Weekly Bible Study – February 3, 2020; Sermon: Imputations, Justification and Divine Righteousness

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Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your known unconfessed sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that https://twitter.com/Ticket2Heaven/status/1221699816784154625/analyticswhoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

Imputations, Justification and Divine Righteousness

Imputations, Justification and Divine Righteousness. We are now noting the key to understanding the righteousness of God which is based on you understanding the following subjects or doctrines.

1. How the Justice of God and the righteousness of God work together.

2. The doctrine of Justification.

3. The doctrine of Imputation. Rom 5:12-21 is our main passage. On one end of this Grace Pipeline (GP) is the Justice of God, the origin of all blessing…not His love. On the other end of the pipeline is +R which was imputed to the believer at the moment of salvation. Notice that the love of God is not involved in either end of the GP.

If God blessed us simply because He loved us, the whole world would be blessed, believers and unbelievers, and we would all be spoiled. However, even though He loves the world and He is not willing for any to perish…people still do perish…why? Because His justice needs to be satisfied before His love can be perfectly expressed. And so the Justice of God works in an intimate way with +R which was imputed to the believer at salvation.

Imputation means to reckon, to attribute, to ascribe, to charge to one’s account. It is used as an act of God whereby either condemnation or blessing is ascribed, attributed, reckoned, given, or imposed on the human race.

Now, as I mentioned before Rom 5:12-21 is one of the greatest, if not the greatest and clearest passage in the word of God when it comes to the subject or doctrine of imputation, where we read in Rom 5:12, Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death [that is spiritual death] came-through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned [the aorist tense says that all sinned when Adam sinned].

1Co 15:21-22, For since by a man [Adam] came [spiritual] death, by a man [the humanity of TLJC = the Lord Jesus Christ] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.

Adam made one decision and it involved the entire human race. However, don’t be too hard on Adam because the decision that Adam made would have been our decision, we would not have done it any differently. If we would have never sinned God would have let us be, but we all would have failed just like he did.

So, Adam, when he disobeyed by eating the fruit from the tree of good and evil , made a decision for the entire human race. Now each member of the human race must make a decision regarding another tree: the Cross. One man’s decision places all of us under spiritual death, but our own decision of faith in Christ provides us an eternal relationship with God and we have something better than Adam lost.

Rom 5:13, for until the Law [Mosaic Law, the 10 commandments, etc.] sin [the sin nature] was in the world; but sin [or the sin nature and all the sins that the sin nature produced] is not imputed when there is no law.

God did not and could not hold us accountable or impute or accuse us for our sins because He had not given man commandments to follow at that time. However, as this passage says but sin or the sin nature and the sins it produced was still in the world. With or without the Mosaic Law, sins have always been committed. In other words, the Mosaic Law does not restrain sin, it is a declarer or a communicator of sin.

The Mosaic law defines sin for us but it doesn’t restrain us from sin. The Law was given to reveal to us our total depravity and the fact that we could never meet or follow God’s commands. It was given to reveal our hopelessness and helplessness. Because the justice of God imputed the sin of Adam to us and giving us spiritual death, that same justice could bring us out of the pit of spiritual death by taking our personal sins and imputing them to Christ.

Under the principle of the Justice of God, Peter wrote; 1Pe 3:18, For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

So, the sins that were in the world from Adam were unjudged by the justice of God and put them on the cross so that the justice of God could judge our personal sins and we would get out of eternal condemnation. This is perfect justice. And so, while personal sin existed in the human race from Adam to Moses it was never the basis for condemnation, it was Adam’s sin that set up the basis for our condemnation.

The personal sins of the human race are never imputed to the individual but all are imputed to Christ on the Cross. At the Cross personal sins-past, present, and future were imputed to Christ and then judged by the justice of God as grace provision for our salvation. It is imperative to understand that personal sin is never imputed until the Cross.

So, Adam’s sin was imputed to us at birth with resultant spiritual death while our sins were imputed to Christ resulting in His spiritual death. That my friends is a tremendous blessing to us from God. And so Rom 5:14 goes on to say, Nevertheless death [that is spiritual death or separation from God] still reigned from Adam until Moses, [Or from the creation of man until Moses, when the Law or the commandments of God was given] even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

We did not sin like the first Adam, we were born sinners, he was not, he was created with perfect righteousness and he lost it. What does that mean that man had not sinned in the likeness of Adam? It means that Adam sinned even though he had a sinless nature, even though God gave him no commandments, but mankind sinned because he was born in sin.

