*I HAVE FOUND A RANSOM*

By nature, man's spiritual condition is a degenerate ruin, a complete wreck, a total wretch, a sure enough failure, and a thoroughly depraved flop. The news media and religion will never tell you this TRUTH, that you're fixing to read. In over six thousand years, man has made no moral or spiritual progress. Science, education, religion, humanism, and human rights have never fixed any of man's real problems, and they never will. Crime, wars, disease, poverty, death, sin, dying, and false religious unity continue to plague the world. Sin is utterly repulsive. You were born wrong, dead in sins; you must be born again, because you are alone in the world without hope and without God. You possess blind eyes, deaf ears, a tongue set on fire of hell, a heart deceitful above all things, dull ears, and eyes full of adultery. Only The God of Heaven can do something for you, because there is no hope within you whatsoever. Your only fitting cry is, "God be merciful to me, for I am a miserable sinner."

Your spiritual ruin must be revealed to you from above by the Spirit of God; Only He can show you your true state. Like Peter, you must fall down and say, "Depart from me; I am a sinful man, O Lord" or cry out like Isaiah, "I am a man of unclean lips," or like Job's cry "I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes in response to God's blinding HOLINESS. You must feel your complete lack of righteousness or control. Never trust in yourself, and put no confidence in the flesh, for in your flesh dwelleth no good thing. God Himself has to show you your sins, and then He will show you His SON. Remember, Jesus is still saving sinners today. You must receive divine light (Understanding) from above to see that you are a lost, miserable sinner. You are no good in yourself, and the wages of your sins is eternal death in the Pit.

True repentance means declaring, "I have sinned, and perverted that which is right." You must become sick of your sins and afraid of them, knowing they will damn your soul. Remember that your sins cost Jesus His life, and God will discover all your sins at the judgment. You have turned to your own way; you want to do things according to your own desires and imaginations.

The Ransom is deliverance from the Pit. A Ransom is a legal payment, and Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many—a Ransom for all. Neither Muhammad nor Buddha can pay this debt. The required payment for sin is eternal fire, because God is a consuming fire. Your sins must be paid for forever, because the Person you have sinned against is ETERNALLY. JESUS paid an eternal payment for your sins on the cross. If you attempt to pay for your sins yourself, the payment is eternal fire in hell. What does God require of you? He requires a sinless, perfect life, commanding, "Be ye holy; be ye perfect." JESUS produced that sinless, perfect life. He was the only perfect man that came into this world—a Jewish man with sinless blood. All of your own works will never be enough. Communists, Muhammadans, and Catholics are heading toward destruction, because they do not believe that GOD in the Person of Jesus Christ, laid down His life for sinners, and shed His innocent blood on THE CROSS of Calvary. All human religion is fiction, illusion, dead, and artificial. ETERNAL Life is found in GOD'S BLOOD alone. Through Regeneration by the Spirit of God, your soul must be enlightened with the Light of the living God.

1. The Divine Wake-Up Call

* God's Relentless, Gracious Pursuit of the Rebel Sinner: The supreme eternal reality here is that man will never seek God on his own initiative. Left to himself, man sleeps securely in his sin coma, marching blindly toward destruction. Therefore, God actively breaks into human slumber—both literally and spiritually—opening the ears of men and sealing His instruction to shatter human self-sufficiency.

* The Futility of Human Independence: Every scheme, ambition, and self-salvation project of natural man is a "vain imagination" that leads the sinner straight to eternal ruin. The wisdom of this passage is that God must ruthlessly dismantle human pride before He can ever rescue the soul.

2. The Danger of Self-Will and the Inevitability of the Pit

* The Warning of the Sword and the Pit: The text sounds a blaring alarm against hardened rebellion. Unless God intervenes to withdraw man from his own destructive course, the soul's trajectory terminates in the pit and with the destroyers (death and eternal judgment).

* The Danger of Despising Chastening: God often uses physical affliction, deep mental distress, and the crushing weight of conviction to break human pride. To kick against these divine warnings, or to seek comfort in the "dainty meat" of worldly religion and human merit while your bones stick out in spiritual starvation, is to court eternal damnation.

3. The Golden Chain of Redemption:

a. Man's Ruin (Job 33:15–22)

* The opening portrait of man is absolute spiritual bankruptcy. Man is fast asleep in the dark, swollen with pride, stubbornly clinging to his own way and righteousness. When God brings the hammer of affliction down—consuming his flesh, filling his bones with strong pain, and starving his soul, so that he abhors the bread of self-righteousness—man stands fully exposed as a wretched, helpless pauper sliding straight toward the grave and judgment.

b. Divine Revelation (Job 33:16–18)

* Man cannot find God by his own intellect or philosophy. God must divinely *open the ears* and *seal His instruction*. Divine revelation strips the blindfold from the sinner's eyes, exposing the horrifying reality of his sin and halting him in his tracks to hide pride from his heart.

c. Sincere Repentance (Job 33:27)

* True repentance is not a manufactured emotional plea or a clever religious resolution; it is the utter collapse of the evil ego before a holy God. It is the sinner finally crying out: *"I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not."* It is dropping all weapons of self-justification, confessing moral and spiritual ruin, and pleading guilty with nothing in hand.

d. Precious Ransom (Job 33:24)

* The turning point of the entire passage is the sovereign decree of grace: *"Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a Ransom."* The sinner has no ransom to pay; his pockets are entirely empty. The Ransom is found by God Himself in the substitutionary, sinless BLOOD of the Lord Jesus Christ. Divine Justice is fully satisfied, and the sin debt is paid in full at Calvary by GOD'S BLOOD.

