The Goal of our instruction is love…
“The Goal of our instruction is love, which comes from a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5)
What is love?
“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his Son into the world so that we might live through him.
In this is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins….
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:9-17)
Why does the visible church exist?
To provide a context where we build up, encourage, and train all who believe to KNOW God as our Father and Jesus Christ as his image who lives in us as LOVE.
This is eternal life!
“And this is eternal life: that they know you as the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3).
How does the church do this?
By teaching her members to receive the love of God. When we do this, we become like our Creator and Father and Brother Jesus.
How can this be? For a bride to know her spouse is to be entered by her spouse. As the bride of Christ, we will know him when we allow his Spirit to enter and remain in us.
The Spirit “pours the love of the Father into our hearts.” (Romans 5:5). Then this happens:
“… strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit… Christ may dwell in your hearts… that you being rooted and established in love may have power… to know the love of Christ…
… so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)
The Greek phrase for “filled with all the fullness” means to be like a house with no empty rooms or a city with no empty houses.
The fullness of God leaves no empty closets for skeletons… and no vacancies for the wisdom of man.
When you know you are full of Him, every question is already answered.
Uncompromisingly and consistently teaching this allows each member to become the image of God who is love. Manifesting and multiplying the love of God throughout their families… making more sons and daughters of God.
How can the church do this?
By teaching our members to remain in the Word, so that they’ll know the truth, and allow the truth to make them free—and keep them free. (John 8:31-32)
Free from what? Sin… condemnation… lies… a guilty conscience… a heart with excuses… the knowledge of good and evil… the wisdom of man… the way that seems right but leads to death. (Proverbs 16:25)
How can we get our members to remain in the Word?
By teaching them to ALWAYS receive and remain in the righteousness of God’s Son that comes by believing his mercy and grace and lovingkindness is always a pure gift… because of the utter undeniable goodness of God.
How is the goodness of God revealed? By revealing and demonstrating the kingdom.
How does the church do this? Through the Spirit “in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” who now lives through us. Making “every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Believing the Spirit wants to manifest all His gifts in each gathered believer as He desires, according to His grace. (See Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12)
This can’t be done through divisiveness or man’s wisdom.
Seeking the kingdom and his righteousness is the only way to form and build up a body of believers that will become “the full stature of the full measure of Christ”.
This is the only way that the body will be able to do all these things and more:
Allow the world to see him in us as ONE body and believe Jesus is God’s Son. (John 17:21)
Testify of him and his blood shed while loving not our own lives unto death. (Revelation 12:11)
Destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)
Walk in newness of life, reckoning ourselves dead indeed to sin. (Romans 6:4-11)
Make the enemy of love the footstool for Christ Jesus’ feet. (Mark 12:36; Psalm 110:1-2)
Reveal Christ in us as the hope of God’s glory manifested through us on earth as in heaven. (Colossians 1:27; Matthew 6:10)
Lose our lives, lay down our lives and deny ourselves for his sake so that we can follow him and live in true life. (Matthew 10:39, 16:24; Mark 8:34-35)
Receive the free gift of righteousness and know our identity as born anew children of the Father (Romans 5:15-17; Ephesians 1; John 3; John 1:12,13))
Manifest the kingdom and its healing power from within you by believing and laying your hands on the sick. (Mark 16:17; Luke 10:9, 17:21)
Know Him who created you, died for you, and rose for you. (John 17:3)
Make known to the rulers and powers and authorities of the heavens the manifold wisdom of God. (Ephesians 3:10)
Be filled with all the fulness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)
Walk in the light as He is in the light. (1 John 1:7)
Be holy as He is holy. (1 Peter 1:16)
Become as He is in this world. (1 John 4:17)
How can this be? How does this amazing reality happen in imperfect people?
When you are believing well, you are doing well. Faith comes by hearing the words of God… and believing well comes by trusting what He says about you.
Are you hearing the words of God about you? Is your church speaking the words of God? Or is your church sometimes speaking the words of God, and other times speaking the words of men? Is it teaching you how to deny your earthly self, be born anew, take up your cross and follow Jesus… or is it teaching how to protect your old self and elevate its feelings, emotions and sentiments?
