matthew 16
Repentance toward God
This one is difficult to explain in a step by step, clinical way. The fear of offending the Almighty should make your knees knock together. If they don’t, then you don’t know God. Making God angry and provoking His wrath, will make a wise man fall down like he has no bones. The regret and shame for trading a eternal life in a Kingdom of no sorry full of love and warm light, for wrath and death in a lake that burns with fire, the final destination of the wicked.
I don’t think I could bring it home better than a very famous sermon by Jonathan Edwards given in 1741.
“”Sinners in the hands of an angry God”
Understand that the wages of Sin is death, we have EARNED our punishment. By that we see the Almighty is very rich in Love and mercy. We are not waiting for God, God is waiting for us, to repent and come clean, to turn from our sin and walk as our Messiah walked.
8 If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our own sins, He is faithful and righteous, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.
~1 John 1
4 Or do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the graciousness of God leads you to repentance?
~Romans 2
6 But He gives greater grace. This is the reason it says, “God sets Himself against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.”
7 Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double- minded!
9 Be grieved and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into grieving, and your joy into mourning.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
~James 4
20 Moreover, the law entered, so that transgression might abound; but where sin abounded, the grace of God did abound even more;
21 So that even as sin has reigned unto death, so also might the grace of God reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
~Romans 5
13 He who conceals his transgression will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes will obtain mercy.
~Proverbs 28
21 And if the transgressor turn away from all his iniquities which he has committed, and keep all my commandments, and do justice and mercy, he shall surely live, and shall by no means die.
~Ezekiel 18
31 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are in good health do not need a physician, but those who are sick.
32 I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
~Luke 5
3 For we also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving all kinds of lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
4 But when the graciousness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we practiced, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6 Which He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior;
7 So that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 This is a faithful saying, and I desire you to strongly affirm all these things, so that those who have believed God may apply themselves to doing good works. These things are good and profitable for men.
~Titus 3
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, strifes, jealousies, indignations, contentions, divisions, sects,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such things as these; concerning which I am telling you beforehand, even as I have also said in the past, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 But those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25 If we live by the Spirit, we should also be walking by the Spirit.
26 We should not become vain-glorious, provoking one another and envying one another.
~Galatians 5
6 Seek Yahweh while he lets himself be found; call him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of sin his thoughts. And let him return to Yahweh, that he may take pity on him, and to our God, for he will forgive manifold.
~Isaiah 55
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
~Isaiah 1
5 Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works; for if you do not, I will come to you quickly; and I will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent.
~Revelation 2
4 Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and burns, and there is no one who extinguishes it, because of the evil of your deeds.”
~Jeremiah 4
13 Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to Yahweh your God, because he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in loyal love, and relenting from harm.
~Joel 2
4 “Which man of you who has a hundred sheep, and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost, searching until he finds it?
5 And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing;
6 And after coming to his house, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
7 I tell you that likewise, there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine righteous ones who have no need of repentance.
~Luke 15
20 The person, the one sinning, will die. A son shall not bear the guilt of the father, and a father shall not bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him; the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.
21 But if the wicked returns from all of his sins that he has done and he keeps all of my statutes and he does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die!
22 All of his transgressions that he committed will not be remembered against him. Through his righteousness that he has done he shall live.
23 Have I delight by any means in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord Yahweh, and not at his turning from his way, so that he lives?
~Ezekiel 18
14 then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal their land.
~2 Chronicles 7
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
~2 Corinthians 7
More About Repentance
There are 4 types that are not sorry for creating a victim. The Deceived, The Jezebel, The Angry with God, and The given to lusts.
Most christians in the world today believe in a special saying called “The Sinners Prayer”. This was popularized by Rev. Billy Sunday. For 150 years this new doctrine has become the leading evangelizing tool. For Sola-Scriptora its a very troubling doctrine, often called “Hyper-Grace” or “emergent Church”.
The hypergrace crowd believe all one must to is repeat-after-me and that nullifies all culpability. But are they just deceiving themselves?
Another more terrifying problem, isn’t so much the doctrine, but a demon. Scripture identifies it as the “Jezebel Spirit”, secular world calls it Psychopathy, Narcissism, Sociopath. Jezebel is a very powerful and dangerous spirit, the people who have coddled her over the years are very frightened to let her go. She has protected them, she has provided a living, she has given them power and control over people. They have watched her absolutly crush her victims, and they to too scared to get on her bad side. They KNOW what she is capable of.
Jezebel has 3 main character identifiers, she is a liar, she will manipule, double-speak, confound and confuse with her words. Her language is deception to conceal truth. When she lies her host (the one possessed) BELIEVES fully, and it becomes authentic history for the her and the coven.
Jezebel cannot repent. And if she does its to manipulate the hearer. Its to lure the victim back in for a source of “Demonic Supply”. Demons are energized by fear, jealousy, pain, anger, sadness, depression, suffering. These low energy emotions are the “food” of demons, Jezebel feeds on her victims. She works through the host to destroy others.
Jezebel loves religion and structure. She is often seen doing good works. Her goal is to get to the top to kill the head. In scripture, Jezebel is out to kill the prophets of God and shut their mouths by any means necessary.
Hurting people, hurt people. Those who are angry with God, do believe in God, but because of personal tragedy or loss,, they blame God for the pain they feel. These people need our prayer and patience and balanced Spirit-filled words of comfort.
One of the more popular excuses for those who don’t repent are one who have given themselves over to their personal lusts. Out of this spirit we see the theory of Evolution, Porn industry, prostitution and sexual exploitation, addictions, etc..
“The reason we accepted Darwinism even without proof, is because we didn’t want God to interfere with our sexual mores.”
~Julian Huxley (1927, invented the word “agnostic”, a father of Evolution.)
Having to say, “I’m sorry”
Having to make amends to people you’ve sinned against is part of repentance. If you have stolen something, then you have to return it. And not JUST return it, but whatever damage you’ve caused that person by being deprived of the item you took has to be “made right”. Even if your victim never realized it was gone, you have to give back the original thing and a multiplication of the value of the thing on top.
1 And if one steal an ox or a sheep, and kill it or sell it, he shall pay five calves for a calf, and four sheep for a sheep
~Exodus 22
This idea of “making right” to the person you sinned against is completely lost on modern society. Seeking “forgiveness” from the person we wronged is absolutely how biblical repentance works.
3 Watch yourselves; and if your brother commits a sin against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,‘ you shall forgive him.”
~Luke 17
We have to have a PERSONAL WORKING relationship with the Lord. If when you are praying and you know you have sinned against someone, that should disturb your conscience greatly. When we pray, we are speaking to a Holy Righteous God who judges the world. If you can harm people and yet don’t feel anything, that alone should bother you.
23 For this reason, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 Leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
~Matthew 5
“First be reconciled” – This means to settle the difficulty; to make proper acknowledgment or satisfaction for the injury. If you have wronged him, make restitution. If you owe him a debt which ought to be paid, pay it. If you have injured his character, confess it and seek pardon. If he is under an erroneous impression, if your conduct has been such as to lead him to suspect that you have injured him, make an explanation. Do all in your power; and all you ought to do, to have the matter settled. From this we learn:
- That, in order to worship God acceptably, we must do justice to our fellow-men.
- Our worship will not be acceptable unless we do all we can to live peaceably with others.
- It is our duty to seek reconciliation with others when we have injured them.
- This should be done before we attempt to worship God.
- This is often the reason why God does not accept our offerings, and we go empty away from our devotions. We do not do what we ought to others; we cherish improper feelings or refuse to make proper acknowledgments, and God will not accept such attempts to worship him.
~Albert Barnes (1830s)