Who Is the Man Struggling in Romans 7?

  Image by Sabrina Eickhoff from Pixabay.

Paul is still under the Law and self-identified in Romans 7:14 as "sold as a slave to sin" in that passage recounting his struggle with sin. So, that's a sinner who wasn't saved yet. He spoke of being delivered once he was in Christ Jesus and no longer walking according to the flesh in Romans 8:1-2. He said, "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2, comp. John 8:36 and Romans 6:18). That law of sin and death that was still at work in his members in Romans 7:23 was subdued in Christ and he was set free from it because "those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24). 

Paul testified as a Christian, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). It's not longer a situation of committing sin because of "sin that dwells in me" (Romans 7:17). It was so for the apostle Paul in Christ and should be the same for Christians today because of the foundation laid out in Romans 6. 

Romans 6:4-14:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,  6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.  8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,  9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.  10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 

Romans 7 is not the next level from the Romans 6 foundation. The entire chapter (6) actually exemplifies walking under the grace of God, with power received to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly desires (Titus 2:11-14) and to take this instruction: "Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Romans 6:13-14). The man who is "carnal, sold under sin" in Romans 7:14 cannot understand that instruction to the Roman believers.

1 Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Paul, the man under the Law and not under grace, and under condemnation as a salve to sin in Romans 7 is not led by God's Spirit in that account. So, it is not a Christian who is struggling in Romans 7, but someone who was not in Christ yet (Romans 8:9b). So, he is a honest man struggling with his sins and seeking a deliverance, which he found in Christ:

Romans 7:24-25
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death*? (comp. Romans 6:6) 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

*sin bring forth death (Romans 6:23, James 1:15)

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

At this point the principles of walking according to the Spirit vs walking according to the flesh can apply:

Romans 8:12-14
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

"if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live"

This cannot be done by the man struggling in Romans 7 but it can be done by a believer who has and is led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9 check).


See also:
Freedom From Sin

Crucify the Flesh - video playlist

Old Man Addictions

Works Of Faith Are Not Works Of The Law (video)   

Saved From What?

Problem in the Church: Romans 7

Romans 7:14-25 Bible Study

Repentance According to the Bible

The Wretched Man (video)

Réponse à "Je suis chrétien et vaudouisant. Qui suis-je?" - Un article de Walter Innocent Jr.

Je suis chrétien et vaudouisant. Qui suis-je?

Article publié le 9 Juin 2017 par Walter Innocent Jr.

Lien: https://selonwalter.com/non-categorise/je-suis-chretien-et-vaudouisant-qui-suis-je

Réponse de Giscard Nazon / @YesToTheTruth
22 Août 2017

La foi chrétienne repose sur le témoignage que renferme la bible et tout spécialement les paroles de Jésus.

Jean 14:6
... Je suis le chemin, la vérité, et la vie. Nul ne vient au Père que par moi. (Jésus)

Qui n'a pas Jésus est donc perdu (pas sur le chemin qui mène au Père), trompé (croit un mensonge plutôt que la vérité) et est spirituellement mort dans ses péchés (n'a pas la vie éternelle).

1 Jean 5:11-12
11 Et voici ce témoignage, c'est que Dieu nous a donné la vie éternelle, et que cette vie est dans son Fils. 12 Celui qui a le Fils a la vie (éternelle); celui qui n'a pas le Fils de Dieu n'a pas la vie.

La foi en Jésus (confiance en lui et en sa parole qui pousse à lui obéir ou le "suivre" comme un disciple) établit un chemin qui peut être vérifié et authentifié par les instructions que renferme la bible pour les chrétiens (disciples de Jésus).

Luc 5:31-32
31 Jésus, prenant la parole, leur dit: Ce ne sont pas ceux qui se portent bien qui ont besoin de médecin, mais les malades. 32 Je ne suis pas venu appeler à la repentance des justes, mais des pécheurs.

Romains 6:23
Car le salaire du péché, c'est la mort; mais le don gratuit de Dieu, c'est la vie éternelle en Jésus Christ notre Seigneur.

