| Mark 1 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2 As it is written in the prophets: "Behold, I will send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" [The evil heart of all men must be prepared for the Lord to dwell within, for in the evil heart is found evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, false witness, deceit, lack of restraint, envy, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. Mark 7:21-23, Mat 15:18-19. Until a man's heart has been cleansed and purified, the Lord and his Father do not come with their kingdom to dwell and guide a man through life. Jesus is "holy, innocent, undefiled, and separate from sinners." Heb 7:26. From the Word of the Lord within: "See myself — thus no sin has a place in me." See the footnote to Matthew 3:3 for more detail on Prepare the way of the Lord.] 4 So John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission [release from the bondage] of sins.1 5 And all the land of Judea and those of Jerusalem went out to him, and were all baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, he had a belt of a leather around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey; 7 John preached, saying: "There comes one mightier than I after me, the strap of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I indeed have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." [Just like the 120 disciples of Jesus were baptized with tongues of fire in Jerusalem during Pentecost. Acts 2:3.] 9 Now it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 When Jesus came up out of the water, John immediately saw the heavens opened and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Jesus. 11 Then there came a voice from heaven, saying: "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 12 And immediately the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. 13 He was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; he was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. 14 Now after John had been put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 Saying: "The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand [very near]; repent and believe the gospel of God." [The New Testament is full of references to the second appearance of Jesus being then, not thousands of years later. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus is recorded saying that some then standing with him, 2000 years ago, would see his glorious coming in the clouds with the Kingdom before they died. Paul, Jesus preaching, Jesus in Revelation, Peter, James, and John, — all said, soon, the time is near, a little while, he stands at the door. Christendom blithely ignores this gaping incongruity between what the Bible plainly states vs. what they are taught by their blind guides. It would be a cruel hoax to be waiting on Him to appear if the past one hundred generations of believers actually had no hope of ever seeing Him. From the Word of the Lord within: "Six attestations prove the reign's existence. The second coming is a personal experience. The second coming is in the hearts of purified believers. The King is where He is king."] 16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." 18 They immediately left their nets, and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther there, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were also in the ship mending their nets. 20 He immediately called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants and went after him. 21 Then they went into Capernaum; it being the Sabbath day, he immediately entered into the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astonished at his doctrine for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Now there was a man with an unclean spirit in their synagogue, and he cried out, 24 Saying: "Leave us alone; what have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are, the Holy One of God."2 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying: "Be quiet, and come out of him!" 26 When the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so much that they questioned among themselves, saying: "What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For he commands even the unclean spirits with authority, and they obey him." 28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region around Galilee. 29 Now immediately after they had come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they quickly told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and raised her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she served them. 32 That evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were diseased, and those who were possessed with demons. 33 And all the city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick of many diseases, and cast out many demons; and did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was. 35 Now in the morning, rising up a great while before daylight, he went out into a solitary place, and prayed there. 36 And Simon and those who were with him followed him. 37 And when they had found him, they said to him: "Everyone is looking for you." 38 Then he said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for I was sent for this." 39 So he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out demons. 40 And a leper came to him, begging him, and kneeling down to him, and saying, "If you will, you can make me clean." 41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." 42 As soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And he strictly charged him, and immediately sent him away, 44 Saying to him, "See that you say nothing to any man; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to blaze the matter abroad, so much that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; but they came to him from every region. 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1 So John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission [release from the bondage] of sins. The verse before said: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. What way for the Lord are you supposed to prepare? The way into your heart for him to dwell as the ruling Lord of your thoughts, words, and deeds — a true king that rules everything in your life. Think about it — to make the Lord's paths straight is to cleanse your heart and body so the Lord can dwell and walk in you, for he would have you to be the temple of the living God.
The original Greek for release from bondage of sin could be translated as release from bondage, forgiveness, or remission, of sin. Release from bondage of sin is far more accurate, and perfectly describes the purification necessary to avoid being banned from heaven. The cleansing of the Word, the cleansing in the Light, both attained by waiting on the Lord, listening, hearing, watching, and obeying — such cleansing is a release from the bondage of sin. But the poor souls, who were trying to translate the Bible, had not experienced release from bondage of sin within themselves, and so obviously chose to emphasize forgiveness instead. Yet release from captivity, from the prison house, from the oppression, is what Christ said he came to do:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor [in Spirit]; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted [who mourn due to their slavery to sin], to preach release to the captives [of sin], and recovery of sight to the [spiritually] blind, to deliver [free] those who are oppressed [in slavery to sin], Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are oppressed [in slavery to sin]; Isa 61:1-2
and for what Paul said Jesus sent him to the Gentiles to accomplish:
Clearly forgiveness is not deliverance, recovery, healing, opening the prison, release, turned from power of Satan, — while release from the bondage of sin accurately describes all. Until He cleanses you, your heart is defiled with sin.
A man cannot prepare his own heart; it must be prepared by the changing power of God's grace, which power is accessed by you going to him. You must wait on him — listen silently, with the humility of a sinner in need of his changing power — grace. You must wait, listen in silence, hear, and obey, thus to receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21. So wait, watch, listen, hear, obey... wait, watch, listen, hear, obey..... seek, listen, obey. Do this repeatedly, follow his commands, and his words that you hear him speak to you will impart the life of God to you, as he removes the sins from your heart, one by one. To deny yourself is to deny your own will and do God's will; to follow is to obey the commands you hear him speak to you: this is to deny yourself, pickup your cross, and follow Jesus — the inward cross of self-denial, which puts to death your selfish spirit, to be replaced by the Spirit of Christ.
