To reiterate in this Part II ── water baptism. It may seem archaic to some. And like
I had said in the first part, maybe part of that belief stems from a sentimental or
emotional feeling that people get ── those who truly aren’t being called by Father God and are full of this world’s culture and religious education. Frankly, however,
most of this stems primarily from simple ignorance of what God’s living word
actually teaches.
Are you willing to learn and obey what God’s living word actually says?
Because, yes, God’s word specifically says that we must be baptized.
Again, Acts 2 ── recall that the men of Judea and all who were dwelling in
Jerusalem, had asked, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ And the Apostle Peter
had said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized …” “Then those who gladly
received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added
to them.” – verse 41. These thousands of souls “gladly received,” he wrote, for the
glorious opportunity to be forgiven and to be reconciled to Father God.
In the Book of Acts 6:5 and on into chapter 8 we learn about the Evangelist Philip
who was “preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of
Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” – verse 12. Also, later, the Apostle
Paul coming to Ephesus. “And finding some disciples he said to them, ‘Did you
receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’
So, they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’
3) And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So, they said, ‘Into John’s
baptism.’” – Acts 19:1-3.
But the correct understanding and the great meaning of baptism is so important that
the Apostle Paul again baptized these people ── this time “in the name of the Lord
Jesus.” – verse 4.
Our Lord Jesus gives us an example that we should follow His steps (1 Peter 2:21).
Was our Lord Jesus baptized?
He absolutely was. We see this in Matthew 3 ──
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14) And
John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming
to me?’ 15) But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it
is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him.
16) When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and
behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17) And suddenly a voice came from heaven,
saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” – Matthew 3:13-17.
He did this to set us an example to follow! Because there was no other purpose for
His baptism.
Notice the commission He sent forth just before His disciples were sent forth unto
all nations after His glorious resurrection ──
“’ Therefore, go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them into the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’” – Matthew 28:19, NET.
The Apostle Mark recorded for us that our Lord Jesus commanded, “’Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16) The one who believes and is
baptized shall be saved, but the one who does not believe shall be condemned.’” –
Mark 16:15-16, NET.
Baptism is explicitly commanded for Christians.
Water baptism is an outward sign by which we acknowledge our complete surrender
to the LORD God prior to receiving the glorious Spirit of God. Yet, there were some
exceptions. Notice this account with Cornelius, the Roman centurion. He was ‘a just
man, one who feared God and had a good reputation among all the nation of the
Jews’ whom in vision had seen an angel of God coming in unto him, saying,
‘Cornelius!’
“And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, ‘What is it, lord?’” – Acts 10:4.
The Apostle Peter explaining to Cornelius, “’ In truth I perceive that God shows no
partiality. 35) But in EVERY NATION whoever fears Him and works righteousness
is accepted by Him. …’” – Acts 10:34-35.
And “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those
who heard the word.” – Verse 44.
And yet, even here, the Apostle Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name
of the Lord.” – Verse 48.
And so, without question, water baptism is a vital ordinance in the eyes of God the
Father and of our Christ Jesus!
As I’ve spoken before there was a time when I, myself, was brokenhearted,
having the weight of this world upon my shoulders, and I was captive, blind, and
bruised and battered, and I needed liberty and freedom from all of that which was
weighing me down. And I wasn’t sure during my younger years whether there was
going to be a tomorrow. And then – February 12th, 2013 – a brilliant light shined
into my life. Because the path I was headed down before Almighty God began to
call me was not good – I would have soon died without repenting. And while praying and
meditating God allowed me to feel just a small portion of the love, He has for me,
saying, “I cannot let you feel all the love I have for you because your physical body
wouldn’t be able to handle it.’ A great warmth came over me which spread from the
top of my head down to my toes - and the very next day I was baptized and had
hands laid upon me, receiving the glorious Holy Spirit.
True Baptism
What is the true form of baptism? Although there are various “Christian”
denominations and sects that practice differing forms of baptism, there is only ONE
that is biblical. And when you learn the awesome meaning in baptism, the true form
will become so obvious.
The very word baptize is not an English word per sē. The word is from the Greek
word
baptizō. The word means
complete immersion. It says over in Matthew where
Jesus ‘came up out of the water.’ And John the Baptist was baptizing there at the
Jordan – because ‘there was much water there.’ There was no sprinkling or dropping
water droplets on a child – or something of that nature. They were actually going down into the water waist deep – as I was baptized at the
Fort De Soto Park, North
Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida in the Gulf of America in 2013.
