Program 148: The Key to Victory Over Sin

Obedience itself is a gift. Under the New Covenant, Yahuwah Himself writes His law on believers’ hearts.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

* * *Part 1: Victory over sin

Miles Robey: Has someone ever wronged you and asked for your forgiveness? What did you do? Did you forgive him or her? Was your choice to forgive contingent on the understanding that the other person wouldn’t keep harming or wronging you?

Hi, I’m Miles Robey. I don’t know about you, but speaking for myself, there are certain areas in my life that are a real struggle. And no matter how many times I repent, no matter how many times I determine never to repeat past mistakes, it seems that sooner or later I stumble into sin again.

Today, Dave Wright is going to be explaining why this is and what we are to do—as well as what we are not to do—about it. Dave?

Dave Wright: Thanks, Miles. Let’s start with what we’re not to do. The main thing we’re not to do is stay away from Yah. When you sin, go to Him! He’s your only hope! And yet, that’s not what we do. Especially if it’s something we’ve already asked forgiveness for many times.

Miles: Oh, I know! Any area in which I really struggle, any area in which I especially need Yah’s help, every time I sin, it becomes harder and harder to ask for forgiveness. It’s embarrassing! It’s as though my prior repentance wasn’t sincere, because if it were, I wouldn’t have sinned in exactly the same way again. So, then, it’s easy to feel like I can’t ask Yah’s forgiveness until I’ve … I don’t know … resisted temptation a few times? You know what I mean?

Dave: Well, I think we project our own human responses onto the Father and assume He’ll respond like we would.

For example, if someone wronged you in some way and came to you with a genuinely sincere apology, what would you do?

Miles: Well, forgive them, of course. Christ said, “If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” [Matthew 6:14 & 15] So, it’s kind of a given, isn’t it? Forgiving is something Christians should always do. Just as we’ve been forgiven, we should also forgive.

Dave: Of course. But what if that same person, say, a week later, wrongs you again in the exact same way? Would you be so quick to forgive?

Miles: That would be harder. I’d start to question his or her sincerity at some point.

Dave: So, if the person continued to wrong you, five, six, seven times or more, would you still keep forgiving?

Miles: Well, I’ve got to admit, after just a couple of times, I’d be questioning their sincerity. It wouldn’t take very long before I’d start to feel like Prove it! Show me you’re truly sorry by quitting hurting me and then I’ll forgive you.

Dave: I’m with you. I do that, too. But, see, that’s the difference between you and me versus Yahuwah. When someone repeatedly harms us, we may be willing to forgive once or twice, but if the offenses continue, we want some proof that they’re genuinely sorry, and the best proof, of course, is repentance: they stop doing whatever it is that is harming us!

Miles: Exactly!

Dave: The problem is we project that same attitude on Yah, and that’s wrong. Yahuwah has promised to forgive everyone who comes to Him in repentance.

Miles: But that’s the thing! Repentance means you’ve quit doing it.

Dave: Repentance is genuine heart-sorrow for sin. It is not, at this point, sinlessness. There’s a difference. Certainly, at some point, believers will be sinless but that’s not yet and Yahuwah knows it. Furthermore, He’s got a plan to get us to the point of sinlessness. But don’t project our human qualities on to Him. We can’t get better away from Him, that’s for sure! And yet, that’s precisely what our reaction is when we sin and continue to sin. Satan presses in these intense feelings of guilt and we feel as though we can’t ask for forgiveness until we’ve somehow “proven” our repentance by abstaining from sin—or resisting temptation—X-number of times.

Miles: And speaking from experience, that doesn’t work!

Dave: No. And the human psyche doesn’t hold up well to overwhelming feelings of guilt. Pretty soon we start trying to wiggle our way out of those feelings. One way many Christians do that is to simply shrug the entire problem aside and say, “It doesn’t matter. The law was nailed to the cross. We’re under grace now.” And while we’re certainly under grace, the law was not nailed to, or otherwise “done away with,” at the cross.

Miles: That’s pretty obvious. After all, if the law could have been abrogated or changed, Yahushua wouldn’t have needed to die!

Dave: Other Christians fall into the trap of legalism. They know the divine law is still binding but, like the Jews of Christ’s day, they try to achieve perfection by trying to live up to very strict man-made rules, as though if they can abide by these additional rules, there’s no possibility of breaking the law.

