I Shall Fear NO Evil!

… I Shall Fear NO Evil!

No evil men

No evil spirits

No evil authorities

No evil speakings

No evil opinions

No evil rumors

No evil suspicions

No evil agreements

No evil conspiracies

No evil attacks

No evil plans

No evil circumstances

No evils at all

With no fear

I will not fret

With no fret

I will have faith

With faith

I will please God

New Covenant or Old?

     One of the ways that we can tell whether we are living in the New Covenant or the Old Covenant is by our response to our own sins.   If we are living in the Old Covenant, we are never really able to fully cleanse our consciences.  It is not possible for the blood of bulls or goats to do this.  Those sacrifices only served as yearly reminders of sins.  However, those living in the Old Covenant still had a way to continue on with their lives, a way to appease their conscience - they just needed a sacrifice and a scape-goat.  This is one way that we can recognize if we are living under the Old Covenant rather than the New.  How do we act when we become conscious that we have sinned, especially when that sin has hurt someone else?   Do we attempt to make a sacrifice and  look for a scape-goat?   Do we admit our sin while at the same time transferring the blame onto another brother, sister or circumstance?   Transferring the blame onto the scape-goat was never able to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper, it only soothed it for another year.   Many people that are struggling with their consciences over matters of sin are doing so because they do not approach the Father by the New and living way to receive cleansing through the blood of Christ.   Their confession is in accordance with the Law of God; they simply agree with the Law that they were guilty.   However, like the priest of the Old Covenant, their sacrifice is not complete without transferring their sin onto some other brother or sister to carry the blame away from being upon themselves alone.

        Those who live in the New Testament are believers whose consciences have been cleansed through faith in the blood of Jesus.  They have no need of scape-goats any more.  They never transfer the blame for their sin upon anyone else but their own weak faith or un-mortified flesh.  They know by faith that no temptation has ever taken them but what is common to all men, and that the Father has never allowed them to be tempted beyond what they have been able to bear.  Their confession is not simply an admission of guilt that agrees with the Law; they fully say the same as the Holy Spirit and no more; thus they receive both forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness.   With this New and purified conscience they don't need the scape-goat anymore.  

       One more thing about scape-goats.  With the increase of population these scape-goats don't disappear so easily into the wilderness any more.   It has been my own experience that despite my best efforts to isolate them to the remotest parts of my world,  I have often bumped into my own scape-goats over and over again.  

 

How long do we wait to forgive?

How long can we legitimately hold another person's sin against them?   We certainly can hold others accountable for their sin against us.  Read Matthew 18 and you will see that you can press the matter to the point where the entire church decides to dis-fellowship the person if they refuse to hear all appeals.

So how long should we practically hold another person's sin against them? 

I'm not absolutely sure, but here is a thought to consider towards forming a conclusion.

How long?  How about until you begin to pray?   That would seem long enough.

After all Jesus said, "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if anything you have against anyone, so that your Father, the one in heaven may forgive your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses."

So, I would say that all of us can hold sins against other people all the way up until we decide to pray.  Once we begin to pray, we should forgive.  

In this way we will be able to tell those among us who are praying without ceasing and those who have paused in order to be able to hold others sins against them for a while longer.