nanasimmons

Yup..trojan horses Yod... Today they want to control Americans under the guise of health care, but their eye is on the bigger prize, through cap and trade they will try to control the world.... These two are their biggest pet projects, and are all about massive control .....

Obama is the one who needs 'to make compromises'!! He's out shoving his disgusting agenda down every one's throut, telling every one in the world they are going to have to give up a piece of their pie, while he acting like a pure glutton having his cake and eating it too....He's a stinking hypocrite, maybe he should shut his pie hole for once and mind his own bussiness....But we know he won't...

These days are pure agony....can you even believe that there could be this many ignoramus' all in the same administration?...good grief!! The news just keeps getting from bad to worse... How long oh Lord??

Obama would know all too well what a bow to the waist of the Muslim Saudi king means...he went to a Muslim school and has publicly recited the muslim morning prayer in perfect aramaic....He's been about the bussiness of apoligizing for America the great satan, to every forgien leader he encounters, to his own shame..

It sure makes ya wonder if our government was being held hostage before this thug ever got in office... I cannot imagine any other blantantly corrupt community organizer being able to slither into the whitehouse so easily...I hope they are still investigating his ties with Tony Rezco....who's laywer still pays the taxes on the obama's house...there is also multiple S.S.#s listed for the obamas...Tax fraud galore... He removed any security features from him website that would have prevented illegal activity...allowing the same card # to donate repeatedly using different names... The obama campaign also sent acorn a list of their maxed out donors so the could solicite more money for BHO under the guise or acorn.... If this isn't the last days, which I believe it mosy likely is....this fascist presidency will go into the history books as the biggest hoax every played on America.... I pray this fraud will be exposed for the whole world to see...SOON!!

I am not expert in economics...But.. I watched a story today on the news, I googled to find it online but no luck... It was saying that China was printing yens and circulating large amounts of them into other countries in place of using the dollar...or something to that effect...Did anyone else see that? It must have been on Fox...

I don't know as that would be seen as putting himself beneath the kings rule as does the symbolism of a bow, but it wouldn't be too suprising to see Barry in a unseemly photo after being mentored by Frank Marshall Davis, who was a professed pervert who indulged himself in depravity with both sexes.... I have dial up so I couldn't look at all the photos... No one has to look for things to complain about....atleast with Bush we didn't have to get up EEEVERRRY DAY wondering 'what radical brain fart will he stink up this country with this morning, noon,and night?'..... Here a link to the embarassing doofus' photo: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/0...saudi_king.html

He's only showing his reverance and submissiveness, placing himself and America beneath the Muslim Saudi king..... I guess it won't show the pic...bummer

I believe it means the beginning of the end of our sovereignty.... Soon we will be giving up our sovereignty as a separate nation for a 'collective sovereignty' which is not sovereignty at all... Below is something I came across the other day..It may help explain some of this....I haven't had time to look it over much myself... ******************************************************************************** http://www.augustreview.com/knowledge_base...ion_2006111436/ How to understand Globalization 1. Follow the money, follow the power 2. Discern illusion from reality, especially with media outlets 3. Listen to experts who offer a meaningful critique 4. Study & verify sources and footnotes 5. Apply liberal doses of common sense What is Globalization? It is the collective effect of purposeful and amoral manipulation that seeks to centralize economic, political, technological and societal forces in order to accrue maximum profit and political power to global banks, global corporations and the elitists who run them. "Free Trade" is the central mantra. Globalization is set against national Sovereignty, closed borders, trade tarrifs and anything that would restrict its goals and methods used to achieve them. Globalization promotes regional and global government, a one-world economic system of trade and a form of fascism where global corporations and their elite control the policies and directives of individual governments. The original and primary perpetrators of modern-day globalization number only in the 100's, representative of which, but not exclusively, are members of The Trilateral Commission. To understand the genesis of the Trilateral Commission, read the transcript of the 1979 radio show between Antony C. Sutton, Patrick M. Wood and George S. Franklin, Jr. -- Coordinator of the Trilateral Commission! Where did Globalization come from? The "New International Economic Order" was the coinage of the Trilateral Commission starting in 1973. This purpose was stated repeatedly in its papers, journals and conferences. New World Order In 1991, President George H.W. Bush, a member of the Trilateral Commission, began to openly talk about the New World Order, which expanded the concept to include governance as well as economic unity. NEW! 2008 Trilateral Commission Membership list http://www.augustreview.com/knowledge_base...sion_membership NEW! Leadership Review of Barack Obama Administration http://www.augustreview.com/obama_administration.pdf

" A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; " Mat 20:2 And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Eventually it will be a days wages for a days worth of food....

I believe that one's doctrine is 'the' gospel and one is 'another' gospel.... One says that salvation is based on the docrine of justification by faith in Christ alone.... The other says anyone who says that we are justified by faith in Christ alone is 'anathema'......... The following is the stand of the Roman Catholic Church on Justification By Faith Alone. Canon IX. If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining of the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema. (Roman Catholic Council of Trent)..... Some further explainations of the doctrine of jusification can be found here:http://www.worthyboards.com/index.php?show...p;#entry1149899 I'm sure others here can lead you to others........

So. . . would it be safe to say that since you and nanasimmons like to pack whole groups of people into one barrel, categorize them, label them, and judge them, then we should be able to do that with you too, right? I mean after all, if you are going to do it with other groups of people, then you have no objections if the same behavior is applied to you, right? Would you say right now, that you are pretty close to the people at Westboro Baptist, in your over-all stance? Would that be accurate? By the way, Strong's is a great tool, but it is hardly an authority on anything. First of all, I only pointed out that based on the scriptures one could mistakenly or not, come to that conclusion.... I am neither creating or willing to create a doctrine out of it.... As far as being labeled, As a Christian this is a God given....Does my flesh find offence to it? Sometimes... but as Christians we should be bringing our flesh into subjection and die daily to the works of the flesh... which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Gal 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

