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Emphatic Negations in Hebrews 6 (Part 4)

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Finally, let’s discuss the believers of the fourth soil. They are those who press on in their walk with the Lord by the power of His Spirit. Their choice is to daily surrender to Jesus’ Lordship over their lives: “And other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great. . . . And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:8 & 15). In other words, those who represent this soil have  gone through intense trials, tragedies, failures, brokenness, repentance, humbling, and dying to self according to Luke 9:23-24: “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.’”

What is also important in Luke 8:15 (above), is that the Greek verbs “hold fast” and “bear fruit” are in the present tense, indicating an ongoing and continuous action through all of life’s pain, disappointments, heartaches, personal failures, etc. It is because of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and their “daily” choice to continue to walk in Luke 9:23-24 above that they are enabled to “continually hold fast and bear fruit with perseverance.” The phrase, “honest and good heart” is in no way saying that as unregenerate men, our hearts are able—by themselves—to be “honest and good.” If this were the case, then we could, by our own works, save ourselves, but biblically, that is profoundly untrue!

Thus, the following three passages make it abundantly clear that as human beings, we are corrupt to the core and nothing good dwells in us:

1) Genesis 6:5: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

The phrase “every intent” is a very powerful and all-inclusive term. The noun “intent” is from the Hebrew verb יָצַר (yaƒar), which we have already seen means “to form, fashion, devise, produce and create.” The noun יֵצֶר (yeƒar), therefore, carries the idea of the very formation of a thought (i.e., everything that goes into the very outline and framing of a thought in our imagination). In other words, according to the Bible, the very inception of our thoughts is rooted in evil, and even before our thoughts are cognitive to us, their motivation is evil and apart from God! And not only that, but “every intent . . . was only evil continually.” The adverb “only” means that “evil” and “evil” alone was the driving force behind their thoughts and actions. Thus, even what they thought was “good” was rotten to the core in comparison to God’s standard of righteousness.

2) Psalm 14:1-3: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. 2 The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”

In verse 1, a very dogmatic declaration is made: “there is no one who does good.” Clearly this is not just referring to the “fool” who overtly says “there is no God,” but rather it is referring to the whole of mankind as is confirmed in Romans 3:9-12. However, what is even more interesting is the play on words in the actual Hebrew text. The word used for “no” in the fool’s response that “there is no God” is ***** (’ayin), which is the most intense, negative particle in Hebrew. In essence it means “there doesn’t exist” whatever it is modifying, and in this instance it is referring to God. The Lord, through the Psalmist, in turn replies in the same verse that “there is no one who does good.” Here too, the word used for “no” is also *****(’ayin), thus the Lord is saying “there doesn’t exist anyone doing good,” and this encompasses the whole of mankind.

Verse 2 asks the question if there is anyone who “understands” (i.e., who cause themselves to have godly insight). The implication is: No, there is not. In addition, is there anyone who is truly “seeking after God”? (i.e., who is truly wanting to inquire of godly wisdom and insight). And here too, the implicit answer is no. Verse 3 makes it quite clear that the indictment of sin and corruption includes the whole of mankind: “they have all turned aside”; “together they have become corrupt (i.e., as one unit, all mankind shares the same depraved condition from the fall, and in addition, they exacerbate this sinful condition in one another through their attitudes, choices, and actions toward each other on a small scale [person to person], as well as a large scale [community, city, state, nation to nation])”; “there is no one who does good, not even one (here again the Hebrew word *****(’ayin) is used in the two places I have underlined, stating categorically that not one person exists who does good in themselves according to God’s standard of righteousness).”

3) Isaiah 64:6: “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

The phrase, “like one who is unclean,” is referring to the levitical law of uncleanness which covered a wide variety of things, from dietary laws, to unclean animals, to illnesses, etc. The person who became unclean, therefore, had to go through certain steps before he could be declared clean again, such as sin offerings, to periods of separation from the populous.

The second matter of great importance in this passage is the following statement, “and all
our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” The English translation often does not convey the impact of the actual Hebrew wording. The words translated “filthy garment” in Hebrew are עִדִּ֖ים בֶּגֶד (beged ‘iddîm), and this literally means “a cloth of menstruations.” In other words, all our righteous deeds are like “a used menstrual cloth”! In Leviticus 15:19-30 we are told what a woman is to do during her menstrual period, as well as what others must do who may come in contact with her:

When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 ‘Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. 21 And anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 22 And whoever touches any thing on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 23 Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 And if a man actually lies with her, so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean. 25 Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. 26 Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. 27 Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 28 When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she shall be clean. 29 Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them in to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 30 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the LORD because of her impure discharge.’
(Leviticus 15:19-30)

As you can see from this passage, whoever might touch her bed, or anything she sits on, had to wash their clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Consequently, if merely touching an area where she had been sitting or laying down made one unclean, how much more so would one be defiled by touching the actual menstrual cloth she used during her menstrual cycle! Thus, the very best our “righteous deeds” can come up to is a used menstrual cloth that would have been considered the apex of uncleanness by Jews at that time.

