Out of love, God sent His Son to the earth as a sacrifice for fallen man. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the relationship between fallen man and God was restored. The Old Covenant, which was sealed with the blood of animals was replaced by a New Covenant, which was sealed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Man could no longer be saved by the works of the law. The only way to be saved was by faith in Jesus Christ and through regeneration in Him. Jesus had fulfilled the law and had taken the sin of the world and the punishment for sin, oko kukufa, upon Himself. Wonke umntu, who would identify with Him in His death and resurrection, would be redeemed from death and would no longer see the death, but inherit eternal life. That was the love and grace of God, which was not only meant for His people by natural birth; Sirayeli , but also for the Gentiles. But the love and grace of God, which was revealed to mankind by the coming and the life of Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection, didn’t give mankind the right to persevere in sin. Because the love and grace of God doesn’t compromise with sin.
The love of God
Throughout the Bible, we see how God showed His great love for the people. God wanted to be a God for the people and He wanted to have a relationship with them like God had with Adam before he became disobedient to God. Nangona kunjalo, many people didn’t want Him to be their God and didn’t want to listen to Him.
They were rebellious and rather served the god of this world; umtyholi, by listening to him and obeying him through the lusts and desire of their flesh.
The people did all kinds of things, that went against the will and the nature of God and His holiness. Kwaye ububi increased on the earth.
The evil was so big, that the sin reached heaven and cried out to God. God repented of the creation of mankind and since they didn’t want to repent, there was nothing else God could do but destroy mankind.
And so the flood came over the earth and later on Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around were destroyed because the people didn’t want to listen to God and didn’t want to obey God.
God redeemed His people from the power of Pharaoh
Even when God had chosen His people; the seed of Jacob; Israel by grace and redeemed them from the power and oppression of Pharaoh and led them from Egypt by His strong hand, many people remained rebellious.
God showed Himself through the many signs and wonders. God made His will and nature known to them, by giving them His law to Moses, who was His representative. Through the law, God made His ways kwaye His thoughts known to His people.
The law of sin and death was meant for the relationship between the old carnal man, ababengabantu bakaThixo, and God. Since the old man was trapped in his flesh, in which sin and death reign.
Kodwa endaweni yoko, His people showed their fear of the Lord by keeping the law, many remained rebellious and disobedient through the weakness of their flesh and didn’t want to submit to His will.
The people of Israel were so familiar with the culture, gods (izithixo), and customs of Egypt, that they compared their God with the gods of Egypt.
But the God, who had chosen them by grace and had mercy on them was not a god, who was created by human hands. The God, who had chosen them by grace and had mercy on them was the Creator of heaven and earth and all there is within. God had created them, instead of the other way around.
Ngelishwa, not everyone was willing to renew their mind with the words of God, which were written in the law, kwaye nge obedience to His words submit themselves to this Almighty God; the Creator of heaven and earth and all there is within.
Nje ngeziphumo, not everyone, who belonged to God’s people entered the promised land and did not enter His rest.
God didn’t compromise with sin
A whole generation died in the wilderness and never entered the land God promised. All because of their stubbornness and rebellion.
There are many more examples written in the Old Testament of certain things that God had to do, which He would rather not have done.
This was not caused by God and His nature, but because of the pride, stubbornness, and rebellion of people and their nature. Because one thing is for sure and that’s God and His love can’t make a covenant with death, by tolerating sin. God couldn’t do this in the Old Testament and God still can’t do this, since God is the same, Yesterday, Today, and Forevermore.
Death was God’s enemy and not His friend. Wonke umntu, who belonged to God’s people but lived in sin, in rebellion against the law, would show that (s)he didn’t love God with all his/her heart, ingqondo, umphefumlo, and strength and didn’t belong to God, but belonged to death. Since the person produced the fruit of death, which is sin and not through obedience to God and His law, the fruit of righteousness.
