imputation

Getting back up again after a fall

The people of Judah’s seventy-year captivity in Babylon was the result of them ignoring the warnings of several prophets who repeatedly told them they needed to repent and turn back to God. Jeremiah said to them, “For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, ‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD had given to you and your fathers from of old and forever…Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting devastation. Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years ” (Jeremiah 25:3-5, 8-11).

In spite of the devastation that was predicted, God’s plan for the people of Judah was that they would return to the land he had given them after their seventy-year captivity was completed. The LORD said concerning Israel and Judah, “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him. But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I shall raise up for them…Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she who is in labor together; a great company, they shall return here” (Jeremiah 30:8-9).

A proclamation by Cyrus king of Persia enabled the people of Judah to return to Jerusalem. Cyrus’ proclamation is recorded at the end of the book of 2 Chronicles. It states, “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up’” (2 Chronicles 36:23). “While there may have been many groups of exiles that returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, Scripture speaks only of three. The first group returned in 536 BC under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the second in 457 BC under Ezra, and the third in 444 BC under Nehemiah” (Introduction to Ezra). Haggai is the first of the prophets who spoke to the exiles after they had returned to Palestine. Because of the precise dates given for each prophetic message, the events of Haggai’s book may be dated more accurately than perhaps any other book in the whole Bible (Introduction to Haggai). “The ministry of Zechariah, which began in 520 BC, overlapped with that of Haggai (Zech. 1:1, cf. Hag. 1:1; 2:20) but continued long after Haggai ceased to prophesy…Haggai focused primarily on God’s immediate presence and the blessings that were at hand. Zechariah, on the other hand, focused on the ultimate glorification of Israel through the coming of the Messiah” (Introduction to Zechariah).

Zechariah’s prophetic ministry began with a call to return to the LORD. Zechariah 1:1-6 states:

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

The Hebrew word that is translated return in verses 3 and 4 of this passage is also translated as repented in Zechariah 1:6. The LORD said he would return to the people if they returned to him, indicating that restoration of Judah’s relationship with God required a turning on both parts.

Repentance is not always associated with an admission of guilt but is rather a change in attitude toward something or someone that involves an act of the individual’s will. The Hebrew word shuwb (shoob), which is translated return and repented in Zechariah 1:1-6, in the simple stem, “is used to describe divine and human reactions, attitudes, and feelings,” but it also refers to a person changing his mind (H7725). The primary thing that God wanted the people of Judah to change their minds about was that his prophetic word was true. God was angry because the people of Judah did not hear or pay attention to him when he said he was going to destroy Jerusalem. He asked them, “my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?” The people of Judah didn’t believe that God was going to remove them from the land, but after it happened, they couldn’t deny that the prophets’ messages had been true. God reminded them, “So they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us” (Zechariah 1:6).

It was important that God established his prophetic words were true because his plan to save the world was dependent on the prophecies about Israel’s Messiah being recognized and understood. When Jesus was born, there were many who were looking for and anticipating his arrival, including the wise men who traveled to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). It also says in Luke 2:25-26 that there was a man named Simeon who was “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” and it was revealed to him, “that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” After Andrew met Jesus and spent the day with him, he told his brother Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (Luke 1:41).

One of the things that God did to make it easier for the people of Judah to get back up again after their fall was to assure them that their efforts would be successful. God told them, “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be rebuilt in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem” (Zechariah 1:16-17). God didn’t wait for the people of Judah to return to him; he took the first step in restoring their broken relationship. God said he had returned to Jerusalem with mercy. The Hebrew word that is used for mercy, racham (rakhˊ-am) means “compassion” (H7356). God’s love for his chosen people was depicted by the prophet Hosea as a husband who was willing to redeem his wife from slavery even though she was an adulteress (Hosea 3:1-5). God said of his love for Israel, “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath” (Hosea 11:8-9).

