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Answering your questions in the light of God's word. "So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him." Acts 8:30-31 Knowing GOD Daily Devotional October 2nd, 2024 “'For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.’” Romans 16:19 We live in a world that is becoming increasingly more and more evil or rather wicked. Many people in our society have learned to devise evil or hurt other people in ways that are unimaginable. I have heard stories in the news of people who killed another and not to be discovered shredded the body into pieces and made it disappear. This is just one example. There are people that cannot sleep without shedding blood, hurting others, or doing evil in a day. Proverbs 24:2 puts this way, “For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking.” However such shall not be the case of the believer. Therefore Paul exports us with the words above, reminding us that the believer should be known by his obedience to God and His word, it says “For your obedience has become known to all.” Moreover, Paul also says that the believer, “should be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.” In other words, Paul is saying that we should increase in doing good, have our minds full with goodness, things of good report and pleasing to God (Philippians 4:8), instead of growing in doing evil, planning schemes against our neighbors, or be so wise in how to hurt others. This cannot be the case of the believer. The believer should be ignorant or innocent when it comes to doing evil or even being so much aware of it, including being so informed of news of such sort. This is not to say that we should be ignorant of the devil's devices (2 Corinthians 2:11) or unaware of the things happening around us, yet we cannot become more aware of them than God’s will, ways, or on the weapons of our warfare and one of them is goodness. Evil has a way of desensitizing us the more we behold it. Hence, we ought not to be wise on it, rather be wise in what is God. Paul in another letter said, “'Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.’” I Corinthians 14:20. When it comes to evil or malice we ought to be babies and mature in understanding pertaining those things that glorify God. After all, Christ came to set us free from this present evil age (Galatians 1:3-4), making us like Him in nature, new creation, giving us a new heart who beats for goodness and not evil. It’s written, “'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.’” II Corinthians 5:17 May you become a baby when it comes to evil, and be mature or wise in what is good, Be pleasing to God, let your mind be transformed, “'Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.'” Romans 12:17-21 God bless you. Have a good day. Peace and Grace be with you.

knowing God is what differentiates those who will dwell eternally in the presence of God in the New Earth from those who will dwell eternally absent from God in the Lake of Fire. Jesus said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." John 17:3. The word translated “know” in John 17, 3 is the greek “ginṓskō” – properly means “to know, especially through personal experience (first-hand acquaintance).” ginṓskō = "experientially know". Knowing God is eternal life Knowing God is what differentiates those who will dwell eternally in the presence of God in the New Earth from those who will dwell eternally absent from God in the Lake of Fire. Jesus said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." John 17:3. The word translated “know” in John 17, 3 is the greek word “ginṓskō” – properly means “to know, especially through personal experience (first-hand acquaintance).” ginṓskō = "experientially know". It is used for example in Lk 1:34, "And Mary [a virgin] said to the angel, 'How will this be since I do not know (1097 /ginṓskō = sexual intimacy) a man?’”. To eternally live with God is to eternally come to know Him, the bible says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” I Corinthians 13:11-12. One day we will get to know God as He knows us, this is very exciting! No more distractions, not more shadows, no more limitations, we will be able to know Him fully, like He knows us fully. Of course, it takes eternity to know God, He is infinite, but we will have all the "time" then to do it, provided will still have some sort of notion of time. However, knowing God is a process that can start now. You can begin knowing God now and walking in your eternal calling. John 17:3 says "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” This is the essence of eternal life Knowing God, but John 17:3 doesn't stop there, it also let us know that eternal life is knowing Jesus Christ whom God sent because we cannot know God except through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” Matthew 11:25-27. No one can know God unless Jesus reveals God to him. Think about this, God dwells in heaven, in a place of unapproachable light, and no man has seen or can see Him (I Timothy 6:16), therefore no man can reveal him to us, except Him that is Jesus who came down from heaven. Jesus said, "'No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.'" Moreover, in John 3:11-13, Jesus said “Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” As mentioned before the word know is the greek “ginṓskō” – properly means “to know, especially through personal experience (first-hand acquaintance), thus, only someone who dwells with God from eternity past can be His first-hand acquaintance or know Him intimately to the point of being able to reveal Him fully to others. The angels don’t qualify because they have come to know God only the moment they have been created, not to talk about human beings who have been created far after the angels. There is only one person who can reveal God to us, Jesus Christ, who dwells with God from the beginning. The bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. [...] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. [...] No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” John 1:1-2,14,18. To say that eternal life is to know God is not wrong since Jesus who in the beginning was The Word is God (John 1:1-2); however, per John 17:3 it is incomplete because God is one in essence but three in subsistences or persons. God became flesh, men in the person of Jesus Christ and dwelt among us so we could know see His glory, so we could see Him. The glory of God we saw was the glory of the only begotten of the Father; thus, we cannot know God except through Jesus Christ, He is the way to God. It's written, "'Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" John 14:6. Paul got a glimpse of the surpassing blessing and wonder of knowing God, in the person of Jesus that he said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14. Jesus was with the Father from the beginning, John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus knows God in the true sense of the word because He was with Him and He is Him, therefore His testimony about God is faithful and we can trust; Jesus knows Him from first-hand experience, that is “ginṓskō”. No one else has come down from heaven to reveal God to us, but Jesus, He is the faithful witness, Revelation 3:14 says “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:” John 10:7-10 says “Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”. Jesus is the foundation, the chief cornerstone in which every building, person who wants to know God must be settled on (Ephesians 2:20-23). Thus, knowing God shall always be understood as knowing Jesus also whom He has sent, for we cannot know God except through Jesus Christ. It takes knowing Jesus and then The Father, to receive eternal life; the order matters. This is life eternal knowing God and you can begin this journey here from the earth. Chapter 1 3 of 6 Chapter 3

The Gospel is to be Received by Faith​ ​ It is written, For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” As we saw before, sinners can be forgiven by God because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Such perfect sacrifice fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law of God. It means that Christ with His sacrifice provided all that is necessary for sinners to be saved, and God confirmed it by accepting Christ sacrifice. Knowing God reveals our origin, identity and purpose My friend you are not a product of a random, unguided, mindless process. Not at all! your life has not begun merely at your birth. Nope! Your life began in the mind of God. You have been wonderfully and carefully fashioned by your maker. It’s written, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!'.” Psalms 139:13-17. You have been a marvelous work of God and your soul knows it very well. You are not an accident, even if you came to this world through incest, rape, or unplanned by your parents, as painful and difficult these situations are, and I sympathize with you; these are simply means and circumstances by which you came to this world; however, you had already been planned by God. God did not make a mistake. Paraphrasing the verse, it says, “He formed your inward parts, covered you in your mother’s womb, made you fearfully and wonderfully; you are one of His marvelous works and your soul knows very well. Your structure was not covered by him. His eyes saw your unformed body, your fetus, and wrote all your days, the days He appointed for you in His Book. Your Maker is mindful of you, He has precious thoughts about you, the sum of such thoughts are great, awesome.” Do you realize the magnitude of these truths?! You matter to God. You are not the product of evolution or simply a ball of cells. God fashioned you in the womb. He loved you before you knew Him and wrote good plans for you in His book. You have an eternal origin in your creator, you are more than American, African, European, or etc. You are more than White, Black, Yellow, Red, or else, you are God’s marvelous work. You are God’s creation, and yet He calls you to become more than it, God wants you to be a son or daughter of His, and He wants to be your Father, for this reason He sent Jesus, as the only begotten to become the firstborn of many brethren. It’s written, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29. In Christ, God wants to be your Father. Jesus came to make us children of God, and He becomes our big brother. John 1:12-13 says, “'But as many as received Him [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” What a privilege! You don’t have to be an orphan, neither be brotherless. Jesus is not ashamed to call you brother or sister. It’s written, “'saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” Hebrews 2:11-14 Moreover, God said, “'Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.” II Corinthians 6:17-18. Beside knowing your origins, that you have been planned and created by God, you can also have identity when you come to truly know Him. In Christ, you come son or daughter of the Most High God. However, it does not end there, remember what Psalm 139:16-17 said, “And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!'.” Before you were born, God wrote the plans He had for you in His book, meaning He wrote your life story and future even before you were; thus, seeking to know what He wrote about you should be your purpose in life. Yet, it’s only possible through the knowledge of Him. By encountering God, you encounter yourself, meaning your purpose, your life assignment, and you have your identity cemented. It’s written in Jeremiah 1:4-10, “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Then said I: “Ah, Lord God ! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord . Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.” Note the key phrase again, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” God’s plan for Jeremiah preceded His conception in the womb, and even before Jeremiah was born, God had already sanctified, meaning set him apart, and ordained him to be a prophet. The same happens to every man. Although the details might be different, God never improvises, our lives’ purpose is set before we are born like it was with David, Jeremiah, Jesus and others.. It takes knowing God for us to know our purpose. The more you approach God, the more He approaches you, and the more He reveals about you. This is what happened to Peter. It’s written, “'When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:13-19. You can know your origin, your identity, and your purpose. You can become a son or daughter of the Most High God in this life, and be much more in the life to come. In the new earth your relationship with God will be upgraded, you will enter in the fullness of that by which you have been created because you "shall know Him as you are known by Him” (1 Corinthians 13:12), remember your being is proportional to the knowledge you have of Him. The more you know Him, the more you become. Apostle John said, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” I John 3:1-3. Chapter 1 5 of 6 Chapter 3

Knowing God is a privilege. Have you ever thought about it, God can be known by men! This is an astounding truth. The almighty, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God can be known by us, His creatures. It’s written, “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” Romans 1:19. In other words, the writer is clearly saying that whatever it is that we can know about God is only possible and available because God Himself has chosen to reveal it. The importance and the Benefits of Knowing God Although already addressed briefly on the aforementioned points, let's examine more thoroughly the importance and some of the benefits of knowing God. The list below is by no means exhaustive but it serves to introduce us to the depths and riches of knowing God. Knowing God is a privilege Have you ever thought about it, God can be known by men! This is an astounding truth. The almighty, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God can be known by us, His creatures. It’s written, “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” Romans 1:19. In other words, the writer is clearly saying that whatever it is that we can know about God is only possible and available because God Himself has chosen to reveal it. This is true because if God is God no one can pressure Him to make Himself known, neither can someone go to His dwelling and bring Him out to the opening, no; God lives in a place of, "unapproachable light," (1 Timothy 6:16). The truth is that whatever we can know about God is only possible to the degree He reveals to us; otherwise, we cannot know Him. Fortunately, God has revealed Himself to us. Praise God. From the very beginning God made man to know and understand him. King David expressed his admiration to such an idea by saying, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!” Psalms 8:3-9. Out of all creatures, God has given us the privilege of being made in His image and being capable of knowing and fellowshipping with Him. God used to visit, converse, and instruct Adam daily in the garden of Eden. It’s written, “Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2:19. Adam knew God because God wanted him to know Him as He wants each and everyone of us to know Him. Adam was intimate to God to the degree that he knew the “sound” of God. However, one day Adam sinned against the Lord, and when He visited him, Adam received not the Lord as usual. The bible says, “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Genesis 3:8-11.God’s question to Adam is still the same for each one of us, “where are you?.” Notice that although God knew what Adam had done, He did not ask Him, what have you done, instead He asked Him, “where are you?”. Meaning that the primary consequence of Adam’s action was to get him far away from God. Where are you? But even if you are far from God, know that He set things up for you to know Him already. Acts 17, 26-27 says "And He [God] has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;". According to this passage we see that God scattered the descendents of Adam across the earth, determining the places where they should live and their preappointed years on earth, with one goal in mind: that they would seek Him, that is verify, investigate, search for, get to the bottom of the matter about Him; in another words, that they would come to know Him. This is the reason we are here and the reason we have been created: to know and understand God. However, God did not only set things up so everybody can find and know Him by determining where and how long each person lives but also by being close to everybody; the passage says, "though He is not far from each one of us," meaning He is near to you, just reach out, He can be found. Our location with respect to God matters, God doesn't want us far from Him because He is not far from us. However, it doesn’t matter how far we are, we can still come closer and know Him, not because we will seek Him first, but because just as He first sought Adam even after his disobedience, God still seeks each one of us to be reconciled with Him, so we can know Him. God made a way in Christ. It's written, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6. In spite of the fall, we can still know God, He wants us to have this privilege. He is mindful of us. Knowing God is far beyond simply mental awareness but it is intimately knowing, passionately relating, spiritually and truthfully