What Is Iniquity? It’s importance In The Bible

As found in the Bible, “iniquity “ is defined wicked or immoral in nature or character. Primarily, it indicates “not an action, but the character of an action,” and is so distinguished from “sin.”

Therefore we have the phrase “the iniquity of my sin” (Psalms 32:5). Iniquity can be described as the essence of wrongdoing or evil, while sin is this quality actually enacted in the world,

Webster dictionary provide further context for the meaning of iniquity as use of illegal narcotics is not on,y a destroyer of personal health but also an iniquity the undermines our society.

Iniquity In The Bible

  • The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the som. The righteous of the righteous shake be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. Ezekiel 18:20.
  • Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation. Exodus 34:7.
  • And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,) for they shall all know me, from the least of then to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:34.

The Difference Between Iniquity, Sin, And Transgression

There are three primary Hebrew words which are often used correspondently. These are words often translated as sin, iniquity, means to miss the Mark. A won, often translated as iniquity, relates more to the inner character and points to an intentional twisting of a given standard. Peshawar, often translated as transgression, is more of a willful rebellion against the given standard. We see these words in their nuances and also used interchangeably in Psalms 51.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your abundance mercy blot out my Pesha (Transgressions). Wash me thoroughly from my Awon (iniquity), and cleanse me from my Chattah (sin)! For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgement. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and sin did my mother conceive me,

In Psalm 32.5 the psalmist says, “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not coverup my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” In this one verse, sim, iniquity, and transgression are all mentioned. Basically, the three words communicate the same idea: evil and lawlessness, as defined by God (1 John 3:4). Though,unpin closer inspection, each word also bears a somewhat separate meaning.

The Meaning Of Sin

Sin signifies “to miss the Mark.” It can indicate doing something against Gondor against a person (Exodus 10:16 doing the contrast of what is right (Galatians 5:17), doing something that will have adverse results (Proverbs 24:33-34): and neglecting to do something you know is right (James 4:17). In the Old Testament, God even established sacrifices for unintentional sins (Numbers 15:27). Sin is the common phrase for anything that “falls short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

The Meaning Of Iniquity

Iniquity indicates a conscious decision; to commit iniquity to proceed without repentance. Micah 2:1 says, “ Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds. At mornings light, they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.” In David’s psalm of repentance, he cries out to God. Saying, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” ( Psalm 51:2).

God forgives iniquity, as He does any sort of sin when we genuinely repent (Hebrews 8:12). However,iniquity left unchecked advances to a point of intentional sin with no fear of God. The growth of shameless sin is sometimes portrayed as a “cup of iniquity” being filled to the brim (Revelation 17:4). This often pertains to nation who have forsaken God entirely. Continuediniquity leads to irregular desires with leads to a degenerate mind. Romans 1:28-32 describes this deviation in graphic detail. The sons of Eli are biblical examples of sinners when God judged for their iniquities. Rather than repent, Eli’s sons continued in their evils until remorse was no long possible.

How To Have A Lion Like Attitude

Courage, Strength, Leadership, Bravery

All these are qualities a person with a lion attitude

A lion is not afraid of doing what he wants. The lion is not afraid of going his own direction, while other go a different direction; the lion is courageous enough to defend and fight for his own life. He lives his life the way he wants to.

Don’t you want to live like a lion or lioness? Don’t you want to tread your own path and achieve your own goals! Don’t you want to fight and win what you want!

Then change your attitude toward your life; change how you think about yourself because you are much greater than you think you are! You have a lion’s heart. Every One can have the lion’s attitude.

Or do you want to remain a sheep like the majority of people are. People who are afraid of standing out; people who are afraid of going after the life of their dreams. People who give up when they meet obstacles.

People give excuses when the journey gets hard.

“It must not be for me’ “If it wasn’t for what they told me, then I would have made it.”

Are you mentally weak and soft. Tell yourself the truth because until you do it you will remain an average complaining hate like the majority of the people around you are. When you become bitter and start blaming others, you will feel like something it missing in your life. And not know why.

The highly successful know that regrets are more painful than failing at something they wanted to achieve. They are willing to give there all into something they want to achieve even if there are low chances of ever succeeding in their first attempt. They would rather try and fail than not try at all. They are afraid of regretting not doing something not doing something when they had the chance.