The love of Jesus
Waphendula uYesu wathi kuye, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me (UYohane 14:23-24)
The Word of God is the truth. There is no single word that is written in the Bible and no promise of God that is not fulfilled. Nangona kunjalo, some prophecies and promises are not fulfilled yet. But we also see these slowly being fulfilled as the return of Jesus approaches.
God sent His word to His people by giving them the law.
The law revealed God’s will to the carnal people and taught His carnal people, whose spirit was death, of good and evil.
When the time had come, God fulfilled His promise of the coming of the Messiah, and so Jesus the Word of God came to the earth.
Jesus came to redeem fallen man from the rulership and oppression of the devil, who reigns in the flesh of mankind.
Jesus restored the position of fallen man and reconciled man back with God. So that the relationship between God and man would be restored (Funda kwakhona: ‘The peace, Jesus restored between God and man‘. kwaye ‘Jesus restored the position of fallen man‘).
Jesus made God’s will known to His people
Jesus came to reveal the intando kaThixo by representing, preaching, and bringing the Kingdom of God to God’s people and calling the people to repentance.
The people of God so deviated from the truth that they were trapped in a manmade religion, that was created by false doctrines of people, traditions, and their set of rules and regulations, which were not from God.
They had created a God and a religion, that didn’t correspond with the true God and His truth.
But because of the traditions of man, they were brought up in this manmade religion and considered this religion as the truth.
Until the Truth of God; His Word came to the earth Himself and exposed all these lies, uhanahaniso, and false piety.
Nowhere in the four gospels do we read anything about Jesus approving and/or tolerating sin.
This is impossible! Because how could Jesus enter a covenant with the death, who is an enemy of God, by approving sin, which is the fruit of death? Hayi, Jesus didn’t allow sin and didn’t compromise with sin, but Jesus called the people to inguquko nokususwa kwesono.
Jesus redeemed mankind from the power of the devil
Wakhala uYesu wathi, Lowo ukholwayo kuM, anikholwa kum, kodwa kulowo wandithumayo. Lowo undibonayo mna, ubona owandithumayo. Mna ndilukhanyiso ehlabathini, ukuze bonke abakholwayo kum bangahlali ebumnyameni. Nokuba umntu uthe waweva amazwi am, ningakholwa ke, andimgwebi: kuba andizanga kuligweba ihlabathi, kodwa kukusindisa ihlabathi. Lowo ugiba Mna, akawamkeli amazwi am, unaye umgwebi: ilizwi endilithethileyo, abaya kumgweba ngomhla wokugqibela. For I have not spoken of Myself; kodwa uBawo owandithumayo, he gave Me a commandment, mandithini, nento endiya kuyithetha. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: Ngoko ke izinto endizithethayo mna, njengokuba uBawo wathethayo kum, ngoko ndiyathetha (UYohane 12:44-50)
Jesus didn’t come to the earth to judge the people. Because it was not His time yet to judge the people. But Jesus came to give the people the opportunity to be saved, through repentance and the removal of sin and by submitting to God and His will (UMateyu 9:13, Phawula 2:17, ULuka 5:32).
Jesus showed, that fulfilling the law was not as hard as it seemed. Nangona kunjalo, it all depended upon one element and that was the love for God.
Not everyone loved God as much as Jesus. Ngoko ke, not everyone was willing to lay down his own life and the lusts and desires of the flesh because of God and submit to God and His will.
Jesus didn’t compromise with sin
All the signs, wonders, and mighty works were interesting to many people, but they didn’t bring the people to repentance. Because the mighty works that Jesus had done in the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum didn’t bring the people to repentance (UMateyu 11:20-24, ULuka 10:13-16).
Even the words of Jesus didn’t bring many to repentance. Because of all the thousands of people, who followed Jesus temporarily, because of the signs, wonders, and mighty works Jesus did, or because they needed healing themselves or another miracle in their lives, only His twelve disciples were left and remained with Jesus (UYohane 6:66-69).
The others couldn’t bear the words of Jesus, because they were hard and therefore they left Jesus.
Many were not able to bear the Light, since they were confronted with their sin and convinced of their sin.
