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Christian Biblical Church of God
Post Office Box 1442
Hollister, California 95024-1442
(831)-637-1875
Fred R. Coulter
Minister
March 13, 2008
Dear Brethren,
While in Scottsdale,
Arizona, for Sabbath
services on December
13, I talked with a
woman who wanted to
be baptized. Her
husband had been
baptized many years
ago. Since I was
returning home that
evening, I was
unable to baptize
her at that time.
After learning that
she and her husband
lived near Las
Vegas, Nevada, I
promised to make a
special trip in
February to baptize
her.
In preparing for the
trip I checked our
mailing list, and
was surprised to
find that there were
ten people near Las
Vegas who were
receiving our
materials. We
contacted each one
to inform them that
I was coming up and
that I would be
holding a Bible
Study. One
family that attended
the study had just
moved their home and
business to that
area because of
rising costs and
taxes in California.
I flew up to Las
Vegas on Wednesday,
February 27, and we
had a Bible Study
with eight in
attendance. The
whole day was very
inspiring. Later
that afternoon I
baptized the woman
I’d met in
Scottsdale in
December.
As in February, I
will be traveling a
great deal in March.
This past Sabbath,
March 8, I went to
Arcadia for Sabbath
services where we
had 45 in
attendance. The
morning study
concerning questions
about the
Passover—and in
particular the
differences between
the Passover
instructions of
Exodus 12 and those
of Deuteronomy 16.
In the afternoon, I
gave a sermon on the
sacrifice of Jesus
Christ as our
Passover Lamb—which
God the Father and
God the Son had
planned before the
foundation of the
world. We will
include both of
these studies in our
next mailing.
Later this month,
March 21-23, I will
be traveling to
Seattle and Spokane,
Washington.
Although we are a
month and a half
from the Passover
and Feast of
Unleavened Bread, I
will be bringing
some vital studies
on these subjects so
that we may all be
spiritually prepared
for the most
important day in the
history of the
universe—the day
Jesus the Christ
died.
As with last year,
right after the
Feast of Tabernacles
we began offering
Occult Holidays or
God’s Holy
Days—Which? on
our Web site. Then,
at the end of
January, we began
offering The Day
Jesus the Christ
Died. We have
had an excellent
response to both
offers and are able
to send the books
out at no cost to
those who request
them. So far, we’ve
mailed out over
2,000 Occult
Holidays
books and 1,200
copies of The Day
Jesus the Christ
Died. We
plan to continue the
ad for The Day
Jesus the Christ
Died through
Passover and
Unleavened Bread.
We are currently
having 7,000 copies
of The Day Jesus
the Christ Died
reprinted with all
the Old Testament
Scriptures updated
to conform to the
coming new Bible.
This is our 4th
printing, making a
total of 15,000
copies that we have
sent out in the past
four years. We
know that God is
blessing our
efforts. We are
reaching many
brethren and new
people all the time,
and receive between
35,000 to 40,000
visits each month to
our Web sites. God
promises: “Cast your
bread upon the
waters; for you
shall find it after
many days…. For as
the rain comes down,
and the snow from
the heavens, and
does not return
there, but waters
the earth, and makes
it bring forth and
bud, and gives seed
to the sower and
bread to the eater;
so shall My Word be,
which goes out of My
mouth; it shall not
return to Me void,
but it shall
accomplish what I
please, and it shall
certainly do what I
sent it to do”
(Eccl. 11:1; Isa.
55:10-11).
Also, we are nearly
out of the Occult
Holidays book.
But before we
reprint it we are
updating the OT
Scriptures and
adding a great deal
of new material
showing how the
occult is truly
sweeping the world,
under Satan’s
deception, to
prepare all nations
for the coming beast
and false prophet of
Revelation 13. At
the present time, we
are close to
or perhaps past
the tipping point
where the whole
world will be led
into the open
worship of Satan:
“[T]he ancient
serpent who is
called the Devil and
Satan, who is
deceiving the whole
world…. And they
worshiped the
dragon, who gave
his authority to
the beast. And
they worshiped the
beast, saying, ‘Who
is like the
beast? Who has the
power to make war
against him?’ And a
mouth speaking great
things and
blasphemies was
given to him; and
authority was given
to him to continue
for forty-two
months” (Rev. 12:9;
13:4-5).
Finally, to make the
updated version even
more complete, we
are adding a special
appendix,
“Understanding
Paul’s
Hard-to-Understand
Scriptures.” When
finished, we will
send everyone on the
mailing list a copy
of the new version.
The Bible
Project: By
now, the new Bible
has been printed,
and the first sample
copies should be on
their way to
Hollister. The
tentative schedule
is to have all
10,000 Bibles
finished by March
20, and then shipped
via container ship
to the port of
Oakland. (We
will have the Bibles
for Australia, New
Zealand and South
Africa sent directly
to them). The
Bibles should arrive
about four weeks
later, and we will
immediately begin
mailing them out
according to the
number ordered.
