It is faith in the redemptive work of Christ that produces salvation - not our actions. James writes that faith without works is dead (James 2:20).

Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone; it must be acted upon.

This is what Mark is referring to when he speaks of baptism.

Water baptism is a command of Jesus and is the initial action taken upon believing. Mark's statement could be said this way, "He who believes with saving faith (i.e. faith that produces actions) will be saved." 

Water baptism is very important. It is an opportunity to act on your new profession of faith. Anyone who refuses to follow Jesus' command to receive water baptism, may be suspected of not really believing.

Water baptism is a command, but keeping this command does not produce justification. Jesus forgave sins without any mention of water baptism.

Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch, who asked him to baptize him, that if he believed with all of his heart, he could be baptized (Acts 8:37). Philip used water baptism only after an individual believed. This is also how Mark used water baptism.

Matthew 28:19 "Go ye therefore, 
and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost:"

This commission is to every believer, not just to ministers, the command to baptize is also for every believer. It is proper for any believer to administer the ordinance of water baptism.

Jesus commands us to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, yet there is no recorded instance where the believers did so. Instead, the instances of baptism that are recorded in the book of Acts, show people being baptized in just the name of Jesus.

Because of this noticeable difference, doctrines have arisen that teach there is no Trinity, and that unless water baptism is in the name of Jesus (only), with faith in the water baptism, a person cannot be saved. This is a false teaching that has led many people astray.

Water baptism is an outward witness of the inner change that has already taken place. In Acts 10:44-48, Cornelius and his friends were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, proving that they were already born again before they were baptized in water.

The agreement between the commission of Jesus and the practice of the early church is simple. When we baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are baptizing them in the name of Jesus because "in him (Jesus) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9).

Baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or the name of Jesus, is correct as long as Colossians 2:9 is understood.

Every detail of every man's life, who has ever walked on the earth, has not impacted the world as much as the few recorded details of Jesus' life. Jesus was not just a man, He was God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16).

In Acts 10:38 Peter gives a very brief, yet descriptive summary of the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus was anointed with power and with the Holy Ghost.

He used this power to do good, not evil. This is one of the main characteristics of God and is one of the easiest ways to discern what is from God and what is from the devil. God is a good God and the devil is a bad devil. If it's bad, it's from the devil. If it's good, it's from God, John 10:10.

Tragedy can come from three sources: God, Satan, and natural law. God has used nature to bring judgment. But, the New Testament believer is exempt from this punitive judgment of God since Jesus bore it for him.

Satan is the source of much of the calamity that people blame God. Many problems arise because people violate the natural laws that God put into motion. If a person drives recklessly and kills himself, it's not God or the devil that killed him. He violated natural law and paid the price.

It is incorrect to believe that God controls everything and therefore always has some redemptive design in tragedies. This type of thinking will lead us to ignore the devil, thereby giving him a freehand to destroy our lives. It will also cause us not to use wisdom concerning natural laws, because we will think that nothing can happen unless God wills it. We must remember that God is a good God.

Jesus had just told Peter to follow Him; but Peter wanted to know what the Lord had planned for John. Instead of  answering Peter's question, the Lord told him that what He had in store for John was none of Peter's business.

Satan diverts many people by getting them preoccupied with what others are doing for the Lord. Comparing ourselves with others, whether we come out better or worse, is unwise (2 Corinthians 10:12). 

We need to be so single-minded following the Lord, that we don't look to the right or to the left to see what others are doing. It doesn't matter if we are doing as much to serve the Lord as someone else. The question is, are we doing all that the Lord wants us to do.

Singleness of purpose and vision is needed to victorious Christian living. James said that if we try to master many things we will fail (James 3:1). We have to set priorities and focus on them.

The Bible teaches that memory can be a powerful force for good in our lives. It is always good to remind ourselves that we were apart from God's saving grace at one time. It is an antidote against pride and self-righteousness. 

A person who remembers what he used to be will have a clearer understanding of who he is now. We have to cultivate our memories by meditating on the great things God has done for us and spoken to us.

Water baptism is a command of Jesus and is the first action taken upon believing. Mark's statement could be said, "He who believes with saving faith (i.e. faith that produces actions) will be saved." In this sense, water baptism is very important. It is an opportunity to act on our new profession of faith. Anyone who refuses to follow Jesus' command to receive water baptism, may be suspected of not really believing.