If you have a hard time believing that your sinning is a bondage or a slavery, then consider what the Lord and Paul had to say about it:
So what about forgiveness; are all your sins forgiven by Jesus? In the beginning if you turn from evil as best you can, those things you have remorse for having done and stop doing are forgiven.
Hate your evil thoughts, profane words, and slavery to your pleasures; they are your enemies. In the beginning you can't totally stop your mind from sinning for your mind is carnal and the carnal mind is enmity with God, (which mind is destroyed on the cross and replaced with the mind of Christ). In the beginning you can't totally control your tongue from sinning, (which total control comes with perfection). However, you can control your feet and hands; and you can learn to control your eyes, by practicing looking away from what tempts you. The fear of God is to turn away from evil. If you don't stop sinning by reaching out with your hands to commit evil, and running to evil with your feet, you are not sincerely seeking God — you have failed to repent from the basics under your control. Turning from evil as best we can, is prerequisite to sincerely seeking God and his salvation. Obedience to what you understand, and what you are able, leads to righteousness. If you deliberately sin, when you could have chosen not to, then you are betraying your sincerity in seeking God; and you can expect to receive little to no help, until you show a true turning away from the evil of which you are able by the grace of God that supports your resolve.
From the Word of the Lord within: "Turn from evil as best you can and set your sight on heaven." Then as you wait on God, the Lord will order your further repentance and show more of what are your sins. Unless you agree* to God's charges of your sins and then forsake them, (repent, stop doing them), there is no forgiveness. "If we do not deny our sins, [when He reproves us] he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin," 1 John 1:9,7; and "If you will repent at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you," Proverbs 1:23; and Jesus told us that we had to repent. So, the prerequisites of God's "forgiveness" are : 1) remorse for our sin, and 2) a repentance from it. So, if no forsaking of sin, (no repentance, no change of behavior) — then no forgiveness!! From the Word of the Lord within: "Jesus did not die so you can continue to sin. If you are still sinning, you belong to sin and not to Me. At his feet — only then will I pardon and forgive;—come, child-like."* To agree is not to confess. From the Word of the Lord within: "My true friends take no thought of confessional; don't take the time when you get a clear view." When clearly shown an evil practice or desire in your heart by the light, you may think you need to start apologizing or confessing the sin shown; but that will only draw you out of the light and inhibit your progress. It is enough that you do not deny what you see as true, and the Lord knows that you believe what he is showing you to be true without your taking the time to confess; your remorse will be noticed by him without a single thought being formed in words.
Yes, Jesus died for your sins; he died for the sins of the whole world. He died so you could be reconciled to God, BUT to be reconciled to God you have to become free of all sin, pure, and holy; and until you go to Jesus to sit in humble silence as you wait on Him, listening and watching, you will not even be aware of many things you do that are sins and must be stopped. This sitting and waiting on Him to speak to you is part of carrying your cross, and when you obey what he orders you to cease, you are denying your own will and following Jesus; this is the inward cross of self-denial. If you disbelieve Him or what He shows you to be sinful, you are not forgiven. If you believe Jesus and repent, you get the power to change with your best efforts; and the desire for that sin will melt away to nothing over time. However, if you deliberately then go back to doing the same thing, you are not forgiven; and it will be much more difficult to repent from that sin a second time.
Christianity's doctrine of false grace has fostered imaginary forgiveness without repentance, and that encourages continual repeat of deliberate sin in their members, which results in their great destruction. The Lord describes this repeat of sin—sacraments, sin again—sacraments again,...... as a conflagration: a great fire or great destruction. From the Word of the Lord within:
- "Sacraments: conflagration — to continue to do what you are not supposed to do, and afterwards be overcome with grief as to what you have done."
(a conflagration is a great fire or great destruction.)- "Church: forever sorry for what you have done, while at the same time turning right around and doing it again; it feeds itself."
- "Great is the destruction of those places of worship."
- "The Christian medium itself is conformable to death."
- "Truly these people call on me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."
- "Those with the mark of the beast will be given thirty days to repent."
- "Come out of her my love."
- "There is no church in the world that Christ set up specifically."
- "Like Daniel, you are captive of the Chaldeans."
- "Your place of worship is filled with unclean birds."
- "Come out of her my people; you are defiled."
The churches have become the killing ground for the seed of God. This deliberate sin, forgiveness, deliberate sin, forgiveness,... crucifies the Son of God within them. However, until they have killed their conscience through repeated sin, they can still hear and possibly be motivated to renew their efforts to exercise their faith; but for every act of disobedience they committed, after being convicted of some particular sin in the light, they must first effect the same number of acts of obedience before that sin is taken out of their heart. From the Word of the Lord within: "When the light shows you something to do, every act of disobedience has to be carried away by an act of obedience. Whatever you overcome and go back into is far harder the second time to overcome."
2 Even the demons called Jesus "Son of the Most High God," falling down at his feet, begging him to have mercy. Luke 8:28,4:41, Mark 5:7,3:11, Mat 8:29. So "believing" that Jesus is the Son of God, or "saying" he is the Son of God, does not result in salvation. James said: You say you believe in one God, you do well, even the demons believe and they tremble. James 2:19.
Notice Jesus in John 3:16 doesn't say if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, he says if you believe in him, (or simply believe him). There is a big difference: 1) mental assents to Jesus being the Son vs. 2) to believe what he commands and advises — enough to obey Him. He commands us to seek with our highest priority in life the Kingdom of God and His righteousness — to be perfect — to turn the other cheek — to come to him, listen to him, and obey him- to deny yourself and pick up your cross daily and to repent or perish. If you believe him, you will obey all his commands; and those you find yourself unable to obey will motivate you to go to him, seeking his healing from even your desire to sin, which results in him giving you personalized commands to be obeyed.
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