Miles: Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. For example, a careful study of Scripture reveals that the Sabbath is observed from dawn to dark. But Saturday-Sabbatarians apply the rules of Day of Atonement to the Sabbath and worship from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Dave: Not only that, but they’ll often emphasize the importance of “guarding the edges of the Sabbath,” so there’s this heavy burden of expectation that if you’re not completely ready for the Sabbath at least 30 minutes prior to sundown, you’re breaking the Sabbath.

Miles: So. What are we to do about it? You said Yah’s got a plan?

Dave: Yes. He does. In fact, phase one of His plan is already in place. Turn to Exodus 19. This was three months after the Israelites left Egypt. They came to Sinai and there Yah entered into a covenant agreement with Israel. Now, a covenant is a legally-binding agreement. There are conditions that must be met and it takes two parties.

You’ve got that? OK. Read verses 3, and 5 through 8 of Exodus 19. Go ahead.

Miles:

And Moses went up to Eloah, and Yahuwah called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which Yahuwah commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that Yahuwah has spoken we will do.”

Dave: This is the agreement, the covenant. Yah says, “If you will obey Me in all things, you’ll be my special, set-apart people. You’ll be My treasure and receive special blessings.” That sounds pretty good to the former slaves and they say …?

Miles: “All that Yahuwah has spoken we will do.”

Dave: Right! And I believe they were sincere in that. Even if it were for ulterior motives, why wouldn’t they want to be Yah’s special, set-apart people, receiving special blessings?

The problem, of course, as we’ve all discovered is that we’re unable to keep the law. That’s why you’ve got some Christians claiming obedience to the law is no longer necessary, and others adding to the law with all these man-made strictures in an attempt to prevent any chance of breaking the law. And neither response is right.

Miles: Sooooo, what’s the answer? 1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Dave: Right! And that’s not going to change: yet.

But the good news is that Yah has taken our inability to keep the law into account. He knows we can’t. However—and this is what’s missing from most sermons about Exodus 19—we are still supposed to strive to bring our will into alignment with Yah’s will. We are to strive to obey and submit, just like the Israelites did when they said, “All that Yah has said, we will do.” Yah will never force our will, so it is up to us to make the choice to obey even when we know that we’ll fail.

Miles: It sounds like a vicious cycle no one has a hope of breaking out of.

Dave: You’re right … in our own strength. Paul has the best explanation of this. Let’s read it! Turn to Romans 7. Romans 7 and start at verse 14. Let’s talk about this.

Miles:

We know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of [Yah] according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank Yahuwah—through Yahushua Christ our Lord!

So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. [Romans 7:14-26]

Dave: This, right here, is why we will never, in our own strength of will, despite the sincerity of our surrender, be able to obey the divine law. Now most Christians are going to agree. “Of course we can’t keep the divine law by our own will power!”

But the thing that Paul is explaining is that, even in Yah’s strength we can’t keep the law because there is another law at work in us.

… I see you look skeptical.

Miles: Yeah, a bit. See, my whole life I’ve been taught that since Christ’s death on the cross, we’re under grace. I’ve listened to sermons and read articles about how we’re now “New Covenant” Christians. For those of us who know the law is still binding, that implies the need to surrender to the point that we will live as Christ did: sinlessly.

Dave: I know what you’re saying, but this is where we get off. We think that if we make a full and complete surrender, then Christ in us will perfectly keep Yah’s law, but that’s still not how it works because, as Paul admits in verse 26, even when, with our minds, we serve the law of Yah, with our flesh we still serve the law of sin!

Miles: So how’s Yah going to rectify the situation? We’re certainly not going to be sinning in perpetuity throughout all eternity!

Dave: You just answered your own question: how is Yahuwah going to change this mess in which we find ourselves? And the answer is with a new covenant.

Miles: The old covenant doesn’t work. Obviously. We’re still sinning!

Dave: No, it works! It has a special job to do and it does work. It’s just not sufficient to transform sinners into sinless saints. But that’s not what it was intended to do!

Elsewhere, Paul explains that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. It reveals the perfection of Yah’s character while acting as a mirror to reveal to us our own lack. That doesn’t mean that the law is bad! A lot of Christians view the law as old, out-moded, and only for the Jews. They think of it as something we’ve been freed from, but they miss the point entirely. Paul addresses this, too.

You still have Romans 7? OK, read verses 7 to 13.

Miles:

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.

Dave: What you’re not understanding is the different work done under the Old and the New Covenants and how that relates to our fallen natures. There’s an entire step in the plan of salvation that we’ve entirely missed.

