DIVINE GOOD VS HUMAN GOOD
Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be
sure you have named your sins privately to God the Father.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to
learn Truth from the Word of God.
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth,"
(John 4:24)
Divine Thinking And Righteousness ---Virtue --- Divine Good: (ABSOLUTE) VS.
Satanic and Human Thinking and Self-righteousness --- Emotional --- Satanic
and Human Good: (RELATIVE)
The futility of human do-goodism
I suppose that at some time or other everyone has a "good" thought.
Probably even the worst characters who ever lived have had some kind of a
"good" thought, even if only in childhood. Perhaps you can recall a time when
you said, “I’d like to do something that really counts. I’d like to do something for
people. “I’d like to be able to help people and to help them in a permanent
fashion.”
You can hardly read history without wanting to do something for people.
And yet the first thing you learn from history is that even the greatest people
who have ever lived have had very little influence beyond their own generation,
much less forever.
One of the most brilliant men of all time, Julius Caesar, had a tremendous
influence, not only on his own generation, but for nearly five hundred years
thereafter. He restored order out of chaos and brought to an end civil war and
bloodshed which had been going on within the Roman Republic for over a
hundred years. In five years’ time, he developed a system which made it
possible for Rome to continue for approximately another five hundred years.
Now, here is a very rare man, one out of millions, who was able in his own
lifetime to do something that had influence for several generations; yet, in spite
of his genius, the Roman Empire eventually fell.
A study of the brief history of our own country will reveal some very "noble
and very wonderful" men; yet their influence rarely extended much beyond their
day — sometimes for a generation or two — after which their influence all
seems to disappear. As we consider our own country today, we wonder where
is all of the nobility, where is all of the tremendous Thinking and the power and
the ability of those men whose Concepts and Ideas have complied with the
Word of God and made our nation a wonderful country? And as you
contemplate the entire world, you have to ask again, “Where are the people
who have influenced the world the great people?”
In modern history, one or two have arisen out of the masses; but these are
only one or two out of millions and billions of people. Yet there are still people in
every generation who have an intense desire to help humanity and have tried to
express it in various ways. One of these was Albert Schweitzer.
In his desire to help humanity, he studied many things, including medicine,
through which he tried to fulfill this desire. He went to Africa; and during the
course of his lifetime, Schweitzer was able to help thousands of people, as far
as their health was concerned. Many of the natives of Africa almost worshipped
him as if he were God, even though he was a white man. Yet today, where is
the influence of Albert Schweitzer?
He was a "good man;" he was sincere and did many wonderful things; but
he did not bring about any permanent change. The natives have gone back to
their tribal fraternities; and, as before, they are waiting in jungle paths to kill
other natives in other fraternities. Furthermore, they are killing off the animals;
they’re killing the white man. They haven’t learned anything! Their nature hasn’t
been changed!
I said to myself concerning the sons of men, "God has surely tested them
in order for them to see that they are but beasts." (Eccles 3:18)
So, here’s a man who went to Africa and spent a lifetime out there doing
many wonderful things; but he brought about no lasting changes for the
Africans. In fact, the passage we are going to study compares him to a flower
of the field. As far as we can tell from the study of his life, his good was
“relative good.”
It is a rather discouraging world for altruistic people. There are those who
would sincerely like to be helpful; also there are many frustrated people who
are trying to help but have only succeeded in messing things up because they
don’t know how to help.
For example, thousands of people today would like to abolish poverty. Let’
s assume for a moment that the “War on Poverty” is sincere; (A debater’s
assumption, meaning it isn’t necessarily true). In their sincerely deceived desire
to abolish poverty, those planning the program propose giving money to
everyone whom they consider to qualify under the category of poverty. It
sounds like a "noble" idea, until you look at it from God’s Viewpoint, for Jesus
said, “...For you always have the poor with you...” (Matt 26:11) “Always”
means that poverty cannot be abolished! But let’s say it is a beautiful idea and
look at it from its altruistic concept. How does it work?
Well, you refloat the money, the money invariably goes into the hands of a
few, and soon everyone else is poverty-stricken. What do the poor do when
they get the money? They spend it! And where does it go? It goes to a small
group of people who will become wealthier than ever. Soon someone runs out
of the pork barrel, and there is more poverty than ever. But it’s a "noble" idea!
So you can see it’s a very frustrating world for people who want to do “good.”
Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way (Of unbelief in Christ) And the unrighteous man
his thoughts; (Believers using human sin nature sentiment, emotion and thinking
to live their life) And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion
on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. (Prov 1:23) "For My
Thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the
LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher
than your ways And My Thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:6-9)
Now, there are a lot of places where "good" can be done, but nothing
seems to come from all of this doing "good." There are some sincerely
deceived people in the world right now who are trying to abolish warfare. “Let’s
get everyone to give up his weapons and have world peace,” they say. So
when you take guns from the nations that have a sense of responsibility and
disarm them, all you do is to turn the whole world into a jungle.
There are mothers who march on Washington every year or so in the
hopes of abolishing war. Well, this, too, is a beautiful satanic thought, because
no one really wants to go to war, with the possible exception of a few
romanticists who have read too many war books or seen too many war movies
that glamorize war. But once you get to war, it’s no fun at all. The food is
terrible; the pay is worse. And even more than that, you might lose your life any
day on the job! So you can see that war is really no picnic, even though it has
been romanticized in some ways.
But no matter how good the idea of abolishing war may seem, the Bible
declares that there shall continue to be “wars and rumors of wars,” and that
“nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” (Matt 24:6-7)
Men shall say “peace, peace, when there is no peace.” (Jer 6:14; Mic 3:5) And
“when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon
them.” (1Th 5:3) Only Jesus Christ can bring peace, (Psa 46:9; Hag 2:9) and
He will; when He returns to earth. (Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3) Until then, it is utter folly to
try to “turn the swords into pruning hooks”! (Joel 3:10 )
There are also very altruistic people who are trying to abolish crime by
getting rid of guns. Even now, they are attempting to pass gun legislation in
Congress whereby guns will be taken out of the hands of law-abiding citizens;
and they imagine that this will solve all the problems. Actually, it will only make it
easier for the criminals, and both criminals and crime will increase!
Gun legislation won’t solve anything, nor will world disarmament nor an
international court! But all the “liberal do-gooders” have these false satanic
ideas. In fact, there is one great religious organization in this country that has
as one of its basic tenets: “let Red China into the United Nations, and this will
solve the world’s problems.” (They are now, and no change)
The trouble with all these do-good projects is that they do not line up with
the Word of God, even though many times the people are sincere. (And we’re
not even considering here the ones who are not sincere, such as do-goodism in
politics, which has made hypocrites out of thousands of people) But the sincere
do-goodism of our day has complicated everything. Instead of helping people
for any length of time, much less for eternity, it is actually making conditions
worse, because all this is Satan’s false thinking, which in the long run
accomplishes nothing. So, as I say, it is a frustrated world; and because it is a
frustrated world, I should like to propose to you the answer which was given by
God to Isaiah back in 700 B.C.
Do-goodism in Judah
The do-gooders were very much in evidence in those days, and, like today,
they were all frustrated. We hear a familiar strain from these do-gooders of
Judah, for they said in effect, “Let’s abolish our cavalry.” And when they
abolished the Jewish cavalry, the Rabshakeh of Assyria stood up in front of the
walls of Jerusalem and challenged: “Look, my king has several thousand extra
horses from his cavalry; we will even supply you horses, if you can provide
riders for the mounts and then well whip you!” (Isa 36:8-9)
When the Assyrians finally came, all that the Jews had left in their
disarmament program were their fortifications, which slowed down the
Assyrians for one year. Now, the Jewish state department not only abolished
the military, but they also had a “foreign aid program”; they made certain
economic concessions to the Assyrians. (2Ki 18:14-16) For five years before
the Assyrians invaded, Hezekiah sent millions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money
to them.