Double-mindedness kills faith and keeps you from seeing the fruit of believing. Single-minded belief lets you experience the total joy in suffering for the sake of Jesus. (Read James 1)
You can allow yourself to believe the words of God about you! When you do, you’ll see the reality of the transforming power of the Gospel in you. When you keep believing the reality of Jesus’ life in you, you’ll crush doubt, unbelief, and self-righteousness.
According to God’s own words, the love of God comes into you when you believe he wants to give you his love. When you believe this, you’ll say yes to it as a gift. These are the words of God about his gift:
“God created humankind in His image, in His own image He created them… and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:27,31)
“To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…” (John 1:12)
“He chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4)
“He destined you for adoption as his child through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will…” (Ephesians 1:5)
“[This is] to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on you in the Beloved Jesus.” (Ephesians 1:6)
“In him you have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of your trespasses according to the riches of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)
“Rejoice in the Lord always! I say again, ‘rejoice’… The Lord is near… Be anxious about nothing…” (Philippians 4:4)
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances—for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)
Look at yourself through His eyes
The love of God stays alive in you when you have His righteousness. His righteousness makes you see yourself CLEAN in him… clean from condemnation, accusation, guilt, sin, failure, disappointment.
His righteousness ensures you’ll keep a pure conscience and a sincere heart. You’ll have a clear conscience when you believe that God forgave you freely apart from your deserving it.
And knowing he wants to forgive you and never remember your sin—apart from you having acted perfectly 2 minutes or 2 years or 2 decades ago— keeps your heart pure and open to receive his love.
You’ll have a true faith (you’ll believe well) when you know what God believes about you. When you believe well, you truly are doing well… no matter what you are feeling. God desires this reality for you. And this reality is greater than what negative things may be happening in you, around you or in your family.
You can always remain in God’s love and have God’s perfect image in you when you believe His words about you. God wants to give you this reality so badly! He says you can have it freely when you believe him at his word. So just say Yes and Thank You, Father!
This is why you simply have to believe it. Belief is obedience. Belief completes the work that God wants to do in you. (see John 6:29)
The love of God is known by the love of Christ demonstrated in his mercy and kindness. Believing in his mercy and lovingkindness opens the door to your heart to receive his love, grace, and righteousness.
The more we know God’s goodness as a perfect giver the more we’ll be able to receive His love and mercy and grace and righteousness. Just start here: “Thank you Father that you love me, you love me, you really love me!”
God is the one who desires that you are filled with his light, his glory, his love, his truth, his purity, his holiness, his godliness, his joy, his peace… this is his image in you.
How can all this happen to people who feel bad about themselves?
God doesn’t expect you to stay a sinner in order to fill you with himself. You were not created to live in sin with a sin-ridden conscience… guilty, shamed, rejected, condemned, accused on this earth.
Don’t listen to men trapped in sin… BY NO MEANS were you born again into sin!
Listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through St. Paul:
“Should we continue to sin in order that grace may abound? BY NO MEANS! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?”
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death… so we too might walk in newness of life.
“We know that our old self was crucified with him… so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
“Therefore do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies…. but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life… as instruments of righteousness.
“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
“Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? BY NO MEANS!…
“But thanks be to God that you having ONCE BEEN SLAVES of sin… have now become obedient from the heart to [this] form of teaching… having been set free from sin, [you] have become slaves of righteousness.``
A slave has no choice but to obey his master. When you believe the good news of his righteousness, you’ll no longer obey your sin nature. You’ll live from his new nature in you.
Rejoice! You’re no longer a lost sinner!
God designed the good news message to be SO GOOD that it would make you willing and able to say yes to His image in you. His lovingkindness draws you to Him to receive His nature through His grace..
His free gift of grace empowers you to live holy, righteous, blameless, above reproach — just like Jesus who lived spotless and without flaw in the eyes of the Father. If you sin, your Father wants to father you (patiently train, instruct, encourage) to see yourself as He sees you—His image!
“You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin…” (1 John 3:5).
And where does He live now? In you!
This the gift of His righteousness in a nutshell.
What is the single roadblock to having all this?
Self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is believing that you have to make yourself good in order to be good. It’s the lie saying you have to do or earn something in order to deserve something good from God.