Sheep follow leaders. They follow the herd because they do not know where their going. Sadly, Matt times they are lead to the slaughter house but keep following because they do not use their minds

This is exactly what the majority of people are. They follow the road rather than their hearts. They think their thoughts are not good enough. They are afraid of going a different direction. Are you being led to the the slaughter house? Follow your own path and leave the herd.

Think about your values. What are they? Are you living them? Sadly the people who follow the crowd are being told what to think.

People With The Lion Attitude Have Courage

Attitude is what you do, what you think, and feel about yourself. Attitude is everything in life because whether you rise or fall, every depends on attitude.

People with the lion attitude are courageous. They are courageous to stand for what they believe. (Values). They are brave to go a different direction when Eve else is going another way. They are willing to face their adversaries and challenges even if they are scared.

They do not run away.

If you want to have the lion attitude, then you have to believe in yourself. You have to change your perspective of yourself from negative to positive because you are your greatest strength and your greatest enemy.

“There is an African Proverb that says “If there no enemy within you, then no adversary on the outside can harm you.“

Having the lion attitude begins with changing how you think about yourself. It develops when you think positively about yourself. It strengthens when you stop believing what others tell you about you.

A common practice is to use affirmations to make you thing positive,y about yourself.

If you’ve read my past posts you know I had a very poor self-concept of myself. I used to believe what others said to be. Someone told me I would never amount to anything, no one wanted to hear what I had to say. That I was stupid. For years I thought I was not good enough, that my life was worthless.

But the moment began when I started using to read the Bible and telling myself affirmations. I began to live my life in a more positive light. Now not only has my entire life changed, I had the courage to write down what I’ve been through in hopes of helping someone else. I think and speak without fear of failure because until you try you will never know how good you are!

Choose to be a lion (lioness) because you have a choice to make?

Choose to be a lion if you are standing for greatness. People with the lion attitude get what they want because they are bold enough to fight. They are not afraid to accept that their future is dependent on the choices they make today.

Lions are leaders because they demonstrate who they are. They are not afraid of what the others animals will do when they go after what they want. They do not seek respect! They demand respect and authority because they know they should be respected.

A sheep follows leader but a lion leads. It is a matter of having courage to stand up and fight for what is right.

One common thing with all leaders is that they were once followers. The only thing that changed was their attitude. How they viewed life changed. How they saw themselves changed. If you are going to be a leader then you have to work on your self-image

Getting Over Ourselves

It says in Colossians to set our mind on that which is above, where our lilies is hidden. We are called to live a heavenly life, in the heavenlies. Heaven is not just up, it’s above. Up is a direction, above means it’s over sometime else. Set your mind and heart on whet is above, where heaven is. Living a heavenly life is to live not just up, but to live an above-this-life, life; to live above yourself. It’s amazing. It says to set your mind on things above, that’s where your life is. Well, how can it be where you are if you are here, and yet it is above you.

That’s the secret. Learn to live above yourself: above your ego, fears, your interests, right, the confines of yourself and ego, above the flesh, to be free in heaven and let go. When you are in an argument, live above it, step out of your grievance, out of your problem. It won’t be your problem anymore. Heaven is a place of joy and it’s above you. You’ll have freedom, joy, and release when you start to dwell above yourself.

Set your heart and mind on Him, so that you are Kingdom Come focused. Earthly troubles no longer trouble you or slow you down. Let your walk show Messiah reigns forever more.

Colossians 3:2-3

Fear Of Judgement

What other people think of you is not your business. If you start to make that business your business, you will be offended for the rest of your life.

People tend to judge others based on their own core values in and insecurities, because values and insecurities differ from person to person, it’s almost impossible to escape judgment. Most people don’t like to be judged but to something with anxiety or social phobia this fear can be paralyzing.

How To Overcome Your Fear Of Being Judged

Start To define yourself: The problem with caring about what other people think is that over-time you start to let other people define who you are. What are your core values? Who are you? What’s important to you? Get to know yourself and take back the power you have allowed other people to take away from you. When your anxiety alarms the “what if’s” for example “what if they think I’m mean?” I challenge you to ask yourself if being mean is how you define yourself, if not, forget then- only you know your intentions.

Stay Focused: Focus on what you’re trying to accomplish and less on yourself. Think only of the big picture.

