Did God Really? Say E-Book

Heino Weidmann

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1747

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Jesus Christ is calling you personally to walk on water with Him. -If you are already doing it, you will know why. -If you are not doing it yet, you will know how. -If you think you can't, let us convince you otherwise. In this book, you'll get a solid foundation from the Bible: What has God promised every Christian? And what has he not said? And how can what he has said become a reality in your life? In any case, you will study the Word of God intensively as never before. To sum up the message of these pages in one sentence is this: "Jesus Christ saves from the power of sin" Doesn't every serious Christian believe that? No, hardly any serious Christian believes that. In practice, we believe, "Jesus saves us from the guilt of sin. And mostly from greater sins. But not from lesser sins. And not so that we can truly and fundamentally have victory over sin." Behind this is a theological system of unbelief inspired by the words of the serpent, "Did God really say?" Instead of believing our heart and the Scriptures, in our theology we place ourselves outside of Christ in prison walls of unbelief, on which hopelessness stands as a sentry, watching that no one escapes from the dungeon of eternal defeat before sin. And the fortress of evil thus fortified can only be broken open and destroyed by the explosive power of the united words of God. Can we not live liberated through Jesus Christ to the glory of the Father without having to weep every day over 1000 failures? Do we not have a Savior who contends and conquers for us? Let us set out for a Reformation20.de! If you are already following Jesus and longing as a child of God to experience the power of your Savior in your everyday life, then read this book: Did God Really? Say. 95 theses on your victory over sin through Jesus Christ. Read more on https://95thesenteil2.de including free version of the book with online translation into English.

Leseprobe

Did God

Really?

Say

95 Theses on Your Victory over Sin through Jesus Christ

Complete edition with detailed study sections

Heino Weidmann

SeriesHoly To The Lord Volume 8

Distributed by epubli - a service of neopubli GmbH, Berlin

Imprint

Did God Really? Say - 95 Theses on Your Victory over Sin through Jesus Christ.

Complete edition with detailed study sections. By Heino Weidmann

Series Holy To The Lord Volume 8.

01.01.2022Original Published in German by Heino Weidmann on 12.12.2021

© Copyright by Heino Weidmann. The work, including its parts, is protected by copyright. Any exploitation is prohibited without the consent of the publisher and the author. This applies in particular to electronic or other reproduction, translation, distribution and making available to the public. All rights reserved.

Public domain Bible texts from http://www.bibel-online.net and https://gratis.bible/de/meng39/

E Elberfelder L Luther S SchlachterI Interlinear TranslationM MengeN Neue Evangelistische ÜbersetzungF Free own translation

Translation from German into English bei DeepL, Kölnand Heino Weidmann

Cover design: © Copyright by Heino Weidmann, Image: Fig Leaves © Can Stock Photo Inc. / Portokalis

Heino Weidmann, Götzenberg-Str. 25, 74889 Sinsheim, Germany 95thesenteil2.de - reformation20.de - heiligdemherrn.de [email protected]

Distributed by epubli - a service of neopubli GmbH, Berlin

Dedication

To you,

Child of God

beloved, blood-bought, justified through Jesus Christ

sanctified by the Holy Spirit

Why you should read this book

This is a workbook about God's victory in your life!

Jesus Christ is calling you personally to walk on water with Him.

If you're already doing it, you'll know why.

If you don't already, you'll know how.

If you think you can't, let me convince you otherwise.

In this book you will get a solid foundation from the Bible:What has God promised every Christian? And what has he not said? And how can what He has said become a reality in your life?

In any case, you will study the Word of God intensely, probably as never before. And these are your opportunities:

You can devour the message like a gripping novel in a few days and nights. Let yourself be gripped by the positive power of God's encouragement.

Or read and study five chapters a day, and you'll be through in a year.

Or you can join forces with others - a group of two, a house group, a congregation, a theological training center - and venture out on the water together.

If you want to study less and start running right away, I recommend this book (4): https://info.heilsarmee.de/files/hauptseite/dateien/downloadmaterial/hava-katalog/literatur/ebooks/deutsch/Frei-um-zu-siegen_Booth-Clibborn.pdfUse English translation tools.

You can also start smaller with the summarized version of this book: " The 7 Biggest Errors of Theology - 95 Theses on Your Sanctification Through Jesus Christ for Your Victory over Sin" (epubli). This concentrates on the essential statements of this book without the detailed study parts.

Then, when you walk on the water with Jesus, you should still know why. Because others will not believe what is happening. Then this book will greatly help you to stand firmly on the foundation of God's Word and not be swayed.

If I were to summarize the message of these nearly 1000 pagesin one sentence, it would be this:

"Jesus Christ saves from the power of sin".

Doesn't every serious Christian believe that? No, hardly any serious Christian believes that.

In practice, we believe:

Jesus saves us from the guilt of sin. And mostly from greater sins. But not from lesser sins. And not so that we can really and fundamentally have victory over sin.

Yes, every person and every Christian can fall into all kinds of sins all the time and throughout his life. But don't we have a Savior in Jesus Christ who can free us from the daily power of sin? Can we not live liberated by Jesus to the glory of the Father without having to weep every day over 1000 failures?

If you are already following Jesus and long to experience the power of your Savior in your everyday life as a child of God, read this book.

Notes on the book

If you are determined to read this book, heed these hints:

A current short profile of me as author can be found at https://www.epubli.de/shop/autor/Heino-Weidmann/23735. By self-publishing the book through https://www.epubli.de/ I am able to make it available to a wide readership quickly and without great financial expense.

