The power of a Spirit-filled life

The power of a Spirit-filled life

"Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned." (Mark 16:15-16) 

This is known as the Great Commission. In Acts 8, verse 5 and 12 we see how this commission was worked out through the preaching of Philip in Samaria:
"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ to them ... But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."
The Bible speaks about John baptizing in water, so according to the Great Commission,these people believed in Jesus, they were saved, they were water baptized but they never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8:14-17 we read: " Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen on none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost."
We can see from the scriptures that just because a person has believed (been born again - see John chapter 3), been water baptized and saved doesn't mean they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In John 20:22 we see that the Holy Spirit regenarated the disciples, but it was on the day of Pentecost that they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. The born-again experience and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are two seperate events. There might be a short time length between them, or there might be a longer period of time.
Someone may ask: "Why do I need the baptism of the Holy Spirit? I am a Christian and I am going to Heaven anyway".
Well, that's true and it is great, but what about your life here on earth? You see, even Jesus that was God in the flesh didn't start His ministry before the Holy Spirit came and rest upon Him. If Jesus needed the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need that? It is impossible to live a Christian life and be a strong witness to the rest of the world without the baptism (=empowerment) of the Holy Spirit. It is like trying to attack hell with a water pistol!
Being born again, you receive Jesus in your heart and His Spirit, the Holy Spirit lives in you: "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." (Rom 8:9) 
Your spirit and His Spirit become one: "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Gal 4:6)

Having the Spirit of God living in you is not the same like having the Spirit of God resting upon you. It is like comparing drinking a glass of water with diving into the sea. When you dive into the sea you are wet from your head to your toes. It is vissible. It is evident! The same goes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is evident. There is power in your life! You see things from a different prespective. You can do things that you could not do before. Your gifts and talents operate in a higher level. In every single chapter in the book of Acts there is at least one miracle taking place! In Acts 8:18 Simon the sorcerer saw with his own eyes people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit when the disciples layed hands on them. It was evident!
The Holy Spirit is a gift (Acts 2:38-39). You do not deserve it, you can't buy it (Acts 8:20), you can't be good enough to earn it, but you do have to ask it. If you have never asked Jesus to baptize you with the Holy Spirit, why don't you ask Him now? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13). Why don't you ask Him today?

Grace and faith: Understanding the balance between them

Grace and faith: Understanding the balance between them

BY Argie Simonis  

"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God". (Eph 2:8) 

That's one of the most powerful statements in the Word of God! Let us go deeper and expose some very important principles. Let's start with the definition of God's Grace – How do theologians define it?
According to Wikipedia, grace is "the divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation; and as an individual virtue or excellence of divine origin".
In the New Testament grace means God’s love in action towards men who merited the opposite of love. Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves. Grace means God sending His only Son to descend into hell on the cross so that we guilty ones might be reconciled to God and received into heaven.
"(God) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
In other words, grace may be defined as the unmerited or undeserving favor of God to those who are under condemnation.

Let's examine faith now. According to Wikipedia, faith is "complete confidence or trust in a person or thing; or a belief not based on proof."
I also like the Bible's definition for faith in Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Faith and grace are connected in a perfect bond but in order for this to flow in harmony in our lives, we need to understand that grace is not something that is going to happen, but something that has already been done. And that's God's part. 

Faith on the other hand is not something we do to make God to respond. Faith doesn't move God. He has already moved by grace. Faith is just our positive response to what God has already provided by grace. Once we understand this balance between grace and faith, it takes the struggle out of receiving from God.  So, if God has done His part (grace), then it is just a matter of resting in what He has already done: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ". (Εph 1:3)
Jesus has already died for the forgiveness of our sins, the healing of our bodies and the deliverance from bondage.

"Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed." (1Pet 2:24) 
He became poor so that we might be rich:
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich." (2Cor 8:9) 
And all these have happened before we were even born, before we ever had a problem.  Our faith is our response to God's grace. If we get these things mixed up, we'll get frustrated. According to Eph 1:19-23, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead already dwells in us. You have the raising-from the-dead power at your disposal! Get up and start using it! God bless you. 

