UNLEAVENED BREAD – SABBATH

Fred R. Coulter - April 10, 2004

And greetings, brethren. During this Feast of Unleavened Bread, 2004, we need to ask the question, how do you stand - and I put it in “you” rather than “we,” because it applies to each individual directly. So we could use “we” or “you”. But how do we stand before God? How does God look at us? How does God deal with us? What is He doing with us? What is the process of conversion, and overcoming, and all the things that are pictured by the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

First of all, let’s look and see how God views the world. Let’s come to Romans 3. And I’m going to be using the new translation all the way through. So let’s come to Romans 3. And, oh, by the way, remember, the order of the books is different than your old King James. So you’re going to have to get used to having the general epistles before the book of Romans. So let’s come to Romans 3, and let’s pick it up in verse 9 (FV). “What then? Are we of ourselves better?” That is - and he is talking about Jews verses Gentiles. Paul says, “..Not at all! For we have already charged both Jews and Gentiles—ALL—with being under sin,…” And that’s a problem and difficulty with the world. And that’s a problem and difficulty with human beings. Because as we saw last time, we all have the law of sin and death in us, and we have to fight over sin, we have to overcome sin. But we cannot do it without the Spirit of God. And that’s the key - with the Spirit of God we can.

But here in the world, verse 10, it says, “…Exactly as it is written: ‘For there is not a righteous one—not even one! There is not one who understands; there is not one who seeks after God. They have all gone and out...’ ” (vs. 10-12,FV). Now he is talking about Jews and Gentiles, both. And we see that in the world today. Now with this thing with “The Passion of The Christ” by Mel Gibson, it’s going to rip apart the cloak of deceit that Judaism has cast upon Jesus. And they’re going to have to, as well as every other human being, have to understand that what I am reading here, in the way that human beings are, is what killed Christ.

Now verse 12, “ ‘They have all gone out of the way [that means out of the way of God];…[therefore] they have all become depraved’ ” And that’s the ultimate end of living in sin and lawlessness, as we have seen with the homosexual marriages in San Francisco and elsewhere. “ ‘There is not even one who is practicing kindness. No, there is not so much as one! Their throats are like an open grave; with their tongues they have used deceit; the venom of asps is under their lips, whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known.’ ” And we can add in there too, the insanity of radical Islam. It creates insane, unmerciful, hateful killers. “ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes’ ” (vs. 12-18, FV).

Now verse 19 (FV), “Now then, we know that whatever the law says,...” Because the law is what’s going to judge us. Every human being in the world is being judged constantly by the laws of God. Now God has given freedom, so you can go choose and do what you want. But know this, you are being judged by what you do all the time. And you suffer the blessing - or suffer the cursing, rather, for doing evil, and you can reap the blessings for doing good. However, in setting before all humankind life and death, good and evil, blessing and cursing, He commands us all to choose. And so this is what the world has chosen, you see. And the reason God can do that is because He has His laws which are always active. Just like the law of gravity. They are spiritual laws, there are spiritual and physical penalties for breaking them. It says, “...to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” So that’s the position we find ourselves when God begins to call us and deal with us. When God begins to open our eyes and understand what we are like and what human nature is, and bring us to repentance so we can understand about Christ.

Now let’s come down here to verse 23 (FV). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;…” So now what do we do? We’re all sinners like this, aren’t we? Now the only way out is through Christ. No other religion, no other way. And it has to be the true Christ. Because there are false Christ’s, and there are false brethren; there are false ministers. And that is the majority. As Jesus said, “Narrow is the gate and straight is the way that leads to life. But broad is the way and wide is the gate that leads to death” (Matthew 7:13-14, paraphrased). That’s where the world is going. And we see it especially now in the end time as these events are coming upon us with great fury.

Now then, what is the solution? Man can’t save himself. It’s an impossibility. Man cannot do what is right. He can do some things that are right, but what ends up happening? Much of the good that human beings try to do turns out to be evil because they don’t understand the way of God. And because that is so, God has offered repentance, if people will but repent and seek God. And if not that, then judgment will be executed upon them. So let’s read the solution, verse 24 (FV), “…But are being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;...” That is the only way. Christ died for all our sins. “Whom God has openly manifested to be a propitiation through faith in His blood,...” Now we’re going to see some of the conditions that God has given in order for that to be applied to our lives.

