1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.”
If Jesus literally became sin, then his death would seem to have been Just. This goes against all of basic Christian theology. His death would have been deserved!  
Sin is committed by a individual by personal choice. A person cannot be "sinful" by the act of another (Ezek. 18:20)
1 Peter 1:18-19 (NIV). Peter uses the words, "with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect".
Jesus bore our sins in his body as a sacrificial substitute for us. The term sin offering is used numerous times in the OT. In the Hebrew bible this term is simply translated as sin. Jesus became the sin offering for us. This is the sacrificial system in the Old Testament where the Lamb was offered as a substitute to atone for our sins. The Lamb did not bear our sins itself (It was symbolic), but the shed blood of the lamb was offered as a sacrifice for atonement. The Priest laid his hands on the lamb to impute (PUT) our sins onto the lamb (symbolically) and by the shed blood of the lamb, the righteousness of Christ was imputed (CREDITED) to us.
Hebrews 9:26 “He hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” 

Hebrews 9:28 “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” (Sin offering)
1 John 3:5 “He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.”
This says that even though he took away our sins by way of his blood sacrifice for us, there was in Himself no sin. The sacrifice under the law had to be perfect, without spot or blemish, and of course he is God!
Psalms 22:1. My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me. Just before Jesus died Jesus is pointed to the scriptures to validate his mission. Psalms 22 was written a 1000 years before Jesus was crucified, before crucifixion was even practiced. Later in the chapter, we see a very detailed image of what Jesus would endure. He suffered horrifically and he still used scripture to show us his fulfilled mission. 

Sent from my iPad

"Therefore, being surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, and so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3)

I thought I would share some things that we can learn from this verse. We have all read this countless of times but do we really understand the lesson the Hebrews writer wanted to present. 

Something that is becoming more and more apparent about today's church - today's Christian - is that we are great sprinters, but we are lousy marathoners. Those of you who have watched the movie fast and the furious, our lives are becoming just that. We do no pace ourselves. It is amazing how quickly our enthusiasm leaves us. It is astonishing how fast we grow tired of things. It is astounding how quickly we grow weary of our ministries.

 There is only one race that God has marked out for us - holiness. All through scripture God has always taught us to be Holy as he is Holy. The writer of Hebrews compares our Christian life as that of a marathon. This is not a sprint. 

The bible is full of examples of godly men and women who persevered.  "We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses". Consider Joseph who was sold by his brothers into slavery and waited for God's will in his life to work itself out. or the apostles who persevered. The apostle Paul put it bluntly when he said "follow my example". 1 Corinthians 11:1. This cloud of witnesses who have completed the race are examples that all shout out with us "keep running you can make it". 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, who could have sprinted his way back to Heaven, but his life was far more than a quick fix for our lives. Why do we feel that we should be able to pray ourselves into a life of comfort,wealth,and health?  

So what causes us to loose focus. The writer says to throw of everything that hinders us.  The hinderances he is talking about may not just be sinful things. There may be a relationship, a hobby, a type of music, a type of literature, a form of entertainment, an activity, a habit, that in and of itself is not immoral, but is clearly a hindrance to running the race marked out for God's people. We must "throw off" such things!  The marathoner the writer compares us to stripped down or got naked to run the race. 

What sin entangles us. The sin here in this verse is central in all of us. It's the sin, that entangles all of us. We all struggle with this sin. It's the sin of wanting to run the race the way we want to run it.  Not yielding to what God wants us to do. We want things done fast furious and as easily as possible so we can get back to sitting on our couch. We want to gain the pleasures of the world, and not make the sacrifice.  We want to loose weight, but not work to make that happen. 

 "What does a man profit if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" We are talking about being marathoners in holiness. Is there anything more important than this?!

So when can we stop running this race?  When God says so!  

Did you know that there is only one place in the New Testament where Jesus is revealed standing in the heavenly realm. Every place but this one, He is described as "seated at the right hand of the Father". But, in this one place He is standing. The occasion is Stephen's stoning recorded in the book of Acts; "Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55). Its as if Jesus stood to catch Stephen, hug him and say, "Stephen, you can stop running now. You've finished the race. Victoriously!"