Integrity of God's Word

Integrity of God's Word

BY Argie Simonis  

"And the same day, when the even was come, he said to them, Let us pass over to the other side." Μark 4:35 

By definition, integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness. This is one of the main characteristics of God's Word. The 4th chapter of Mark illustrates this in a very powerful way. In Mark 4:26 it says: "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground."
Remember that in verse 14 it says this seed is the Word of God. God isn't really teaching you how to be a farmer, but is using a natural thing to illustrate spiritual truth. Verse 27 says, "And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how."
Some people say, "I just don't understand what you're talking about. How can reading the Word of God really change me and cause God's life to come alive inside me?" How can a tiny seed planted into the ground bring forth an entire stalk of corn which later reproduce a hundredfold? Nobody fully understands it, but it works! 
Verse 28 says, "For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself." Like the earth was made to receive the seed, to germinate and release that life, in the same way your heart was made for the Word of God. You need to take the Word and as a seed plant it into your heart. When you do that, your heart is designed to bring forth fruit of itself. It will change the way things work in your life!
The verse continues, "First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." This means that there are stages to growth and maturity. First of all, you have to start, and then comes the hope, and then the faith, and then it produces results.There are always steps to victory. No one can get from zero to hero at once! Even Jesus, Who was God in the flesh had to progressively grow in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52)
The point is made in verse 35, "And the same day when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side."
Jesus had been teaching them all day about the power of the Word, how the Word is like a seed, and how it will release God's life into your life, so here He gives them a test. He tells them, "All right, here's the word from the Lord: "let's go to the other side of the lake." As they started sailing, a great storm came and water filled the boat but still, Jesus was asleep. He knew what was going on, but He was still trying to sleep. The disciples got upset, came to Him, and said, "Master, don't you care that we perish?" In other words, they were saying, "Don't just sit there. Do something!"
How many times have you found yourself in this situation? "God, why haven't you done something?"
Actually God has done much more than just something. He has provided everything we need through the atonement of the Lord Jesus. He's given us the Scripture, and it's our job to take the seed, put it in our hearts, and meditate on it until it releases life. Just taking a Bible and holding it close, putting it on your coffee table, or carrying it with you, doesn't work. It doesn't release power in your life!
Jesus part was to teach His desciples the Word and give them promises, and it was their part to take the Word and believe the promises. God has provided everything through Jesus coming to this earth. He gave you everything it takes to succeed in every area of your life in seed form in the Word. All you have to do is take the seeds of the Word of God and plant them in your hearts through reading it, meditating on it, thinking on it, and letting it take root on the inside of you. As you do that, you will be able to stand up and stop the storms in your life. We need to believe God's Word and act upon it!

By the grace of God I am what I am

By the grace of God I am what I am

BY Argie Simonis  

But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed on me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. (1Corinthians 15:10) 

All our talents, abilities, and callings are a direct result of God’s grace. However, God’s grace alone doesn’t guarantee success.
By God's grace salvation has been offered to all people (Titus 2:11) but not all people are saved. This doesn't mean that His grace is not enough or it is not in His will for them to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). It’s because not all people put faith in God’s grace. God’s grace must be mixed with faith to release its power (Hebrews 4:2). We need to keep on renewing our minds through God's Word and convince ourselves of the fact that God loves us. We don’t have to go to church to obtain God’s grace, but because we have God’s grace, we need to go to church to keep our hearts from being hardened (Hebrews 3:13 and 10:25).
Here (1 Corinthians 15:10) Paul is acknowledging the fact that "by the grace of God I am what I am" but he goes on saying that he allowed God’s grace to have its full effect in his life through seeking God more than the other apostles did. We have to labor against the flesh to rest in God’s grace (Hebrews 4:11) and enjoy its fruit.

Patience is a muscle you can train

Patience is a muscle you can train

BY Argie Simonis  

For whatever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Rom 15:4) 

All the Old Testament scriptures were written for our instruction so that we would not make the same mistakes. If we ignore the lessons of the Old Testament, it is like trying to reinvent the wheel. People have already made mistakes and the Old Testament scriptures  make us aware of the consequences of those sins. We don’t have to learn the same lessons in the hard way.

By definition, patience is "a cheerful (or hopeful) endurance under difficult circumstances, constancy". Patience is simply faith applied for a prolonged period of time. Instead of a momentary faith, patience is prolonged, enduring faith. You just believe, and keep believing. 

Patience comes from the Scriptures (Romans 15:4), just as faith does (Romans 10:17). Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, just like faith (Galatians 5:22-23-patience=long suffering). It was by faith that Moses endured (Hebrews 11:27). It was through faith and patience that Abraham received the promises (Hebrews 6:12-15), and not just faith, but a faith that was constant over a twenty-five-year period of time.