And can it be that I should gain an interest in GOD'S BLOOD? Long my imprisoned spirit lay; Fast bound in sin and nature's night; God's eye diffused a quickening ray; I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was made free; I rose, went forth, and followed THEE. Amazing Love, how can it be, That Thou my God, shouldst die for me?

e. Inward Regeneration (Job 33:25)

* The immediate fruit of divine rescue is new life. The twice-dead, wasting soul experiences an instantaneous spiritual resurrection: *"His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth."* This is the new birth—the miraculous imparting of divine life where only spiritual decay once existed.

f. Perfect Righteousness (Job 33:26)

* Because the sinner is bankrupt, he cannot bring his own filthy rags. Instead, God "will render unto man his righteousness." This is the glorious doctrine of IMPUTATION! God places the spotless, perfect Righteousness of Jesus Christ to the account of the helpless believer, enabling him to pray, find divine favor, and see God's face with unutterable joy.

4. The Soul Delivered from Satan's Darkness into Christ's Light

* Inwardly, this passage describes the harrowing yet glorious journey of the soul passing from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. It is the transition from the restless, agonizing treadmill of trying to save yourself to the absolute rest of resting in a finished ATONEMENT of a sinless substitute, THE LAMB OF GOD (John 1:29). The conscience, once tormented by the fear of the pit, is suddenly flooded with peace, joy, and the unclouded light of the living.

* The Interpreter and the Rescue * The  divine meaning points immutably to the Lord Jesus Christ—the ultimate "Interpreter" (The Mediator, Intercessor, and Daysman for God) who is *one among a thousand*. No human priest, prophet, or religious system could interpret the mind of a holy God or provide a way out of the pit.

* God works these agonizing, marvelous dealings with man *oftentimes*—breaking pride, stripping away dead works, sending His Messenger, and declaring the life-giving verdict: "I have found a Ransom." Trust in Christ's Ransom today, Renounce every vestige of self-salvation, and let the living God bring your soul out of the pit into the Everlasting Light of His Grace!

TWICE DEAD!

Multitudes today are blindly treading down the broad way to destruction, not in the open filth of the world, but sheltered beneath the grand steeples of their superficial, second-hand, lifeless religion. There are persistent in their presumptuous religion and fake godliness, but have no true Life-giving Grace from above. They are dead in their sins, and dead in their religious hypocrisy - Twice Dead! These external surface religionists are caught up in a delusion of dead formalism and human convictions—proudly wearing the mask of religious pretending and professing while their hearts remain unchanged by the Grace of God (*2 Timothy 3:5: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof"*).

They are super-pious, hypocritical, and fiercely judgmental, quick to point out the motes in others' eyes while harboring a bitter heart which is at war with God (*Matthew 23:27: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness"*). Their convictions are entirely self-focused and used to keep people in bondage to them—sweating over religious rules, church attendance, tithing, dress codes, and moral posturing to soothe their dead, uneasy conscience, yet they have never once been broken into a spiritual pauper before THE CROSS OF CHRIST (*Romans 10:3: "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God"*). They love their sins in secret while trusting in their own filthy rags of self-righteousness (*Isaiah 64:6: "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags"*).

The convictionite promises spiritual life, wisdom, and refreshment like storm clouds rolling across a parched desert, but he carries no actual moisture from above. He is full of ranting and raving, empty words, philosophical posturing, and religious noise, leaving thirsty souls utterly parched because he possess no real connection to Christ Himself - The Water of Life. They are trees whose fruit has withered and died—exhibiting at best a superficial, hypocritical show of morality, but producing no true spiritual fruit born of divine regeneration. This is a real example of the profound deadness of the carnal mind. While the natural man prides himself on intellectual cleverness, religious standing, or moral standing, but all the while his soul remains a spiritual wasteland. External religionists can put on a magnificent show, sitting at feasts of charity and talking about spiritual things, but their inner man is completely alienated from the life of God. They are driven this way and that by the winds of shifting human philosophies, cultural trends, and religious nonsense. THE CROSS strips away every filthy rag of self-righteousness, exposing the utter helplessness of the religious hypocrite. To escape this state of being "twice dead," a Soul must abandon all his dead works, drop his religious pretenses, and look entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ—the One who conquered the grave, swallowed up death in Victory, and alone possesses the power to quicken dead sinners into everlasting life only through simply faith in His Righteousness and Precious Blood.

You may have grown up in the church, but never have been joined to Christ by the power of God - Salvation. Temporal religion cannot save you or gain you any favor with God, and churchianity cannot wash away your sins and guilt. You must be Quickened and Regenerated by the Holy Spirit Himself. You must drop your judgmental hypocrisy, renounce your dead formalism, and abandon every super-pious pretense. Look away from your second-hand traditions/convictions and cast your helpless, guilty soul directly upon the Lord Jesus Christ Himself—trusting solely in His finished ATONEMENT (Precious Blood) to save you from your sins once and for all (*Romans 3:24–25: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood"*).

