The Alabaster woman

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost it's taste, how shall it's saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light up a lamp and put it under a bushel but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the House. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven. Matt 5:13-16

For that is what the Love of God means, that we observe His Commandments; and yet His Commandments are not burdensome, because everything that has been born from God conquers the world. And this is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith.1Jn5:3-4

Oh that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep my commandments, that it will be well with them and with their children forever! Deut 5:29

Bible Personality - Isaiah

Israel's preaching Evangelical Prophet of the Old Testament. The Book of Isaiah was written during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah all four kings of Judah around BC700-750. The son of Amoz, The Prophet Isaiah's name is Prophetic and means Jehovah is Salvation in Hebrew. His call to Prophetdom was in the year  King Uzziah died. The call was from God Himself and he had the opportunity of seeing God on His Throne. IS 6:4-8

Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, Isaiah was a major Prophet.  The hierarchal status of The Old Testament Prophets was determined by the size and the importance of the contents of their book. The Book of Isaiah is voluminous and transcend spectrums in terms of its contents which comprise Prophecies, Sermons, Hymns and Narratives. The importance of the Prophet Isaiah's work to God's people is emphasized by the New Testament Apostle Matthew after his departure from Nazareth and his settling in Capernaum after The Apostle John's arrest  in the fourth chapter of his book. " That what was spoken by the Prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled; the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned." Matt 4:14-16

The Prophet Isaiah is responsible for many Prophecies, some of which have come to pass and others yet to be fulfilled. He prophesied the coming of the Messiah in Isaiah 53 and his narration of the person and works of Jesus Christ make the reader or hearer think that Isaiah's era was New Testament times. He is responsible for a lot of Prophecies relative to the people of Judah in the Biblical era and the future world. Chapters 1-40 deal with prophecies of Biblical times while chapters 40 to the end deal with the future world. There are areas in this last section where he addresses Israelites abroad comforting and encouraging them with God's promises, assuring them of His supremacy and capabilities including turning their inhibitions and temporary obstacles to stepping stones to His blessings.

Dr. Stanley E. Okandeji.

The two great Commandments

 "Teacher which is the great commandment in the law?" And He said to him "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and the first Commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two Commandments depend all the law and the Prophets.

The Body Of Christ

For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.Rm12:4

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Salvation

Soteriology The Theological study of Salvation. Salvation consists of three important components of God's grace relative to the preventative measures He put in place to ensure we are not destroyed by our disobedient (sinful) nature. They are acts of grace of saving us from the consequences of  our sin  which would have resulted in our eternal condemnation. These gracious acts are: Being saved from sin, not being condemned to hell in afterlife due to redemption and freedom from oppression by the world system and the dominion of darkness. Soteriology is a derivative of two Greek words Soter and Logos which are Saviour and Word (Jesus)  respectively, The later has other two translations which are reason and principle.. These two names combined to form the Word Soteriology are relative to the Christian faith and are actually referring to Jesus Christ of Nazareth - our Redeemer. The study of Soteriology is the study of the method by which salvation was achieved.   Sin can manifest under several circumstances like thoughts, spoken words and immorality. Sin is a barrier between us, God and eternity. Rom 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. God did not create us to later die at the outset but intended for us to be with Him to eternity. Rom:15:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned. Salvation is the act of repenting and returning to God leaving our world pleasing ways. Acts 26:20 But I declared to those in Damascus first, and to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance. Acts 3:19 Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out.

^{Ex21:30 If a ransom is set for him, then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for Him. In the case of humanity, death and eternal condemnation due to sin was what man had to be redeemed from and Jesus Christ became the ransom payment so that we may have life instead of death. Jesus Christ is the ultimate show of God's Love for us. By His crucifixion and  resurrection,  the ransom price for the lives of  humanity was paid.}

Atonement is an action taken to compensate for a wrongdoing or sin. Before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, our sins were atoned for by certain rituals by the High Priest. Other church things also required atonement and the atonement acts were the responsibility of the High Priest whose actions were dictated by God's requirements and directives. It culminated in the High Priest making things, carrying out animal, birds, etc. sacrifices. Ex 25:17 "You are to make an atonement lid of  pure gold: it's length is to be three feet nine inches, and it's width is to be two feet three inches."  Ex 29:36 "Every day you are to prepare a bull for a purification offering for atonement. You are to purge the alter by making atonement for it, and you are to anoint it to set it apart as holy." These two examples of atonement acts show the laborious and cumbersome operations Priests had to go through to seek God for their flock before the atonement with Jesus Christ which simplified the process of  getting to God directly simply by asking anything in the name of Jesus Christ. The atonement of Christ is the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ for sinners, In His death on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus Christ atoned for our sins. This atonement has reconciled us to God through our redemption. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on behalf of Sinners is the redemption.

Everyone who practices sin is also practicing lawlessness and so sin is lawlessness. Whenever we talk about redemption, we must also see sin in it's true perspective because it is our sins we are being redeemed from. Sin is the violation of God's Law or God's moral code of conduct given to man by God Himself through His Prophet Moses on Mt. Sinai. Non observance of the Law (The Ten Commandments) or breaking them is the violation of the said Law. Sin has being with us from time since the very first violation of God's simple instruction to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden not to eat of the forbidden fruit was not adhered to. Eve's succumbing to the serpent's temptation by plucking, eating and giving to her husband Adam to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil, sin entered the earth for the very first time due to that act of  disobedience.

The word redeem may have several definitions. In Christianity, the word redeem is Jesus Christ coming to free us from our sins by His own death on the cross. Our redemption today is the deliverance from sin through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This Redemption has brought with it Salvation in that we are being saved from the influences and consequences of our sins. God allowed the sacrifice of His one and only begotten Son Jesus Christ (The Word) so that we may be delivered from the dominion of darkness and be in the Kingdom of His Son who is our redemption and through whose blood we are also cleansed from our transgression against God. 1Jo1:7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sins. The blood shed by Jesus cleanses us from all sins and is the instrument of our redemption that brings that Salvation that sets us free from sin consequences and the dominion of the evil one. Heb 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus. We must not forget the person of the Word who was actively involved in our creation in the beginning. For God to use Jesus Christ of Nazareth His only Son in spite of who He is as a sacrificial lamb for our freedom from the resultants of sin and the stronghold of darkness. This shows the kind of love God has for us. Col 1:15 Quantifies Master Jesus in another perspective: He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation; for in Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him.

This crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection has brought redemption which is our salvation to all who call on the name of the Lord. Rom 10:13 For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Rom 6:3-5  All of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death. we were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Rom 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. The blood of Jesus Christ washes away all our sins and transgressions.  Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. Rom6:2 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord. Looking back in time in Biblical history, we see the compassionate side of God. He shows this compassion by applying the only tangible solution that frees us from the dominion of darkness and the consequences of our sins. Salvation was only possible through this ultimate sacrifice. Acts4:12 And there is salvation in no one else,  there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.

Dr. Stanley E. Okandeji