Self-righteousness tells you that you don’t deserve the image of God freely… and instead you have to make yourself “better”…kinder, smarter, richer, more popular, more beautiful, more influential, more successful, more loving….
Self-righteousness keeps you from child-likeness. It keeps you from seeing the kingdom. Seeing the kingdom is what enables to you believe in the utter goodness of God.
It’s what Jesus came to proclaim. He said, “the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news!”
(Side note: Repenting is turning away from self-righteousness, away from self-seeking, away from trying to prove you are good enough, away from trying to make yourself good… and instead turning towards God by seeing yourself as a sinner who fell short of God’s glorious image, and seeing yourself as one who has been offered the free gift of love and forgiveness from your good Father who wants to gift you righteousness so that you’ll trust His new identity for you as His image.)
If you believe that miracles and healing and the supernatural presence of God on earth are impossible, or if you believe that you have to conjure up healing by some form of witchcraft (manipulating the elements), or if you’re not sure whether God wants to heal everyone all the time because He is the healer and He does not go against His own nature… then you won’t be able to receive the good news of his image and likeness in you.
Self-righteousness blinds you to the glory of God in you
It keeps you from believing in the goodness of God to heal you, save you, forgive you, cleanse you…. it keeps you from aligning your mind, heart and beliefs 100% to His words.
Self-righteousness keeps you locked in a prison where you must trust your own thoughts, earthly wisdom, and earthly experiences… instead of the truth of God’s words.
You have to BELIEVE in order to see the unseen things!
God designed his kingdom to manifest within you. His power, his presence, his light, his joy, his peace…. which conquers every storm, every sickness, every disease, every sin.
Self-righteousness is a trick of the enemy of God. The enemy does not believe you deserve the image of God. The pride of the enemy cannot accept it as God’s will.
So the devil uses self-righteous human “wisdom” to convince people they cannot trust God’s goodness. The enemy tries to convince people that God can’t be so good as to want to freely give them such a tremendous gift… the gift of the kingdom within them… the gift of the glory of God within them outside of law, religion, empty ritual, or doctrine. (see 1 Corinthians 1 & 2)
The devil uses the lure of earthly knowledge to lead people down a twisted winding path that never arrives at truth. Never arrives at beauty. Never arrives at eternal life.
The self-righteous can’t see the kingdom manifest around or through them. The word of God says the gifts of God’s Spirit are only discerned spiritually; the unspiritual people cannot receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. God’s gifts are given to spiritual people. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
The devil manipulates people to do his dirty work according to his fallen, broken program to steal/kill/destroy. Remember, the ACCUSER only has one agenda: lie, deny, gaslight, accuse, reject, condemn, shame, antagonize, instigate, provoke, harass, mock, deceive… “steal, kill, destroy, steal, kill, destroy, steal, kill, destroy.” In order to get people to blame God for the result of his dirty work.
The enemy wants you afraid of death, afraid of disease, afraid of storms. The enemy wants you to not believe in the power of God nor the words of God.
When he’s stolen your faith in God’s ability to heal and God’s desire to heal… when he has blinded you to the gifts of God offered spiritually… when he’s caused you to distrust God’s goodness and desire to freely give life and immortality… then the devil can get you to start blaming and accusing God of doing the very things that the devil is doing to destroy life!
The devil is the accuser of God, and he wants to reproduce himself through people’s unbelief. Even the Pharisees thought they were following God, but Jesus gave them a reality check when He looked into their hearts and confirmed,
“You are from your father the devil.” (John 8:44)
When we are thinking self-righteously, self-focused, self-protective or earthly, we’re thinking demonic. Jesus told Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You’re setting your mind not on divine things but on human things”. (Mark 8:33)
In this moment Jesus confirmed the dividing line between those who would BELIEVE and align their thinking with the truth of the kingdom and His righteousness… and those stuck in an earthly, self-made, self-righteous way of seeing ourselves with worldly wisdom.
Crush self-righteousness among our churches….
Self-righteousness explains why there’s so many divisions among Christians… and so many conflicting “versions” of Christianity.
“Jesus said to the teachers of the law, ‘Is not this the reason you are wrong? That you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?…’” (Mark 12:24)
God wants you to receive His kingdom and the free gift of His righteousness first of all. With these come the gift of His love, His grace, His peace that surpasses understanding, so you’ll have His indescribable and glorious joy in you!