There are scriptural examples of people being born again before they were baptized in water. Cornelius and his friends were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues before they were baptized in water (Acts 10:44-48). John 14:17 records Jesus saying that an unbeliever cannot receive the Holy Ghost, so Cornelius and his friends must have been born again before their water baptism.

Water baptism is the sign of the new covenant in the same way that circumcision was the sign of the old covenant. Paul made it clear in Romans 4, that although Abraham was circumcised, his circumcision was only a sign. Abraham was justified in the sight of God before his circumcision. Paul goes on to state in Galatians 5:1-6, that anyone who trusts in circumcision has fallen from grace; Christ will profit him nothing.

It is faith in the redemptive work of Christ that produces salvation - not our actions. However, James writes that faith without works is dead (James 2:20).

Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone; it must be acted upon.

This is what Mark is referring to when he speaks of baptism.

Recognizing our completeness in Jesus is a safeguard against deception. 

Before salvation we are incomplete and strive to satisfy our hunger. But through the new birth, we are complete in Christ and our hunger should only be for more revelation of what we already have in Him. Total satisfaction with Jesus disarms satan's lies. A big part of all temptation is dissatisfaction.

Adam and Eve would not have eaten of the forbidden fruit if they hadn't been made dissatisfied with what they had. Satan's lie led them to believe that they didn't have it all (Genesis 3:5). The truth is, they did have it all. They were more like God before they ate of the fruit than after they ate the fruit. Their dissatisfaction was the beginning to their action of sin.

Satan tempts us in the same way he came against Adam and Eve, 2 Corinthians 11:3, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

A full revelation of our completeness in Jesus will keep us from chasing after all the things the devil has to offer. If anyone tells you that He isn't enough; that you need something more, then that's the devil trying to turn you away from your completeness in Him.

In the same way that Jesus has the fullness of God in Him, we have the fullness of Him in us. That makes us complete or perfect in Him - that is our spiritual man. 

Our born-again spirit is identical in righteousness, authority, and power to Jesus' spirit because our born-again spirit is the Spirit of Christ, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."Romans 8:9.  Galatians 4:6 "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."

Thomas refused to believe what He couldn't see or feel. Our five senses were given to us by God and are necessary to help us function in this life. But if we do not renew our minds to acknowledge the limits of our five senses, they will keep us from believing spiritually. Faith can perceive things that the senses cannot (Hebrews 11:1).

There is a human faith and a supernatural, God-kind of faith. Human faith is based on physical things that we can see, taste, hear, smell, or feel. God's kind of faith believes independently of physical circumstances. To receive God's gift of salvation, we have to use the supernatural, God-kind of faith which isn't limited by our five senses. This is because, to be saved, we must believe for things that we can't see or feel. We haven't seen God or the devil. We haven't seen Heaven or Hell. Yet we have to believe that these things exist. Human faith can't believe what it can't see.

Man is so destitute that he can't even believe the gospel on his own. To receive God's gift of salvation, we have to receive the supernatural, God-kind of faith first. 

Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." God's Word contains His faith. As we hear the Word of God about salvation, We receive God's faith so that we can believe the good news of our salvation. We actually use God's faith to get saved.

This God-kind of faith doesn't leave us after our born-again experience.

God's faith becomes a fruit of the Spirit which is in our hearts. We never lose this supernatural faith. We just have to renew our minds to God's faith which is in us, and then learn how to use it.

The meaning of this verse, John 20:23 has been hotly debated for centuries. One thing is certain, it does not mean we have the power to justify a person from his sins so he can be born again; only God can do that.

Many people have taught that Jesus is saying, that if we fail to witness to others, we are retaining their sins unto them, and if we do share His love with others, then we are remitting their sins. Although there is truth in this statement, it is not what this verse is teaching. Rather, this verse deals with the temporal effects that sin has on a person's life. Not only is there a future death penalty for sin, but sin destroys us emotionally and physically in this life too. It is this present destruction that sin brings into a person's life that Jesus gave us the power to remit.

Through intercession we can remit a person's sins, so even though he has sown to the flesh and deserves to reap corruption (Galatians 6:8), he will not reap what he has sown. This is done for the purpose of loosing a person from the bondage that Satan desires to hold him in, until he sees the light and repents. This is only a temporary situation and must be continually repeated if the person we are praying for continues to live in sin.

On the other hand, there are times when it is not in the best interest of the individual to remit his sins. There are times when he needs to be made painfully aware of the consequences of his sins. In these cases, we have power to retain his sins; that is, we withdraw our intercession and he reaps what he sows in hope that this will cause him to turn back to God.