Put a marker there in Romans 7 because we’re going to come back to it, and then turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, and read verses 13 to 16. This passage reveals something we’ve overlooked: 1 Corinthians 2, verses 13 to 16.

Miles: All right, it says:

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of [Yah], for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of Yahuwah that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Dave: Verse 14 is the pivotal verse: The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of [Yah], for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Miles: Well, sure! The “natural” man. But that changes when we accept the gift of salvation! Right? 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Dave: M-hm. And you’re doing exactly what we’ve all done. We read that verse and from that, we extrapolate that the “new creature” we are in Christ is a sinless creature. But it doesn’t say that.

Miles: Well, something changes! What is it?

Dave: Let’s find out. Turn back to Romans and this time turn to Romans 8. Start reading at verse 1 and we’ll discuss as we go along.

Miles: All right, uh …

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Yahushua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Yahushua has made me free from the law of sin and death. [Romans 8:1-2]

Dave: All right, stop just a moment. What is this “law of sin and death” Paul’s talking about here?

Miles: Same as it’s always been: obey and live, disobey and die.

Dave: You’re partially right. The law believers are freed from once they accept the gift of salvation by faith is the sentence of death we’re under for being sinners. Yahushua’s death is accepted as a substitute for our own and we are now free of the law that says, if you sin, you die. That’s all. It does not—and here’s where we’ve all gotten off—it does not suddenly transform us into sinless saints.

Okay, keep reading.

Miles:

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, [Yah] did by sending His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against [Yah]; for it is not subject to the law of [Yah], nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please [Yah]. [Romans 8:3-8]

Dave: “The carnal mind is enmity against [Yah]; for it is not subject to the law of [Yah], nor indeed can be.”

What this verse is explaining is the precious work done under the Old Covenant. We’ve all inherited fallen natures. When Adam sinned, he gave up the divine nature and took on Satan’s nature. He passed that on to his children who, in turn, passed it on to theirs’ and so on and so forth down to us.

The fallen nature will always be at enmity against Yah because it’s fallen. Can a bad tree bear good fruit?

Miles: No.

Dave: Same with us. A fallen nature can never produce the fruits of righteousness, and that’s where the Old Covenant comes in. As we’ve said before, Yah will never force the human will. Our consent is necessary.

When we consent—“All that Yahuwah has said, we will do”—then a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit is given. This does not make us sinless! What it does, is create a war in our minds and hearts against the fallen nature that rules in our flesh. This is what you read in Romans 7: the law is spiritual, but we’re carnal, sold unto sin, so that the good that we want to do, we can’t. But the bad that we don’t want to do, that’s what we do.

Does that sound like sinless living to you?

Miles: No.

Dave: But see, without the Old Covenant doing its work of preparation on the heart, there wouldn’t be this war between our mind (which wants to obey the law) and our flesh (that wants to happily keep sinning).

Verse 18: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” This is the dilemma. But without that earnest of the Holy Spirit creating in us a desire for what is good, we wouldn’t even want to quit sinning.

Read verses 21 to 23 of Romans 7 again.

Miles: “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in [Yah’s] law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.”

Dave: It is this warring against the flesh that the Old Covenant, established at Sinai, is meant to do. We’re not to just throw up our hands, give up and say, “Well, it doesn’t matter because the law was nailed to the cross.”

At the same time, we’re not suddenly sinless. If we were, we wouldn’t keep sinning and Paul wouldn’t have written so eloquently of the struggle in believers to do what is right. When you’re carnal and sold under sin, there’s no struggle! It’s consistent with your nature to sin. The struggle only starts when the spirit is given to create in you a hatred for the sin you once loved, and a love for the law you once hated.

Paul understood this better than anyone. Here he is, Yah’s appointed apostle to the gentiles, and yet he still struggled with sin. Turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 9 and read verse 27.

Miles: All right, uh: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

Dave: Even Paul struggled with the issue of on-going sin. He admits right there that he has to keep his body under subjection. He doesn’t say he was successful 100% of the time. It was a struggle.

But, thanks to the work of Yah on the heart under the Old Covenant, we now find a new law at work within us: the law of Yah that makes us hate the sin we once loved, and love the law we once hated. This is a very important preparatory work and it gets us ready for Yah’s work under a new covenant.