*MORE LIGHT 5*

My Soul shall boast only in The Lord Jesus Christ all the day long, and Glory only in THE CROSS (THE LAMB OF GOD'S BLOOD ATONEMENT) as long as God gives me breath and life here on planet Earth. Not unto me, O LORD JESUS, Not unto me, but unto Thy Name I give Glory, for Thy Mercy, and for Thy Truth's sake.

Human nature wants an obscure message, that doesn't deal with the sins and darkness it loves so dearly, but the Glorious Gospel of Christ is as plain as day. The Popester and Muhammed's false gospels and sophisticated falsehoods are as clear as ditch water. But the Gospel of PEACE from above is the plainest and simplest message in all the world; it is simply this: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a Ransom for all sinners; Christ died for the ungodly, BUT three days later, God raised HIM from the dead; He was wounded for your Transgressions, He was bruised for your iniquities, He bled and died for your ungodliness; Now in the end of the world hath the Crucified Creator appeared to put away Sin, by the Sacrifice of Himself; Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and your Soul shall be freely saved immediately from the eternal wrath which is to come; Behold and Receive the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. How shall you escape the Judgment of God, if you Neglect so great and free Salvation? God hath set forth JESUS to be the Propitiation for human sin. The divine Blood of Jesus Christ is a substitutionary offering to God's divine justice instead so you would not have to suffer eternal death, and now whosoever trusts on JESUS to stand in his place, and receives Christ as his Substitute, his Atonement, his Sin Bearer, his Advocate is a saved sinner forever. Trust The Lamb of God to be your Substitute before God, and your Soul is saved on the spot—rescued in an instant. 

The Holy Spirit is the divine SPOTLIGHT operator, and He continually shines His Spotlight (The Words of God) on the Son of God. The Spirit of God directs every sinner's attention to the Redeemer, and highlights only Christ's Finished Blood Atonement completed on our behalf by JESUS, All by Himself (*Hebrews 1:3*). The Holy Ghost's main job is to illuminate and magnify the Person of Jesus Christ. Faith is no better than its object. Saving Faith's object is THE LAMB OF GOD Himself and His Precious Blood shed for the ungodly. You have absolutely no hope of forgiveness of your sins outside of GOD'S BLOOD that was shed by The Lamb of God (John 1:29). Humbly receive Christ; confess you're sinful, guilty, and deserve God's wrath, and that you cannot avert the wrath to come by any deeds of your own. Put your trust solely and entirely in the Precious Blood and Merits of JESUS CHRIST. Heaven's gate is open to beggars, not princes; to spiritual paupers, not for rich men. Christ died for sinners, not for the good and excellent. Christ Jesus came into the world to save vile sinners through His Blood Atonement. You deserve to be damned for your sins, and you know it. Come to Christ for Mercy Now. Leave your proud self-righteous filthy rags and vile sins. Humbly ask God for Mercy and Free Pardon through the Blood of The Lamb of God. Turn your heart's eye of Faith humbly towards God our Savior, Jesus Christ Himself. The devil says, "ye shall not surely die in your sins." but God says, "If you reject My Son, you will die in your sins."

Now get the whole message: All have sinned against God; there is not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. Every sinful man by nature is a child of disobedience and wrath, and in the evil and dark family of Satan. Who can say they have never sinned against God? No one! You're a sinner by birth, by nature, by practice, by choice. You have no hope of salvation apart from the bloody death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God is Just and Holy, and He cannot overlook your sins against Him. If God ceased to judge Sins, He would cease to be Just. God cannot let one of your sins go unpunished; your sins must either be pardoned in Christ, or punished forever in hell, but Sins will never be overlooked by your Holy Creator. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the proof that God the Father accepted the sinless Sacrifice of the Lamb of God on Calvary's Cross. Jesus was delivered for your offenses and raised again for your justification. Now, Jesus can Justify sinners freely forever. The wages of sin is still eternal death, and every Soul that sins shall die. Death and darkness have complete dominion over every lost soul. Life here on Earth is a miserable existence without Christ; all you have to look forward to without Christ is getting weaker and sicker, death bed, graveyard, and going out into Eternity without Christ and perishing forever. God came down here in the form of a Jewish man, The Lord Jesus Christ, He died for the ungodly, and then He conquered death, defeated sin, and triumphed over hell. Your future is grim and fearful. Jesus Christ took the dread out of death, the sting out of sin, the gloom out of the grave, and He now gives lost sinners Eternal Hope. The Truth of the ages is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and is Alive for evermore. You may have an existence, but you don't have Life Eternal until you personally receive Jesus by Faith in His Precious Blood. JESUS Lives Today, do you?

You must have no confidence in yourself, but come and rest wholly and entirely upon the FINISHED ATONEMENT of The Lamb of God. Any other shield will fail your Soul before God. There is a desperate, thirsty craving in every heart which can never be satisfied, except by the Creator Himself. If your poor sin-bitten Soul is craving for Pardon, Look to Christ Alone Now. Take God at His Word, Come to the Lamb of God, humbly fall down at THE CROSS where GOD'S BLOOD is still sprinkling Mercy for lost wretches. Puny mortal man, humble yourself. Dream no longer of any inward satisfaction apart from Christ Himself; ask for nothing beyond or besides HIM. Christ is ALL, and more than ALL your Soul needs today. 