Patience is not a passive word, as many people use it, but it is an active word. It is not just passively waiting on God to do something, but it is actively believing for the manifestation of God’s promise against all odds, regardless of how long it takes. 

Patience, hope, and faith are all connected. First comes hope from a promise of God’s Word. Then faith begins to give substance and evidence to those things that were hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). And if time is involved before the manifestation comes, then patience does its work (James 1:4). 

Patience comes through God’s Word and (like faith) is a muscle. Don't let your problems overwhelm you but take the opportunity to train that muscle and become stronger!

Let God's power flow through you

Let God's power flow through you

BY Argie Simonis  

What a powerful statement! Commanding the Lord for the work of His hands doesn't mean that we are greater than Him and can force Him to do anything. It is the same way electricity functions into our homes. It is at our command. The electric company deliver the power to us and then put it under our command. When we flip the switch, in a sense we command the electricity to work. We are not the source of that power. If we put a light bulb in our mouth it will never light. Yet a light bulb in a lamp won’t light either unless we turn on the switch. Likewise, God is the one who generates the power, but He has given it to us (Matthew 28:18-19). We now have the power and the authority to use it (Acts 3:6). Switch that power on and let it flow through you! 

God is the God of the living

God is the God of the living

BY Argie Simonis  

"I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Μatthew 22:32) 

Jesus said that " he that loses his life for my sake shall find it." (Matt 10:39)
We need to be conformed to the death of Christ, which means that we should follow Christ's example who is dead to sin and all its effects upon Him.  Many people focus on dying to sin, but being alive unto God comes second. It is assumed that if we will just die to sin, then life with Christ comes automatically. Physical death does not  automatically produces physical resurrection. God doesn't need dead people. He needs people who have risen from the dead spiritually. People who know who they are "In Christ." Being a victorious New Testament believer comes not out from just living for the Lord, but from letting  Christ live through me!

Grace: A license to sin?

Grace: A license to sin?

BY Argie Simonis  

"What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." Rom 6:15 

Paul is not arguing for us to continue in sin because God loves us by grace instead of performance. But he did bring up this question because it would be a logical question from his teaching. In fact, he answered this question three times in his book (Romans 3:8; here; and 6:15). Paul had stated God’s grace in such a way that it was inevitable that someone would ask, 

                           "Can we just keep on sinning, since we are saved by grace?" 

If no one ever asks us this question then we haven’t preached the Gospel the way Paul preached it. Paul spoke this revelation of God’s grace under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost with perfect balance, yet he was still misunderstood. Therefore, those who are teaching grace but do not encounter the same arguments causing them to explain that they are not advocating a life of sin have not preached grace the way that Paul did. 

• One of two reasons why Christians don’t is because it gives the author of sin (Satan) control over us. If we sin, God still loves us, but Satan will only come into our life to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). 
• The second reason Paul gave for holiness in our lives as believers is that when we obey sin, we yield ourselves to Satan, the author of that sin (Rom 6:16). Yielding to sin is yielding to a person: Satan.  Our actions release in us either the power of Satan or the power of God.

Praise God for His grace!

Gospel:The power of God to salvation

Gospel:The power of God to salvation

BY Argie Simonis  

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believes." Rom 1:16                                                                                                                          

The word "Gospel" which has become a clichés today comes from the Greek word "EVAGGELION". It means "the good message" or "good news". But it actually means more than that.                                                                                                                                                           

                                             It is the "too good to be true" news!                                                                                                                                                                                              

This Greek word, as used in the Bible, highlights the means by which we receive the great benefits of our salvation. This all comes by faith in God’s grace. Any teaching that doesn’t emphasize grace as the way of receiving what Jesus provided isn’t the true Gospel. As Paul phrased it in Galatians 1:7, trying to receive from God by our own efforts is a perversion of the Gospel. Sadly that’s the condition of a great part of the church today. The Gospel is the power of God that releases the effects of salvation in our lives. Salvation is much more than just being born again. This refers to every benefit that the believer is entitled to through Jesus.                                                                                

Do you need healing? It’s in the Gospel.                                                                                                  

Do you need deliverance? Ιt’s in the Gospel.                                                                                          

Prosperity, answered prayer, joy, peace, love? They are all found through understanding and believing the Gospel. Praise God!