* * *

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* * *Part 2: Victory over sin

Miles: Okay, so let’s talk about the New Covenant. I’ve heard preachers before say, “New Covenant? Same as the Old Covenant: Obey and live; disobey and die.”

Dave: I have, too. In fact, I’ve been guilty of saying the same thing myself. But do you know which type of Christian believes that?

Miles: Which?

Dave: Christians that know the divine law is still binding, so they’re going to keep the law! Whether it’s by sheer force of will, or by carefully keeping all of these rules that will prevent them from sinning, or by surrendering their will to Yah so He can keep it through them, however you want to spin it, they believe that the law must be kept because it’s still binding.

Miles: Well, the law is still binding.

Dave: Yes, but what’s missing in their understanding—and mine, for a long time—is the knowledge of just how we’ll eventually stop sinning.

See, people tend to be dismissive of the Israelite response when Yahuwah offered them His covenant. People assume the Israelites were too arrogant—

Miles: Or ignorant!

Dave: –or too ignorant to know that they couldn’t actually keep Yah’s law in their own power.

The thing is, saying “All that Yahuwah has said, we will do,” is a perfectly acceptable response to the Old Covenant agreement! As I said earlier, Yahuwah will never force the will. Our consent is always essential and under the Old Covenant agreement, believers enter into that agreement by faith. This immediately creates within the fallen heart, enmity toward sin. The very fact that anyone with a fallen nature could ever come to hate sin and want to stop sinning is itself a gift of grace!

But the New Covenant is different. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I was wrong when, in the past, I said they were the same. They’re different. Yahuwah Himself says so!

Let’s take a look at Jeremiah 31.

Miles: All right, uh, which part?

Dave: Jeremiah 31, verses 31 to 34. This is a beautiful and incredibly encouraging promise. And I want you to notice, as you’re reading, that this is a new covenant. A different one. Covenants are legally binding agreements.

In the Old Covenant, the terms were, “Obey Yah and be blessed.” And all the people said …?

Miles: “All that Yahuwah has said we will do.”

Dave: Right. Now read the New Covenant. It’s very different from the old.

Miles: “Behold, the days are coming, says Yahuwah, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—”

Dave: What was that? Same as the covenant I made with their fathers?

Miles: “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says Yahuwah. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahuwah.”

Dave: Okay, here it comes. Now listen.

Miles:

I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahuwah,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says Yahuwah. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.

Dave: This is exciting! This is the cure for sin. It’s the secret to overcoming the sin that doth so easily beset us. And it’s not more will power. It’s not even a deeper, more tearfully abject surrender. All any of us can do is simply make the choice to surrender. We don’t need to artificially stir up our emotions. We make the choice to surrender and accept salvation by faith.

Miles: I find it interesting that it’s also not what I’ve always believed, which is if we surrender enough, Yahushua will live in me and take over.

Dave: No! It’s not that, either, because we will always have free will. Christ’s death on the cross guarantees it. What this is promising is that Yahuwah will gift us with new, higher natures. We will no longer have the fallen natures we inherited from Adam. We will be restored back to the condition of Adam before the fall! This is what the New Covenant is promising!

Miles: Well, this really makes sense. If the whole reason we’re still sinning, no matter how sincerely we repent, no matter how deeply we surrender, is because we’ve got a fallen nature, we’ll never reach the point of being sinless as long as we’ve still got that fallen nature.

Dave: You’ve got it.

I think part of the confusion has been the mistaken assumptions we’ve made about the nature of Christ.

Miles: What do you mean?

Dave: Well, in the fourth century, one of the big controversies in the Christian faith was the fight over the nature of Yahushua. Early Christians had always believed and taught that Yahushua was fully human. However, in the fourth century when the Council of Nicea, under the influence of Constantine the Great, embraced the pagan doctrine of a triune godhead, the nature of Christ was suddenly elevated. No longer was he, as he’d always said, the “son of man.” Suddenly, he was divine!

Miles: Ah! And so that’s when we got all of these confusing apologetics, trying to explain away the passages of Scripture that contradicted this idea. I’ve heard preachers say Christ was fully human and fully divine.

Dave: And applying that understanding to the problem of sin, then, is where we got the idea that if we just repented enough, if we just surrendered enough, Yahushua would “live in our hearts by faith” and he would perfectly keep the divine law for us. After all, if he were fully human and could perfectly keep the divine law, why shouldn’t we?

Miles: I see. But the truth is, Yahushua is fully human and not divine at all. The reason he was able to keep the law of Yah perfectly while in a human body was because he was given the nature of Adam before the fall.