When the Evangelist Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, “both Philip and the
eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” – Acts 8:38.
The Apostle Paul ── under divine inspiration ── wrote that there is “ONE BODY
and ONE SPIRIT, just as you were called in ONE HOPE of your calling; 5) ONE
LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM; 6) ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, who
is above all, and through all, and in you all.” – Ephesians 4:4-6. So, there are not
many different forms of baptism, but just one.
Sadly, there are those who “reason around” God’s simple and plain command and
the example given to us in His living word. However, if you are looking for the truth
of God, the correct form and the true meaning of baptism ── it is made clear to us
in His living word and in the inspired example of our Savior ── the Author to our
salvation.
The true meaning of baptism?
Notice ──
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into His death? 4) Therefore we were buried with Him THROUGH
BAPTISM INTO DEATH, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5) For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also
shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.” – Romans 6:3-5.
So, baptism pictures our old self dying, being buried in a watery grave, and being
resurrected to a new life that is now
CHRIST-CENTERED!
Baptism symbolizes the death, the burial and the glorious resurrection of our Savior,
Jesus Christ.
Baptism requires a complete surrender to the LORD God. It is an outward sign to
God that you are sincere in wanting to bury your old self. It shows that you intend
to come up out of that watery grave to “walk in newness of life” ── to obey the Law
of God and to yield yourself to the LORD God’s guidance in your life from henceforth. Baptism also expresses to the LORD God our faith in Jesus as our Christ
and Savior, our acceptance of His death, burial, and resurrection unto life on our
behalf.
Again, “buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through
faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” – Colossians 2:12.
“’ He who believes and is baptized will be saved; …’” – Mark 16:16.
We pray that the LORD God will grant you the understanding, the faith, and the
humility to do what God commands for your good.
What is meant, ‘In the name of …’?
I’ve mentioned it several times now ── Oprah Winfrey has unapologetically
declared her belief in pantheism:
OPRAH WINFREY (HOST): Well, I am a Christian who believes that there are
certainly many more paths to God other than Christianity.
OPRAH WINFREY (HOST): I'm a free-thinking Christian who believes that who
believes in my way, but I don't believe that it's the only way, with six billion people
here on the planet.
Is eternal salvation possible through “many more paths” other than true Christianity?
Is eternal salvation possible through many other “saviors” other than our Lord Jesus
Christ? Well… what does God’s living word say? The Holy Bible ── which
apparently Oprah Winfrey does not read or study, because it boldly and plainly says.
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12.
How does a person receive eternal salvation through the name of Jesus Christ?
It’s important to understand that the LORD God attaches great importance to a name
── to the meaning of a name.
It was the LORD God that began naming things, including people. The first man, He
named “‘ādām” which in Hebrew means “man.” And God let Adam name his wife
“ḥawwâ” which in Hebrew means “life.” Because “she was the mother of all living.” – Genesis 3:20. The LORD God also named all the angels, and the LORD has
counted the number of the stars and calls them all by a name (cf. Psalm 147:4).
But what name stands out supremely above any other name ── either in the heavens
above or on the earth or under the earth? It’s Jesus Christ of Nazareth!
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above
every name, 10) that at the name of JESUS every knee show bow, of those in heaven,
and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11) And that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:9
11.
Our Lord Jesus has a better name than any of the mighty and glorious angels of God!
“God, who at various times [throughout mankind’s history] and in various ways
spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2) has IN THESE LAST DAYS
spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom
also He made the world’s; 3) who being the brightness of His glory and the express
image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He
had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4) having become SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE ANGELS, as He has by
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” – Hebrews 1:1-4.
Our holy Father not only raised His begotten Son from the dead, but He also ‘set
Him down at His own right hand’ ── which symbolizes our Lord Jesus Christ’s
preeminence ── next to Father God in authority and rulership over the entire
universe! “… in the heavenly places, 21) far above all principality and power and
might and dominion, and EVERY NAME that is named, not only in this age, but
also in that which is to come.” – Ephesians 1:20, 21.
The name Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was crucified.
What does the name “Jesus” mean? The answer is found in Matthew 1 ──
“But while he [Joseph] thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take
to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21)
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save
His people from their sins.’” – Matthew 1:20-21.
The name Jesus in Greek is “Iēsous” which means “Yahweh saves.”