The dictionary says that to reconcile means to re-establish friendship between; to settle or resolve, as a dispute. The key to reconciliation is to effectively deal with the enmity, ill will, hatred, or hostility that caused the dispute.

The enmity between man and God was sin. God took the initiative to remove this barrier through Jesus Christ, that way  leaving man and God as friends once again.

We have received the ministry of reconciliation. That means we are in the ministry of reconciling people to God. 

Much of what people call the gospel today is actually alienating man from God. True, we need to show people their need for God to get them to receive His forgiveness and reconciliation, but the angry and bitter attitude some people have when confronting the sinner, is not right.

Imputing people's sins unto them was not the way God used Jesus to reconcile the world unto Himself. We should not focus on the problem of sin as much, but on the answer of God's grace (Romans 5:20).

When we read a newspaper, we read about things that have already happened. They are reporting the news. So our real job as ministers of reconciliation is to announce the good NEWS, which is an accomplished fact - that sin has already been dealt with through Jesus Christ. We should say, "Now we beseech you, be ye reconciled to God. Change your mind and believe the gospel so that you may partake of what has already been done on your behalf."

This filling of the Holy Spirit in Luke 24:49 is necessary to the born-again experience.

Paul reveals in Romans 10:9, that a person has to confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in his heart that Jesus was raised from the dead, before he can be saved.

It is possible to be saved, yet not have what Jesus said was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is now given freely and we don't have to tarry for His coming, we can receive salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the same time. But, it isn't automatic. We must ask and believe for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, just as we believed for salvation.

Speaking in tongues is unique to the Church. This is because when a person speaks in tongues, his new born-again spirit is speaking (1 Corinthians 14:14), not his mind. Before salvation, our spirit was the part of us that was, "dead in trespasses and sins." Until we received a new spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17), the Holy Spirit could not give us this supernatural communication with the Father.

There are two kinds of speaking in tongues which are clearly spoken of in 1 Corinthians 13:1. They are called "the tongues of men and of angels." The tongues of men are the known languages in which the disciples spoke. The tongues of angels, or heavenly languages, are the tongues that all Spirit-filled believers can speak, and are what Paul spoke about in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth and teach us all things. Receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the single most important key to receiving revelation knowledge from God.

John's baptism was a baptism with water unto repentance for the remission of sins. John preached that the Lamb of God came to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29), but he didn't baptize with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Both John the Baptist and Jesus prophesied the church age, when believers would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, but it was not only for these few individuals. Peter said in Acts 2:39, "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." This same power is available to all believers right now.

The promise of the Spirit being poured out on "all flesh" is speaking of all manners of flesh or mankind. It is evident that not everyone has the Holy Spirit. This reveals that the door of salvation and the filling of the Holy Spirit is opened unto Jew and Gentile, male and female, adult, and child.

Many people argue whether or not we are in the last days. Joel prophesied that this outpouring of the Holy Spirit would take place in the last days and Peter said that was what happened here, on the day of Pentecost.

If the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, which happened nearly 2,000 years ago, was the beginning of the last days, then the time must certainly be getting short for us. This should settle the argument for those who believe the Bible. 

We can confidently say that this is our last generation. We need to be about our Father's work.

Every sport has disputes that must be settled by the officials, the peace of God is the umpire that settles all disputes as to what the will of God is for our lives. We must learn to listen and heed the peace of God in our hearts.

God's peace is something that every born-again believer has. It's a fruit of the Spirit. That peace is always umpiring; we just don't always pay attention. 

How many times have we acted contrary to the peace in our heart and afterwards, wished we hadn't? Then we say, "I never did feel good about that." That was the peace of God umpiring, but we chose to play by our own rules.

There are some things we can do to help the peace of God umpiring in our hearts. First, consider ALL the options. Many wrong decisions have been made because not all the options were considered. Don't let fear rule out God's possibilities. Next, we use our imagination to explore what will happen with each choice. Think it through. We should be able to discern a greater peace as we consider the option the Lord would have us take. That is not to say that there will be total peace with any of the choices. In the spirit there will be total peace over the right choice, but we aren't always totally in the Spirit and it is not unusual for some turmoil to exist. Just as an umpire has to make a call, be bold enough to follow the direction that gives the most peace.

