Ezekiel 18:25-28 (NKJV) "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? "When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. "Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. "Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die."

Genesis 13:14-17 (NKJV) "And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are; northward, southward, eastward, and westward; {15} "for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. {16} "And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. {17} "Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."

Genesis 15:1-6 (NKJV) "After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." {2} But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" {3} Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" {4} And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." {5} Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." {6} And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness."

Genesis 16:1-4 (NKJV) "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. {2} So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. {3} Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. {4} So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes."

Genesis 17:1-14 (NKJV) "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. {2} "And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." {3} Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: {4} "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. {5} "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. {6} "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. {7} "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. {8} "Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." {9} And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. {10} "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; {11} "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. {12} "He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. {13} "He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. {14} "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

Genesis 18:1-15 (NKJV) "Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. {2} So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, {3} and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. {4} "Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. {5} "And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said." {6} So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes." {7} And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. {8} So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. {9} Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent." {10} And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) {11} Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. {12} Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" {13} And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' {14} "Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." {15} But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but you did laugh!"

Hebrews 11:8-19 (NKJV) "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. {9} By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; {10} for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. {11} By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. {12} Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude; innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. {13} These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. {14} For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. {15} And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. {16} But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. {17} By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, {18} of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," {19} concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense."

Genesis 18:16-33 (NKJV) "Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. {17} And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, {18} "since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? {19} "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." {20} And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, {21} "I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know." {22} Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. {23} And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? {24} "Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? {25} "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" {26} So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." {27} Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: {28} "Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?" So He said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it." {29} And he spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose there should be forty found there?" So He said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty." {30} Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." {31} And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty." {32} Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten." {33} So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place."

The Jews were constantly in rebellion to God. They go through slavery, trial and torment. Now the Lord sends the law.

Exodus 19:3-6 (NKJV) "And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: {4} 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. {5} '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. {6} '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."

Exodus 19:7-8 (NKJV) "So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. {8} Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD."

Exodus 20:1-17 (NKJV) "And God spoke all these words, saying: {2} "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. {3} "You shall have no other gods before Me. {4} "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; {5} you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, {6} but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. {7} "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. {8} "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days you shall labor and do all your work, {10} but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. {11} For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. {12} "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. {13} "You shall not murder. {14} "You shall not commit adultery. {15} "You shall not steal. {16} "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. {17} "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

Exodus 20:18-21 (NKJV) "Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. {19} Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." {20} And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." {21} So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was."

Exodus 32:1-6 (NKJV) "Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." {2} And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." {3} "So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. {4} And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" {5} So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD." {6} Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."

Leviticus 26:1-2 (NKJV) "'You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God. {2} You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD."

Leviticus 26:3-13 (NKJV) "'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, {4} then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. {5} Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. {6} I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. {7} You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. {8} Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. {9} 'For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. {10} You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. {11} I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. {12} I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. {13} I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright."

If the people disobeyed, then these were God's conditions and results of disobedience.

Leviticus 26:14-39 (NKJV) "'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, {15} and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, {16} I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. {17} I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. {18} 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. {19} I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. {20} And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. {21} 'Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. {22} I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate. {23} 'And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, {24} then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. {25} And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. {26} When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied. {27} 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, {28} then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. {29} You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. {30} I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. {31} I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. {32} I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. {33} I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. {34} Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. {35} As long as it lies desolate it shall rest; for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it. {36} 'And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. {37} They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. {38} You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. {39} And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; also in their fathers' iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away."

Leviticus 26:40-46 (NKJV) "'But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, {41} and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt; {42} then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. {43} The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. {44} Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. {45} But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.' " {46} These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the LORD made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses."

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 (NKJV) "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. {2} "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: {3} "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. {4} "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. {5} "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. {6} "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. {7} "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. {8} "The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. {9} "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. {10} "Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. {11} "And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. {12} "The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. {13} "And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. {14} "So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them."

