JESUS has to say, "GO".

[Bradigans]

JESUS IS THE ONE THAT HAS TO SAY, GO
John 8:36 - If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 






It's time for us to stop rationalizing that this will be the last time I do this; or this will be the last time I will say this; or this will be the last time I will think this, or this will be the last time I will feel like this. IT'S TIME TO COME TO CHRIST, JESUS HONESTLY FOR CLEANSING. Jesus is the only one that has the authority to free you from whatever has you bound. Jesus is the only one that can free you from your lost and futile sin state. This is for folks who have truly found out that they can't free themselves and are now ready to be honest with God. In St John 8:36 Jesus says, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Jesus Christ said in Revelations 1:18, "I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death."  Only Jesus has the keys to set you free. You can't free yourself. Religion gives folks the false impression that they can free themselves from sin. Look at what Jesus had to say in Matthew 9:10-13. "And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the religious Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, why eats your master with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard that, he said unto them, they that be whole (Jesus is about to make an analogy using the comparison of a physical physician to show that he is a spiritual physician who has come to heal folks of sin sicknesses) need not a physician, but they that are sick (spiritually sin sick). But go ye and learn what that means, I WILL HAVE MERCY, AND NOT SACRIFICE, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Jesus is saying in essence, "Just like when you go to a Doctor for a remedy or to be put on a medical regimen for physical sickness and disease, to come to him for spiritual sicknesses, disease or sin. It would be ridiculous to go to the Doctor and then decide to come up with your own regimen and/or remedy. If you could have stopped sinning or its symptoms which are seen in your heart and mind of your own volition then Christ should not have come." A lot of folks have this attitude and don't even know it. Like the woman taken in adultery, faith and healing begins with acknowledgement of the diagnosis. Let me show you a guy that just simply came by faith with no inhibitions and made acknowledgement of sin. Luke 18:10-14, "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican (sinful tax collector). The Religious Pharisee (High Priest of that day) stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house JUSTIFIED rather than the other (the religious man):for everyone that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself (by coming as a lost sinner) shall be exalted." Only Jesus Christ's word's mixed with faith can heal you. Let me show you what is really meant when Jesus told the lady taken in adultery to "GO" and sin no more. But first it's always important according to 1st Peter 1:20 to keep in mind that, "Knowing first of all, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." You can't take a single verse of scripture and run with it without trying to look at it in the light and context of the whole word or the whole Bible. Let me show you a few other examples where Jesus simply frees and heals folks by simple faith and saying "GO". In Matthew chapter eight there lays at home a centurions servant sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. Jesus Christ says in Matthew 8:13, "Go thy way; and as thou has believed, so be it done unto thee." And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. In Matthew Chapter nine there is another man sick of the palsy lying on a bed and in verse six Jesus Christ says, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." And he arose, and departed to his house." There is a blind man in Mark Chapter ten who in the 52nd verse Jesus says, "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. You see, when Jesus says, GO, he's not sending them away to continue on in a struggle. They've overcome, because they've been set free. There are a many other examples where Jesus said, "GO", but I'm going to sum this letter up with the text of St John 8:11. This will be my last example of when Jesus freed and healed someone by saying, "GO". You have just seen Jesus freeing folks from various physical ailments and disease. Now why do we think anything different when it comes to spiritual ailments and disease? Folks still have to be set free. Sin is disease. Sin is spiritual sickness and disease.  People need freedom and to be freed from various spiritual ailments such as this woman who was completely taken in adultery. What are you and I taken with and enslaved to? If you're honest with yourself and with God, you're about to find out that we really can't criticize or condemn anybody. As God's Church, we need to start empathizing with one another. Jesus Christ was the only person that could have condemned folks and yet he didn't if they came to him honestly as lost sinners. If you really have faith, and are really trusting God, the responsibility for being set free from whatever has you bound, is not on you but on Christ. Remember true freedom is not where you quit doing something but are left to struggle and fight with the awful urges. That's fleshly freedom which is not freedom at all. That kind of freedom makes you worse for the next time you succumb. You will even paint the town redder next time because in your heart and mind you are yet to overcome. You may still be living in sin from a spiritual perspective. We have all these Church's and look at how the world is getting worse. Anyway let's go on with the text. St John 8:1-11 says, "Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes (supposed doctors of the law) and religious Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken (enslaved)in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, HE THAT IS WITHOUT SIN AMONG YOU, LET HIM FIRST CAST A STONE AT HER. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it (whatever was wrote on the ground), being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord (She's beginning to put her faith in him). And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: GO (here's that word again), and sin no more." Jesus has just set this woman free who was taken (enslaved) by adultery. You say he's telling her to do something. No he's not, He's setting her free. She already did what she was suppose to do which was depicted when she called him Lord. She had faith that he could save and free her from her lost and futile sin state.



The Holy Spirit ministering God's Word, 

[Deborah-Leigh]

The direction towards Christ likeness is not one of holding to the perceived "qualification" of being what is termed an honestly lost sinner. There is nothing honest about a sinner. I know. I am one and we are all in that rank and file.

