Supplement 12 — For Lessons 23 & 24

Supplement Twelve

For Lessons Twenty-three and Twenty-four

We have seen in Lesson Twenty-three that sin is real. We have seen that God is not responsible for sin and that it is not His will that men be bound to sin. We have studied the many aspects of the doctrine of sin as taught in the Bible. In the last lesson we have explained how to get rid of sin and sickness. The doctrines are clear and the truths are made simple, but this knowledge is not enough in itself to bring to man the benefits that are needed and that are promised. We must next put into personal practice the lessons learned. We must take a personal stand with God and against these enemies of God and man and enter into the experimental phase of redemption.

HOW TO IDENTIFY OURSELVES WITH CHRIST

1. 1 By Making Proper Confession of Sins

This is recognition that Christ died on the cross to atone for our sins and that they were actually borne by Him. When we confess that we are sinners and that He bore our sins on the cross we thus identify ourselves with Him in His work of atonement and cleansing from all sin follows immediately 1 John 1:9.

1. 1 By Crucifying the Old Man

The old man, as we have seen, is the spirit and nature of the devil working in us before we are saved from sin. The old man or the devil constantly works to regain dominion over us after we are saved, so we must be on guard and refuse to give place to the devil Ephesians 4:27Ephesians 5:10-18James 4:71 Peter 5:8-9. Just because the devil seeks dominion and we are tempted to yield to sin is no sign that we have the old man in us, or that we are in union with the spirit and nature of Satan. It is only when we yield to sin again that we are in harmony with the devil.

By the crucifixion of the old man we simply mean that we recognize that we are freed from him and we no longer obey him in any respect. We must consider ourselves dead to him and that he is dead to us. Paul says, “How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? . . . Knowing this that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live with him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield yourselves as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you” Romans 6:1-14.

Man must reckon or count himself to be dead to sin and alive to God; that is, he has nothing more to do with sin and everything to do with God. He is to reckon sin as a thing of the past and as non-existent as far as he is concerned. He is to reckon that God is all-and-all and the only thing that matters in his life. Just as parents can and sometimes do cast a child out of their home and cut him off from any further relationship or inheritance, and thus, as far as they are concerned the child is dead, so the believer must completely give up sin and count that he is dead to it. This can be done by reckoning it done by faith in Christ and by giving one’s self wholly over to God and a life of holiness in Christ.

The old man and the whole operation of the devil in life must be ignored and rejected once and for all. The old life, called our old man, which is nothing more or less than the devil working in us, must be done away with and renounced forever. We must reckon that we are new creatures in Christ and the old life dead and that we no longer live as we used to live in sins and lusts that damn the soul. The old life is past and the new life is here. The devil has no more part in us so we reckon him dead 1 John 5:18. The old sins are gone and are counted dead. We are alive to God and we recognize Him as our master. The old life, the old sins, the old man, and the things of the past are still in existence, but as far as we are concerned they are not, because we are dead to them. When we served sin we were dead to God and as far as we were concerned He was not in existence. Now since turning to God and becoming alive to Him we count ourselves to be dead to sin and Satan. One cannot be alive to both. One cannot serve two masters or live two different lives, so when a man is alive to sin he is dead to God and when he is alive to God he is dead to sin.

1. 1 By Faith in Christ

This includes faith in His name Acts 3:16Acts 4:12, faith in His blood Romans 3:24-25, faith in His Word John 15:72 Corinthians 1:20, and faith in His death, burial, and resurrection Romans 6:1-81 Corinthians 15:1-19. We must believe that what Christ died for is ours the moment we accept it. We identify ourselves with Him by faith in all His work and we then receive the benefits for which He died.

1. 1 By Walking in the Light

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” John 1:7-9. This means as we get to know truth we accept it and obey it and it makes us free John 8:31-32. This is growing in grace and in the knowledge of God 2 Peter 1:4-102 Peter 3:18.

1. 1 By Taking up Our Cross Daily to Follow Christ

This means forsaking all that the gospel requires one to give up and loving the Lord with all the heart and soul Luke 14:25-27, 33Matthew 19:27-30. As one learns truth he must conform to it daily. Whatever the cross may be that we are called upon to bear we must carry it in conformity to the will of God. All selfishness in obeying truth must be denied and the gospel must be obeyed regardless of personal interests Mark 8:34-38Mark 10:23-31.

1. 1 By Walking and Living in the Spirit

This means that we seek to know the will of God by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and that we shall always follow the leading of the Spirit and reject anything in our lives that would be contrary to the Word of God and our best spiritual interests. We must put to death all the works of the flesh and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit Romans 8:1-16Galatians 5:16-26Colossians 3:5-171 Peter 1:3-9.

1. 1 By Constant Prayer and Study of the Word of God

In Lesson Sixteen we have set forth the need of prayer and how to get answers to our prayers. Along with praying there should be constant meditation in the Word of God and a cheerful obedience to it. It is by meditation and study that we get to know the fine points of truth and of spiritual leadings of God. Men are required to “study” 2 Timothy 2:15, “search” John 5:39, “continue in,” and “know” the truth John 8:31-36, “obey it” John 14:23-24Acts 5:32Romans 1:5, and “meditate in it day and night” Joshua 1:7-8. It is by prayer and study and obedience to the Word that faith is increased Romans 10:17. We are promised that if the Word abides in us and we abide in Christ we can ask what we will and it shall be done John 15:7. It is by this that we learn in what ways to identify ourselves with Christ and how to do it.