The entire text of the book was translated into English using deepL. After reviewing the result of the translation and finding it consistently good, I am venturing down this path to bring the book to market in English as a non-native speaker. Its message is too important to withhold. However, at this point I formally apologize for any linguistic or formal errors due to machine translation, which I have at least tried to minimize. It is important to me to make the book and the message of Christ's victory in our lives as Christians available to an English-speaking readership in a timely manner. If you want to improve the content, have any questions or comments, or would like to make corrections, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

The German Bible translations on which this English version is based were also translated into English using deepL and are not official English Bible translations. Any agreement with official English Bible translations is therefore not based on copying, but on the German public domain Bible translations used and the translation from DeepL.

The underlying German translation in each case is indicated by a letter in the verse references:

E Elberfelder L Luther S SchlachterI Interlinear TranslationM MengeN Neue Evangelistische ÜbersetzungF Free own translation

The language of the translations is partly new, partly old, but then often very accurate. For reference in current Bible translations, I recommend accurate translations oriented to the basic text.

For most passages, standard accuracy is sufficient. In some places, reference to the basic text is important to ensure the correct interpretation of the original biblical text. There, in this book, reference has been made to the standard theological lexicons and dictionaries of biblical Hebrew (Brown-Driver-Briggs, Strong) and Greek (Thayer, Strong).

Bible quotations in this book have always been brought exactly where they are relevant to the basic theme of "victory or defeat of the believers". The entire Bible is systematically gone through and examined for this purpose. Everything that supports the discussion of the topic of this book has been taken into account to the best of our knowledge and belief, both arguments pro and arguments contra the possible victory of believers. However, a basic knowledge of God, Jesus and His vicarious redemption is assumed in this book. Experiences of defeat in one's own struggle against sin help quite significantly in understanding the subject matter of this book. Thus, this book can be read well by all those who, as the writer of Hebrews says, strive for perfection after laying good foundations (Heb. 6, 1). In many places in the book, Bible verses are quoted directly to make their point clear. This makes it easier for you to follow the argumentation in the book and check it right away. In other places, Bible passages were referred to as proof and for reference if needed, once to maintain the readability of the text, or to show where the thought used comes from or where it has its proof. Not every statement in the book has been backed up with a Bible passage, but reliance has been placed on the reader's prior knowledge and on the reader constantly reading along in the Bible parallel to this book. This is advisable e.g. particularly with the single book considerations of the 66 biblical books from Genesis to Revelation.

The main principle applied was to interpret the Bible through the Bible,

according to the principle in 1 Corinthians 2, 13 N:

And of this we also speak, but not in words as human wisdom teaches, but in words as the Spirit teaches. What the Spirit has worked, we explain to people who have received the Spirit.

The great salvation themes of God are not limited to a few verses, but extend like a mosaic over the whole Word of God. The use of a biblical word or context in the various places of its occurrence in the Bible shows its spectrum of meaning and helps in the correct interpretation of the biblical text.

In examining the teaching of the Bible, all genres of text have their say, so in addition to obvious doctrinal texts, the Bible's imagery and poetic stylistic devices also have their say. Our Lord Jesus himself taught much, if not mainly through images from the everyday world of his hearers. HE packaged spiritual truths in pictures. How often Jesus was misunderstood because his hearers could not hear and understand the message in his message and interpreted it literally instead of spiritually (Mk 8, 14ff; Joh 2, 19ff; Joh 6, 32ff etc.). The correct interpretation of biblical imagery is often not as difficult and uncertain as it may seem at first glance. It is especially clear when the Bible itself interprets the images it uses. For example, the sacrificial lamb stands for Jesus (Joh 1, 36), leaven for wickedness, wickedness and hypocrisy (1 Cor. 5, 8; Lk 12, 1), and water for cleansing at conversion (Tit 3, 5), the Holy Spirit (Joh 7, 38,39), life and fruitfulness (Isa. 32, 15ff). Nevertheless, the doctrinal texts are the most important basis of all investigations. But the correct biblical imagery, i.e. interpreted by the Bible itself, in many cases supports the biblical teaching in an amazing way. This makes the biblical testimony even clearer.

This book is largely based on my own research on the biblical text and my own observations, reflections and conclusions. Citations and suggestions from other sources are given in parentheses in the book text. They can be found in the bibliography at the end of the book. However, thoughts from the sources indicated there have also influenced and shaped my thoughts. Especially in the chapter on times of salvation, states of grace, transitions, stages in part 3, some examples from the book The Second Blessing in Symbol by Beverly Carradine (7) have been incorporated, although I have formulated them here myself. In the time of dealing with this topic and writing this book, however, I myself have developed more and more my own view of the biblical symbolisms used. This is evident in the many passages and examples that do not appear in any other work. In case of a low depth of creation of thoughts, like e.g. that the land of Canaan is about the conscious life in Christ - as it is already manifold in the literature - I have therefore deliberately refrained from a reference to literature. With statements/quotations with high own creation depth of the quoted author I have endeavored to provide the appropriate literature reference. With thoughts/statements between these positions please for indulgence and references, if actually a literature reference should have taken place and did not take place. Then it is still taken up with.

This book is a study book. Note what becomes important to you, what encourages you, and where you have new or different insights. Let yourself be enriched by the richness of the Word of God and its promises. A detailed guide to the use and study of this book and the Bible can be found in the introduction.

This book is also available on the website https://95thesenteil2.de, organized by chapter, as a free readable online version. It is available in about 100 languages via a translation plugin on this website.

Use with printout/copy of up to seven chapters (not parts) of this book for study purposes is expressly permitted personally, in a group, or in a nonprofit institution if a clearly visible reference to this book is made on the printouts/copies before the appropriate book text at the top of the first page:

© Heino Weidmann, "Did God Really? Say - 95 Theses on Your Victory over Sin through Jesus Christ. Complete edition with detailed study sections." + chapter [chapter], part [part], epubli.de, 2021 & https://95thesenteil2.de

However, said compilation and use of more than seven chapters or the entire book in one unit is NOT allowed. In this case I ask every reader to buy the book in printed form or as e-book on epubli.de.

Any commercial use of this book is excluded.