People Don’t Care: A study done by the National Science Foundation claims shtetl people have, on average 50,000 plus thoughts a day. This means that even if someone thought about us ten times in one day, it’s only 0.2% of their overall daily thoughts. It’s a a sad but simplistic truth that the average person filters their world through things relating to “me” or “my.” This means that unless you’ve done something that directly affects another Person or their life, they are not going to spend much time thinking about you at all.

Pay Attention To Your Thoughts: Are you overthinking the situation? Is this judgement a reality? It’s very easy to take a thought that has triggered anxiety and overthink every accept of it in an effort to gain control. The truth is that overthinking can lead you down paths that don’t need to be walked. If yo-yo are self-aware when overthinking, then you already have an important tool in conquering this step. Simply put overthinking can stretch our interpretation of a situation that judgement might not of been present at all.

Seek The Right Feedback: Everyday needs feedback from others from time to time. Think about the people in your life that you look up to or respect their opinions. Think about the people who matter to you, not the ones who don’t. Always ask yourself if the people giving you feedback has your best interest in mind.

Be Honest With Yourself: Remember that not all judgement is going to be favorable but when it’s constructive it can help you improve upon yourself- judgement with a purpose. Allow yourself to be criticized and let yourself judge if it’s something you need to work on or not.

Visualization: Visualize a positive outcome. If you are imagining people holding bad judgments towards you, flip it. Think of akk the great things about yourself and all you have to offer,

We All Have Been Embarrassed: Embarrassment is a part of life and most of the time nobody is negatively judging you for it. As a Matt of fact, people often feel empathy when seeing someone endure an embarrassing moment. We’ve All been there!

Are you avoiding or missing out on experiences in your life because you fear being judged by others? Or do you endure these situations with intense anxiety? If you answered yes to either of these questions you’re not alone. Millions of children, teens, and adults experience various degrees of social distress on a daily basis. The good news is that many people have successfully overcame their fear of judgement.

Remember you can’t control the judgements of other people, but you can control who you allow to affect you.

There is no reason to fear a judgement if you already know who you are.

Winning Over Worry

For many of us, when it comes to worrying, we could win an Olympic gold medal. We are champions at running the what if track round our head, spinning our wheels, and fearing about what could be, and what might happen to us and those we love. It is only when we consider our fears in the light of our all-powerful, Heavenly Father that they begin to look small and unnecessary.

Jesus knew all our inclination to worry when asked, “Can any one of you by worrying add a singe hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27. We nurture worry every time we allow it to take root in our thoughts. We waste time and energy letting our mind get worked up over situations our Heavenly Father has under His control.

Matthew 6: 26, reminds us we have a living Father who care even for birds. “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” When we remember that God feeds even sparrows, we can be confined reassured. We know our Heaven,y Father sees us lived and cares for our every need.

You might have some pressing uncertainties in your life. Trouble at work may be wearing you down. Concern for your children can keep you up at night. Remember to exercise your faith muscles in the midst of such worries. Rather than waste time and energy on worry, let’s use it to build our faith. Why replay fears I our minds when we can choose to remember God’s truth instead? What if we look to His Word to find a specific Scripture that addresses our concerns?

We can flip fear with the Word of God. Worrying won’t change our situation m but God’s Word can. When anxious thoughts come, call to mind God’s promises and meditate on His faithfulness. Turn your worries into prayers as you proclaim God’s powerful Word over yourselves and the people you love.

After all, our Heavenly Father sees each sparrow when it falls. If that true, we can certainly trust Him to take care of us.

Who Are You In Christ?

Christians are coming under increasing attack in culture. It’s no long an advantage to be seen in church like is was as recently as the 1900,s – in fact, it seems like most of society doesn’t care, We are lumped I with the “far right” and categorized as a fringe element by social media outlets and prominent political figures.

Many Christians seem to flounder under the new societal knowledge based of what God says about them. If what we hear about Christians from the secular world isn’t true, then what is and why does it matter?

Why It’s Important To Know Your Identity In Christ

We hear a lot about authenticity and transparency today. Nobody is more transparent that the Lord about His mission and what He intends for His people. This is what we need to let others see when they interact with us, Faith is not a result of any political persuasion, but of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.

It’s important to know who we really are in order to be authentic. Rather than allow a culture narrative to stereotype us, we need to understand why we are different- and what those differences are.