Deuteronomy 28:15-68 (NKJV) "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: {16} "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. {17} "Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. {18} "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. {19} "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. {20} "The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. {21} "The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. {22} "The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. {23} "And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. {24} "The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed. {25} "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. {26} "Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. {27} "The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. {28} "The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart. {29} "And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. {30} "You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. {31} "Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. {32} "Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand. {33} "A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. {34} "So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see. {35} "The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head. {36} "The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods; wood and stone. {37} "And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you. {38} "You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. {39} "You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. {40} "You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. {41} "You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity. {42} "Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land. {43} "The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. {44} "He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. {45} "Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. {46} "And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. {47} "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, {48} "therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. {49} "The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, {50} "a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. {51} "And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you. {52} "They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you. {53} "You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. {54} "The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind, {55} "so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. {56} "The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, {57} "her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. {58} "If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, {59} "then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues; great and prolonged plagues; and serious and prolonged sicknesses. {60} "Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. {61} "Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed. {62} "You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. {63} "And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. {64} "Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known; wood and stone. {65} "And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. {66} "Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. {67} "In the morning you shall say, 'Oh, that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, 'Oh, that it were morning!' because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see. {68} "And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, 'You shall never see it again.' And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you."

2 Samuel 11:1-5 (NKJV) "It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. {2} Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. {3} So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" {4} Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. {5} And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."

2 Samuel 12:1-12 (NKJV) "Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. {2} "The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. {3} "But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. {4} "And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." {5} So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! {6} "And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity." {7} Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. {8} 'I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! {9} 'Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. {10} 'Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' {11} "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. {12} 'For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.'"

James 1:13-18 (NKJV) "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. {14} But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. {15} Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. {16} Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. {17} Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. {18} Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."

2 Samuel 12:15-19 (NKJV) "Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. {16} David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. {17} So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. {18} Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!" {19} When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they said, "He is dead."

2 Samuel 13:1-15 (NKJV) "After this Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. {2} Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her. {3} But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David's brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man. {4} And he said to him, "Why are you, the king's son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me?" Amnon said to him, "I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister." {5} So Jonadab said to him, "Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, 'Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.' " {6} Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let Tamar my sister come and make a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I may eat from her hand." {7} And David sent home to Tamar, saying, "Now go to your brother Amnon's house, and prepare food for him." {8} So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. {9} And she took the pan and placed them out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, "Have everyone go out from me." And they all went out from him. {10} Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom. {11} Now when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister." {12} And she answered him, "No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! {13} "And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you." {14} However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her. {15} Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, "Arise, be gone!"

2 Kings 18:28-37 (NKJV) "Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! {29} "Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; {30} 'nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, "The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria." ' {31} "Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: 'Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; {32} 'until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, "The LORD will deliver us." {33} 'Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? {34} 'Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? {35} 'Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?' " {36} But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, "Do not answer him." {37} Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh."

2 Kings 19:1-3 (NKJV) "And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. {2} Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. {3} And they said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth."

2 Kings 19:4-7 (NKJV) "'It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' " {5} So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. {6} And Isaiah said to them, "Thus you shall say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: "Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. {7} "Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."'"

2 Kings 19:36-37 (NKJV) So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. {37} Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place."

Acts 12:20-25 (NKJV) "Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king's personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king's country. {21} So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. {22} And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" {23} Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. {24} But the word of God grew and multiplied. {25} And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark."

Hosea 2:1-5 (NKJV) "Say to your brethren, 'My people,' And to your sisters, 'Mercy is shown.' {2} "Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband! Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, And her adulteries from between her breasts; {3} Lest I strip her naked And expose her, as in the day she was born, And make her like a wilderness, And set her like a dry land, And slay her with thirst. {4} "I will not have mercy on her children, For they are the children of harlotry. {5} For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my linen, My oil and my drink.'"

Hosea 2:6-13 (NKJV) "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, And wall her in, So that she cannot find her paths. {7} She will chase her lovers, But not overtake them; Yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go and return to my first husband, For then it was better for me than now.' {8} For she did not know That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, And multiplied her silver and gold; Which they prepared for Baal. {9} "Therefore I will return and take away My grain in its time And My new wine in its season, And will take back My wool and My linen, Given to cover her nakedness. {10} Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, And no one shall deliver her from My hand. {11} I will also cause all her mirth to cease, Her feast days, Her New Moons, Her Sabbaths; All her appointed feasts. {12} "And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, Of which she has said, 'These are my wages that my lovers have given me.' So I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field shall eat them. {13} I will punish her For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, And went after her lovers; But Me she forgot," says the LORD."

Hosea 4:1-2 (NKJV) "Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. {2} By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed."

Hosea 4:3-11 (NKJV) "Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away. {4} "Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest. {5} Therefore you shall stumble in the day; The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; And I will destroy your mother. {6} My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. {7} "The more they increased, The more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. {8} They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity. {9} And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, And reward them for their deeds. {10} For they shall eat, but not have enough; They shall commit harlotry, but not increase; Because they have ceased obeying the LORD. {11} "Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart."