Le passage suivant parle de personnes qui on reçu le message de l'Évangile, ont obéi à la parole de Dieu et ont vécu ce qu'elle promet:

Éphésiens 2:1-10
2 Vous étiez morts par vos offenses et par vos péchés, 2 dans lesquels vous marchiez autrefois, selon le train de ce monde, selon le prince de la puissance de l'air, de l'esprit qui agit maintenant dans les fils de la rébellion. 3 Nous tous aussi, nous étions de leur nombre, et nous vivions autrefois selon les convoitises de notre chair, accomplissant les volontés de la chair et de nos pensées, et nous étions par nature des enfants de colère, comme les autres... 4 Mais Dieu, qui est riche en miséricorde, à cause du grand amour dont il nous a aimés, 5 nous qui étions morts par nos offenses, nous a rendus à la vie avec Christ (c'est par grâce que vous êtes sauvés); 6 il nous a ressuscités ensemble, et nous a fait asseoir ensemble dans les lieux célestes, en Jésus Christ, 7 afin de montrer dans les siècles à venir l'infinie richesse de sa grâce par sa bonté envers nous en Jésus Christ.

Donc une personne qui se dit chrétienne et vaudouisante, qui est-elle? C'est une personne qui est trompée certainement au moins concernant son appartenance à la foi chrétienne. Il ne suffit pas d'être associé à une église pour être un chrétien. Telle association ne garantit pas d'être un disciple de Jésus ni d'avoir vu ce qui est promis aux disciples de Jésus (qui en lui obéissant font la volonté de Dieu). On n'est un disciple de quelqu'un que dans la mesure où l'on adhère à son enseignement et le met en pratique, quelque soit la discipline considérée. La discipline de Jésus étant la justice (ce qui est droit devant Dieu), pourquoi y aurait-il une exception quand on considère comment on peut être son disciple ou encore un chrétien (voir Jean 8:31-32; Luc 6:46-49)? Là est la grande tromperie dont est victime un nombre indicible de personnes, car une pléiade de groupements se disant chrétiens et utilisant la bible d'une manière ou d'une autre selon leur agenda propre réussissent à convaincre que joindre et rester dans leurs rangs c'est être chrétien. Ils opèrent sur la base de quelque mensonge fondamental qui rend la parole de Dieu de nul effet, et de par l'autorité qui est reconnue à leurs chefs et la révérence dont ils jouissent sur une base autre que la conformité aux Écritures Saintes, ils arrivent à établir une routine, un style de vie et une tradition qui conduisent à passer à côté du plan de Dieu. Il sont efficaces à se faire des fidèles à eux-mêmes qui se croient au fait fidèles à Dieu... Si vous êtes chercheur et aimez la vérité, je vous invite à la chercher de tout votre cœur et vous la trouverez.

Hébreux 11:6
Or sans la foi il est impossible de lui être agréable; car il faut que celui qui s'approche de Dieu croie que Dieu existe, et qu'il est le rémunérateur de ceux qui le cherchent.

Jacques 4:8
Approchez-vous de Dieu, et il s'approchera de vous. Nettoyez vos mains, pécheurs; purifiez vos coeurs, hommes irrésolus.


Publication recommandées:
Dieu nous a donné la vie éternelle

Qu'est- ce que la repentance?

Ni le Vodou, ni l'Église Catholique n'a la vérité

Un Bref et Léger Regard sur les Implications Spirituelles de la Fondation de la Nation Haïtienne

6/21/2017

Charm, Beauty and Deceitfulness

Esther 1:10-12
10. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, 11. To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty H3308: for she was fair H2896 to look on. 12. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.


Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good H2896 for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.


Proverbs: 31. 30. 
Favour H2580 is deceitful, and beauty H3308 is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 


Genesis 6:1-2
1. And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2. That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair H2896; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Proverbs 6:25
Lust not after her beauty H3308 in your heart; neither let her take you with her eyelids.


H2580: favor, grace, charm → desirableness: a fruit and an effect of beauty (H3308)


H2896: good, fair, beautiful → desirable (as seen / perceived)


Favor / grace / charm (H2580), which is deceitful, is what causes to see/appreciate beauty (H3308), which is vain; that is, to find a certain object good / fair / beautiful (H2896), and therefore desirable as it is seen / perceived.


If acted upon, charm (H2580), as an enticing agent, triggers lust / desire, as an action that the beholder or party who considers a given object of desire is responsible for. That is the state of desiring something. The surrounding circumstances will determine if it is evil or not. Ex: "You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. 3. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts (or desires for pleasures)." (James 4:2-3) It is essential to have one's senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:14) and not follow after deceitful lusts (Ephesians 2:3; Mark 4:19; 1 Timothy 6:9-10).