Every Jew actually paid two-tenths of his income as a tax: one-tenth for
the upkeep of the Temple, (Lev 27:30-33) and one-tenth for the priesthood.
(Num 18:21) Every third year, one-tenth went to the poor of the land.
(Deut 14:28-29) Although today it is incorrectly called “tithing,” it was actually a
system of taxation for believer and unbeliever alike in the land of Judah.
Offerings were the Spiritual giving of the believer, (Deut 16:17) cf. (2Co 8:1)
thru (2Co 9:15) over and above the tithe.
But what happened to a large portion of their taxes? Hezekiah took them
out of the Temple treasury and hustled them over to the Assyrians. A lot of
people involved in these programs then, as well as today, were sincere and
wrong. (Sincerity is not God’s Standard Truth is!) They might think they are
doing a good thing; but whether it is in the field of politics, or statesmanship, or
even in Christianity, human do-goodism is demonism; and is not the answer!
Now actually, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and have
received Him as your Savior, you can fulfill the principle of doing Divine
righteousness, of doing permanent good, of having something that will count for
all eternity. In fact, the believer in fellowship is the only one who can!
(Heb 11:24-29)
Divine good begins at salvation
The message of John the Baptist, whose ministry was parallel to Isaiah’s,
provides the background of our subject. In, (Isa 40:3) Isaiah prophesies
concerning John the Baptist. From 700 B.C., Isaiah looks down the corridors of
time to 29 A.D. when John the Baptist would be preaching his message that
would accomplish permanent absolute good.
John the Baptist was represented merely as a “Voice,” which puts the
emphasis on the message rather than on the man. It was John’s message that
could change lives for time and eternity. The “voice” communicates Truth, which
endures after the voice is silent. John is gone, but the Word abides forever.
(Isa 40:8)
What was his message? “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isa 40:3) cf. (Matt 3:2-3;
John 1:23) The first part of his message is the means of doing good on a
permanent basis, and it gives us our first clue as to how we can join Isaiah and
John and other great men of the past; who have had Divine Virtue come out of
their lives. (Gal 5:22-23)
“Clear the way for the LORD” is simply the message of salvation, It’s the
message of the Gospel. John kept crying! “Repent = Change your mind from
not believing in Jesus and not believing His Word.” (Matt 3:2; Matt 3:8) Now,
how can you change your mind for time and for eternity? How can you have a
changed mind, that will meet every exigency of life, whether living or dying, as
well as the problem of eternal salvation. The answer is, first of all, “Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 16:31) We know from, (Acts 19:4) that John
preached this Gospel.
. . John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people, to
BELIEVE IN HIM who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.
People are trying to meet problems today by saving money, by making
good investments, by making the right friends, by gaining influence, by
developing power! All of these can be classed as a certain preparation for
problems in time. BUT … NONE of these is the real answer to the problems of
time, much less to the problem of eternal salvation!
How can you be prepared for eternity? There is ONLY ONE WAY:
BELIEVE GOD AND HIS WORD! (Rom 4:20)
He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God
does not have the life. These things (Thoughts) I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have
eternal life. (1Jn 5:12-13)
That is the only way to be prepared; and when you are prepared for
eternity, you also have preparation for time, “Be prepared for the way of the
Lord!” The “way of the Lord” is God’s plan for the human race: Phase I —
Salvation; Phase II — Spiritual maturity; Phase III — the believer in eternity.
And the preparation begins in a moment of time. In that moment when you
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God provides for time as well as for eternity.
Jesus Christ meets every need in this life; He meets every need of the
future; He provides in living, in dying and after death. When John stood before
the people and cried, “Repent,” (Matt 3:2) he was doing the best thing he could
do for those people. He was dealing with them as individuals and with their
problems as individual problems; he was “snatching brands from the burning,”
(Zec 3:2) and doing permanent and eternal good for them.
No production apart from rebound
Then John continues: “…’MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE
HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!” (Matt 3:3) This part of his message indicates the
need for confused believers to get straightened out. Some of you met many of
the people who came forward in the Billy Graham Crusade. John the Baptist’s
ministry was parallel in one way to this Crusade: the majority of people who
came forward were sincere seekers; they were “born-again,” but they were
ignorant of the Word of Truth.
Many of them had guilt complexes; many of them thought that they had lost
their salvation; many of them, knowing their lives were not counting for the Lord,
wanted answers. What they needed first of all was rebound — (1Jn 1:9)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Then we needed to understand some of the techniques
(Rebound, the filling of God the Holy Spirit, faith-rest, grace orientation,
Doctrinal orientation, personal sense of destiny, personal love for God,
impersonal love for self and all mankind, sharing the happiness of God and
occupation with Christ) which God has provided for the believer in time. While
they might have come forward to “dedicate” or “rededicate” or “reaffirm their
faith” or to make sure they were saved, all of this added up to one thing —
CONFUSION!
John the Baptist had the same type of ministry. Thousands of confused
people came all the way from Jerusalem. For many of them, their problem was
the issue of the cross: to believe in Jesus Christ is eternal life; to reject Him is
eternal condemnation.
John, (The Baptist) said, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but
he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on
him." (John 3:36)
Then John, (The Baptist) had a message to the great numbers of believers
who were out of the ‘’bottom circle” that is, out of fellowship with God. (1Jn 1:3)
“Make straight,” John told them; (John 1:23) and the only way to “make
straight” is to move back into the bottom circle where they can produce DIVINE
GOOD --- Virtue --- Growth to Spiritual maturity. (Spiritual grow comes before
Spiritual function!)
The top and bottom circles
Let’s let two circles represent John’s twofold message — the top and
bottom circles.
Those who heeded the message of Salvation began at the cross; where
Jesus Christ would die for their sins. They received Him by faith, (John 1:12)
and were immediately placed into two positions: in Christ, (Top circle --- Eternal
relationship) and, (Bottom circle --- Temporal fellowship). The bottom circle is
also the place of the filling of God the Holy Spirit, by means of which God
produces Divine good --- Virtue in us. (Gal 5:22-23)
When the believer is out of fellowship, he is under the control of his old sin
nature, and that means that he will produce “X” number of sins, as well as a
certain amount of "satanic good thoughts and works." The big problem is that
any "good" done while out of fellowship is false good and does not count with
God. Only DIVINE GOOD counts. You have to be “in the bottom circle” in order
to produce Divine good --- Virtue.
"You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you.
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it
abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine,
you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit,
(Spiritual maturity) for apart from Me you can do nothing! (John 15:3-5)
Basically, then, the combination of John’s message was that first of all,
people must be saved by believing in Christ; secondly, while they produce only
satanic "good" when they are out of fellowship, they can go from satanic good
to Divine good by means of, (1Jn 1:9) cf. (Acts 26:18) Now this was the
message that John the Baptist would preach 700 years after Isaiah. But in the
meantime, this is the message that Isaiah must preach. Isaiah must be a
“voice”; he must have Truth in his frontal lobe as well as in his human spirit; and
as he disseminates this Truth to the people, there are going to be permanent
results.
The first category of permanent results: people will believe in Jesus Christ
and be eternally saved from the Lake of Fire; second category: believers will
learn how to handle their sins; and then as a result of Thinking with God’s
Thoughts --- Truth, they will be free from their guilt complexes, free from worry
about past sins, free from the bondage of trying to do penance for sins, and
free from all the accompanying emotionalism. This freedom brings home the
fact that they are still alive and still under grace, that God has a purpose for
their lives, and that they can accomplish permanent results!
Production of Divine good under pressure
In, (Isa 40:3-4) we have one brief message from Isaiah:
A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make
smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, And
every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley.