The rudder on a ship can't go any direction until the ship is moving. The ship doesn't have to be going full steam ahead for the rudder to work, but it does have to be moving. We have to act before the peace of God will give us perfect direction. 

Even if a mistake is made, we will have made it in faith, trying to follow the peace of God in our heart. The Lord can bless a wrong decision made in faith from a pure heart, more than He can bless indecision, Romans 14:23.

When the right time came, God sent forth His Son from Heaven in His pre-existent state, into the world. He was born of a woman (virgin birth) and was made subject to the requirements of the law. Jesus was sent at a specific time. 

Jesus entering into the physical realm was not a random thing occurring at a haphazard time. There were developments that had to take place before Christ could come to earth and redeem man. 

The Father sent His Son to the earth at the earliest possible time. Anytime before that would have been too soon.

His purpose for coming into the world was: first, He came to "redeem them that were under the law." He did this by perfectly keeping the law, fulfilling it, and paying its curse (Matthew 5:17; Galatians 3:13). Jesus delivered us from the entire system of the law. The Greek word for redeem means "to buy OUT OF the slave market." secondly, Jesu gave us sonship with all its privileges. Not only were we redeemed from the bondage of the law, but we were redeemed unto sonship. 

Many people stop short, only realizing what they were delivered from, not what they inherit. We need to rejoice that we are redeemed, but we also need to move on, and realize the full benefits of our inheritance.

God created us for Himself but we sold ourselves into slavery to the devil. God bought us back through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. No amount of effort, human works, or man's own righteousness could bring God's favor that we needed. It was the actual life of God (Leveticus 17:11) that purchased our redemption.

In the Jews' efforts to prevent anything from happening that would cause people to believe that Jesus was resurrected, they gave one of the most sure proofs of His resurrection. They sealed the tomb so it would be obvious if it had been opened and they placed a guard of soldiers to protect it.

This removes all doubt that the followers of Jesus could have stolen His body. The enemies of Jesus became a their own witness that Jesus literally rose from the dead.

The guards told the chief priests everything that happened at the tomb. This means that they had a complete account of the earthquake, the angels rolling away the stone, and the angels giving the message to the women that Jesus was alive from the dead. They may have even seen Jesus walk out of the tomb.

The very ones that the Jews had secured to guarantee there would be no rumors of Jesus being raised from the dead, became the first witnesses of it. Yet, with the testimony of impartial, non-religious eyewitnesses, they chose not to believe (Luke 16:31).

In an amazing event only recorded in Matthew [27:52], is when an earthquake apparently rolled the stones away from many of the graves in the area of Jerusalem, and some of the saints buried there arose from the dead. Even at the death of Jesus, such power was released that death lost its grip on its captives.

It is uncertain whether these resurrected saints died again or were caught up to God. If they were resurrected at Christ's death, then they would have had to die again, just as Lazarus or Jairus' daughter or the widow's son at Nain or anyone else that Jesus raised from the dead during His ministry. This is because Jesus was, "the firstfruits of them that slept" (Acts 26:23; 1 Corinthians 15:20). Jesus was not the first person physically raised from the dead, but He was the first person begotten from the dead to never die again.

If these people were not actually resurrected until after Jesus' resurrection, when Matthew states they came out of their graves, then they could have been resurrected with their glorified bodies to never die again.

At any rate, these saints went into Jerusalem after Jesus was resurrected and they appeared to many people. We can only guess what effect this must have had on the people.

The resurrection of Jesus puts Christianity in a class all by itself. Many people have come and gone professing some revelation from God or new way of approaching God. But only Jesus has conquered death. This makes Him unique and elevates Him above the level of any other man who has ever walked on the earth. The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate proof of the accuracy of His doctrine.

The Sabbath was first mentioned in Exodus 16, when the Lord miraculously provided manna to the children of Israel in the wilderness. The Israelites were commanded to gather twice as much manna on the sixth day because God would not provide any on the seventh day (Exodus 16:5, 22-30).

Shortly after this, the Lord commanded the observance of the Sabbath day in the ten commandments that were given to Moses on two tablets of stone on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:8-11). In this command, God connected the Sabbath day with the rest He took on the seventh day of creation.

According to Exodus 23:12, one of the purposes of the Sabbath was to give man and his animals one day of physical rest each week. Today's medical science has proven that our bodies need at least one day of rest each week to function at our peak. 