The eye must be good (Matthew 6:22-23). Favor / grace / charm does not need to deceive, invariably, whether what is desired is a fruit, a woman, money, something intrinsically evil or whose coveting itself (or the love of it) is evil because it is forbidden or unlawful.
When wisdom is lacking (we can ask God for more wisdom - James 1:5), the hour of temptation can become fatal (leading to sin / iniquity, and then to death). One is deceived then indeed when he or she fails to properly discern between good and evil, or simply fails to choose good over evil, especially knowing to do good and not doing it (James 4:17). 


James 1:14-17
14  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his **own lust/desire,** and enticed (by whatever is found to be charming / desirable). 15 Then the lust/desire, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is finished (accomplished), brings forth death. 16  ***Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers.***


17  Every ***good gift*** and every ***perfect gift*** is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.


Matthew 7:11
If you then, being evil, know how to give **good gifts** to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give **good things** to those who ask him? 


1 Corinthians 12:31-13:3
12:31 But **covet (desire to have) earnestly the best gifts:** and yet I show you a more excellent way. → 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and do not have ***charity/love,*** I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and do not have ***charity,*** I am nothing. 3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and do not have ***charity,*** it profits me nothing.


In Solomon's case, his eye ended up being full of darkness. And that did not end well for him. He turned away from his first love. That is not a pattern all must follow. 


1 Kings 11:4-6
4. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 

Matthew 6:22-23
22  “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. 23  But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
 
Lust → sin → death is surely not the dangerous path that a saint will be on in the hour of temptation. If that's the case, then where is the Holy Spirit? A man who can resist the devil should do just that. Nothing less is expected of him. And there should be no reason for any woman to suppose that a man who simply notices her beauty in whatever context it may be has slipped on a slippery slope of lust, sin and death. That is ridiculous and surely the devil's plan to create confusion, distrust and fear. However men are wired, a man of God is rewired or hopefully he is in that process of rewiring by the renewing of his mind (Romans 12:1-2), so that the clichés that the world applies to men no longer describe him. He is alive and overcoming the world, not dead in trespasses and sins, and he keeps himself so that the wicked one touches him not (1 John 5:18). Both men and women will be judged according to their own doings. 


-------


1 John 5:18
We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him not. 


-------


2 Timothy 3:16-17
16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.


-------


These exhortations are words for believers to HEAR and DO:


Galatians 5:24-25
24. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts. 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 


2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 


Romans 8:1-4
1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.


James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.


Romans: 8:8-14
8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. 12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13. For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.


Galatians: 6:7-8
7. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. 8. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.


Galatians: 5:16-23
16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust/desire of the flesh. 17. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would. 18. But if you be led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 


=======


Deuteronomy 6:6-9
6. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: 7. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when ou rise up. 8. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9. And you shall write them upon the posts of you house, and on your gates. 


Mark 12:30-31 
30  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. 31  And the second is like, namely this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. 


10/02/2015, 8:33 PM

_______

See also:
Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)
https://www.facebook.com/yestothetruth/posts/1435997813145804

Seal of God vs Mark of the Beast (Parable)

The Kingdom of heaven is like a computer program that is set to run at its appointed time. And each man will bring to it a two-digit input as an entry code, which is patterned like this: 

[Man became righteous by faith in Jesus* - Yes or No]
[The Good News was received** - Yes or No]. 

Yes = 1; No = 0

*Becoming Jesus' disciple indeed and following Him (John 8:31-32) 

**This is the initial reaction/response to "hearing" the word that can save, just the hearing part and not the doing (James 1:22) (noted 4/26/2025)

These codes are as follows:

[0][0] Error: fallen man rejected the Good News / did not obey God and repent (access denied)
"Parable of the Sower" matches:
Luke 8:5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.
Luke 8:12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
→ Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

→ Acts 3:19-23 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
→ Acts 20:20-21 20 (You know) how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
→ Acts 26:19-20 Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. 
→ Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
→ John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
→ Acts 17:30-31 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.
 