Hosea 4:12-19 (NKJV) "My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God. {13} They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops, And burn incense on the hills, Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, Because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, And your brides commit adultery. {14} "I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, Nor your brides when they commit adultery; For the men themselves go apart with harlots, And offer sacrifices with a ritual harlot. Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled. {15} "Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Let not Judah offend. Do not come up to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth Aven, Nor swear an oath, saying, 'As the LORD lives'; {16} "For Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn calf; Now the LORD will let them forage Like a lamb in open country. {17} "Ephraim is joined to idols, Let him alone. {18} Their drink is rebellion, They commit harlotry continually. Her rulers dearly love dishonor. {19} The wind has wrapped her up in its wings, And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices."

Hosea 5:1-14 (NKJV) "Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For yours is the judgment, Because you have been a snare to Mizpah And a net spread on Tabor. {2} The revolters are deeply involved in slaughter, Though I rebuke them all. {3} I know Ephraim, And Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you commit harlotry; Israel is defiled. {4} "They do not direct their deeds Toward turning to their God, For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, And they do not know the LORD. {5} The pride of Israel testifies to his face; Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also stumbles with them. {6} "With their flocks and herds They shall go to seek the LORD, But they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. {7} They have dealt treacherously with the LORD, For they have begotten pagan children. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage. {8} "Blow the ram's horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah! Cry aloud at Beth Aven, 'Look behind you, O Benjamin!' {9} Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure. {10} "The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out my wrath on them like water. {11} Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, Because he willingly walked by human precept. {12} Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth, And to the house of Judah like rottenness. {13} "When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound. {14} For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue."

Hosea 9:10-17 (NKJV) "I found Israel Like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, And separated themselves to that shame; They became an abomination like the thing they loved. {11} As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird; No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception! {12} Though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them to the last man. Yes, woe to them when I depart from them! {13} Just as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place, So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer." {14} Give them, O LORD; What will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb And dry breasts! {15} "All their wickedness is in Gilgal, For there I hated them. Because of the evil of their deeds I will drive them from My house; I will love them no more. All their princes are rebellious. {16} Ephraim is stricken, Their root is dried up; They shall bear no fruit. Yes, were they to bear children, I would kill the darlings of their womb." {17} My God will cast them away, Because they did not obey Him; And they shall be wanderers among the nations."

Throughout all the Old Testament, we see rebellion after rebellion, bringing judgement after judgement, bringing curse after curse. The Jews constantly broke the law. Finally, we come to a time for reconciliation.

Matthew 1:18-25 (NKJV) "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. {19} Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. {20} But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. {21} "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." {22} So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: {23} "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." {24} Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, {25} and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS."

Hebrews 2:5-18 (NKJV) "For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. {6} But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? {7} You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. {8} You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. {9} But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. {10} For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. {11} For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, {12} saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You." {13} And again: "I will put My trust in Him." And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me." {14} Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, {15} and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. {16} For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. {17} Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. {18} For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted."

Matthew 4:1-11 (NKJV) "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. {2} And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. {3} Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." {4} But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' " {5} Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, {6} and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " {7} Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' " {8} Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. {9} And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." {10} Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " {11} Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him."

Jesus wasn't tempted with sexual immorality as we are. Why? Was it because He was man/God, having the body of man, but the nature of God, not having the ability to Sin? Or was it because He had the Spirit of God?

Matthew 3:13-17 (NKJV) "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. {14} And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" {15} But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. {16} When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. {17} And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (NKJV) "However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. {7} But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, {8} which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. {9} But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." {10} But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. {11} For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. {12} Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. {13} These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. {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. {15} But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. {16} For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ."

Therefore, Jesus was able to reconcile the Jew, the lawbreaker with God. And to do that, He came to fulfill the law.

Matthew 5:17-19 (NKJV) "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. {18} "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. {19} "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 8:14-17 (NKJV) "Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. {15} So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. {16} When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, {17} that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."