Therefore, it is important to note the relationship and analogies between the first Adam and the Last Adam. Here are some of those principles:

1. Since Adam’s sin was imputed to the human race, the human race receives condemnation from the justice of God, namely spiritual death. This is why we are born physically alive and spiritually dead and we need to be born again, but this time born of the spirit.

John 3:5-6; “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water [word] and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

2. Also, this verse teaches that In spite of the absence of the divine norm, the Mosaic law which defines personal sin, personal sin was not the issue in spiritual death, the issue in our spiritual death was the imputation of Adam’s sins not ours. Spiritual death, condemnation from the justice of God, comes from the imputation of Adam’s sin, not from personal sins.

3. Such condemnation from the justice of God was based on imputed and inherent, but not personal sin.

4. Personal sin is a factor in every person in the human race, but personal sin was not the basis for our condemnation.

5. Adam’s sin is the basis for condemnation for Adam is the federal head of the human race.

Also, when it says in Rom 5:14, Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam,

6. Adam’s sin was negative volition, direct disobedience to the command of God, regarding the prohibition of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God set up a test for man in his perfection. The test was for his volition which was free. One thing man did not need in the garden was garden was to understand good and evil, the policy of Satan. We did not sin like Adam!

7. While many members of the human race do not have the duplicate, the exact sin that Adam had, we do have a similarity to Adam’s sin and the justice of God recognises that everyone does not express sin in the same way. However, it doesn’t matter what you or I think about someone’s sin, that we think that there are some sins that are more respectable than others.

The word of God says Jas 2:10, For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
Rom 1:18, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Notice that ungodliness and unrighteousness is said to be found in those who suppress or they conceal and block out the truth.

Rom 1:19-32, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them.

For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and, although they know the ordinance of
God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

And then after defining all of these so-called gross sins says the self-righteous individual, God says to them in Rom 2:1, Therefore you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment [on them for what their sins are], for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

8. And so the eighth principle concerning this verse; All are just as guilty and under the penalty of sin (spiritual death) because of the imputed sin of Adam and because of the old sin nature.

9. Also this verse brings out the fact that personal sin is the result of spiritual death rather than the means of spiritual death in the human race.

Personal sin is the direct result of being born with the imputation of Adam’s sin plus the old sin nature. All personal sin comes directly from the old sin nature.

Rom 5:14, Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. The reason for this typology is the fact that Adam was created perfect from the hand of God, whereas Christ was born perfect by the grace of God. So we have only two people in all of history who were perfect at their beginning. The beginning of the first Adam was creation, whereas the last Adam was born perfect. Adam is a type of Christ from the standpoint of federal headship of the human race.

Only two men in human history, Adam and Christ, are federal heads. Adam is the federal head of mankind and Christ is the federal head from the new birth. The first Adam was created perfect and sinned, bringing condemnation to the human race. The author of sin is Adam. The last Adam was perfect and was judged for our sins on the cross, bringing salvation to the human race.

Notice that neither the first Adam nor the last Adam started with an old sin nature. Both were minus anything related to sin; both had free will. The choice of the first Adam was negative, putting the human race under sin; the choice of the last Adam was positive, putting the human race in the category of salvation. Therefore we have type and antitype. Adam is the author of spiritual death; the last Adam is the author of eternal life.

1Co 15:22, For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.

1Co 15:45, So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life giving spirit.

Isn’t the word of God great?

Rom 5:15 goes on to say, But the free gift [that is salvation] is not like the transgression [that is the transgression of Adam]. For if by the transgression of the one [Adam] the many died [hoi polloi = altogether, the entire, or simply all referring to every member of the human race] much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many [the human race with emphasis on the unlimited atonement].

Verse 15 now brings us to the a fortiori of capacity for blessing, hence the a fortiori for blessing in time. Under the principle of imputation we now begin to set up a contrast emphasising here the difference between the first and the last Adams, between the type and the antitype; in other words, between Adam and Christ.

The free gift means a grace gift, or a gracious gift. It refers to the salvation work of Jesus Christ on the cross being judged for our sins. In other words, a contrast is being set up between the first and the last Adam. “But not as that transgression [the original sin of Adam], so also is that gracious gift [the work of Christ on the cross].”