The Hebrew verb “to wither” in Isaiah 64:6 is נָבֵל (nabel), and it is also the same form for the word “foolish” נָבָל ( nabal). Thus, the idea of a leaf “withering” and dying as it is separated from the tree, which is its source for life and nourishment, is also true of mankind when we are separated from God who is our source for life and nourishment. Indeed, for the unregenerate man, he becomes more and more foolish until he destroys himself through his foolishness, which destruction is also what ultimately happens to a leaf after its separation from the tree.

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In the next post, I will tie these wonderful truths from Luke 8 back to our passage in Hebrews 6 and conclude our blog series. Stay tuned and let us know if you have any questions!

Comments

  1. Regarding a couple of parts of the first sentence in Psalm 14, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.’ “, there are some additional things to be considered. The word “fool” denotes one of moral perversity. And the words “There is” in many translations are in italics, added for semantic understanding. What the fool is actually saying is, “No, God.”, an emphatic denial to obey God Almighty. Surely, a statement like that would be perverse. Do not let that be said by you.

    • Dear Rex:

      Thanks so very much for your response to the Psalm 14 reference in the most recent Blog. Firs of all, you are exactly correct in that there is no literal phrase, “There is,” in Hebrew. However, syntactically, based on the word order and auxiliary sentence construction, the phrase, “there is” is indeed what is understood in the sentence. But is what is of far greater significance in your comment is the following statement, “What the fool is actually saying is, “No, God.”, an emphatic denial to obey God Almighty.” Dear sir, you are unequivocally incorrect and wrong in your statement. There are three words in the Hebrew used to translate our one English word, “no,” or “not,” with the first two (lo and al) indicating what you wrote. However, what is here in Psalm 14:1-3 is the Hebrew word, “ayin,” which means, “non-existence.” Thus, what the “fool” is saying is that, “God does not exist.” In addition, as you read the remainder of Psalm 14:1-3, you will see that the focus moves from the “fool” to all of mankind: “There is NO ONE who does good. 2 The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the SONS OF MEN, To see if there are ANY who understand, Who seek after God. 3 They have ALL turned aside; TOGETHER they have become corrupt; There is NO ONE who does good, NOT EVEN ONE.” I have written in capital letters the emphases that clearly indicate ALL OF MANKIND is included in this portion Scripture, in addition to the specific reference to the “fool” in verse 1 who says “God does not exist.”
      May the Lord bless you as you continue to seek to serve and follow Him, and thanks again for your response.

      God bless you,

      Justin T. Alfred

  2. Justin~

    Thank you for today’s post. I have a question on your comments on Genesis 6:5. I understand what you say with regard to any concept of “good,” when contrasted to God’s holy standards of righteousness, but isn’t there a distinction between this idea of good and good in a general sense? How do we reconcile the idea that “… the very inception of our thoughts is rooted in evil, and even before our thoughts are cognitive to us, their motivation is evil and apart from God! And not only that, but ‘every intent . . . was only evil continually’ with the fact that we are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), that God has put eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11), and that we have a conscience (Rom. 2:14). I might be misreading what you are saying, but it seems to me that we do have an awareness of good, in thought and deed although, as I said, not with regard to matters of God’s holiness.

    Also, I posted some comments on last week’s blog on the third type of soil if you get a minute.

    Thank you so much~
    Barbara

    • Good point! There is a HUGE difference between human good and “good” in God’s eyes. We all know about human good because Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is only by walking in the Spirit that the Spirit works God’s good through us because in our flesh dwelleth no good thing (Romans 7:18). The good within us is the Holy Spirit.

    • Dear Barbara:

      Thanks so much for your many responses, and as I wrote earlier, I am going to take some time to catalog yours and others according to topic and respond to them in a general and overall response, versus an individual response, WHICH I WOULD NEVER HAVE TIME TO COMPLETE! However, with this particular topic, as I wrote to Rex concerning his statement with regard to Psalm 14:1-3, the issue of the “natue of man” is, in my opinion, as crucial as the doctirne of the eternal Trinity, the Deity of Jesus, and the Virgin Birth. Therefore, I am going to respond to your comment on this subject at this time because of its primary importance concerning our salvation and relationship to God through Christ.
      Indeed, we were created in the “image of God,” but through the Fall of Man in Genesis 3, that “image” has been severly marred, disfigured, corrupted, and utterly distorted. The one area in which Satan tempted Eve with, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” was indeed the reason for his own fall in that he wanted to usurp God and become God himself (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:11-15 [in Isaiah, the King of Babylon is seen as reflecting the mindset of Satan, and in Ezekiel, it is the King of Tyre who is viewed as reflecting Satan’s character, which is indeed what Jesus was referring to in John 8:39-47 concerning the self-righteous Pharisees who viewed themselves “righteous” through their works]). Through the Fall, therefore, man’s nature took on this characteristic of inner rebelion toward God and the puruit of ‘self-deification’, which is clearly what Paul is referring to in Romans 1:18-32. However, as you alluded to in your statement, “God has put eternity in our hearts,” we see in John 1:9 the support of what Paul is writing in Romans 1:18-22 with reference to the fact that man has an innate awareness of God and his accountability to Him, but apart from God’s intervening power of the Holy Spirit to convict man of his sin, the righteousness of Jesus, and the judgment that awaits man if he refuses Christ, man will deify himself and set himself in the place of God – thus, man becomes his own God and worships himself, making up his own system for right and wrong, good and evil, JUST EXACTLY AS SATAN TEMPTED EVE WITH in Genesis 3:5. Consequently, we read in John 1:9 the following: “There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” What this verse is stating is that “every man” has been given an innate awareness of God, due to the fact that we were created in His “image,” but because of the entrance of sin into man’s nature through the Fall, that “image,” as I stated above, is severly and utterly marred and corrupted. Thus, as Paul writes in Romans 1:18-22, man, apart from the divine intervention of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-11), rejects his accountability to God and has substituted it for himself being his own God, making up his own, relative system of good and evil, and right and wrong (Genesis 3:5).
      With regard to your referenct to Romans 2:14, what Paul is saying is that those who are Gentiles and come into a saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, thay have the “Law” written on their hearts by the Holy Spirit because the rebirth and our relationship with God is a supernatural occurrence, not merely some external actions apart from a changed and renewed heart on the inside. Indeed, as a young believer, I found myself beginning to understand eternal truths of God that I would later read in His Word, and I would be overwhelmed at times by that. It was so exciting and thrilling to realize that God was working in and through me by the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit, and He, the Holy Spirit, was indeed “writing His Law on my heart”!
      When I was a student at UCLA, one of the most exciting things for me was to discover the truth of Genesis 3:5 and 6:5 in the ANE texts of Ancient Sumer and Babylon, and in particular Hammurabi’s Law Code, which was written sometime between 1795-1750 BC. When Noah exited the Arc and offered sacrifices to the Lord, the Lord reiterated to Noah in Genesis 8:21 what He said in Genesis 6:5: “And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the INTENT OF MAN’S HERT IS EVIL FROM HIS YOUTH; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.” I capitalized the phrase here in Genesis 8:21 that reiterates the same in Genesis 6:5 concerning man’s heart and its thorough wickendess. Interestingly, the only men on the earth at that time were Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives, so this applied to them. This in turn brings into focus Hebrews 11 with regard to faith in God being the ONLY MEANS WE HAVE OF SALVATION: “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” In chapter 9, however, God gave to Noah the first Laws subsequent to their departing from the Arc, and one in particular had to do with an orderly society, and that was capital punishment: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” What is interesting in this verse is that in the Hebrew, it literally reads, “By THE man his blood shall be shed,” implying a judicial system wherein an executioner was appointed to carry out the death sentence. Thus, from this first societal Law given to Noah by the Lord, after Ham’s perverted sin against his father, the descendants of Ham left and settled what is called Mesopotamia, which included Sumer and Babylon, and it is from Sumer that we have the oldest, extant written records of mankind. Ham never repented of his sin, and we see the consequence of that hardness against the Lord and the pursuit of his own self-deification, and that of his prodigy, in their attempt to build a “tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” The phrase, “and let us make for ourselves a name,” is actually implying, “and let us make, produce, accomplish, put in order, appoint, institute, and celebrate our name religiouisly above the name of the LORD.” Thus, God destroyed the tower (which types of towers have been discovered in ancient Sumer, and they are called Ziggurats) and scattered the people. From that scattering, the ancient civilizations of Sumer and Babylon emerged, and when you read their literature, you see so clearly the ‘self-deification’ of themselves, as their ‘gods’ all reflect human emotions, desires, weaknesses, etc., and thus, the lifestyles of humans, with all of their sinful passions, are sanctified by their gods. Thus, when we come to Hammurabi’s Law Code, we see a development of the basic societal Law God gave Noah with regard to capital punishment and its subsequent corollaries (e.g., laws against theft, financial embezellment, etc.), but when it comes to moral and sexual purity, there are basically the absolute antithesis of what God gave Moses with regard to moral and sexual purity (e.g., in #’s 178-179 of Ham’s Law Code, directions are given for a father who has given his daughter as a “sacred prostitute” for her inheritance, and in Deut. 23:17, we read that “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute”). For example, when we read in Leviticus 18 about the Laws for moral and sexual purity for the Israelites, the introduction states the following: “You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes” (Lev 18:3), and this is in respect to the sexual perversion of all types practiced in those lands, which also included ancient Babylon. At any rate, as I studied all of this material, I realized that the very thing Satan tempted Eve with in the Garden (“you will be like God knowing good and evil”) was the very thing being lived out in these ancient cultures, and apart from the divine intervention of God in drawing men unto Himself and their responding to Him in repentance and faith, THERE IS NO HOPE FOR ANY MAN because our natures are utterly opposed to his Deity over our lives, and the result of that rebellion is utter corruption within our own natures.
      Barbara, let me say with all due respect to you and others regarding this topic of man’s sinful nature and our unequivocal need for a Savior due to our unequivocally corrupt and fallen natures, I am as absolutely intractable on this issue as I am on the Deity of Jesus, His Virgin Birth, the Inspiration of Scripture, etc. When this foundational, biblical truth is altered, then we become no different than any other ‘works based salvation’ based group, such as the Muslims, who resolutely deny the innate sinfulness of man. This is my position in a succinct, but I hope somewhat inclusive perspective, and I hope it will be of some help to you.