You have become well skilled in sinning against God and take much pleasure in unrighteousness. Here is the gloomy truth about your sinful condition within: you have altogether become abominable in the sight of God, and you're warped beyond your repair. You are utterly and entirely lost and dead in your sins by your practice and love of sinning and evil habits, the growing evil force of your depraved appetites which the Bible calls iniquities. You're lost to everything that could ever commend you to God. You're an alien from the Life of God, a rebellious wretch, and an out-and-out enemy of God. You're so Lost that you care not to Seek the LORD.

The natural man has superficial and passing thoughts of seeking after God, but they have no true hunger and thirst after the Person and Righteousness of Christ Himself. You love darkness rather than Light, and have departed from God on purpose. Your Soul and Mind is continually being filled with filth that spews forth from your evil heart. Seek ye the Lord Jesus Christ while He may be found; Call upon JESUS while He is near. Receive Christ, be content with Him, and nothing short of Him. Humbly stoop and drink from the Fountain which Jesus has opened for thirsty, perishing sinners like you. Only the Holy Spirit can make you truly Thirsty for JESUS—The Lamb of God is All you need to go to Heaven. Never rely on your own righteousness or ability. You can never deliver your dead Soul out of the sinful dilemma that you've gotten yourself into now. Only the Cross of Christ and the Faith in the Crucified Creator can satisfy the cravings of your inner nature now. There's a craving within you now, an awful hunger, a thirst unquenchable. Only the Bread of Life can answer the craving appetite of your poor hungering spirit deep within. Crave divine Grace and dear Mercy by humble prayer to God through Jesus Christ.

Own yourself as a Sinner before God. Plead Guilty Now, or your Soul will remain Guilty before God Forever. The heavy load of Sin and Guilt will eventually drive you to confess your nothingness, excludes all your boasting, and compels you to Seek and Trust in The Lamb of God. Only the Holy Spirit can persuade you to reject the evil propensity you have to trust in yourself, and lead you to highly value and simply trust GOD'S BLOOD which cleanses and puts away Sins. Be wise: Look entirely away from yourself to the SAVIOR; Rest entirely upon the Person, Righteousness, Blood, and Mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Follow the Gospel's simple and plain directions: Humbly Repent, Reject your own righteousness, Receive Christ Himself. Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die in your sins and go to Hell, when you don't have to? Nothing can ever satisfy the craving of your thirsty dead spirit within but JESUS CHRIST Himself. ETERNAL Salvation from above lies utterly and wholly outside of yourself, and only and entirely in Christ Jesus. The Free Grace of God and Bleeding Love of JESUS is your Soul's only hope. Call upon JESUS in truth, sincerely plead His Precious Blood. Salvation will only come to you through the Blood of the Lamb. Pay close attention now: The Bleeding Love of the Incarnate God is the only Key to Paradise. Look to JESUS Now: Meditate closely upon JESUS' great eternal bleeding Love for guilty sinners.

*DIVINE ATTIRE*

*Righteousness* Christ's Righteousness which is imputed to the Soul by the Spirit of God at conversion when you receive Christ and His ATONEMENT. And then after conversion, internal and external moral alignment with God. (Matthew 6:33)

*Faith* Trusting in God's Son through Faith in JESUS' Precious Blood; Faith in Christ is foundation; Whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin; Faith is not passive; giving all diligence; flee from; put off; cast off; take; follow after; put on. Get after Jesus; He was/is always on the move. Faith which worketh by love; Faith Unfeigned. God supplies life and power, but you provide sincere intention and discipline to cultivate. 

*Godliness* 1 Timothy 4:7-8 -- Walking humbly with thy God; Fearing God, Departing from evil; Remaining conscious and aware of God; Gift from God's divine power when the divine nature is freely implanted into us. Living for Eternity. Yielding to the divine indwelling of the Spirit, not self-effort. Dedicated to the Gospel and the Kingdom of God; Daily conduct an act of true worship. Putting God first; Jesus must increase, but I must decrease; Sensitive to the Holy Spirit's promptings and guidance. Remaining conscious of God's presence; Alignment with Reality as God sees it; Acknowledging God in all parts of your life; Realizing God's heart and presence; Coming under and Lining up with God's will; Genuine devotion to God the Father; Intentional communion with God; Internal discipline and growth through the Spirit of God; Focus and attention on God; Calling on the LORD out of a pure heart; Inward love for God; Yielding to the Holy Spirit's eternal transformation; resisting lusts, pride, division, selfishness. The Soul is transformed into the likeness of Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit (Grace). Inner peace and contentment. Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts; Fleeing from worldly entanglements and pursuing divine character.

*Virtue* Moral backbone and integrity, excellent spirit, inner strength to please God privately and publicly. Inner belief growing into outward behavior, righteous action.