Dave: Right; 1 Corinthians 15 talks about the two Adams: Adam the first, and Adam the second who is, of course, Yahushua. Verse 45 says, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

To be the second Adam, to win a spiritual victory, Christ had to be on level ground with the first Adam. His temptations were far worse than anything Adam had to face, but he did so with the same sinless nature of Adam before the fall.

Turn to Romans 5. This is crucial to understanding just why we’re still sinning, and the true promise of the New Covenant.

Miles: Romans 5?

Dave: Uh, start at verse … twelve.

Miles:

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of him who was to come. [Romans 5:12-14]

Dave: The way Yahushua was the second Adam was not by living sinlessly while having a fallen nature. Scripture is clear that it is impossible to be sinless with our natural, fallen nature. He conquered where Adam fell by coming as a human with an unfallen nature but still consistently choosing to obey Yah.

Okay. Verse 15. Go on.

Miles:

But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of [Yah] and the gift by the grace of the one man, Yahushua Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Yahushua Christ.)

Therefore—[Romans 5:15-18a]

Dave: Okay, now he’s coming to the crux of this entire passage. “Therefore.”

Miles:

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Yahushua Christ our Lord. [Romans 5:18-21]

Dave: We’ve read into this passage conclusions that simply are not there. It’s not saying that, by the gift of the second Adam, we suddenly live sinless lives. Instead, it’s saying, “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”

Miles: You don’t need grace when you’re sinless.

Dave: No! Grace is simply unmerited—undeserved—favor. Who deserves favor less than sinners?

Now, of course, the fact that Yahushua has an unfallen nature while we have fallen natures would be grossly unfair if we were expected to perfectly keep the divine law, but we’re not. We’re expected to strive! That’s part of the conflict between a mind that has been renewed and a body still enslaved to a fallen nature. But Yahuwah does not expect us to be sinless. He knows we can’t until He gifts us with a higher nature.

Miles: Wow. You know, this really underscores how it is so important to keep studying for more light because light builds on itself. We’ve talked about the nature of Christ before, but I hadn’t known the far-reaching impact of this truth. This is why we’ve never been able to see these beautiful truths of the two covenants before! They’re different, but they’re both necessary.

Dave: Yes. The Old Covenant is an important preparatory work. We give our consent and a down payment of the Holy Spirit is given to create in us a hatred for our fallen nature. Otherwise, we’d just merrily keep sinning.

This theme is developed in Hebrews. Let’s take a look at that. Turn to Hebrews 7 and read verse 19. Hebrews 7:19. It’s talking about the resurrected Christ being a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. This is very significant. The earthly priesthood ministered under the Old Covenant, but Christ is the priest for the New Covenant.

Go ahead.

Miles: “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto [Yah].”

Dave: To recap, the law is like a schoolmaster. It reveals the perfection of the divine character, but it also reveals our failings. It does not create in us new, unfallen natures.

Go to Hebrews 8. With our new understanding of the two covenants, now, this passage is just going to come alive. Start reading at … uh, why don’t you start at verse 6 and read through to the end of the chapter?

Miles:

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

Dave: There was nothing wrong with the first covenant. It did what it was supposed to do which was to create enmity in the natural heart for sin. However—and again, this is the point we’ve all missed—the Old Covenant was insufficient to make us sinless because under it, we still have fallen natures!

Miles: Romans 8:7: “The carnal mind is enmity against [Yah]; for it is not subject to the law of [Yah], nor indeed can be.”

Dave: It’s why we keep sinning! This is why the author of Hebrews says the New Covenant is a better covenant.

Okay, keep reading. He’s going to quote Jeremiah.

Miles:

For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith Yahuwah, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith Yahuwah.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Yahuwah; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahuwah: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Dave: This is why the New Covenant is better than the Old. It’s why Hebrews says the New Covenant is based on “better” promises. Because, with the New Covenant, Yahuwah does the work which we, in our human strength, were unable to do under the Old Covenant.

And this isn’t just in Jeremiah.

It’s a principle of Biblical study that when Yah repeats something, we need to sit up and take notice, because it’s significant.

Turn to Ezekiel 36 and read verses 24 through 29.

Miles: All right, um …

For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses.

Dave: So tell me: where in this passage does it say that we become clean through just repentance and surrender?

Miles: Uhhh …

Dave: It’s not there, is it?

Miles: No.