Since many didn’t want to repent of their sin, but loved their sin and therefore wanted to persevere in sin, they did everything that was in their power to extinguish the Light. But since it was not God’s time yet, they were not able to extinguish the Light in the beginning.
Finally, the people, who belonged to the darkness, thought that they had extinguished the Light once and for all, nge crucifying Jesus Christ.
While one Light was only just extinguished, 120 lights were lit
Kodwa endaweni yoko, they had extinguished the Light forever and they could continue their lives in darkness without restraint, they had achieved the opposite. Because 50 iintsuku emva kwePasika the Holy Spirit came to the earth and 120 new Lights were born.
Of all those thousands of people, who met Jesus and temporarily followed Him, only 120 were left.
These 120 were united together in prayer in the upper room in Jerusalem, waiting for the promise, which Jesus had given them of the coming of the other Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
And it didn’t stop with these 120 abantu. Because these 120 believers did what Jesus had commanded them to do. And because they had received the power of the Holy Spirit, they were able to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and preach His death and resurrection to the people. From that moment many souls were saved and added daily to the Church.
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things (ULuka 24:45-48).
The Holy Spirit walks in love
Just like Jesus walked in the love of God and called the lost, who belonged to God’s people and reproved them of sin and called them to repentance, the new creation in whom the Holy Spirit dwelled did the same thing. The new creation also walked in the love of God and reproved the people of sin. They called fallen man, who belonged to the darkness, to repentance and the removal of sin.
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, esithi, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life (IZenzo 11:18)
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (IZenzo 20:21)
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, kwandule ke ukuya kwiintlanga, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance (IZenzo 26:20)
This gospel was first preached and brought to God’s carnal people. But because of God’s love and grace, the gospel was also preached and brought to the Gentiles. By the grace of God, salvation came to the Gentiles and through regeneration, they were circumcised in Christ and belonged to God’s people.
The new man has been made righteous and holy
The new man was justified by the blood of Jesus and therefore the new man was made righteous and holy, which means that the new man was separated from the world unto God.
The new man didn’t walk in darkness after the lusts and desires of the flesh and didn’t produce the fruit for death, esisisono, anymore, like (s)he produced before his/her repentance when the flesh was still alive and death reigned in his/her life.
Ezo, who had become a new creation, had repented and were baptized and born of God. They were redeemed from the power of death, olawula esenyameni.
Death didn’t reign in their lives and they no longer belonged to the kingdom of darkness. But they were born again and transferred to the Kingdom of God and therefore they belonged through regeneration to the Life.
Since they belonged to the Life and no longer to the Death, they didn’t produce the fruit of death, esisisono, in their lives anymore, but they produced the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of righteousness.
The new man doesn’t compromise with sin
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him (IZenzo 5:30-32).
Just like God and Jesus, the new creations also didn’t make a covenant with the dead by compromising with sin.
They didn’t allow sin but they reproved the people of sin.
They confronted the people with their sins and called them to repentance and the removal of sin.
After all, they had received the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit can only dwell in those, who are obedient to God and His Word.
The grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus and His blood couldn’t be used as an excuse to persevere in sin. The Christians back then, knew this very well.
They were spiritual and therefore they saw, just like God and Jesus by the Holy Spirit what sin is and what sin does with people (Funda kwakhona: ‘What is sin?‘, ‘The sin killed Jesus‘ kwaye ‘Can you be complicit in the sin of fellow believers?‘)
Ngoko ke, they didn’t preach a message of imithetho yobuxoki and false grace that compromises with sin and encourages the people to stay carnal. Since the true love and grace of God doesn’t compromise with sin, but hates sin and removes sin.
The old man compromises with sin
But an unspiritual man, who thinks like the world and is led by his senses, iimvakalelo, and feelings is ignorant about the things which are above, but only searches and looks for the things which are on this earth.
The old man, who lives after the flesh is unspiritual and is led by the ruler of this world; umtyholi, who has blinded the mind of this world with his lies.
