Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 1 Table of Contents Lesson 1: The Power in the Blood over sin and sins . . . . . Page 1 Lesson 2: The Power of the Cross and My Sin Nature . . . Page 11 st Lesson 3: Growing Spiritually – 1 Step “Knowing” . . . . Page 19 nd Lesson 4: Growing Spiritually – 2 Step “Reckoning”. . . . Page 25 Lesson 5: The Power of the Resurrection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 37 rd Lesson 6: Presenting Ourselves to God -- 3 Step . . . . . . Page 43 Lesson 7: God’s Ultimate Purpose for Mankind . . . . . . . . Page 46 Lesson 8: Depending Entirely upon The Holy Spirit . . . . Page 53 Lesson 9: Receiving God’s Free Gift of the Holy Spirit. . . Page 56 th Lesson 10: The Meaning of the 7 Chapter of Romans. . . Page 63 Lesson 11: Walking in the Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 74 Lesson 12: All Believers – One Body in Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . Page 85 Lesson 13: The Soul Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 95 Lesson 14: Bearing the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 106 Lesson 15: The Purpose of the Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 116 Lesson One Sin, Sins and the Power of the Blood When it comes to “Living the Christian Life” it seems that everyone has his or her own opinion. Different parts of the country have various views on what Christian Living entails and what they should, and should, not do. Every denomination has its own view on what a true Christian is and how the Christian life ought to be lived. Everyone can’t be right, so where do I turn to find the truth on this matter? The only reliable source that can be counted on constantly and consistently, of course, is the Word of God. The purpose of this study is to search God’s Word to find an answer the question, “What Does Scripture reveal concerning Christian living?” Whenever we read certain passages of Scripture –-- for instance, like the Sermon on the Mount -- we can’t help but ask, “Can the life that is described in God’s Word really be lived here on earth?” The answer is, as we will see, “The Christian life as depicted in the Bible can only be lived by the Son of God Himself. The Apostle Paul gives the definition of the Christian life in Galatians 2:20, where he writes, “ It is no longer I, but Christ.” Paul is not speaking of some Christian life that is unique, or rare -- some higher level of Christianity that is lived by only a few, but rather, He is presenting what every believer’s life should be. Listen as Paul summarizes, “I live no longer, but Christ lives His life in me.” God’s Word makes it clear in that He has only one answer to every human need -- that answer is, Jesus Christ! In God’s dealings with man He works by taking the person out of the way -- and substituting Christ in their place. Jesus Christ died instead of man to pay the penalty for man’s forgiveness! He lives – (instead of man) -- for man’s deliverance. Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 2 We must see that Scripture teaches two substitutions – (1) Jesus’ Substitute on the Cross to secure our forgiveness and – (2) He Substitutes His life within the believer, securing personal victory! It will help us greatly, and save us from a lot of confusion, if we keep constantly before us the fact, that God will answer all our questions in one way only, namely, by showing us more of His Son. The Difference between, “Sins” and “Sin” In the first eight chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle Paul speaks of living the Christian life. Let’s look at this passage from a practical -- and experimental -- point of view. First, note the two divisions in these first 8 chapters of Romans. The first four- and-a-half chapters -- (from 1:1 to 5:11) -- is the first half of this unit, while the three- and-a-half chapters -- (from 5:12 to 8:39) -- the second half. Careful reading reveals that the subject matter of these two sections is not the same. In the first section the plural word “sins” is mentioned again and again, while in the second section the plural word, “sins” hardly occurs, but the singular word “sin” is used over and over and is, indeed, the subject that is mainly dealt with in this second half of the first 8 chapters of the book of Romans. The reason for this is because the first section deals with the question of the sins one has committed – which are many and can be enumerated. However, the second section deals with the question of sin (single) as a principle working in man. No matter how many sins one commits, it is always the “sin nature” within that leads him to commit these sins. Of course, man needs forgiveness for sins, but he also needs deliverance from the power of sin. It is sins (plural) that touches a person’s conscience, however, it is the sinful nature within that touches the person’s life. One may receive forgiveness for all their sins, but because of the sinful nature, which they have, as a result of Adam’s race, there is no abiding peace. When a person accepts the knowledge of the Good New of Jesus Christ and God's light begins to shine into his heart he seeks God for forgiveness, because he realizes he has committed sins (plural). However, once he has received forgiveness of sins, he soon makes a new discovery, namely, the discovery of the power of a sinful nature within. Listen to what Paul has to say about his carnal nature, “[13] Sin working death in me…[14] I am carnal, sold under sin. [15] For that which I do -- I allow not: for what I would, -- that do I not; but what I hate -- that do I. [16] If then I do that which I would not...