      God bless you,

      Justin T. Alfred

      • Justin~

        Thank you so very much for responding and for putting in all the time and effort into giving such a detailed explanation. However, I think there has been a misunderstanding as to what I was asking. Apparently, I didn’t communicate my thoughts as well as I thought I had. Just to clarify, foundational to my theology is the biblical explanations and conclusions that you have given with regard to mankind’s fallen nature, his desire for self-deification, and his need for a Savior as well as the biblical viewpoint against a works-based salvation.

        I will try and reword what I was saying. As I wrote in my original post, I understand how the word “good,” as it pertains to God’s righteousness, has no part in mankind, that except for what is done by the Holy Spirit through salvation in Christ, there is none that does good as so many verses attest. However, it seemed to me that you were also saying that mankind can do no good in the general sense, which seems to contradict the verses I gave. By way of further explanation, most unsaved people who do nothing good as defined and understood with regard to God’s righteousness, do good. They volunteer their time, talents, and money, for example, to help those in need. It seemed that you were saying that mankind wasn’t even capable of this type of good, and I was just asking for clarification as to whether this was what you were saying although, as I wrote, I did recognize that I might have misunderstood what you were saying.

        If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, would you clarify whether you think the unsaved can do good in the general sense? I’m sorry for any vagueness on my part that led you to spend so much time writing your response.

        Thank you and God bless you.

        Your sister in Christ~
        Barbara

        • Justin~

          I just have one more quick comment about Romans 2:14, as understood within the larger context, if you don’t mind. While verse 15 does use the phrase “the law written in their hearts,” which is the same idea that is attributed to the saved (Jer. 31:33), I believe something different is being put forth, a parallelism between the Jews who have the written law and the Gentiles who, although not having the written law, do have a innate awareness of right and wrong, “their conscience also bearing witness” (v. 15), and they “do by nature the things contained in the law” (v. 14). According to Strong’s, the phrase “by nature” means “guided by their natural sense of what is right and proper (physis, G5449), something we very much witness in people and which is further supported by the verses I gave (Gen. 1:2 and Ecc. 3:11) as well as the verse you included, Romans 1:20. I think that verse 11 is laying the groundwork for the comparison, that regardless of whether one has the written law or not, God can still rightfully judge because He has “no respect of persons.” In addition, if these were “Gentiles [who have] come into a saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ,” then it wouldn’t make sense to say of them that they “have sinned without the law” or that they “shall perish without the law” (v. 12) because believers do have the law; they even establish it (Rom. 3:31). Finally, what would it mean, in verse 14, that the Gentiles “are a law unto themselves,” a phrase that wouldn’t be used of the saved, if not that they know what the law is outside of any written code? It is because of this truth, as verse 13 tells us, that they will be justified and, by implication, condemned.

          I would appreciate any comments.

          Yours in Christ~
          Barbara

        • Dear Barbara:

          Thanks again for your response, and I am sorry I misunderstood your initial question, but I do understand it now. I would like to use some ‘football analogies’, as I am quite familiar with those, and in particular with the SEC, which I might add, by all standards of measurement, is the unequivocal toughest Division I Conference in the nation today. So, let’s say that Mississippi College in Clinton, MS, just outside of Jackson, wanted to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa. MC is a Division II, or perhaps Division III school, and within their own league of other teams of the same talent level, they compete well, and perhaps better than most, in that it is a Southern Baptist College and draws quite a number of Southern Baptist, top high school football players to their school who do not have the skill level to play at a Division I SEC school. So, MC is a good competitor in their ranks of Division II or III college football teams, and as I said, perhaps better than most. Thus, if the coaches and players of MC were to judge themselves as being really good football players based on their level of competition, they might think that they are a really good football team, and in fact, they might even be the number one team in their Division II or III level. Based on that level of competition, therefore, they could come to a conclusion, based on their comparison of others with them in their Division who are not as good as they are, that they are really good. However, because they are only comparing themselves with those who are no better, or perhaps even worse than they are with regard to abilities as football players, they cannot really see their own lack of abilities or insufficiencies as football players because they are comparing themselves with players who they dominate with their level of athletic abilities. But then, they go against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the number 1 team in the nation among Division I schools, and they discover within the first few minutes of the game that they cannot even begin to compete with the University of Alabama in any area of the game, from specialo teams, to offense, and to defense – IN NO AREA OF THE GAME! Even if Alabama empties their bench and plays their third string players, conservatively speaking, the score at the end of the game might be no more than the following score: Alabama – 100 & Mississippi College – 0! And again, that is being conservative. With reference to human righteousness and goodness, therefore, Jesus gave a great illustration of the above analogy between a Pharisee and a tax gatherer: “And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. 11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. 12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 “But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:9-14). Indeed, the Pharisee did “good” things in the eyes of others according to the measure of ‘human goodness’, but he was utterly blind to the deeper sins and rebellion in his heart toward God because his measure of “goodness and righteousness” was with himself in comparison to others according to his legalistic, humanistic measure of goodness. Jesus dealt with this issue when addressing the Pharisees in the following passage: “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them. 4 “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries, and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 “And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by men, Rabbi. 8 “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 “And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 “And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ 17 “You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is obligated.’ 19 “You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 “Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 “And he who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 “And he who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. 23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 “Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “Consequently you bear witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 “Fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?” (Matthew 23:1-33).
          Therefore, yes, we do have a humanistic measure of goodness compared to other humans, such as when we “volunteer our time, talents, and money, for example, to help those in need,” but so did the Pharisees for that day and time in their own culturally, accepted acts of “goodness,” but Jesus saw far beyond the outward to the inward heart and attitude in comparison to God’s holiness, and they, along with all other human beings, are TOTALLY, COMPLETELY, AND UTTERLY LACKING in comparison to the God’s ultimate measure of “goodness” whereby we gain entrance into heaven – HIS HOLINESS! Thus, the ONLY WAY any human being can attain to that requirement for entrance into heaven and an eternal relationship with Him is through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, whereby Jesus’ righteousness and goodness is transferred to us by faith in Him as our ONLY LORD AND SAVIOR! The following passage, therefore, helps to sum up this very important truth: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:20-21).
          Thanks again Barbara for broaching this absolutely and unequivocally essential, important, and foundtional truth for the readers of this Blog. And yes, I will get to your other question about Romans 2:14, but I am really involved in the election today, which is of vital importance to the future of our nation and our freedoms as we know them, including our 1st Amendment rights that enables us to even have this Blog and discussion.