This Child was, and is, the Son of God, as well as the Son of man ── He was both
human and divine.
Let’s also consider what the word “Christos” – in Greek. The word means “Christ,”
or “Anointed One,” “Messiah.”
Why was our Lord Jesus called the “Anointed One” ── or rather, “Christ”?
Notice that even though our Lord Jesus was “conceived in her of the Holy Spirit,”
His real anointing wasn’t until the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove
and alighted upon Him – see Matthew 3:16-17.
Shortly after His baptism with water, and the Spirit of God had descended upon Him,
He returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. He said, “’ The Spirit of the Lord
is upon Me; for this reason, He has anointed Me to preach the gospel …’” – Luke
4:18, NET.
The apostles came to understand that Psalm 2:1, 2 is applied to our Lord Jesus, “…
‘the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ’ [the
“Anointed One”]. 27) For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You
anointed, … with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28)
to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.” – Acts
4:26, 27, 28.
“… God anointed JESUS OF NAZARETH with the Holy Spirit and with power,
…” – Acts 10:38.
So, our Lord Jesus Christ instructed His disciples to baptize those who believe in the
gospel – Mathew 28:19-20. “… ‘baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’”
The Apostle Peter instructing the people, “… ‘let every one of you be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ …” – Acts 2:38.
Is there a contradiction here?
No. The key lies in the two different phrases. The expression in Matthew 28:19 is
“eis” εἰς (τὸ) “onoma” ὄνομα which was in the contemporary language used in
reference to paying into an account.
“(5) The phrase εἰς (τὸ) ὄνομά τινος is frequent in the papyri with reference to
payments made ‘‘to the account of anyone” … The usage is of interest in connection
with Mt 2819, where the meaning would seem to be ‘‘baptized into the possession of
the Father, etc.” 1
So, the one who is baptized becomes the possession of and comes under the
protection of the one whose name he bears; he is under the control of the effective
power of the name and the One who bears the name, i.e., he is dedicated to them. 2
It would be similar to a public official such as in England doing something “in the
name of King Charles III.” To do something in the name of the King is to do it with
the authority of that person.
So, when the LORD God’s ministers baptize “in the name of Jesus Christ,” the
individual isn’t baptized into any humanly devised organization, but rather INTO the
very God family. The person is baptized into the possession of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
A Member of the Family of God
Sadly, few professing Christians know about or comprehend that a person must first
be “begotten,” and then “born” into the glorious family of God.
In fact, as God’s living word tells us ── we are now “children of God,” though only
begotten, yet still very subject to grieving the Spirit. “Beloved, now we are children
of God; … we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see
Him as He is.” – 1 John 3:2.
In the case of the physical: first there is a begettal. In the context of fetal
development, it refers here to the concept of being “begotten” as a baby develops
from a fertilized egg to a fully formed human being. Then the human being is born.
So it is also with the spiritual: first there is a begettal. Our new creature being
developed and nurtured by the Holy Spirit, a period of spiritual growth in the bosom
of God ── abiding in Christ Jesus, studying God’s living word, prayer and fellowship
with our brethren, constantly growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ!
And then, finally ── God willing ── being born immortal, glorified, spirit
composed sons and daughters of God our Father at the blowing of the SEVENTH
TRUMPET BLAST!
When you properly repent of your sins, accept our Lord Jesus Christ as your personal
Savior, are properly baptized, you are completely and fully forgiven of your past
sins. Then you freely receive as a gift the Holy Spirit of God by the “laying on of
hands.” And once you receive God’s Spirit you are a child of God ── a member of
the divine family of God!
Our beloved Apostle Paul spoke of this great and awesome family ──
“For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15) from
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” – Ephesians 3:14-15.
Note that the Holy Spirit (which most professing Christians consider a separate
being) ── is not mentioned! Be sure to read today,
“Is God a Trinity?” If you would
turn to 2nd Corinthians 3:17. This is a powerful statement, and the churches and the
religious people of this world seemingly don’t know it! It’s right there in their Bible!
Just before our Savior’s horrendous crucifixion, He prayed to Father, “… ‘Holy
Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be
one as We are.’” – John 17:11.
Again, note there is no mention of a third being.
His apostles did just that. They kept all true Christians together through the name of
our heavenly Father ── as in the “Church of God.” Notice the Church is singular
──
“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with
His own blood.” – Acts 20:28.
