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How to Overcome Temptation

image: overcome temptation at the bakery.
Temptation at the bakery!

Have you ever found yourself wanting to overcome a particular temptation or to improve yourself in one area or another? However, in the process you became confused about how to proceed or kept failing to reach your goal. You became discouraged, so you quit. There is encouragement in the Bible which I want to share with you. These lessons helped me when I was young and I hope my openness in sharing these with you will give you the encouragement you may need to overcome the sin you see in yourself. Continue reading

The Eighth Day: a day of sadness or a day of rejoicing?

Most of those who do recognize and keep the feasts of the LORD believe that the Eighth Day, which comes right after the Feast of Tabernacles, is a day of sadness and personal emotional restraint. Many speculative reasons are given for having this understanding. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. To find out why it’s a day of great rejoicing, read the article Eighth Day: a solemn assembly or a day of rejoicing?

The Fall of Man – Often repeated but . . .

The phrase is not found in the Bible. That’s because man didn’t fall from perfection or anything else; Adam was made from the dust of the earth, and Adam simply sinned when he disobeyed God. Adam was sent out to the east of the garden of Eden to till the ground; the same thing he did while in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:23,24). No falling mentioned. If the garden had been absolutely perfect, a Utopia, there would not have been a need for Adam to subdue, to till, and to maintain it (Gen 1:28; 2:5,15). The so-called “fall of man” (a.k.a, the fall of Adam) is just not there. Contrary to Joni Mitchell, God is not trying to get us back to the garden. The garden was just the starting point in God’s plan to bring mankind to perfection (Luke 6:40; John 17:23; Matt 5:48).

Millennium Will Be a Utopia – Often repeated but . . .

It is not found in the Bible. If the Millennium is going to be a perfect utopia with no problems whatsoever, then there is no need for Christ to rule; or to judge among the nations and rebuke many people (Is 2:4; Micah 4:3); or for the Church to be priests and rule with him making judgments (Ps 9:8; 67:4; 149:9; 1 Cor 6:3). Yes, during the Millennium the nations will not be allowed to make war, but there will still be problems to solve, disputes to settle, crimes (sins) to judge, decisions to execute. It’s most definitely going to be a whole lot better with Satan bound for a thousand years, but it won’t be a utopia.

Jesus Paid the Penalty for Our Sins

Often repeated but—

It is not found in the Bible. Because death is not the penalty for sin. As Paul clearly states in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.” And he says in 2 Thessalonians 1:9, “For these will be recompensed . . .”(Murdock). A recompense is the reward or payment for something done. Our paycheck at the end of the week is our just recompense for the work we have done, and death is the just recompense for the work that one does in the flesh—sin. As the Young’s Literal Translation of 2 Thessalonians 1:9 puts it, “who shall suffer justice . . .” (2 Pet 2:12,13) Death is what one reaps as a result of what has been sown (Gal 6:8); it is a stored up treasure (James 5:3). The false notion that YHWH needs some sort of payment for our sin shows a lack of understanding of the true nature of YHWH and His plan for mankind.

There is nothing one owns that one can give to YHWH in payment for anything, not even one’s life, because our life is not our own. YHWH owns our life. It is He who gives mankind everything. Everything already belongs to YHWH (Exod 19:5; Job 34:13-15; Ecc 12:7; Ps 50:10-13; Hag 2:7,8). We can rightly say the wages of sin is death, and Jesus paid the redemption price to free us from our bondage to sin, and Jesus’ blood provides forgiveness for sins (Rom 6:16 & 6:23; Heb 2:15 & 9:12; Eph 1:7; 2 Pet 2:15 (Murdock). But we cannot rightly say Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.