Zechariah’s vision of Joshua the High Priest, who represented the work that God was going to do through his Messiah, depicted the outcome of Jesus’ death on the cross, his righteousness being imputed to an individual believer. Zechariah 3:1-5 states:

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

The removal of Joshua’s filthy garments represented him being cleansed from his sin and was “symbolic of the national cleansing from sin that is coming to Israel (cf. Ezek. 36:24-32)” (note on Zechariah 3:1-10). When Joshua was clothed with pure vestments, he was given the righteousness of Christ symbolically in the form of clothing. Paul described the process of sanctification in terms of putting off the old self and putting on the new self; a born-again believer is “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

The people of Judah struggled to get back up again after they fell because they didn’t have the benefit of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Although the Holy Spirit did not indwell believers prior to Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Spirit was involved in the work that God was doing through the nation of Israel prior to Christ’s birth. Zechariah tells us, “Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). “This verse describes the source of Zerubbabel’s sufficiency; it is God’s ‘Spirit’ who sustains him even though he is the governor of this seemingly insignificant province of the larger Persian Empire” (note on Zechariah 4:6). Zerubbabel was unaware of the significance of the work he was doing to rebuild the lives of the people of Judah after they had fallen into sin. The temple was not only a critical part of the people of Judah’s worship of God, it was a physical representation of God’s presence in their midst, and a reminder to them that their Messiah was coming.

God’s accounting system

In his letter to the Romans, Paul used Abraham’s faith to illustrate how justification works. Quoting from Genesis 15:6, Paul said, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3). The Greek word that is translated counted, logizomai (log-idˊ-zom-ahee) means “to reckon or count to someone, particularly: to put to one’s account (Romans 4:4); hence figuratively: to impute, to attribute: generally, of God’s imputing righteousness (Romans 4:6, 11)” (G3049). The thing that caused righteousness to be imputed or attributed to Abraham was him believing God. Believing God has to do with confiding belief in the truth, being persuaded of the truthfulness of God (G4102). Paul explained about Abraham’s faith:

In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:18-22)

Paul said that Abraham’s faith did not weaken when he thought about how old he was or the fact that Sarah was not able to conceive a child (Romans 4:19). “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God…That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:20, 22). Unbelief is not just a lack of belief but can be a turning away from the truth such as in apostasy (G570) or an unwillingness to be persuaded, obstinacy (G543). Abraham grew strong in his faith and was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20-21).

Paul used the word logizomai eleven times in Romans Chapter 4 to emphasize the point that God has an accounting system that is used to consider sins against him. Faith is what gets measured by God to determine our right or wrong standing before him. Paul explained in his letter to the Ephesians that faith is not something that we can produce on our own, it is a gift from God. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Paul indicated that the heart is where faith originates, stating, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:10). Paul also said, “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Jesus talked about this in his explanation of the Parable of the Sower. Jesus said:

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:11-15)

Matthew’s version of Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Sower included a statement about the amount of fruit that could be produced by holding God’s Word fast in an honest and good heart. Matthew said, “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23). Matthew indicated that the key to bearing fruit was understanding God’s Word. The Greek word that is translated understands, suniemi (soon-eeˊ-ay-mee) means “to comprehend; by implication to act piously.” When suniemi is used figuratively, it means “to bring together in the mind, to grasp concepts and see the proper relation between them. Hence, to comprehend, understand, perceive” (G4920).

James emphasized the point that faith without works, or the producing of fruit, is useless to us in God’s accounting system. James reasoned, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead” (James 2:14-17). James argued that it was the acting out of one’s faith that God counts to him as righteousness. James asked, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God” (James 2:21-23).

Paul cautioned the Corinthians against boasting about outward appearances rather than what is in the heart (2 Corinthians 5:12). Paul made it clear that being reconciled to God was the primary objective of God’s justification of sinners. Paul said, “So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:16-21, NLT).

No excuse

Paul introduced his gospel message to the Romans with a declaration that was intended to get their attention and to motivate them to pay close attention to what he was about to explain to them. Paul declared:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,  in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:18-23)

Paul said unbelievers have no excuse for not believing in God because his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived since the creation of the world (Romans 1:20). Paul went on to say that unbelievers knew God, but they did not honor his as God or give thanks to him  (Romans 1:21). The Greek word that is translated knew in Romans 1:21, ginosko (ghin-oceˊ-ko) means “to know, in a beginning sense: that is, to come to know, to gain or receive a knowledge of” (G1097).

The Greek word ginosko is sometimes translated as perceived (Matthew 16:8; 21:45: 22:18), as well as, aware of (Matthew 24:50). Jesus used the word ginosko in his response to Philip’s request, “Lord, show us the Father” (John 14:8). Jesus asked, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?” Jesus was surprised that Philip hadn’t been able to figure out who he was. Jesus’ explanation suggests that ginosko may refer to spiritual perception. Jesus told Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (John 14:9-10), but Jesus also made it clear that the works he was taking about were associated with results that were obvious to the senses (John 14:12-14). Paul indicated that unbelievers know the truth about God, but choose to suppress it, “For what is known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:18-19). “Romans 1:18 is probably to be understood as possessing a knowledge of the truth, but living in unrighteousness” (G2722). In other words, unbelievers know some of the things they do are right and other things are wrong and choose to do those things that they know are wrong.

