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What Difference Does It Make? (Part 7) The Mystery Of the Gospel (Part 6)
By Ron Webster October 2023
day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. (How can one not forgive as Christ hath forgiven us? (Eph- esians 4:32). “And he comforted them and spake kindly unto them” (Genesis 50:19-20). Our choices do make a difference to change the course of history! verses 6 and 7? He correctly surmises that because the Lord is merciful to thousands, forgiving their iniquity and by no means clear the guilty. His purpose is, as Peter states in II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise(s), as some men count slackness; but is long- suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” thereby to clear the guilty by forgiving their sins. Therefore Moses made a plea to the Lord God of mercy and grace, that the children of Israel would turn from their wicked ways that they would not perish! Most of us are too preoccupied with our own thoughts of our daily lives that we fail to see the hand of God in everything, preserving a faithful remnant. Left to ourselves when we turn our hearts away from our Lord God and Creator, we always degenerate to our lowest state, as the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 1:17-32 as “reprobate.” It came down to this when God took the lives of all living creatures save those on the Ark with Noah and his family. In Exodus 34:10, the Lord God states His plan for this people. “Behold I (am cutting a covenant); before all thy people (to meet the needs of this stiff necked people). I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.” Yes, to destroy the reprobate from the land of Canaan is not a pleasant thing. God then gives Moses His expectations of the people in verses 11- 14, to make His plan in “truth and goodness” to work out perfectly for them. “Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their alters, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” When evil prospers, it is very easy to give up! But King David ex- presses his confidence in his Lord and Savior in Psalm chapter thirty seven with these words; “Fret not” but “trust in the Lord.” “Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.” “Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous (right thinkers) forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is merciful, and lendeth; and His seed is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.” He “forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.” Read this entire chapter! Don’t be envious of the foolish when they prosper. After the sons of Israel were safely provided for in Egypt, they be- came complacent even in their misery, forgetting God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:13-21; 17:1-9. Did they also forget God’s faithfulness to Abraham in Genesis chapter twenty two where Abraham finally learned obedience by the things he suffered to trust God to fulfill what He promised, even if He had to raise his son from the dead? Abraham is praised for his faith in Hebrews 11:8-19. Even though he wavered at times, his faith persevered to the end! God always provides a way, just as the Apostle Paul states in I Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation (or testing) taken you but such as is common to man: But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be (tested) above that which ye are able; but will with the (test- ing) also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Even with Job, who lived before Abraham, God had considered Job’s limits in Job 1:12 and again in Job 2:6. Paul additionally states in Ro- mans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His pur- pose.” His purpose has always been as stated in II Peter 3:9, “that none should perish, but all should come to repentance.” It has nothing to do with being chosen, but all to do with our choice to believe, trust, and obey His every Word! The main purpose of a faithful remnant was to be a light of truth unto all the world, first commanded in Deuteronomy 4:1-9, not to “add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it.” But they did evil in the sight of God. The Lord spoke to Isaiah in Isaiah 8:11-15 instructing him that he “should not walk in the way of this people, nor agree with those who want a compact with Assyria, so as not to fear their fear, nor be afraid. But, Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself (for He is your God); and let Him be your fear… And He shall be your sanctuary. But for a stone of stumbling and a rock Jeremiah, in Lamentations 3:21-23 recalls the hope given to Moses concerning the children of Israel, called out for a purpose to be a light to the Gentile nation around them as first stated in Deuteronomy 4:1-9. He states, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope (even though by this time most had turned their hearts to the gods of the world.) It is
sibilities over to the world, and now we don’t like how they are taking care of them. Long ago we turned our children’s education over to the Government. Long ago we also turned our securities only found in our Creator over to corporate executives for insurances of all kinds — home, auto, health, and even retirement, all of which are very much government regulated, and now we do not like it! In our misery, we curse our government, and the evil ones using our tax dollars to man- date how we must think and live for the “good” of all. We have rejected our King of kings as Israel did in Judges 8:22-23, and I Samuel 8:5-8 for a man to rule and fight for them. Eventually crying out for His cru- cifixion in John 19:15, because He did not throw off the Roman rule by establishing His kingdom! As with all generations, if we don’t learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. How much more do we need to suffer before we learn obedience, and walk by every Word that has proceeded