[17] it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. [18] For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. [19] For the good that I would -- I do not: but the evil which I would not -- that I do. [20] Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 3 Now if I do -- that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. [21] I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. [22] For I delight in the law of God after the inward man [my spirit, within]: [23] But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. [24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:13-24). The new believer soon realizes not only has he committed sins; he discovers something else is wrong within. He discovers that he has the nature of a sinner. There is an inward inclination to sin, a power within that draws him to sin. When that power breaks out he commit sins. He may seek and receive forgiveness, but then, regardless how hard he tries not too, he sins again! His life goes around in a vicious circle of -- sinning -- and being forgiven -- and then sinning again. Of course, we appreciate the blessed fact of God's forgiveness, but I want us to think of something more than that. I want to talk of deliverance. We need forgiveness for what we have done, but we also need deliverance from what we are. God's Double Remedy These first eight chapters of Romans give two aspects of salvation: first, it speaks of forgiveness of our sins (plural), and second, it speaks of deliverance from sin (singler). With this in mind, let’s notice another difference in these two sections of the first 8 chapters of Romans. In the first part (that is, Romans 1:1 through 5:11), there are two references to the Blood of Jesus Christ -- in chapter 3:25 and in chapter 5:9. A new idea is introduced in chapter 6:6, where it states that we have been “crucified with Christ.” The first section deals with the aspect of the work of Christ as it is represented by “the Blood shed for our justification through the remission of sins.” This terminology is not carried on in the second section, but rather, the presentation of Christ’s work centers in the aspect of His work represented by “the Cross,” that is to say, by our union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. This distinction is an important one because “the Blood” deals with what we have done, whereas “the Cross” deals with what we are. The Blood disposes of our sins, while the Cross gives victory over our sinful nature, striking at the root of our capacity for sin. This second aspect is what I want us to consider in this study. The Problem Of Our Sins First, consider the precious Blood of the Jesus Christ and its value to us in dealing with our sins and justifying us in the sight of God. This is set forth for us in the following passages: "All have sinned" (Romans 3:23). Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 4 "God commendeth His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through Him [that is, through the blood of Jesus Christ]" (Romans 5:8,9). "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, by His blood, to shew His righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins one aforetime, in the forbearance of God; for the shewing, I say, of His righteousness at this present season: that He might Himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:24-26). Later in this study we will look more closely at the nature of the fall and the way of recovery, but, at this point I just want to remind ourselves that when sin came in it found expression in an act of disobedience to God (Romans 5:19). Whenever this occurs the thing that immediately follows is guilt. Sin enters as disobedience, and creates first of all a separation between God and man. Man is separated from God. God cannot have fellowship with him, because there is something that hinders -- it is that which is known throughout Scripture as “sin.” It was God who said, “They are all under sin” (Romans 3:9). Second, there is a “sin nature” within man that constitutes a barrier to his fellowship with God. This estrangement from God causes man a sense of guilt. Man, himself, because of his awakened conscience, says, “I have sinned” (Luke 15:18). And this isn’t all -- our sense of guilt gives Satan grounds of accusation in our hearts and, also provides him with grounds of accusation before God. Satan is “the accuser of the brethren” (Revelation. 