Before there is relief for the Jews, before the Assyrian army is destroyed
by Jesus Christ, (2Ki 19:35) there will be one year of pressure. Now, how are
the people going to live during that year; (And in the Tribulation)? Some of them
are going to live under the techniques of the Word of God; they are going to mix
the promises of God with faith, and they are going to be relaxed and have inner
happiness, even in the valley. As a result, “they will be exalted.” This word
“exalted” is the first of several words in this context for Spiritual maturity.
When you are down in the valley of pressure or sorrow or tragedy, there is
exaltation. Exaltation means that you can have inner peace and happiness. As
you face the Christmas season, many of you may anticipate parties and
pleasures and fun; but for some, it is going to turn on you — it’s going to turn
out to be as miserable a day as there is in the year. In the first place, it is a
time of gift giving, and you always get the wrong thing; so there’s that
disappointment.
Secondly, it is a family day and for many, that is a time when families get
together and fight! Thirdly, it is a holiday time when people do not have enough
to do, so they start to grumble. Oh, it is a miserable day! For some, it is even a
nightmare. There is that “Christmas cheer” build-up; and when it doesn’t
materialize, they block the day out by getting “stoned,” But of course that isn’t
the answer, either.
I want to invite you to a “B.Y.O.H.,” party bring your own happiness! Now,
how can you carry your own happiness around with you? You can grow a
permanent Christmas tree inside and have Christmas every day! I like to call it
the “edification complex of the soul --- the mature Christian life.” (2Co 10:8;
(2Co 13:10; Eph 4:12; Eph 4:16; Eph 4:29; (1Ti 1:4; Jas 1:4) When Truth is
coming daily into the frontal lobe in the filling of the Spirit and is transferred BY
FAITH into the human spirit; (Eph 3:17) from which it can be Thought with and
applied, (Through Operation Z — 1Co 2:1-13) the believer begins to build in the
soul a beautiful structure, (A Holy Temple --- The Spiritual life) which is the
reflected glory of God. (Psa 119:130; (2Co 4:6-7; Gal 4:19; Eph 5:8-9;
(1Jn 2:8)
This structure is made up from a maximum amount of God’s Thinking and
time staying in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit; and then tested under the
pressure of adversity and prosperity! Some of you are going to have the best
Christmas you’ve ever had because you are steadily taking in Truth and building
an edification complex in your soul. It’s marvelous beyond description because
you have your own happiness inside!
You see, this is what Isaiah is to tell the believers of his day: “Now look,
the Assyrians are going to conquer 47 fortifications; they are going to defeat
our allies, the Egyptians; there’s going to be bad news, bad news, bad news!
Yet while you’re down in the valley in the midst of all this, you can have
exaltation... ‘The valley shall be exalted.’ You can have inner happiness; you can
have inner peace; you can have inner blessing, (Based on the edification
complex --- the completed Spiritual life in the soul) and absolutely nothing can
change it! You can sit on the walls and laugh at the Rabshakeh!”
Can you do that today, believer? Can you look at your own life and say, “I
bring my own happiness; everywhere I go, I take it with me; I take it to parties,
I take it to business, I take it to pleasure, I take it to recreation?” Well, you can!
This is the whole point of the Word of Truth! However, it is impossible to carry
around Spiritual happiness unless we have time filled with God the Holy Spirit
and Truth that you Think with; (John 4:23-24) --- and reach SPIRITUAL
INTEGRITY!
Confidence through Truth
“A Voice says, Call out...” (Isa 40:6) Call out forcefully, (Literally).
PREACH DOGMATICALLY! The “Voice” is the Voice of God here, and God
Says, in effect, to Isaiah: “If you’re going to help people on a permanent basis,
you must have confidence yourself; because you have reached Spiritual
maturity; and everything you say has to be ABSOLUTELY TRUE; and you have
to give it as you KNOW it to be ABSOLUTELY TRUE.”
When you preach Truth, you don’t say, “Now maybe it could mean this,
and maybe it could mean that. There are five different views of this, and dear
Brother So-and-so holds this view, and Brother So-and-so holds that view, and
I think maybe they all have a little Truth in them.” That’s for the birds — not for
people! People need something ABSOLUTE --- GOD’S PERFECT THINKING!
So God is saying to Isaiah, “When you stand up before those people, don’t
you say, ‘Well, the scribes say this, the Pharisees say that, and the chief
priests say this.’ It can’t mean three different things it doesn’t mean two
different things — this is it! This is absolute, this is unchangeable, this is Truth;
so you speak THE TRUTH!” (John 3:34)
But Isaiah is still stalling: “What shall I preach dogmatically?” he asks.
Isaiah has already had his first lesson from the Baptist’s message. What did he
preach dogmatically? One, Christ died for sinners — therefore, believe on
Christ and be saved. Two, when a believer sins, he confesses his sin, and he is
forgiven immediately now he is to forget it and move on! If your life as a
believer is ever going to count, if you’re going to take your own happiness
wherever you go, then this is the lesson, beginning in the middle of, (Isa 40:6).
Human old sin nature thoughts and works are USELESS! (Psa 14:2-3;
Rom 3:12; Psa 94:11; (1Co 3:19-20)
“All flesh is grass...” Do you realize that you are just a blade of grass? And
you know, it is rather interesting that God should use this analogy to teach THIS
THOUGHT. Just what is grass? I have asked myself this many times as I have
faced a jungle in my yard. What is this grass? Well, first, grass is something
that appeals to the eye because it is green. I suppose you know that green is
the easiest color on the eyes. You look at this green grass and it looks fine.
Of course, there are other views about lawns. My first preference is to
pave the entire yard; then if you have to have green, just paint it! But I’ll tell you
something else about grass: grass contains misery. Did you ever see beautiful
grass that you had a desire to roll in? I did that ONCE — and the grass was full
of chiggers! You see, grass contains misery! You often see the dogs and other
animals rolling in the grass; but just watch what they do afterwards. They
scratch!
Now, grass is misery for another reason: it requires continual care. I
understand a lot of people enjoy fooling around with grass and plants and
flowers and that’s fine; to each his own! But no matter how beautiful and green
the grass is, do you know what always happens to grass? Someone comes
along with a mower and chops it down. And then what happens? It is dumped
into a garbage can, the green grass dies and turns brown and is either
discarded or burned. Now, isn’t that an awful life? Beautiful for a moment, then
chopped down, and it’s all over!
“...All flesh --- HUMANS ARE GRASS, and all its loveliness is like the
flower of the field.” Grass in this passage is different from grass as we know it.
As you know, there are certain things we call flowers, and all of these flowers
have some kind of a stem. With most of these flowers, the stem is originally
green. The stem of the flower is also grass here; and it goes on to say that it
has “loveliness.”
Now we have arrived. What is this loveliness? The Hebrew word is actually
“good” — good works — RELATIVE GOOD! Now, I’m out of my field, but I
think I have observed enough to say that flowers are beautiful for a moment,
but then they shrivel up and they’re gone. In the springtime in the mountains of
Arizona, there are wild flowers of every color and description as far as you can
see. The same thing is true in Texas and many other parts of the world at
certain times of the year. Carpets of flowers stretch for miles and miles, and it’s
beautiful! But then you come back a couple of weeks later and it is all gone.
These “flowers” refer to human production... the good deeds that you do in
the energy of the flesh... the things that come from our old sin nature! Everyone
performs a certain amount of human good, but it doesn’t last. Just think of all
the do-gooders today. Think of all the men of the clergy who are a part of the
World Council of Churches and who are trying to do good. They’re trying to get
rid of all our arms; they’re trying to get Red China to give us MONEY; and they
think all of these things are going to help.
Think of Schweitzer’s devoting the greater part of his life and expending all
of his energy in Africa — and what happened? Why, the natives are reverting to
all of their old ways! All that human good has accomplished no lasting good.
And yet today the world is filled with people trying to perform some type of
human good.
The source of ALL human good is, old sin thinking --- SATAN’S THINKING!