As noted in the previous verse Christ as the antitype to Adam’s type, is impeccable, perfect in His humanity, not a sinner. Christ did not have a sin nature, because He did not have the imputation of Adam’s sin, did not have any personal sin, in contrast to the first Adam. Like the first Adam, TLJC did not have an earthly father to pass down the genes of the old sin nature. We’re going to note this when we get to the imputation of human life to the soul as well as the imputation of Adam’s original sin to the genetically formed old sin nature.

The typology of the two Adam’s, then, can only be carried to a certain point. It cannot be carried into their persons because as persons they were quite different. Adam was unique because he was created perfect and fell. Christ was unique because He is the God-Man and remained in His humanity impeccable. So there has to be some basis for setting up type and antitype.

The answer is simple. Each one is a federal head of the human race. Adam is the federal head of the human race through physical birth, while Christ is the federal head of the human race through spiritual birth. This is why we must be born again to have an eternal relationship with the integrity of God. Here the analogy ends and the contrast begins. The first Adam brought condemnation on the entire human race, while the last Adam brings salvation to the human race.

Because the of first Adam the justice of God condemns man, but because of the last Adam the justice of God is free to provide blessing for man—beginning at salvation through imputed righteousness and justification. Therefore, while the human race is born in Adam the human race is born again in Christ.

The concept is that blessing from the justice of God, i.e. the imputation of divine righteousness and resultant justification, is potential for blessing in time that means great reward in eternity. Remember that the point of reference for the human race is the integrity of God—righteousness and justice. Righteousness demands righteousness and justice demands justice. When God works on our behalf it is because these things have been fulfilled. Justice executes what righteousness demands. Therefore our point of contact is always the justice of God. We are never going to be given anything from God which compromises His character, but we are going to be given wonderful things which glorify His person.

Everything depends upon our potential, and our potential depends upon the doctrinal content of our soul. As a result the highway for blessing is open. From justice to righteousness is the highway through which all of these blessings come to us. All blessing from God originates with divine justice and terminates with the divine righteousness that was imputed. But always remember, God will never give us anything unless we have the capacity, and therefore capacity becomes a big issue.

If God provided the greater in justification it follows a fortiori that He will provide the less in temporal blessing from the justice of God. A fortiori is a system of logic which comes from Latin phrase meaning “with stronger reason.” For example, if I was willing to give you as a gift one million dollars, it follows a fortiori that I would give you one hundred dollars as a gift.

Now, A fortiori is a system of logic using comparison and Paul is using it here when he says…. in Rom 5:15, For if by the transgression of the one [Adam] the many died [the human race] much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

Furthermore, the provision of temporal blessing glorifies God, and for any born again believer to have any of the blessings of life in the devil’s world it is glorifying to God. The phrase “much more” means that God provides more in grace than man had in innocence before the fall. God provides more in the imputation of divine righteousness than He did in the garden where no righteousness had been imputed. If God did the most for us when we were spiritually dead in Adam He can only do much more than the most for us now that we possess divine righteousness and resultant justification.

That is because when the most was done for us we were related to the wrong man—Adam. But now we are related to the right man—Jesus Christ. Look at the a fortiori in Rom 5:8-9, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

If God did the most for us when we were spiritually dead in Adam He can only do much more than the most for us now that we possess divine righteousness and resultant justification. The same thing is said and is true in Rom 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

The believer in Christ through salvation adjustment to the justice of God has been placed in a greater position than that which was lost by Adam in the garden. God provides more in grace adjustment to the justice of God than man ever possessed originally in the garden. The gift of grace, Jesus Christ, provides the a fortiori link. The justice of God did the most in judging our sins when Christ was carrying them on the Cross.

If the justice of God did the greater at the cross it follows a fortiori that the justice of God can do the less—temporal and eternal blessing for the mature believer. The sin of the first Adam results in the condemnation of the human race but now the grace gift of God provides more for the many than was lost originally. Hence, the believer is not restored to the status of Adam before the fall, he is restored to something far greater than Adam ever had.

This constitutes a double a fortiori. If God can do the greater at salvation He can do the less after salvation. If God can do less after salvation He can do greater than less again and again and again for all of eternity.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – February 2, 2020; The wisdom and power of our God; Gen 1:22.