Plug into Jesus!

Plug into Jesus!

BY Argie Simonis  

"Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Eph 3:20-21  

The Lord doesn’t work independent of us.If the Lord was accomplishing His will without the power that’s working in us, then things would be much better than they are. We limit what God can do, because of our unbelief (Psalms 78:41; Matthew 17:20)

It is not true that God will do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, period. He has that power, but this verse ties the use of His ability to the power that works in us. No power working in us means there will be no power of God coming through us (= no manifestation of God’s power).

Jesus told us in Acts 1:8 of the power that we would receive when the Holy Ghost comes upon us. Romans 1:16 says the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. However, Christ is called the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), and in context (Christ dwelling in our hearts, Ephesians 3:17), this is Paul’s probable meaning here. 

You want power? "Plug into" Jesus today!

Is there anything too hard for God?

 Is there anything too hard for God?

BY Argie Simonis  

From birth we are trained to know our limitations. You can't have this. Don't touch that...

                                                 But God has no limits.                                       

We have an awesome God whose power is too great for our brain to understand. When we enter into the realm of the supernatural, we have to take off all the limits. We have to renew our minds with the truth that God is not a man. He can do anything. Yet many times we find ourselves wondering if our situation is too hard for the Lord. We can't see how even God can pull us through. The Lord said to Jeremiah, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" (Jer. 32:27). Today, let's honor God by believing that nothing is too difficult for Him!

Identity in Christ - part 2

Identity in Christ - part 2

BY Argie Simonis  

Previously we discussed what it meant to be born again, that in our spirits, our hearts are changed. We used 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 
We began to see that when we are born again, a total transformation has taken place in our spirits, and the only way to understand that is through the Word of God. We can't perceive it through external things, and we can't perceive it through our emotions, because that is in the soulish realm. But in the spirit part of us, there is a total transformation.
Let me use a few scriptures which show the things that took place when a person received Jesus into their life. 
Ephesians 4:24 says, "Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." When a person is born again, their spirit becomes righteous and truly holy. The righteousness that the Bible refers to here is not our own righteousness but the one we received from God by faith in Christ. In other words, we are in right standing with God. God is pleased with us not based on what we have done foer Jesus but what Jesus has done for us and it has been offered to us as a free gift.

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works."
God created us with a plan and a purpose. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jer 29:11 
If we know who we are in Christ, it is much easier to walk in our calling and work with God to get to the finish line, to the "expected end" that He has prepared for us. 

Ephesians 1:13 says, "After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." 
The word "sealed" here can have 2 meanings, which I believe they are both true. The word seal can have the meaning of a stamp. An aproval, or a validation, or an authentication stamp. And this is correct, because the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord, we become His. We belong to Him and we were purchased for a very high price! 

As for the other meaning, imagine a woman who puts fruit into a jar and then puts paraffin over it to make it airtight and to keep all impurities out. This is how God sealed you so when you were born again, you received a new spirit, and sin does not penetrate your spirit. You have a new identity that lays into your spirit and not on your body or your emotions. For you to have relationship with God, you have to fellowship with and worship Him based on who you are in your spirit not in your flesh. You have to relate to God based not on what you do in the physical realm, not what you think in your mind, but by who you are in the spirit based on what He has done for you. 
That is the spirit part of you and you have to worship God in spirit and in truth. You have to stand in this identity of who you are in Christ!

Identity in Christ - part 1

Identity in Christ - part 1

BY Argie Simonis  

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The phrase “in Christ” is a terminology that is used over 300 times in the New Testament, always referring to a deep, true relationship with God. Once that takes place, you become a new creature. Some translations actually say “a new kind of species.” Understanding this scripture will help us to walk in power and victory as christians, because sadly today "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" says the Lord in Hosea 4:6.

 Where did that change take place?

• -         It did not take place in the physical realm. It isn’t talking about your physical body, saying that it completely changes, that your looks change. If a person was fat before they were saved, they’ll still be fat afterward, unless they go on a diet.
• -         It also isn’t talking about your mental or emotional part—what most people consider to be the real “them.” If you weren’t too smart before you were saved, you won’t be too smart after you’re saved, but you will still have a lot of the same memories and thoughts.      

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23  Paul is praying for the Thessalonians, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Here we see that there is a third part, and by process of elimination it has to be the part of us that is changed, our spirit man.