This edition of the book in the print version from epubli has its price. It corresponds to the form of publication in the selfpublishung, the scope and the equipment, as well as the edition of the work and is usual in the market.

However, the acquisition and use of this book should not fail because of finances. Therefore, as the author, I offer other formats, but identical in content editions of this book in self-distribution at special prices. More details at https://95thesenteil2.de .

   In the beginning was the Word

Content

Introduction22

Live and love holy22

Did God really say that?30

Perfectly imperfect32

The journey through the promised land36

Part 1 The Old Testament40

Single-book observations40

Genesis40

Exodus51

Leviticus58

Numbers62

Deuteronomy72

Joshua78

Judge81

Ruth84

1 Samuel86

2 Samuel93

1 Kings97

2 Kings101

1 Chronicle105

2 Chronicle107

Ezra110

Nehemiah112

Esther114

Job115

Psalms118

Proverbs121

Ecclesiastes122

Song of Solomon123

Isaiah124

Jeremiah130

Lamentations134

Ezekiel135

Daniel138

Hosea142

Joel143

Amos144

Obadiah145

Jonah146

Micah147

Nahum148

Habakkuk149

Zephaniah150

Haggai151

Zechariah152

Malachi154

Summary Old Testament156

Genesis - Deuteronomy156

History books158

Poetic books163

Scripture prophets164

The teaching of the Old Testament167

God167

God's holiness168

God's love168

Hallowed be HIS name169

The invisible world170

The Law of God170

Sin172

Falling away from God and repentance173

Judgement174

Grace175

God's word175

Salvation176

Faith177

Heart179

Follow and love Yahweh180

Sanctification180

Life Commitment182

Where Yahweh dwells183

Blessing184

Promise184

Spiritual leaders185

Together186

Testing187

Victory187

The Old Testament in the Light of the New Testament189

Part 2 The New Testament196

Single-book observations196

Matthew196

Mark217

Luke224

John236

Acts 247

Romans258

1 Corinthians272

2 Corinthians277

Galatians288

Ephesians298

Philippians308

Colossians317

1 Thessalonians326

2 Thessalonians332

1 Timothy336

2 Timothy343

Titus349

Philemon352

Hebrews353

James369

1 Peter381

2 Peter390

1 John399

2 John420

3 John421

Judas423

Revelation425

Overview pro and contra total sanctification443

New Testament summary447

Jesus447

The Apostle Paul450

Paul as an example for all people450

Paul, the first among sinners451

The Life of Paul, Outside View: Small Blemishes?453

Paul's conscience - unconscious guilt454

Excursus unconscious guilt457

The life of Paul, self-view: role model without fault or blame462

Paul - Summary470

Other multi-book authors: Luke, John, Peter473

Luke473

John474

Peter475

Individual authors: Matthew, Mark, the writer of Hebrews, James and Jude476

Summary of the life and teachings of Jesus and the apostles476

The teaching of the New Testament477

Part 3 Overall Biblical Considerations482

God's Essence, His Word and His Law482

The essence of God482

God's holiness483

God's love484

Does God mean well with us?484

God does not lie486

God does not share His glory with anyone else.492

The Word of God495

The great lines495

The question of trust 2.0: letters and words495

Everything and nothing: extreme words499

4 x ALL in mission command502

Man's word as God's word503

The Law of God507

Sin507

Our conscience510

Our image of man when the law is unattainable515

Christ is the end of the law517

Does God's Word say the Law is too heavy?519

You shall - you will521

Pure love is the fulfillment of the law522

The word in the picture523

God's reign, enemies, battle and victory525

The Lordship of Christ525

Who is stronger, the sin in us or Christ?528

Beggar or ruler530

Redemption and liberation534

When does God give victory to His people?537

How do we share in the victory of Christ?541

How does God give us His victory?542

God fights for us543

Single victories or always victory?544

The conditions of victory545

Jesus' victory overrides Adam's defeat546

Leave enemies?549

Our enemies have power over us only when God is not the absolute Lord of our lives549

Victory jubilation551

Confessing victory - certainty of victory553

What happens when we die?557

Christ, the Father and Us563

Righteous and saints563

Sinning saints or sinners who try to live holy lives565

Who am I: My Identity in Christ576

True in spirit, comprehend on earth.586

The knowledge of God and Christ592

WITH or IN Christ601

The Body of Christ on Earth603

One with Christ604

Heirs in Christ607

IN CHRIST610

Where is Christ?614

Christ as the fourfold Redeemer615

Redemption and freedom617

Stay625

Remaining in Christ as Redeemed and Liberated628

The man Jesus Christ629

But you, O man of God630

Imitation!636

To be like Jesus and not to be like Jesus640

Be perfect like Jesus641

Even more perfection642

Become perfect644

Heavenly color rays: Love, Purity, Holiness, Light, Truth, Freedom, Obedience, Faith645

Love645

Purity and holiness647

Light652

Truth and freedom654

Obedience655

Faith656

The divine rainbow657

A new, purified, clean heart659

Pure tongues, lips and speech and the mountain of God672

Growth or a new creation?687

Phases of growth and education of God689

Times of salvation, states of grace, transitions, stages701

The history of mankind704

The Old and the New Covenant705

States of grace and transitions in the Old Covenant707

The Spiritual Significance of the History of Israel and the Tabernacle710

Lostness and 2 stages of salvation in the New Testament716

Summary725

The Sabbath730

Fire from heaven, holiness, authority and power740

No different?740

Our God is a consuming fire748

Fire as the judgment of God751

Burn undamaged755

Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire757

First the water, then the fire759

Why the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the baptism with fireare two different things766

Power and authority779

Prayer for openness of the hearers or for sanctification of the church and for authority of the preachers?781

