Genesis 3:17-19 (NKJV): Then to Adam He [God] said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. And you shall eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
Matthew 26:27-29 (NKJV): Then He [Jesus] took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now own until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
Hebrews 9:11-28 (NKJV): But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sacrifices for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—He then would have had to suffer offer since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time apart from sin, for salvation.
1 John 1:5-10 (NKJV): This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
John 14:23-24 (NKJV): Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the world which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
GOD LOVES US, and He wants us to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength; to fellowship with Him; worship Him in Spirit and Truth; abide in Him as He abides in us; obey His commands—His WORD; believe in Him; and trust Him to supply all our need according to His riches in glory by CHRIST JESUS.
Love in GOD’s eyes is obeying His commands—keeping His words, which JESUS says are Spirit and Life.
Love is honoring and exalting GOD, making Him our first priority; it’s surrendering our will for His, casting all our cares upon Him, and letting Him be the LORD of ALL.
Love is being SOULED-OUT—living life LOUD for JESUS and letting GOD through JESUS live and work WITH us and THROUGH us, so we FINISH WELL and FINISH STRONG, fulfilling GOD’s plans and HIS purpose for us.
Even from the beginning with the First Family, Adam and Eve, GOD never intended for us to be separated from Him, spiritually dead, fending for ourselves, and living our lives like orphans—lost, abandoned, rejected, alone—nor did He want us to struggle and toil every day, laboring and sweating, working ourselves into early graves—premature death. We were created in the image of GOD according to His likeness, so we could reflect GOD’s nature, fellowship with Him, have dominion on earth, and be fruitful and multiply, enlarging GOD’s territory, extending His influence, and bringing to KINGDOM of heaven to earth.
But SIN—lawlessness and rebellion—entered our world through the First Family, Adam and Eve, because they disobeyed and doubted GOD, breaking the one command He gave them (not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) and rebelling against GOD and His Authority. Adam and Eve put their faith in the adversary and trusted him over GOD; they chose SELF-RULE over GOD’s RULE, so they were PENALIZED—CURSED—and CAST OUT—EVICTED—from the garden of EDEN—separated spiritually and physically from GOD, their CREATOR, their FATHER, their KING, who is PERFECT, RIGHTEOUS, JUST, and HOLY, who will not abide in the presence of sin.
In the context of Adam and Eve’s sin and humanity’s curse, SELF-RELIANCE, SWEAT, LABOR, and TOIL represent rebellion against GOD and GOOD DEEDS and SELF-PERFORMANCE are often our attempts to reach GOD on our own merits, working ourselves into GOD’s presence. Basically, we’re the rulers, making every decision, and we leave GOD out of the equation (the process) and try to work out our own salvation. But our only hope of redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation, salvation, deliverance, and grace is found in One Person—the SON of GOD—JESUS CHRIST—whose ATONING BLOOD is PERFECT and POWERFUL enough to CLEANSE US of all unrighteousness and JUSTIFY US before GOD.
For GOD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but having everlasting life. So, all we have to do is REPENT, CONFESS, RECEIVE and BELIEVE: Admit we’re sinners in need of a Savior, GOD, and turn from the wrong path, the sinful things we’ve been doing; Confess with the mouth that JESUS is LORD, the OWNER of everything, including us; Receive the gift of grace, the gift of salvation through JESUS CHRIST; and Believe that GOD raised JESUS from the dead—He resurrected Him—and we have eternal life because we’re saved by grace through Faith in Him, JESUS.
GOD doesn’t want us to SWEAT and TOIL, working without Him, working against Him, or trying to work our way into His Presence; He wants us to REST, RULE, and ABIDE in Him, working WITH Him, not FOR Him, putting all our HOPE, our FAITH, and our LOVE in Him, giving Him our whole HEART, SOUL, MIND, and STRENGTH. Because if GOD is not the LORD of ALL in our lives, He’s not the LORD at ALL in our lives.