worshipping, and loving Him with all your heart, soul, and strength (Mt 22:37-40). It's learning to interact with Him on the basis of the knowledge you acquire of Him. For instance, there was a men called Enoque who walked with God and God took him for Himself. It’s written, “So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. ” Genesis 5:23-24. Moreover, on the basis of the knowledge of God we can be heard by Him both for us and others. The bible narrates the following about a man called Joshua, “'Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.” Joshua 10:12-14. Consider this, if you know God you can be heard by Him! Almighty God can hear your voice just like He heard Joshua’s. So, these are just snapshots. Knowing God is a privilege, and a journey that can also bring many tribulations because not all have the knowledge of Him, yet it's joy and wonders-filled, and as se go through it our characters begin to be like God's (Ephesians 5:1), for can two walk together unless they are agreed (Amos 3:3)? Certainty not. Chapter 1 2 of 6 Chapter 2

Romans 1:16-17 says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” The Gospel is the Good News. It says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ". According to Strong's Greek concordance, the word gospel comes from the Greek word euaggelion which means good news. What is the Gospel Romans 1:16-17 says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” From the first part of the verse above, we can learn the biblical definition of the gospel, "it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." Then, from the second part, we learn that the gospel makes the righteousness of God known to us from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” However, what does all of these mean? Glad you asked the question. Let's examined it together. First, The Gospel is the Good News It says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ". According to Strong's Greek concordance, the word gospel comes from the Greek word euaggelion which means good news or glad tidings, thus, Paul was not ashamed of it, instead he celebrated it. The gospel is a message of hope, restoration, and as the text says "salvation for everyone who believes." The good news is that God is able to save sinners through His power if they believe. It is written, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8. It is also written, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)," Ephesians 2:1-5. This is great news, people that are full of sin, living lives that don't reflect God's character, or even serving satan can be saved if they repent of their sins and believe the gospel. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." I Timothy 1:15. Jesus did not come to the righteous but to call sinners to repentance. Therefore He intentionally sought to talk to them and allow them to come to Him, whether Zacchaeus, Mary the prostitute, Matthew the tax collector, Peter or Paul, all of them were met by Jesus Christ. For instance, the bible gives us the following account regarding the salvation of Matthew, "As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matthew 9:9-13. Jesus came to save sinners. It is only sin that separates us from God, nothing else. God is love, yet people don't experience it because of their sins - the breaking of God's commandments. It's written, "Behold, the Lord ’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear." Isaiah 59:1-2. Sins causes sinners to be automatically separated from God and not have fellowship with him, because it is also written, "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:5-9. God is not only love, He is also light, and in Him is no darkness; therefore, He will not have fellowship with sinners, they would be consumed. There is no one righteousness, not even one, all have sinned: some commit murder, some gossiping, some lying, some laziness, some pride, some jealousy, and others commit other types of sin, but all have sinned. Isaiah 53:6 says "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Every human being prefers his own way over another's. Everybody prefers to go his own way even over God's, who gave them life. Hence, everybody is guilty. As it is written, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23. Rebellion, pride and selfishness are the root of all sins. These sinful behaviors started with satan himself in heaven when he rebelled against God and were extended to all human beings through Adam's and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. They were enticed by satan, and in spite of God's command, Adam and Eve chose their own ways instead of God's. How many times we acted in the same way? Concerning them, the bible says, "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Adam and Eve disobeyed God and as a consequence sin entered and all their descendants became sinful. Romans 5:12 says "..., just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—" Adam and Even started to beget children only after they became sinners; therefore, all their descendants received of their sinful nature. Look around you, is there someone that never sinned? David summarized in the following way, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." Psalms 51:5. The sinfulness of human beings is not only in their wrong actions, but in the very nature they are born with: it is sinful. God said, "... the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth;..." Genesis 8:21. Jesus said, "... out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, ….” Matthew 15:19-20. You see, your problem with sin as well anyone else's starts within, it is not so much the external behavior. Our external behavior is simply a reflection of the sinful nature within. However, God did not create human beings to live in sin, neither the earth to