The Legal Mechanism and Pandemics

There's a light in the deepest darkness. There's an answer to the mystery. There's an "all consuming" purpose that is not seen. There's a peace in the turmoil. There is help in the time of your trouble. There's a supernatural presence that most never discern. But to those who seek, they find; and to those who knock, it is opened unto them.

It's quite the paradox. Man spends 65 years preparing for five years of retirement, but not 65 minutes to search out the door of eternal life. If you have yet to be born-again, will you spend the time today for the necessary redemption of your eternal soul? Do you really want to know the truth—a truth that far exceeds man's most sophisticated analytical skills? This is the place Jesus Christ calls born-again. John 3:3:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born-again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

At this time and at this place, you will find a new Father, a new name, a new and blessed motivation, a new and eternal purpose, a new and everlasting life. What are you waiting for? Do it now while you still have time—right now. Click onto "Further With Jesus" for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. Now for today's subject. 

GOD SAID, Leviticus 15:2:

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.

GOD SAID, Numbers 19:11:

He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

GOD SAID, Psalm 91:7-10:

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

GOD SAID, Galatians 6:7:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

MAN SAID: we don't need to be encumbered by the restrictions laid out in the Bible. We'll follow our "own" path. 

Now THE RECORD. Our faith is the most valuable and precious thing in the universe; protecting and strengthening it must be the daily quest of the blood-bought. Skeptics continually attack the cleanness of Holy writ—it is Satan's onslaught to put out the Light. As believers, we are directed to contend for the faith. This is GodSaidManSaid feature #573 that once again proves the full inerrancy of the Word of God. These features are archived on this site in text and streaming audio. Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one. Welcome to GodSaidManSaid. We're so glad you've come. 

The proof of all proofs is in the result of the doing; and this short series will make this very clear. 

The argument goes like this: "If there is a God and He is good, why all the suffering and evil?" God is good, "God is love," and He has prepared, and is preparing, beautiful things for those who love Him. I Corinthians 2:9:

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But to those who reject His words, He promises doom. Jesus said in Mark 16:15-16:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

These words from Mark, Chapter 16, show the goodness and severity of God. By man's standards these words are "intolerant," but then that is the very nature of truth. God's Word is truth, and anything contrary is not truth, no matter how well intentioned. Two plus two equals four; and 3.9 just won't do. Those who reject God's truth suffer the consequence of disobedience, which is simply the result of doing the wrong thing. 

Man was created by God with the ability to choose between right and wrong-commonly called free will. The only choice in the Garden of Eden that the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, had to make was whether or not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was in the midst of the garden. God said 'don't': "... thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). A day came when a second voice was heard in the garden, Satan's, and he said "eat" for God is not telling you the truth. Genesis 3:4-5:

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The wrong choice was made and the law of sin and death began to reign upon the earth, affecting all of creation. 

Prior to sin, Adam and Eve were given dominion over all the earth. Genesis 1:26:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

According to Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English language, dominion means, "sovereign or supreme authority." Adam and Eve were given dominion over all the earth. They held the deed. Eve, in an act of unbelief and disobedience, chose Satan's leadership over God's, and Adam followed her pernicious ways. Adam and Eve took their right of dominion from the loving oversight and direction of the creator, God, and surrendered it to the oversight and direction of the destroyer-god-the little "g"-od, Satan. II Corinthians 4:3-4:

3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Satan takes the leadership position and the results begin to show very quickly:

1. Adam and Eve are judged by God and cast out of paradise the very day they eat the fruit.

2. They die spiritually the same day they eat, and soon after, the death of their flesh follows.

3. All of their offspring and the offspring of all the creatures on earth are born under the curse of the law of sin and death.

4. Paradise and immortality are lost, and the beginning of suffering and evil is in play.

Jesus speaks of Satan in John 10:10 and identifies his mode of operation. "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy..." Since the transaction of free-will that chose Satan's leadership over God's, the world has suffered a heavy and deadly dose of stealing and killing and destroying. 