The doctrine of justification is the gospel...!! It is a SELF emptying faith like Abraham's...Sarah was over 74 years old and barren and yet Abraham believed God that he would have a son and it was imputed/accounted to him for righteousness....At this point Abraham believed not in himself for Sarah to have a child but believed that God would fulfill the promise made...Work of the Spirit.... Of course as human nature would have it, 10 years later, Sarah now over 84 years old, they decided to help God along with that promise...Works of the flesh...Mixing a little works with their faith so to say... We Christians should have SELF emptying, justifying faith....... Again, it is not our faith per se, that saves/justifies us, it is what we place our faith in.... Self or Christ's imputed Righteousness........ we need to be 'skillfull in the word of righteousness'.... Rom 5:17 For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Rom 5:18 Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight: Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 2Co 3:7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 2Co 3:8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 2Co 3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of(His) righteousness exceed in glory. 2Co 3:10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 2Co 3:11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. 1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism(into Him) doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 1Pe 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. 1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. Quote........... Barnes commentary....... 1Co 15:56 - The sting of death - The sting which death bears; that with which he effects his purpose; that which is made use of to inflict death; or that which is the cause of death. There would be no death without sin. The apostle here personifies death, as if it were a living being, and as making use of sin to inflict death, or as being the sting, or envenomed instrument, with which he inflicts the mortal agony. The idea is, that sin is the cause of death. It introduced it; it makes it certain; it is the cause of the pain, distress, agony, and horror which attends it. If there had been no sin, people would not have died. If there were no sin, death would not be attended with horror or alarm. For why should innocence be afraid to die? What has innocence to fear anywhere in the universe of a just God? The fact, therefore, that people die, is proof that they are sinners; the fact that they feel horror and alarm, is proof that they feel themselves to be guilty, and that they are afraid to go into the presence of a holy God. If this be taken away, if sin be removed, of course the horror, and remorse, and alarm which it is suited to produce will be removed also. Is sin - Sin is the cause of it; see the note at Rom_5:12. The strength of sin - Its power over the mind; its terrific and dreadful energy; and especially its power to produce alarm in the hour of death. Is the law - The pure and holy law of God. This idea Paul has illustrated at length in Rom_7:9-13; see the notes on that passage. He probably made the statement here in order to meet the Jews, and to show that the law of God had no power to take away the fear of death; and that, therefore, there was need of the gospel, and that this alone could do it. The Jews maintained that a man might be justified and saved by obedience to the law. Paul here shows that it is the law which gives its chief vigor to sin, and that it does not tend to subdue or destroy it; and that power is seen most strikingly in the pangs and horrors of a guilty conscience on the bed of death. There was need, therefore, of the gospel, which alone could remove the cause of these horrors, by taking away sin, and thus leaving the pardoned man to die in peace; compare the note on Rom_4:15. 1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Every group has those members who are less than ideal. They do not represent the best of that particular group. It is unfortunate that Christians seek to judge an entire group of people by the lowest common denominator. It is the product of centuries of misinformation not to mention the current trend in the media such as we see in movies about the life of Christ where all Jews are vilified as the villains of the New Testament. I'm sure that is true....The problem is the the Bible only records for Christians, Jesus' words and feelings towards the Pharisees of His day that were practicing hypocrisy in self righteousness... In the historical sense, yes they we Jews but I tend to look at some things in the spiritual sense of of the meaning...People who strain gnats and swallow camels, regaurdless of their racial back ground.... I know you will disagree with my view point, but that is how I view it... Even though you see it as 'Pharisee' = 'Jew'.... Not everyone else equates it in those terms... It is not always as personal as you feel it is... God declared us ALL unrighteous sinners.... Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Rom 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Rom 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Rom 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: Rom 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: Rom 3:17 And the way of peace have they not known: Rom 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. Like I said, all Christians have to go by biblically, is the Lord's words, so even a goodwilled, honest Christian could come to the conclusion that He was, historically, referring to the majority (atleast in the area He was in) and could easily be mistaken, if it is a mistake.... I don't believe we can in all honestly, claim as a matter of fact either way... But, is there any scriptures to support that fact? Quote............... Fausset Pharisees From perishin Aramaic, perashim, "separated." To which Paul alludes, Rom_1:1; Gal_1:15, "separated unto the gospel of God"; once "separated" unto legal self righteousness. In contrast to "mingling" with Grecian and other heathen customs, which Antiochus Epiphanes partially effected, breaking down the barrier of God's law which separated Israel from pagandom, however refined. The Pharisees were successors of the Assideans or Chasidim, i.e. godly men "voluntarily devoted unto the law." On the return from Babylon the Jews became more exclusive than ever. In Antiochus' time this narrowness became intensified in opposition to the rationalistic compromises of many. The Sadducees succeeded to the latter, the Pharisees to the former (1Ma_1:13-15; 1Ma_1:41-49; 1Ma_1:62-63; 1Ma_2:42; 1Ma_7:13-17; 2Ma_14:6-38). They "resolved fully not to eat any unclean thing, choosing rather to die that they might not be defiled: and profame the holy covenant." in opposition to the Hellenizing faction. So the beginning of the Pharisees was patriotism and faithfulness to the covenant. Jesus, the meek and loving One, so wholly free from harsh judgments, denounces with unusual severity their hypocrisy as a class. (Mat_15:7-8; Mat_23:5; Mat_23:13-33), their ostentatious phylacteries and hems, their real love of preeminence; their pretended long prayers, while covetously defrauding the widow. They by their "traditions" made God's word of none effect; opposed bitterly the Lord Jesus, compassed His death, provoking Him to some "hasty words" (apostomatizein) which they might catch at and accuse Him; and hired Judas to betray Him; "strained out gnats, while swallowing camels" (image from filtrating wine); painfully punctilious about legal trifles and casuistries, while reckless of truth, righteousness, and the fear of God; cleansing the exterior man while full of iniquity within, like "whited sepulchres" (Mar_7:6-13; Luk_11:42-44; Luk_11:53-54; Luk_16:14-15); lading men with grievous burdens, while themselves not touching them with one of their fingers. (See CORBAN.) Paul's remembrance of his former bondage as a rigid Pharisee produced that reaction in his mind, upon his embracing the gospel, that led to his uncompromising maintenance, under the Spirit of God, of Christian liberty and justification by faith only, in opposition to the yoke of ceremonialism and the righteousness which is of the law (Galatians 4; 5). The Mishna or "second law," the first portion of the Talmud, is a digest of Jewish traditions and ritual, put in writing by rabbi Jehudah the Holy in the second century. The Gemara is a "supplement," or commentary on it; it is twofold, that of Jerusalem not later than the first half of the fourth century, and that of Babylon A.D. 500. The Mishna has six divisions (on seeds, feasts, women's marriage, etc., decreases and compacts, holy things, clean and unclean), and an introduction on blessings. Hillel and Shammai were leaders of two schools of the Pharisees, differing on slight points; the Mishna refers to both (living before Christ) and to Hillel's grandson, Paul's' teacher, Gamaliel. An undesigned coincidence confirming genuineness is the fact that throughout the Gospels hostility to Christianity shows itself mainly from the Pharisees; but throughout Acts from the Sadducees. Doubtless because after Christ's resurrection the resurrection of the dead was a leading doctrine of Christians, which it was not before (Mar_9:10; Act_1:22; Act_2:32; Act_4:10; Act_5:31; Act_10:40). The Pharisees therefore regarded Christians in this as their allies against the Sadducees, and so the less opposed Christianity (Joh_11:57; Joh_18:3; Act_4:1; Act_5:17; Act_23:6-9). The Mishna lays down the fundamental principle of the Pharisees. "Moses received the oral law from Sinai, and delivered it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and these to the prophets, and these to the men of the great synagogue" (Pirke Aboth ("The Sayings of the [Jewish] Fathers"), 1). The absence of directions for prayer, and of mention of a future life, in the Pentateuch probably gave a pretext for the figment of a traditional oral law. The great synagogue said, "make a fence for the law," i.e. carry the prohibitions beyond the written law to protect men from temptations to sin; so Exo_23:19 was by oral law made further to mean that no flesh was to be mixed with milk for food. The oral law defined the time before which in the evening a Jew must repeat the Shema, i.e. "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord," etc. (Deu_6:4-9.) So it defines the kind of wick and oil to be used for lighting the lamps which every Jew must burn on the Sabbath eve. An egg laid on a festival may be eaten according to the school of Shammai, but not according to that of Hillel; for Jehovah says in Exo_16:5, "on the sixth day they shall prepare that which, they bring in," therefore one must not prepare for the Sabbath on a feast day nor for a feast day on the Sabbath. An egg laid on a feast following the Sabbath was "prepared" the day before, and so involves a breach of the Sabbath (!); and though all feasts do not immediately follow the Sabbath yet "as a fence to the law" an egg laid on any feast must not be eaten. Contrast Mic_6:8. A member of the society of Pharisees was called chaber; those not members were called "the people of the land"; compare Joh_7:49, "this people who knoweth not the law are cursed"; also the Pharisee standing and praying with himself, self righteous and despising the publican (Luk_18:9-14). Isaiah (Isa_65:5) foretells their characteristic formalism, pride of sanctimony, and hypocritical exclusiveness (Jud_1:18). Their scrupulous tithing (Mat_23:23; Luk_18:12) was based on the Mishna, "he who undertakes to be trustworthy (a pharisaic phrase) tithes whatever he eats, sells, buys, and does not eat and drink with the people of the land." The produce (tithes) reserved for the Levites and priests was "holy," and for anyone. else to eat it was deadly sin. So the Pharisee took all pains to know that his purchases had been duly tithed, and therefore shrank from "eating with" (Mat_9:11) those whose food might not be so. The treatise Cholin in the Mishna lays down a regulation as to "clean and unclean" (Lev_20:25; Lev_22:4-7; Num_19:20) which severs the Jews socially from other peoples; "anything slaughtered by a pagan is unfit to be eaten, like the carcass of an animal that died of itself, and pollutes him who carries it." An orthodox Jew still may not eat meat of any animal unless killed by a Jewish butcher; the latter searches for a blemish, and attaches to the approved a leaden seal stamped kashar, "lawful." (Disraeli, Genius. of Judaism.) The Mishna abounds in precepts illustrating Col_2:21, "touch not, taste not, handle not" (contrast Mat_15:11). Also it (6:480) has a separate treatise on washing of hands (Yadayim). Translated Mar_7:8, "except they wash their hands with the fist" (pugmee); the Mishna ordaining to pour water over the dosed hands raised so that it should flow down to the elbows, and then over the arms so as to flow over the fingers. Jesus, to confute the notion of its having moral value, did not wash before eating (Luk_11:37-40). Josephus (Ant. 18:1, section 3, 13:10, section 5) says the Pharisees lived frugally, like the Stoics, and hence had so much weight with the multitude that if they said aught against the king or the high-priest it was immediately believed, whereas the Sadducees could gain only the rich. The defect in the Pharisees which Christ stigmatized by the parable of the two debtors was not immorality but want of love, from unconsciousness of forgiveness or of the need of it. Christ recognizes Simon's superiority to the woman in the relative amounts of sin needing forgiveness, but shows both were on a level in inability to cancel their sin as a debt. Had he realized this, he would not have thought Jesus no prophet for suffering her to touch Him with her kisses of adoring love for His forgiveness of her, realized by her (Luk_7:36-50; Luk_15:2). Tradition set aside moral duties, as a child's to his parents by" Corban"; a debtor's to his creditors by the Mishna treatise, Avodah Zarah (1:1) which forbade payment to a pagan three days before any pagan festival; a man's duty of humanity to his fellow man by the Avodah Zarah (2:1) which forbids a Hebrew midwife assisting a pagan mother in childbirth (contrast Lev_19:18; Luk_10:27-29). Juvenal (14:102-104) alleges a Jew would not show the road or a spring to a traveler of a different creed. Josephus (B.J. 2:8, section 14; 3:8, section 5; Ant. 18:1, section 3) says: "the Pharisees say that the soul of good men only passes over into another body, while the soul of bad men is chastised by eternal punishment." Compare Mat_14:2; Joh_9:2, "who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" compare Joh_9:34, "thou wast altogether born in sins." The rabbis believed in the pre-existence of souls. The Jews' question merely took for granted that some sin had caused the blindness, without defining whose sin, "this man" or (as that is out of the question) "his parents." Paul: regarded the Pharisees as holding our view of the resurrection of the dead (Act_23:6-8). The phrase "the world to come" (Mar_10:30; Luk_18:30; compare Isa_65:17-22; Isa_26:19) often occurs in the Mishna (Avoth, 2:7; 4:16): this world may be likened to a courtyard in comparison of the world to come, therefore prepare thyself in the antechamber that thou mayest enter into the dining room"; "those born are doomed to die, the dead to live, and the quick to be judged," etc. (3:16) But the actions to be so judged were in reference to the ceremonial points as much as the moral duties. The Essenes apparently recognized Providence as overruling everything (Mat_6:25-34; Mat_10:29-30). The Sadducees, the wealthy aristocrats, originally in political and practical dealings with the Syrians relied more on worldly prudence, the Pharisees more insisted on considerations of legal righteousness, leaving events to God. The Pharisees were notorious for proselytizing zeal (Mat_23:15), and seem to have been the first who regularly organized missions for conversions (compare Josephus, Ant. 20:2, section 3): The synagogues in the various cities of the world, as well as of Judaea, were thus by the proselytizing spirit of the Pharisees imbued with a thirst for inquiry, and were prepared for the gospel ministered by the apostles, and especially Paul, a Hebrew in race, a Pharisee by training, a Greek in language, and a Roman citizen in birth and privilege. In many respects their doctrine was right, so that Christ desires conformity to their precepts as from "Moses' seat," but not to their practice (Mat_23:2-3). But while pressing the letter of the law they ignored the spirit (Mat_5:21-22; Mat_5:27; Mat_5:38; Mat_5:31-32). Among even the Pharisees some accepted the truth, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, and Joh_12:42 and Act_15:5. End quote.............