That passage shows that we have a spirit, soul, and body. The body part is very obvious. It’s the part of us that is seen, our outward persons. We all recognize that there is another part beyond that—our emotional, mental part—which Scripture calls the soul. I can hurt you by knocking you on the shoulder but I can hurt you with my words  without physically touch you. Most people are in tune with the physical and soulish parts, but according to Scripture, there is another part, which is the spirit. The spirit is the part of us that is changed and is new after salvation. It is actually the life giving part. James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

That shows that it is the spirit that actually breathes life into our physical bodies. It is where our life comes from. In Genesis 2 when God created Adam and Eve, Adam’s body was complete, but then God breathed into him the breath of life. This word “breathe” in Old Testament Hebrew was the exact same word that we use for breath, and it is translated “spirit” in other places. God created the physical body and the soulish person of Adam, but then He breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul. Genesis 2:7. The spirit is the part of us that gives life. Prior to salvation, before a person made a total commitment of their life so that the Lord came into them, the spirit within them was dead. Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you has He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” 

We know we were alive before we were born again, but the word “dead” is referring to the spirit. Death in the Bible doesn’t mean ceasing to exist, as some people today think of it. It literally means “separation.” When a person physically dies, they don’t cease to exist. The Bible teaches that they go immediately into the presence of God or into the presence of hell. The soul and spirit continue to live, but there is a separation from the physical body, which dies and decays. When Genesis 2:17 says “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.” it didn’t mean they would die physically but spiritually, that they would become separated from God. The spirit, the part that God breathes into us, which actually gives life and motivation, became separated from God’s supernatural life…His holy and complete life. Man then began to degenerate. He still functioned, but he was functioning independently, separately from God. That’s really what causes all the problems in our lives and all of our emotional stress. 

When a person comes to the Lord, they receive a new spirit and are born again (click here), which is the terminology Jesus used in John 3:5. In the same way man is born physically with a spirit, soul, and body, when he is born again, he receives the Spirit of Christ. Galatians 4:6 says, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

God literally places His Spirit inside of us, and we now have a new quality of life, a new identity, and are a totally new person in our spirits. The rest of the Christian life is learning in your soulish, mental realm what has taken place in your spirit. The truth is, one-third of your salvation is over when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord. Your spirit becomes completely changed. It is the exact same spirit you will have throughout eternity. It already has love, joy, peace, and is full of the presence of God (Gal. 5:22) There is no lack or inadequacy in your spirit, but you have to perceive that, which is the reason studying the Word of God is so vital to the Christian life.

You are a totally brand-new person, but until you get knowledge, you won’t change!

Victory in the Christian life comes when you are able to look into the Word, which is Spirit and life, see who you are, see what God has done, and begin to believe it.

Amen!

To be continued ...

The nature of God

The nature of God

BY Argie Simonis  

In order to have a positive relationship with the Lord, we must know His nature and His real character. Is He angry because of our sin, or is He a merciful God who wants to give us His life and blessing, independent of our performance?
Let's take as an example the raising children. They have to be told the rules and, if they break them, be disciplined. They may not understand the concepts, but they can understand that if they repeat the action, they will be punished.
In a sense, that’s what the Lord did in the Old Testament. Before people were born again, they didn’t have the spiritual perception we have under the New Covenant, so He had to give laws and enforce them with punishment, sometimes even death, to turn them away from sin.
Because Satan was destroying people through sin, there had to be restraints placed on sin, and they had to be enforced. Although this left the false impression that God didn’t really love us because of our sin, that is not what the Word of God teaches.
 Romans 5:13 says, "Until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed where there is no law." "Until the law" means until the days of Moses when God gave the Ten Commandments and other ceremonial laws that applied to the Jewish nation. Up until that time, sin was still in the world but wasn’t imputed. The word "impute" is a bookkeeping term. For example, you go to a store to buy something and then it is charged on your account and the purchase is imputed to you. If they failed to impute it, that means it wasn’t recorded and held against you.
This verse is saying that until the time the Ten Commandments came, sin was not being held against people. That’s an amazing statement!
Look at Genesis 3 and 4. Most people believe that when Adam and Eve sinned against God, because He was holy and man was now sinful, He could have nothing to do with sinful mankind. They think God drove man out of the Garden to remove him from His presence because a Holy God couldn’t have anything to do with unholy man. This is not Jesus message. In Genesis 4:9-15 you can see that God was still fellowshipping with man, still talking with Adam and Eve even after they sinned. In Genesis 3:22-23 we see that driving them out of the Garden of Eden was an act of mercy and not punishment. God didn't want man to live eternaly in sinful bodies subject to all emotions and diseases that sin brings. 