Mark 2:1-12 (NKJV) "And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. {2} Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. {3} Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. {4} And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. {5} When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." {6} And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, {7} "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" {8} But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? {9} "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? {10} "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"; He said to the paralytic, {11} "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." {12} Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

Mark 5:1-20 (NKJV) "Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. {2} And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, {3} who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, {4} because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. {5} And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. {6} When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. {7} And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me." {8} For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" {9} Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many." {10} Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. {11} Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. {12} So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." {13} And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. {14} So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. {15} Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. {16} And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. {17} Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. {18} And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. {19} However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you." {20} And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled."

Mark 9:14-29 (NKJV) "And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. {15} Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. {16} And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" {17} Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. {18} "And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." {19} He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me." {20} Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. {21} So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. {22} "And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." {23} Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." {24} Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" {25} When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" {26} Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." {27} But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. {28} And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" {29} So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

Matthew 27:15-25 (NKJV) "Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. {16} And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. {17} Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" {18} For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. {19} While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." {20} But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. {21} The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" {22} Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!" {23} Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" {24} When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it." {25} And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."

Romans 10:1-15 (NKJV) "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. {2} For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. {3} For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. {4} For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. {5} For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." {6} But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above) {7} or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). {8} But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): {9} that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. {10} For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. {11} For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." {12} For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. {13} For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." {14} How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? {15} And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

Romans 10:16-21 (NKJV) "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" {17} So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. {18} But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: "Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world." {19} But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: "I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation." {20} But Isaiah is very bold and says: "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me." {21} But to Israel he says: "All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people."

Romans 11:1-10 (NKJV) "I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. {2} God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, {3} "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"? {4} But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." {5} Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. {6} And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. {7} What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. {8} Just as it is written: "God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day." {9} And David says: "Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them. {10} Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always."

Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. The day of Pentecost has arrived.

Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV) "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. {2} And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. {3} Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. {4} And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Acts 4:32-37 (NKJV) "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. {33} And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. {34} Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, {35} and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. {36} And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, {37} having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet."

Acts 5:1-11 (NKJV) "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. {2} And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. {3} But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? {4} "While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." {5} Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. {6} And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. {7} Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. {8} And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much." {9} Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." {10} Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. {11} So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things."

Acts 5:12-16 (NKJV) "And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. {13} Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. {14} And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, {15} so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. {16} Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed."

Romans 11:11-24 (NKJV) "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. {12} Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! {13} For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, {14} if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. {15} For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? {16} For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. {17} And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, {18} do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. {19} You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." {20} Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. {21} For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. {22} Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. {23} And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. {24} For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?"

Due to the Gentiles misdealings with God's people, the Jews, judgement had already begun.

Joel 3:1-15 (NKJV) "For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, {2} I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land. {3} They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. {4} "Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head; {5} Because you have taken My silver and My gold, And have carried into your temples My prized possessions. {6} Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem You have sold to the Greeks, That you may remove them far from their borders. {7} "Behold, I will raise them Out of the place to which you have sold them, And will return your retaliation upon your own head. {8} I will sell your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the people of Judah, And they will sell them to the Sabeans, To a people far off; For the LORD has spoken." {9} Proclaim this among the nations: "Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. {10} Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, 'I am strong.' " {11} Assemble and come, all you nations, And gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD. {12} "Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. {13} Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow; For their wickedness is great." {14} Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. {15} The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness."

Romans 1:18-23 (NKJV) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, {19} because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. {20} For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, {21} because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. {22} Professing to be wise, they became fools, {23} and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man; and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."

Galatians 3:10-14 (NKJV) "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." {11} But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." {12} Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." {13} Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), {14} that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

Romans 7:7-13 (NKJV) "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." {8} But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. {9} I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. {10} And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. {11} For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. {12} Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. {13} 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."

Galatians 4:21-31 (NKJV) "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? {22} For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. {23} But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, {24} which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar; {25} for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children; {26} but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. {27} For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband." {28} Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. {29} But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. {30} Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." {31} So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free."

John 4:21-24 (NKJV) "Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. {22} "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. {23} "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. {24} "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Why has this worship, the worship of the Father in Spirit and Truth, never happened?

Titus 1:15-16 (NKJV) "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. {16} They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work."

We can't have worship in Spirit and Truth as long as defilement and unbelief are in our worship. Defilement defies truth. God promised a curse without reason could not light.

Proverbs 26:2 (NKJV) "Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight."

We've seen throughout all the Old Testament the RJC syndrome. Rebellion brings judgement, brings curse. Therefore, the Gentiles improper worship of God brings the curse of:

Romans 1:24-27 (NKJV) "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, {25} who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. {26} For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. {27} Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

This curse brings on sexual perversions and diseases linked to these sexual perversions such as AIDS. This curse also brings mans justification.