Turn back!788

Back in the Garden of Eden796

The celestial formula798

How can we face Christ?803

Part 4 Pros and cons808

Biblical counterarguments808

Misjudgment of reality812

Presumption816

Overload821

Modesty!824

Review expectations828

Quantum Leaps831

Sanctification is a mystery836

Boasting, the forgotten and forbidden discipline838

Sanctification: No wrong conclusions844

Sanctification is: Putting in the right place851

Where does your faith come from?853

Only for freaks?856

Attention: Downgrade859

From gray to pro or contra860

A personal word875

Part 5 Living and Loving Holy: This is the way881

Everything for everything882

Whose power? Necessary shipwreck884

Labor, crucify, die, new life889

By faith900

Through faith903

Part 6 Summary912

The great biblical arc912

95 theses917

The 7 biggest errors of theology944

Part 7 Call947

Look in the mirror947

Fulfill your - God's - longing949

The Lord is faithful953

Believe yourself into the good land957

Come on, follow Jesus!958

Closing words959

Bibliography964

Introduction

We judge a person in the first 3 minutes. Everything else we get to know only serves to check our inner hypothesis that we have already made about this person.

This book is offensive. It is a rock of annoyance. After the first few sentences, decide if you even want to read on and take up the challenge of its message.

Live and love holy

And that is the challenge:

Our holy God is love. Should God have said that we as Christians should and can live holy like Him? Did God really say that we should and can love HIM with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves? Should God really have said that we can have victory over sin in all areas of our lives in this life through our Lord Jesus Christ? Should he? Did he say that?

My experience and yours speaks against it. So does the testimony of Christianity: over 50% of male Christians in Europe/worldwide are involved in Internet pornography, Christian marriages are divorced, strife and division prevail in our churches, indeed often conditions like in Corinth and Laodicea. If we want to sum up all the sins that we Christians commit, then there is surely hardly a committable sin that we have not committed. You can certainly contribute something from your own experience and that of your environment.

Even as a convert to Jesus Christ, man is and remains a sinful being.

That is what our experience says. And so says our Reformation theology. And our theology is in turn confirmed by our experience.

However, opinions regarding this important question of what God can or cannot do in and through His believers have varied widely for centuries.

For clarification, I quote here the excerpt of a conversation between John Wesley from England and Count Zinzendorf from Germany on September 3, 1741 (10).

ZinzendorfYou say that true Christians are not poor sinners. This is completely wrong. The best people are completely miserable sinners until death. If they say otherwise, they are thoroughly deceivers or devilishly deceived. Our brothers, who teach better things, you have fought.

WesleyI am concerned that they are teaching falsehoods about the goal of our faith in this life, that is, Christian perfection.

ZinzendorfI do not recognize any inherent perfection in this life. This is the error of all errors. Christ alone is our perfection. He who teaches an inherent perfection denies Christ.

WesleyBut I believe that Christ's Spirit creates perfection in the right Christian.

ZinzendorfNot at all. All our perfection is in Christ. All perfection consists in trusting in the blood of Christ. All Christian perfection is imputed, not indwelling. We are perfect in Christ, never in ourselves.

WesleyI think we are arguing about words. Isn't everyone who truly believes a saint?

ZinzendorfBut a saint in Christ, not in himself.

WesleyBut doesn't he live holy?

ZinzendorfCertainly, he lives holy in everything.

WesleyAnd doesn't he have a sacred heart?

ZinzendorfMost certainly.

WesleyConsequently, surely he is holy in himself. Does he not carry in his heart love for God and neighbor, even the whole image of God?

ZinzendorfYes, but that is legal holiness, not evangelical holiness. The evangelical holiness is faith. A saint is not holier if he loves more, and not less holy if he loves less.

WesleyWhat? Doesn't the believer who grows in love also grow in holiness?

ZinzendorfNever. Rather, at the moment he is justified, he is also completely sanctified to the core. Accordingly, he is neither more nor less holy until his death.

WesleySo a father in Christ is not holier than a child in Christ?

ZinzendorfNo. All sanctification and justification are there at the same moment, and none becomes more or less.

Wesley I meant we should grow in grace!

ZinzendorfCertainly. But not in holiness. For as soon as someone is justified, Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in his heart. And his heart is as completely pure at that moment as it will ever be.

WesleyWhat you said, with God's help, I want to consider carefully.

Recorded by John Wesley and included by Zinzendorf in the "Bündingische Sammlung".

And some 170 years later, the "Berlin Declaration (11) says :

In particular, however, the unbiblical doctrine of the so-called "pure heart" has become disastrous for many circles. In particular, however, the unbiblical doctrine of the so-called "pure heart" has become disastrous for many circles and conducive to the so-called Pentecostal movement. This is the error as if the "indwelling sin" is eradicated in a pardoned and sanctified Christian. We hold firmly to the truth that the Lord will and can keep His own from every stumbling and falling (1Th 5, 23; Jude 24.25; Heb. 13, 21), and that the same have power to rule over sin through the Holy Spirit. But a "pure heart" that goes beyond having to humbly say with Paul, even with God-given, permanent preservation, "I am not conscious of anything myself, but by this I am not justified," is not received by man at all on earth. Even the most promoted Christian has to bow before God, who alone is judge of the true state of hearts, cf. 1 Cor. 4, 4. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us," 1 John 1, 8. In truth, the believer in Christ receives a spotlessly cleansed heart, but the false teaching that the heart can attain in itself a state of sinlessness has already brought many of God's children under the curse of insincerity toward sin, has deceived them about sins that still lie in their minds, in their failures, or in their falling short of the high commandments of God in their lives. It cannot be admonished enough to keep an eye for sin that is not clouded by a man-made sanctification or by an imaginary doctrine of the removal of the sin nature.

Lack of bowing over one's own sin closes the way to new blessings and brings under the influence of the enemy. Sad experiences in the present show that where one claims to have reached a state of sinlessness, the believer can come to the point where he is no longer able to admit error, let alone confess it. Another sad consequence of false sanctification teaching is the associated degradation of the biblical, God-ordained conjugal life, in that in some places conjugal intercourse between a man and a woman is held to be incompatible with true sanctification, cf. Gen. 1, 28 and Eph. 5, 31.