I have always believed that Ezek. 34 was a prophecy that would find it's anti-type fulfillment in the days of Christ's first and second comings..... That is my understanding of the reason that Christ came when He did because the majority of the teachers were false shepherds, eating the fat while starving the flock.... Pretend shepherds, only using the flock to feed themselves and dress themselves up well(clothing/positions), while neglecting the hungry, the diseased, the sick/broken, and the lost strays which were left valnerable to prey... Eze 34:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. Eze 34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. Eze 34:5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. Eze 34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Eze 34:7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Eze 34:8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; Eze 34:9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Eze 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. Eze 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. Eze 34:12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. Eze 34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. Eze 34:14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. Eze 34:15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. Eze 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. Eze 34:17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Eze 34:18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? Eze 34:19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Eze 34:21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. Eze 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd And again it may also depend on one's defination of hypocrisy........another example is...Mar 12:14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Mar 12:15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. .....These were pretending outwardly that they believed and respected who He was in front of the crowd, while inside and privitely, they were only looking to snare Him in a trap... Webster... Hypocrisy HYPOC'RISY, n. [L. hypocrisis; Gr. simulation; to feign; to separate, discern or judge.] 1. Simulation; a feigning to be what one is not; or dissimulation, a concealment of one's real character or motives. More generally, hypocrisy is simulation, or the assuming of a false appearance of virtue or religion; a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion. Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke 12. 2. Simulation; deceitful appearance; false pretence. Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy. Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,