*Knowledge* Spiritual insight and illumination, true understanding of God and self, discernment of God's heart and will, and then practical obedience to God. Experimental perception of God's presence and blessing. Scriptural and intuitive heart apprehension of how God works,

*Good Conscience* Purged by Christ's Blood from dead works; Inner witness of the human spirit aligned with the light from the words of God, heart clear of deception and guile, spirit anchored in unfeigned Faith in Christ's Precious Person and Blood; nothing to hide from God or man; a spirit untroubled before God and man; not polluted by secret sins and hypocrisy; clear channel and clean cup through which God's love and grace can flow; good conscience is the protective hull of the ship of Faith, it must be guarded; unwavering will to live honestly; not looking for excuses to sin against God; 

*Temperance* By the help of the Spirit of God, mastery over self-will, In control of daily habits, impulses, self-centered compulsions, harsh words, prideful thoughts, carnal appetites (immediate gratification), desires, imaginations, reactive emotions and triggers. Divine light within a disciplined vessel. Knowledge without self-control results in arrogancy. (Proverbs 25:28)

*Patience* Spiritual fortitude; Remain rooted under trails, delays, suffering; Steadfast endurance; Purpose in your heart to do right for Jesus' sake; Not collapsing or yielding to bitterness under pressure. Steadfastness in the storms. Set affection on things above.

*Brotherly Kindness* Warm affectionate care for the brethren. Not quick to judge. Not irritated easily. Extend forgiveness and encouragement to the fallen and broken.

*Bowels of Mercies* Heart that moves with compassion for others in need, pain or loss

*Kindness* Gentle practical goodness seeks the benefit of others, not expecting repayment. Active outpouring of goodness and gentleness in response to being mistreated/wronged/defrauded. (Matthew 5:46-47)

*Charity* Unconditional divine Love; Selfless, giving Love from above. (1 John 4:8-9) Loving your enemy and strangers, and expecting nothing in return. (Luke 6:32-34) Capability to radiate divine Love. Remembering, that you are actively, unconditionally, and continuously loved by the Father. Charity out of a pure heart, asking nothing in return. Now Understand: Without Charity, righteousness becomes legalism, knowledge becomes arrogance, and power becomes tyranny. 

*Purity* Clear vision and motives, singleness of heart, moral integrity, sincere motive, divine light shines without distortion enabling the Soul to see God; chaste conversation and conduct; freedom from double-mindedness; Purity keeps the heart untainted so God's divine power can flow through it unhindered. Seeks those things that are clean, right and pleasing to God. 

*Honesty* Heart without pretense, deception or hypocrisy; refuses excuses to sin under God's gaze; peaceful heart free from fear of exposure; moral consistency - being the same person in private as you are in public; living fully in the divine light of God's presence; takes divine and human accountability seriously; ensure family and financial matters, promises, business dealings, and personal conduct are clean so them that are without find on grounds for accusation. 

*Humbleness of mind* Thinking of yourself less and less; I die daily. He must increase, but I must decrease.

*Humility* Clothed with humility; Humility in the innermost garment upon which all other garments and armor rest.

*Meekness* Strength under the Spirit's control; Power harnessed for God's purposes; Refuse to lord over others.

*Lowliness of Mind* Always esteeming others better than yourself. Esteeming Christ, not your vile self. True spiritual knowledge which is not puffed up; willing to stoop to help others, and never yields to high-minded arrogance. Self-emptying attitude; Absolute dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ, and the refusal of self-elevation; acknowledgement of your smallness and insignificance; deliberately defer to others, and look to other's dignity and worth; resists self-esteem, vainglory and carnal competition; step back so honor can be bestowed upon Christ and others; yield to God and serve others, don't try to dominate them; lay down your rights and uplift others;  
*Longsuffering* Forbear difficult people and circumstances without retaliating in anger, don't give up due to resentment or bitterness, peace in the middle of chaos; Keep on keeping on during delays, mistreatment, and without retaliation and bitterness. Resisting spiritual illusions, cultural noise, and emotional deceit.

*Forbearing* Keep on loving one another during friction and disagreements; make room for another person's character flaws, blind spots, selfishness. Give others time to grow and learn. Does not stir up strife and talebearing; does not avenge or bear any grudge; nothing to prove or defend; seeks unity not division. 

*Forgiving* Extend Mercy freely and first, for Jesus' sake; Release the debt owed; refuse to bring up past offenses. 

*Gentleness* Humble strength; Not being harsh and hasty with others; Applies truth with gentle healing care.

*Easy to be intreated* Approachable, reasonable, affable, teachable. 

*Full of Mercy and Good Fruits* Practical visible acts of kindness, generosity, hospitality, and righteousness. 

*Without partiality* Free from favoritism or racism; Treats rich and poor, powerful and lowly with the same dignity and justice; never compromise truth to gain favor with worldlings.

*Without hypocrisy* Authentic and real; no religious show or double life; what you see in public is what God sees in private. Deaf to religious noise.

*Armour of Light* Live in total transparency and moral clarity. 

*Loins girt about with Truth* Ingested and digested words of God; Ultimate reality and sincerity. JESUS is my Truth.

*Breastplate of Righteousness* Christ's daily imparted purity

*Feet shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace* Ready to preach the Gospel and witness for Christ (1 Peter 3:15)

*Shield of Faith* Unshakable Trust in God and His words.