Deuteronomy 5:15 states that the Sabbath was to serve as a reminder to the Jews that they had been slaves in Egypt and were delivered from bondage, not by their own efforts, but by the supernatural power of God. 

In the New Testament, there is an even clearer purpose of the Sabbath stated. In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul reveals that the Sabbath was only a shadow of things to come and is now fulfilled in Christ. Hebrews 4:1-11 talks about a Sabbath rest that is available to all New Testament believers, but is not necessarily functional in all New Testament believers. This New Testament Sabbath rest is simply a relationship with God in which we cease from doing things by our own efforts and let God work through us. 

The Old Testament Sabbath is a perfect picture of the New Testament relationship.

When Jesus cried, "It is finished," He was not referring to the whole plan of salvation as being completed. He still had to descend into the lower parts of the earth and lead the captives out (Ephesians 4:8-9); come back from the dead to ascend to the Father to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).

Paul made it clear in 1 Corinthians 15:14 and 17, that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith is vain and we are yet in our sins.

The resurrection of Jesus makes Christianity different from religion because we are dealing with a real, live person, not just principles. Christianity is fellowship with a real person who is alive.

Forgiveness of sins is not received by a doctrine, but by Christ Himself. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, He cannot give salvation to us. But, He did rise from the dead and now He lives forever to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).

It is Jesus living in us that gives us power to live a victorious life. If there was no resurrection, there would be no power.

The resurrected life of Jesus is the guarantee of our physical regeneration.

Because Jesus conquered death, the fear and sting of death have been removed for us. This gives great comfort for those who believe.

Faith in the present ministry of Jesus is necessary to true Christianity, and would be impossible if Jesus was not alive. Without Jesus being alive, Christianity would be just another dead religion.

Children are to honor their parents, even after they become adults. Honor naturally leads to obedience if nothing is asked contrary to God's laws, but honor and obedience are not the same. 

The Bible teaches that when a child marries he is to leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. (Genesis 2:24). Parental control that reaches into marriage is the source of many divorces and much marital strife. Yet, a child is to honor his parents for all their life.

The definition of the word "honor" means "to esteem, respect", and the Greek word from which "honor" is translated means "to prize, i.e. to fix a valuation upon" (Strong). There are many applications of children honoring their parents. 

One of the violations of this commandment today, is children esteeming and respecting the opinions of their peers above those of their parents. The idea that parents are out of date and out of touch, is a devaluation of parents. Children should value the experience and wisdom of their parents more than their peers.

It says in Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16 that honoring your father and mother is the first commandment with a promise. This command is the first one of the Ten Commandments that gives a promise of blessing to those who obey it. The promised blessing is long life and things going well.

John is the only gospel writer to give us this account of Jesus' last ministry to His mother. Even when Jesus faced His own extreme suffering on the cross, Jesus thought of His mother and honored her by making sure that she would be taken care of after He was gone.

The veil spoken of in Luke 23:45 reached from the ceiling to the floor, from wall to wall, and separated the Holy of Holies from the holy place in the temple. 

Solomon's temple was 30 cubits high (1 Kings 6:2), but Herod increased the height to 40 cubits according to the writings of Josephus, a first century historian. Depending on what standard we use to convert cubits to feet (there is uncertainty as to exactly what a cubit equaled in our feet and inches), this veil was somewhere between 60 feet and 90 feet high.

It is important that this veil was rent from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38). No man could have torn the veil this way. It was definitely God that ripped the veil. The time when this veil was torn corresponds exactly with the moment Jesus died.

Hebrews 9:1-9 tells us that the veil separated the Holy of Holies, where God dwelt, from the rest of the temple, where men dwelt. This signified that man was separated from God by sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). 

Only the high priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil, and only once each year (Exodus 30:10; Hebrews 9:7). This symbolized Christ who would enter into God's presence for us and make an atonement.

The moment that Christ died, the veil was torn in two, revealing that the sacrifice had been made and that there is no longer any separation between God and man. Jesus tore the veil, that is to say His flesh (Hebrews 10:20), in two and opened up a new way unto God through Himself.

The paradise that Jesus spoke of must have been the same place that Jesus called "Abraham's bosom," when He told the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth after His death, and John 20:17 shows that it was some time after His resurrection before Jesus ascended back to His Father. This paradise was "Abraham's bosom" located in "sheol" in the lower parts of the earth.