Romans 5:8 says God commended His love toward you, and while you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you; so the New Testament teaches that God extended His love to you while you were living in sin, not after you have cleaned up your act. One of the great truths of the Gospel that will change your life is to understand that God loves you just like you are. He loves you so much that if you receive His love, you won’t want to stay as you are. You will change, but you’ll change as a byproduct of God’s love not in order to get His love. God talked with Cain and Abel, and when they came to offer sacrifices to Him, He spoke to them in an audible voice. By their reaction, we can see that they were used to hearing His voice, and it didn’t scare them.  All this says is that God was still fellowshipping with mankind and had not broken fellowship, as is commonly believed. He was not imputing man’s sins to him. Around 2000 years have passed between the Fall and the giving of the Law. Abram was not killed for marrying Sarah, his half sister, nor killed for sleeping with her servant Agar. Jacob also was not killed for marrying his wife's sister. Does that mean that God approved their sins? No, that’s the reason He eventually gave the Law. God had to give the Law to bring man back to a proper standard. In Galatians 3:19, 23-24 we see that the Law was a temporary way of dealing with sin. 

God had to show man that he needs a Savior and that he has to humble himself and receive forgiveness as a gift. Sadly, religion has manipulated and controlled these things to teach that the Law was given so you can keep it and thereby earn God’s forgiveness and acceptance. No! The purpose of Old Testament Law was to magnify your sin to such a degree that you would despair of ever saving yourself and say, "God, if this is your standard of holiness, I can’t do it. Forgive me, have mercy on me." The overall nature of God has always been love.
Amen!

Relationship with God

Relationship with God

BY Argie Simonis  

It is very important to understand that if you want to relate with a person you need first to understand that person. The same principal applies with God. You need to understand God's nature and character in order to have a healthy relationship with Him. Failing to follow this principal can lead to many problems. This is excactly what happened in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent:

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Yes, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.  And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die:For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:1-5)

Satan came against the nature and character of God and by using a lie he said that God didn't want the best for them. Actually this is the very first lie ever said from the day of creation and that's why the devil is called "the father of all lies" (John 8:44). Sadly he still deceives people today in the same way, convincing them that following God and not experimenting with all these things that are contrary to His Word makes your life boring and you become unhappy and empty. Many people fall into that and by the time they realize that drugs, alcohol, sex, rebelion, success in jobs and all other things they tried didn't satisfy them, they have already destroyed their lives, their families and their health. God is a good God and His will for us is only good (Jer 29:11). When satan tempts us, he is not coming with something new. He uses the same temtptations on us today that came against Adam and Eve or even against Jesus when he temtped Him in the desert. There are only 3 major temptations he always uses throughout the centuries and "serves" them in different ways: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1John 2:16).
I can make a lot of comments on this, but let me ask you this first: Why do you think satan didn't choose a big and strong animal like a lion or an elephant to scare  Adam and Eve and force them to eat of the forbidden fruit?
It's because he had no power to do that.Satan's only power is desception and he managed to deceive them and get them destroy themselves. That's the way he works with us too. We are the ones who destroy ourselve because we fall for his lies.
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6)

Sin is first conceived and then it gives birth; just like a baby.
"when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death." (Jas 1:15).
The best way to stop the birth of sin is to stop its conception. We can do that only by focusing on God and making His Word become personal to us. That is I believe the reason that satan aproached Eve first and not Adam, because she had knowledge of God's command secondhand. Therefore, it would have been easier to Eve to doubt Adam's credibility in presenting God's command accurately. The command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was given to Adam before Eve was seperated from him (Gen 2:16-17). Eve was innocent and didn't realize that satan was trying to destroy her. However she should have become suspicious when the serpent questioned God's Words. She should never get involved into that conversation. That may also apply to us. Thoughts contrary to God's Word should be rebuked at once. Something else that we must notice is that comparing Eve's words in Gen 1:3 with God's direct command in Gen 2:16-17, we see that Eve added to what God had said. She said that she couldn't even touch the fruit, or she would die. Religious traditions cause people to feel that God's Word is irrelevant to us today, which of course is not true. Eve broke her tradition first. She touched the fruit,  she didn't die, then she broke God's commandment. We need to reject tradition and line up with God's absolutes.
"Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." (Matthew 15:6)