*Helmet of Salvation* Eternal Hope and Renewed Mind. Present assurance of Eternal Salvation through the ATONEMENT AND TRIUMPH OF THE LAMB OF GOD. Defense against lies, deceit, and doubts. Sober clear-minded watchfulness against self and sins. Put on daily by sticking unto God's words; refusal to let your thoughts be controlled by your fickle feelings and fragile emotions; Mind protected and anchored in Christ's Finished Atonement; not wishful thinking, but Unshakable Confidence based only on Divine Revelation and Spiritual Understanding; Every thought brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ; Guards mind against guilt, feelings of condemnation and worthlessness, false philosophies, vain deceit, and fear which hath torment; Keep your Helmet on Soldier!

*Sword of the Spirit* The quick and powerful words of the living God.

*Praying always* Continuous communion with the Holy Ghost.

*Right Mind* Mind freed from confusion, distraction and brought into order by the presence of Christ.

*Renewed Mind* Constantly being transformed by the Holy Spirit and God's words; refuses to be conformed by the vile world system's patterns and deceits

*Sound Mind* Spiritual sanity given by the Holy Spirit; freedom from fear; remains calm in conflict and operates by love.

*Ready and Willing Mind* Prompt obedience, generous service to God without reluctance

*Fervent Mind* Spiritual passion for the Gospel, warm devotion to God, resists indifferent apathy.

*A Mind to Work* Spiritual grit and focus; ready to do God's will despite oppositions

SEND THE LIGHT 8

Here is where God and human nature are at war; this is the central point of the quarrel: You want to be saved by something in yourself, or something from yourself, but God says that He will only save your soul by trusting in Christ's Blood ATONEMENT (Romans 5:11). Pride makes man want to do something, or be something to earn his own salvation, or to be saved in some wonderful way he has dreamed up out of his vain imaginations. By nature, every lost man and woman kicks against simply trusting in GOD'S BLOOD shed for the ungodly.

You must be willing to be saved from hell fire like the poor, good-for-nothing sinner you really are. You are a hopeless wretch in desperate need of the Savior. Your enmity to God is that you love the darkness of sin rather than the light of life, and you despise God's free way of salvation in Christ. You dislike God so much that you *will not* have heaven on Christ's plainest and simplest terms. You are so wicked inside, and so much at war with God, that you would rather go to hell than be saved God's way—that is what it boils down to, sir. You refuse to be at one with Christ by faith in GOD'S BLOOD; you will not lay hold on the incarnate God as living sinlessly, dying for your sins, and rising again from the dead on your behalf. You will not come to Christ that you might have His LIFE and LIGHT within you. Only the Holy Spirit can give your Soul a true Thirst for JESUS Himself, The Water of Life. 

A drowning man naturally kicks and struggles, but if he just lies still, he can be saved by the lifeguard. When the lifeguard approaches the drowning man, if the drowning man will only be passive, he will be saved. Be passive now, and let Christ save your soul from the wrath to come. Be nothing, be still, and let JESUS regenerate and rescue your soul. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; Christ died for the ungodly; but God raised Him from the dead. Trust JESUS with your soul, rely upon Him wholly and alone, drop into His arms, and let Him bear all the weight of your sins and guilt. The Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, put away human sin by the sacrifice of Himself (*Hebrews 9:26*). With all thine heart, look to the Lamb of God for your sins' full remission and free forgiveness.

Send up a personal prayer to the personal Savior now: *"God be merciful to me a sinner, FOR JESUS' SAKE."* Trust in Christ alone for yourself, and this very moment all your sins will be put away forever. If you despise and refuse Christ, your soul will perish forever. It is hard for human nature to understand the Gospel of Christ, because the Gospel of God is so simple and so free. Human nature loves a way of salvation that is difficult; human nature naturally kicks at the Gospel of the grace of God because it is so easy—JESUS paid it all. Human pride wants getting rid of sin to be hard to understand, because it loves to sin. Human nature wants to live independently of God, and demands to have its own way. As long as you avoid Christ, the wrath of God presently abides upon you (*John 3:36*), and you are in the kingdom of darkness, continually under Satan's power and sway.

Only JESUS can save your soul from your love of sinning against God. The carnal mind plays stupid and pretends to not understand the Gospel, because the Gospel is very plain and so simple. The Gospel of Christ is so easy that even a little child can lay hold on it. The way of salvation by faith in GOD'S BLOOD is beneath the dignity of exceeding clever mankind. Trust now God's Son who died for ungodly sinners like you. There's nothing you can ever do to help save your soul; only Christ's sinless blood sacrifice of Himself can put away your guilt and sin burden. JESUS laid down His life for you—trust Him heartily. Christ's atonement satisfies JEHOVAH; you cannot.

Human nature would "give and do" anything to be saved. Forsake the vain idea of giving and doing; TAKE freely what JESUS offers to you Now. Have done with self-salvation, and simply let JESUS save your soul freely. Without Christ, your soul is dead in sins, perishing every day, and in imminent eternal danger of hell fire. Renounce all human works and outward forms of religion to help save your soul from sin. Face it: as a sinner, you cannot do any "good" thing in God's sight.

JESUS Christ Himself is the way of salvation (*John 14:6*). The Son of God left the glories of heaven, became a Jewish man, took upon Himself human flesh, yet God's blood rushed through His veins. JESUS lived a sinless, selfless life here on earth. In due time, Christ Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, and made atonement by laying down His life for you. The Lamb of God was crucified for guilty sinners, He was buried, and He rose from the dead; and now He is at the right hand of God. The only way to be delivered from your sins is by simply trusting in JESUS CHRIST alone.