be filled with sin and all sort of wrongs. All that God created was good, and by the time He created man, it was very God. The bible records, "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Genesis 1:31. God did not make human beings to kill one another, neither earth to be destroyed by tsunamis, wars, earthquakes, or pollutions. All of these came because of sin... but there is hope in Jesus through the good news, the gospel. God did not give up on His creation, neither on His plan to have earth as a proper habitable place for human beings to live in perfect harmony with one another and with Him. "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:1-8. This is the gospel, the good news; therefore, Paul was not ashamed of it instead he eagerly proclaimed it (I Timothy 1:18). You can appropriate this message and receive the power to be saved if you repent of yours sins and believe Jesus (Acts 16:29-31). 1 of 6 Chapter 1

The Gospel is to be Received by Faith​. It is written, For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” As we saw before, sinners can be forgiven by God because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Such perfect sacrifice fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law of God. It means that Christ with His sacrifice provided all that is necessary for sinners to be saved, and God confirmed it by accepting Christ sacrifice. Lastly, The Gospel is to be Received by Faith It is written, For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” As we saw before, sinners can be forgiven by God because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Such perfect sacrifice fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law of God. It means that Christ with His sacrifice provided all that is necessary for sinners to be saved, and God confirmed it by accepting Christ sacrifice; therefore, Christ said "it's finished" and God on the third day ressurected Him. However, since Christ died for all, does it mean that all are automatically saved and made righteous? The answer is: No! Jesus died for all, He wants to save all, but only those who believe in Him will be saved. Paul puts this way, "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe." 1 Timothy 4:10. Christ is the Savior of all because He died to save everybody, God so loved the world and desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:1-4); however, only those who repent of their sins, believe in Christ or acknowledge His sacrifice will be saved. Therefore, Paul said, "... especially of those who believe.". The point is that what Jesus did for every human being is not immediately applied on people's lives, but only if they receive The Gospel message by Faith. What is faith then? According to Strong's concordance, the word translated faith in Romans 1:17 is the Greek word, "Pistis (from the root word peithô , "persuade, be persuaded") which is properly defined as persuasion (be persuaded, come to trust); In another word, pistis ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion" – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4). Strong's continues saying, Pitis is God's warranty that guarantees the fulfillment of the revelation He births within the receptive believer (cf. 1 Jn 5:4 with Heb 11:1)." God already desires you as well any human being on earth to be saved, remember, "[Jesus] is the Savior of all men," (1 Timothy 4:10) and, "God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3) for this reason He sent His Son Jesus Christ as we have seen in the paragraphs above to pay for the wages of your sins so you could be saved, or as John 3:16 says, "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." What is the point? The point is that since God desires for you to be saved, He doesn't simply stops by making His will known, rather He is constantly and actively working in the heart of every men, including yours, to persuade them into believe, or to convict them of the truth, their need for salvation, and the efficacy of the sacrifice of Jesus to get them saved. This is Pistis, this is faith, and all begins with God. Because He loves you, He cared to send His Son, and cares to send His servants to preach this gospel message so you can be set free by the truth (John 8:32), believe on it and receive the power to be saved. As you were reading this article, God was working in you to open your eyes so you can see your nakedness, and once you see that all is true choose to be saved - taken from the kingdom of darkness and be translated to the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13), loosed from the power of sin, flesh and the world, and delivered from the judgment to come. Do not ignore the conviction of God, do not delay in taking this step, "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness," Hebrews 3:7-8. Do not harden your heart. "For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." II Corinthians 6:2. The Lord has been working in you as you heard His word, Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." You can see how broken the world is, how the gospel makes sense, and How God in His love sent the solution for humanity in Jesus. Upon this conviction, act, believe the gospel and be saved, because the gospel "is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." Romans 1:16. Act upon the word of God and be assured that God is able to make you a new creature. "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:8-13. The day of salvation is today, in the light of all that was said call upon His name while there is time, because there is a day that God will judge all men according to His righteous commandments. Paul put this ways, "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." Acts 17:24-31. 6 of 6 Articles Chapter 1

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