Continuing, “...in order to demonstrate His righteousness in respect to the remission of sins that are past” (vs. 25, FV). Now, God is willing to forgive. God is willing to put the sins aside, provided there is repentance. And remember what Jesus said when He talked to His generation. He said that if He would have preached what He is preaching and Sodom and Gomorrah, “...they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes, and they would have remained unto this day” (Matthew 11:23, paraphrased). So you see, a lot of people who would think that they are good and have substituted their religious ways instead of following the Word of God - which is symbolized by eating the unleavened bread, living by every Word of God - they have a worse sin because they think they are righteous. So you see, the truth is we need to understand this: we can only come to God on His terms. We can only overcome sin with the Word of God, the sacrifice of Christ, the Holy Spirit of God. It can’t be overcome any other way.

Now verse 26 (FV), “…Through the forbearance of God; yes, to publicly declare His righteousness in the present time, that He might be just, and the one Who justifies the one who is of the faith of Jesus.” Now, what is the end result of that, as we covered on the first day of Unleavened Bread? Verse 31 (FV), “Are we, then, abolishing law through faith? MAY IT NEVER BE! Rather, we are establishing law.” See, the truth is this: if you repent of your sins - which means turning from the way of sin, and going to the way of life - then you have to stop disobeying and you have to begin obeying. See, because God is not going to justify anyone who repents and continues in sin, because that repentance is the repentance of the world. That is the sorrow of the world. That doesn’t lead to true godliness, you see, because you have to believe God in order to receive that justification. You have to believe that Jesus Christ was crucified for you, and you have to believe that your sins crucified Christ.

Since we’re here in Romans, let’s come to Romans 4 and let’s pick it up here in verse 21. This is what we have to be before God. This is our attitude. This is how our lives have to be changed. Talking about Abraham and his faith, “For he was fully persuaded that what He has promised, He is also able to do.” Now not only in causing Isaac to be conceived and born, but in everything in his entire life. You believe God, that what He has said He is able to do. So the situation is this too: if you believe that God is able to forgive your sins through the sacrifice of Christ, you have to be fully persuaded. And you have to live that way, you see. Verse 22, “As a result, it was also imputed to him for righteousness” (Rom. 4:21-22, FV). And as we saw, God gives, imputes to you the gift of righteousness, which is fantastic. Because we stand before God, righteous. Not because of our righteousness, but because of the righteousness of Christ and the sacrifice of Christ. Yes, we are to keep the commandments of God and walk in His ways, as we will see. Because you cannot continue to stand in the grace of God if you live a sinful, lawless life.

Now notice, “But it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; rather, it was also written for our sakes, 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 [through the crucifixion] and was raised [by the resurrection] for our justification” (vs. 23-25, FV). Now the long and short of everything that I have talked about here is this: when you are justified you are put in right standing with God, right standing with God through Christ. He imputes to you the righteousness of Jesus Christ to inspire you to love Him, to grow, to overcome, to keep His commandments, and to walk in His ways. He doesn’t impute the righteousness of Jesus to you so you can continue living a life of sin. It will never be imputed.

Now let’s come to chapter 5 and see what Paul is also writing. This is very important, so that we understand: how do we stand before God? And I know everyone of us are convicted of sin when we sin, because we still sin. But you see, He was raised for our justification. Now we will cover all of the various aspects of this as we go along. “Therefore, having been justified by faith,...” (Rom. 5:1, FV), because you believe. You believe in the sacrifice of Christ; you believe that His sacrifice paid for all of your sins; you believe that God is able to save you; you believe that God’s way is right; you believe that His commandments are true and ought to be obeyed and kept; you believe that you ought to live by every word of God. All of those have to do with belief. That’s by faith. You are justified by faith. And we will see it is also the faith of Christ of what He did so that He could provide this for you.

Now because of that, “...we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now how do we stand before God? In peace. How do we stand before God? In righteousness. How do we stand before God? Blameless. That’s the whole meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now verse 2 (FV), “Through Whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand,...” Now, for doing this video, we have some umbrella reflectors that bring the light and put the light in the right place. Now, consider that the grace of God is like a great umbrella that you are standing under, from which comes the love of God, the forgiveness, the peace, the belief, every spiritual aspect; and as we will see, the fruits of the Spirit. And you are “standing in this grace” means that, as we saw on the first day of Unleavened Bread, that when and if you sin and you repent, your sins are forgiven. Because it is a continuous propitiation, which means a continual source of forgiveness and atonement, provided that you are repenting and yielding to God, desiring to walk in His way, having His laws written into your heart and your mind. And so it’s an overcoming process. You stand in this grace.