It is difficult for others who don’t know Him to understand us. Unfortunately, sometimes I think we don’t understand ourselves. And that makes it easy to feel intimidated or insignificant. In this swirling manic, media-driven era, it’s easy for us to forget who we are.

Our identity is wrapped up in a Jesus, but what does that mean? Instead of relying on a person to tell us who we are in Christ, let’s turn to the Bible for our answers.

Who I Am In Christ

We are Adopted.

We are adopted into God’s spiritual family as a chosen child of God. We are welcomed with open arms and feel the love of His family. We become the sons and daughters of Christ through baptism and faithfulness to Him. (Romans 8:15-16).

We Are Born Again.

It might seem contradictory to consider that new birth and adoption both happen to us when we accept Jesus as our Savior. But really , if we think about being born spiritually as our second birth, the adoption into a new family is the next logical step. We are like butterflies awaiting release from our cocoons to live a new life. (1 Peter 1-3, 23)

We Are Created.

I’m not a random accident, or the mere product of two cells interacting. I am an objective creation of God. (Psalm 139:13-17)

We Are Destined To Heaven..

I don’t have to worry about what will happen after I did, I am assured of my home in Heaven. (John 3:16 and 14:1-3).

We Are Elected

I was chosen to belong to Christ. Everyone who given their life to Him does so because He first Loved them. (John: 3:16 and Romans 8:29-30).

We Are Forgiven.

When we tryst Christ with out lives, He forgives us completely of all our sins- including our very sin nature (Like 11:4 and 1 John 1:9).

We Are Gifted.

Jesus didn’t plan for is to be saved and then sit around just soaking in His love. He has work for us to do, and has equipped us with individual gifts in order to carry out our assignments. (Romand 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11-12).

We Are Holy.

Another word for Holy is sanctified. This means to be set apart for a purpose. We are both commanded to be Holy and made holy by Jesus’s work on the cross. We should live like what we are. John 17:13-19 is a beautiful prayer that Jesus prayed for us.

We Are Identified.

Because we were the name of Christ. We are identified with Him. We cannot be mistaken for anything other that His child. Our adopted brothers and sisters are known as God’s children. Christ makes us known to others by our heavenly Father’s name. ( Ephesians 1:13).

We Are Justifed.

This word means “ to be made right,” We are assured that nothing will be held against a on Judgment Day because we are right with God. This is not a product of what we did, but what Jesus does for us, it’s not something we can boast about – He gets all the credit. ( Romand 4:3-5).

We Are Known.

God knows us -all the way to our core. Psalm 139:1-6 and Jeremiah 1:15 confirm that we are not an invisible or just another number.

We Are Loved.

Because God knows me as an individual, and because His very nature is Love, we can rest assured that He loves us. ( John 12:34 15:9, and 17:24; 1 John 4:8).

All of us can become a body of Christ. If we want to have an identity in Christ, we have to ask Him to come into our lives. We can become a branch on the vine that is Jesus. When He adopts us, we are grafted in, not one of us can survive without Him, just as a branch it depends on the vine for sustenance. This illustration is described in John 15:1-8. We are commanded to remember our part in His body that was sacrificed for us when we celebrate communion. ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

We Are New.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that all things become new- including us. Isaiah says in 43:19 that the Messiah would do something new and Jesus accomplished it when He set up the New Covenant in Hos blood. We are assured that the old us will die when we become Christians. We receive a new nature and frame of mind. We don’t have to think in old ways, because God gives us a new heart. Here is a list of Scriptures to find truth of that:

1: Corinthians 11:25

2 Corinthians 3:6

Romans 12:2

Galatians 6:15

Ezekiel 36:26

We Are The Offspring Of Christ.

Acts 17:28 tells us we are His offspring. This brings us back to our adoption into His family. But even more that that- it’s as if He forgot that we were adopted and treats us like biological children. After all, that’s what human parents of adopted children do. Like 6:35-36 refers to followers of God as His children. John 1:13 assures us that those who have accepted Him have the right to be His children and Galatians 3:26 confirms that we are.

We Are Peculiar And Protected.

The word peculiar in the King James Version of 1 Peter 2:9 means unique. We are not like the rest of the population at-large. We are a part of a select group who follows Christ. He is our Shepherd and protects us. (Psalm 23).