God is the God of truth and His truth is in His words. His words include laws and judgments, the precepts of life and more, and He will not breach these principles. Satan knows the rules. Satan lays out his arguments against God in the book of Job-arguably, the oldest book of the Bible. Note what God says to Satan in Job 1:7 -8:

7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Satan is not impressed with Job's virtues, associating them with Job's own self-interest. Satan answers in the pride of his spirit. How could any man walk uprightly when he, Satan (Lucifer) himself, fell from righteousness, and then Adam, the father of all men, who was a son of God, followed him in rebellion against God's Word? Satan responds in Job 1:9-11:

9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Of course, you students of the scriptures know that Satan failed in His first challenge concerning Job, but it wasn't over. Job 2:1-3:

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

In the next passage, a central clue to God's secret plan of salvation is revealed as Satan challenges God and his righteous Job. Job 2:4-5:

4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

God created a plan to rescue fallen man. II Samuel 14:14:

...yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

God's plan was a mystery kept secret from the foundation of the world and "skin for skin" was the focus. In the very beginning of time, God speaks in Genesis 9:4:

But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

Leviticus 17:11:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Life is in the blood and blood alone can atone for sin. It is revealed in Satan's challenge, "...Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Jesus Christ is known in the scriptures as the last Adam (I Corinthians 15:45). He came to perform the transaction that would reverse the first Adam's disobedience and that would make possible the redemption of man's soul. His blood, His life, and His skin were required to break the back of Satan's argument. Jesus Christ is known to us as the Redeemer because He buys back the souls of men who were sold in sin. 

Understanding that all things are made of words, and that Satan changed the world's paradigm from life to death with one word and a question mark, it should be no surprise that God creates a word escape. Psalm 107:20:

He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Revelation 19:13 declares this of Jesus Christ:

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

This Christ became the "skin for skin" that broke Satan's legal hold. He becomes the Redeemer that buys back that which was sold in sin and he accomplishes this through the marvel of marvels: the born-again experience. 

The first Adam sold his birthright and his progeny into sin. If man were to find a way of escape from Satan's bondage, God would need to create a legal mechanism to accomplish the task. God is a God of laws and judgments-laws and judgments He cannot break. He needed a secret strategy to upend Satan's legal argument. The hold of the law of sin and death must be broken. Romans 7:5:

For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

Sin, which works by law, requires the death of the sinner. The mystery of the born-again experience pays the price that is required. It satisfies the legal letter of the law. 

The ingredients of the beginning of salvation are defined in Acts 2:38:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We first believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the redeemer and repent of our sins. Secondly, we must be baptized according to Christ's example. He was immersed in the river Jordan. But why is water baptism a central plank of salvation? The secret is revealed in Romans 6:1-6:

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

As a believer goes down into the watery grave, the law of sin and death is satisfied, for He has died to self and sin, and the new man in Christ Jesus arises! 

At this point, born-again happens. We receive a new Father, a new name, a totally new identity, a new purpose, a new power, a new destiny, and so much more. A death has taken place to satisfy the curse of the law and a new life full of grace and truth proceeds. God needed a mechanism, a legal mechanism to break the back of Satan's bondage, and Jesus Christ was and is the answer. But as in the beginning, man rejected the first voice of paradise, God's, and embraced the second voice in the garden, Satan's, the voice of suffering and evil, and so it is today. In this short series, it will be abundantly clear who is responsible for suffering and evil. Next week, God willing, we will address devastating global pandemics. Today the legal mechanism for destruction and deliverance has been laid out. Next week, prepare for Holy Ghost Shock and Awe! 

GOD SAID, Leviticus 15:2:

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.

GOD SAID, Numbers 19:11:

He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

GOD SAID, Psalm 91:7-10:

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

GOD SAID, Galatians 6:7:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

MAN SAID: we don't need to be encumbered by the restrictions laid out in the Bible. We'll follow our "own" path. 

Now you have THE RECORD. 




References

Authorized King James Version

 

• Go Further With Christ
• Email To a Friend
• Comments or Questions?