The devil only has one purpose and that is to kill and destroy every person on this earth. The way he does that is through his seducing lies, which look godly and loving but in reality, destroy the people.
Many churches have compromised with sin
Kuyo yonke iminyaka, through the deviousness of the devil, the Church has allowed the spirit of this world to enter and has become world-like. Many churches don’t rely on the Word and the Holy Spirit but have entered sideways and rely on the words of the world.
Their prideful minds assume that they know it better than God and because of that mindset they have adjusted the Word to the will and the feelings, iimvakalelo, iinkanuko, and desires of the old man (old creation) kunye nehlabathi.
Many preachers, who preach behind the pulpit or enter the living rooms via (ezentlalo) media on Sundays, are not born again and don’t have the Holy Spirit. Kunoko, they serve the kingdom of darkness, since they allow people to live in sin (Funda kwakhona: ‘Destroying the works of God instead of the works of the devil‘).
They don’t deal with the problem and don’t call the people to repentance, but they allow sin to have its way.
They wrap the lies of the devil, with their humanism. Therefore their words look piously and it seems like they only want the best for their fellow man and that they love their neighbor as themselves. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Death reigns through sin
Because of the fact that the Church has not closed her gates for sin, but allowed and embraced the world and its sin, satan has taken his place in the Church and has established his throne (Funda kwakhona: ‘The church is prepared for the antichrist‘ kwaye ‘The throne of satan‘).
By allowing sin and satan’s power to enter, many believers have been affected and defiled with sin and have developed the same mindset as the world.
Many don’t spend time in the Word and hardly pray. They have become lukewarm for God and the things of His Kingdom. They will only be interested when supernatural manifestations take place. And since the devil has established his throne in many churches, he gives exactly what the people want to see and especially feel and does great signs and wonders.
Many have become indifferent toward sin and don’t mind sin. They even persevere in sin themselves and/or encourage and stand by those who persevere in sin. How do they do that? By not calling them to repentance, but allowing them to sin.
Through the ignorance of many leaders, who approve of everything to keep the church members satisfied, so that they keep coming to the church, and keep living after the flesh, the church member also has become ignorant about the will of God and also approve of everything and keep walking after the flesh.
Without knowing, they are on their way to the abyss, only because of all these lies of the devil.
The love and grace of God doesn’t compromise with sin
But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, noxolo, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified (AmaRoma 2:2-13)
The love and grace of God doesn’t compromise with sin, on the contrary. The love and grace of God calls to repentance nokususwa kwesono. The love and grace of God deals with the sinful nature, in which death reigns and that produces the fruit of death, esisisono.
Wonke umntu, who perseveres in sin and is not willing to repent, belongs to the death, since the person produces the fruit of death and is on his/her way to hell.
Kwenzeka ntoni kummandla womoya, we see happening all around us in the natural realm. The bad thing is, that people are more concerned about what happens in the natural realm than what happens in the spiritual realm.
The call to repentance to the Church
But if the Church repents of her works and return to God and return to God and shall love and serve God with all her heart, ingqondo, umphefumlo, kunye namandla, and if the fear of the Lord returns and the Word becomes the highest Authority in the Church again, and the Holy Spirit will dwell in the new creations, who together are the Church, then a change shall take place, which will become visible in the natural realm.
Ngoko ke, let the Church stop preaching these false doctrines, which are lies. Let the Church stop preaching a false message, by misusing the love and grace of God to keep the old man alive and allow them to persevere in sin and tolerate sin, so that they don’t experience any resistance or persecution of the world, but they can live the same lives like the world.
The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead (IMizekeliso 21:16)
As long as the Church doesn’t repent and doesn’t remove her sin, but compromises with sin, the Church shall remain rooted in darkness and death shall reign in the Church. The Church shall not be a congregation of the living, but shall be a congregation of the dead. And when the time comes the Church shall reap what she has sown (isono), which is destruction, instead of eternal life by sowing righteousness (Funda kwakhona: ‘To whom does the Church bend her roots?‘).
‘Yibani yityuwa yehlabathi’
