Tag: Divine Grace

The Seed of GOOD and EVIL: Origin of Spiritual Lineage

Introduction:

In the intricate tapestry of human existence, a profound question echoes through the corridors of time—when did the tares enter the human race, and who sowed their seeds among us? This exploration delves into the biblical narrative, unveiling the intertwining threads of good and evil, light and darkness. From the fall of Adam to the choices of each individual, the journey of the human spirit unfolds, shaped by the essence of religion and the pivotal moment of divine intervention.

When did the tares enter the human race and who seeded them? It is evident that with Adam’s fall, the evil seed joined the human race. God let the wicked line, or tares, grow alongside the good seeds. The disposition of a person’s spirit determines their offspring. The spirit of a religion shapes the spirit of its followers; or the essence of a religion influences the essence of its followers. Hence, the shift in spirit determines whether one is an adversary or a child of God. How did I come to be God’s child? I was the devil’s offspring, carrying his seed, the spirit that operates in the disobedient children – Eph 2:2. However, when God quickened me by the power of His eternal Spirit, a new spirit—which is of God—was produced within of me, driving out the spirit of darkness that held me captive. The distinction is that, in contrast to previous enslavement and the power of death, you obtain both liberation and a new spirit that is fashioned after God’s likeness in Christ. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. A person born of any other religious spirit is a tare, but if they are born of the Spirit of God, they are a good seed that is incorruptible, holy, and righteous. Both bear fruit—one leads to death, the other to life. If not, why do you suppose the kingdom of evil has introduced a multitude of religions into the world? Its purpose is to entice humanity and quench their innate religious desire, preventing them from accepting the life that God has to offer. One benefit of other faiths offered by the devil, as opposed to the religion of Christ, is that you can indulge your carnal desires without exhibiting any remorse. You may gain according to the world’s standards while losing nothing. However, practicing authentic faith may come at a cost in life, but it is secure in God, which guarantees eternal life. There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it – Ecclesiastes 8:8.

And what would a sinful man choose? Light or darkness? Men preferred darkness over light – John 3:19. However, man cannot save himself; just as he did not choose to be born, he cannot choose to be saved. Man is placed in a favorable position solely by God’s election. Otherwise, he would never be able to consider soul redemption; he is incapable of even considering the possibility of soul restoration. The Father of lights must draw a person to Christ – John 6:44. Despite man’s inability to choose life, the light of God, which brings light to man, has shined in darkness, just as the sun shines on all creation impartially – John 1:1-5. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined – Isaiah 9:2. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ – 2 Cor 4:6.

Today’s globe is home to practically every kind of religion that a wicked heart would wish to align itself with. Man is free to select whatever religion that best suits his or her current needs or problems, as per their wishes. Additionally, man is entering into a pact with the devil each time he chooses to follow a religion other than God’s.

Being unable to choose life is God’s condemnation, for God will give every soul who enters the world the grace to enter life; nevertheless, because mankind preferred darkness, they despise light and deny God’s inner call. And as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient – Rom 1:28. For many are called, but few are chosen – Matt 22:14; The call is for everyone; and the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent – Acts 17:30. As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live – Ezekiel 33:11. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled – Luke 14:23.

Known as the line of the wicked, Cain and his grandson Lamech were the vehicles through which that evil spirit first appeared. Subsequently, we observe the emergence of wickedness in the fold of Jacob’s sons. The Holy Ghost through Jacob addressed thus in Genesis 49; when it comes to Simeon and Levi, it is said that, instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they dug down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel – Genesis 49:5-7. Did wickedness end there? No, it didn’t. It engulfed the entire planet. According to Jesus of Nazareth, it has spread to Christendom as well. What exactly did he say? Whoever hates his brother is a murderer – 1 John 3:15. And many Christians despise each other. Hatred is the binding force. That is the fruit of the world of evil. What astounds me is how many people I know who are members of the church are bearing the fruit of the wicked. I’ve witnessed the worst kind of hatred within the ranks of many professed Christians.

Conclusion:

As we navigate the diverse landscape of religious beliefs in today’s world, a crucial decision emerges. The choice between the path of light and darkness is not merely a philosophical contemplation but a spiritual reality. The ancient struggle between the seeds of good and evil persists, evident in the actions and attitudes of humanity. In understanding the origin of the tares, we find that the call to life is universal, yet the response lies within the divine election.

The narrative transcends historical boundaries, reaching into the present, where the echoes of Cain’s line and the descendants of Jacob’s sons still resonate. The imperative to choose life, the light that shines in darkness, beckons every soul. In this exploration, we confront the age-old question: What does a sinful man choose? The dichotomy between light and darkness is inherent, yet salvation is a gift bestowed by the Father of lights.

In the midst of a world adorned with a myriad of religions, the call to repentance and the plea for the wicked to turn from their ways reverberate through the ages. The intertwining of good and evil, the choice between life and death, unfolds in a cosmic drama where divine grace and human responsibility converge. As we journey through the annals of spiritual lineage, the call remains—choose life, for in that choice lies the redemption of the soul.

 

Out of the Shadows: The Profound Meaning of Darkness

Introduction: The Weight of the Unseen

Imagine a night so dark you can’t discern friend from foe, a blackness that swallows every landmark. Your feet falter, your breath quickens—where are you going? In that void, darkness isn’t just the absence of light; it’s a presence, a question mark over existence itself. The Hebrew word for this is “Choshek”—darkness, yes, but deeper still: ignorance. Not a simple lack of facts, but a spiritual blindness, a turning away from the knowledge of God and His ways. As God laments in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” In that cry lies a truth: darkness is our cradle, but it need not be our tomb.

