David a. Swincer

The title of this book is an expression of the following: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing (acceptable) and perfect will.Romans 12:1-2, emphases added.The question that is paramount, is, "How do we discover this good and acceptable and perfect will?"And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from the Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts - deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds ...Colossians 3:15 (Amplified), emphases added.This verse expresses in a quite convincing way, the last word on discovering the will of God: Let the peace of God continually act as umpire in your hearts, deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds (Colossians 3:15, adapted).But this is not a privilege for anyone, as if it were some semi-magic trick to discover God's will.It is premised upon a deep and meaningful personal relationship with Christ. That relationship is the result of the conversion experience, and results in a life of growing into Christ's likeness-the process of sanctification. The expression of that life is then found in true Christian worship, with its commitment to God and the desire to live in obedience to Him-doing His will.That is the theme of this book.

Eschatology is only a part of the total program of God. We need to gain the perspective of God's plan from everlasting to everlasting. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega-the Beginning and the End.The study of the Second Coming forces the enquirer to reflect on the whole picture of the comprehensive plan of God for the redemption of the world, with a very clear sense of direction from the Creation of the world, through the events of the Cross, through to the Coming of Christ to reign on the earth. To trivialise the Second Coming, is to demean the whole program of God, and to thereby debase my existence and purpose as a Christian. Further, it demeans the whole of God's revelation through His word the Bible. Unashamedly the Word of God is quoted extensively throughout this book. It is the only authority for the whole scenario of God's plan.This book is comprehensive in its coverage of the whole spectrum of the Kingdom of God, from the creation to the consummation of the kingdom into the Eternal State. A failure to appreciate God's original purpose for the creation, emasculates any understanding of the direction and purpose of God's program.God's Kingdom is expressed in the Old Testament through His chosen people Israel, and they figure significantly in the whole eschatological program.Jesus' first Coming to inaugurate His Kingdom gives important perspective to His Second Coming to consummate His Kingdom.The creation of the church as a manifestation of His body, is essential to the understanding of the events of the Rapture and the Bema Judgment in particular.

"It's all Adam's fault "OK. Then you have just condemned yourself to a Christless eternity Reflect carefully on the statement just made.In an earlier volume on the doctrine of original sin: Condemned Already, we noted, that if Adam is to be blamed for our condemnation, then we have to address the reason for his condemnation. Adam was innocent until he sinned in regard to the prohibition of the Tree of Life. At that point he "died". Spiritually he was cut-off and alienated from God and out of fellowship, and God immediately announced His already-prepared plan of rescue. The Son of the descendant of the woman (Eve)-the Lord Jesus Christ-would bruise the serpent's head (the serpent who was the vehicle for Adam's sin and fall through the temptation orchestrated by Satan):15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."Genesis 3:15. The situation for Adam is clear enough. He was innocent, and then became a sinner, by sinning. We can easily identify the CAUSATIVE sin that was responsible for his demise-his default in regard to the Tree of Life. But if Adam's sin is the CAUSATIVE sin that constitutes me a sinner-and that is the majority view-then I am condemned to a Christless eternity, all because of Adam's sin.Supposedly in solidarity with the human race, every man woman and child of all time is condemned-not on his own account-but because of Alien Guilt inherited from Adam.Adam's sin is thus my sin. The tragedy is, if Adam's sin IS CAUSATIVE for me (but I don't believe that it is) and for my condemnation (Condemned Already), then the only way that I can reverse that situation is to address the CAUSATIVE sin. But it is not my sin And I can't repent of another person's sin. I can't repent of Adam's sin. I can't address the foundational issue. So I can't address the cause of my condemnation, and therefore I can't be saved The seriousness of this situation seems to escape most theologians. Why? This is serious.This critical issue was the basis of that first volume, and was the central issue that was addressed, demonstrating that we are each personally CULPABLE and responsible to God for our sin-the CAUSATIVE sin that constituted EACH of us as a sinner. And hence we are condemned JUSTLY and PERSONALLY.All people of all time are individually responsible for their own sin and hence of their condemnation. That being the case, they can-indeed MUST-repent of their own sin in order to be saved.Thus God is just in His demands and fair in his expectations based upon the finished work of Christ.As far as the Christian is concerned, "The Old Man died, never to rise again". The Old Man is dead And yet I repeatedly hear people excusing themselves for their sin, because, "The Old Man affected me and compelled me". Or more commonly, they use the term "the sin nature". "I was influenced by my sin nature/old nature". See extra discussion on the Natures in Chapter 2.It's not my fault -As a non-Christian, we could blame Adam for making me a sinner. -Now as a Christian, who do I blame for my daily sins? We just don't want to accept responsibility for our actions.The first volume addressed our culpability for our CAUSATIVE sin. The sin that constituted me a sinner in the first place.This volume addresses our culpability for our sin as a Christian. We need to start our search here at precisely this point, a careful exegesis of the biblical teaching concerning the Old Man.

The chief concern in this study is the understanding of the true glossolalic phenomenon, in distinction from the confusing element of ecstasy.The starting point is the assumption that there is an authentic gift of glossolalia that presumably is potentially valid today, although under what conditions and why is a different question. Gifts of teaching, preaching, and pastoring are self-evidently valid or able to be independently validated, but what is the validation of speaking in "tongues"? Indeed, what is "speaking in tongues"? Considering the difficulties of defining the term, and the apparent difficulties in ascertaining and authenticating the gift, one feels compelled to agree with Robinson (Meyer 1975, 142) that the phenomenon has stolen a position out of all proportion to its biblical importance and ecclesiastical value. Robinson, a glossolalist and former Pentecostal preacher states: There are sixty-six books in the Bible, and only three of them mention tongues. There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible, and only seven refer to tongues. There are 31,162 verses, and only twenty-two mention tongues. Sheer quantity is not, of course, a proper criterion for evaluating scriptural teachings. By the same token, however, a practice which is mentioned so seldom, hardly deserves the attention that some give tongues, and the benefits do not seem to be commensurate with the cleavages that are created.