All of this comes to you when you receive as a child… with a heart of belief and expectation! This has the power to crush self-righteousness in you.
But the enemy wants to confuse you about God’s goodness and God’s will. He tries doing this by twisting the purpose and meaning of your new abundant life. The enemy wants you to think your life is all about avoiding suffering… keeping you self-focused, self-protective. He doesn’t want you to believe you can deny your self, pick up your cross and follow Jesus… and love not your own life unto death.
The enemy wants you to think the path to knowing God’s kingdom and righteousness is difficult… rocky, winding… with crossroads, and wrong turns and mountains to climb and valleys to cross…
The enemy wants you focused on the decisions you make for protecting your self (such as where to get your education, where to look for a job, how to protect your health, what doctor to go to).
But that’s not Christ’s gospel! St. Paul in the book of Acts addressed a magician, a person who manipulates people:
“You son of the devil! You enemy of all righteousness! Full of all deceit and villainy. Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10)
The gospel is a clear straight simple narrow path. John the Baptist quoting Isaiah, declared:
“Prepare the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!” (Mark 1:3)
Every valley is to be filled, every mountain leveled… to make straight paths for everyone to know the love of God and his desire to give life and honor and glory to all who will believe. Through the simplicity of the gospel of the kingdom! Through the simplicity of faith!
The temptation every believer (and every church) faces is to try avoiding suffering by adding something to the simple straight message of the kingdom’s freely given righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The freely given healing, restoration, strength, and support… already purchased and provided through your faith in Jesus’ stripes. (see 1 Peter 2:24, 5:6-10)
Why do churches add to the simple message of the kingdom and his righteousness?
When people don’t see all things subjected to Christ’s dominion and authority, they tend to question God’s will.
The book of Hebrews explains that God subjected all things under believers’ feet:
“Now in subjecting all things to [us], God left nothing outside [our] control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to [us], BUT WE DO SEE JESUS…” (Hebrews 2:8-9)
We see Jesus’ life-lived in the gospel narratives. We see his desire to heal all who approached him. We see how he modeled the Kingdom… his character, his heavenly perspective, his divine nature, his godly attributes, his attitudes toward sickness and death, his personality as the perfect joyful giver.
When Christians aren’t believing well, they add extra things to believe. They come up with seemingly logical reasons why people don’t get healed. They try to convince others it may not be God’s will to heal at this time…
Based on the Word of God, the life Jesus demonstrated, the faith Jesus demonstrated we can see the counterfeit. We can see human “wisdom” creating a gross misunderstanding of the Father’s heart towards His children… a gross misunderstanding of the Good News of the kingdom, SEED and the fallen world given to satan by Adam and Eve’s ultimate act of self-righteousness.
Jesus warned: If we don’t understand his parable about seed, we won’t understand ANYTHING he’s teaching! (see Mark 4:13)
When the WORDS of God say this:
It’s God’s will and desire that ALL people be saved (translated from the Greek SOZO: saved, healed, delivered, set free and made whole)
It’s God’s will and desire that NO ONE ever perish.
God so LOVED the whole world that He sent His son.
God does not come to condemn the world; the world is already condemned and living in condemnation and accusation because of the access Adam and Eve gave to satan the Accuser.
It is always God’s will to heal
If it’s always God’s will to forgive, then it’s always God’s will to heal.
God does not “allow” bad things to happen to people in order to teach them a lesson; satan already has dominion over the earth and will continue to reign and rule on this earth as long as BELIEVERS do not take back the territory with their God-given authority
Reasons to explain why evil things happen to good people, reasons why there is suffering on earth. Reasons to explain why people stay stuck in sin or addiction or abusive behavior.
They look for ways to use what “seems right” to explain and give comfort to those who are hurting. Some extra human or earthly “wisdom” beyond the simple truth of God’s words.
That is exactly what the devil wanted to do in the garden. He offered the knowledge of good and evil… a way that seemed right… a way that would seemingly improve life on earth.
But we know that way ended in death. That is what God warned Adam and Eve.
But since Christ came, we have the perfect garden made available to us again. (This is why Paul could shake off a viper without fear or concern for his health. Acts 28:5). We find the true abundant life available to us when we look at the perfect life of Jesus.