12:10) who says, “You have sinned.” God’s purpose is to redeem us -- to bring us back to God. Jesus Christ had to do something about these three questions of (1) sin and (2) of guilt and (3) of Satan's charge against us. Our sins must be dealt with first, and, the precious Blood of Christ accomplished this. It is the Blood of Jesus Christ as shown in Scripture to operate effectually in these three ways, God-ward, man-ward and Satan-ward. Our guilt is dealt with and our guilty conscience set free as God’s Word reveals the value of that Blood, and also answers any accusations of Satan. We must appropriate these values of the Blood of Christ if we are to live victoriously. This is a first essential. We must have a basic knowledge of the fact of the death of Christ Jesus as our Substitute upon the Cross, and a clear comprehension of the effectiveness of Christ Jesus’ Blood for our sins, for without this we have not started. Let’ s look then at these three matters more closely. Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 5 The Blood Is Primarily For God The Blood “is for atonement” and has to do mainly with our standing before God. We need forgiveness for the sins we have committed, lest we come under judgment. God’s Word assures us that they are forgiven, not because God overlooks what we have done, but rather because He sees the Blood covering our sins. The Blood is therefore not primarily for us but for God. To understand the value of Christ’s Blood we must accept God's valuation of it. If we do not know something of the value set upon the Blood by God then we can never know what its value is for us. As His Holy Spirit reveals the value that God places upon the Blood -- we receive its benefits and find how precious indeed the Blood is. However, the first aspect of Christ’s Blood is God-ward. Throughout the Old and New Testaments the word “blood” is used in connection with the idea of atonement, over a hundred times, and it is something, first of all, for God, Himself. In the Old Testament calendar there is one day that has a great bearing on the matter of our sins -- the day is the Day of Atonement. Nothing explains this question of sins so clearly as the description of that day. We go to Leviticus 16 and find that on the Day of Atonement the blood was taken from the sin offering and brought into the Most Holy Place and there it was sprinkled before the Lord seven times. We must be very clear about this because it is important to remember. On that day the sin offering was offered publicly in the court of the Tabernacle. Everything was there in full view and could be seen by everyone. But the Lord commanded that no man should enter the Tabernacle itself except the High Priest. He alone would take the blood and, going into the Most Holy Place, sprinkle the blood there to make atonement before the Lord. Why? It was because the High Priest was a type of Jesus Christ in His redemptive work (Read Hebrews 9:12,12), and so, in figure, the High Priest was the one who did this work. No one except he could even draw near to enter in. Moreover, connected with his going in there was but one act -- the presenting of the blood to God as something He had accepted, something in which He could find satisfaction. It was a transaction between the High Priest and God in the Sanctuary, away from the eyes of the men who were to benefit by it. This is what God required. The Blood is, in the first place, for Him! Scripture describes even earlier than this, in Exodus 12:13, the shedding of the blood of the Passover Lamb in Egypt for Israel's redemption. This is one of the best types in the Old Testament of our redemption. The blood was put on the lintel and on the door-posts, whereas the meat, the flesh of the lamb, was eaten inside the house. God said: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Here we have another illustration of the fact that the blood was not meant to be presented to man but to God, for the blood was put on the lintel and on the door-posts, where those feasting inside the house would not see it. God Is Satisfied With Christ Jesus’ Blood It is God's holiness and His righteousness that demands that a sinless life be given for man. There is life in the Blood, and Christ’s Blood had to be poured out for us, for our sins. God is the One who requires it to be so. God is the One who demands that Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 6 the Blood be presented, in order to satisfy His own righteousness, and it is He who says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” The Blood of Christ wholly satisfies God. One can have a misunderstanding at this point. It is possible for unbelievers to be wholly untroubled by their conscience –- until the Word of God begins to arouse them. That is because their conscience is dead. When, however, they believe, their awakened conscience becomes acutely sensitive, and –- this can constitute a real problem! The sense of sin and guilt becomes so great it is almost cripples them by causing them to lose sight of the true