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
The wisdom and power of our God; Gen 1:22.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
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from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word or participating in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9, says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV (New King James Version); we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Our Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

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teaching the Word of God from the original languages and
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Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references” (some websites may require to left click the link, if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible) when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Sermon: The wisdom and power of our God; Gen 1:22.

Moses taught that “the day you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you will [mowt = die spiritually] then it says that “you will taamuwt [die physically].”

Moses taught the main principle that dying spiritually, you shall die physically.

If they [Adam and the woman Ishshah] ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that they would die spiritually and then naturally.

We have a verse that deals with Creation in Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

If we desire to know the main reason why we have been created, we are told about the Angelic Conflict and not the Gap Theory but the Gap fact in Gen 1:2.

Gen 1:1 + Gen 1:2 = undisclosed period of time when the earth was filled with darkness and one-third of all the angels were incarcerated for their rebellion against God.

We simply have no idea about the length of time concerning the rebellion of the fallen angels and what took place during that time; Gen 1:1-2.

In Gen 1:2 we read that something happened that caused complete darkness and that our Lord had to solve the problems of man; Jer 4:23-28.

Even though man had not been created as of yet, we do know he was created some time between Gen 1:1 to Gen 1:2.

Next, in Gen 1:22, we have a challenge to humanity.

This passage reveals the wisdom and power of our God; Gen 1:22.

The Trinity is revealed and we are told that the Lord gave us the authority to man to be responsible to our Lord; Gen 1:26-27.

Then we introduce the creation of man and the fact that there is an Angelic Conflict in Gen 1:27.

In Gem 1:28, the Lord reveals to us the greatness of His grace and love to us.

In Gen 1:29, God the Holy Spirit reveals to mankind that man can have the authority to bless others and the authority to receive from others; Gen 1:29-30.

The Lord completed the work that mankind needed for the Divine Blessings; Gen 2:1-4.

These things were written not in chronological order but in the perfect order of the Trinity to worship our Lord; Gen 2:7.

As we continue to worship our Lord, the purpose of the creation of man is given beginning with Gen 2:15.

The commands and love from our God given to man in the beginning of the human race, with the freedom to choose either to follow our Lord or to live for self; Gen 2:15.

We are also given the freedom to reject or accept the plan of God for our life; Gen 2:16-17.

We also have the love and the guidance given to man and why it is not good for man to be alone; Gen 2:18.

The Lord “has” and “will have” the Divine Design given to mankind for the “Divine Purpose” of glorifying the creation of our Lord; Gen 2:18.

The first operation that ever took place is found in Gen 2:21.

The first woman that our Lord created in Gen 2:22.

The excitement of the man receiving a grace gift from the Lord to honor God; Gen 2:23.

The Lord instituted the gift of marriage to both the man and the woman; Gen 2:24.

From this section of the Word of God, we are warned about Heylel or Satan and his kingdom of darkness; Gen 3:1.

In Gen 3, we are now introduced to another creation, the serpent and his lies.

In Gen 3:2, here comes either a blessing or a curse, the introduction of the evil one himself who is called a serpent;

In Gen 3:3 we are warned about disobeying the Lord and following the wrong principles.

In Gen 3;4, we have the serpent, the devil, who is known for his lies and deceptions.

Satan uses friends and family to entice us to rebellion against the Lord, Gen 3:6.

When our Lord died, He actually died two deaths, first, a spiritual death for the sins of the world and this was followed by a physical death.

“Born Once, Die Twice, Born Twice, Die Once.”

Let me give you some insight into what our Lord said and the principle of living the spiritual life even though you may have lived it before.

This lack of interest is what many believers reject and what their Lord accomplished on the cross.

If you are only “born once” = you die twice, once at physical death and then Theologically, the Second Death; Rev 2:11; 20:6; 20:14; 21:8.

This leads us to be faithful even until death, and the Lord said; “I will give you the crown of life.”

The second death is that death that gives us light.

These passages and principles are also found at the end of the believer’s way of worshipping our Lord.

Principles that reveal what our Lord will give us as insight into whatever it is that is trying and studying the “Divine Authority” for the “Divine Design.”

Let’s take a look at the “Divine Design” that our Lord uses many times throughout human History.