Paul linked God’s invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, with the creation of the world (Romans 1:20). The Greek word that is translated Creator in Romans 1:25, ktizo (ktidˊ-zo) means “to bring under tillage and settlement. In the New Testament: to establish, to create, produce from nothing” (G2936). “God called the universe into being of his own free will and by his absolute power, creating everything out of nothing…There are many concepts (such as creation) that the finite mind cannot completely grasp, and man must accept them by faith (Hebrews 11:3, 6)” (note on Genesis 1:1).

Paul told the Romans that the “righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith” (Romans 1:17). The Greek word that is translated revealed, apokalupto (ap-ok-al-oopˊ-to) means “to take off the cover…in the passive, of things which become known by their effects” (G601). Paul stated in his greeting to the Romans that the gospel message he was going to share with them had been promised beforehand by the prophets (Romans 1:2). Jesus coming into the world was not an unexpected event. It was the fulfillment of prophecies that the people of Israel were aware of for hundreds of years. Pagan priests came from Persia to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). When King Herod asked the chief priests where the Christ was to be born, “They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet’” (Matthew 2:5).

It says in Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Conviction has to do with the certainty of something. The Greek word elegcho (el-engˊ-kho) means “to prove one in the wrong and thus to shame him” (G1651). After Job made his final appeal to his three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, another man named Elihu joined the conversation. It says in Job 32:1-3, “So these three men ceased to answer Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong.” Elihu later asserted God’s justice, stating, “Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice” (Job 34:12). The Hebrew word that is translated justice, mishpat (mish-pawtˊ) refers to “a legal decision”  (H4941). “God stands in absolute, essential opposition to sin, so he must judge and punish sin.” [1]

Justification is the sovereign declaration of God that the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed to those who have trusted in his sinless obedience and his substitutionary atonement on the cross for their salvation. When God justifies a person, he no longer treats him as a sinner but reckons him to possess that righteousness which Jesus Christ earned on his behalf. The declaration of justification does not come through any past, present, or future merit in the sinner. Justification is based exclusively on the merits of Jesus Christ and is received through faith alone. [2]

Paul used the example of Abraham’s justification to explain that righteousness is a gift and that it is counted to us or imputed by believing that God’s Word is true (Romans 4:1-12). God’s accounting system is based on imputation, which means “to take an inventory, i.e. estimate” (G3049). Imputation is a thinking process that results in God reaching a conclusion about an individual’s sin (Romans 14:12). God only imputes righteousness to people who believe that Jesus died on their behalf to pay the penalty for their sin.

Paul argued that unbelievers have no excuse because they judge others for things they do themselves (Romans 2:1-2). Paul asked, “Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3). The judgment that Paul was talking about was “the act of judging in reference to the final judgment, as the day of judgment (Matthew 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36; Mark 6:11; 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7; 1 John 4:17)” (G2920). It says in Romans 14:12 that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God. The Greek word that is translated account, logos (logˊ-os) means “something said” (G3056). John used the word logos to refer to Jesus. John said, “In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God, and the Word (logos) was God” (John 1:1). John went on to say:

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:10-13)

Paul explained in his letter to the Romans that we must publicly confess or openly acknowledge that we believe in Jesus in order to be saved. Paul said, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10). Jesus confirmed this requirement when he said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).

Paul concluded his argument about there being no excuse for rejecting Christ with a statement that summarized God’s intent when he sent his Son Jesus to us to die for the sin of the world. Paul asked, “Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Repentance is necessary for justification to take place. A person that has not truly repented is not considered to be free from guilt and is at risk of being excluded from God’s kingdom, even if he has been born again. In his illustration of the final judgment, Jesus said all the nations will be gathered before him, “and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32). To those who had not demonstrated the characteristics of sanctification, or holiness, in their daily life (Matthew 25:42-44), Jesus said, “these will go away into eternal punishment,” but the ones who were justified, or made righteous by placing their faith in Christ, entered “into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

[1] John Macarthur and Richard Mayhue, Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth, p. 184.