David, I can honestly say that I have both enjoyed and agree 100% with the last 4 of your responses on justification.... Blessings, Michelle

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Below are a few quotes explaining saving faith and Justification as I understand it.... Quote.......... Justification begins the Christian life when one comes to repentant faith in Christ as Lord and Savior...It is an event... Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1 NAS95) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (Romans 5:9 NAS95) Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11 NAS95) This is when one passes from death to life...now no condemnation since they are justified. "Justified" and "Condemned" are opposites. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24 KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1 KJV) No place in scripture is justification a process. It is a time where one is married to Christ and become dead to the law and the penalties that the law imposes... Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (Romans 7:1-4 KJV) Therefore...no longer in our sins and sin is not imputed to us... Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (Romans 4:8 KJV) Justification is a past event when the believer died in Christ and was raised to newness of life. Sanctification is a progressive process that takes place throughout the life of the Christian...glorification ultimately takes place when one dies and is with Christ... We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV) Those who are justified WILL be glorified. There is no place in scripture where a progressive justification is taught. It is a point where one repents...turns to Christ as Lord and Savior...and renounces any works of self-righteousness as if one can earn the favor of God by keeping the law and, is by faith alone. end quote............ Below are quotes from: Justification and Sanctification: The Theological and Practical relationship Between the Two Doctrines by Jason Dulle Quote........................ The Need For Justification Our understanding of the justification is highly dependent on our understanding of God and the nature of sin. Before we can truly examine the doctrine of justification, we must first understand the human need for God's justification as it pertains to God's holiness and man's sinfulness. God is a holy and just God, who cannot tolerate sin (Leviticus 11:45; Deuteronomy 32:4; II Kings 23:26; Isaiah 30:27-31; Lamentations 3:42). His holiness sets the standard of the law, while his justness demands that His law be obeyed. If His law is not obeyed, punishment must be meted out. God cannot excuse evil because such an action would be tantamount to the approval of evil, which is contrary to His holy character. In order to preserve justice from being mocked, our sin must be objectively punished. God cannot simply change our verdict from "Guilty" to "Not guilty."5 God's law is not some arbitrary list of do's and don'ts that are inflicted upon people for law's sake. Gods zeal for His law is due to the nature of the Lawgiver. He does not simply decide to approve this and condemn that. Rather Gods law flows from His nature. It is a portrait of His person. When we obey Gods law, we are not merely keeping a code of conduct, but relating to God Himself. The law has no inherent value or dignity apart from God. When we keep or break Gods law we are relating to God Himself.6 Sin is not merely the breaking of a law, but transgressing against the very nature of God, thus creating a personal attack on God Himself.7 Breaking Gods law, then, hinders the relationship between us and Him. Because of Adams sin in the Garden of Eden, mankind is in a place of spiritual separation from God. As a result of Adam, all of mankind is in a state of spiritual death, condemnation, and judgment (Romans 5:12-21). Isaiah testified that our iniquities have separated us from God, and our sins cause Him to hide His face from us (Isaiah 59:2). Paul demonstrated the utter sinfulness of all men, declaring that there are none who are righteous who will seek after God, but all men have turned aside from Him (Romans 3:1-12). The natural result of our spiritual state is death (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3). The only deliverance from this condition is the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-10). Apart from Gods manifestation of love in Christs death, the only manifestation of God we would expect from God is the manifestation of His wrath. In order to avoid this wrath of God, our relationship with God must be changed. We have a need to be reconciled to God, i.e. brought back into a right relationship with God that we lost in Adam. Nature of Justification Justification involves a change in our status and relationship with God. There is both a forensic pronouncement of God's righteousness on the believer which changes his status before God and His Law, and a relational change between God and the believer. From the forensic perspective justification is a divine acquittal from the guilt of sin. The Pauline concept of justification is characteristically forensic in nature. Paul depicts sinners as those who have not lived up to the standards of God's law, and are therefore subject to the Judge's holy and just wrath. In justification God changes the believer's status before God and His Law from guilty to innocent. The believer is justified in the sight of the Law. They are no longer the objects of God's wrath, but the recipient of a right-standing before the law. God's righteousness is an alien righteousness imputed to the believer, not imparted. It is an external righteousness, not an internal righteousness. God imputes to us Christ's righteousness, thus our righteousness is something which happens outside of us.8 It cannot be gained by any external human work, however. It does not come from an external obedience to a set of laws, but by faith in Christ. Paul declared his desire to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, which came by the law, but the righteousness which comes from God and is received by faith (Philippians 3:9). Such a righteousness is not an inherent righteousness earned by the saint, but an alien righteousness that is credited to our account. Justification is something which we obtain, not something which we must attain. It is a past, completed reality. We do not strive to continue to be justified. God has made a legal pronouncement of innocence on our behalf. Justification is a declaration of the Christian's righteousness, not the process of becoming righteous. It speaks of our status before God, not our nature.9 According to Paul, God justifies the ungodly: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:6, 8-10). This Pauline concept is in stark contrast to the Jewish concept of justification. To the Jew one would be justified if at the end of his life his good works were more numerous than his evil works. Paul's insistence that God justifies the ungodly would have been quite shocking to his Jewish audience. It would seem that the guilty should get what they deserve, i.e. wrath. Instead, God declares the ungodly to be innocent of their ungodly deeds through their faith in Christ's work on their behalf. Paul, to defend God's justness in acquitting the guilty, argued that one can never be justified on the basis of their good works because all humanity's works are imperfect (Romans 3:9-18). Neither can humanity be acquitted based on the obedience to certain laws, because law serves to define sin and guilt (Romans 3:19-20). God's righteousness comes apart from law, through faith in Christ's atoning death (Romans 3:21-22, 24). It is Christ's atonement which allows God to be just in forgiving the sins of the ungodly. God made Christ a propitiation for sin (Romans 3:25). The Greek word for "propitiation," hilasterios, means "the place of atonement." The propitiation was the God-man. Christ turned away God's wrath from humanity, appeasing his holy and just anger against sin. Having dealt with the legal and just punishment for sin, in Christ, God was shown to be just in declaring the ungodly to be righteous through their faith (Romans 3:26). Earlier it was noted that the Biblical concept of righteousness is not merely forensic in nature, but pertains to meeting the demands of a relationship between two parties. Part of the work of justification, then, involves the rectification of a personal relationship with God.10 Our sins have separated us from this fellowship, but His righteousness is given to us so that we can once again have communion together. Justification is that which establishes our relationship with God. It gives us an assurance of our acceptance before Him. Being justified we do not need to wonder if God has rejected us because of our evil works. We know that God accepts Christ and His works, and by virtue of our union with Christ He accepts us also. In Romans 4:1-8 Paul emulated two OT characters to explain the nature of justifying faith: Abraham, David. Abraham believed God and He credited (logizomai) it to Abraham for righteousness (Romans 4:3; c.f. Genesis 15:6). This righteousness was not gained by human works, but by God's grace: "Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:4-5). Only when we cease working for our justification can we truly receive justification. Paul made a similar point when speaking of the reason the Jews did not attain to righteousness, but the Gentiles did. He said the reason was "because they [Jews] did not seek it by faith, but by the works of the law" (Romans 9:32). David also described the kind of righteousness which God imputes to people apart from law observance (Romans 4:6). He said, "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Romans 4:7-8; Psalm 32:1-2). Justification, then, involves both a positive and negative aspect. Negatively God does not hold our sin against us, but forgives us from our wrong-doing. Positively God imputes Christ's righteousness to our