The phrase "led captivity captive" from Ephesians 4:8, refers to Jesus liberating the Old Testament saints. When Old Testament saints died, they went to a place in the center of the earth which is called "sheol" in Hebrew. It is the Hebrew word "sheol" that is translated "hell" in Psalm 16:10, which prophesies Jesus saying, "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" (Acts 2:27-30).

The ungodly dead also went to "sheol" but the teaching of Jesus in Luke 16:19-31 shows that there was a great gulf fixed between the two, and those in torment (hell) envied those who were enjoying the blessings of the Lord in the part of "sheol" that was called Abraham's bosom or Paradise.

Even though these Old Testament saints were blessed, they were not able to enter into the presence of the Lord because the atonement of Christ had not been completed. So, in that sense, they were captives. When Jesus died, He descended into "sheol" and took the captives captive. He took them to heaven, into the very presence of God and vacated that part of "sheol." Now, all that's left in "sheol" is hell. In the New Testament, the Greek word that is used to refer to this area is "hades" and it is only applied to the place of torment.

Forgiveness of sins is one of the great themes of the Bible. There is so much said about it that it would take volumes of books to deal with the subject. 

The blood of Jesus is what provided us with forgiveness of sins. That sacrifice was so great that it outweighed all our sins. It covered all the sins of the world-past, present, and future.

Most Christians have the idea that the sins they committed before they professed faith in Christ are forgiven at salvation, but any sins that are committed after that time are not forgiven until they repent and ask for forgiveness. This isn't the case.

All our sins: past, present, and future were forgiven through the one offering of Jesus. If God can't forgive future sins, then none of us can be saved because Jesus only died once, nearly 2,000 years ago, before we had committed any sins. All our sins have been forgiven.

The forgiveness of our sins is not the ultimate goal of our salvation. It is just a necessary step. The real goal of salvation is relationship with the Father and sin is a barrier to that relationship. So, it had to be dealt with, and it was, through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who stop with the forgiveness of sins and don't go on into eternal life are missing the heart of salvation. Our sins have been forgiven so that we may enter into a personal with the Lord.

It is through the riches of God's grace that we have received forgiveness for our sins. There is nothing we can do to obtain forgiveness except humble ourselves and receive forgiveness as a gift through faith in Christ.

The Jews in Matthew 27:4, who had played on Judas' favor to get  his help in arresting Jesus, cared nothing for Judas. They had simply used him. The devil's crowd may flatter as long as they can use us, but we can be sure that when there is no longer anything in it for them, they will forsake us just as the chief priests did Judas.

The serpent didn't come to Eve in the garden threatening to bite her if she didn't eat of the forbidden fruit. He came with deception, presenting himself as being concerned for her welfare. Satan's greatest weapon is deceit.

Our success depends on how well we knows our opponent(s), so believers must not be ignorant of Satan's devices. 

Jesus stripped Satan of all his authority (Matthew 28:18). The power that Satan uses against us now, is deception. Those who gave other powers to him have already fallen prey to one of his lies. The devil deceives us and uses our own power and authority against us. The thing that makes deception so deadly is that those who are deceived don't know it. Once they realize they are deceived, they,re not deceived any more.

The best defense against the devil is to be so God-centered that you give no place to Satan. People who are very sensitive to the devil's presence usually are so at the expense of being sensitive to the Lord's presence. 

David said, "If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there" (Psalm 139:8). Anytime Satan's oppression is present, God's presence is there too (Hebrews 13:5). It's just a matter of where our focus is. Focusing on the devil is a trick of the devil. To win we must choose to focus on God instead.

What happened to Barabbas is a picture of what happens when a person is born again. Barabbas was guilty; Jesus was innocent. Yet Jesus suffered the death that Barabbas should have experienced, and Barabbas went free.

We were all guilty (Romans 3:23) and condemned to death (Romans 6:23). Jesus suffered our punishment so that we may go free (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Just as Barabbas didn't ask for this substitution, so "God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Barabbas was freed, but he had to choose whether or not to accept this new start and remain free, or go back to his old ways and come under the judgment of Rome again. 

We, also, have all been freed through the death of Jesus, but we have to choose whether to accept our freedom by putting faith in Jesus or to reject it, by denying Him.

Our death to sin and resurrection to life with Christ, is already a reality in our spirits but will only become a physical reality when we know and believe it. In the same way that Jesus died unto sin once, and death no longer has dominion over Him, the person who recognizes their death with Christ unto sin, will not allow sin to rule over him anymore. Any Christian who is struggling with sin has not recognized that they are dead unto sin.