effectiveness of the Blood. It seems that their sins are so real, and some particular sin troubles them so often, that they come to the point where their sins loom larger than the Blood of Christ. The whole trouble is that they are trying to sense Christ’s Blood; trying to feel its value and to estimate subjectively what the Blood is for them. They cannot do it! It doesn’t work that way. The Blood is first for God to see. We must accept God's evaluation of it. In doing so we find our evaluation. If we try to come to an evaluation by way of feelings we will get nothing -- we remain in darkness. It is a matter of faith in God's Word. We have to believe that the Blood is precious to God because He says it is so (1 Peter 1:18,19). If God can accept the Blood as a payment for our sins and as the price of our redemption, then we can rest assured that the debt has been paid. If God is satisfied with the Blood, then the Blood must be acceptable. Our evaluation of it is only according to His evaluation. Let’s remember that God is holy and righteous, and that a holy and righteous God has the right to say that the Blood is acceptable in His eyes and has fully satisfied Him. The Believer's Access To God by Way of The Blood Scripture teaches that the Blood of Christ satisfied God, however, we need to see that it will satisfy us also. Therefore, Christ’s Blood has a second value that is man-ward in cleansing our conscience. In Hebrews 10:22 we find that the Blood does exactly this. We are to have “hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience” according to. The writer of Hebrews does not tell us that the Blood of the Jesus Christ cleanses our hearts, and then stop in his statement. It is important that we look carefully at just what he does say. In our praying, God often understands what we mean rather than what we say. It isn’t completely Scripturally for us to pray, “Lord, cleanse my heart from sin by Your Blood.” God tells us, “The heart is desperately wicked -- sick” (Jeremiah 17:9), and He must do something more fundamental than cleanse it –- He gives us a new one! You don’t wash and iron clothing that you are going to throw away. As we will see, the “flesh” is too bad to be cleansed. It must be crucified! The work of God within us must be something wholly new. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that the Blood cleanses our hearts. Its work is not subjective in that way, but wholly objective, before God. True, the cleansing work of Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 7 the Blood is seen in Hebrew 10 to have reference to the heart, but it is in relation to the conscience, “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” What is the meaning? It means that there was something intervening between our self and God, and, as a result, we had an “evil conscience” whenever we sought to approach Him. It constantly reminded us of the barrier that stood between our self and God. But now, through the power of the precious Blood, something new has resulted. God has made this known in His Word that He has removed that barrier of our evil conscience. When we believe in and accepted that truth, our conscience is at once cleared and our sense of guilt removed, and we have no more an evil conscience toward God. We all know what a precious thing it is to have a conscience void of offense in our dealings with God. A heart of faith and a conscience clear of any and every accusation are both essential, since they are interdependent. As soon as we find our conscience is uneasy our faith grows dim and immediately we find we cannot face God. In order to keep our fellowship with God we must realize and remember the value of the Blood. God keeps short accounts, and we are “made nigh by the Blood” every day, every hour and every minute. It never loses its efficacy as our grounds of access if we will but lay hold on it. When we enter the most Holy Place, on what ground dare we enter but by the Blood of Jesus Christ? The way into the Presence of God –- Is it by the Blood or by some other means? What do we mean when we say, “by the Blood”? It means that the way into the Presence of God is in recognition of our sins, confessing that we have need of cleansing and of atonement, and that we come to God on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ. We approach God through Christ’s merit alone, and never on the basis of any attainment on our part – never on the ground that we have been extra good or patient, or that we have done something for the Lord. We must come by “way of the Blood” every time! The temptation to so many of us when we try to approach God is to think that because God has been dealing with us -- because He has been taking steps to bring us into something more of Himself and has been teaching us deeper lessons of the Cross -- He has thereby set before us new standards, and that only by attaining to these can we have a clear conscience before Him. No! A clear conscience is never based upon any attainment of our own. It can only be based on the