This means that you
should receive your
new Bible(s) by the
middle of May.
We have included in
this mailing two
booklets. The first,
Count to
Pentecost—the Morrow
After Which Sabbath?,
is most important
this year because
the Passover falls
on a weekly Sabbath.
This means that the
first holy day is on
the first day of the
week and the last
holy day is on the
weekly Sabbath.
Since there is no
weekly Sabbath
between the two holy
days, how is the
count for Pentecost
figured? This
booklet answers that
question. The second
booklet features
recipes for the
Feast of Unleavened
Bread.
What is the True
Meaning of Our
Liberty in Christ?
Vital to our study
of “Can a Man or
Woman be in Right
Standing with God?”,
we need to realize
that virtually none
of the Protestant
teachers or their
followers understand
the true meaning of
a true believer’s
“liberty in Christ
Jesus.” They falsely
assume that “liberty
in Christ” means
they do not have to
keep the laws and
commandments of God.
But most
specifically, they
apply this to
Sabbath and holy day
observance.
They often quote
what the apostle
Paul wrote in
Galatians 5:1. “Therefore,
stand fast in the
liberty
wherewith Christ has
made us free,
and do not be held
again in a yoke
of bondage.” Based on the “liberty” they claim to have in Christ, they assume they
are free to keep
Sunday, Christmas,
Easter and other
holidays of the
world—and that they
are not obligated to
observe the Sabbath
and holy days.
They assume that
because we are
under grace,
Christians do not
have to keep the
laws and
commandments of God.
They believe the
laws and
commandments of God
are the “yoke of
bondage” to which
Paul referred. In
other words,
“liberty in Christ”
is wrongly declared
to be “liberty” or
“freedom” from
law-keeping.
This confusion is
the result of not
understanding the
true Scriptural
meaning of
“justification” and
“grace.”
First, let us
understand what
justification is:
Justification is
freely granted to
the called and
repentant believer
by God the Father
through the
sacrifice of Jesus
Christ.
Justification takes
place when the
believer’s past sins
are removed by the
blood of Jesus
Christ and he or she
is put into right
standing with
God the Father.
In order to receive
God’s gift of
justification, a
person must repent
toward God, believe
in the sacrifice and
blood of Jesus
Christ for the
remission of sins,
and be baptized by
immersion. The
believer is then
cleansed from past
sins and is
without condemnation,
placing him or her
in right standing
with God the Father.
This state of
justification is
called the “gift of
righteousness,”
because the
righteousness of
Jesus Christ is
freely imputed to
the believer by God
the Father. The
English word
“justification”
comes from the Greek
word dikaioosis,
which means “the
action of God which
establishes right,
thus justification.”
Justification, then,
is the establishment
of a person as
“just” before God by
being acquitted from
the “guilt of sin.”
Justification comes
through the death
and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. If
Christ was not
raised from the
dead, we would all
still be in
our sins.
There would be no
forgiveness, nor
justification.
Paul made this clear
in his first epistle
to the Corinthians:
“Now then, if Christ
be preached, that He
rose from the dead,
how is it that some
among you are saying
that there is not a
resurrection of the
dead? But if
there is not a
resurrection from
the dead, neither
has Christ been
raised.
“And if Christ has
not been raised,
then our preaching
is without truth and
your faith is also
void. And we
are also found to
be false
witnesses for God;
because we have
testified of God
that He raised
Christ, Whom He did
not raise, if indeed
the dead are
not raised.
For if the dead are
not raised, neither
has Christ been
raised; now if
Christ has not been
raised, then your
faith is vain you
are still in your
sins.
“And those who have
fallen asleep in
Christ have
perished. If
in this life we only
have hope in Christ,
we are of all people
most miserable.
But now, Christ has
been raised from the
dead. He
became the
firstfruit of those
who have fallen
asleep” (I Cor.
15:12-20, AT).
But Christ was
raised from the dead
so that we may be
justified and put
into right
standing with
God the Father. Paul
also shows that
faith and
belief are
required as well for
God to impute
righteousness to us:
“And he [Abraham]
was fully persuaded
that what He had
promised, He is also
able to do. As a
result, it was
also imputed to him
for righteousness.
But it was not
written for his sake
alone, that it was
imputed to him;
rather, it was
also written
for our sake, to
whom it shall be
imputed—to those
who believe in Him
Who raised Jesus our
Lord from the dead,
Who was delivered
for our offenses,
and WAS RAISED FOR
OUR JUSTIFICATION”
(Rom. 4:21-25).
Once we have been
justified to God the
Father through the
death and
resurrection of
Jesus Christ—having
our sins forgiven by
faith in Jesus
Christ—we are under
the grace of God.