1. 1 By Faithful Work for God and Consecration to Help Others

We should realize our responsibility and that we are saved in order for us to serve. We should find the most spiritual church in our community, not necessarily the most popular one for this latter kind is not always the most spiritual one. We should choose a church that holds up a genuine standard of Christianity and clean holy living according to the gospel. We should go to a church that demands of its members that they live free from sin and the bad habits that will damn the soul. It will pay us great dividends here and hereafter to choose wisely the church that will help develop our faith and encourage us in following the whole Bible.

Regardless of what church we go to, we must be sure that we cooperate with the pastor and the program of the church in the winning of lost souls. We should attend every meeting that it is at all possible for us to attend. The Bible says, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” Hebrews 10:25. We should back our pastor in prayer and be the kind of members that he can depend upon. We should get busy for God and use every opportunity we get to be a witness for Jesus either in public or in private. Never turn down an opportunity to lead prayer meetings, visit the sick, help the needy, or to do religious and social work.

If you will study the Bible and believe its promises and follow the simple instructions that we give you, it will be impossible to fail God or to fail to get from God the wonderful benefits He has promised. Believe in the reality of sin, sickness, Satan, demons, and God. Learn that the true source of help in life comes from God. Learn how to pray and what to pray for. Do not be satisfied to live like many so-called Christians around you. Step ahead of the crowd and be an example to others and never stumble over anyone. If you stumble over one hypocrite he is ahead of you or you would not stumble over him. Practice constantly the presence of God and overcome sin and bad habits. Believe that you can have healing and health and all the things promised by God. Seek God daily to attain to these benefits and your life will be blessed beyond anything that you now realize.

Nine Questions For Supplement Twelve. Do You Know:

• That the Bible tells us the exact day and month Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees? This was on the 15th of April, exactly 430 years to the day before the children of Israel left Egypt: “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” Exodus 12:40-41. Abraham started the sojourn 430 years to the day before Israel left Egypt, according to this passage. (See also Gen. 12:1-3.)

• That men traveled through the air many centuries before the Wright brothers did? Ezekiel and Philip were both taken through the air by the Holy Spirit Ezekiel 8:3Ezekiel 11:3Acts 8:39. John and Paul were taken to Heaven and came back 2 Corinthians 12:1-7Revelation 4:1. Enoch and Elijah were taken to Heaven bodily and will come back and die at the hands of the Antichrist Genesis 5:24Hebrews 11:5Revelation 11:1-11Zechariah 4:11-14. Elijah came back in the days of Christ so he had at least two trips to Heaven, for he is there now Matthew 17:3-4. Christ and all the Old Testament saints also were taken to Heaven as well as every person who has died in Christ Acts 1:11Ephesians 4:7-112 Corinthians 5:8Philippians 1:21-23.

• That Saul was not the first king of Israel and that they had a king over 500 years before Samuel made Saul king? Moses was the first king in Israel, according to Deut. 33:4-5.

• That the name of David’s mother is given in the Bible? According to 2 Sam. 17:25 her name was Nahash, for there we find that Abigail and Zeruiah were daughters of Nahash. In 1 Chron. 2:13-16 it says that these women were the sisters of David. If they were David’s sisters and if they were the daughters of Nahash, then David’s mother’s name must have been Nahash. It is argued that Nahash is a man’s name. Be that as it may, Noah was a man’s name but it was also a woman’s name, according to Num. 27. The same could be true of the name of David’s mother. Jesse was the father of David and these women mentioned, so if they were also the children of Nahash, then this must be the name of David’s mother. That Nahash was a man, the stepfather of David, is unfounded and a mere theory of man.

• That God did not create sin and He is not responsible for it? Sin is transgression of the law. God created creatures capable of laws and He made laws, but He did not make His creatures break the law. The ones who broke the law are the responsible ones and God holds them responsible. This has been made clear in Lesson Twenty-three, Point III, 9 and 10.

• That the hinderer of lawlessness in 2 Thess. 2:7-8 refers to the Church? There are only three things in the world today that hinder lawlessness. They are the Church, the Holy Spirit and human governments. The hinderer that will be taken out of the world must refer to one of these three things. It could not refer to the Holy Spirit and governments for neither will be taken out of the world. It is clear that governments will not be taken for Antichrist will reign over the ten kingdoms during the Tribulation Daniel 7:23-24Revelation 17:8-17. The Holy Spirit will be here during the Tribulation, so He could not be the hinderer taken Acts 2:16-21John 14:16Revelation 7:14Revelation 12:17Revelation 19:10Zechariah 12:10. The Church will be taken out of the world 1 Thessalonians 4:16Ephesians 5:26-271 Corinthians 15:51-58, so this must be the hinderer referred to. If you cannot understand how the Church could be referred to as “he,” see Eph. 2:15; 4:13 where the Church is called a “man.” (See also Supplement Six, Questions 3 and 10; Supplement Seven, Questions 1-8; and Supplement Eight, Questions 1-3.)

• That the mark upon Cain was not a physical mark or change of color? The Hebrew word for “mark” in Gen. 4:15 means “a pledge.” The pledge was stated in the same verse, “Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken sevenfold.” There is no statement that he was marked physically by a change of color or some other mark. (See Lesson Eleven, Point VII, 2).

• That one man was healed of leprosy three different times? Moses was made a sign to Israel and to Pharaoh three times when his hand was made leprous and was healed Exodus 4:6-7, 21.

• That Maher-shalal-hash-baz is not the longest name in the Bible, as is stated in all Bible statistics of men? There is another name equally as long found in the title of the 56th Psalm. (See Isa. 8:3 for the first eighteen-letter word.) Isaiah’s son was called “Maher-shalal-hash-baz,” meaning “haste ye, haste ye to the spoil,” because Judah was soon to be spoiled by Babylon and the Jews taken into captivity.