Dave: Repentance and surrender are necessary but they are not the active agents that transform sinners into saints. To live without sin requires a fundamental change to our very natures. This is a work that only one being in the entire universe is capable of: our Creator. He made us; now, under the New Covenant, He makes us again. He does it! He cleanses us, He takes away our heart of stone—which is a reference to our fallen nature—and gives us a new heart, a new nature, then He puts His spirit within us.

Miles: I like verse 27: Yahuwah puts His spirit within us then He “causes” us to:

• walk in His statutes
• keep His judgements
• and do them.

Dave: Then and only then will believers who have embraced the opportunities under the Old Covenant finally be able to totally renounce sin. But not before. And it is only after Yahuwah does His work in our hearts.

Miles: Our Creator is also our re-Creator.

Dave: That’s a good way to put it, yes. An earnest of the Holy Spirit is given under the Old Covenant. But it will be given in its fullness under the New Covenant.

Turn to Colossians chapter 1, verses 19 to 22. I can’t emphasize enough that the work that remains to be done is Yah’s work, not ours.

Miles: Well, I find it interesting that the Israelites’ response to the Old Covenant is exactly what we’ve done, too: “All that Yahuwah has said, we will do.” And we’ve striven—

Dave: As we’re supposed to do.

Miles: Of course, but without a proper understanding of the Old and New Covenants, I’ll be honest. It’s been discouraging. No matter how often I repent and surrender, I still sin! Seeing now that that is simply a symptom of still being under the Old Covenant is encouraging.

Dave: Satan has really discouraged believers by pressing on them the hopelessness of trying to live sinlessly with fallen natures. Truth is, no one can live sinlessly with a fallen nature and Yah doesn’t expect us to. But neither are we to stop striving and just shrug it all away with the lie that the law was “fulfilled” at the cross. We still need that law!

All right. You’ve got Colossians 1?

Miles: Yeah. Which verses again?

Dave: Nineteen to 22.

Miles:

For it pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to Himself, by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross.

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

Dave: Here again it is Yahuwah that does the work. It pleased the Father that in Yahushua, all the fullness should dwell so that through Yahushua’s death, we could be freed from the death sentence hanging over us due to our sins. Yah then reconciles us to Himself. It’s all Yah.

So, if you’ve been feeling discouraged, if you doubt your own sincerity, stop! Just stop it! That’s Satan trying to discourage you. Yahuwah knows you can’t keep His law so long as you still have a fallen nature, but He’s got it all worked out.

Turn to Psalm 103 and read verses 1 to 5 and as you do I want you to again notice who is doing the work.

Miles: Psalms … psalms. All right.

Bless Yahuwah, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless Yahuwah, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Dave: It’s Yah that does all this. And He does it because, as our Creator, He knows our limitations. Drop down to verses 13 and 14 now.

Miles: “As a father pities his children,
So Yahuwah pities those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.”

Dave: This is why Yahuwah has provided the New Covenant for us. He knows we’re but dust and He doesn’t expect of us the impossible. Trust in Him. Praise Him for the gift of the Old Covenant that creates in us enmity against our fallen natures and prepares us for the incredible blessings under the New Covenant.

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WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

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When most Christians think of the good news of the gospel, they think of forgiveness for sins. And, of course, that is tremendously good news. But the good news of the gospel encompasses much more than simply forgiveness for past sins.

Yahuwah is offering to recreate you in His own, divine image! This isn’t something you can do for yourself. It is, however, a work of recreation Yahuwah will do for you, if you let Him.

Philippians chapter 2, verse 13 states: “It is Yahuwah which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. If you will simply reach out the hand of faith and grasp the promise, Yahuwah has pledged Himself to get you ready.

Listen to the radio program entitled “The Gift of Obedience.” You don’t need to worry about your imperfections. You simply need to accept “The Gift of Obedience.” Look for it on WorldsLastChance.com, or you can listen to it on YouTube!

* * *Daily Promise

Hello! This is Elise O’Brien with today’s daily promise from Yah’s word.

Dennis and Doug Blackstone were adopted when they were three years old, but the twins had always known they had a sister named Connie. They just didn’t know how to find her. Repeated attempts ended in failure and, sadly, Doug died before ever getting to meet his sister.

After 70 years of looking for his sister, Dennis decided to do a DNA test. It was that test finally reunited the long-lost siblings. Dennis sent a text to Connie saying simply, quote: "I was told I had a sister named Connie, and I was curious and wanted to know, does this happen to be you?"