1. First in Rev 20:12, our Lord is not a respecter of persons as far as His judgment is concerned.

2. It doesn’t matter whether or not they are rich or poor, our Lord is still in charge and in Acts 10:34.

3. This verse also says that there was equality and respect in Heaven revealed by the phrase in verse 12 which says that all were standing before the throne.

4. The book of Life and the book of works where the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds [ergons = their works].

Rev 21:8 — we have a description of the “Second Death;”

The second death is very unusual in the sense that it is basically not known by most believers today, but it does have some guarantees.

Some of those guarantees are based upon the success that winner believers enjoy and that winner believers will not have to worry about.

If you asked the average believer today if our Lord died for them, the majority of believers would say that they really do not believe that our Lord died for them and their loved ones.

If our Lord died for us then why do we have to die.

“If someone does something for you then why do you have to do for yourself again?”

Something will happen to cause us to be on the alert especially among your friends, family, husband, wife, your cat, your dog, even the pastor -teacher, etc.

Heaven would not be Heaven if certain ones are not with you to enjoy the blessings and the prosperity that they came from.

“I will pay all of the check for the table,” then why would someone else say “I will pay the Check” if someone already has.

Willful ignorance of doctrine which most believers are in bondage to because they do not think like the apostle Paul; Rom 12-14.

Rom 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think;

but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith or doctrine.

The problem of being ignorant and this is one of the main reasons that even believers become arrogant.

1. In Eph 4:18, they are Darkened in their understanding;

2. They are excluded from the life of God;

3. Because of the ignorance that is in them,

4. Because of the hardness of their heart;

Notice how the apostle Paul describes the problem and then he also gives us the reasons that we need to be in touch with God.

1. Eph 4:18 = the first doctrinal evaluation where we read that believers allow negative thoughts to influence their decision making.

2. They allow certain thoughts to penetrate their soul and spirit and reject the doctrinal solutions that our Lord gave to all mankind.

The apostle Paul was very careful when he was forced to communicate the divine solutions for the problems that we need to solve = PVTD [positive volition towards doctrine].

These are believers who the apostle Paul is challenging so that they will make decisions based upon doctrine and not based upon their emotions.

In Eph 4:18 = the principle of being darkened in their understanding which refers to the negative vibes that many believers have.

“There are a lot of believers who are excluded from the life of God.”

They have the same weakness from arrogance that Satan had in Isa 14:12-14, and that is the sin of independence and the rejection of the real truth.

It is not a real truth because it comes directly from Satan and we know that he is a liar who mixes truth and error together; John 8:44.

It’s the real truth because God the Holy Spirit inspired it and He is God which means He cannot lie or even look upon sin; Hab 1:13.

(1) They are being darkened in their understanding.

(2) Excluded from the life of God.

This is the only solution for believers who have negative volition towards doctrine because their negative volition is affecting them in different realms.

“No” to God, “I will not gather together with other believers as Your Word clearly teaches that I should, however, I will do whatever I desire to do.”

1. The area of implacability which causes us to reject the divine provisions from the Lord.

Ungrateful; Forgetful; Impossible to please no matter what you do for them or what you give to them.

Our Lord taught His disciples how to handle whatever comes their way.

Blessed be the happiness’s (plural) that you possess and that you who weep now, you shall laugh.


There will always be people in your life who are never satisfied no matter what you do for them.

There will always be people in your life who complain about what we give to them.

Jer 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

No matter what trials, tribulations or adversities come their way, it does not change the fact that whatever they choose to do, there will be consequences.

The sin or the evil that many individuals develop as they try to fulfill 2Pe 3:18 = to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

If you don’t believe me, then believe what one of the wisest men in the world had to say about this principle of doctrine.

His name, of course, is Solomon, his mother was Bathsheba and his father was, of course, King David, who killed Bathsheba’s husband Uriah and then forced Bathsheba to marry him.

Hymn #3

The following link is to a good-news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about of their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – January 27, 2020; The Divine plan of blessing the Righteousness of God in man.