The direction towards Christ likeness is the command to be holy as I am Holy....holy being separate, having no fellowship with darkness etc. 1 Peter 1 : 16 For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.

Eph 1 : 4 Even as in His love He chose us actually picked us out for Himself as His own in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, consecrated and set apart for Him and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.

As for whether or not  She had faith that he could save and free her from her lost and futile sin state. that is conjecture, supposition and assumption. The Scripture does not say what her inner state was. She may have been terrified at the powerful display of Christ in being able to stem the tide of opposition against her. She may have felt deep repentance. She might have felt paralysing shame at having been caught or just simply good luck to get away and continue her life with better disguises and more complex strategies to not get caught in the future. We know not. What we do know is that not everyone is obedient, submissive or humble towards the Spirit of Christ, and that the call is to be holy.

Our assurance is that every knee WILL bow.

Peace to you

Arcturus

[Sorin]

Bradford,

I agree with what you're saying. But next time do use spaces in between the paragraphs, it makes it alot easier to read.
and I mean that respectfully, not as an insult. But you will have more people reading your ( and I am speaking in general here, not necessarily about you) posts if you make it
easier to read when it's a long post. Similar to Arcturus' for example.

Or the way Ray writes his papers, and some of them are really long. I think you know what I'm trying to say.

Now on that note. The reason why Christendom believes and teaches that we can 'freely' choose to do good at any time, we can on our own with our carnal mind that is enmity against God can choose to come to Christ and obey God's law even though the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neighter is it able, is because they believe and teach that we have free moral agency. And can at anytime freely choose to do what is morally right. If that be the case, then who needs a Savior/Doctor. People who can heal themselves don't need a doctor, anymore than people who have 'free moral agency' and can at anytime choose to do good need a Savior from bondage of sin, etc...


They believe that a serial killer who also happens to be a pedophile has the ability { this free moral agency as they call it } to stop killing and raping little children at anytime because he has free moral agency you see, and can choose what is morally right, like not killing and raping little children but donating money to orphanages and buying ice cream for every child there. But you see, they don't do that because they can't do that because they don't have 'free morallity' because they {and us too} are not agents of free -morallity.

[Deborah-Leigh]

To build on what you say Sorin,

As we recall from the teachings of the scriptures and the revelation truths shared by Ray, that although God is categorically RESPONSIBLE, this by association means that we can depend on God to correct all wickedness and adjust all rebellion. Our knowledge that all evil will be addressed by God and that no stone will be left unturned should re-enforce the understanding that God will not remove out of our way the fact that we are ACCOUNTABLE.

We are accountable, though not responsible for our wickedness and rebellion. If it were not so, what then would be the point of judgment? If it were not so then God would be under our judgment and not the other way around. Theololgians try to take away God's responsibility and still others try to shake off their accountablility. Neither will succeed. God will be God. God will not be mocked.

There is and yet will be judgment.

Peace be to you

Arcturus

[Joey Porter]

I know there is a lot of debate as to whether or not hte first 11 verses of John 8 are of divine inspiration.  I believe that it is a divinely inspired text of a true account.

The reason is because this story is in keeping with the rest of Jesus' teachings and behavior throughout the rest of the gospels.  He spoke words that the religious pharisees could not refute, but showed mercy to the contrite sinner.

The part of that story that stands out to me the most is the fact that Jesus and the girl ended up alone, away from the religious people.  It wasn't until I began to question all of the confusion and hypocrisy and self righteousness in Christianity, and became willing to forsake all of it, that I began to see the heart of Christ more accurately. I think there is definite symbolism in that story - that the more we let relgious traditions fall by the way side "one by one," the more alone we are with Christ.

[Deborah-Leigh]

That is a very inspiring insight Joey.....more please!

Peace to you

Arcturus

[DWIGHT]

I see a very angry righteous yet silent Lord among the self-righteous hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees who thought in their self-righteous ways that they were right and that there was no way God could excuse this sinner from her sin.  And yet, I see a very tender forgiving Jesus who came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.  Oh Lord, count us among the publicans and sinners that you came to save.  And saving us to sin no more.

In Him,

Dwight

[Bradigans]

Amen and thanks to everyone.


Sorin, don't apologize. i'm thankful for your reproof that i need to be a bit more organized as far as my writing style. Pray for me.


IN HIS LOVE,


Bradford

[Deborah-Leigh]

Dwight

This scripture came to mind after reading your deep insights.

Luke 13 : 34,35 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who continue to kill the prophets and to stone those who are sent to you! How often I have desired and yearned to gather your children together around Me as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you would not. 35 Behold, your house is forsaken, abandoned, left to you destitute of God's help! And I tell you, you will not see Me again until the time comes when you shall say, Blessed to be celebrated with praises is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace to you

Arcturus

[Bradigans]

God bless you and thanks...


IN HIS LOVE,


Bradford