Unbeknownst to Dennis, Connie, too, had been looking for her brothers. She was driving when the text came through and was so shocked she had to pull over to the side of the road to process what she’d just read. To their shock, they lived less than an hour apart. Local news broadcast the siblings’ reunion. The joy on their faces as they reunited was clear for all to see. They had spent their entire lives looking for each other and were at last reunited.

Yahushua told a parable of another longed-for reunion. In his parable, a son selfishly demanded his father give him his inheritance immediately, rather than waiting for the father’s death. When the father complied, the son left home and squandered his inheritance on riotous living. Afterward, when a famine came, the son came to his senses. He remembered his home and his father.

Luke 15:17-19 says:

But when he came to himself, he said, “How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’”

The next verse, verse 20, is my favorite. It says: “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

Did you catch that? While he was still . . . a long way off . . . his father—saw—him. That little detail tells us his father was watching for him. He was gazing down the road with longing, hoping for a glimpse of his son. Yahushua told this parable so that we would have confidence to return to our heavenly Father. He is longing for a reunion with you.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. It doesn’t matter what you’ve failed to do. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been apart from Him. He’s still waiting with arms wide open to welcome you home. Don’t wait until you have made yourself better. Don’t wait until you have resisted temptation six, or ten, or a dozen times to try to “prove” your remorse. Go to him now. Just as you are. The faintest desire of your heart to turn to Him is His spirit drawing you to the Father.

So, what are you waiting for? Go to Him now, just as you are! He will meet you a great way off, enfold you in His arms of infinite love, and say, “Welcome home. I have missed you.”

Jeremiah 31, verse 3, says: “Yahuwah hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

We have been given great and precious promises. Go and start claiming!

* * *Part 3: Victory over sin

Miles: This new understanding of the two covenants is mind-blowing. I have labored under this-this overwhelming guilt for so long because I assumed that the reason I keep sinning is because I just haven’t repented enough, or surrendered enough or whatever.

Dave: I know! Satan really does a number on us with guilt, doesn’t he? But we must always remember that Yahuwah is our Father. Would a loving parent require the impossible of his child?

You’re a father. When you see your son struggling and you know there is no way he can ever do what he’s trying to do, what’s your response? Do you tell him how bad he is at what he’s doing? Do you tell him to just try harder? Or, do you do for him what you know he can’t do for himself?

Miles: Well, any kind of loving parent is going to step in and help. If you know your kid is attempting to do something that’s literally impossible for him to do, just telling him to try harder is actually, well, a bit mean.

Dave: Yahuwah is our loving parent. He knows we’re but dust. He knows our fallen natures. He knows we can’t suddenly transform into sinless saints. So, with the New Covenant, He’s going to do for us what we’ll never be able to do for ourselves.

Miles: That’s a promise to treasure!

I was raised being told that, during the time of trouble prophesied by Daniel, believers would have to be sinless.

Dave: Are you any closer to being sinless now than you were when you were, say, 20?

Miles: Hardly! The longer I live, the more time I have to sin. I’m certainly no closer to being sinless.

Dave: So what makes us think, if we haven’t transformed into sinless saints yet, what makes us think we’ll change at any future date?

Miles: Certainly not in our own power!

Dave: Or even “our” power combined with Yah’s. It’s all Him.

The last chapter of the Bible gives us a glimpse of what awaits all who enter into the New Covenant agreement with Yah, letting Him write His law on their “inward parts.” Go to Revelation 22 and let’s take a look. Revelation 22, verses 1 through 5.

Miles: Let’s see, an angel is showing John life in the earth made new. It says:

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of [Yah] and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse—

Dave: The curse, of course, is the curse of sin and our fallen natures. That won’t be an issue anymore. Now notice the description of the saved.

Miles:

And there shall be no more curse but the throne of [Yah] and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for [Yahuwah Elohim] gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Dave: When Moses asked to see Yah’s face, he couldn’t because no one with a fallen nature can see it and live. But here, the saints will be able to gaze upon the face of the Father, unafraid. And the reason? They have His name on their foreheads. His very character has been impressed on their frontal lobes. They have been gifted with a new, higher nature and now perfectly reflect the divine image.

This is the future promised all who enter into covenant relationship with Yah, our Creator and our Re-Creator.

Miles: “Even so, come Lord Yahushua!” [Revelation 22:20]

Please join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

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This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.