account. Romans 10:1-4 also elucidates to us the nature of justification. Paul speaks of a lack of faith on the part of Israel. They had a zeal for God and wanted to be holy before Him, but their understanding of the relationship between faith and works was misconstrued. They were ignorant of the righteousness that God gives by faith in Him, and thus they went about trying to establish their own righteousness. This righteousness was based on strict law-keeping. In doing so, they failed to submit to the righteousness of God. They were very righteous in terms of moral conduct, but they did not attain to God's righteousness because their faith was in their conduct rather than in God Himself. There have been two primary and competing views of justification: Catholic, Protestant. These two views will be explained, compared, and contrasted below. Catholic View The Catholic view of justification is derived primarily from Augustine. Augustine, not knowing Hebrew or Greek, only had the Latin translation at his disposal. The Latin term for the Greek root dikaio is iustifacare. This is a compound word from iustus=righteous, and facare=to do or to make. Augustine took the word at face value and falsely concluded that it meant "to make righteous." Catholics see justification as beginning at baptism and being fully given by means of the sacraments throughout one's life, and one's good works. To the Catholic, righteousness is intrinsic (imparted) to the believer. Good works are not motivated by the self, but by Holy Spirit. The Catholic conception of justification contains both the Protestant understanding of justification and sanctification combined together. Although justification is seen to be contingent upon, and merited by good works, Catholic theology does not believe that God is obligated to reward good works (condign merit), but rather that it is appropriate for Him to do so (congruous merit). Protestant View The Catholic view of justification reigned supreme until the fall of Constantinople in A.D. 1453. It was at this time that the Greek monks fled from the East for the West, bringing hundreds of Greek texts with them. This was the time of the Renaissance in which the cry of the scholars was ad fontus, i.e. back to the sources. As Greek and Hebrew revived their importance in the West, students of the Bible were able to read the Bible in its original languages for the first time. It then became evident that Augustine misunderstood the Biblical concept of righteousness and justification. The Hebrew saddiq and Greek root dikaio did not mean "to make righteous," but "to consider one to be right." This discovery was part of the catalyst for the Reformation movement which would change the course of history some sixty years later. The Protestant view of justification, derived from Hebraic and Greek terminology, is that the sinner is considered to be righteous based on the substitutionary death of Christ. Christ's righteousness is counted as though it was the believer's righteousness. In this view justification is external to the believer, being a mere legal pronouncement of a right relationship with God. The believer's righteousness is an alien righteousness, i.e. it does arise from within the believer, but is external to him. The believer is not made righteous in justification, but has Christ's righteousness imputed to his/her account as though it was truly his/hers. The internal aspect of salvation is left to the work of regeneration and sanctification, being conceptually distinct from justification. One of the hallmarks of Protestant orthodoxy was Luther's teaching that the believer was simul iustus et peccator, or righteous and a sinner at one and the same time. Because the believer's righteousness is not an inherent righteousness, or an ethical righteousness, but an external pronouncement of God's approval of the sinner which brings Him into a right relationship to God, the sinner remains a sinner. At the same time, however, because the sinner is also justified in the sight of God, he is also a saint. The believer is not made righteous, so will still struggle with his sinful nature. Believers are both sinners and saints simultaneously. Compared/Contrasted The Catholic and Protestant conceptions of justification have many differences, but also have some similarities. Both believe that justification is provided by God, and based solely on the substitutionary death of Christ. Where they disagree is on how righteousness is appropriated to the believer (means of conferral). Catholics see righteousness as an inherent possession of the believer, while Protestants understand justification to be an external legal pronouncement of God on the believer which has no bearing on the nature of his spirit. In Protestant thought righteousness is imputed, not imparted; alien, not internal (Philippians 3:9). Catholics see God accepting them because He sees righteousness in them. Protestants see God accepting them because He sees Christ's righteousness in them. Christ's righteousness is considered theirs, and God sees them as He sees Christ. While many of the differences between Catholics and Protestants were genuine conceptual differences, some were the result of misunderstanding the language both parties were using. Alister McGrath explains this saying: It will therefore be obvious that the Roman Catholic understands by "justification" what the Protestant understands by "justification" and "sanctification" linked together. The same word is used by bothbut it has a different meaning in each case. This has led to enormous confusion. Consider the following two statements. A.We are justified by faith alone. B.We are justified by faith and works. For the Protestant, statement A means that the Christian life is begun through faith, and faith alone. For the Roman Catholic, howeverstatement A means that the Christian life as a whole is begun and continued by faith alone, which seems to exclude any reference to regeneration or obedience. For the Roman Catholic, statement B means that the Christian life is begun in faith, but is continued and developed through obedience and good works. But the Protestantwho understands "justification" to refer only to the beginning of the Christian lifewould regard this as a totally unacceptable doctrine of justification by works. In fact, there is general agreement between Protestant and Roman Catholic that the Christian life is begun through faith and continued and developed through obedience and good works.11 Both Catholics and Protestants are in agreement that justification is something that God does for us. It is not something that can be earned or merited apart from God's grace and motivating power within us. It is the nature of this justification and the means by which one receives Christ's righteousness which continues to be disagreed on. Basis and Means of Justification How is it that a believer is justified? When a person is acquitted by the law, he is acquitted on certain grounds and in a certain manner. What is the basis of the Christian's acquittal from sin? Romans 3:19-25 is the most definitive passage on this subject. Here it will be seen that the source of our justification is God's grace; the grounds of our justification is Christ's sacrificial death; and we receive justification by means of faith. Our justification has its origin in nothing other than the grace of God. It does not flow from any good work of our own, but from His favor towards us. We are "justified freely by his grace" (Romans 3:24). The grounds of our justification is none other than the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. We are justified by God's grace "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). Without Christ's sacrificial death on our behalf there would be no justification for humanity. We are justified by His blood (Romans 5:9). Jesus' sinless life, freely given up in death on our behalf, provided the basis for our righteousness with God. Now, whether one stands before or after the cross, the basis for their justification is secure and God is shown to be righteous because He visited on sin the judgment it deserved. While the grounds of our justification is Christ's death, and the source is God's grace, God's justification judicially becomes ours through our faith. It must not be conceived that God justifies us because of our faith in Him. He justifies us by means of our faith. The difference between these two phrases may seem to be a mere striving over words, but the conceptual difference between the two is as stark as night and day. The former teaches that faith is a work of man that God rewards. God looks at the faith that we have mustered up and justifies us accordingly. This is a distortion of the Biblical idea of saving faith. God does not reward our decision to believe, or accept us on the basis of our faith. Faith is a gift of God's grace. Biblically speaking, justifying faith is passive, not active in nature. Justifying faith does not do anything, but passively accepts what Christ has done for us. We are not justified on account of our faith, but by means of our faith. To believe in the former is to make faith the grounds of our justification, rather than Christ and His atoning work at Calvary. For justification we simply believe what God has done for us, and receive Christ's righteousness. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. This justification did not come because Abraham believed, but was received through his faith (Romans 4:1-5). It can be said, then, that our justification is "by faith on account of Christ," not "on account of faith through Christ."12 The idea of accepting what Christ did for us by faith is at the heart of our justification. True faith in Christ is an acceptance of His work on our behalf. If we are to receive Jesus' righteousness we must renounce any confidence in our righteousness and rely entirely upon the perfect righteousness and death of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Renouncing and relying are the two aspects of justifying faith. Paul was very clear that our righteousness does not come via obedience to the Law of Moses, but by faith in Christ. In Galatians he boldly declared, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, even as we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faithfulness of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Galatians 2:16; See also 3:11). The Law could not give eternal life or right-standing with God. If it could, then righteousness would have come through the Law (Galatians 3:21). Instead, the Scripture has concluded that everyone is a sinner and stands in need of Christ. Christ's promises are only given to them who have faith (v. 22). Paul's argument in Romans is very persuasive. After demonstrating that all men are sinners (Romans 1:13:18) Paul argued that the Law serves to define sinners as who they are, thus bringing them condemnation. The Law serves to demonstrate the guilt and sin of every man (Romans 3:19-20), and is unable to justify humanity before a holy God (v. 20). God's righteousness was demonstrated apart from the Law (v. 22), based on Christ's atoning death, and faith in Him (vs. 24-26). This being so, Paul concluded "that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:28). Law only serves to define us as sinners and separate us from fellowship with a holy God. Faith is superior to Law because only faith can bring us into a right relationship to God. Justified "In Christ" Justification is a changing of our relationship with God. We receive a new position or status before Him. All of humanity has one of two positions in the sight of God. They are either unrighteous or righteous; condemned or justified; guilty or innocent. Which position one stands in before the sight of God is determined by their relationship with one of two individuals. Those who are in Adam are the unrighteous, condemned, and guilty, and thus have spiritual death working in them. Those who are in Christ are those who are the righteous, justified, and innocent, which have spiritual life working in them. It is by virtue of being in Christ that we are declared righteous. He has become "to us God's righteousness (I Corinthians 1:30). We are the righteousness of God in Christ (II Corinthians 5:21). This change of our status before God happens by virtue of our connection with the righteous Christ. When we are united with Christ we receive whatever is Christ's, and are considered to have performed what Christ performed. Whatever can be said of Christ can be said of us. Because Christ's work and merit is accrued to us by virtue of our being in Christ, God sees us as He sees Christ. He no longer sees us in Adam, or even in our own personal sin, but in Christ's righteousness and life. By virtue of our union with Christ we have been made acceptable to God, and can now rest in this fact. In Romans 5:12-21 Paul argued that through Adam's sin humanity experienced spiritual death (5:12). Although the many died through Adam's transgression, the many also had the grace and gift of God multiplied to them through Christ (5:15). Whereas Adam brought the human race into a position of judgment, condemnation, and death, Christ brought to us justification, righteousness, and spiritual life (5:16-17). Just as Adam's one transgression brought all of humanity into a place of condemnation before God, so through Christ's one righteous act at Calvary He brought spiritual life for all people (5:18). Through Adam all were made sinners, and his sin reigned in death over all, but through Christ grace reigns through righteousness, and many will be made righteous (5:19, 21). Christ's obedience secured righteousness and eternal life for all of those who would put their faith in Him. When we are born into Christ we become legally one with Christ in God's sight, partaking of Christ's obedience. All our responsibilities rest upon Him and all of His merit is accrued to us. Just as Adam's sin is charged to us without us having actually committed it in the flesh, so Christ's righteousness is as much ours as had we performed it ourselves. It is as though we were the ones who died on the cross. God sees the believer in Christ's merit, not one's own merit. This is so eloquently stated in II Corinthians 5:21 where Paul said, "For he made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Jesus takes our sin upon Himself even though He did not commit the sin, while we take His righteousness upon ourselves even though we did not perform it. God accepts us, not for who we are or what we have done or abstained from doing, but for who Christ is and our relationship with Him. Our justification is not based off of our goodness, but our relationship to Christ and His meritous righteousness. Now we live from our approval by God, not for approval from the same. Eschatological Aspects of Justification Justification is threefold in that the Bible speaks of it as having already occurred, as though it is presently occurring, and a future time at which we will be justified (glorification). It is a past event, a present reality, and a future hope. Our justification happened historically when we initially trusted in Christ's atonement for our sins and applied it to our lives (I Corinthians 6:11). Based on the historical reality of justification Paul declared that we have already been saved from God's wrath, and have a subsequent peace with God (Romans 5:1, 9). In one sense justification is a completed reality. God continues to count us as righteous in the present, atoning for our current sins (Romans 3:26). Our justification is not forfeited when we sin. We remain in a right standing with God because of our union with Christ and His righteousness. Although God is displeased with our sin, all we must do to maintain a right relationship with God is repent of that sin which displeased Him. It is in this way that we continue to show our faith in God. It is this kind of faith that justifies. Our repentance does not earn us justification, but rather gives evidence of our faith in God's ability and purpose to forgive us (I John 1:9). There is also a future aspect of justification. There is coming a day when we will be made righteous in our very nature. This will occur at our glorification (Romans 5:19; Galatians 5:5). Paul had this future acquittal of the believer in mind when he said, "Who will lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, and furthermore was raised again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us" (Romans 8:33-34). These three aspects of justification provide for the whole spectrum of our lives. We need not worry about our standing with God. We are the righteousness of God in Christ. What was so startling to Jews about the NT concept of justification is that it does not limit justification to the future, but speaks of it as a past and present reality. The Jews, understanding the eschatological aspect of justification to it to such an extent that they believed that one is not justified in this life, but only in the life to come. If one's good deeds outweighed their bad deeds at the end of their life, God would pronounce them just. Paul's theology changed the Jewish believers' conception of justification by moving it from a strictly futuristic verdict to a present reality. What God does with us, then, is pronounce us as just during this life, before the judgment. He imputes to us presently the status that we will enjoy eschatologically, as though it were already an objective reality. We are now enjoying the status which God has ordained for us in the future. Ladd explained this Pauline emphasis in the following manner: An essential element in the salvation of the future age is the divine acquittal and the pronouncement of righteousness; this acquittal, justification, which consists of the divine absolution of sin, has already been effected by the death of Christ and may be received by faith here and now. The future judgment has thus become essentially a present experience. God in Christ has acquitted the believer; therefore he or she is certain of deliverance from the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9) and no longer stands under condemnation (Rom. 8:1).13 The triune eschatological nature of justification is one of the primary differences between the Catholic and Protestant conception of justification. Protestants look back on the verdict as a completed historical reality (while recognizing the past and present aspects as well) while Catholics look forward to the completion of justification in the future, with a certain lack of security of their standing before God in this present life. Paul and James on Justification Some see a contradiction between Paul and James on the teaching of justification. Paul emphatically taught that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law while James argued that a man is justified by faith and works (James 2:14-26). Luther is such an individual who saw the two prophets' teachings to be in opposition. Insisting that Paul's view was correct, Luther belittled James's epistle, calling it an 'epistle of straw.' Such an approach to the two authors is not necessary. When the literary context of each other is examined it can be demonstrated that there is no contradiction. The key to understanding these two seemingly contradictory authors is to understand how each uses the terms justified, faith, and works. These words must be defined by their respective contexts. PAUL Faith = genuine faith and reliance upon God for salvation. Works = works apart from faith that one believes are able to, or help save him. Justified = declared righteous by God because of your trust in Him for salvation. JAMES Faith = mental assent that could fail to affect ones actions. Works = works that can only be done through faith, which attest to genuine faith. Justified = shown to be righteous as evidenced by your actions.14 Paul emphasized that we are saved by faith in Jesus, and not by our good works. James emphasized that the kind of faith that results in salvation