So, “...we ourselves boast in the hope of the glory of God.” Not of what we do, but of what God does. “And not only this, but now we also boast in tribulations,...” Because, as we will cover on the last day of Unleavened Bread, there are going to be trials. There will be difficulties that will arise. “...Realizing that tribulation brings forth endurance,...” So all of this is the process of God. And remember what it says, “The one who endures to the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13, paraphrased). So this produces the endurance. “…And endurance brings forth character,…” And that’s what God wants us to have - the very character of God, called godliness. And we will see about this a little bit later. “...And character brings forth hope.” So you see, it’s one whole package altogether. “…And the hope of God never makes us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us” (vs. 3-5, FV). And we’re going to focus in on this, the love of God being poured into our hearts, and how this is to change us, and convert us, and draw us to God continually.

So then he rehearses that there was a time we were without strength, and Christ died for the ungodly, and so forth. Now verse 10, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His own Son, much more then, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Because He is our High Priest at the right hand of God, where we can go boldly before the throne of God to receive grace in time of help and need, and so forth. Verse 11, “And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have now received the reconciliation” (vs. 10-11, FV). And so because of this, God does not want us to go around feeling guilty, accusing Him, or…how shall we say? In accusing God, what do I mean by that? By blaming God for your difficulties. Now don’t ever blame God for your difficulties. He’s trying to save you from them. So you always take it before God, and pray about it, ask for His help, ask for His Spirit, forgiveness, strength, understanding, and all of these things so you can grow and overcome.

Now let’s come to Galatians 2, and let’s see, not only is it the love of God that gives us the empowerment through His Holy Spirit, but we also see that what Christ did was because He loved us. Galatians 2:20 (FV). Now concerning our former self, concerning the old self, as we covered on the first holy day, you are to put out all the sins that you have there. And Galatians 2:20 tells us what this is like. We have been crucified with Christ. And that is through the operation of baptism. You have been co-joined into His death. Meaning that, as Christ was crucified and was beaten as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world, His sacrifice individually applies to you when you’re baptized. Crucified with Christ – that’s how that is done. “...Yet I live.” See, we are brought out of the watery grave. We live, even though the old man died. “Indeed, it is no longer I,...” Now our life is different. It’s not “I, me, and mine.” It is “Yes Lord, Yes Father.” It is “Your way, Your Truth, Your Spirit, Your love.” “...But Christ lives in me.” Now that’s how you stand before God. That’s how God is able to impute the righteousness of Christ to you. That is how God is able to give to you the righteousness which comes through the sacrifice of Christ, because Christ lives in you. That’s what it is with the Spirit of God. “For the life that I am now living in the flesh, I live by faith—that very faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

In other words...let’s ask this question: did Christ have faith when He was on earth? Of course. Did He have faith before He even came to the earth? Yes - faith that the plan of God was going to work the way that God wanted it to work. didn’t He? Yes. With the power of God’s Spirit in you, you receive the very faith of Jesus Christ. And that’s what it means to be unleavened and receive the Spirit of God. As we will see, not only the faith of God, but the love of God and all the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The very faith of the Son of God. Now it was His faith in going to the cross, enduring the shame and everything that we have seen concerning it, to save us, to save you, to put us and each one in right standing with God.

So how do you stand before God? Well, as we have seen, you stand as Christ stands. Now what should this mean for us, and what should we do? Let’s come here to John 15, and let’s see what Jesus said we are to do. And this is the goal. Now we don’t start out this way, but this is how we are to act and finish. Because what we are going to see today is that the ultimate love of God is the goal for which we are headed. Now let’s come here to John 15, and let’s pick it up in verse 9 (FV). Now let’s notice these words. “As the Father has loved Me,...” Now They had perfect love, correct? “...I also have loved you;...” Now you have to understand, Christ loves you. Do you feel loved by God? Well, you need to, through the power of God’s Spirit, His mercy and kindness, and goodness to you. Then He says, “...Live in My love.” That’s how we are to live. So as I have said before, we are to walk in faith, hope in hope - believe in hope, rather - and live in love. So here it is right here, to “... live in My love.”

Now notice, “If you keep My commandments, you shall live in My love;...” So the contrary is, if you don’t keep His commandments, you’re not living in His love. Because you see, if you love God the Father and Jesus Christ, you’re going to do what They say. That’s true love. That is believing love. That is faithful love. Now notice, “...just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and live in His love.” See, that’s the whole goal. This is the way to eternal life, through Christ. “These things I have spoken to you, in order that My joy may dwell in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you” (vs. 10-12, FV). And so in turn, then, this love is not to be just consumed on ourselves, but this is to give us the love and the connection with Christ and God the Father so we can love each other. And of course, that is a task that is always necessary. And God has called us from such a diverse background and things, that there we’re not - how shall we say? All the brethren that we come in contact with are probably not those that we would personally select as our friends. But they are the ones that God has personally selected to be our friends and our brothers and our sisters. So therefore, we are to love each other as Christ has loved us.