But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said,
"Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests,
(Thoughts) but man’s." (Satan’s Thoughts) (Mark 8:33)
...Therefore you also do the things (Thoughts) which you heard from your
father." (John 8:38) ..."You are doing the deeds (Thoughts and actions) of your
father..." (John 8:41) "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the
desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not
stand in the Truth because there is no Truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie,
he speaks from his OWN NATURE, (This is also the SIN NATURE; that we are
ALL born with) for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
Why are all these good deeds simply “dead works” (Heb 6:1) and
unacceptable to God? Why does He condemn all human good in the believer,
(Rom 8:8; (1Co 3:12-15) as well as in the unbeliever? (Isa 64:6; Eccles 12:14)
No matter from whom it comes, it all emanates from the OLD SIN NATURE.
(Rom 6:6; Rom 7:17-18)
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits NOTHING; the Words that I
have spoken to you are spirit (Spiritual) and are life. (John 6:63)
Let’s take a look at the old sin nature.
It is called by various terminologies in Scripture. In, (Eph 4:22) and,
(Col 3:9) it is called the “old self,” because it originated with Adam. (Rom 5:12)
It is sometimes called the “flesh,” as in, (Rom 7:18; Eph 2:3; Gal 5:16) because
it resides in the human body. The “heart” occasionally refers to the sin nature,
as in, (Jer 17:9; Matt 15:19; Matt 12:34; Mark 7:21). In the New Testament, as
mostly in Romans, the word “sin” in the singular and in the noun form refers to
the old sin nature. e.g. (Rom 6:11-12; Rom 6:17-18)
Now, the sin nature has two areas, the area of weakness and the area of
strength. It also has two trends. It may have a trend toward asceticism or a
trend toward lasciviousness, although these sometimes change in an individual.
From the area of weakness comes personal sins; from the area of strength,
satanic "good."
When Christ died on the cross He bore the sins of the entire world, and
therefore, He solved the sin problem. Sin is no longer an issue at Salvation. At
the same time, Christ rejected human self-righteousness, because His work on
the cross was Divine righteousness --- Virtue: From staying filled with God the
Holy Spirit and Thinking with Truth. (Isa 40:13-14; (1Co 2:11-16) Therefore, the
issue in salvation is the work of Christ, (Divine Thinking and actions) versus
human works, (Satanic and human thinking and actions). A lot of people are
doing good simply because they want to go to heaven: they’re giving money in
order to buy their way to heaven; they’re performing good deeds kindly deeds;
they are trying to help humanity, they are being sweet to people in traffic, they
are even joining certain churches, (Which are good-deed houses) so they can
go to heaven! They are trying everything… And they’re working, working,
working, AND WORKING! --- Trying to get to heaven!
But the Bible says it is “not by works of righteousness, (Human deeds of
sin nature righteousness) which we have done...” (Tit 3:5) Later on, Isaiah
preaches a message on human righteousness, and he denounces our
righteousness as “filthy rags” in God’s sight. (Isa 64:6) All the human works that
all the people in the world can perform is as filthy rags in the sight of God.
(IDDAH in the Hebrew: is a menstruation cloth!) God rejects human works.
There is no place in the plan of God for satanic and or human righteousness.
(2Co 11:13-15; (2Ti 3:5)
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE, which was granted
us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. (2Ti 1:9)
I want to emphasize again the sins of the old sin nature were judged at the
cross.
“And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might
die to sin (The control of the sin nature) and live to righteousness; (Stay in
fellowship) for by His wounds (Judgment) you were healed. (Reconciled) ”
(1Peter 2:24)
Every sin that man has ever committed or ever will commit was judged at
the cross. According to the law of double jeopardy, sins have been judged once
and thus can never be judged again. The door of heaven is open to all members
of the human race. Through a simple act of faith in Christ, we can have eternal
life; we can be born again; we can become children of God. “For you are all
sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:26)
BUT the do-gooder doesn’t want to go the way of faith minus works for
salvation. He rejects salvation by grace because he does not want to depend
upon the good work of someone else. He doesn’t want to be saved simply by
faith in Christ; he wants to work; he wants to help God . . . he wants to boast
of his own good deeds. (Luk 18:9-14) and (Luk 18:15-30)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, (Salvation) it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, (From the
power of the old sin nature) so that no one may boast. For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS, which GOD
PREPARED BEFOREHAND so that we would walk in them. (Stay in fellowship
and Think with His Thoughts and Reality) (Eph 2:8-10)
The judgment of the unbeliever’s human deeds
For the do-gooder, here is the message: human good is going to be
judged just as certainly as, in the past, sin was judged at the cross. All of our
sins were poured out upon Christ: every sin — past, present and future — that
has been committed in the human race was judged in Him. He (The Father)
made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Co 5:21)
The sin problem has been solved, and that is why the Bible says, “...
Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’’ (John 3:16)
But human sin nature righteousness has yet to be judged by God. Turn to,
(Rev 20:12-15) and notice for a moment this passage: “And I saw the dead, the
great and the small, standing before the throne...” The word “standing” is in the
perfect tense, indicating a resurrection. Here is the second resurrection,
composed of people who have rejected Christ as Savior. They have refused to
believe in Him. In other words, when a person rejects the cross no matter who
that person is he must stand on his own merit --- his own righteousness.
Rejection of Christ as your Savior means you prefer your own RELATIVE
righteous deeds instead of the ABSOLUTE good deed of Christ on the cross!
When a person faces the cross, as all must sooner or later, he sees Christ
dying for his sins. He sees Christ doing the work. The unbeliever says, in effect,
“I reject the work of Christ; (I will not take the plea-bargain --- Full Pardon) I am
going to stand on my own deeds --- works for salvation.” (I want to take it to
trial) “...All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.” Will
be displayed in unbelievers then; and believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
(2Co 5:10)
Satan and the demons did and are doing the very same things they did in
eternity past; (They would not take the deal of obedience to God and His Word;
and used their own plan and righteousness) Satan is using members of the
human race to build his perfect self-righteous One World Order through
misdirection; by using evil thinking # 1 and evil thinking # 2! Evil # 1 is evident,
(Clearly revealed to the mind or the senses).
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity,
sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger,
disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like
these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who
practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)
Evil # 2 is very deceptive is uses God’s Word and Principles, in the power
of the old sin nature; and this produces self-righteousness --- satanic and
human "GOOD."
Holding to a form of godliness, (Looks and sounds "GOOD") although they
have denied its power; (The Spirit and Truth) Avoid such men as these.
(2Ti 3:2-5) Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the
Truth. (2Ti 3:7) They are using socialism, welfare, universal healthcare, "global
warming," gun control, genetics, find new planets to live on, abortion reform, the
nationalizing of capital and industry to create a system of thinking; free from
OBEDIENCE to God; and that is separate from the filling of God the Holy Spirit
and Thinking with the Mind of Christ! (1Co 2:11-16)
"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of
little faith! "Do not worry then, saying, ’What will we eat?’ or ’What will we
drink?’ or ’What will we wear for clothing?’ "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all
these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
"But seek first His kingdom (The Thinking of Christ) and His righteousness,
(Growth to Spiritual maturity) AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDED TO
YOU!!! "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each
day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:30-34)
Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it
together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." A voice says, "Call out."
Then he answered, "What shall I call out?" All flesh is grass, and all its
loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The
grass withers, the flower fades, But the Word of our God stands forever.
(Isa 40:5-8)
Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And
makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. "For he
will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will
live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant. "Blessed
is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. (Jer 17:5-7)
“...And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened...” (Rev 20:12) Now, immediately, I want you
to notice that the word “books” is in the plural; it is books that were opened not
simply one book, but BOOKS! And that means two sets of books. The first set
of books is the “books of deeds.” The book of deeds are a record of all human
sin nature righteousness in the unbeliever.
Mentioned also in this passage is another set of books, the “book of life.”