will necessarily produce works that show evidence of that faith. Paul was concerned about people adding anything to faith that they believe is meritous for their salvation. James was concerned about people professing to have faith which is not really faith at all, but rather a lifeless mental-assent to Christ. It seems that James was attacking a distortion of Paul's teaching on justification, wherein faith is some dead orthodoxy with no corresponding behavioral changes. Even Paul found it necessary to fight against this distortion of his teaching on justification (Romans 3:8; 6:1, 15). James pointed out that if a person has genuine salvific faith, works will follow after him showing evidence of that faith. Abraham really did believe God, and his works evidenced that fact. If Abraham would have refused to offer Isaac upon the altar, it would have demonstrated a lack of faith in God's promises to him (James 2:21-24). Justification is Not Legal Fiction Some argue against forensic justification on the basis that such a "justification" is nothing more than legal fiction. Such an argument misunderstands the basis of our justification, and the nature of our righteousness. Surely God did not pardon us of our sins, but rather justified us from our sins. The difference is that a pardon bypasses justice, but justification involves meeting the demands of the law for sin. If justification was based on the works of man then truly we could say that God's pronouncement of us as righteousness is a false and misleading pronouncement, because we are not righteous in and of ourselves. But God's forgiveness in justification is based on the redemption of Christ. Christ paid for the penalty of sins. Justice has not been bypassed, but has met by Christ's willing sacrifice of Himself in our stead for our sins. Jesus bore our judgment at Calvary so we can be righteous in God's sight. In Christ, God's wrath against sin has been appeased, turning away the wrath we should have borne. When God declares us to be righteous, He is not calling us something we really are not. He declares us righteous upon the real, accomplished righteousness of Jesus, which has been credited to our account by faith in Him. The second reason one may view the Protestant concept of justification as legal fiction is because they confuse justification as an ethical quality rather than a legal pronouncement of God on the sinner. Second Corinthians 5:21 teaches us that God made Christ to be sin for us, even though He did not know sin, so that we could be made the righteousness of God in Christ. God did not just treat Christ as if He was a sinner (ethically), but made Him to be sin for us forensically. Likewise, then, God does not merely treat us as though we were righteous, but makes us righteous in terms of our relationship with God (forensically).15 This is no legal fiction, but a legal righteousness. We are not given an ethical righteousness anymore than Christ was made an ethical sinner. The righteousness we receive in justification is not an ethical quality, but a forensic pronouncement on the sinner because of his faith in Christ and His righteousness. Ethical righteousness comes via sanctification, not justification. When the Doctrine of Justification is Lost The average Christian is often ignorant of, misunderstands, or does not live out the doctrine of justification on a daily, practical level. Many who do understand the doctrine do not see a practical need for it to be lived out on a daily basis because they have minimized God's utter holiness and the severity of human sinfulness, or because their commitment to the doctrine is in intellectual profession only. While they confess to believe the doctrine, on the daily level they rely on their level of sanctification to inform their position before God, drawing their assurance of God's acceptance of them from their sincerity, past experiences, or relatively good obedience record.16 Relying on human achievement causes difficulty in regards to the human conscience which will not be pacified by these good works, continuing to cry out, "Guilty, guilty, guilty," realizing that even the best of our good works fall short of God's perfection. Without a thorough understanding and application of the doctrine of justification to our daily lives, the conscience will be forced into self-deception by either manufacturing a "fictitious righteousness in heroic works of ascetic piety," or by redefining "sin in shallow terms so that it can lose the consciousness of its presence."17 The only way to avoid such self-deception is to confess our utter sinfulness, God's utter holiness, and our need for His Spirit to save us, and make us righteous. End quote....................................................... http://www.apostolic.net/biblicalstudies/justsanct.htm Below was posted by a friend, Ferg Quote................ Justification is the judicial act of God, based on the work of Jesus Christ, which justly declares and treats the one who believes in Jesus Christ as righteous because they stand in the righteousness of Christ by imputation (our sin is imputed to Christ, and His righteousness is imputed to us). Justification is a judicial concept which relates to God as the righteous Judge of all the earth; Gen 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Deut 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. 2 Tim 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. The notable theologian Charles C. Ryrie had this to say; If God, the Judge, is without injustice and completely righteous in all His decisions, then how can He announce a sinner righteous? And sinners we all are. There are only three options open to God as sinners stand in His courtroom. He must condemn them, compromise His own righteousness to receive them as they are, or He can change them into righteous people. If He can exercise the third option, then He can announce them righteous, which is justification. But any righteousness the sinner has must be actual, not fictitious; real, not imagined; acceptable by Gods standards, and not a whit short. If this can be accomplished, then, and only then, can He justify. Job saw this apparent dilemma, and asked himself; Job 9:2 I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? The answer to Jobs question is found in Romans 4 in reference to Abraham; Rom 4:20-25 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. The word impute in Greek is logizomai meaning to pass to ones account. To understand Justification, we must understand the nature of imputation and righteousness. The righteousness which is from God is Christ; 1 Cor 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: God has revealed His righteousness even before the full revelation of the gospel. It is revealed in His Law, in His judgments against sin, in the preaching of the prophets, and in His blessings on the obedient. All these bear witness to the righteousness from God in the Old Testament sacrifices, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the prophecies, and the types. But though the Law could witness to Gods righteousness, it could never provide it for sinful man; Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: God is perfect in justice and holiness and therefore can show no favouritism. Since all have sinned and fallen short of His holiness, as the Judge, He must deal with our actual righteousness, which is as filthy rags; Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Justification is free to the believer, but it was not without cost. The price paid to redeem us from the power of sin and death was the substitutional death of Christ who alone could satisfy (propitiate) the holy character of God; Rom 3:24,25 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; When a believer receives Christ, he is spiritually placed in Christ, making him righteous. We are made the righteousness of God in Him. This righteousness alone measures up to all the demands of Gods holiness; 2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. God always remains perfectly consistent with Himself. He will not break His own Law nor contravene His own nature. God is love (1 John 4:8), and He is light (1 John 1:5). In his love, God wants to forgive sinners, but His holiness must judge sin and uphold His righteous character as witnessed in the Law. How can God be both just and the justifier of sinners? The answer is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus took the wrath of God upon Himself on the Cross for the sins of the world, fully meeting the demands of Gods holiness as required by the Law, and at this time, He also fully expressed the love of Gods heart. The justified sinner remains a sinner, and is not without personal sins, yet he is viewed as righteous by God and justly so because of the gift of Christs righteousness by imputation. The believer stands in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and his sins are not imputed to him, and furthermore Christs perfect righteousness is added to his account. Justification does not mean to make righteous. If it did, the believing sinner would have been made constitutionally righteous so he could not and would not sin. That condition occurs in our ultimate condition of sanctification at the resurrection, but for the present, we are imputed with the righteousness of Christ. Justification means that God accepts us and views us as perfectly righteous in Christ even though in our experience we will commit acts of sin or unrighteousness. The failure to understand this distinction has led many people into error, whereby they attempt to become righteous and acceptable before God on their own merit. Our acceptance before God can only come through the gift of Christs righteousness, and Justification can be by faith in Jesus Christ alone; Rom 3:19-25 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. The believer is righteous in Christ, and justified before God. Be blessed all. http://www.prophecytalk.com/index.php?topic=4512.msg75969 end quote..............

