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Off With The Old, On With The New — 12 Comments

  1. at one time when i was in my teen's I left my old boyfriend for some one else but did not want to give up his car he told me I cannot keep his gift if I don't want him I had to make a choice which one I want and so it is with Christ you can't keep Satan's gift and want to accept Jesus gift.

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  2. I am puzzled by the fact that in our church the deaconesses have to wear all white and hat at communion or when they are on duty. There are other women who join them. They look down on the ones that are not like them including my wife. I believe they are using their righteousness to show off instead of God's righteousness not to say that they look like a bunch of nuns. My daughter asked me why women can't be servers when giving out the bread and the wine?

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  3. That is very true, it is amazing that we are Christians but we are still wearing Satan's garment we only pull God's garment when we need it but for Satan's we wear it full time

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  4. Hi Emil, I've been in the church over 35 years and have never seen a deaconess wear white as part of the deaconess dress code.

    It might be a cultural custom in some places but definetely not in Australia.

    God Bless.

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  5. William your quote from desire of ages may leave the impression that it is up to us to make the right choices of our own ability and determination.
    Isaiah 61:10 says "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord" Why? One reason is,"For He has clothed me with garments of salvation". "He has covered me with the robe of rightousness". Reason. "Our rightousness is as filthy rags". Secondly Ellen White in Steps to Christ pgs.25-27 and beyond says, we are totally incapable of repentance on our own. She says the same in, "A New Life", page 20. Also in, "That I may know Him" page 109. Our part is to ask for repentance. To me this is the most comforting thought, that we like Paul in Romans 7 do not have to fight the battle on our own. Jesus is not willing to allow that. 2Peter 3:9 He is not willing that any should parish but that all should come to repentance. One would have to make a conscious effort to be lost. A refusal to believe or trust in God.

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    • William I guess what caught my eye was what appeared to be a need or a change that we have to accomplish in order to have the robe of Christ righteousness put on us. I believe that the references that I mentioned, say that those changes are gifts from Jesus through, or by way of, the Holy Spirit. Our sinful nature makes it impossible to accomplish the changes that need to be made on our own. We may have a formula and a check list but that is not likely to produce a satisfactory outcome.

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  6. Perhaps I should have said something before this except that I do agree with William, we need to change which is something I think is very well supported in scripture. The question, however, is what is being exchanged in Zech 3?

    A serious look at the text in question reveals a two step process. First is the removal, “I have removed your iniquity from you” (Zec 3:4 NKJV) then the second is the charge “If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command . . .” (Zec 3:7 NKJV). That is the same formula Jesus used with the woman caught in adultery. First “Neither do I condemn you” and then second, “go and sin no more” (Jn 8:11 NKJV). It is the same as saying, “I have justified you and set you aside as a child of God, now you must improve through sanctification by the Spirit.”

    The word “iniquity” is to me a strange word that is translated a number of ways but generally it means, “perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity” which is a sort of parallel to sin or wrong doing. For instance Isaiah recounts one of his visions, “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged’" (Isa 6:6-7 NKJV). This is the same language used in Zechariah only Zechariah uses clothing instead.

    To me then what is being said in Zechariah is about the same as what John the Baptist testified of Christ, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29 NKJV). It is the condemnation of sin that is being removed and in its place a clean slate where no sins can be seen. Or to put it another way, the exchange is Christ’s perfect righteousness in place of our total unrighteousness. That is one of the things the cross did for us, He took our sin that we might have His righteousness. It is the language of justification, the free gift of God.

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  7. This reminds me of what I read in Christ's Object Lessons, page 316 (in the chapter on the wedding feast parable): "The righteousness of Christ will not cover one cherished sin. A man may be a law-breaker in heart; yet if he commits no outward act of transgression, he may be regarded by the world as possessing great integrity. But God's law looks into the secrets of the heart. Every act is judged by the motives that prompt it. Only that which is in accord with the principles of God's law will stand in the judgment."

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