The book of life simply contains the names of all who are believers in Jesus
Christ. Actually, the Lamb’s book of life originally had the names of all people
born into the world; but when a person dies without accepting Christ as Savior,
that person’s name is blotted out (Rev 3:5) So, in eternity, the book of life
contains the names of believers only.
Both sets of books are opened; but the books of works are in focus in,
(Rev 20:12-13).
...And books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the
book of life: and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the
books, according to their DEEDS. And the sea gave up the dead which were in
it; and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were
judged every one of them according to their DEEDS.
I want you to get the picture: a man comes before God; he is resurrected;
he is an unbeliever. He has performed thousands of good deeds. Now what will
God do about these good deeds? Well, his good deeds are mentioned every
kindly act, everything that could be construed as human righteousness. His sins
will never be mentioned since they have already been judged. All of his deeds
will be the basis of his indictment. Why? They will not add up to perfect
righteousness. In order to be saved, we must have the righteousness of God!
(2Co 5:21)
For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT
WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."(Rom 4:3-5)
All the good deeds of the entire human race are not enough to save one
person. Only the work of Christ can save! “Those that are in the flesh cannot
please God.” (Rom 8:8) Our righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight.
(Isa 64:6) Our human righteousness is no good to God. (Rom 3:10-12)
It is “not by works of righteousness which we have done.” (Rom 4:6)
The Bible recognizes works of righteousness, or human good.
The judgment of the believer’s human righteousness
Well, what about certain believers, you wonder? What about the person
who accepts Christ as Savior, but never learns any Truth? The Holy Spirit in his
life is constantly quenched and grieved, (Eph 4:30; (1Th 5:19) and he is
therefore controlled by his old sin nature, which cranks out nothing but human
sin and self-righteousness. His life is not counting, and he is no different from
any unbeliever because he is producing only human righteousness. There is no
impact... there is no growth to Spiritual maturity. So what happens? His human
production has to be judged.
Remember, human production is analogous to flowers in, (Isa 40:6). This
is why I have never particularly appreciated flowers. But just as there are all
kinds of beautiful flowers from all of the stems which come up, so there are all
kinds of human good. There are many ways in which you can perform good
deeds. There are many ways in which a person in this life can be a wonderful
person; but if it is ALL OLD SIN NATURE GOOD, it is ALL non-acceptable!
Furthermore, as the flowers fade and the stems are cut down, so human good
will be judged in the believer. Let’s see the development of this in,
(1Co 3:11-15).
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is
Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious
stones, (God’s Thoughts and absolute Virtue) wood, hay, straw, (Sin nature
thoughts and relative righteous) each man’s work will become evident; for the
day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, (Judgment by God’s
Word) and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s
work which he has built on it remains, (Reaches Spiritual maturity) he will
receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he
himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1Co 3:11-15)
There are two categories in this verse: the category of Divine Thinking and
Virtue is “gold, silver, precious stones”; the category of human thinking and sin
nature righteousness “wood, hay, stubble.” The believer in time either USES
God’s Thoughts and righteousness or human thoughts and sin nature
righteousness, depending on who controls his life. If the Holy Spirit controls his
life, a maximum amount of time, he produces Divine Virtue; if the old sin nature
is in control a maximum amount of time, he produces sin nature good. This is
the issue that has to be faced in the Christian life!
You are either progressing or retrogressing in the Christian life.
(2Co 13:10) You are either building the edification complex and therefore
growing Spiritually, or you are building “scar tissue” on your soul, (Eph 4:17-18;
Ignorance and arrogance) and producing DEAD WORKS. (Heb 6:1)
Now, here again is what God Thinks of sin nature good. As far as the
unbeliever is concerned, it is judged; it is the basis of indictment at the last
judgment. As far as the believer is concerned, every bit of sin nature good we
have ever developed in our lifetime will be removed, for there will no satanic or
human thinking and righteousness in eternity; ONLY GOD’S THINKING AND
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
(1Co 3:13-14 ) “Work” here is the believer’s GROWTH.
(Mark 4:20) Every believer’s production shall be made manifest; for the day
shall declare it; (At the Judgment Seat of Christ; 2Co 5:10) (His Spiritual growth
or lack of it).
The fire is going to test (Evaluate) the believer’s works and will destroy all
the wood, hay and straw. (Human false thinking and righteousness) The fire is
Divine judgment, “If any man’s work which he has built on it remains...”
(1Co 3:14) This is Spiritual growth; this is everything the believer does when
filled with the Spirit; this is everything performed in the power of God the Holy
Spirit. “If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a
reward.” Just think! The edification complex is the result of Operation Z given to
every believer; (Truth going into the mind through the filling of the Spirit,
transferred by faith into the human spirit, and exhaled out the left and right bank
of the soul toward God and toward people) — no works actually; and yet we
receive a reward which will glorify God! (Heb 4:10)
Spiritual growth is recognized by God, Virtue is pleasing to God, and
Divine Virtue is rewardable. BUT …“If any man’s work shall be burned up, (This
is the wood, hay and straw) he will suffer loss; (Loss of reward) but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by (Through, literally) fire.” (1Co 3:15) In other words,
ALL old sin nature production is going to be judged. When the believer arrives
at the judgment seat of Christ, the first thing that happens is that all of his self-
righteousness is destroyed!
Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have
confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know
that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness
(Stays in fellwship) is born of Him. (1Jn 2:28-29)
The means of producing Divine righteousness "good" ---Virtue-love
The next verse follows in this context very logically: “Do you not know that
you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1Co 3:16) It
is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to produce Virtue-love; (Gal 5:22-23) and
ALL Spiritual Thinking in the believer’s life. (1Co 2:11-14) ALL actions in life can
be either Divine or human righteousness, depending on the means by which
they are performed.
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, (Using satanic and
human thinking; to live the Spiritual life) God will destroy him, for the temple of
God is holy, and that is what you are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man
among you thinks that he is wise in this age, (Satanic and human wisdom) he
must become foolish, so that he may become wise. (With God’s Thinking) For
the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE
ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS"; and again, "THE
LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS!"
(1Co 3:16-20) cf. (Psa 94:11)
One of the greatest tragedies in the Christian life is that, as believers, we
are so often DOING things which we think are "good" --- "of God," and should
be, but in our ignorance and or our carnality, this is rendering them only human
sin nature good. For example, the giving of money --- you can give money to a
church and everyone says it is "good." Or you can offer prayer, and people
say, “Oh isn’t that wonderful! He prays so beautifully.” You can attend church,
and someone will tell you, “That’s great!” You can even witness for Christ, and
DO many other things, and they are all considered good. (Psa 55:21;
Psa 66:18; Prov 15:8; Prov 21:27; Prov 28:9)
But when you do these things, they can be either sin nature good or Divine
good, depending on who controls your life; and what you are thinking.
(Acts 5:1-11)
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you?” If you DO these things in the power of God the Holy Spirit and
Truth, (John 4:24) they are Divine righteousness --- Virtue-love. If you DO these
things in the energy of the flesh, (In carnality) they are human sin nature good
--- self-righteousness. You can give ALL your money to the poor, you can give
ALL your money to the church; (1Co 13:3) but if you do it in the energy of the
flesh, it will not be credited to your account as Divine Virtue-love! (Spiritual
growth; Matt 6:19-21) It is wood, hay and straw. (1Co 3:12) And so again,
it isn’t WHAT we DO, but WHAT we THINK; and are we in fellowship with God
the Holy Spirit.
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the Words that I
have Spoken to you are spirit and are life. (John 6:63)
God may use what we DO, and He always blesses His Word; but it is not
reward-able, there is no growth, Virtue-love, invisible impact, or ANYTHING
ELSE for the believer who does ANYTHING in the energy of the flesh!
Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not
subject itself to the law of God, (The Thinking of the Word) for it is not even
able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God! (Rom 8:7-8)
By living in the Spiritual life; (Rom 8:10-14) is how we take our own
happiness wherever we go! If you’re controlled by the Spirit, if you are taking
Truth into the mentality of the soul and by faith it is transferred into the human
spirit, you’re going to carry your own happiness wherever you go, because you
will have that edification complex of the soul --- a Temple --- the Divine nature!
For by these (Spirit and Truth) He has granted to us His precious and
magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the Divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (2Pe 1:4)
That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self,
which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, (Thoughts) and
that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in
the LIKENESS OF GOD (Thought and Virtue-love) has been created in
RIGHTEOUSNESS and Holiness (Integrity) of the TRUTH. (Eph 4:22-24)
Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil
practices, (Thoughts) and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a
true knowledge according to the IMAGE (Thought and Virtue- love) of the One
who created him. (God the Son) (Col 3:9-10)
Whether you are at a party or find yourself in the valley of tragedy, you will
be exalted; whether you are in a place of prosperity or in a place of testing, you
will always have this marvelous inner happiness, which belongs only to the
believer in fellowship; and at, or on the way to Spiritual maturity! (Acts 20:32)
The Word Truth; is the only permanent solution!
Now here is the principle of the grass and flowers of the field; (Isa 40:6)
HUMAN GOOD is like the flower of the field. All of these beautiful flowers are
here for a moment, and then they are gone; they make a great impression at
the moment, but they do not last. And that is what life is like. People are doing
things which make an impression for the moment, but their works have all
disappeared. Caesar made an impression, but it has gone. The greatest men in
history have made an impression through their "good", but it has vanished.
But you, as a believer in Jesus Christ, can today, tomorrow and the next
day and the next; do things which will count for all eternity. Long after history
books have been burned and destroyed and when all history is in its true Divine
light from the Word of God, the Divine good --- Experiential righteousness ---
Virtue love --- Spiritual growth --- etc., of the believer will be made manifest.
(Mal 3:16-18) Yet you don’t have to wait until then you can see it now; and you
can make your life count!
You can make life count by being filled with the Spirit. You can make your
life count by getting Truth into your human spirit; and then your production will
remain! (John 15:16) Your giving will count, even if it is only half a penny. Your
witnessing and your prayer will count. Your worship will be meaningful,
because, to be acceptable, worship must be in the Spiritual life and with Truth
--- God’s Thinking! (John 4:24)
Now ask yourself some questions. “Am I going to have the same old
frustrations, the same old disappointments? (Whether it is Christmas or not) Am
I going to be hilarious for a couple of moments and then miserable? Am I going
to roll along as I have in the past?” All your life as a believer you’ve been
cranking out human good; you’ve been sincere, but your life isn’t meaningful.
I wonder how many of you have a thrilling, adventurous and marvelous
Christian life? Do you take your Christian life to business with you? Do you take
it into your social life? Do you take it everywhere you go? There is only one
way in which you can; and that is through Truth taken in on a daily basis and
transferred BY FAITH into the human spirit! This is the Divine Viewpoint. You
can enjoy life or not, depending on whether you have the Word or not.
Christmas can start today, and you can have Christmas all the way up to
Christmas, and forever, and have a meaningful and wonderful life! You can even
throw New Year’s in for a little hilarity,
Or are you going to be the same old up-and-down miserable person? You
get in the valley, and you are so miserable everyone can hear you howl for a
hundred miles away; and the louder you shout, the poorer your testimony!
When you throw a tantrum, it’s like the atomic bomb going up. Now, which way
you go is entirely up to your own volition. I can’t make you get with Truth. I can
tell you it’s here, but your volition must go into action. Sometimes it’s not as
easy as it sounds; you have to start learning some Truth; you have to start
using Truth — beginning with the faith-rest technique! AND THE WORD HAS
TO BE FIRST!
Do you really want to produce Divine good? Do you really want your life to
count? There is no short cut. It would be nice if I could say, “Look, if you want
everything to go right... If you want to be happy... You need to do only two
things: first, come into the office, and I will wave a magic wand three times;
second, go home and stand in front of an east window, take a deep breath and
then say, “It’s okay.” Then you take another deep breath, and after fifty of
them, everything will be fine.” Have a cookie, and you will be right as rain.
That is the kind of solution many people want. In fact, many come to my
office with just that in mind: I will wave the magic wand, and suddenly there will
come over them a great feeling of happiness; then I will tell them to do
something very simple such as standing in front of a window and engaging in
self-hypnosis. But it isn’t that easy. It’s the Word, the WORD, THE WORD!
Furthermore, you must get it today and tomorrow and the next day and keep on
taking it in and taking it in and taking it in, and Think with IT, Think with IT and
Think with IT! The Word of God must become our life, (Deut 32:46-47) and the
Word must become OUR REALITY! It must become your Standard! That is
why we have, (Isa 40:7-8).
“The grass (People) withers, (We are here today and gone tomorrow) the
flower fades, (Human good is beautiful today but gone tomorrow).” I wonder
whether those of you who are interested in human good can remember some of
the good deeds you did even ten years ago. They fade! Even in your mind they
fade. Why? Because, “...The breath of the LORD blows upon it...” The “breath
of the Lord” is judgment. Because God’s judgment blows upon it, “...Surely the
people are grass.”
Now, here’s the point: “The grass withers, (Dies) the flower (Human good)
fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.” (Isa 40:8) The only permanent
and stabilizing thing in this world is the Word of Truth. The Bible is the Thinking
of God; the Bible stands forever! But you must take the Word from the page,
and by the filling of the Spirit, transfer it to your mind, where the Spirit makes it
comprehensible; then it is transferred to the human spirit by faith, where it
becomes your Standard!
What the Bible says must be more REAL than anything else in life! If you
know Bible Truth and it is more real to you than anything else, then you can
have inner peace and inner power, and you can answer that invitation not B.Y.O.
B. “Bring your own bottle", but B.Y.O.H., “bring your own happiness!” And this
means that your life is counting for God, now as well as for eternity, because
you have the Spiritual life through which Divine good is produced.
So that the proof of your faith, (Spiritual life) being more precious than
gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, (The Spiritual life) may be
found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
(1Pe 1:7)
Summary: three sources of Divine good
Divine good is produced from three sources in the believer, depending
upon his stage of growth: (1) from the filling of the Spirit; (2) from the exhale of
Truth, from the human spirit; and (3) directly from the Spiritual life.
An immature or “baby” believer can produce Divine good, though not
consistently; but whatever he does while filled with the Spirit is Divine good. As
the believer matures and becomes “adolescent,” he begins to store residual
Truth in his human spirit from which Divine good is exhaled out the right bank of
the soul. The mature believer with a completed temple in his soul consistently
produces Divine good --- Experiential righteousness --- Virtue-love.
During His incarnation, the Lord Jesus Christ exemplified the production of
Divine good from all three sources. In, (John 3:34) Jesus is said to have been
filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit at all times. In, (Luk 2:40-52) Divine good
was exhaled from His human spirit; so we see that He had the same Spiritual
life. (John 17:8; John 17:13; John 17:17; John 17:21-23)
The do-gooder, an enemy of God
Now, if you have not received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal
Savior, you are an unbeliever and declared in the Bible to be an enemy of God.
(Rom 5:10) Perhaps the greatest shock a sincere do-gooder could sustain is to
hear that by Biblical standards he is an enemy of God, for this person is usually
performing his good deeds to gain the approbation of God.
Yet the Bible condemns as enemies of God all members of the human
race who are unregenerate, whether they are sinning or whether they are
expressing the other part of their old sin nature, (The performance of human
good). Why? Because they are born Spiritually dead and condemned, which is
the basis of enmity with God. (John 3:18)
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Rom 5:12)
There is never a time when the UNSAVED PERSON ceases to be the
enemy of God. We usually think of enemies as people who are in status of
hostility toward us mentally or overtly. But this is not necessarily true with God.