BLOGGER HTML CODE FOR - Weekly Bible Study – January 27, 2020

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your known unconfessed sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The Divine plan of blessing the Righteousness of God in man

The Divine plan of blessing the Righteousness of God in man. 1Ti 6:6-12, But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Notice he said in 1Ti 6:11, “pursue righteousness” – notice that righteousness is something that we must pursue after. When righteousness refers to God or the essence of God, we call it God’s holiness or His justice. But, when God’s righteousness is imputed to us and we are the recipients of God’s righteousness, we call it justification. And this all means qualification for blessing or potential for blessing.

Therefore, let us begin in Rom 5:12 with one of the greatest, if not the greatest and clearest passage in the word of God when it comes to the subject or doctrine of imputation, where we read, Rom 5:12, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. And I must comment on the verses to make it as understandable as I can. And for many of you, you are just going to have to believe it for now, until I prove what I am about to say.

I am giving to you some amazing principles concerning what the first Adam in the Garden lost and what the last Adam in His own garden gained back and didn’t just restore what mankind had lost but gave us more than we had in the original creation. Now, one of the many blessings that we have because of the cross is that our Lord not only restored all that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden but how He modified and improved it even more.

We can understand and experience a measure of these principles in the spiritual realm now, however, we will abide in them and experience them in totality in the eternal state. And this a part of our subject concerning the righteousness of God. Remember, Adam and the woman received a perfect righteousness, perfect in the sense that it came from God, but you and I receive a divine righteousness called the divine nature that will not be able to sin in the eternal state, a nature that is divine that cannot sin.

1Jo 3:9, No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Of course, someone will say, “Well isn’t that a violation of man’s free will?” And I say “No, it is not, because we asked God to give us a nature that cannot sin so that we will never be able to do what Satan and one-third of the fallen angels did which was to rebel against God!”

You choose!

I choose 1Pe 1:23, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.

2Pe 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature,

Others can so NO and choose what John 8:44 calls the creature’s nature, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth,” That’s a nature without God. The point is that it is vital that you understand the nature of God and the divine righteousness he gave you at the moment of your salvation. You and I have been given a nature greater than the one the first Adam had in the original creation, in the Garden!

The absolute righteousness that the first Adam lost, is now duplicated and imputed in the spiritual realm to the believer in the Church-age who receives a double righteousness under the principle of a double portion, and he will remain in that state of perfection forever and ever in the eternal state, Rev 22:11. Both in time and eternity, we are better off than the first Adam.

Secondly, the perfect environment in the Garden of Eden that the first Adam lost, is now duplicated in the spiritual realm in the PPOG [predesigned plan of God] for the Church-age but will be consummated in the eternal state with perfect environment for all of eternity, Rev 21:1-4. Both in time and eternity, we are better off than the first Adam. However, there was one more thing that the first Adam lost that is the purpose of marriage which was given to man not as a result of the fall but before the fall!

Because of the angelic conflict, the last Adam, TLJC [the Lord Jesus Christ], gives some believers the opportunity to recover and to glorify Him in the angelic conflict and to put another nail as it were in the coffin of Satan in the historical phase of the angelic conflict through Christian marriage. And that is part of the mystery of Eph 5:32, This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

The original design of marriage that the first Adam lost, can now be experienced in the spiritual realm for two believers in the Church-age and becomes analogous to the eternal marriage between TLJC [the Lord Jesus Christ] and His bride for all of eternity, Rev 21:9.

So in Rom 5:12-13, Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death [spiritual death] through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned [all sinned when Adam sinned]. For until the Law [Mosaic Law, the 10 commandments, etc.] sin was in the world; but sin [or the sin nature and the sins it produced] is not imputed when there is no law.

This means that God did not and could not condemn us, that is mankind, for our sins because He had not yet given mankind a set of rules or do’s and don’ts to follow before He gave the Law to Moses.

Rom 5:14, Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

We did not sin like the first Adam, we were born sinners, he was not, he was created with perfect righteousness and he lost it — and only in that sense was he a type of Him who was to come, TLJC [the Lord Jesus Christ], who kept Himself without sin! What does that mean that man had not sinned in the likeness of Adam? It means that Adam sinned even though he had a sinless nature, even though God gave him no commandments, but mankind sinned because he was born in sin.

Rom 5:15 goes on to say, But the free gift [that is salvation] is not like the transgression [that is the transgression of Adam]. For if by the transgression of the one [Adam] the many died [hoi polloi = altogether, the entire, or simply all referring to every member of the human race] much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many – the human race with emphasis on the unlimited atonement.