We Are Quiet In Spirit.

There is a profound peace inside our minds because We Know who’s we are This exercise of remembering our identity calms and assures us that we are not alone and that we are going to be okay. (Isaiah 30:15 and 32:17-18).

We Are Redeemed, Rescued, Ransomed And Remembered.

Redeemed carries the idea of being brought back from slavery or unlawful ownership. This is reflected in the word ransomed. Jesus mounted an epic rescue operation when He came to earth as a man, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. (1 Peter 1:18-29, Hebrews 9:12, and Revelation 5:9: We were on His mind when He came, He remembered that we needed to be redeemed. (Psalm 136:23-24).

We Are Saved And Sealed.

Jesus saves us and the Holy Spirit seals us Acts 2:21 declared that when we call the name of Jesus to save us, He does. Later in Acts, we discover that everyone is saved the same way by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus. Romans 10:9 also confirms the truth of Salvation for those who believe. The Spirit is our ink stamp of authenticity. (Galatians 3:2,5; Romans 8:18).

We Are Transformed And Treasured.

I’ve already mentioned how we’ve come new in Christ, and this truly is a total transformation as 1 Corinthians 5:17 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 describe. It’s a from the inside out one of a kind change. But I also want to include something I don’t think we ponder enough- God treasures us, Deuteronomy 7:6 and Malachi 3: 17 assure us of this wonderful concept. Especially in the Malachi verse, we see how, because we are God’s children, we fit the description as His own special treasure.

We Are United With Christ.

We not only gain a new identity when we choose Christ but we are actually united with Him. We become part of Him. This goes even beyond becoming part of His family. We need to read and own the power of Romans 6:5-11. Roman ps 7:4 expounds further on the concept and these together give us incredible comfort and assurance.

We Are Victorious.

The victory of Jesus won over the power of the air and became our own when we trust in Him. Now we can pray with His power. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5. We share His victory over death and hell. ( 1 Corinthians 15:54). What can mete men do to us? ( Psalm 59:16-17). We have nothing to fear whatever comes our way. I’ve read the happy ending to the story. (Revelation 5:5).

We Are Washed.

Because we are washed by the blood of the Lamb. ( Titus 3:4-5) You do to have to ever feel dirty or less than. Jesus has made us clean and pure as new fallen snow. (Psalm 51:2. 7).

We Are Exonerated.

This word sounds like it started with X. I think that our sins have been blotted out with a big X. (Psalm 52:1 and Isaiah 43:25), God will never think of them again. Humans don’t have the power to forget and Satan always brings it up to try and destroy us. Absolutely everything is filed away in our heads. We might not be able to recall facts on demand, but they are up there. However, God can and He does forget our sins after He forgives them.

We Are Yoked.

We are no longer isolated or considered a stray. We can be part of a group. I love knowing that I’m not just hanging out there all by myself to figure things our and make a way on my own, I am a part of the body of Christ m one with Him. And a member of the family of God. This family is forever. I love how Jesus describes it in Matthew 11:28-30.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from mem for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

We Are On Our Way To Zion.

This is the same saying as I know I’m going to heaven when I die. John: 3:16 and 14:1-3 remind me that heaven is my destiny because I believe in Him.

I have personally been encouraged by this little study. Now when life gets dicey or circumstances threaten to overwhelm me, I can read over these truths.

Power coupled with peace comes from understanding what God says about who I am in Christ.

Ways To Keep Your Personal Boundaries

Boundaries can be defined as the limits we set with other people, which indicate what we find acceptable and unacceptable in their behavior towards us. The ability to know our boundaries generally sines fro. A healthy sense of self-worth, or valuing yourself in a way that is not contingent on other people or the feeling they have toward you. Unlike self-esteem, self-worth in finding intrinsic value in who you are, so that you can be aware of your:

  • Intellectual worth and boundaries. You are entitled to your own thoughts and opinions, as are others.
  • Emotional worth and boundaries. You are entitled to you own feelings to a given situation, as are others.
  • Physical worth and boundaries. You are entitled to your space, however wide it may be, as are others.
  • Social worth and boundaries. You are entitled to your own friends and to pursuing your own social activities, as are others.
  • Spiritual worth and boundaries. You are entitled to your own spiritual beliefs, as are others.