God has set JESUS forth to be the Propitiation for human sin, and now whosoever believes in the Lamb of God has his sins put away at once, whatever the sinner may have done. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The soul that would be saved from sin must trust and receive Christ's atonement; never believe in yourself at all. When you are born again by the Spirit of God, you are given the divine nature inwardly; then you begin to hate the sins you once loved and served, and you now endeavor to honor Christ who saved your soul. The top and bottom of salvation is simple reliance upon the finished atonement of the Lamb of God. This is the way of salvation: deliverance from sin through the precious blood of the crucified and risen Creator.

*GOD'S BLOOD 3*

May the Holy Spirit help me to preach the Gospel with great plainness of speech, so no sinner misses JESUS. Have done with seeking to save yourself, and receive JESUS as your Ransom and Redeemer. Give much attention to the Gospel message of the Substitutionary work of Jesus Christ. The most despised message in the world is the only true remedy for human sin—that is, free salvation by the grace and blood of God, through the atonement finished by the Lamb of God, by simple faith in JESUS alone.

The way of salvation is by divine Mercy, not human merit. The great and popular rudiment all the world over is self-salvation—man attempting in his own strength to attain eternal life by his own efforts. The great universal principle of the carnal mind is that unregenerate man in some way or other must help save himself. Put your dead works aside altogether, and look to God's grace in JESUS alone. Salvation from sin is not of human works; in justification before God, the work of the Holy Spirit must lead you to simple faith in JESUS. Salvation is entirely and alone of the grace of God. The whole way of salvation was devised and carried out by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The very center of the Gospel is the Lamb of God's atoning sacrifice of Himself for sinners.

Unregenerate man's way of salvation is, "Do your best." God's way of salvation is this: IT IS FINISHED by JESUS for you; trust and receive the Lamb of God by faith in His blood. The Gospel expressly tells us, "It is all done." Your boasting must be in Christ alone, or you will perish in your sins. In boundless mercy, God set forth JESUS to be the propitiation for sin, and He beseeches guilty men to believe in Him as the atoning sacrifice. Be ye reconciled to God by the precious blood of the Lamb of God. JESUS has finished the great and acceptable atonement before God for the sins of men and women, and now whosoever will come to JESUS and rest upon His Atonement hath free eternal life. 

Salvation is not a gradual thing; this is man's false gospel. Christ's way of salvation is an instantaneous change of heart and an immediate forgiveness of all sins. Simple faith in GOD'S BLOOD is the only way of salvation. Fear and dread of death shall fall upon your soul until you trust in JESUS alone. Take the substitute God has provided, take God at His word, rely on God's Son, receive God's way of salvation. Just be nothing, just be nobody, and trust Christ to be everything for you. Uh Oh, Spaghettio, that means you will go straight to Hell, where you really belong, if you trust in anything you have done or will ever do to help save your Soul from Sin. 

Come, whosoever will, take freely—simple as that. God's gifts are given without any expectation of recompense, or any requirement or conditions. Come now, draw near to Christ by trusting Him with all thine heart. Don't prepare or work for Christ; only come to Him and trust Him. If you do but come to JESUS Himself, He will in no wise cast you out. The word "TAKE" is a grand word to express the Gospel. The world's false gospel is "Bring" and "Pay." Satan's gospel is "Make," but the Gospel of the Grace of God is "TAKE." You don't have to dig your own well; the water of life is free. You don't have to grind your own flour; just take the bread of life freely. You don't have to sew a garment; just take the robe of righteousness freely. The way of free salvation is summed up in one four-letter word: TAKE. Pardon, peace, heaven hereafter—take Christ, that is all. Come at once, directly to JESUS, and God will put away all your sins, FOR JESUS' SAKE.

Eternal salvation by the great Mediator: just to God, safe for the sinner. The Holy Ghost must incline you to trust only in GOD'S BLOOD. The royal road to heaven is open to you today. You must receive God's Son; you must believe in the atoning BLOOD OF GOD which was shed for the remission of sins. JESUS only saves sinners through His personal substitution, by suffering in your place. Faith in Christ Jesus does save the soul. Love for Christ will lead you to abhor your sins. Look right away from self to Christ Jesus alone, for He is the way of salvation. The only safe way to enter eternity is by trusting in GOD'S BLOOD.

Satan's gospel says that everyone who deserves to be saved will be spared no matter what the Bible says. All of man's religions say you must work your way to heaven and you must pay in some way or other. But the Gospel of God says you cannot help save yourself in any way. The self-righteous man says to himself, "If anyone is worthy to be saved, I AM." But all you can ever do is earn God's wrath and vengeance; you need mercy most of all. God forgives a sinner only because JESUS stood and died in the sinner's place. The great plan of free salvation by substitution, by Blood Atonement, by Christ's sacrifice of Himself on THE CROSS for the ungodly—I am delighted in and boast only in Christ's finished atonement. JESUS is all my salvation and all my praise. If you try to add your dead works to Christ's atonement, you have polluted it, and you shall perish in your sins forever and ever, PERIOD!