Rom 5:16 And the gift [salvation] is not like that which came through the one who sinned [our Lord’s gift is different then what Adam gave us]; for on the one hand the judgment [of Adam’s original sin] arose from one transgression [Adam partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil] resulting in condemnation [that is condemnation of the entire human race], but on the other hand the free gift [salvation] arose from many transgressions [the humanity of Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world] resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one [Adam] death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness [+R = i.e., the righteousness of God] will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression [Adam] there resulted condemnation to all men [the entire human race], even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience [Adam] the many [the entire human race] were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One [TLJC = the Lord Jesus Christ] the many [those who believe in TLJC] will be made righteous. And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

Why did God bring in the Law?

Gal 3:24, Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.

So what did the apostle Paul mean when he said in Rom 5:20, And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

Well, since we are in the book of Romans, let me show you a passage that reveals what Paul meant.

Rom 7:7-14, What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin [or the sin nature], taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin [the sin nature] is dead. And I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin [the sin nature] became alive, and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin [the sin nature], taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore, did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, that through the commandment sin [or the sin nature] might become utterly sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

Rom 5:20-21, And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, that, as sin or the sin nature reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Please notice that grace reigns in our life when we understand the righteousness of God or +H. +H can refer to the righteousness given to us at salvation or salvation righteousness, experiential righteousness and positional righteousness. Now, if there was ever a subject where all these principles apply, it is the doctrine of imputation.

What is an imputation? The English noun is derived from the Latin verb imputari, meaning to reckon, to attribute, to ascribe, to charge to one’s account. In the theological concepts of the word of God, imputation is used as an act of God whereby either condemnation or blessing is ascribed, attributed, reckoned, given, or imposed on the human race.

Therefore, an imputation is the function of the justice of God directed toward mankind and related to the plan of God for mankind. Imputation functions as an act of condemnation or blessing from the Integrity of God to mankind. This means that in the plan of God there are times that God imputes us things that condemn us and other times things that bless us. For example, at physical birth God imputes to us the blessing of life but at the same he imputes to us the old sin nature passed down from Adam to our physical body as condemnation.

So that we are born physically alive (blessing from the justice of God), but at the same time spiritually dead (condemnation from the justice of God.) Both of these actions by God are considered to be imputations. Therefore, imputation may be defined as the action of the justice of God whereby either condemnation or blessing is assigned, ascribed, attributed, superimposed or super induced to another being.

And once you learn this and understand it, you will see that the plan of God advances with each imputation. In fact, we are going to note a principle that every imputation is an advance on a previous imputation, though most of you are not ready for this as of yet…but you will if you want to. And that is because you have the greatest teacher in the universe, God the Holy Spirit; 1Jo 2:27; John 14:26; 1Co 2:10-16.

1Jo 2:27, And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie,

John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

1Co 2:10-14, For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

1Co 2:12-14, Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

Now, there are three factors in imputation.

a. The source, which is God Himself.

b. The nature of the imputation–what is being imputed.

c. The recipient of imputation–a human being in a specific status quo.

There are two categories of imputation.

1. Real imputations, where the justice of God imputes under the principle of the importance of understanding that there is a similarity or a likeness between what is being imputed and where it is being imputed to. What is imputed has an affinity or a home for that to which it is imputed. For example, Real imputations include: human life to the soul, Adam’s original sin to the old sin nature, eternal life to the human spirit, blessings in time to perfect righteousness, and blessings in eternity to the resurrection body.

All of these imputations from God, human life; Adam’s original sin; eternal life; blessings in time; blessings in eternity-all have a home or a place to go for the imputation which is:

a. Human life to the soul.

b. Adam’s original sin to the old sin nature.

c. Eternal life to the human spirit.

d. Blessings in time to perfect righteousness,

e. Blessings in eternity to the resurrection body.

In a real imputation, what is imputed is in harmony, agreement, or affinity with the target of the imputation.

The second category of imputations are known as Judicial imputations, where the justice of God imputes what does NOT legally belong to that which it is being imputed to. Therefore, there is no affinity, no home or target between what is imputed and the recipient. Therefore, only one factor exists–what is being imputed. Thus, great emphasis is placed on the Source of the judicial imputations which come from the justice of God.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.