His earthly life ended in seemingly meaningless suffering. But it actually resulted in the perfection of eternal life.
The book of Hebrews explains it:
“‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, subjecting all things under their feet.’
Now in subjecting all things to humans, God left nothing outside of people’s control. As it is, we do not YET see everything in subjection to humans, but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death…”
Jesus declares this is how Christians are supposed to conquer death, by “the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony, and loving not their life unto death” (Revelation 12:11).
Transform your Catholic home or youth group with
the gift of His righteousness!
Here you’ll find awesome lessons straight from the Catechism, the Scriptures and the Saints…
Teach these keys to your Catholic kids and see them come alive and shine with the Truth of God’s free gift of righteousness!
Key 1:
Your Original Created Value
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them…. God saw everything he made, and indeed it was very good. (Genesis 1)
It’s time to face the facts. In the beginning before the universe existed God knew you. He came up with the idea of you. He was excited about you. You were his best creative work… His masterpiece. And He loves you dearly.
You were created to be loved by Him. You are lovable. It would be impossible for Him not to love you. God loves you so much because He created you to be His very Image… which is love.
God is Love. You are made in His Image. You can’t help being lovable! This is your original created value: the real true you He always intended you to be. And He does this through His Words. You’ll know this by abiding, feasting, ingesting His Words.
Man is predestined to reproduce the image of God’s Son…. (CCC 381)
From now on therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view. (St. Paul, 2 Corinthians 5:16)
His divine power has given you everything needed for life and godliness… so that… you may become participants of the divine nature. (St. Peter, 2 Peter 1:3,4)
Before the foundations of the world you were chosen to be holy and blameless… (Ephesians 1)
He predestined you to be conformed to His Image… (Romans 8)
Created in holiness, you were DESTINED to be fully divinized by God in glory. (CCC 398)
God gave Himself to us through His Spirit, so we can become communicants of the divine nature. (St. Athanasius/CCC 1988)
Key 2:
Believe… GOD IS So GOOD!
But when the GOODNESS and LOVING-KINDNESS of God our Savior appeared, He saved us — not because of any works of righteousness that we had done— but according to His MERCY… through the washing of water and rebirth in the Spirit. (St. Paul to Titus 3:4,5)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who BELIEVES in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life. (Jesus speaking in John 3:16)
Whenever you see the word “faith”, it means to believe in God’s Goodness.
All Catholic faith rests on this reality. All Christian truth comes from this reality. All God’s Words are trustworthy because God is Perfect Goodness.
Jesus’ life reveals this truth. His love shown on the Cross is the proof. This truth is true because Jesus did really actually historically die on the Cross.
This is the faith we share.
But when the GOODNESS and LOVING-KINDNESS of God our Savior appeared, He saved us — not because of any works of righteousness that we had done— but according to His MERCY… through the washing of water and rebirth in the Spirit. (St. Paul to Titus 3:4,5)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who BELIEVES in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life. (Jesus speaking in John 3:16)
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world may be saved through Him. (John 3:17)
All sin, therefore, is simply your distrust of God’s Goodness (CCC 397, paraphrased)
Key 3:
Your Adam’s family
Because you [devil] have done this, cursed are you… [there will be] enmity between you and the woman. Between your “seed” and hers… (Genesis 3:14-15)
It’s creepy and it’s cooky, mysterious and spooky, it’s altogether hooky… Your Adam’s family is messed up!
Where’d it come from? The seed Eve and Adam ate in the garden when the devil lied to them.
Every living thing starts with a “seed”. Jesus said that if you don’t understand these things about seed, you won’t understand anything he taught. (see Mark 4)
God’s words are seeds. The devil’s words are seeds. God’s words are true. The devil’s words are not.
In believing and eating the seed of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam took on the nature of God’s own enemy. Adam and Eve lost their trust of God’s goodness.
The beginning of sin and man’s fall was due to a lie of the tempter who induced doubt of God’s words, kindness and faithfulness. (CCC215)
Adam and Eve lost their pure spirits given from God when their trust of God’s goodness died. (see CCC 397)
Adam and Eve’s fallen seed birthed all of humanity’s sin and death. The “seed”, called the knowledge of good and evil, is self-righteousness.