Knowing our boundaries and setting them are two very different hurdles to overcome. Setting boundaries does not always come easily. It’s often a skill that needs to be learned. According to Albert Bandura much of human social learning comes from modeling behavior, so if we do not have adequate role models whose behavior we can encode through observation and later imitate, we are at a loss, often left fumbling and frustrated.

To start setting your boundaries straight try these things.

1 Know your limits. Clearly define what your intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual boundaries are with strangers, work colleagues, friends, family, and perverse. Examine past experiences where you felt discomfort, anger, resentment, or frustration with an individual. It may have been because your limits had been crossed. Create a boundary chart which outlines each boundary for each relationship category and fill it in with boundary criteria you feel comfortable and safe with. “Like I don’t feel comfortable when work colleagues ask me about my childhood.“

By creating this sort of template you have a benchmark to assess when someone oversteps your boundaries. Your boundary criteria will evolve over time, so be sure to continually update your chart with your growing experience and resulting needs. After awhile you will not longer need this template. It will be in your long term memory.

2. Be assertive. Creating and starting boundaries is great but it’s the follow through that counts. The only way to truly alert others that, you boundaries have been crossed is to be direct with them. Being assertive, particularly if you are unaccustomed to doing so can be scary. So start small with something manageable and build up your assertive skill to larger tasks. I started being assertive with my partner with something very small. And something that might be silly to someone else. My partner would get home from work just as I was bringing in groceries from the car. He would walk right by me and not help bring anything in. It actually made me so mad. I would think of revenge. But, once I told him what I expected. He started doing it. In my mind it stupid to walk by someone and not help them. But, in his mind he thought I wasn’t a big deal.

Then work yourself to larger tasks like:

  • Did the waitress get your order wrong? Ask her for what you actually ordered.
  • Did the cashier over charge you? Ask for a correction to bo made.
  • Are unwanted romantic suiters messaging you? Explain that you are not interested and would appreciate it is he or she stops.
  • Is a distant cousin intruding on your dating life? Say you’d rather talk about something else.
  • Is a work colleague pushing his or her work on you! Remind them that it isn’t within your scope, you are busy with your own work, and direct them to someone who will be of better service.
  • Did a friend do something yo hurt you? Ask then to set you for lunch and explain why their words or actions hurt you.

3. Practice makes perfect. When you first start acting assertively, if it is a departure from your habitual state, you made be afraid that others will perceive you as mean or rude. But affirming your boundaries means that you value yourself, your needs, and your feelings, more than the thoughts and opinions of others. Being assertive does not mean that you are unkind, it only means that you are being fair and honest with them by maintaining your peace, dignity and self-respect.

After all, not informing someone that they have crossed a line to resentment on your end and confusion on theirs. The only way to set better boundaries is by practicing how to tell someone that they’ve crossed yours.

4. if all else fails, delete and ignore. Voice your boundaries first, then follow with action. As long as you have tied up loose ends and given family members, friends, and partners or whoever it may be closure from any promises you may have made, you no longer own them anything. If you have asserted yourself and made it clear to another person that he or she is not respecting your boundaries, it is okay to ignore correspondence from that point forward. Remind yourself of your own worth, and then no one has the right to make to feel uncomfortable or take your self-defined space away from you.

I Never Knew You

It’s popular today to promote Jesus as a gentle and mild mannered, but Jesus issued sharp rebukes and serious warnings. His statement in Matthew 7:24 is one of the scariest passages in the Bible. When Jesus said, “Depart from me, I never knew you,” he wasn’t referring to non believers, but to those who were considered the ‘good guys.’ Theologians who adhered to Jewish law. What did Jesus mean when He said, “I never knew you;” and how are those words significant for the church today?

What Did Jesus Mean by ‘Depart From Me, I Never Knew You’?

The word know in Matthew 7:24 is not mere intellectual knowledge, like knowing a fact. Rather it is specific knowledge about relationship. The word ginosko means to come to know, recognize or perceive in Matthew 7, Jesus takes this word deeper. Some believers did not perceive Jesus correctly, and they didn’t know their own sinful hearts. They wanted to be with Jesus, but they weren’t willing to surrender their lives to Him. They did not know Him at the deep spiritual levek of salvation- and Jesus knew this.