These two examples make clear the two different poles between which we can be pulled back and forth. And in them, the proponents of a possible permanent victory in the Christian life do not come off well.

Is it therefore worthwhile at all to look into this question in more detail?

It is difficult to read the Bible without bias, especially after many years of personal experience as a Christian. In addition, there is the Reformation theology in Europe and especially in Germany in the Protestant area, which is largely based on the statements of Luther and Zinzendorf and in many places on the guidelines of the Berlin Declaration. Underlying this is a whole tradition of interpretation that sees and holds us captive to sin, even as Christians:We will never completely escape sin in this life, we will always sin and become guilty of God and man. There is no complete victory through Christ in this life.

For much of what Christ has done is understood in Reformation theology as "(only) credited". This "being credited" is valid before God and has a relationship-restoring effect and power. And this is also right and the basis of every saving faith in Christ.

But also before people, according to God's will, it should become clear what God brings about in believers visibly and experientially in this life. We can well tell the world that God imputes to us the righteousness of Christ and His holiness. But the world will only believe that the Father sent the Son when it sees holy and changed people who live pure and righteous and one in love.

Mt. 6, 9 NOur Father in heaven! May your holy name be honored! Your reign come! Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!

The first three petitions in the Lord's Prayer reveal God's heart to us. The first and most important petition is that God's name be sanctified. Only when people get reverence for God's holy name and sanctify it will God's kingdom come. And only when God's kingdom comes will His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And how is God's name specifically sanctified or desanctified?

Ezk 36, 23 Therefore I will sanctify again my great name, which has been profaned before the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the LORD God, "when I sanctify myself to you in their sight.

The holy people of God desecrate God by their unholy life practice before all nations. And should God only care about our legal standing before Him? No! God's name should be honored and sanctified by the life of His people. Other people are not impressed, they do not notice any difference if purity and holiness and love are merely imputed to us. They need and want the practical effect of it. We should and must be a living letter that people can read.

Acts 2, 46-47 SAnd daily they tarried with one accord in the temple, and broke bread in the houses, and took meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as were saved.

And that is what this book is about: How can and should and do we as Christians really live holy lives according to God's will? Can we love God and our neighbor with all our heart? If we are holy in Christ, do we also live holy? If we ourselves are so loved by God, do we love like Him? Can we do that at all? Is God's will too high for us or can we do it?

It is undisputed that the Bible openly and relentlessly reports all the sins of God's people in both the Old and New Testaments. So much sin in itself could speak as a counter-argument against a life freed from sin. But that is not what I am concerned with here in this study. It is not about seeing what most do, then and now. Our actual condition as all of God's people is a sad truth.

In this book, I am more concerned with understanding what individuals are able to do by the grace of God. Because what one can do, potentially all can do - since we are all totally dependent on the grace of God.

ONE Phinehas resisted the plague that came upon the Israelites, TWO scouts of 12 believed they could and did take the Promised Land, ONE David took on Goliath by the power of God, ONE Peter walked on water like Jesus, ONE Peter and ONE John rebuked the high council saying, "To these facts we stand as witnesses, and so does the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." (Acts 5, 32) ONE Paul, with SOME of his companions, challenged the Thessalonians saying, "You yourselves are witnesses, and God, how holy, righteous and blameless we have been among you who believe." (1 Thess. 2, 10). ONE John assures us that the commandments of Jesus are not difficult and that we can live just as pure and holy and loving as our great Master.

It is a pity until today that often only individuals experience what God has provided for all His people. But within the limits God has given us, we can all experience what He has provided for us.

The question I ask in this book is: How much love, purity, holiness and victory over sin can and will God give to each individual believer in this life? What is possible for me as a follower of Jesus if I - by God's grace - take advantage of all the potential that Christ has put into my life through His sacrifice? And what are my limits? What has God said and what has He not said?

I myself am a scout of the Promised Land. It is Canaan. The land that belongs to God and in which he reigns. I have searched and scoured the good land that God wants to give us on all sides. And I have found it to be very good! It is a very fertile land, watered by the rain of heaven and bearing abundant fruit. God Himself dwells in it. No wall is too high, no fortress too fortified, no foe too strong or powerful that we cannot overcome it. It is God's inheritance for His people. I myself am not yet in this glorious land. But I report to you from my travels. And I tell you: The land that the Lord God has given us is very good!

At different times, the saints of God have given this land very different names: Rest in Christ, Pure Heart, Perfect Assurance of Faith, Overcomer's Life, Life in Light, Being and Abiding in Christ, Entire Sanctification, and a few more. The individual aspects of this unique life from God only in their totality allow the whole fullness of this glorious rainbow of God's grace to shine forth, reaching from the Creator's heaven to the lowlands of this earth.

This land is given to us by grace and God calls us to take it! Come with us, let's conquer the land!

Did God really say that?

And God spoke to man:

Gen. 2, 16,17 F You may eat from all the trees of the Garden of Eden. Only from one not. Otherwise you will die.

And man - ate. Exactly from this one.

But man does the monstrous thing: He acts against the word of God. And dies.

How could this happen?

The will of man was free.

But he distrusted his creator.

"Did God really say?"

With this question of the snake the disaster began.

Will we now be wiser than Adam and Eve and trust God's words and live?

Therefore, before we begin our adventure journey, we must first ask the question of trust:

Are the Bible and Jesus, the Word of God, really the only trustworthy basis for our journey and question?

Only when this is our attitude will we be able to see unclouded. Negative experiences and prejudices are bad advisors. 

The fundamental question is: Do I, do we, trust God's Word to us completely, in big and small ways?

If so, then the journey can begin.