Good marathoners fix their eyes on the finish line and don't stop running until they reach it. Therefore, let us learn from the witnesses, throw off everything that hinders, be done with the sin that so easily entangles, fix our eyes on Jesus (the finish line), and run until He stands to catch us and says, "Okay, stop running now; You've finished the race. Enter into my rest."

Sent from my iPad

The New Testament does not condemn the use of medicine. We are correct when we say we should pray for healing. This is our God given strength and power that is available to us by the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. I also strongly believe we are not to test The Lord our God. Let me explain. We do not limit God with his sovereign right to heal or not to heal by taking medicine. If we neglect our bodies we can reasonably expect sickness.  God has given us minds to use and by giving God all the glory, we should do everything in our capacity to work on our health. Having said this, It is very important to understand that all this is only a benefit if God in his infinite wisdom agrees with us. How do we agree with him?  By fervent Prayer!  Allowing God to work in our lives, and giving him all the glory. If we stand in front of a bus, we will get run over.........laws of consequence. Taking bad advise by a doctor can cause adverse consequences. Consider what happened after Jesus' deciples saw the transfiguration.  Later when they went down from the mountain the other deciples couldn't figure out why they were not able to remove a evil spirit from a boy. Jesus scolded them and told them that "this kind can only come out by prayer". His followers perhaps started taking their power for granted. Jesus had to remind them that it was still Jesus doing the healing.

I want to share Five examples from the New Testament where I feel medicine is approved. Firstly, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." (Matthew 9:12) A physician is a man trained in the science and study of diseases and the ways to treat or cure them.  Why would Jesus use this example, when he was opposed to medicine?  Secondly, "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  Jesus told this parable in Luke chapter 10. Why did Jesus use this story about a man taking care of a person using "medicine" to illustrate a point?  Thirdly, There is also the instance of what Jesus did to restore sight to a man who was born blind. Christ could just utter a word and the sick person would be healed instantly but on this occasion, what did he do?  He used dirt and mixed it with his spit and applied it to the man's eyes. Then told him to go wash in the pool. John chapter 9. Fourthly Luke was a physician according to Colossians 4:14. And then lastly when Timothy had stomach trouble, Paul tells him not to be content with prayer alone, but to take some wine for his stomach. 1 Timothy 5:23.

In all these cases Jesus could have taught us to simply pray and be healed, but he did not. God wants us to Pray for healing and do what we can with our God given gifts.

So what I am about to share may offend some of you or cause some of you to even dislike me.  I have decided to lay it out here for the benefit of a few who might through their blindness figure out that it may not be too late.  I have noticed by being on facebook for a while that there are those who think it is no big deal to beat their wives!  What kind of man are you?  Those of you that put sports, alcohol, and sex above your wife.  Some of you have not felt the touch of your wife in years, but indulge in partying with a picture, or lusting after women your not man enough to keep, or hang on to. Money will not keep her, and flowers stink from a source whose mind is in the gutter.  What kind of man are you, you who would rather wait for his wife to become more like him, than realize she is a gift from God and it is he who needs to change. What kind of woman will stay with a man whose favorite pastime is self worship.  What kind of women can look at your Facebook account and with pride say, this is my husband!  Let me fill you in. It was a privilege for you for your wife to say "I Do".  And you the one dating your girlfriend, who made you God?  You're nothing!  How dare you degrade a woman with your disgusting actions at so called "socials".  Getting drunk and being a star at your own party!  Shame on you!  What gives you the right to sleep with her, when your not even married?

         Before you respond in your own selfish little world you live in, let me say a few more words.  It might not be too late. Not that you deserve a second chance, but get this straight!  Your wife,girlfriend or any thing else you call her, deserves your Love.  Stop living for yourself and start living for her!  She wants you, not your Castle you can build.  She wants someone who places her above any thing else. Give up your own selfish desires!  And if your fortunate enough to live another day, she might just stay!  And You, yes you who thinks your man enough to sleep with her and she's not even yours, if you want her then move out!  Maybe she will find some hint of a man from how he lives, not who he wants her to be.