          God bless you,

          Justin T. Alfred

          • Justin~

            First of all, let me thank you for taking part in the elections. As we know, voting is such an extremely important right that we have been given, but this year, it is of even greater importance, and we cannot take our responsibility lightly. This year, as I was standing there waiting my turn, I was truly filled with a sense of gratitude and an awareness of just how precious our voting rights are.

            I’m afraid, despite your fabulous football analogies ☺, that there is still some confusion about what I was asking. I feel really badly because you have gone to so much time and trouble giving me an answer, and the further we get into it, the sillier I feel having even brought up the topic. My question had nothing to do with the word “good” as understood with regard to the righteousness of God and the unrighteousness of man, and it had nothing to do with how one individual views his righteousness relative to another individual as the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector illustrate. In fact, it had nothing to do with righteousness at all. As I wrote, it had sounded to me like you had said that mankind cannot do good, and I mean good in the simplest sense of the word with no spiritual denotations intended. That is why I cited verses that illustrated that, despite being unsaved, people are still capable of doing good, which was also the purpose of the example I gave. Because I couldn’t understand why you would say that people are incapable of doing good, I wrote asking for clarification, acknowledging that I might have even misunderstood what you had said.

            Okay, my brother, I think this conversation has run its course!! Again, I am so sorry that it took the turn it did. Thank you, again, for responding and for all your work in bringing spiritual insights to us.

            God bless you!
            Barbara

  3. Justin,

    How can you say that biblically it is profoundly untrue that we can save ourselves by works when Luke 8 is saying that we need to continue in good works for salvation?

    • Dear Eric:

      Thank you so very much for your response to the Blog. Your question, “How can you say that biblically it is profoundly untrue that we can save ourselves by works when Luke 8 is saying that we need to continue in good works for salvation?,” I can say it because it is absolutely true throughout Scripture. For example, when we read about Abraham’s trust in the Lord in Genesis 15:6, we read, “Then he (Abraham) believed in the LORD; and He (the LORD) reckoned it to him (Abraham) as righteousness.” And then, we see in Genesis 16 and 20 Abraham’s failures as a believer, but God’s gracious, merciful intervention. What is interesting in Hebrews 11:8-19, is that no mention is made of these two serious failures, but rather of the fact of his belief and trust in God. In Hebrews 11:17, however, what we are told about is the event that transpired in Genesis 22, where Abraham, after learning from his failures in giving into fear as a believer, versus trusting in God irrespective of his circumstances, immediately does what God calls him to do in taking his son Isaac to Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. The consequence of this was that God clearly saw Abraham’s growth in faith to trust Him, NO MATTER WHAT, and that is where God wants to bring all of us, but Abraham’s faith had nothing to do with his “works” that he did, but rather the “work” we see performed in him in Genesis 22 was the clear result of God’s grace and mercy bringing Abraham to the end of himself, and where, as a result of this work of God in His life, Abraham’s faith reached a place where he trusted in God implicitly, and we read: ” But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 And he said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided” (Genesis 22:11-14). So, what we read about in Hebrews 11:8-19 with regard to Abraham is the end result of his growth in faith, which was based not on his “works,” but rather on the grace and mercy of God “working” in and through him.
      In addition, we read the following in Ephesians 2:8-10: ” For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Dear Eric, this passage is abundantly clear that our salvation is not based on our works, but rather on the absolute grace of God, and even the faith to believe is a gift of His. The phrase, “For by grace you have been saved through faith” is one of the most emphatic forms of grammatical construction in the Greek, and it is saying that “BY GRACE AND GRACE ALONE THROUGH FAITH ARE YOU SAVED!” And it goes on to say that even the faith to believe, resulting in the total gift of salvation, is in itself a gift, and it is “not of yourselves,” as well as the absolute fact that my salvation is “not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” Then verse 10 makes a powerful statement, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (1) “We are His workmanship,” not our own workmanship through our works, because our works are utterly corrupt to the core. (2) He “created us in Christ Jesus,” not in our ability to do acts of righteousness, because here again, our righteous deeds are as “used menstrual cloths” (Isaiah 64:6). (3) “for good works” is cleary referring to the life of Christ, and His works being manifest in our lives as we daily surrender to His Lordship in our lives. (4) God “prepared” these works “beforehand” in Christ Jesus to be manifest in us as His children as once again, we daily surrender to His Lordship, and the “beforehand” here is referring to “before the foundation world” when He chose us in Christ (Ephesians 1:1-14). (4) “that we should walk in them” is implying that this is God’s plan for us, but as with Abraham, the process of this “walk” is clearly the process of sanctification in our lives whereby we are “conformed to the image of His Son” through failures and subsequent brokenness that in turn result in a submissive yieldedness and a commitment to the death to trust in Him.
      Dear Eric, I hope this is helpful to you because this is a truth that is of foundtional importance. To believe that “our works” help procure our salvation is not biblical Christianity, but rather it is akin to the darkness of Islam and other related false beliefs such as that. It is, therefore, not our “works,” but rather the “work of Christ” within us as Paul states in the following passage: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (II Corinthians 4:7-11).
      May the Lord contiue to bless you as you seek to surrender to and follow Jesus’ leadership in your life.