You may never give God a thought; you may believe that there is no God. (Psa
53:1) It makes no difference, for either way, if you are an unbeliever; you are
still the enemy of God!
Now, I want to remind you again that at least fifty per cent of the
unbelieving human race, is nice people — very lovely people; and they perform
human good. Even the people whom you do not consider to be nice people
have human good in them. Some of the nicest people in the world are
unbelievers... The most sincere do-gooders... The people whose acts and
deeds we admire... These are just as much the enemies of God as the unlovely
members of the human race whose sins are personally obnoxious to you. There
is no such thing, from God’s Viewpoint, the unbeliever and or the believer living
in carnality, with all his human good, IS THE ENEMY OF GOD! (Rom 5:10;
Php 3:17-19)
Why are unbelievers enemies? They are enemies because they have a sin
nature; (Rom 8:8) they have imputed sin, (Rom 3:23) they are under the penalty
of sin, which is Spiritual death; (Separation from God in time — Rom 6:23) they
are born Spiritually dead; (Eph 2:1) their good is human good and relative and
therefore not acceptable as Divine Good; (Isa 64:6) they offend the perfect
character of God; (Psa 24:3-4; Rom 3:21-22) and they are in Adam.”
(1Co 15:22) In other words, the unbeliever has nothing, no asset by which to
gain credit with God. Why are carnal believers enemies? Because they think
and live by the old sin nature! (Rom 7:18; Rom 8:8)
There is an insurmountable barrier which totally separates man from God.
Whether the unbeliever is actively antagonistic toward God or not, his very
position is enmity against Him. And he remains an enemy of God until such time
as he accepts Jesus Christ as Savior.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly... For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the
death of His Son... (Rom 5:6-10)
The word “reconciled” means that Jesus Christ removed the barrier that
stood between man and God. He has done the work; ...Having put to death the
enmity (Being an enemy)... (Eph 2:13-16) We have but to receive it AND
BELIEVE IT.
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in (Sin nature)
righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration (The
new birth) and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (Tit 3:5)
Only through regeneration can you become acceptable to God. If you add
any human good to faith, it is no longer faith!
Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law
but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that
we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by
the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. (Gal 2:16)
Faith is a non-meritorious response to salvation. The decision is up to you.
“What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He? ...’’ (Matt 22:42)
APPENDIX
The Difference Between Human Good and Sin
The question has frequently been asked, “Is human good sin?” Human
good is not classed as sin because the Bible distinguishes between human
good and sin, even though both are obnoxious to God. The Bible speaks of our
righteousness as “filthy rags.” Other phraseology for human good, as we have
already seen, includes “not by works of righteousness which we have done”;
“dead works”; “judged according to their works”; “every man’s work shall be
tested.” What, then, is the difference in God’s sight between human good and
sin, since they are both objectionable?
Human good does not involve a Biblical Prohibition issued. For example,
would anyone consider giving money to a church sin? Or helping a person in
need? You certainly would not class witnessing or worship or prayer as sinful or
lawless! So, obviously, there has to be some way of distinguishing between
sins and things that are generally good except when accomplished in the energy
of the flesh.
Now, the question has undoubtedly arisen in your mind when you discover
human good in yourself: do you confess it, or how do you handle it? There is
only one way to deal with human good. You have to be filled with the Spirit and
motivated by the Thinking of Christ; for, as we have seen, everything that you
do that’s nice, or good, or moral, or right every act of kindness, any sacrificial
giving, all of your prayer and witnessing and teaching Sunday School, your
service in the Ladies’ Missionary Society everything that you do when you are
out of fellowship is old sin nature good. (Rom 7:18)
Therefore, the first answer as to how to handle human good is to avoid it
by being filled with the Spirit. Under status quo grieving or quenching the Spirit,
any good performed can only amount to old sin nature good. Remember, you
are indwelt by both the Holy Spirit and the old sin nature. You can never sin
when you are filled with the Spirit. (1Jn 3:9) You have to be tempted first. You
can be tempted in regard to mental attitude sins, overt sins, and sins of the
tongue. But you have to be tempted first, and then you have to go on negative
signals. It is not a sin to be tempted. However, when you go on negative
signals, you succumb to the temptation, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and then you
come under the power of the old sin nature.
When you are under the control of the sin nature, you are going to commit
personal sins. At the point you confess the personal sins involved, you go back
to the control of the Spirit. (1Jn 1:9) Now the Spiritual life actively produces
Virtue-love from the Holy Spirit; (Matt 22:36-40; (1Co 13:1-8) rather than from
the sin nature. (Mark 8:31-32) The solution begins with, (1Jn 1:9) but you do
not confess the sin nature good — you confess the sins.
You see, somewhere along the line you are going to know you are under
the control of the old sin nature, because you will commit a personal sin. Then,
when you confess that you are out fellowship, you are forgiven the personal sin,
as well as any sins you may unknowingly or forgot you had committed. You are
now filled with the Spirit. Now no matter what you do while filled with the Spirit,
motivated by Divine Thinking; whether it’s only giving a cup of cold water in the
Lord’s name, or whether it’s praying and witnessing it falls into the category of
Divine good --- Virtue-love.
NOW WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND: ALL REWARD ON EARTH AND IN
HEAVEN COMES FROM GROWTH! WORKS ARE A NATURAL RESULT OF
SPIRITUAL MATURITY! AND ALL THINGS GOD LEADS US TO DO; IS THE
REWARD NOW; AND AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT THEY ARE BEYOND
EXPLANATION! (Rom 8:18; (2Co 4:17)
Human Good
A Satanic Concept
Since Satan was the first sinner and his sin was negative volition,
(Isa 14:12-14) there is an obvious conflict in the realm of Absolute Divine
Righteousness versus human sin nature good. However, many believers, as
well as unbelievers, cherish the deception that only those things which are
regarded as evil by society originate from the devil. There is also a conflict of
good versus good — that is, Divine Righteousness versus satanic good. Dr. L.
S. Chafer points this out:
“It is not the reason of man, but the Revelation of God, which points out that
governments, morals, education, art commercialism, vast enterprises and
organizations, and much of religious activity are included in the ‘cosmos
diabolicus.’ That is, the system which Satan has constructed includes all the
good which he can incorporate into it and be consistent in the thing he aims to
accomplish. (The destruction of man and the overthrow of God) A serious
question arises whether the presence of gross evil in the world is due to Satan’
s intention to have it so, or whether it indicates Satan’s inability to execute all he
has designed. The probability is great that Satan’s ambition has led him to
undertake more than any creature could ever administer. Revelation declares
that the whole ‘cosmos system’ must be annihilated not its evil alone, but all that
is in it, both good and bad.” (L.S. Chafer, “Systematic Theology,” Vol. II, p.100)
Hence, the great conflict between God and Satan is not only Divine good
versus evil, but Divine good versus satanic good. Satan’s false thinking is
promoted through such agencies as the social gospel, socialism, world peace,
internationalism, economic human solutions, doing good in the name of good,
and other man-made plans which seek to improve human environment without
providing man eternal relationship with God.
Satan’s power is described in, (2Th 2:9) as “dunamis” (Greek) power,
(Dynamic or inherent power):
That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with
all power (Dunamis) and signs (Miracles) and false wonders.