    Before you go on crying about how bad I am, and what right I have to post this, listen to this!  The same right you have showing yourself as the real person you are and the women you beat.

Sent from my iPad

Who are You?

Therefore let us encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13). Struggling with our sinful nature can be overwhelming unless we understand where the true source comes from. How do we “live by the Spirit”, and not just according to our emotions? Many Christians mistake the work of the Holy Spirit as works of the Flesh (good works), coming from the soul. Others mistake conviction of sin as coming from the Holy Spirit and do not recognize the work of Satan in our lives (condemnation). It is important we understand that we are made up of three parts, Body Soul and Spirit. Our body contains the soul, and the Spirit. Our Body will eventually die. Our Soul contains our emotions, such as when we are happy or sad. Much of our pleasure and or feelings that we feel every day, come from the soul. It is from within the soul that we make decisions to either live by the flesh, or live by the Spirit. Living by the Flesh is a selfish way of life that looks to us for fulfillment in life. Out of the Flesh come all kinds of Sin. 1 John 2:16. This is our Sinful Nature. Alternately we can live by the Spirit, as in Galatians 5:16, so I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. As new creations we are meant to live from the core of our being, (our human spirit), where the Holy Spirit dwells. If we choose to set our minds on how God views us, as Righteous, then this will always bring the result of good works. We will be known as Christians by the fruits we produce (fruits of the spirit). If we allow our soul to choose the way of the Flesh, then we are acting like someone we are not. The Holy Spirit will convince us of our Righteousness, and show us who we really are. Discerning the difference between spirit and soul is important so we can better understand our standing with Christ. Our inner spirit remains Righteous in spite of our shortcomings. Remember that we are one with Christ and safely hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3) in this state it is possible to still “Grow” and remain Righteous in Christ. (2Cor 5:21, Hebrews 10:4) and we are seated in Heaven (Eph. 2:6) so whether are soul is reflecting the flesh or reflecting the spirit, we are right with God in Spirit.

What are you waiting for

Sadly most people live like the one who sees nothing. Many of us start our day wondering why we are doing what we are doing.  Where has our time gone.  I am almost 50!  What will happen to me as I age?  And then I see the bumper sticker that says, "Eternity.....Will that be Smoking or Non Smoking.  When we are challenged to this extent, there is a immediate response needed.  We will need to make a choice.  Will it be Door number 1,2,or 3.   We can choose Jesus and Faith,  we can ignore everything and leave it to fate, or we can join satan's demons and resist God.  Most people fall into the "we will just ignore and hope this goes away".  Please do not make this mistake.

Forgive

For most people forgiveness is something we do when the person who has offended no longer is in your company.  Why is it so easy to be angry at someone and so hard to forgive someone?  This morning I look at Jesus who gave us the perfect example of how to forgive.  Jesus was crucified and he had every reason to just think of himself.  I don't deserve this!  This is not my fault! I will get even!  I will forgive, but get out of my face!  You see when he suffered on the cross he could have, and with good reason kept to himself and deal with his misery.  Then as if his time was not worth anything, two others beside him start talking to and about him.  Who knows how much they said, but can't you just imagine them arguing about who Jesus was?  Here Jesus is suffering and these criminals suffering with him, debate about who Jesus is.  Every part of ME would scream out, "Leave me alone".  Why is it so hard  to forgive others who get dirt on our "clean floors".  If this is you and I know this is me, turn to Jesus.  For he not only asked God to "forgive them", the ones who nailed him to the cross, but also forgave the man who asked Jesus to remember him. He took the time from his suffering to look on another who deserved death and forgave him.  "Today you will be with me in paradise".  Brothers and Sisters let us always remember what Jesus did for us today!
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32