Let’s look at the context of the verse. Earlier in Matthew 5:7, Jesus preached a sermon t the curious throng crowding around Him, We call the “Sermon on the Mount.’ He opens with the often quoted “blessed are statements (5:12; and then the “light’ and “salt” truths (5:13-16). Throughout the rest of the chapter 5 and into the first part of character 7, Jesus explained why He had come and shared some principles that challenged the crowds thinking about Kingdom Living. His words no doubt made many uncomfortable.

When people consider their eternal destiny, many do not want to think about judgement or hell, but God does not blindside people. He gives plenty of warnings about trusting in anything other than His plan to redeem us from sin. We see this in Matthew 7:15-20 where Jesus warns about false prophets. Their impressive works and words were not rooted in true godliness because they did not really know God. To illustrate, He compared two kinds of trees that bear bad fruit. In verse 20, Jesus said, “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize the.” That is the context of verses 21-24. Some people seem to bear good fruit, but a closer look reveals that the fruit is bad because it comes from a bad tree. God sees beyond external “fruit’ to the reality of our “roots” what has transpired in our heart.

Just as in verse 19 – where the trees that do not bear good fruit are “cut down and thrown into the fire”- in verse 23 Jesus says, “Away from me, you evildoers!” Other versions of the Bible say, “depart from me.” Jesus referred to a specific group of people He “never knew’ in a relational way, people who would not enter His Kingdom,

Who Are The People Jesus Doesn’t Know?

Jesus defined those He knew- true members of the family of faith – as those who understood and did God’s will. Conversely, He didn’t know relationally, people who refuse to obey God’s will. Jesus criticized the Jewish Pharisees and scribes for their hypocrisy and wicked perversion of God’s Word. He condemned their holier-than-thou ways. As He spoke about the when He addressed the gathered crowd. His words likely pricked many hearts, making them wonder, “Am Is hypocrite too?” Jesus had nothing in common with these Jewish leaders. They couldn’t understand His words or ways. While the Pharisee sanctimoniously thanks God that He is better than other people, the true God-seeker repents and cries out, “God, be merciful to me,a sinner” (Luke 18:9-14).

God, through Isaiah,described hypocrites this way:”The Lord says, ‘These people come near me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught” (Isaiah 29:13).

In His omniscience, Jesus knew the hypocrites hearts were self-righteous and filled with sin. It is important to understand that Jesus wasn’t saying “depart from me’ in order to break off an established but sinful relationship. Jesus had no relationship with fake followers. They did not know the Lord in an intimate, saving way. The word for “never” in Matthew 7:23 is oudepote, a strong word meaning “not ever.” Someday, Jesus will say to many professing believers, “I never, not ever knew you,’ because they never had true faith.

What Does It Mean For God To Know Us?

More crushable our knowing God is the assurance that He knows us! In Matthew 7:21, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter my Kingdom of heaven.” Verse 22 goes on to say that people might even prophesy in Jesus’s name, cast out demons or perform many miracles,” but that does not mean God, their Creator, knows them relationally. We see this same dynamic in Luke 13:25-27, Jesus told a story about people who are outside a homeowner’s doorway, knocking and pleading for entrance-claiming to know him- but the owner of the house says, “I don’t know you or where do you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!” A person might verbally claim to follow Jesus, might show great theological insight, or even demonstrate some elements of “success” while serving in the church, but it is only those who do the Father’s Will and are known by Him who will live forever with Him in eternity.

The Man On The Left And The Man On The Right

The man on the left and the man on the right could never co-exist. They are too different, and though they are the same man they look at life through different eyes.

The man on the left saw no hope. He was lost. Searching for satisfaction in various substances, relationships and I. Other temporary things. For him confidence was non existent. His self worth was found in the opinions of others. He was empty and hollow.

The man on the right helps others see that there is hope. His life has purpose. His confidence comes from who God says he is. He looks in the mirror and live the person looking back at him. He’s a husband, a father, a son, a grandson, a brother, a uncle, and a trustworthy friend that you can depend on. His cup is full. He is content.

So remember if you’re looking in the mirror and are seeing the person on the left just know the person on the right is in there waiting to make an appearance. Say your goodbyes to the one on the left, and welcome the you on the right into the world as you enjoy the beauties of life.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old passed away; behold the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17