One of the greatest “dunamis” powers is in the field of thought. Satan’s
power of thought is in the old sin nature. (False spirit and truth — 1Ti 4:1)
Satan is constantly reaching us through our sin nature’s thought pattern. (Matt
15:19; Acts 5:3) In the field of religion, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh,
and the pride of life, etc. Truth is the ONLY WAY to become FREE! And our
ONLY protection, thereafter. (John 8:31-36)
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of
the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the
Father, but is from the world. (1Jn 2:15-16)
But since all people cannot be reached through religion, he has other
dynamic systems, some are in the field of the economy, politics, ANYTHING
AND EVERYTHING; APART FROM THE FILLING OF GOD THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND TRUTH. (Matt 6:24) This isn’t to imply that the entire world is
satanic. IT IS SATANIC! (Matt 16:26; (1Jn 2:15; (1Jn 5:19; Rev 12:9) His
system goes in for human security solutions. Remember, he has a fantastic
plan which has been in operation since he took over the world. Satan is trying to
bring order out of chaos; he is trying to create a perfect environment;
WITHOUT GOD!
When the devil came into the newly created Garden, he saw perfect
environment, and he didn’t like it. Furthermore, he saw that an inferior creature
had been given the perfect environment which he formerly possessed. In his
jealousy, he formulated a plan whereby he might remove man and woman from
this perfect environment. After succeeding, and then discovering that it was not
God’s plan to take man off the earth, he made up his mind to “(Show God; Isa
14:13-14)” — to set up his own perfect environment on the earth. This is the
plan he has been working on ever since.
Satan would like to establish a millennial reign, with himself as ruler. He
would like to beat Jesus Christ to the punch — to get there first! To do this,
Satan must get the world straightened out. Consequently, a tremendous area of
good deeds, social action, and many similar old sin solutions to man’s problems
---that are ALL Satanic in nature! (John 8:44)
Jesus “razzed” Satan now and then. Knowing Satan would like to stop war,
He said, (In effect) “There will be wars and rumors of wars until I come.”
(Matt 24:6) War is very embarrassing to Satan in view of his attempt to
institute perfect environment on the earth. Satan would like to eliminate poverty;
but Jesus said, ‘"For you always have the poor with you...” (Matt 26:11) Satan
is in the “do-good” business! Therefore, we need to be extremely careful to line
up with Biblical Principles and not with satanic dynamics! THE NUMBER ONE
VERSE FROM THE BIBLE; THAT SATAN’S KINGDOM USES IS: (Luk 6:31;
with many wrong meanings; AND IN THE POWER OF THE OLD SIN
NATURE!) TREAT OTHERS THE SAME WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED!
(Luk 6:31) In context; (Luk 6:20-49) Means Personal Virtue -love for God and
Impersonal Objective Virtue-love for self, enemies, and ALL OTHERS!
THIS IS A SUPERNATURAL SPIRITUAL LIFE! AND CANNOT BE
PERFORMED BY THE POWER OF THE OLN SIN NATURE AND OR SATAN!
NO ONE CAN THINK OR DO; (Luk 6:20-49) WITHOUT SPIRITUAL
MATURITY! PLEASE TRY IT!
For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. (GOD’S
POWER: The filling of God the Holy Spirit and His Thinking! Truth!) (1Co 4:20)
cf. (John 4:24)
Satan’s objective is to counterfeit genuine Divine good Virtue-love; which is
produced by the Holy Spirit. (Gal 5:22-23) But what do we have today?
Program Christianity! Do... Do... Do ...Get everyone to work... Find a job for
everyone... Create organizations so that everyone is doing something!
“Mediocrity” can pastor a church with a good program because everybody is
working, everyone belongs, everyone feels wanted, everyone is “making
brownie” points with God, and it is all one big, happy family! This is taught in
seminaries today! “Don’t bother with Thinking with Truth — just get with the
program!”
Satan also has a dynamic “sensual --- emotional --- sincere love.”
(Prov 7:9-23; Jas 3:15) At best, however, it amounts only to pseudo-love no
matter how lovely it may appear on the surface. This is probably one of the
greatest invasions that Satan has made among believers: the “love everybody”
concept — the “neo-pseudo-love-ism.” When believers are ignorant of or
neglect believing and Thinking with the Word of Truth, they have to have a
substitute, and the “Love everybody” concept moves in.
Now, the “love-everybody” cult produces a reaction; a guilt complex. The
order of the day is to “love” some person or race or group who is obnoxious to
you in order to assuage the guilt complex. And this has infiltrated everything;
including Christianity. Believers ARE commanded to love THE BRETHREN; but
it can only be a genuine Virtue-love exercised in the power of the Holy Spirit. No
matter how sincere you may be, if your Christian life is not operating in the filling
of the Spirit, it is FALSE!
The, (2Th 2:9) passage also mentions false wonders, (Miracles). People
today, as in every generation, are impressed with “miracles.” We have those
who are trying to produce the miracles of the pre-canon period. What are they
doing? They are lining up with Satan’s program. What is God’s program?
Miracles? Miracles were simply to focus attention on the message of the
Gospel until the canon of Scripture was completed in, 96 A. D., when miracles
were dropped, (Php 2:26-27; 2Ti 4:20) God had provided something better,
something greater — the Word of God in writing!
For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE
FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS
OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the
Word which was preached to you. (1Pe 1:24-25) cf, (Isa 40:6-8)
How long does a miracle last? Suppose God heals you of an incurable
disease at age 20, and you live for 80 years. How long did that miracle last?
Sixty years! How long is eternity? It’s the Word of God which lives forever!
God has a plan for your life which begins the moment you are saved. The
plan is divided up into days one day at a time and He provides living grace for
each day. Now, if God wants to take you out of this life by a painful, terminal
disease, He has provided something greater than a miracle: dying grace for
each day you are dying; and this is greater than any miracle ever performed.
Our perspective is wrong: we always think in terms of making it stop
hurting... or of finding someone who can wave a magic wand and make it well.
What is the matter? We are lined up with Satan’s do-good program. Our lack of
Doctrinal orientation makes us prey to every emotional gimmick that comes
along, and there is no better or quicker way to stop your happiness!
Since Satan is a creature and the author of sin, his plan must fail. But it
can succeed with you; if your “grace apparatus for perception” is not functioning
and you do not have a “Temple’’ of the soul! He attempts, but Satan cannot
produce Virtue-love --- the Spiritual life! (1Co 13:1-8)
The Concept of Morality
Distinction should be made between morality and human good. Christianity
is not a morality, but a relationship with God through Christ. (2Co 5:17) Virtue-
morality is a byproduct of Christian Spiritual maturity, (Eph 5:3) although human
morality has no Spiritual dynamics (Gal 5:16). The dynamics of Christianity are
in the Spirit-controlled life. (Rom 8:2-4; Eph 5:18)
Morality (Obedience to authority and Law; Rom 13:1-10) is absolutely
essential for the orderly function of the human race under the Divine Institutions.
(Volition, marriage, family, and nationalism) For this reason, morality,
(Obedience to authority and Law) is for the entire human race. The unbeliever
is capable of being moral, but morality can neither provide salvation nor
Spirituality. (Gal 3:2; Tit 3:5) Virtue-morality is a result of Spiritual maturity!
Obedience to authority and Law "morality" was designed by God for the
perpetuation and survival of the human race in the angelic conflict, and protects
human freedom as the basis for response in evangelism.
Morality is not the distinguishing factor between the believer and
unbeliever, for morality is outward, overt and or superficial. Morality without
Spirituality in the unbeliever and the believer produces legalism, religionism, self-
righteousness and hypocrisy. (Moral-degeneracy) The manifest distinctions are
inner functions in the soul and spirit of the believer: the filling of the Spirit, the
function of the “grace apparatus for perception,” the exhale of Truth from the
human spirit.
Only the overt manifestation of the inner life can be observed. The
production of sin and human good are manifestations of the first birth with the
old sin nature, which causes Spiritual death at the moment of physical birth. The
production of Divine good from both the filling of the Spirit and the edification
complex manifest inner Experiential righteousness. Failure to produce Divine
righteousness --- Virtue-love, plus mental attitude sins, are signs of relationship
with the devil by the first birth; (1Jn 3:10) and identification with his cosmos
"One World" system.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the
willing is present in me, but the doing of THE GOOD is not! (Rom 7:18)
End
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