      God bless you,

      Justin T. Alfred

  4. I so much enjoy using the BLB site for Bible Study. Being able to enter a single word and print in full its every occurrence in the Bible is a wonderful gift for which I am very thankful. It grieves me however to see doctrinal positions suggested here which are not in step with the teaching of Jesus and His apostles.

    The mis-use of Is 64:6 “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment”, suggests that after I was baptized, received the Holy Spirit and started walking with Jesus, that all my desire and effort to walk in holiness before God is absolutely worthless? Instead these fear-of-God-inducing words from Isaiah refer to something else entirely – the state of the disobedient sinner before his life-changing experience with God. The sinner is typified here by old Israel. In the preceding verse 5 Isaiah says, “You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?”

    This is the same lament against heartless religious activity Isaiah spoke in 1:13-20 “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’ For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

    How wrong it is to use these verses to describe the soul who has come to Jesus for salvation, repented, been baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost. To apply disobedient old Israel’s habitation to the overcoming christian is so wrong. It implies that there is no difference in our works before and our works after we come to Jesus. Beloved Apostle Paul addresses this issue very clearly in these verses.

    Eph 2:8,9 NIV “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” This scripture is sometimes quoted up to “…no one can boast”, but we must include the rest of Paul’s wording, that we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

    Thus Paul shows us the difference between two different kinds of works – the vain works of merely religious men to get into the Kingdom of God and the good works which God has ordained for the holy walk of the true Christian.

    Later in 4:1,2 Paul says, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. and in 5:3 he says, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.”

    He gives this sober warning to believers again in Col 1:22- “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation–if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

    Again we find it in 1 Cor 6:9 – “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

    Hebrews 6:4-8 takes us even further with this dire warning concerning the true believer who turns away from God. Like Judas, this person’s final habitation is Hell. “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

    Jesus said of Judas, “It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Mat 26:24. This warning of the finality of God’s dealings with ones who were once enlightened and knew the reality of His presence and then turn away is further developed by Peter, who was present in Mt 26 when Jesus spoke about Judas.

    2 Pet 2:20-22 says, “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

    We should all beware of those who try to nullify the simple truth of these scriptures. The perfect advice for our generation comes to us from Paul again in 2 Tim 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

    Bless the Lord for His Holy Word.