“No one has greater love than this: that one lay down his life for his friends” (vs. 13, FV). And that’s what Christ did. So how do you stand before God? In faith, in love, and as a friend. Think of that. That’s how you stand before God. So that’s why He doesn’t want us to have guilty consciences and things like this.

Now let’s come to 1 John 2, and let’s see how, then, we are to live in this world. Now remember, that’s before Romans. 1 John 2...now since God has called us out of the world, we are not to be part of the world. We have to live in the world. Remember Jesus on the Passover night said, “Father, I pray for these who are in the world. I pray not that You should take them out of the world, but that You should protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15, paraphrased). Now what is our response to the world, spiritually? 1 John 2:15 (FV), “Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him...” See, because what God has done to call you, to give you His Spirit, to love you, and to do these things through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then we have to be completely belonging to God. And I think one of the biggest things that we have…problem in the church today, is too many people are playing “straddle-religion.” Now what do I mean by that? They have one foot in the world and one foot in the church, and they’re sort of straddling between the two. Or as Glenn Daniel said one time, they have just enough religion, just enough religion so they feel comfortable, and just enough religion so if things go wrong they can run to God and seek His help. Well don’t be a “straddle-religionist.” Don’t have one foot in the world. Because everything in the world is going to be destroyed.

And what we have to understand is this: anything that is in the world, any physical thing that is there, unless you have the Spirit of God and use the things and live by the word of God, all the physical things end up in destruction anyway. Look at the movie, “The Passion” by Mel Gibson. Now he said, “Look,…” when they asked him, “Why did you do it?” He said, “Well, I had money, I had fame, I had fortune, I had success, and I was empty.” That’s exactly what it is talking about. Love not the world. The verse 16 (FV), “…Because everything that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pretentious pride of physical life—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world and its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever” (vs. 16-17, FV). So this is the - how shall we say? - the charter on how we are to live and walk.

Now since we’re right here in chapter 2, let’s just go back over here to verse 3. No, we’ll come to chapter 1. We have to go through this so that we understand. 1 John 1:7, “However, if we walk in the light, as He is in the light [and that’s to walk the way that Christ did; of course, He never sinned, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His own Son, cleanses us from all sin.” That’s how you stand before God. And of course, you confess your sins to God. “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, He is faithful and righteous, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7-9, FV).

Now you see, our lives are kind of like what you would say is housecleaning. And everyone knows that if you clean your house once, guess what you have to do? You have to clean it the next day, don’t you? And you have to clean it the next day. And every once in awhile there is a time when you have to go through and sort of just purge the whole house. So that’s why we have this. That’s why we’re able to come to God, to have our sins forgiven. You have your sins forgiven today, that doesn’t cover tomorrow. See, there’s another cleaning that may need to be done tomorrow. Now verse 10 (FV), “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar [because He says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God], and His word is not in us.”

Now chapter 2:1, “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 for our sins, and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” And of course, that’s according to God’s plan. “And by this standard we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:1-3, FV). So that’s what it’s all about with the Feast of Unleavened Bread – renewing our relationship with God, having our “spring housecleaning,” spiritually. That’s why we, also another reason why we have to get leaven out of our homes, to show us that just as we have to get the leaven out of our homes, we have to get the sin out of our lives. But just like you have to use cleaning compounds, you have to use brooms and vacuums, and you have to wash and scrub and wax, all of that is showing that in type that it has to be using the instruments that God has given to overcome, and to change, and to have your sins forgiven through Christ, and to walk and keep His commandments.

Now let’s come to Ephesians 4, and let’s see what the whole process is all about. Let’s see what we are to do. Let’s see how we are to do this. And this will tie in again what we covered on the first day. Let’s pick it up here, Ephesians 4:17. “So then, I declare and testify this in the Lord, that you are no longer to walk as the rest of the Gentiles…” See, we are to walk in the way of God. Christ said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” “…Even as the rest of the Gentiles are walking, in the vanity of their minds.” Now notice what happens. They cut themselves off from God: “…Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their hearts” (Eph. 4:17-18, FV). And that’s the way the world has been. See, and God has called us out of the world. So you see, these are the things that Paul is saying, “You’re not to do this any longer.”