[0][1] Error – corrupted data: after believing (agreeing with the word heard, but not obeying - noted 4/26/2025), failure to endure in the faith to the end on the (authentic from the start - noted 4/26/2025) way of righteousness (access denied) 
"Parable of the Sower" matches:
Luke 8:6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
Luke 8:13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 
→ Matthew 10:22 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

→ John 6:66  From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
→ Ezekiel 33:13, 18 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. 18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.
→ John 15:6 If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

[1][0] Error – fraud : false discipleship / false righteousness (access denied) 

[1][0] can't possibly be presented for access to the Kingdom of God: it is actually [0][0], hence the "fraud" (4/26/2024)

"Parable of the Sower" matches:
Luke 8:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
Luke 8:14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
→ Luke 6:46 Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

→ Matthew 7:21-23 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!’
→ Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 
→ Matthew 15:7-9 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:  8 ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, And honor me with their lips, But their heart is far from me. 9 And in vain they worship me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

[1][1] Truth: man redeemed through Christ and endured in the faith to the end (access granted) 

"Parable of the Sower" matches:
Luke 8:8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Luke 8:15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with perseverance.
→ 1 Corinthians 6:11 ... But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 

→ 1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
→ 1 John 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 
→ Romans 2:5-11 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
→ Revelation 14:12 Here is the endurance of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Now the parable is this:
The codes [0][0], [0][1] and [1][0] are the mark of the beast, and those with it are those on the broad way that leads to destruction, and many are they who go by it (Matthew 7:13).
The code [1][1] is the seal of God, and those with it are those on the narrow way that leads to eternal life, and few are they that find it (Matthew 7:14).

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

_______

If you had never examined the Parable of the Sower for yourself to see how it applies to you, you need to do that. Slow down and spend time in God's word so you know what's going on, not in the world, but in your life, because Jesus has spoken that word for all those who have ears to hear HIM (not hear other people or what other people said He said). As for what's coming to this world, you need to stay in the word of God and be watching and praying rather than keeping up with the news about the Middle East and other parts of the world with the things people are going to be saying to only bring confusion. Make sure you get God's word in you while you still can. It's your light and your life! And as Jesus' disciple and light of the world, endeavor as you can to bring others to find Jesus and come out of this death trap that this sinful world is.


John 17:3
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.



~~~~~


THE SEAL OF GOD

Revelation 7:2-3
Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

Revelation 9:4
They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

The seal of God is a sign of obedience/submission to God / having turned away and stayed away from sin:

2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from unrighteousness.”

( Obedience to God is nothing new... Adam and Eve DIS-OBEYED and sinned, so obedience which is the essence of faith, is what initiates and follows salvation (from sin - noted 4/26/2025):
Deuteronomy 6:6-9
6. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: 7. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8. And you shall BIND THEM FOR A SIGN UPON YOUR HAND (hand?), AND THEY SHALL BE AS FRONTLETS BETWEEN YOUR EYES (forehead?). 9. And you shall write them upon the posts of you house, and on your gates. ) 

👇
1 Corinthians 7:19
Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.

👇
Luke 13:24
Strive to enter in at the narrow gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Luke 17:26-32
26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot's wife.

Remember that as Christians, disciples of Christ, we are in a spiritual war for our souls (1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:12) and we follow a Commander whose strategy against sin which leads to death is perfect and guaranteed to lead sinners who obey Him and repent and continue in obedience to his word to be changed by Him (Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17), FREED FROM SIN (John 8:31-36; Romans 6:16-19), to walk to the final victory where the reward is eternal life. Only those who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:3-7), that is, born again believers (John 3:3-7) who walk continuously in holiness and righteousness (Luke 1:75; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:16; Ephesians 4:24) will be saved. If you obey Christ He will change you into the man or woman you need to be to enter his Kingdom. Just as Adam became a mortal man when he sinned, so do you, as one who has sinned, need to be restored to life through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith then is faithful obedience to Him (Hebrews 5:9). The Gospel is clear that salvation is not found through following men and religious organizations. Life is found in the Word of God (Matthew 4:4; John 6:63) made flesh, Jesus Himself. Don't make the mistake of defining your walking, talking, breathing experiencing as life until you know you have found the fullness of life that is only found in in Jesus (John 10:10). For you are dead while in your trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Therefore, hear Jesus, seek Him, find Him and live... your Life to the fullest!

Matthew 5:29-30
29 And if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you.* For it is better for you that one of your members should perish and not that your whole body should be cast into Gehenna. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you,* for it is better for you that one of your members should perish and not that your whole body should depart into Gehenna.

Matthew 6:22-23
22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

* 👉 Acts 2:38

Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

👉 Acts 3:19
Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord 

👉 Acts 5:32

We are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.

See also:

The Mark of the Beast - No Forced Worship

The Gospel is not "Don't take the mark of the beast." It's "Repent."

The Goal of Repentance (video)

Repentance According to the Bible

Faith Implies Obedience

The Real Church of Jesus Christ (video)

By the word of their testimony (playlist)