Jesus Christ has defeated Satan, thereby qualifying to become Lord of Lord and King of Kings. He now intercedes for those who truly seek help in overcoming Satan and the temptations of the world. He does this through the indwelling Holy Spirit which imparts faith to the honest seeker of righteousness. This series of postings will reveal that Jesus HELPS the seeker to remove sin from his life; HE DOES NOT DO THAT JOB FOR HIM. The Counterfeit Church denies this, claiming that the sinner need only repent each time he sins. But according to the Lord, the sinner does not need to repeatedly repent of sin; HE MUST STOP SINNING. “Totally impossible,” false prophets and their enablers say. “Absolutely essential,” God says. “Many” (over two billion) agree with the former. Only a “few” (God’s “little flock”/His “remnant”) agree with the latter (Mat. 7:13,14).

We are told by the Lord that those who have been justified (had their PAST sins forgiven) must live by faith (Rom. 1:17) which enables us to obey the Law–the Ten Commandments. We are told by religionists that faith nullifies the Law. But God refutes this in Romans 3:31: “Do we make void (nullify) the Law through (our) faith? GOD FORBID; yea, (BY FAITH) WE ESTABLISH THE LAW (IN OUR LIVES). Without the Law there is no sin, for sin is the breaking of the Law (1 Jn. 3:4). Without sin we have no need of a Savior. The Law, therefore, identifies the sin Jesus came to eradicate from our lives. We overcome sin by faith. True Biblical faith enables us to overcome Satan’s temptation to break the Law–sin. Faith and the Law are inseparable and are of equal value in the eyes of God. This Biblical fact is adamantly refuted by those of professing Christendom. Nor do they believe the following Scriptures: Jesus was asked by a lawyer (Mat. 10:25-28) and a rich ruler (Lk. 18:18-23) what they must do to inherit eternal life. His answer to both men (and us) was the same: OBEY THE TEN COMMANDMENT LAW. See God’s Royal Law. The Counterfeit Church denies this. She also denies the following Scriptural fact–Obedience to the Law is how we prove to God that we love Him: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” “We know that we know Him if we keep His commandments” (Jn. 14:15/2 Jn. 1:6/1 Jn. 2:3). Which commandments/Law–see Luke 18:18-23. If one does not keep God’s Law/commandments one neither loves Him nor knows Him. Satan has convinced the church that, though she has nullified the Ten Commandment Law through faith and nailed it to the cross, she both loves and knows the God Who hung on it. By believing Satan’s lie she makes the Biblical God out to be a liar, just as did her spiritual ancestors–Adam and Eve. Due to her rejection of the Ten Commandments, the church’s supposed love for and knowledge of God are man generated and Satan empowered. Combined with super religiosity, they serve as handy substitutes for obedience to God’s Word/Law.

God tells us that faith without obedience/works is dead faith (Jam. 2:20-22). The Scriptures prove that having faith does not excuse the believer from obeying God and doing spiritual works. Past postings have proven that in order to inherit salvation one must perform works of the Word and works of the Law which, in reality, are one in the same. Psalms 119 shows that God uses a variety of words–the Word, the Law, the commandments, precepts, testimonies, ways, statutes, judgments, etc.–to describe the content of the Holy Bible.

God’s requirements for salvation inheritance can be very confusing for those who do not understand His method of removing sin from our lives. On the one hand we are commanded to overcome Satan by ridding ourselves of all sin. On the other hand we are totally incapable of doing so by our own efforts. Professing Christendom’s solution is summed up in this way: Jesus, knowing that we could not defeat the devil due to Adam’s sin, overcame Satan for us and now sits at the ready to forgive us when we are inevitably overcome by him. This in spite of an oft-quoted but totally rejected Scriptural Truth: “Greater is He (the Holy Spirit) that is in you than he (Satan) that is in the world.” Though church people are taught this passage from childhood, they are then told that it is a lie, that they have no power over Satan because Adam’s sin nullifies the Spirit’s power. Many false prophets are aware of this hypocrisy. But in order to maintain their position in the church, refuse to preach it. Their congregations, being under the power of Satan, pay their hirelings (Jn. 10:12,13) to scratch their itching ears (2 Tim. 4:3). Both parties have fallen into his ditch (Catholicism/Protestantism) (Lk. 6:39). So how does the believing Truth-seeker overcome the devil and stay on the path to eternal life? Only by true, Bible-based, Spirit-provided faith. To be continued. L.J.