Let us understand
the true meaning of
“grace.”
Grace
as defined in the
New Testament comes
from the Greek word
charis, which
means “favor, grace,
gracious help or
care, goodwill, the
gracious intention
of God or gift; the
practical
application of
goodwill, a favor,
gracious deed or
benefaction, a store
of grace, a state of
grace, a deed of
grace and a work of
grace; to be
grateful, gratitude
or thanks.”
Moreover, grace
denotes the state
of the relationship
between God and the
believer through
Jesus Christ. When
Paul uses the word
“grace” as part of
an opening greeting
or closing
salutation, it is
used to confer
“divine grace” upon
the one who is
reading the epistle.
Grace is the free
and undeserved gift
of God the Father
through Jesus
Christ. The
grace of God is the
greatest expression
of God the Father’s
love and
all-encompassing
mercy. Grace is more
than the forgiveness
of sins. To be “under
grace” means to
continually
be receiving God’s
divine love, favor,
blessing, gracious
care, help,
goodwill, benefits,
gifts and goodness.
God the Father is
the source from
which grace comes to
the believer.
Furthermore, the
ONLY MEANS by which
grace is granted to
the believer is
through the birth,
life, crucifixion,
death and
resurrection of
Jesus Christ as the
perfect sacrifice of
God the Father.
The believer enters
into the grace of
God through faith in
the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of his
or her sins.
God the Father
grants His grace to
each believer upon
repentance of sins
and baptism by
immersion, which is
our covenant death
into Christ’s death
and is the outward
manifestation of our
repentance.
Through grace, the
believer’s sins are
forgiven and the
righteousness of
Jesus Christ is
imputed to him or
her.
Grace establishes a
new spiritual
relationship
between the believer
and God the Father
and Jesus Christ.
Through the unearned
and unmerited gift
of grace, the
believer is not only
called, chosen,
forgiven and
accepted by God the
Father through His
Beloved, but is also
begotten with the
Holy Spirit, making
him or her a child
of God and an heir
of eternal life.
From this point
forward, the
spiritually begotten
believer begins a
new life under
grace. As the
Scriptures reveal,
living under grace
requires the
believer to live
by every word of God
with complete love
and devotion to God
the Father and Jesus
Christ. Grace
does not grant one
license to practice
sin by ignoring or
rejecting the
commandments of God.
Only those who keep
His commandments can
abide in His love
and remain under His
grace. Every
believer who
receives the grace
of God has a
personal obligation
to God the Father
and Jesus Christ to
forsake his or her
old, sinful thoughts
and practices and to
live a new life,
daily growing in the
grace and knowledge
of Jesus Christ.
For every believer
who lives under
grace, Jesus Christ
acts as Redeemer,
High Priest and
Advocate. If the
believer commits a
sin, He intercedes
to propitiate the
Father and to obtain
His mercy and grace.
In his first
epistle, the apostle
John wrote about
this continuous
process of mercy and
grace that comes
through our
fellowship with God
the Father and Jesus
Christ, and by
practicing the truth
of God: “If
we proclaim that we
have fellowship with
Him, but we are
walking in the
darkness, we are
lying to ourselves,
and we are not
practicing the Truth.
However, if we walk
in the light, as He
is in the light,
then we have
fellowship with one
another, and the
blood of Jesus
Christ, His own Son,
cleanses us from all
sin. If we say
that we do not have
sin, we are
deceiving ourselves,
and the truth is not
in us. If we
confess our own sins
[to God the Father
through prayerful
repentance], He is
faithful and
righteous, to
forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us
from all
unrighteousness.
If we say that we
have not sinned, we
make Him a liar, and
His Word is not in
us. My little
children, I am
writing these things
to you so that you
may not sin. And
yet, if anyone
does sin, we have an
Advocate with the
Father; Jesus Christ
the
Righteous; and He is
the
propitiation
[a continuing source
of mercy and
forgiveness] for our
sins” (I John
1:6-2:2).
Thus, the grace of
God which comes
through Jesus Christ
keeps the repentant
believer in a
continual state of
blamelessness and
sinlessness.
As you can see,
grace does not give
anyone license, or
liberty, to sin.
Notice what Paul
wrote concerning
grace and sin. He
made it absolutely
clear that “grace”
is not license to
sin: “What then
shall we say?
Shall we continue
in sin, so that
grace may abound?
MAY IT NEVER BE!
We who died to sin,
how shall we live
any longer therein?”
(Rom. 6:1-2).
We can see that God
has not given us
liberty to live in
sin—to transgress
the laws and
commandments of God.
Rather, through
Jesus Christ we have
liberty or freedom
from sin—we
are free from
the curses and
penalties that come
from living in sin!
We most certainly do
not have liberty or
freedom to live in
lawlessness—as
does the world.