[2][2] Statements and Affirmations – Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, Doctrine of Justification

Spiritual conflict

When the people of Israel left Egypt, Exodus 12:37-38 tells us that there were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children and “a mixed multitude also went up with them.” The mixed multitude consisted of people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds” (H6154), most likely descendants of Jacob that were part Egyptian and part Israelite. After the Israelites started their journey from the Sinai Desert to the wilderness of Paran, the people began to complain (Numbers 11:1) and it says in Numbers 11:4, “Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat?” (NKJV). The mixed multitude’s influence over the people of Israel led to an extreme dissatisfaction that ultimately caused the entire congregation to reject God. Numbers 14:1-4 states:

Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

The people’s conclusion that it would be better for them to go back to Egypt was based on “that which is appealing and pleasant to the senses” (H2896). The people of Israel thought that it would be easier for them to go back to being slaves in Egypt than to conquer the people living in Canaan.

God pardoned the people for their rebellion against him, but also made it clear that none of the men who had seen his glory and the signs that he did in Egypt and had not obeyed his voice would see the land that he swore to give them (Numbers 14:23). And yet, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, and you offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your appointed feasts, to make a pleasing aroma to the Lord, then he who brings his offering shall offer to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter of a hinof oil; and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of wine for the drink offering for each lamb’” (Numbers 15:1-5). The reason why the LORD communicated his expectation at that particular point in time that the people were going to occupy the land of Canaan and would offer sacrifices to him was most likely to reinforce the fact that the final outcome of the Israelites’ situation was not dependent on their faithfulness to him, but God’s faithfulness to keep his promises.

One of the things that God clarified for the people before they moved on was the difference between an unintentional sin or mistake and willful rebellion against him. Numbers 15:22-27 states:

“But if you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses, all that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, then if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and one male goat for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they shall be forgiven, because it was a mistake, and they have brought their offering, a food offering to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their mistake.

The LORD said that an unintentional sin would be forgiven because it was a mistake (Numbers 15:25). On the contrary, intentional sins would not to be forgiven. The LORD told Moses:

“But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is a native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.” (Numbers 15:30-31).

God indicated that the person that despised his word and broke his commandment would be utterly cut off. Basically, that meant that the person would be excluded from God’s covenant and his promises with regard to that specific person would become null and void. God demonstrated the principle of intentional sin when “a man gathered sticks on the Sabbath day” (Numbers 15:32). The LORD told Moses, “The man shall be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp” (Numbers 15:35).

The people of Israel’s tendency to rebel against God was dealt with in a very severe manner, but the LORD wanted the people to understand that they couldn’t trust their own instincts. God instructed the people to put tassels on their garments to remind them of the LORD’s commandments and told them “not to follow after your own heart” (Numbers 15:39). Following after our own heart means that we explore our thoughts, feelings, and desires to discover what we would like to do or what we might happen next in a particular situation. While the heart “is the source of all action and the center of all thought and feeling the heart is also described as receptive to the influences both from the outer world and from God Himself” (H3824). The problem with following after our own heart is that the influences from the outer word and the influences from God Himself do not usually align with each other, and as a result, there will be spiritual conflict.

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians included instructions about how to resist the influences of the outer world. Paul said:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:10-13)

Paul’s reference to putting on spiritual armor was meant to convey the importance of protecting ourselves from the schemes of the devil. The Greek word that is translated schemes, methodeia (meth-od-iˊ-ah) means “to work by method. To trace out with method and skill, to treat methodically; to use art, to deal artfully; hence method, in the sense of art, wile (Ephesians 4:14; 6:11)” (G3180). The devil considers it his craft to entice believers to do things that are contrary to God’s will. The devil often works through people that we admire in order to get us to do things that we know are wrong.

Korah’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron’s authority was intended to undermine their ability to influence the people of Israel to do what God wanted them to. Numbers 16:1-3 states:

Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

Korah argued against Moses and Aaron’s authority by stating that everyone in the congregation was holy. Although it was true that all of the Israelites had been consecrated to the LORD, they were not all free from sin. Moses responded to Korah’s accusation by pointing out that he and his followers were rebelling against God (Numbers 16:11) and said, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him” (Numbers 16:5). Moses indicated that there was only one person who was holy in the congregation and that person had been chosen by God to lead the people.

It might seem as though Moses was referring to himself when he said that the LORD would show who was his and would bring him near to him (Numbers 16:5), but Moses was likely referring to the angel of the LORD who was sent to guard the people on their way to land of Canaan (Exodus 23:20). “There is a distinct possibility that various Old Testament references to the ‘angel of the LORD’ involved preincarnate appearances of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Things are said of the angel of the LORD that seem to go beyond the category of angels and are applicable to Christ…The designation ‘angel of the LORD’ is used interchangeably with ‘the LORD’ and ‘God’ in the account of Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-6). Exodus 23:21 states that the angel of the LORD has the power to forgive sins, a characteristic belonging to God alone (cf. Mark 2:7; Luke 7:49) and that he has the name of God in him. No man can see the full glory of God and live (Exodus 33:20), but Jesus Christ, in whom all the fullness of deity was manifested in bodily form, has made God the Father known (John 1:18; Colossians 2:9)” (note on Exodus 23:20-23).