  5. Dear D. Leland:

    Thank you so very much for your thoughtful and passionate response to the Blog. Dear sir or madam, your exhortation to all of us a believers to live a separated life unto the Lord is openly received and welcomed because our surrender to His Lordship in our lives on a daily basis is essential to our experiencing the abundnt life Jesus promised to give those who are His “sheep.” However, there are some things you stated that I need to address for the sake of our readers because in dealing with the nature of man, both before and after salvation, is of as extreme importance as are the doctrines of the Deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the Inspiration of Scripture, etc.
    Number one, with regard to Isaiah 64:6, dear sir or madam, this verse is dealing with “our righteous deeds” both before and after conversion. We read, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isaiah 64:6). If you will notice, Isaiah is writing this, and he includes himself in this by saying, “all of us” and its corollaries throughout the verse, and Isaiah was indeed a believer and a man who was certainly committed to walking with and serving God by faith, with Isaiah 1:13-20 as an affirmation of this fact, which you indeed quote. Thus, Isaiah is clearly talking about our sin nature that we still live with and deal with every day, but also a nature, as believers, that is covered in the righteousness of Jesus, and it is His righteousness in us that is constantly moving us toward a separated life in Him from the works of the flesh. But dear sir or madam, we still sin every day, and anyone who says he or she does not sin is living in a rather serious deception and propagating a false doctrine. The following passage in I John helps to clarify this issue: “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (I John 1:5-2:2).
    Indeed, dear sir or madam, if we begin to think that we have arrived at a point where we no longer sin, we are indeed “deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” I am not saying that a person who believes he or she has reached “entire sanctification,” which is espoused by some ‘holiness groups’, is not saved, but I am, without any equivoction, firmly stating that such a belief is utterly false and very dangerous. As a young man in Jackson, Mississippi, I was around quite a few people in my city and state who were ‘holiness’, and as I, a non-believer who was a church member, observed their lives, I did see that they did not “drink, smoke, chew, or go out with the girls or boys that do” on the surface, but I also discovered that they were some of the most self-righteous and prideful people I knew (and that included the adults as well as the teenagers). In fact, that was one of the things that turned me away from wanting to pursue Jesus. However, through the prayers of a young lady who was a member of our high school Bible Club (in the 60’s we had such things in our high schools), I came to Christ my freshman year at Mississippi State through a fellow teammate who was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Two pastors gave me two of the most important pieces of advise ever given to me: (1) one told me to begin studying the Bible as though it was another course; (2) and the other told me about prayer and it importance in Philippians 4:6-7. Those two items have been foundtional to my life. Those next four years of playing football at Mississippi State, the Lord used my football as a spiritual training ground in teaching me the truth of His Gospel, and one of the most important truths I learned was from Hebrews 12:4-11 concerning God’s discipline of His children: “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:4-11). Thus, the holiness that God brings about in our lives is not the result of our efforts in our own strength and power, but rather as a result of his loving “discipline” in our lives, which in turn brings about a genuine brokenness over our sins, resulting in a surrender to His Lordship over our lives, and that “yields the peaceful fruit of [His] righteousness” in our lives.
    You made reference to Ephesians 3:8-10, and I am going to include my response to Eric in this Bolg on that passage here for you:
    In addition, we read the following in Ephesians 2:8-10: ” For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Dear Eric, this passage is abundantly clear that our salvation is not based on our works, but rather on the absolute grace of God, and even the faith to believe is a gift of His. The phrase, “For by grace you have been saved through faith” is one of the most emphatic forms of grammatical construction in the Greek, and it is saying that “BY GRACE AND GRACE ALONE THROUGH FAITH ARE YOU SAVED!” And it goes on to say that even the faith to believe, resulting in the total gift of salvation, is in itself a gift, and it is “not of yourselves,” as well as the absolute fact that my salvation is “not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” Then verse 10 makes a powerful statement, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (1) “We are His workmanship,” not our own workmanship through our works, because our works are utterly corrupt to the core. (2) He “created us in Christ Jesus,” not in our ability to do acts of righteousness, because here again, our righteous deeds are as “used menstrual cloths” (Isaiah 64:6). (3) “for good works” is cleary referring to the life of Christ, and His works being manifest in our lives as we daily surrender to His Lordship in our lives. (4) God “prepared” these works “beforehand” in Christ Jesus to be manifest in us as His children as once again, we daily surrender to His Lordship, and the “beforehand” here is referring to “before the foundation world” when He chose us in Christ (Ephesians 1:1-14). (4) “that we should walk in them” is implying that this is God’s plan for us, but as with Abraham, the process of this “walk” is clearly the process of sanctification in our lives whereby we are “conformed to the image of His Son” through failures and subsequent brokenness that in turn result in a submissive yieldedness and a commitment to the death to trust in Him.
    You also made reference to Hebrews 6:4-8, and I would suggest tht you go back and read my previouis material on these very passages on this Blog.
    Therefore, dear D. Leland, I pray that the Lord will continue to bless you in every way, and thanks again for the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

    God bless you,

    Justin T. Alfred

  6. Well, now that the mystery of the “filthy rags” is resolved and the blue haired church ladies have been picked up off the floor we can go on.

    Before I get to the buts, let me make clear that I understand and agree with the over all conclusion, that we are all hopelessly lost without a savior and this condition begins as soon as the fertilized, single cell egg splits in two and before any thought or action is taken on the persons part due to the fact that apart from the virgin birth, all born, are born into Adams (Eve implied) sin. And as usual you get an A++ for grammar, (glad to see the Hebrew).

    But,

    as I was reading your exposition several thoughts came to mind that don’t quite seem to apply to the logic of the filthy rags. 1) How do Enoch and Elijah fit in? Both were received by GOD to be in HIS presence. Enoch was taken before any LAW was given and Elijah after the fact. 2) On what grounds were the pre-flood (pre-law, thus pre-filthy rags) men and women judged? 3) Cousin Rachel uses the same precept you site from Leviticus on Uncle Laban to hide the idols she took and before she knew what part her nephew Levi would have in GODS plan, and it worked I might add.

    No need to reply, just some thoughts to make us go, hmmm?

    J.