work of Jesus Christ in the shedding of His Blood. It is a mistake to think in terms such as, “Well, today I have been very careful. I have been doing better. This morning I read God’s Word in a very solemn manner, and I prayed more.” Or, perhaps one might think, “Today I have had difficulty with the others. I began the day feeling very gloomy and moody; I am not feeling too good about it all. It seems that there must be something wrong; therefore I cannot approach God.” What is our basis of approach to God? Do we come to Him on the uncertain ground of our feeling --- the feeling that we may have achieved something for God? Or Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 8 is our approach based on something far more secure, namely, the fact that Christ’s Blood has been shed, and that God looks on that Blood and is satisfied? If there were possible that the Blood could suffer any change, the basis of your approach to God would be less trustworthy. But the Blood has never changed and never will! Our approach to God can always be with boldness; and that boldness is ours through the Blood and never through any personal attainment of our own. Whatever be our measure of attainment, when we make a conscious move into the Most Holy Place, immediately we have to take our stand upon the shed Blood. Whether we have had a good day or a bad day, whether we have consciously sinned or not, our basis of approach is always the same -- the Blood of Christ! That is the ground upon which we may enter, and there is no other way! As with many other stages of development in our Christian experience, this matter of access to God has two phases -- an initial and a progressive one. The initial th phases is presented to us in Ephesians 2 and also here in the 10 chapter of the book of Hebrews. Initially, the Blood secures our standing with God, for we are “made nigh in the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). However, thereafter our ground of continual access is still by the Blood! The writer of Hebrews exhorts us, “Having therefore...boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus...let us draw near” (Hebrews 10:19,22). To begin with --- the Blood made us nigh, and to continue in that new relationship we come through the Blood every time! It is not that we were saved on one basis and then maintain our fellowship on another basis. This is simply the A.B.C. of the Gospel! The trouble with many is that they have moved away from the A.B.C. and thought they had progressed and no longer needed to come to God by way of the Blood. We can never do that! No, our initial approach to God is by the Blood, and every time we come before Him --- it is the same. Right to the end it will always and only be on the ground of Jesus Christ’s Blood. This doesn’t mean that we should live a careless life -- as we will study another aspect that will show that God contemplated everything by the death of Christ. But, for now let’s keep our thoughts on the Blood. That it is enough! We may be weak, but looking at our weakness will never make us strong. No trying to feel bad and doing penance will never help us to be even a little bit more holy. There is no help for us in trying to live a victorious Christian life that way. So let us be bold in our approach because of the Blood. We need to pray some like, “Lord, I do not know fully what the value of the Blood is, but I know that the Blood has satisfied You, so the Blood is enough for me, and it is my only plea. I see now that whether I have really progressed, whether I have really attained to something or not is not the point. Whenever I come before You, it is always on the ground of Christ’s precious Blood.” Then our conscience is really clear before God. No conscience could ever be clear apart from the Blood. It is the Blood that gives us boldness. Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 9 “No more conscience of sins!” These are tremendous words from Hebrews 10:2. Or, as other translations renders this phase, “no longer have any consciousness of sins;” or, still another translation renders it as, “our consciences would no longer reproach us of sin.” We are cleansed from every sin and we can truly echo the words of Paul, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin” (Romans 4:8). Overcoming Satan, Our Accuser In view of what we have studied so far, we can now turn to face the enemy, for there is a further aspect of the Blood that is “Satan-ward.” Satan's most strategic activity in this day is as “the accuser of the brethren” (Revelation 12:10) and it is this that our Lord, Jesus Christ, confronts him with by His special ministry as High Priest “through His own blood,” as we read in Hebrews 9:12. How does the Blood operate against Satan? It does so by putting God on the side of man against Satan. The Fall (man’s first sin) brought something into man that gave Satan a footing within man -- with the result that God was compelled to withdraw Himself from sinful, disobedient man. Man is now outside the garden -- beyond reach