Moses and Aaron interceded for the people of Israel (Numbers 16:22) and told them to “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins” (Numbers 16:26). The Israelites were told that they needed to stop associating with Korah or his influence would lead to their destruction. Afterward, Moses said of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram:

“Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.” And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. (Numbers 16:28-33)

The Hebrew word that is translated perished in Numbers 16:33, ʾabad (aw-bad) means “to wander away, i.e. lose oneself” or “to be lost” (H6). Korah and all the people who belonged to him were lost in the sense of being unsaved. Their souls were not redeemed and therefore, they were condemned to eternal punishment.

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul talked about Christ’s judgment of the living and the dead. Paul said to Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:1-4). The dead that Paul was talking about in this passage were the spiritually dead (G3498). Paul indicated that Christ would judge the living and the dead. The Greek word that is translated judge, krino (kreeˊ-no) has to do with pronouncing an opinion concerning right and wrong, in a forensic sense (G2919). The difference between a living person and a dead person in a forensic sense is quite clear therefore, you should be able to distinguish very easily what a person’s spiritual state is. The problem is that the devil is very clever in the way that he disguises himself and is able to deceive an unsuspecting or naïve believer (Matthew 24:25) and so, Paul admonished Timothy to “always be sober-minded” (2 Timothy 4:5).

The Greek word Paul used that is translated sober-minded in 2 Timothy 4:5, nepho (nayˊ-fo) signifies “to be free from the influence of intoxicants” (G3525). This seems to suggest that demonic influence can be similar to getting drunk. One way of describing this kind of effect might be the mob mentality which can easily overtake people in emotionally charged situations. In contentious sporting events, people seem to lose their minds and can get out of control very quickly. The point that Paul was trying to make was that Timothy needed to make an intentional effort to not let himself come under the influence of someone or something that would compromise his ability to serve God. Paul told Timothy that he had “fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on the Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). In this passage, Paul referred to the Lord as the righteous judge. What Paul was likely getting at was that Jesus is able to judge us as one who is an expert in human behavior because he lived a human life and can discern between human and divine characteristics. Jesus doesn’t judge people from a superior perspective, but as one who can relate to all that we have to deal with regarding the overwhelming negative influences in our lives.

Paul concluded his second letter to Timothy with some examples of the spiritual conflict that he had to deal with during the final years of his ministry. Paul said:

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me…Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! (2 Timothy 4:9-11, 14-16)

Paul indicated that he had been deserted by all of his ministry companions and that the only one that was with him at the time when he was writing his letter to Timothy was Luke. Paul’s statement, “May it not be charged against them!” (2 Timothy 4:16) may have been related to his earlier comment about the crown of righteousness that Christ would award “to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). Paul didn’t want his companions to be judged too harshly because they had helped him a great deal in the early years of his ministry. The Greek word that is translated charged in 2 Timothy 4:16, logizomai (log-idˊ-zom-ahee) means “to take an inventory” and primarily signifies “’to reckon,’ whether by calculation or imputation…Imputation has three steps: the collecting of all charges and remissions; the totaling of these debits and credits; the placing of the balance or credit on one’s account” (G3049). The remission of sins is what makes the imputation of Christ’s righteousness balance out our account and makes it possible for us to be free from our moral debt to God. It says in Genesis 15:6 that Abraham “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness,” so it is one’s belief in God that causes Christ’s righteousness to be imputed to his account.

Paul’s concern for his companions’ spiritual well being was similar to Moses and Aaron’s reaction to the rebellion that undermined their ability to lead the people of Israel. After everyone grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD” (Numbers 16:41), the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment” (Numbers 16:45), but instead, Moses and Aaron “fell on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath had gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun.’ So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped” (Numbers 16:45-48). When Aaron stood between the dead and the living, he was acting as a spiritual guard, similar to what Paul said Timothy should do when he instructed him to be “sober-minded” (2 Timothy 4:5). In the midst of spiritual conflict, Aaron was able to intervene and restored order to the congregation. As a result, the plague was stopped and the Israelites continued their journey to the Promised Land.