Many use their faith as if it were a meritorious, boastful work..this is a worthless unsaving, unrighteous faith!! It is not faith at all, it's unfaith!! Rom 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Only when faith is properly applied, does it have any value to justify we sinners before a holy God who requires PERFECTION!!... It is not our faith per se, that justifies us, but it is what we place our faith in....It is faith that Christ did for us what we could not do ourselves..fulfill the righteous demands of the law, perfectly... This is saving, justifing faith.. Quote from " The Doctrine of Justification" by Arthur Pink... chapter #7........ What is the precise place and influence which faith has in the important affair of justification? Romanist answer, It justifies us formally, not relatively: that is, upon the account of its own intrinsic value. They point out that faith is never alone, but

The law, (ministration of death and condemnation, written and engraved in stone, by God's own finger) was to be temporary as shown by the glory that faded from Moses' face....It was ADDED later to show that we sin. But it was only supposed to last until the coming of that descendant who was given the promise. Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 2Co 3:7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 2Co 3:8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 2Co 3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 2Co 3:10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 2Co 3:11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Joh 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Joh 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

This verse in context is speaking of the lack of value in Paul's race, nationality, or former religion and all it's rites in relation to being a son of God which can only come through Abraham's legitimate heir, Christ....By Faith alone.....Rom 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom 10:11 For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Gal 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Php 3:2 Watch out for those people who behave like dogs! They are evil and want to do more than just circumcise you.(concision, means, mere flesh cutters, mutilators) Php 3:3 But we are the ones who are truly circumcised, because we worship by the power of God's Spirit and take pride in Christ Jesus. We don't brag about what we have done, Php 3:4 although I could. Others may brag about themselves, but I have more reason to brag than anyone else. Php 3:5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old, and I am from the nation of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a true Hebrew. As a Pharisee, I strictly obeyed the Law of Moses. Php 3:6 And I was so eager that I even made trouble for the church. I did everything the Law demands in order to please God. Php 3:7 But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Php 3:8 Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ Php 3:9 and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. (CEV) Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. Gal 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? Gal 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which engendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. Gal 4:25 For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Rom 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Rom 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ooops....I have no comment on the subject of this thread...I only came in because I noticed that there was 6 replies but 0 viewers, several of the threads are reading that way...there must be something weird going on with the board... Carry on......sorry to bother ya's

Actually, Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world..What triggered it was the fall of man and his forfiting the earth...It started when Jesus our High Priest entered the True Holy of Holies in heaven and applied His blood to the heavenly altar.......But as Paul explains is in Gal.3, the covenant was 'CONFIRMED' in Christ 430 years before the law was 'ADDED' (The Mosaic covenant)....... Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Gal 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. Gal 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. Gal 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Gal 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be 'confirmed', no man' disannulleth', or 'addeth' thereto. Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was 'confirmed' before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot 'disannu'l, that it should make the promise of none effect. Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was 'added' because of transgressions, 'till' the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Gal 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. Gal 3:22 But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Gal 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these ARE the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which engendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. Gal 4:25 For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Gal 4:27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath a husband. Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

double post...

Amen tsth... It's all about Him...anything less is robbing God of His Glory.........Worthy is the Lamb!!!