The Paths of Darkness

Scripture paints a stark portrait of those who dwell in “Choshek.”. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God,’” declares Psalm 14:1, and so he walks “in the ways of darkness” (Proverbs 2:13), forsaking the paths of uprightness. This isn’t mere folly—it’s a deliberate drift. “He that walks in darkness knows not whither he goes,” Jesus warns in John 12:35, a haunting echo of lives unmoored, stumbling toward nothingness. Proverbs contrasts this with the wise: “The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness” (Ecclesiastes 2:14). The darkness isn’t passive; it’s an active force that blinds, confuses, and leads astray.

This ignorance is no light matter. Ephesians 4:18 speaks of being “alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them” and a vanity of mind that darkens understanding. Hosea 6:6 declares, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Without that knowledge, we’re lost, our “eyes of understanding” dimmed (Ephesians 1:18), groping in a shadow that blinds the heart itself (2 Corinthians 4:4). We are not just ignorant—we are blind. As Jesus warned in Matthew 6:23, “If your eye is dark, great is the darkness, and the whole body is full of darkness.” Spiritual blindness doesn’t just limit sight; it affects the entirety of our being. When our spiritual perception is clouded by ignorance or sin, it permeates our lives, leading us into deeper darkness. It’s not just a lack of knowledge, but a blindness that transforms our entire way of living, causing us to stumble in ways we can’t fully comprehend.

The Reign of Ignorance

There’s a ruler in this gloom, a “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), the god of this world who “has blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan’s throne is “in darkness” (Revelation 16:10), his kingdom a prison of deception. We inherit this darkness at birth, as heirs to an original sin that blinds us to the truth of God (1 Peter 1:14). In Acts 17:30, Paul declares, “The times of this ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent.” This raises critical questions: Why does God issue this universal command to repent? And how can He do so, given His awareness of humanity’s total depravity, which renders salvation beyond our own capacity? The answer lies in the nature of divine grace. As stated in Titus 2:11, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” This theological perspective asserts that redemption is not a product of human ability but is solely achieved through God’s grace. This grace, universally offered, gently tugs at every heart during the current era—often termed the dispensation of grace—which has been extended to humankind. It is a divine invitation, as expressed in Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.” Moreover, this call reaches even those who are spiritually dead, for as John 5:25 declares, “The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” Through this persistent and powerful outreach, grace not only seeks entry into each life but also awakens and grants life to all who respond. Yet, this period is understood to be finite, with its closure anticipated in the near future.

In former times, God permitted a period of human ignorance, as Paul notes in Acts 17:30, “The times of this ignorance God overlooked.” However, with the revelation of Christ and the outpouring of His grace, this allowance has ended, and there remains no justification for persisting in ignorance. Divine grace, which brings salvation and is made available to all (Titus 2:11), beckons humanity from the darkness of ignorance into the light of truth. It is this grace that both calls individuals to repentance and illuminates the path to redemption. Yet, if left unaddressed, such ignorance becomes a perilous legacy—a fatal inheritance. As John 3:36 warns, “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him,” a consequence stemming from “the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18).

This is “Choshek’s” full weight: not just not-knowing, but not-seeing, not-living. Paul writes that “the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness” (Colossians 3:6), and ignorance is its fuel. Once, some “were enlightened” but fell away (Hebrews 6:4), trading light for darkness they chose. Hosea mourns, “They know not the knowledge of the Lord” (Hosea 4:6), and in that void, confusion reigns—though “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

The Triumph of Light

Yet darkness has an enemy: light. In Hebrew, knowledge is light, and its pinnacle is “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). God, who “commanded the light to shine out of darkness” at creation, now shines into our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6), breaking “Choshek’s” hold. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (1John 3:8). But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Savior of the world—1John 4:14), the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name—John 20:31. “In Him is no darkness at all,” John declares (1 John 1:5), for God is light, hiding “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3). Christ is that light—“the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world” (John 1:9)—shining in darkness, though “the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:4-5).

This is redemption’s dawn. “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light,” Paul was sent (Acts 26:18), echoing God’s call: “Repent, and turn to Me” (Acts 17:30). When we do, “the eyes of your understanding are enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18), and “the true light now shines” (1 John 2:8). “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,” Peter prays (2 Peter 1:2-3), for only through that knowledge do we escape. “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:5), a treasure darkness cannot steal.

Christ is the “day star” rising in our hearts (2 Peter 1:19), the One we must acknowledge (1 John 2:23). “While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light,” Jesus urges (John 12:35–36). From ignorance’s grip, He delivers us “into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13), where darkness is but a memory.

Conclusion: Step Into the Dawn

So what does “darkness” symbolize? It’s “Choshek”—ignorance, the shadow of sin, the fool’s maze, the prince’s lie. It’s the blindness that binds us, the alienation that dooms us—until light intervenes. “God, who commanded the light to shine,” invites us still (2 Corinthians 4:6). Today, where do you stand? In the dark, denying His ways (Job 21:14), or in the light, eyes open to His glory? The verses cry out: turn, believe, know. The Day Star waits. Will you let Him rise?

And this is the condemnation: that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:19-21

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. Psalm 10:4