Perfectly imperfect

This book is not about whether we as Christians can live a flawless life. That is obviously impossible and not the focus of the Bible. Only God is faultless. We all lack wisdom, insight, knowledge and control over our actions. We will always err, we will always make mistakes. In this respect, we are perfectly imperfect and God alone is perfect. And yet it is written:

Mt. 5, 48 NNow therefore be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus here demands from us the same perfection in loving our enemies that he and his Father have. In this respect, we should and may be completely perfect.

The separation between

- mistakes that lead to guilt and

- Sins that lead to guilt

is essential.

If we do not accomplish it, the question of whether we can live in a way that pleases God becomes superfluous. It is hopeless.

Even if a Christian had complete love and lived holy in everything, what can he do wrong?

The answer is: Practically everything that a person can do wrong and that is beyond his subjective insight or his limited human being. He can screw up projects through incorrect planning, be late for appointments, set up shelves incorrectly, burn food, offend others through cultural errors, drive too fast or cause traffic accidents through a little carelessness, step on people's toes and unintentionally harm them to life and limb, treat other people too harshly or too mildly through an incorrect assessment of the situation, operate incorrectly as a doctor by mistake, make arithmetic errors in the office, cause faulty production in the company's production, unknowingly violate laws, do not educate his children appropriately because he does not understand better, be overtaxed with situations of all kinds, fail in tasks that do not correspond to his gifts, do not manage many things from his strength that would also still be good or necessary, and infinitely much more, the list would find no end.

A completely holy living and loving person would and will practically continue to be guilty of other people everywhere constantly and still. And thus he can and must also pray constantly for himself from the bottom of his heart:

And forgive us our trespasses - forgive me my trespasses - up to 7 times 70 times a day.

But how can we distinguish between guilt and sin?

Sins of ignoranceIt is important that we know the Word of God well. How often does Paul tell his churches, "Do you not know ... ?" Out of ignorance of the Word of God, we may have wrong views of God's will, fail to use our privileges as children of God, or sin unwarned. All resulting sins need forgiveness (Deut. 5, 18; Ezek. 45, 20). By increasing knowledge of God's Word, we should sin less and less out of ignorance. Let us study God's word! Whoever has the Word of God WHOLE in his heart and allows himself to be guided, instructed and filled by the Holy Spirit, will sin less and less out of ignorance.

Sins by mistakeThe Bible mentions guilt by mistake, or because we do not have the full picture of this life, only in passing. One of the few examples is in the Old Testament (Deut. 19, 1-13): whoever killed someone else by mistake without evil motivation was innocent in God's eyes: to punish such a person as for a deliberate murder would even be blood guilt on his part before God. Thus, for example, if an iron slipped from an Israelite's axe handle while he was making wood and unintentionally fatally struck someone else, the perpetrator could flee to the nearest free city in Israel. It remains to be seen whether he could have been more careful and not chopped in a direction where no one else was standing. But what is clear is that this was an unintentional accident without premeditation. In such a case, the perpetrator, or causer, could protect himself and hide from any punishment for his deed as long as the high priest of that time was alive. Our high priest Jesus is our free city for our mistakes, through which others come to harm. And he lives forever and we are safe from accusations through his forgiveness and protection (Heb. 7, 25).

Sins of the heartOur decisive sins before God are the deliberate transgressions of God's commandments. And nowhere in the Law of God is it written, "You shall not make mistakes." Rather, "Love!" "Be holy!" "Have a pure heart!"

The Word of God puts the almost sole focus on the sin that comes from our heart. This is our real problem before God. The question is: Can we become free from it - as opposed to our faults?

For if anyone can be sanctified by God in love perfectly and completely - if there is such a life according to the Word of God - then he will not be guilty of one thing, despite all his human faultiness: He will never fail to love God and his neighbor with all his heart: No, he will love other people at all times, to the best of his knowledge and conscience and with all his strength, and also God - as himself. And this 24 hours a day. He is pure before God and lives pure before God without defiling himself by the world. He is holy and lives holy. He has patience. He is kind. He does not know envy. He does not make himself important and does not puff himself up; he is not tactless and does not seek himself; he does not allow himself to be provoked and does not bear evil; he does not rejoice when injustice is done, he rejoices when truth triumphs. He endures all things; he believes and hopes always. He withstands - by God's grace - all the temptations of the day.

In his human limitations he is imperfect - in love for God and neighbor perfect. In whatever colors the light of God refracts at his personal corners and edges - it will always be a wonderful shining of the glory of God through him or through them.

Therefore, such a person can, will and should also immediately admit all mistakes and ask God and people for forgiveness - even if he/she has nothing to reproach himself/herself for from his/her intentions behind it and from his/her motivation. And if he/she does - then such a person can, should and will also acknowledge his/her sin, confess it, repent and clear it up again. For we all depend on the grace of God and the blood of Christ for our washing and keeping clean.

The journey through the promised land

How can we examine the question of God's possible victory in our lives as impartially as possible? The already existing theological thought constructs might block our view. Therefore, in this book I have chosen a different approach and methodology than usual:

First, we examine God's Word by books and book authors. What conviction did each biblical author hold for himself regarding the question of God's possible victory for his people? What theology did he have and what did he want to convey to his listeners/readers?

In a second step, we compare the individual results that we have found among the biblical authors: Does a red line emerge, a coherent overall picture? Is there a clear trend? In which direction were most or all of the Bible book authors thinking?

This approach protects us from a theology that may seem biblically based in its entirety, but may contradict the convictions of most Bible book authors.

Only after that, and accompanied by the results found, we turn to overall biblical studies.

It is recommended and worthwhile to read and research the Bible thoroughly in parallel with this book.