“They have cast off all feelings, and have given themselves up to licentiousness, to work every uncleanness with insatiable desire.” Now all you have to do is just look out and see all these things that are going on in the world. You see that’s exactly what is happening. And I think it’s kind of fitting to show the debauchery of it, that always before Ash Wednesday, which begins Lent for the Roman Catholic Church, they have Mardi Gras. And Mardi Gras just is described right here – licentiousness, every uncleanness with insatiable desire. “But you have not so learned Christ;…” No, you haven’t. “…If indeed you have heard Him…” Not “of Him”, but heard Him; that is, through the words that He has written through the Spirit that He has given. “…And have been taught in Him, according to the truth in Jesus: that concerning your former conduct, you put off the old man,…” (vs. 19-22, FV). And that’s continually doing it.

Now, here’s the problem with the old man, “…which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts,…” (vs. 22, FV). And isn’t that true? Every time you find yourself caught in a sin, what have you done? You’ve deceived yourself, haven’t you? You’ve lied to yourself. Well, you have to go and repent to God, put that away. And sometimes some of our sins are kind of like mold – you clean it off one time…and mold is leaven, is it not? Yes, it is. You clean it off and everything looks good. And lo and behold, you go back there again, and here, it’s grown back again. You know, like the black mold in a shower, you clean and scrub and get that all out. You use chemicals, and brushes, and compounds, and you hose it down, high powered hoses. You clean it all up, and guess what? It comes back. That’s just like human nature. So you put it off. Because it’s corrupt according to deceitful lust.

Now, when you are putting it off, what do you do then? Well, God has made our minds this way through the Spirit of God, that “…you be renewed in the spirit of your mind;…” That’s what God is doing, renewing. Not only are you cleansed from your sin, but you see, being cleansed from your sins is only half the story. It’s just like Jesus said of the man who had the demon cast out of him. And he didn’t do what he was supposed to do. So the demon came back and found the house clean, swept, and garnished, right? But there was no defense. The house may have been clean, but he didn’t put anything in. So the demon went out and got seven others and came back and repossessed him. And the end was worse than the beginning because the man did not renew his mind. And this means, continually renewed. “…Be renewed in the spirit of your mind;…” So you’re to put off, verse 22, the old man. Now verse 24, “And…put on the new man, which according to God is created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (vs. 23-24, FV).

Now the thing that’s important is this – and always remember - conversion is creation. God is creating Christ in you. That’s why Paul said in Colossians 1:27, “the hope of glory.” That’s why he said in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus…” That’s how you renew it. How is it done mechanically, then? Through study. You have to feed your mind on the Word of God. Through prayer; through the exercise of the Holy Spirit of God, that you walk in truth. That’s how you renew your mind. How did your mind get so messed up before God called you and converted you? Well, because you continually practiced the things that weren’t right. Isn’t that true? Well then, how are you going to renew it, then? By continually putting out the old man, and continually putting aside the practices of sin, and put in the practices of righteousness, and walk in the way of God. See, that’s how it’s done. That’s how you’re renewed.

And in that, then, God is literally recreating your mind, to have the mind of Christ; to create the character in you; to create the love and the hope and the faith. We’ll see all of this in just a little bit. So it’s quite a process. But it is a process. This is not something that’s done instantaneously. And this is where so many Christian-professing religions get completely off base. Because they “feel” that if they have their sins forgiven, everything is fine. No. That’s good, that’s fine, but that’s only the start. Let me liken it this way: suppose you’re going to go on a trip. And you get your car all tuned up and repaired, and the oil changed, the filter changed, and everything…you’re all ready to go. So it comes on the day to go on the trip. You run down and you get in the car and you start it. You let the engine run, and you sit there. You let the engine run. You sit there. See, you haven’t done anything. You had the car prepared, but you’re not going in the way you need to go.

So likewise with the forgiveness of sin. The forgiveness of sin, and baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit is the start. Now you gotta go. So just like the car, unless you put it in gear and drive it, you ain’t going anywhere. You might feel good sitting in the car. It might sound good while it’s sitting there idling. It might look good because it’s all polished up. But it’s going no place, because you’re not using it the way it should be done. So this is what God wants you to do. He wants you to let Him, with His Spirit, create in you righteousness and holiness of the truth. That’s how He’s able to do it, to write His laws and His commandments in your heart and your mind in your inward part. And one thing to remember, never forget this – as a man thinks in his heart, so he is.