<TITLE>03. Par 244-254</TITLE>L-244   Now, "Leaving..."
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection;...

L-245 I like Paul saying those things. Paul never was a person that liked to stay too long in one place. He liked to move on, deeper. One time, in the Scripture, he said, "I, forgetting those things which are in the past, I press towards the mark of the high calling." See? He keeps pressing on.

L-246 Here he said:
Now forgetting the principles of the doctrine of Christ (who he was, what he was), let's go on to perfection;...

L-247   Now we, first, we wanted to find out, "Could we be perfect?" And we found out, in the Scriptures this morning, Matthew 5:28, that Jesus said that we "had to be just as perfect as God was," or we wouldn't go in.

L-248 Then we found out that we was, every one, "born in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies." And there was not one sound thing about us, so how could we ever be perfected?

L-249 Now here is what we find out then, over, reading, taking Scripture with Scripture, that, "Jesus, by one sacrifice, perfected, forever, His Church." He... We are then perfect, through Christ. And we are free from judgment, through Christ. We shall never die, through Christ. We have lost death and found Life, through Christ; not through any church, not through any denomination, not through any fantastic, not through speaking with tongues, not through shouting, not through shaking, not through dancing in the Spirit, but by grace.

L-250   God calls who He will. And it's all by election, we find out. We find out, that, "It's not him that wants to be saved. Not him that willeth or him that runneth; it's God that showeth mercy." "And no man can come to Jesus except God draws him, first." So what you got to do with it, anyhow? You haven't got nothing to do with it. You're out of the picture, altogether.

L-251 We found out that man never seeks after God. It's God seeking after man. And we found out, then, that God is the only resource of Eternal Life. We found out that everything that is Eternal has no beginning or no end. Therefore, we find out that hell had a beginning, and it has an end. And there's only... No one can ever say that... Hell is forever, forever, yes, forever, but not Eternal.

L-252   Forever is "a space of time." The Bible says, "Forever and forever." And you look it up and find out if forever doesn't mean "a space of time." Jonah said he was in the belly of the whale "forever." And many other Scriptures, forever only means "a space of time."

L-253 But, Eternal, that's forever, that's forever and forever and forever and forever and forever. It's the Eternal. And we find out that hell isn't Eternal, but it's forever. And the reason, you have to watch those words, now. If you don't, you get mixed up. Now, remember, just those things which had no beginning, has no end. Therefore, Jesus said, "He that heareth My Words and believeth on Him that sent Me, has Life," forever? Does that sound right? No. "Has Eternal Life." And the word Eternal is "God." The word, here it is right here in the Greek lexicon, Zoe God's Life in you. And you're just as Eternal as God is Eternal, because you've got God in you.

L-254   Your old nature died, the nature of the world, and you become a new creation. And your desires, that old life that had a beginning when God breathed the breath into your nostrils, when you were born, that life of carnal nature died. And it had a beginning and it had an end, and it died and was done away with forever, the old nature. And God came in with the new Nature. Then, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, peace, patience, and meekness, and kindness, that entered; and taken the place of malice, and temper, and hatred, and--and emulation, strife, and all those things. It took its place, when you passed from death unto Life. You get it, real close, now? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]


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