1 John 2:18-27 (NKJV) "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. {19} They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. {20} But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. {21} I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. {22} Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. {23} Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. {24} Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. {25} And this is the promise that He has promised us; eternal life. {26} These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. {27} But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him."

1 John 4:1-6 (NKJV) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. {2} By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, {3} and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. {4} You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. {5} They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. {6} We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

Romans 1:28-32 (NKJV) "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; {29} being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, {30} backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, {31} undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; {32} who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."

Throughout the history of the church you have seen split after split after split for doctrine differences.

Numbers 15:22-31 (NKJV) "'If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses; {23} 'all that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations; {24} 'then it will be, if it is unintentionally committed, without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats as a sin offering. {25} 'So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional; they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their unintended sin. {26} 'It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally. {27} 'And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. {28} 'So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. {29} 'You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them. {30} 'But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people. {31} 'Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.'"

Hebrews 2:1-4 (NKJV) Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. {2} For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, {3} how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, {4} God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

Hebrews 10:26-39 (NKJV) "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, {27} but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. {28} Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. {29} Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? {30} For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." {31} It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. {32} But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: {33} partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; {34} for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. {35} Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. {36} For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: {37} "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. {38} Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." {39} But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul."

All churches preach sexual immorality is improper. Yet according to A. W. Richard Sipe, an ordained Roman Catholic priest, now retired, a psychotherapist in private practice, in writing "A Secret World, Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy", exposes 30% of all Catholic priests are at a stage of heterosexual exploitations that involves sexual contacts. 50% of the Catholic priests are involved with homosexuality. 20% of all priests masturbate. This 20% group does not include other forms of sexual behavior. This includes 100% of the clergy.

2 Timothy 3:1-7 (NKJV) "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: {2} For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, {3} unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, {4} traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, {5} having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! {6} For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, {7} always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Could it be the churches are now teaching a form of godliness but denying the power of God? Therefore, God must once more harden the hearts of those who do not desire righteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 (NKJV) "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, {4} who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. {5} Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? {6} And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. {7} For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. {8} And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. {9} The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, {10} and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. {11} And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, {12} that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJV) "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, {10} nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. {11} And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

Therefore, all forms of sexual intercourse except proper sex between a husband and wife are immoral.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NKJV) "Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. {23} For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."

God does not want worship through rituals and traditions. God wants worship in spirit and in truth.

2 Corinthians 8:1-9 (NKJV) "Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: {2} that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. {3} For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, {4} imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. {5} And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. {6} So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. {7} But as you abound in everything; in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us; see that you abound in this grace also. {8} I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. {9} For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich."

Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV) "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, {20} idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, {21} envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

1 John 3:4-8 (NKJV) "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. {5} And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. {6} Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. {7} Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. {8} He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."

Our comfort is then a lack of these fruits in thought, word or deed. Our comfort lies in producing the fruit of:

Galatians 5:22-26 (NKJV) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, {23} gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. {24} And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. {25} If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. {26} Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."

1 John 3:9-12 (NKJV) "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. {10} In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. {11} For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, {12} not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous."

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 (NKJV) "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, {14} to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. {15} Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. {16} Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, {17} comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work."

Does that mean that He chose me personally for this sanctification? No! It does mean that God's structure laid out in the beginning, a way through reconciliation by the Spirit, allowing you to believe the truth and finding salvation. Maybe therefore Paul truly understood his ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NKJV) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. {18} Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, {19} that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. {20} Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. {21} For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

1 John 5:6-13 (NKJV) "This is He who came by water and blood; Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. {7} For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. {8} And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. {9} If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. {10} He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. {11} And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. {12} He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. {13} These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."

No one I have ever talked to was free from habitual sin. We all cry we're only human.

Any man or woman professing Jesus Christ who has engaged in adultery, homosexuality, masturbation, oral or anal sex, is a liar and a hypocrite and has destroyed Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. So how can we now worship God the Father in Spirit or Truth, or even in ritual as the Jews, since we have knowingly defecated on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

1 John 5:18-21 (NKJV) "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. {19} We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. {20} And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. {21} Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."

Our cry must be, show us the road to reconciliation and changed lives. Show us the road to deliverance.