God’s heart is to reconcile mankind to Himself not to judge them…not to impute their sins…not to hold their sins against them. That’s the heart of God for people in the Bible and also His heart for you today. You need to understand His real heart, that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). He seeks to take away your sins and anything that would separate you from Him. He’s already done it through Jesus, and He’s offering you relationship today, not based on your performance but on your faith and acceptance of Jesus bearing your sins. You can have relationship with God today regardless of the failures in your life. All He asks is that you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen!

The way you think is the way you will be.

The way you think is the way you will be.

BY Argie Simonis  

"For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Prov 23:7)

We cannot consistently operate differently than what we believe in our hearts. We may lie to gain an advantage, we may even try to lie to convince ourselves for something that is not true, but our actions is the fruit of how we think in our hearts. So if we want to change our actions we need first to change our hearts. Anything else than that is just a cover-up, a modified behavior. It is not a true change and it will not last long.
The way we think in our hearts is not just random thoughts. It is more like an act of meditation. Regardless of what is happening in our lives, in our bodies, or our circumstances, if we can think and believe strongly enough, everything can change. We need to focus to what God says and we must not forget that if the Word is not mixed with faith, it profits us nothing (Hebrews 4:2). If our situations aren’t changing for the better, then we haven’t truly seen it on the inside in our imaginations. Things which are seen were made of things which are not visible (Heb 11:3). We have to see it on the inside before we see it on the outside.  
How do you see yourself today? Are you the victim or the victor? Are you a cat or a lion?
God bless you!

The rigthousness of God

The rightousness of God

BY Argie Simonis  

"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 to all and on all them that believe: for there is no difference:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:21-23)
 
Many people today wonder: "What do I need to do in order to go to heaven?". The most popular answer would be to keep the 10 commandments, be faithful to your wife/husband, live a moral life, and a number of other things. You need to realize that in order to be in God's presence you need to have a rightousness that equals God's rightousness and only one man had such rightousness, and that is Jesus Christ! None of us in our own selves have ever kept the Law or the commantments perfectly (Rom 3:23).
You need to understand that the Law was not given to produce justification but to give us the knowledge that we were sinners and needed salvation (Rom 3:20). We can not be the saviors of ourselves. The only way to obtain salvation is to put faith in Jesus and what He did for us as our savior. We are justified by faith without the deeds of the Law (Romans 3:28)
There are two kind of rightousness. The rightousness of man and the rightousness of God. The rightousness of man is a person's best behaviour and the good works they do. The religious Jews have come to think that the only way for God to grant them forgiveness was through them fulfilling the Law as much as possible and then offering the appropriate sacrifice prescribed in the Law for any sins. Paul here is not putting forth a new doctrine but expounds the true doctrine that the Old Testament Law and prophets had advocated all along. Justification through the Law was never God's intent. They had misunderstood and misapplied the Law in this area.
The only difference between Jew and Gentile, or the moral and immoral, is in the sight of people. From God's point of view there is no difference. Being a liar doesn't make you better than a thief, and being an adulterer doesn't make you better than a murderer. Sin is sin and all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23)
A rightousness according to the Law is a rightousness of doing, earning and achieving in order to be accepted before God. All the world religions today think you have to earn your acceptance by God by your own performance. The word "gospel" in Greek means "good news" and the good news is that God is offering His rightousness as a gift to those who believe in what Jesus Christ has already provided on the cross, which is the restoration of our broken relationship with God, and our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins which is a by-product of this restored relationship.
A common mistake that people make is comparing themselves with other people. According to 2 Cor 10:12 this is foolisness. Everyone is going to be compared to Jesus, who is the glory of God, and therefore everyone will come up short (Rom 3:23). We all need a savior.
God is offering you the gift of rightousness (Rom 5:17), a gift of right standing with Him. A gift does cost something, but not to the person that receives it. If you paid to receive something, then it wouldn't be a gift. God is offering that gift for free and the only thing you have to do is to receive it by putting your faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for you.
Don't waste time. Make Jesus your Lord and savior today! (Rom 10:9)