The Old Testament is God's picture book for explaining spiritual truths in a clear and understandable way. And it is full of promises that are fulfilled in the New Testament. Here God teaches us his ways and clarifies in a true-to-life way what is said with final authority in the New Testament. The victory of individuals and God's people in the Old Testament in the outward visible world corresponds to our victory in the spiritual world in the New Testament (Eph. 6; 1 Cor. 15, 57). What principles of victory for God's people do we find in the Old Testament? In response to this question, I have examined and summarized each Old Testament book. At the end of each book, I additionally formulate essential principles of victory found as brief notes under the heading "Traces of Blessing." And you too can record your own observations and notes. Take the opportunity to use this book as a workbook. At the end, I summarize the major lines of the Old Testament for clarity. And from the notes, I have compiled a brief theology of the Old Testament, subdivided by the major overarching themes. In this way we will be well prepared for the study of the New Testament. In the New Testament, knowledge of the Old Testament is assumed and every teaching of Jesus and the apostles builds on it. Jesus even goes so far as to say to his disciples: 

Luke 25, 24-27 N Then Jesus said to them, "How slow of heart you are! Why is it so hard for you to believe in everything the prophets said? Didn't the Messiah have to suffer all this before being glorified?" Then he explained to them everything in all the Scriptures that related to him; he started with Moses and went through all the prophets.

So we do well to know and understand the whole Bible and also the Old Testament very well if we want to grasp and classify God's declarations and promises in the New Testament correctly.

New Testament: The first Christians had only the Old Testament and the testimony of the apostles. The New Testament had not yet taken shape. The Gospels about the life of Jesus then set the standard in the New Testament. In the totality of the Gospels, everything Jesus taught, did, and what we need to know is contained. This is how God spoke to us through Jesus. Through the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles, however, Jesus' teaching is practically interpreted and made even much clearer. Each New Testament writer wrote in each book or letter what of the Gospel was important to his hearers/readers in their specific situation. The truths of the gospel were illuminated in varying detail depending on the letter, and each letter set its own emphasis. But when the Gospel is explained in a Gospel or other New Testament writing, it is with everything that the readers and hearers needed to know at that time in their concrete situation. The NT writers could not yet trust that their hearers/readers could learn or read about essential aspects of the gospel elsewhere, except in the Old Testament. And it was precisely to the Old Testament that Jesus and the apostles referred again and again.

The books of the New Testament, therefore, all contain the essential principles of the Gospel as it was handed down at that time. Yes, it is true, the full shape of the Word of God emerges only from the totality of all the writings. Even though the apostles and writers of the NT have different emphases, they all write of the one great truth of God and do not contradict each other. They have always proclaimed the whole counsel of God as best they could.

Therefore, it is very helpful to first turn to each book in the New Testament individually. In this one book, what does the author say about the possible victory of God in the lives of believers?

And the teaching of a scribe becomes even clearer when we look at all his letters to the same church. This is what the apostle taught this church. And all the works of a scribe considered together then show much more clearly what that scribe taught.

The development from the small to the big saves us from hasty conclusions, from a system of thoughts and teachings that the writer never meant in his individual writing.

Therefore, in examining the New Testament, I proceed in this ascending order: First, I examine the principles of a possible holy and victorious life of love for each Bible book in particular. What speaks in favor of it? What speaks against it? I explicitly focus first only on the selection of relevant passages and verses within each New Testament book on this topic. I comment on the individual verses on an ongoing basis and summarize the results at the end of each book. Then I evaluate the final result for each book separately. For this, there are three ways of final evaluation of the New Testament book. The author is

pro

contra

open

in relation to a possible holy, pure and victorious life of love for God and our neighbor in this life.

For ease of reference, I include selected particularly meaningful verses at the end of each book that speak against or for possible victory in the life of a Christian.

But you can and should also like to take action.

This book is designed as a workbook for this purpose. Think along, check yourself, write along.

At the end of each discussion of the Bible books and topics, there is extra space for your additions, notes, objections, or affirmations. Here you can also note additional verses that you believe speak against or in favor of a possible holy life.

At the end of the New Testament single book considerations I have inserted a table in which I have noted my evaluation of the results of all biblical books for a better overview. There you can also note your own respective evaluation. In this way deviations and agreements become visible and also trends from the respective single evaluations of all biblical books.

In the end, you can draw your own conclusions from what you have found in God's Word.

Then the question will arise:

Did God really say,

you shall - you will - love God and your neighbor with all your heart

 - or not?

And based on the results of the individual book considerations, we move into the overall biblical discussion of the results in Part 3.

So what exactly did God say? Enjoy God's promises!

Part 1 The Old Testament

Single-book observations

Genesis

God created man good and in His image, like Him. He gave man the task to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth and to rule over all creation. And Adam was to cultivate the paradise garden of God and eat from all the wonderful trees. A single VERbot was given to man in order to be able to permanently enjoy communion with God of his own free will.

Gen. 2, 16-17 S+F And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You shall eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you must surely die.

But Eve lets the serpent twist God's words and talk her into half-truths:

Gen. 3, 1 L+N "Should God have said?" or "Did God really say?"

This question gives Eve the wrong idea. She doubts God's goodness, she doubts God's word, she adds something to his words, she leaves something out. She listens to the rebellious contradiction of the serpent that she and Adam will not die. Then she wants to give in to the lust of the mouth and eyes and be like God. She eats from the forbidden tree.

Adam is not seduced. But he loves Eve more than God. And he also sins. Adam sins against God unconvinced and consciously. He makes himself one with Eve in her rebellion against God. He also eats from the forbidden tree.

Man's fall begins with distrust of God and disregard of His words. Everything else becomes more important to man. Man wrongly puts himself, his physical, mental and spiritual needs above God. He forgets that God cares for him in a perfect way and loves him. And he forgets that God's words are true.