Consequently, when
we are free from
sin, we are to live
in righteousness—we
are to keep His
commandments and
walk as Jesus
Himself walked. John
makes this very
clear: “And
by this standard
we know that we know
Him: if we keep
His commandments.
The one who says, ‘I
know Him,’ and does
not keep His
commandments, is a
liar, and the truth
is not in him. On
the other hand,
if
anyone is keeping
His Word, truly in
this one the love of
God is being
perfected.
By this means
we know that we are
in Him.
Anyone who claims to
dwell in Him is
obligating himself
also to walk even as
He Himself walked”
( I John 2:4-6).
The truth is that
law is
established
through faith and
grace. Faith
and grace are not
“at odds” with law,
and do not abolished
law: “Are we,
then, abolishing law
through faith?
MAY IT NEVER BE!
Rather, we are
establishing law
[or making the law
to stand]!” (Rom.
3:31).
Why and how is law
being established by
faith through
justification, and
grace through faith
in Christ Jesus?
Under the New
Covenant, the laws
and commandments of
God are being
written into our
hearts and minds.
“For by one offering
[the sacrifice of
Himself] He has
obtained eternal
perfection for
those who are
sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit
is also bearing
witness to us; for
after He had
previously said,
‘This is the
covenant that I will
covenant with them
after those days,
says the Lord: I
will give My laws
into their hearts,
and I will inscribe
them in their minds;
and their sins and
lawlessness I will
not remember ever
again’ ” (Heb.
10:14-17).
As a result, through
faith, the true
believer stands in
the grace of God
through the
justification which
was achieved by the
resurrection of
Jesus Christ:
“Therefore,
having been
justified by faith
[in the death and
resurrection of
Jesus Christ], we
have peace with God
through our Lord
Jesus Christ;
through Whom also we
now have the access
by faith into this
grace in which we
stand, and we
ourselves boast in
the hope of
the glory of God.
And not only this,
but now we also
boast in
tribulations;
realizing that
tribulation brings
forth endurance, and
the endurance
brings forth
character, and the
character brings
forth hope.
Now the hope of
God never makes
us ashamed, because
the love of God
has been poured out
into our own hearts
through the Holy
Spirit which has
been given to us”
(Rom. 5:1-5).
Then the gift of
righteousness is
imputed to us.
God the Father
imputes this gift of
righteousness,
the very
righteousness of
Jesus Christ, so
that we may keep His
commandments by the
power of the Holy
Spirit. We are
no longer under the
sentence of death,
caused by our sins
and transgressions,
and we have been
raised into a new
way of life in
Christ Jesus to live
in righteousness,
which leads to
eternal life: “For
if by the offense of
one man death
reigned by the one,
how much more
shall those who
receive the
abundance of grace
and the gift of
righteousness shall
reign in life by the
one, Jesus Christ”
(Rom. 5:17).
We are then standing
in “the liberty of
Jesus Christ.” It is
liberty to live
in righteousness—not
liberty to continue
to live in sin.
The New Covenant
establishes this
spiritual
relationship between
the believer and God
the Father and Jesus
Christ. Each year
when we observe the
Passover ceremony on
the night of the
14th day of Nisan,
we renew this
covenant of eternal
life. All who have
been baptized and
have the Holy Spirit
of God are to
partake of the
Passover.
Jesus Christ made it
absolutely clear
that by His flesh
and His blood, and
by partaking of the
symbols of the
unleavened bread and
wine, we have
eternal life through
Him: “Therefore
Jesus said to them,
‘Truly, truly I say
to you, unless
you eat the flesh of
the Son of man and
drink His blood, you
do not have life in
yourselves.
The one who eats My
flesh and drinks My
blood has life
eternal, and I
will raise him up in
the last day; for My
flesh is truly food
and My blood is
truly drink. The one
who eats My flesh
and drinks My blood,
is dwelling in Me
and I in him.
As the living
Father has sent Me
and I live by the
Father, the one who
eats Me, even he
shall also live by
Me” (John
6:53-57).
Brethren, as we
examine ourselves
and prepare for the
coming Passover, we
need keep these
things in mind.
With a full and
correct
understanding of our
liberty in Christ
Jesus, let us
rededicate ourselves
to draw close to God
and live in His love.
Once again, thank
you for reaching out
to other brethren
and new people who
are interested.
We can provide you
with whatever
materials you need
to give to them. We
also realize that we
are entering some
very difficult
economic times—and
we pray for you
daily. Therefore, we
truly appreciate
your continuing
support in your
tithes and
offerings. In
spite of any
adversity we may
face, we all need to
claim the promises
of God that He will
provide sufficiently
in all things.
May God’s love,
grace and blessings
be upon you and
everything you do.
With love in Christ Jesus,
Fred R. Coulter
FRC
Supplement::The
430 Years of Galatians 3:17 &
Exodus 12:40 by Carl
Franklin
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