out of the mouth of God? But God in His compassion, is merciful “not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance,” giving Israel hope of a future. Isaiah 9:2, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” That light was from the beginning (John 1:1- 10), for, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1-3 makes a clear statement that Jesus, the Son of God, created all things, for nothing was created that He did not create; being equal with the Father both as God; His words being the essence of truth by which we know both the Father and the Son. “In Him was life (for “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed in his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7; “and the Life (of the Spirit) was the Light of men. And the Light (since the knowledge of evil was brought into the world now) shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not, (could not even begin to understand it, let alone master it)… That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world (since creation) and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own (mankind), and His own received Him not.” Generally speaking, most of creation has not received Him, the Son of God as their Lord God and Creator, to walk in the light as He is in the Light, the light of life. Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is what we must live by (Matthew 4:4)! But man is continually adding to, or diminishing from His every Word. Jesus then describes what they are really doing. (Verse 3) “All there- fore whatsoever they bid you observe (according to the scriptures), that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” In verse 13, he says “But woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are (seeking and) entering to go in.” (Verses 14b-15) “And for a pretence make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation (2917-sen- tence, verdict, condemnation). Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than your- selves.” What are they made proselytes of? Hell, not Christ. “But as many as receive Him (the Word, every word, that none per- ish, but all come to repentance,” II Peter 3:9), to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12). For His name represents everything He is, as described by His every word, for “the Word was God.” God has given every man plenty of good reasons to believe, trust, and obey Him since creation, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them (the true Light which lighteth every man which cometh into the world, John 1:9); for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they (or we) are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19- 20). The children of Israel, “when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful: but became vain in their imaginations… changing the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man… and their foolish hearts was darkened.” (Romans 1:21-23). Likewise we today seem to be following the same path of destruction. If this isn’t enough to convince us, who name the Name of Christ, possibly even in vain, to repent and put our faith and hope in the promises of a faithful and loving Creator, instead of the world, then I don’t know what will! (Verses 23, 24, 28,) “Woe unto you (blind guides) hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, (which are) judgment (discernment by the wisdom of God), mercy (kindness shown to victims, wrongdoers or opponents, having no right to it) and faith (to live by every word out of the mouth of God): these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the others undone.” Without the weightier matters the rest are just deed of the flesh, and not of faith in every word out of the mouth of God. “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat (because it is easy to impress blind people) and swallow a camel, (because blind people will not even notice you had swallowing a camel)… Even so ye outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Blind fools see nothing! After the demise of the two houses of Israel, what now is God’s pur- pose for the Jewish people? First let me ask: Does God’s plan and purpose planned before creation center around the children of Israel, the Jewish people as a special chosen people, or all of mankind? God’s plan and purpose does not center on any group of people, ex- cept the saints, the faithful remnant, to be a light to the rest of the world! As I have stated many times previously, (II Peter 3:8-9) “The Lord is not slack concerning (all of His) promises, as some men count slackness!” This is not referring to creation or anything else that, “one day with the Lord as a thousand years as one day…” but is (specifi- cally referring to His) “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” This is one blatant attempt at dismissing God’s very straight forward explanation of His creation, at the expense of His long suffering. Next time, more hope through the promises of the New Covenant, and the mysteries of the promises given to Eve in Genesis 3:15. Yes, God does know our choices do make all the difference and so should we! Why was the gospel again at the time of Paul still a mystery as it was when Christ walked the earth? I will address this next time. In the meantime re-read this part with this question in mind; How are we any different today? Would we have killed the prophets? (Verses 30-36) “And say, If we had been in those days of your fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets… Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your syna- gogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, (from the beginning of Abel). Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation… ” (Verses 39-39) “Behold your house is left to you desolate, for I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, ‘til ye say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” redeemed my life. O Lord Thou hast seen my wrong: Judge Thou my cause (O let me know if there be any wicked way in me).Thou hast seen all their vengeance and imagination against me. Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imagination against me; the lips of those that rose up against me, and their devices against me all the day. Be- hold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick (4485-satire, something to make fun of). Render unto them a recompense (a re- ward), O Lord, according to the reward of their hands. Give them sorrow of heart, Thy curse unto them (that they may come to repentance. But if they don’t) persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heav- ens of the Lord.” Jeremiah tells of the end of those who refuse to return in repentance in Lamentations 4:6. “For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.” (Verses 9-10) “They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. The hand of the pitiful woman have sodden (1310-to cook by boiling) their own children: they were their meat (food) in the destruction of the daughter of my people.” This had also happened again in 70 A.D. according to the works of the Jewish historian Flavious Josephus. Jeremiah continues in verses 11-17, “The Lord hath accomplished His fury; He hath poured out His fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof. The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquity of her priests, have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, they have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood. (They have persecuted and killed the prophets of God), so that men could not touch their garments (for fear of becoming unclean). They (the faithful remnant) cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, they shall no longer sojourn there. The anger of the Lord hath divided them; He (the Lord) will no longer regard them: they re- spected not the person of the priests, they favored not the elders,” for they have departed turning their faith away from the God of covenant. “As for us (the faithful remnant), our eyes have failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched of a nation that could not save us.” Salvation has always been as a result of one’s faith in the work of God abundant grace; not in a nation or its government, nor in an army with the best of weapons. When Jesus, the promised Messiah came, even the most faithful remnant was deceived into thinking He was come to set up His earthly kingdom to redeem them from Roman bondage. Jesus gives a vivid description of what the Scribes and Pharisees are thinking in Matthew chapter 23. (Verse 2) “The Scribes and the Phar- isees sit in Moses’ seat.” What did Jesus mean by this? They took the position of Moses who was given the authority by God to speak as the authority of God, in speaking only the truth of God: “Not (to) add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2). Then repeated again in Deuteron- omy 12:32.
After Cain slew Able, God raised up Seth (Genesis 4:25). Seth was the seed that would start the line descending from Eve to bring forth the One to destroy the power of Satan in Luke 3:23-38. Gene- sis 4:26 states when Seth’s son Enos was born: “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” When Noah was called to build the ark, June 2024 The gospel seems to be even more of a mystery today than it was in Paul’s day, with the subjects of grace, works, the law, and forgiveness, much debated, yet mis- understood by so many. Grace is what one does for another, having nothing to do with whether one deserves it or not. It is the work of God’s love (26-“agapa” perfect love) that He has
there were only two other godly men alive, Seth’s son Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather who died the year the flood came, and Lemech, Seth’s grandson, Noah’s father who died five years before the flood, to help and encourage Noah in the 120 years of building the ark. All the rest of the wicked world was taken by the flood except Noah and his family, the only ones left of the faithful remnant of which the Christ was to be born. Since the flood, Noah lived about two years short of Abram’s birth. Then about 100 years after the flood, to preserve a faithful remnant, God confounded the languages of men to slow down the spread of evil, in that He promised Noah never again destroy the world with a flood. Shem, the son of Noah, lived 148 years after Abraham was born, and died 48 years after Isaac was born. Isaac dies (Genesis 35:27-29) after the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel) were born. Since Noah died, there were still seven of the nine generations alive when Abram was a young man, as listed with those faithful (Luke 3:1-34), to en- courage Abram. Then about twenty years after Jacob was born, the last of the generations prior to Jacob except Isaac his father had all passed away. Moses responded in Exodus 34:9, “If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, I pray Thee, go among us; for it is a stiff necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance.” What did Moses understand about God’s character as expressed in done to provide for our every need: To sustain the life of every living creature as they were all created to live. One cannot add to it, for as John 1:3, 4 states, “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” It is all of God’s grace that provides for an abundant life! In Exodus 34:6-7, God gives the gospel to Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin, and that by no means clear the guilty (those who have not turned from, and repented of their sins); visiting the iniquity (the knowledge of evil) of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation.” Note… Iniquity, the knowledge of evil is not sin, but it is what gives us cause to sin when we embrace it. Children are not accountable for their father’s sins, but only accountable for what they do with the knowledge of evil.
