jjperra

We are called as Christians to lead a life that reflects Jesus Christ's life as closely as possible...which, unfortunately is not very close at all. If He was willing to give his life to seal the covenant for the forgiveness of our sins (Matt 26:28) than we need to be willing to swallow our pride and forgive our brothers. And it is pride that stops us from forgiving. It is pride that gets in the way of communication when we get hurt. It is this pride that God abhors, because it is the root of all evil, of all sin in this world. So, as we forgive or not forgive in this world, so God forgives or not forgives us! (Matt 6:14-15) If we are not forgiven and we are partaking in the symbol of the covenant of forgiveness which Jesus gave us.... we are not right inside nor are we right with God. If we are not right with God and we partake in His supper then we are sinning against the body and the blood of Jesus.(1 Cor 11:27) We are not following His most basic examples and commands. We are mocking Him if we cry "forgive me Lord!" and yet hold those around us unforgiven. It is never good to mock the Lord! So we need to examine our hearts and make everything right inside and extend the mercy and forgiveness that Jesus showers on us, to those whom we are holding accountable and put away our pride BEFORE we partake in the bread and wine and ask for forgiveness from God.

The blood of the lamb was a sign to the angel of death to pass over the home mark with it. It was a protection for God's people from death, and also the fear from it. What Jesus did for us, giving His blood for us, is protection from death for all who accept the gift. It grants believers eternal life, with Christ, and also takes away any fear of passing from this world.

We have been released from the bondage of sin in that through God's Word we understand what sin actually is and can recognize it and therefore avoid it. We also do not have to rely on our own strength or cunning to avoid/resist it, God offers to be our armour and our strength. And even though we have sinned God's incredible sacrifice/gift to us assures us that we can be forgiven and that the final goal with God is SO much more attractive than the immediacy of sin (which is really attractive right now...) it makes us not want to sin anymore. But....all this does not mean that sin is removed from our lives and that we are still not constantly tempted by it. In fact it feels that Christians are usually targetted even more for temptation (this is Satan's job in sin). We need to Holy Spirit in us and around us to protect us from this temptation, to nudge us back onto the right path when we do succumb to temptation and to remind us that God is with us and will ALWAYS forgive us and take us back.

We are the slaves, all people that have ever lived on this planet...except for Jesus the Christ. We are enslaved by sin. By the knowledge of good and evil, which placed pride in our hearts. Pride is the root sin of all sins. From pride comes greed, **** of power and **** of flesh. It also tells us that we do not need God that we can control our own destiny. It enables us to walk away from God. God loves us so much that He put up the ransom...it didn't matter the cost... He wants us all back. Satan is involved in the process as the supreme servant of sin. He is not sin. He doesn't hold us in slavery, but he works diligently to get us and keep us ensnared in sin. He himself fell from God's grace into sin and became corrrupted absolutely by it. He is, in fact, a slave (THE slave) to sin also. Would it not be glorious if satan could turn back to God??? Think of the ramifications of that in this world...satan working to get us to move towards God!!! The slave/ransom analogy wasn't completed in the Bible because it isn't a perfect analogy (very few are...) Sin is not a being that can except a payoff. Sin is a state of mind, a power that is not feeling or thinking... it just is. It would be like trying to pay the sun to stop shining on the earth. The sun doesn't care. It will keep shining no matter how much money we throw at it. We can spend money to protect ourselves from it. But as soon as we step outside of our protection, we get blasted again. The same happens with sin, we are freed by God who paid for this freedom, be we can still step outside of this protection and sin is still right there ready to enslave us again. God, thank you for our protection from sin and for paying the price to free us from it!!!!! I love You!

"We were bought with a price"...with a very dear one (One)! If this is so, than we owe everything to God. We in essence have had our servitude switched from sin to God. Even though He gives us our freedom. Our love and thankfulness, should push us to fulfill this obligation by serving Him and all of His children. Therefore, in our lives we should not say, "mine",except when we are talking about our iniquities. (which we will always need to talk about and seek forgiveness). Rather, we should say "His" and "ours". We need to be ready and willing to give back to God or give to another of God's children any and all possessions (including our lives and children), if God were to ask us to. And we need to do it with a happy and grateful heart. God gave up His only Son for us....can we give less back? Thank you GOD!!!

Sin is not only "against" God, but is also just "without" God. I don't know how many out there reading this have been married or in a relationship or even a serious friendship. One of the most powerful and hurtful weapons against another is the "cold shoulder" or ignoring the other person. One of the most hurtful pains in any relationship is just being forgotten. It doesn't even have to be on purpose. All of this creation, all of God's works, have been for us to walk hand in hand with Him. To have a close, personal, committed relationship with Him. Every time we sin against Him, or just forget to take Him with us, hurts. The difference between capricious anger and the anger that brings about justice is Agape Love. The love God has for us. It is not meant to get back at us... it is meant to get us back. My favorite parable of this is the story of the traffic court: The young girl was standing in traffic court for having been caught speeding. She was guilty. When the judge walked in it turned out to be the girl's father. His heart was breaking with what he was supposed to do. But, as an upright officer of the court he was obliged to declare her guilty and set her fine. She was shocked and in despair (you would be too if you have seen the fees for speeding ...at least in California...) He then decalred the case closed. stepped down from the bench, took off his robes, pulled out his wallet and payed the penalty. He then openned his arms and took in his daughter to comfort and love her.

There was only one way that the Jews of that day knew how to atone for sins was the sacrifice of an unblemished, or perfect, lamb. If we are to be considered God's flock of sheep with Him as the Shepard, than only the perfect Lamb from this flock could stand in for the perfect and complete sacrifice. Only one person ever (or ever will) fill that description: my Lord, Jesus Christ. The comprehensiveness of "the sins of the world" I see as two-fold. One, that "the world" meant more than just the Jews. The other is that the act of sacrifice that the Jews partook in, was committed by the sinner. Each person had to kill his own lamb. With the sacrifice of Jesus, the one act covered the world...even people who were not born for 2000 years! One curious thing. If the Jews don't believe in Jesus as the Messiah and their Salvation, shouldn't they still be sacrificing lambs today? Thank you Lord for this AWESOME gift!!!!

Hello! My name is John, I attend a Covenant Church in Santa Barbara, CA. I am married and the father of two beautiful kids. I have been in children's ministry and an adult cell group leader. This is my first study and I am looking forward to learning what God has to see to us.