of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) -- because he is inwardly, as a result of Adam’s race, estranged from God. Because of what man has done, there is something in him that, until it is removed, renders God morally unable to defend him. But, (hallelujah!) the Blood removes that barrier and restores man to God and God to man! Man is in favor with God now, and because God is on his side he can face Satan without fear. 1 John 1:9 states, “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.” This is more accurately translated as, “every sin” because it isn’t exactly referring to “all sin” in the general sense, but rather, to “every sin,” -- every item! What does it mean? This is a marvelous thing! God is the light, and as we walk in the light with Him everything is exposed and open to that light, so that God can see it all -- and yet the Blood is able to cleanse from every sin! What a cleansing! It is not that I don’t know myself and have a profound knowledge of who, and what, I am -- nor that God doesn’t have a perfect knowledge of me. It is not that I try to hide something from God, or that God overlooks something. No, it is that He is in the light and as I am in the light, it is there that the precious Blood cleanses me from every sin. The Blood is enough! We are tempted, at times, to be oppressed by our weakness and may be tempted to think that there are sins which are almost unforgivable. But let’s remember God’s Word, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from every sin.” That includes “every” sin -- big sins, small sins, sins that may be very sinful and sins that may not seem so sinful; sins that we think can be forgiven and sins that seem unforgivable -- all sins, conscious or unconscious, remembered or forgotten, are included in those words, “every sin.” “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin,” and it does so because it satisfies God! Since God, seeing all our sins in the light, can forgive them on the basis of the Blood, what ground of accusation has Satan? Satan may accuse us before Him, but “If Understanding What the Bible Reveals About Living the Christian Life 10 God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31). God points him to the Blood of His Son. It is the sufficient answer against which Satan has no appeal. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:33,34). Again our need is to recognize the absolute sufficiency of the precious Blood. “Christ having become a High Priest...through His own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11,12). He was Redeemer once! He has been High Priest and Advocate for over two thousand years. He stands in the presence of God, and “He is the propitiation [“personal atonement,” or, “atoning sacrifice”] for our sins” (1 John 2:1,2). Look at the words of Hebrews 9:14, “How much more shall the blood of Christ...” The New Testament writers underline the sufficiency of Christ’s ministry. It is enough for God! What then should our attitude toward Satan be? This is important, because he accuses us not only before God but in our own conscience also. He says, “You have sinned, and you keep on sinning. You are weak, and God can have nothing to do with you.” This is his argument. And our temptation is to look within and in self-defense to try to find in our self -- that is, in our feelings or our behavior -- some ground for believing that Satan is lying, that he is wrong! We are tempted, as well, to admit our helplessness and to yield to depression and despair. So accusations become the greatest and most effective of Satan's weapons. He points to our sins and seeks to charge us with them before God. If we accept his accusations we go down hill in our spiritual walk with God. The reason we so readily accept Satan’s accusations is, whether we realize it or not, that we still have some hope in our own righteousness. The ground of our expectation is wrong! Satan has succeeded in making us look in the wrong direction. Thereby he wins his point, rendering us ineffective. But if we learn to put no confidence in the flesh, we will not wonder if we sin, for the very nature of the flesh is to sin. Can you understand what this means? It is because we have not come to appreciate our true nature in Christ Jesus. Because we fail to see how helpless we are -- we still have some expectation in ourselves. The result is that when Satan comes along and accuses us, we go down under his accusations. God is well able to deal with our sins, but He cannot deal with the believer who crumbles under Satan’s accusations, because such a person is not trusting in the Blood of Jesus Christ. The Blood speaks in his favor, but his is listening instead to Satan. Christ is our Advocate but we, the accused, side with the accuser. We have not recognized that we are unworthy of anything but death. (We will study later, that we are only fit to be crucified anyway!) We have not recognized that it is God alone that can answer the accuser, and that in Christ’s precious Blood He has already done so.