WORDS OF FAITH 3

Hearken diligently to the Gospel today, and meditate upon JESUS. It's high time for you to face the FACTS concerning ETERNITY. Have done with all your self-righteous attempts to help save yourself, and look to THE CROSS, simply trusting in THE LAMB OF GOD, Christ Jesus, God manifest in the flesh, bleeding and dying to put away your sins from God's sight and memory. FAITH is the hand that lays hold upon the ATONEMENT of Jesus Christ. Human nature has an evil tendency to boast of itself and to forget Christ's finished ATONEMENT on THE CROSS. Faith in GOD'S BLOOD is the true and only way of obtaining free justification and everlasting life. Down with your vain pretensions to good works of any sort! Away with your idolatrous dependence upon yourself! Christ Jesus Himself has borne the curse and wrath you deserved; bring not your pitiful merit before Him. Never attempt to mingle your filthy dead works with the precious fountain flowing with God's precious blood from JESUS' veins. Lay down all that is your own, and come and take freely what is Christ's. Put away now everything that you have thought of or been doing. Stop trying to win acceptance with God. Humble yourself, and take Jesus Christ as your Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and End of your eternal salvation. The Gospel way of salvation is by Christ becoming the sinless substitute for guilty men. Sin is an accursed thing, and JESUS became a curse for you when He bore your sins in His own body on THE TREE.

Because God is holy, He must curse sin. God must punish men for committing sins against HIM, but the Christ of God, the glorious Savior—God became a Jewish man—suffered in His own person the curse which was due to sinful men by His own atoning blood death. GOD sacrificed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ to save the ungodly from everlasting wrath and destruction. God has been JUST in punishing sin in Christ, and now God can extend His mercy freely towards any sinner on the face of the earth. Whosoever will believe in the sinless substitute hath everlasting life. Human nature is always seeking another wrong and deadly way to help save its own soul. Human nature says, "I will believe anything but the simple free Gospel; I will follow anyone off into Eternity, but JESUS CHRIST; I will trust my Soul's eternal destiny with anything but GOD'S BLOOD shed by the sinless, Precious LAMB OF GOD." You need Divine Aid from Above: you're a soul dead in your sins; you can't lift a finger to help yourself out of your sin problem.

What is the chaff to the WHEAT? The way of salvation is simply this: Trust Christ Himself alone with your immortal soul. Christ Jesus died for your sins. JESUS took your guilt upon Himself on Calvary's CROSS, and He was punished for your secret and public sins against God. Trust JESUS now. Christ was made guilty, the sinner's substitute; He took the sinner's guilt, and now God can be JUST in punishing Christ instead of you. Then God says to you that trust JESUS alone: Go free, through the shed blood of My dear Son. God help you to trust only in JESUS today. You cannot do anything to earn ETERNAL life, or contribute any human merit that will please GOD. You cannot prepare your soul for Christ to save you. Salvation must be all FREE, or nothing. You can only be received in God's house of mercy as a bankrupt pauper. Your only cry must be this: "God be merciful to me a sinner, for JESUS' SAKE." You must have every foul rag of your self-righteousness torn away, for your doings are very deadly. You must lie down at JESUS' feet utterly undone and ruined by sin, and take everything freely from the gracious hands of the crucified Creator. You must bow down and kiss the feet which were nailed to THE CROSS for your wicked sins. 

All you will ever do is vain glory. In God's sight, you are only an unclean thing, and all your righteousnesses are as dung and filthy rags. Come now and rest upon God's own Son, Who was put to death because of your sins that were laid upon Him. A helpless dependence upon Christ Himself, a simple childlike faith in GOD'S BLOOD is the only way of salvation in this life. The way of salvation for any sinner is simply this: That I, being a sinner, do now put all my trust in Christ Jesus, the substitute for sinners. God has set forth His only begotten Son as the accepted propitiation for human sins. The way of salvation is to trust and receive Christ as the atonement for your sins, in which you must place your sole reliance. Christ saves the vilest and most moral sinners the very same way—by grace through faith in HIS BLOOD. JESUS is the Savior appointed by God the Father to bear and put away human sins; He is the only way of salvation. Resolve to have no Savior but the Lamb of God. Pride pumps you full of illusions of yourself and makes you blind to your faults. 

Only GOD'S BLOOD can appease the divine wrath of God. Human nature is constantly trying to find another way to safely meet God, except through JESUS CHRIST. You insult the Son of God when you suppose that you can help save yourself by your own goodness and merit. Your merits will never turn away God's wrath. You have set a very low estimate upon what JESUS did for sinners on THE CROSS. The GOSPEL OF CHRIST is God's soul-saving message of mercy to guilty sinners. Hate your sins that killed the dear LAMB OF GOD. You can't do one thing to appease the anger of God toward your sins. God will save your soul by Christ alone, and no one else—especially not you. Submit to Christ's righteousness, and be saved God's way. Don't spurn God's love and blood. The holy Creator suffered, bled, and died, so the rebel creature might escape hell and be spared from the wrath to come. The Creator was put to shame that the guilty might be clear before the judgment of God. Don't throw away your own soul for a few years of sinful merriment. The way of salvation is by the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ Jesus Himself to put away human sins from God's sight and memory. Simple reliance upon the crucified and risen Creator is the only way of salvation found in the Holy Bible. Simply come to JESUS with all your sins to THE CROSS and rest them on the head of the LAMB OF GOD, relying and trusting in GOD'S sin-atoning blood.