Sow Good, Reap in next life.

Last week

We have Free Will to chose what we are going to do.

You have a choise regarding what you sow into the world.

But, God will not be mocked, What goes around comes around.

If you do not put in the work, you will not reap the reward.

You do bad things, bad things will come back to you in this life.

We focused on Jacob, Jacov, Saw how

he manipulated his brother and was manipulated by his uncle;

His Father was decieved by his wife, Jacob was deceived by his wife.

Jacob used trickery to move from second born to first born, but his wives used trickery to make sure number one stayed number 1.

Jacob’s life showed us that, even for God’s chosen nation, what goes around comes around IN THIS LIFE.

This week

The same follows after death.

2 Corinthians 5:9–10 ESV

9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Where do the evil ones go: Jesus and God the Father have told us.

Isaiah 33:14 NKJV

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

Matthew 25:41 NKJV

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Luke 16:22-26 Everlasting fire. Matthew.

Luke 16:22–26 NKJV

22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

But!!!! Jesus had this Crazy Idea

If I hurt you, who must forgive me?

Jesus comes along and says that He can forgive you of sins without needing the person you hurt. CRAZY.

God offers forgiveness and he offers hope. He offers you a chance to break this cycle.

Sin usually has 2 effects: you hurt the Victim, and you Break the law.

When you steal, There are clearly two things happening here.

The one Circumstance is that you break the Law. You should be punished for breaking the law. So you owe the the law giver a fine or time in prison. You have a debt to God.

the Consequence is that the Victim no longer has it. So you owe them the thing back. You have a debt to the victim.

There are exceptions. When you break the law but there is no worldly victim.

Sabbath

Name in Vain

So, sin is always breaking God’s law, and usually it is accompanied by a consequence against an earthly victim.

Apart from it being obvious, How do we know it has an earthly element and a heavenly element?

Matthew 6:13–14 NKJV

And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Therefore, When you sin against God when you break the Law and owe a debt to God. But you also owe a debt to the victim.

When we sin we get further from God and the victim because there is this debt between us. When this debt is paid or written off, we move closer to them.

But you see, you cant just jump into the path and into the mud and in and out as you wish. God is holy, set apart, pure, and good. We cleanse ourselves to get near him and The holy Spirit and blood of Jesus washes us of these.

How do you pay for your sin.

Before Christ, you had to pay for your sins with blood of a sacrifice (bird, sheep, cow, etc). So you paid a fine for the crime by sacrificing something of value. Or you will pay for it personally in Hades.

But now Jesus pays your debt to God because he has already given his blood instead of you. So , we are forgiven because jesus has paid for our sins. But, he does not pay for you just because you ask as a christian, nope - that is far to easy. There is something you need to do for him.

The first things is that you have to forgive others of the wrong they did to you. To be cleansed by Jesus’s, it is not required to the victim forgives you. You must forgive others.

True repentance (Being truly sorry for what you have done and changing your life to remain on the narrow way.)

Forgiveness is confusing

This is confusing: WHY, is it that God can wipe away my sins, but human forgiveness is still important? I’m already clean/

Note that when you pray, whether you have been forgiven is irrelevant. You are getting your forgiveness from God.

You are right, the sinner is clean. But is are you, the victim, clean?

This might seem confusing because you are forgiven by God, but people must still forgive, what are they forgiving.

But My God is not the author of Confusion, God the Father, Son, and the Holy spirit do not contradict themselves, they speak the same thing because they are the same thing.

The sinner is Clean, but the Victim is not Clean until they forgive. You see, in Lev 19:17-18

Leviticus 19:17–18 NKJV

17 ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

So, when they victim does not forgive, they are breaking this commandment and are sinning themselves. They are not loving their neighbour. So you see how it all comes together, Jesus has forgiven my sin, the sinner is clean. But the Victim is not clean because he is holding a grudge and not loving his Neighbour as himself.

Then the Son tells us that this is one of the greatest commandments. Confirming what God the Father commanded.

Then in the Lord’s prayer, he incorporates it by making it is a condition for your forgiveness, that you must not hate or bear grudges.

When you apologise , and amends, and ask someone to firgive you, you are not just helping yourself, you are helping them. You are dealing with the eathly trauma and setting your brother free from the grudge that ties him to you.

Transformative Grace in Christ

Ephesians 1:7 NKJV

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

Ephesians 2:5–8 NKJV

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

The antidote to Karma in Christ

Forgive, For your sake because you loveyour neighbour

Acknowledge and apologize

Fix

Forgo the sin

Forgiveness

Then though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.