    • Dear Jerry:

      Thanks so very much for your question and post, and I would like to try and answer it because you bring up an excellent point – what about the pre-Law people, etc., with reference to “our righteousness being filty rags”? If you will take a look at Hebrews 11, I believe that will answer your question. You will note that in Genesis 6:9, after God’s assessment of all of mankind in Genesis 6:5, that the following is said of Noah: ” These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” Now if it were ever possible at any time for any human being to attain to the righteousness of Christ by and through his own effort and “works” from his own nature, then the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ is totally superfluous, which is exactly what the Muslims believe. And it is also interesting that after the flood when Noah and his family exited the Arc and offered a sacrifice to the Lord, that the Lord made the following comment about mankind: “And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done” (Genesis 8:21). Interestingly, the only men on the earth at that time were Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives, thus, what men was God referring to? It is clear, therefore, that Noah and his family were indeed included in this reprobation, along with their future prodigy. And again, if Noah, or any man, could ever attain to the righteousness of Christ on their own, then Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection are superfluous because man can achieve that righteousness on his own. However, when we read Hebrews 11, we get a bit different picture of just where our righteousness is derived from, and that is through faith. Thus, with reference to Noah’s righteousness described in Genesis 6:9, we read from whence it came in Hebrews 11:7: “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” And we read of Abraham in Genesis 15:6, which was long before the Law: “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Therefore, from Abel forward, believing faith has been the source of man’s righteousness before God because we have absolutely none of our own.
      However, with reference to your third comment concerning Rachel, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about in connection with Leviticus 18 and the idols she was hiding.
      I hope this may answer some of your questions, and thanks again for response.

      God bless you,

      Justin T. Alfred

      • Thanks for the reply.

        Rachel, Gen 31:34-35 HNV

        Gen 8:21 HNV, H120, “man” should have been transliterated “Adam”. Often GOD sees all of mankind, you and me, as “Adam”.

        J.

        • Dear Brother Jerry:

          I took a brief break from the election, and I brought up BLB for a brief change of focus. I read your response, and I in turn read Genesis 31:34-35 in the Hebrew, and I still have no idea what you are referring to with regard to Leviticus 18, Rachel, and Laban. In addition, with all due respect, you are entirely incorrect with regard to your statement that “haadam” should be translated in Genesis 8:21 as simply “Adam,” which I am assuming you are trying in some way to say this is referring to Adam of Genesis 2-4. Dear, precious brother, when you have the definite article, “ha,” in front of the noun “Adam,” it is typically referring to “the man,” or if you will, the “human race” as a whole. However, in Genesis 4:25 and the first reference in 5:1, the word “adam” is used without the defininte article “ha” in such a way that it appears that the first man who was called “Adam” is being referred to. But then in, in the second reference in Genesis 5:1, as well as in Genesis 5:2 in particular, the word “adam” is used of both “Adam” and “Eve,” as “mankind.” But then, when you come to Genesis 8:21, this is clearly referring to “mankind” as a whole because the first man, “Adam,” had been dead and gone for some time. Thus, I must completely disagree with you linguistically and theologically, in that the word “haadam” is absolutely translated correctly as “man,” referring to “mankind” as a whole, which would also include Noah and his family.
          May the Lord contiue to bless you in every way as you seek to serve and follow Him.

          God bless you,

          Justin T. Alfred

          • Makes sense, got it, thank you. I think of the LORDS title “The Son of Man”. Is this referring to Adam or mankind?
            Rachel did not rise off the camel’s saddle because she was in menstruation and Laban did not want to touch it and uncover the idols in fear of becoming unclean. This was a custom prior to the Law of Moshe.
            J.

  7. Justin, thank you for taking the time to respond with thought. I can see that your response(s) are focused on exposing what the scripture is definitively saying as opposed to a personal agenda.

    To be even more clear, and possibly pointed, to argue just for the sake of arguing to me is a form of self deification. The point being, to raise ones opinion over the standards and truths layered into scripture is an attempt by someone to elevate one over another. We are all equal, but we are not all equally mature. The example we each have in our own families from the beginning self centered alligator tears of a baby through the rantings of a teenager is fodder for stories later shared between parent and child. I for one know I have more growing to do.

    So, the root of self-deification is pride…self pride. And we know pride will destroy. Scripture states…we will know them by their love one for another & we know that He has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, power, and a sound mind. So again The Holy Spirit exposes pride because love will cover the wounds, not rip or tear apart. Love will discipline, not disrupt. Pride attempts to inject fear so that a Christian shy’s from the dynamic power exploding from the spirit into the natural, hide the eternal heart throbbing Love of God as defined and revealed by Himself, and sabotage a mind that has become disciplined so that the spirit can be taught thus growing in faith. Simply, pride will attempt to unravel the three fold cord of 2 Timothy 1:7.

    So again Justin, as a student of The Word I thank you for stepping out with scriptural explanations with added historical doc’s to add interest.

    Be blessed…..shalom alechem,
    Mark (Cov)

    • Mark~

      Because you’ve told me I was wrong in how I’ve interpreted Scripture, I was hoping that you would give the Scripture and logic to support your viewpoint for my four examples. I was under the assumption that we were exchanging ideas. Have you decided not to continue? Of course, you are under no obligation, but I am kind of wondering why you have not responded.

      Barbara

  8. D~

    I just happened to come back to this particular day, and I read your response to Justin. I know you don’t offer your responses to receive any human accolades, but I do appreciate the perspectives that you bring to this site. I have some thoughts on the word “righteousnesses” in Isaiah 64:6 that I would like to run by you, but I won’t be able to get them posted before Thursday. Would you be able to come back and read what I’ve written? Thanks.

    Your sister in Christ~
    Barbara