“To the church of God which is at Corinth, …” – 1 Corinthians 1:2.
“Give no offense either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God.” – 1
Corinthians 10:32.
“What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church
of God …” – 1 Corinthians 11:22.
“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.” – 1 Corinthians 15:9.
“… To the church of God which is at Corinth, …” – 2 Corinthians 1:1.
“… how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.” – Galatians 1:13.
“(for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of
the church of God?).” – 1 Timothy 3:5.
Also, the “churches of God” are mentioned in three places (1st Corinthians 11:16; 1st
Thessalonians 2:14; and 2nd Thessalonians 1:4). And the LORD God’s congregations
are referred to as the “churches of Christ” – Romans 16:16.
‘They shall be as white as snow’
From 1942 until late 1944 freight trains delivered Jews from all over German
occupied Europe to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Reichsführer-SS Heinrich
Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), approved the site in April 1940.
“Years later I learned that in fact [Himmler] had been a teacher of mathematics,”
wrote Rudolf Vrba, one of the few men who saw the horrors of Auschwitz, and one
who made a successful escape, “to him, indeed, death was more than simple
arithmetic, row upon row of figures in a neatly kept ledger.”
Himmler would come to visit Rudolf Höss’s home, the first Kommandant of the
camp, and say, “I have seen your work and results you have achieved, and I am
satisfied and thank you for your services.”
But “in fact,” continued Vrba, “he was far from satisfied with what he had seen, but
it was not the appalling conditions which worried him. It was the grossly inefficient
methods which were being used to exterminate the Jews who were beginning to
arrive in the thousands from all parts of Europe. …
And so, he gave orders for the greatest, most efficient extermination factory the world
has ever known. For the modern concrete gas chambers and the vast crematoria that
could absorb as many as 12,000 bodies in twenty-four hours and, in fact, did so. For the machinery that sucked in 2,500,000 men, women and children in three years and
puffed them out in harmless black smoke.” 3
In The Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss wrote, “As the
war progressed Himmler wanted to save on even more manpower by using
mechanical means. The guards were replaced by movable barbed wire fences,
electrically charged fixed barbed wire fences at the regular work sites, even
minefields, and even by using more dogs. Any Kommandant who could invent a
truly practical method to decrease the number of guards was to be promoted at once.
Nothing came of this. Himmler continued to picture in his mind that dogs could be
trained to constantly circle the prisoners as if they were a herd of sheep, thereby
preventing an escape.” 4
Heinrich Himmler was just one of thousands who were directly responsible for the
most organized atrocity of genocide this world has ever witnessed! He was but one
of millions of Germans that lost no sleep over the evil murdering of some ── in total
six million Jewish men, women, and children. This genocide is now known as
the Holocaust.
A lifetime of generations will never erase the understandable hatred toward Adolf
Hitler, his goons, and even most of the German people of that era ── human
forgiveness is fickle.
But so great is the mercy of the LORD God that even they, whom so many cannot
ever forgive, can eventually receive an absolute pardon from our Creator!
Does that seem impossible? Unbelievable? Beyond your ability to comprehend or
accept? What about these glorious words from the Prophet Isaiah, who reported the
LORD speaking in vision, “’ Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD,
‘Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are
red like crimson, They shall be as wool.’” – Isaiah 1:18.
Does this include the horrendous sins of the people of that era?
Yes.
The LORD God says that sin is the transgression of God’s holy and righteous Law – 1 John 3:4. And His living word tells us that every man, woman and child has
sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and that every human
being who has ever lived has come under the penalty of sin ── eternal death
(Romans 6:23).
Now perhaps we might think that, surely, we haven’t done very wrong during our
lifetime. You look around throughout this world, and you do see some good. Usually
at any given eulogy of someone who has just died, that person who just died was the
greatest of people! As an example: a person who had an infectious laugh and who
had been a helpful sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous, one who enjoyed life to its
fullest. No, certainly, we wouldn’t be classified with the horrific and evil atrocities
like Adolf Hitler and his goons had done! So, why would we be considered utterly
sinful and falling short of the glory of God? Most would consider themselves a
“good” person. Many people might say to themselves, “I believe in God. I speak
with God. I’m a good person. I go to church every Sunday. Truly, all one needs to
do is to be the best person you can be.” My oldest brother, just before his death, used
to say just that.
But, as “good” as we might think we are, we are “all like an unclean thing, And all
our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” – Isaiah 64:6.