It was sown by your enemy the devil. God’s Word call him a liar, the father of lies, the one who comes ONLY to steal, kill, and destroy. He’s called the deceiver of the whole world.
Believing the lie of self-righteousness causes you to stop trusting God’s Goodness. Since Adam and Eve’s deadly snack attack, all humans now have this seed. The devil’s death-seed gives everyone a messed-up spiritual “DNA”.
Now you and all the world suffer the consequences. We see this fallen seed in peoples’ selfishness, shame, pride, greed, lust, hatred and all other hurtful, destructive “sinful” behavior. (None of this was in the garden before Adam distrusted God’s Goodness as the Perfect Giver.)
You were born into a fallen world with a false identity thrust upon you from your enemy. When you believe and trust God to give you NEW LIFE through His righteousness, you’ll stop seeing yourself through Satan’s way of self-righteousness!
“Because one man sinned… all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” (St. Paul to the Roman Church)
ALL are born into Adam’s seed and living a lie… until they get born again of God’s seed!
Key 4:
The Language of Hell
Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things. (Jesus speaking to Peter in Matthew 16:23)
God said Adam and Eve would die if they ate the fruit of knowing good and evil. The devil said they would not die.
Adam and Eve were created immortal in God’s image and likeness. The devil said they would “become like God” if they ate his fruit. Adam and Eve were ALREADY LIKE GOD!
But they fell for the lie of self-righteousness. They stopped believing God’s Words. They stopped trusting His GOODNESS.
Then they lost their pure God-like spirit (which controls their minds and hearts). Adam/Eve took in the “spirit” of God’s enemy which thinks with worldly (Satanic) “wisdom”.
It’s all illusion: thievery, deceit, lies, selfishness, pride, lust… and accusation! Satan was the first created being to “fall” from God’s righteousness. (His pride and envy for God’s extravagant gift to us humans caused his downfall.)
Worldly human/satanic reasoning thinks apart from faith in God’s Goodness. It separates you from God’s power and love. Separation from God brings unrighteousness, impurity, sin and death upon all creation.
Believing earthly thoughts is the hell realm. Jesus came to separate light from dark… God is light and in him there is NO… DARKNESS… AT… ALL! None. Many of your “normal” thoughts come from hell. Because,
… Satan stand[s] at his right hand to accuse… but the accuser of [us all] has been thrown down…(Zechariah 3:1; Revelation 12:10)
Your thoughts are programmed by the fallen DNA of the devil: Fear, self-centeredness, anxiety, depression, disappointment, self-consciousness, revenge, anger, selfishness, distrust of God…
These thought-seeds make you think God isn’t good. They sound like this: Why didn’t God heal my friend? Why did God allow that hurricane? Why did God make me look weird? Why did God let them die? Why am I such a jerk? Why can’t…?
Thinking like this is like having tea with the devil. This is the language of hell. These are not God’s ideas. These questions limit God’s Goodness. They keep you in darkness. They keep you from shining!
There is a way that seems right to a person, but its way leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12)
Key 5:
SIN-CONSCIOUSNESS (THE LANGUAGE OF HELL… part 2)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
You want to have a good conscience. But you don’t want to be conscious of sin. These are two totally opposed concepts. How?
With God’s seed, his word of righteousness, you get a perfect PURE CONSCIENCE. He gives it to you so that you won’t have any sin-consciousness.
If you have sin-consciousness, you will not have a pure conscience to sit in his presence. You’ll separate yourself from God. You’ll feel muddy. You’ll feel bad. You’ll feel condemned. You’ll feel guilty. You’ll feel dark. You won’t see the light God put in your new self.
Those feelings are the language of hell. But love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, humility, generosity, light, confidence, mercy… is the language of heaven.
No more sin-consciousness. Adam’s sin gave you that. But Jesus gives you a pure conscience… which allows you to receive his love!
Examine yourselves to see that you are living in the faith. (St. Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians 13:5)
Since you are justified by faith [and not by law], you have peace with God… (St. Paul to the Romans 5:1)
The Law’s powerlessness to save humans from Adam’s seed, along with the growing consciousness of sin that it causes, enkindles a desire for the Holy Spirit. (CCC 708, paraphrased)