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God is always faithful to make a way to pre- serve the faithful rem- nant. When only Isaac and Jacob were left to encourage the sons of Jacob, God had al- ready prepared a wide- spread famine where Jacob and his twelve sons ended up in Egypt, where there was food stored up for seven years by Joseph, the youngest son that was sold as a slave by his brothers. When Jacob died in Egypt, Joseph’s broth- ers began to fear him. But “Joseph said unto them, Fear not: For am I in the place of God (to seek revenge)? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass as it is this
of offence to both houses of Israel, for a gin (a net) and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be bro- ken, and be snared, and be taken.” They continued in their blindness, becoming reprobates, until both houses of Israel were carried into captivity. Even there, God provided hope and comfort to the faithful in their captivity. I will have more on this subject later. Are we also going down this same road to destruc- tion? God continues in Isaiah 8:16-22, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples,” the faith- ful remnant that follows God’s every Word from a heart that is set apart, sanctified to be a light of truth unto the world. And the Son of God, who said “I will wait upon the Lord, (the Father) that hideth His face from the house of Jacob. And I will look for Him. Be- hold I (the Son) and the children (the true children, spoken of in John chapter 8, of which these Pharisees were not!) whom the Lord (the Father) hath given me (John 17:12 and John 18:9) are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion. And when they shall say unto you, ‘Seek unto them that have familiar spirits (mediums), and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter,’ Should not a people seek unto their God, (than) for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word (by adding or dimin- ishing from it), it is because there is no light in them.” Are we any different today? “And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead (hard pressed) and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hun- gry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their King and their God, and look upward. And they shall look into the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dim- ness of anguish; and they shall be driven to dark- ness.” Are we going down this same road by not taking re- sponsibility for our bad choices, turning our hearts after the world? Having turned our God given respon- In spite of his remorse, with emotional and physical pain, Jeremiah still had hope, and a right perspective. (Verses 57-66) “Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon Thee: Thou saidst, Fear not. O Lord, Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; Thou hast of the Lord’s mercies that we are not (all) consumed (for some were, with the rest taken into captivity, just as they had previously been in Egypt), because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.” This was written after he wit- nessed the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian armies. Though he had predicted it, it was to him much sorrow to see his prophecies come to pass. This did not happen be- cause God failed to fulfill His promise, and not because they had failed to keep God’s commands: But because they turned their hearts away from a faithful God, put- ting their faith in the gods of the world, to believe, trust, and obey them instead. Jeremiah also states his continued faith in the God of Creation in Lamentations 3:24-26. “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto him that wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.” Salvation has nothing to do with our works of the flesh to please God! Jeremiah continues in verses 27 and 31-38. “It is good for a man that he bears the yoke in his youth,” to learn from his wrong choices and take responsibility to make something good out of these experiences…”For the Lord will not cast off forever: But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to His multitude of His mercies. For He doeth not afflict will- ingly nor grieve the children of men (not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance II Peter 3:9). (Not) to crush under His feet all the prisoners of the earth (but only those who refuse to repent Jeremiah 8:4-6; 26:12-24): To turn aside the right of a man be- fore the face of the most High, to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. Who is he that saith, and it commeth to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceeds not evil and good?” When God allows evil in one’s life, it is always for our good to bring us to repentance. It is our choice that we alone are responsible for. Jeremiah accepts God’s vengeance upon the unre- pentant in Lamentations 3:39-49 and 57-66. “Where- fore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord (in repentance). Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. We have transgressed and have rebelled: Thou hast not pardoned. Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: Thou hast slain, Thou hast not pitied. Thou hast covered Thyself with a cloud, that our prayers should not pass through (for You to hear). Thou hast made us as the offscouring (5501- swept up refuse) and refuse in the midst of the people. All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. Fear and a snare (just as God had warned) is come against us; desolation and destruction. My eye run- neth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission.” Thus he is called the weeping prophet.
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