UNIQUE. This is the only known construct to demonstrate the true gift of languages (together with interpretation as a composite gift), showing its source, purpose and operation.This unique construct demonstrates all the biblical criteria, in particular: -the source in God (Trinitarian) as for ALL gifts, -the ministry to the church (as for ALL the gifts), -its relevance today in spite of arguments to the contrary, -the fact that it has never been abrogated at any time, -its method of operation that can be independently validated and thereby protect its operation from abuse, -its purpose as an unambiguous sign of God's judgement and displeasure with unpersuaded believers in the church-hence a gift for the church.

Here is an intensely practical approach to Conflict Resolution for dedicated counsellors and pastors as well as the lay person. It uses the two issues of a. one-to-one counselling and b. written communication-both in a rather unique way-with 100% success -This 213 page e-book covers Family Conflict, Marriage Conflict, Church Conflict.-It addresses the principles of Conflict Resolution from the biblical bases.-The methodologies are fully explained, and warnings are illustrated in regard to Rushing to Judgment.-Clear explanatory notations.Many a person will explode in frustration: "I can't do it any more. Nobody will listen. There's no end in sight. I'm finished." This is a common complaint of people driven to despair. It doesn't matter what the cause of the despair, but the potential for extreme action to try to gain attention-to be heard-as a last ditch desperate effort, is disturbing. The greatest difficulty with trying to help these people is the possibility of (inter alia): -much hysterical overreaction, -exaggerated stories to try to be convincing, -raising of all types of issues that are extraneous to the immediate situation, -threats of suicide or murder-extremes to try to highlight the desperation of the case, -cyclic rehearsing of stories with no forward progress to a conclusion, -summoning the "sure-fire" point-scoring triggers from years ago, -AND in addition, often the projection of personal guilt into the situation, leading to either: -bitter condemnation of the other person (in order to try to cover for personal sins), or -avoidance of the real issues for fear of confronting the shortcoming of others (in order to steer away from one's own guilt). Most pastors carefully avoid these conflict situations, rationalising that they are called to preach and teach, many refusing even the simplest visitation, let alone any counselling, especially if it is time-consuming-even if effective. Over more than forty years of pastoral care and counselling, I have come to benefit from some proven strategies that have had lasting results with great benefit to those concerned. The process is simple and efficient, but requires pastoral commitment, and a love for people. It requires care and exactness, careful listening, and the willingness to devote time to help those in need. But the results are worth it: -for the persons concerned, both in themselves as well as in their resultant effectiveness in various roles as parents and/or spouses; in their work environments; and in church ministry, -for the immediate family and others who have been affected by the dysfunctional relationship, -for you as the pastor in seeing people adjusted and happy and functional again. This is a significant part of the pastoral role, and a source of fulfilment.

At most evangelistic (as opposed to evangelical) meetings, the preacher is at pains to demonstrate that all are sinners, and that each person needs to repent of his own (personal) sin, and to individually accept the redemptive sacrifice of Christ for himself. Respondees are usually counselled using verses like Ezekiel 18:4 (The soul who sins is the one who will die) and Romans 3:23 (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God). Deuteronomy 24:16 could be added: Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.But in many cases there is apparent unwitting duplicity. Although personal culpability for sin has been enjoined on the sinner, the common belief is that it is really Adam's sin that is the problem. Adam's sin has caused all men to be condemned, not in fact their own sin. If true, that is deception in evangelism (even if unwitting).More basic, the general picture of salvation in the context of the doctrine of original sin, is that all men have become sinners, not so much on their own account, but in some way due to their descending from Adam, and that Christ's one death on the cross accounts for all sins of all men of all time (unless one has a theory of limited atonement). This general statement, in spite of voluminous attempted theological reasoning, seems to fall short of adequately addressing a number of issues of a significant and disturbing theological nature. If Adam sinned a sin for which he alone was responsible, why should any other man also be held culpable for Adam's sin? (This is the problem of "Alien Guilt"). How can God be considered just when He is deemed to have condemned all men of all time for one man's indiscretion? Is the individual man responsible for his own sin, or is he Condemned Already?Alternatively and significantly, if an individual man is held to be responsible and culpable for his own sin, when did he first sin in order to become a sinner, thus deserving of spiritual separation from God? We must identify a CAUSATIVE sin which takes a man from innocence to being a sinner, and when this took place. Was it at birth, by the act of conception (which would remove his personal culpability for this causative sin), after birth, at some nebulous "age of accountability", or at some other time? This question must be answered.Further, if Adam's sin has led to my condemnation, how can I repent of Adam's sin since it is not my own sin? How then can I become a Christian if I am condemned for Adam's sin rather than my own? I can't repent of Adam's sin. THIS IS A PIVOTAL CONSIDERATION.Any adequate doctrine of original sin, must be able to show, not only the universality of sin, but also the individual culpability of each man for his own sin, and that he is therefore justly condemned on his own account. Only thus can we be honestly evangelistic.These questions will be addressed, seeking to establish in particular, the individual culpability and responsibility of each man in the process of becoming a sinner (the causative sin), and his personal culpability in his life as a sinner. Subsequently, in volume two, after a person becomes a Christian, we will address his personal culpability in his Christian walk. Simultaneously in each of these scenarios, the justice and righteousness of God will be demonstrated, both in His condemnation of all mankind for original sin (the causative sin), and also in His calling of each Christian to full personal accountability for his actions and thoughts. Finally, in this volume, we will see that the one death of Christ on the cross is sufficient for the one sin of all men.