If there had been no other members of the human race ── Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, would still have had to shed His blood and die for our salvation to be possible!
Sadly, human beings came to classify for themselves what is and is not sin. Nearly
everyone alive today in this generation would surely consider what Adolf Hitler,
Rudolf Höss, and Heinrich Himmler had done ── and all the other thousands ──
was unthinkable evil. And rightly so. Truly, the overall majority of us has never done
anything so vile and sickening.
Yet, the same penalty that must be exacted upon their sins must also be exacted upon
ours. “For there is no partiality with God.” – Romans 2:11; see also Acts 10:34-35 again. Any sin required the
sacrifice of our Creator if there is to be forgiveness.
The LORD God tells us that if we break one Law, we have broken them all ──
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of
all.” – James 2:10.
There is no sin that is beyond the mercy of our Creator to forgive. We, as human
beings, look upon the most egregious, vile, and horrendous things men commit as
“unforgivable” because we completely grasp the enormity of the wrong.
It happened one spring evening that a mighty king arose from his bed and took a
walk upon the roof his Palace. And from the roof he saw a beautiful woman bathing.
So, the king sent and inquired about this lovely woman. “’ Is this not Bathsheba, the
wife of Uriah the Hittite?’” someone spoke up and told him.
The king ── King David of all Israel ── “sent messengers to her, and took her; and
she came to him, and he lay with her” He succumbed to his temptation of lust.
Later, Bathsheba conceived; “so she sent and told David, ‘I am with child.’”
To cover up his sin of adultery and an illegitimate child, King David of Israel stooped
to cold-blooded murder! He purposely arranged that Uriah – the husband to
Bathsheba – be sent to the forefront of the hottest battle, that he may be struck down
and die. And indeed, Uriah did die in battle.
What King David did greatly angered the LORD! The LORD sent the Prophet
Nathan to David and said, “Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD,
to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have
taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of
Ammon.” – 2 Samuel 12:9. These sins were not committed from a temporary
weakness, but from a cold and calculated plan. It was deliberate sin!
The Prophet Nathan said unto David, “Now therefore, the sword shall never depart
from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah
… 11) Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your
own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your
neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12) For you did it
secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’” – 2 Samuel 12:10,
11-12.
And King David thus said to the Prophet Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’
Nathan responded, “’ The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14) However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the
LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.’” – 2 Samuel
12:13, 14.
King David’s repentance is recorded for us in Psalm 51. He saw that what he had
done was a great crime against God and he came to bitterly loathe himself for his
sins. And when he heartfelt repented, the LORD God forgave him.
In this great example that is recorded for us, we learn a most wonderful character
trait about the Creators of the heavens and of earth – of the family of God; which at
this time consists of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. They do not forgive
in the way that we humans often do. Our Lord Jesus telling us of this great character
of our Father, “’ He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain
on the just and on the unjust.’” – Matthew 5:45. The Lord Jesus teaches us that God
provides blessings to both the righteous and the wicked. But, when God forgives
sins, He forgives totally. He puts our sins so far from us that they have no way to
limit our future potential. As we see when the Prophet Nathan had told King David,
“However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the
LORD to blaspheme.” Sadly, the child ── had the child lived ── would have given
the enemies of the LORD ammunition to blaspheme against the LORD of Israel. And surely would have been quite useful to King David's enemies.
Now, the child's death was not a punishment for David's sins, but rather a reflection of David's actions, emphasizing for us that all sin has consequences ── even if those sins are forgiven by the LORD God.
King David wrote in the 103rd Psalm that God “is merciful and gracious, Slow to
anger, and abounding in mercy. … 10) He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11) For as the heavens are high above
the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12) As far as the east is
from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.’” – Psalm 103:8,
10-12.
So complete is the LORD God’s forgiveness of those who fear God, that King David
is even called ‘a man after God’s own heart’ – Acts 13:22. □
to be continued...
Sources:
1) Moulton, J. and Milligan, G., The vocabulary of the Greek Testament illustrated from the papyri and other
non-literary sources, London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1914-1929, pg. 451.
2) William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1957), under “eis to onoma,” 575.
3) Vrba, R., I Cannot Forgive, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1963, pgs. 13, 15.
4) Höss, R., Death Dealer The Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz, Da Capo Press, Edited by Steven
Paskuly, © 1992, pg. 151.