But God keeps his word. After his sin, man dies spiritually - in his relationship with God. And he must pay dearly for the consequences of his deed. God curses the field on which man must now feed himself by the sweat of his brow. The woman must bear children in pain and long for her husband, but he will rule over her. The field will be cursed because of Adam's sin. And mankind will be expelled from paradise without further access to the tree of life. Hope is only awakened by God's merciful action, who provides new clothes for Adam and Eve via a bloody animal sacrifice. But even these sacrifices are not enough to restore the relationship. Man remains excluded from paradise.

Is all lost for the human race now? No!

God curses the enemy of man, the serpent. And he gives hope to man. He says:

Gen. 3, 15 N I put enmity between you and the woman, your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will bite his heel.

This new hope is no longer directed at Adam and Eve themselves, but at the future. A descendant of Eve will destroy the enemy of mankind and suffer in the process himself. Until it is so far, enemy can continue to do his mischief. Adam and Eve do not yet receive supernatural help from God against their enemy who has plunged them into ruin. And yet it becomes clear: God is in control. He is not powerless against the evil actions of the serpent. He has a plan, he has the means and he has a goal. And he will reach it through the reproductive line of man.

And indeed, Adam and Eve have children: Cain and Abel.

Abel has learned something from the death of the animals for his parents' fur garments. And he takes God's words, which God has spoken, very seriously. He sacrifices vicariously for himself a firstborn lamb of his flock. Cain, on the other hand, does not ask for the word of God, offers God his own performance and from the yield of the field that the Lord has cursed. As a result, God looks at Abel's sacrifice and not at Cain's. And we thus learn early on that no effort of our own makes us acceptable before God. He will not accept anything from us that is under the curse. Only an innocent vicarious sacrifice counts in his eyes.

What is amazing - if we free ourselves from all prior knowledge of the doctrine of original sin - is what God says to Cain when he has dark thoughts:

Gen. 4, 6-7 FBe good .... rule over sin!

But Cain does not listen to God's admonition and kills Abel.

And godless like Cain, most people after him live until the Flood. Only Enoch lives every day of his life with God - constantly and with God. God takes him directly to heaven!

But the general condition of mankind deteriorates to such an extent that God finally has to send the Flood:

Gen. 6, 5-7 And when the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was very great upon the earth, and that all the thoughts of his heart were evil continually, then the LORD repented that he had made man upon the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. And the LORD said: I will destroy the man whom I have created from the face of the earth, from man to beast, and to creeping things, and to the fowls of the air: for I am pleased that I have made them.

For the first time, the human heart is mentioned - and the heart of God. Is there no more hope for mankind that has become evil? Wickedness lies in man's evil heart and in his evil thoughts. God's own heart is saddened by this.

Only Noah found grace before the Lord (Gen. 6 - 9). Noah was righteous in God's eyes, he lived blamelessly among his contemporaries. He lived with God. Despite his righteous and blameless life, God's grace is decisive.

Gen. 6, 8 LBut Noah found grace in the sight of the LORD.

Only grace Noah and his family are saved.

The sin of the rest of humanity has become so great that God must send the Flood upon corrupt humanity. After that, God's covenant with Noah gives hope. Never again will God destroy the earth by a flood. The big question is: Will better people now come out of righteous Noah and his descendants?

But already a new apostasy of mankind from God begins (Gen. 11). At the Tower of Babel, God confuses the sense and language of mankind to resist the united evil strength of mankind.

But then God starts something new. He chooses Abram - and writes salvation history (Gen. 11 - 25). From the New Testament we know that Abram, later Abraham, is the father of all those who believe in God in the right way. He is, so to speak, the prototype of a believer. Therefore, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at his relationship with God and some important events in his life.

God shows us through Abraham's life different stages and his growth in faith.

What can we learn from God's story with Abraham?

God chooses Abram. Without God's grace and call, no one can come to God.

God calls Abram. He demands a great sacrifice from him. Everything familiar is to leave Abram. But God gives Abram great promises for the future. They are and seem much greater than the personal sacrifice Abram has to make.

Abram is obedient to God, he follows God's call, he makes the sacrifice. Abram wants God more than anything else in his life. He leaves his homeland and leaves everything familiar behind. He sets out into an unknown future - trusting in Almighty God.

Abram has to wait for a long time. He goes through many a crisis. But he trusts in God's promise that he will have descendants without already seeing anything of them.God counts this to him as righteousness (Gen. 15, 6).

With regard to the promised land, however, Abram asks God for a confirmation by which he can see that he will possess it. And God responds with a solemn commitment and a covenant that he gives to Abram in confirmation of this: a burning torch passes through Abraham's sacrificial animals (Gen. 15, 8ff.).

But Abram's wait for descendants according to God's promise becomes too long. The biological clock ticks incessantly. From a human point of view, the hope of offspring dwindles every day. So he thinks he has to help God out with his own strength. With Sarai, he decides to have a child through her maid Hagar as a concubine. In doing so, Abram does not even violate God's word: Until then, God had always spoken only of "Abraham's seed" as a promise and not that Sarai would be the mother. And yet Abram and Sarai felt they had to help God fulfill His promise. And Hagar gives birth to Ishmael to Abram (Gen. 16).

Years later, God appears to Abram and tells him to live before His face and be perfect (blameless) (Gen. 17). God confirms his promise to Abram and establishes his covenant of circumcision with Abram and his descendants. This time God gets more specific and promises Sarai to have the son of promise. Abram and Sarai are to become father and mother of many nations - and therefore get new names. Abram becomes Abraham - the father of many nations and Sarai becomes Sarah. And Abraham obeys God anew and trusts him in everything.

God visits Abraham and Sarah and repeats the promise of the descendant. At last, he even gives a time for fulfillment: This time next year. Sarah doubts, she thinks she is too old. But God repeats his promise with the promise that nothing is too wonderful for him.

The promised descendant and son is born, Isaac. God has fulfilled his promise. His word has been fulfilled.

Ishmael is cast out - he is not to inherit with Isaac. He also has no part in God's lineage of election.