Matthew 27v24, the washing of the hands was not only a symbolic custom of the day that showed innocence, but was also a ritual prescribed in the Jewish law (Deuteronomy 21:6-7; Psalm 26:6).

Matthew is the only writer to record Pilate washing his hands of guilt, just as he was the only writer to record Pilate's wife coming to him with the details of the dream she had about Jesus. 

Secular records her name as Claudia. She is the only one who spoke for, instead of against Jesus' life during the trial.

This dream, no doubt came from God, since Claudia would have had to dreamt it before she knew of Jesus being brought to Pilate. Not only did the Lord bare witness in Pilate's heart to the innocence of Jesus, but He also gave Pilate's wife a very clear message through this dream. 

Pilate was not innocent in the matter. Together, these instances proved that Pilate did not innocently condemn Jesus to death. Pilate will be trying to wash the blood of Jesus off his hands throughout eternity.

Just as God was faithful to show Pilate the truth in this situation, we can be sure that every person who has ever rejected Jesus has done it in spite of the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their heart (Romans 1:18-20).

Envy causes many problems. James said, "For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work" (James 3:16). Envy and strife go hand in hand and open the door to the devil to do anything he desires, in our life. 

Some people would never give place to the devil through confessing the wrong things, yet through envy, they give the enemy freedom to do his worst. God's kind of love is not envious or jealous because it doesn't seek it's own, but seeks the welfare of others. Envy is an indication of self-centeredness.

Paul had some opponents who were just like many people who sow strife. They are against everything and critical of the way those in authority handle things. They make big statements about what they would do if they were in authority, but it's all talk. They haven't proven themselves successful in managing even the smallest things, yet they want to be put in charge of big things, just based on their talk. This is not the system that Jesus advocates (Matthew 25:21; Luke 16:11-12; 19:17).

The Lord has joined together every born-again Christian by baptizing us all into the body of Christ. This is already a reality. Like it or not, want it or not, every Christian is completely one in spirit with every other Christian.

Failure to function as one, in our relationships with other believers means someone is not flowing in the Spirit. Our flesh is the part of us that gets in strife with other believers. As we operate in the Spirit more and more, we will come more and more into unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Jews were God's chosen people and they were His representatives on earth. Yet, they lied and condemned an innocent man to death. 

Pilate could see that their real motivation for wanting Jesus dead was envy. They were doing all their religious works to be seen of men, and were upset that Jesus was getting more recognition than they were. If these Jews would have thought about what type of witness they were giving, even they would have known that their actions were not inspired by God.

We are God's witnesses on earth, or as Paul said, "We are epistles... known and read of all men" (2 Corinthians 3:2). Judging our actions in the light of, "What kind of witness will this give to others?" will help us determine whether we are being led of God or not.

The chief priests had deceived themselves and other religious people into believing that they were condemning Jesus for godly reasons, but even an ungodly ruler like Pilate could see through their lies. Religious bondage blinds people to the truth even more than sin does.

The rulers wanted to keep their power and authority, so they fought against the power and authority of Jesus. 

 Men use doctrinal issues to disguise the real issue. The truth is that, "Only by pride cometh contention" (Proverbs 13:10). People who love to have the pre-eminence (3 John 9) are usually the instigators of persecution.

Although Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, he looked for some diplomatic way to release Jesus that would not cause him to lose popularity with the Jewish leaders. This is why he sent Jesus to Herod. He hoped that Herod would pass judgment on Jesus and save him the trouble.

When that scheme failed, Pilate drew on an old custom of releasing a prisoner to the people at the feast. He gave them a choice between Jesus, who he knew was innocent, and Barabbas, who was a murderer. Pilate thought that the crowd would certainly choose Jesus. But, through the insistence of the chief priests and scribes, the people chose Barabbas to be released.

Pilate was now out of ideas as to how to let Jesus go, and still save face with the Jews, so he condemned Jesus to death. Pilate violated what he knew to be true in his heart because of a fear of men (Proverbs 29:25) and what he thought they might do to him. Without the chief priests' cooperation, he ran the risk of unrest among the Jews, and possible punishment by Caesar for failing to govern well.

As it turned out, Pilate was deposed anyway, just a few years later by Tiberius Caesar, and died in exile in Gaul in A.D. 41. At the most, Pilate gained a five-year extension of his troubled rule, and damned his soul in the process. What a person compromises to keep, he'll lose. Sin is never worth the price.