.
Self-sacrifice is one way; but it's neither the only way nor the most reliable
way. In point of fact, God himself has made an excellent way to stay in
Heaven that takes will power out of the equation.
• Jer 31:31-34 . . Behold, the days come-- declares The Lord --that I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My
covenant they broke, although I was an husband unto them-- declares The
Lord.
. . . But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel:
After those days-- declares The Lord --I will put My law in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My
people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every
man his brother, saying, "know The Lord" for they shall all know Me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them
FAQ: The new covenant speaks of "My law". Where is it? When God codified
the old covenant, He wrote its law on some tables of stone. Why doesn't the
new covenant have tables of stone?
REPLY: Do you need a book of instructions on how to think, feel, and act like
a human? No; your human nature manages all that for you. In other words:
the law of human nature is in your inward parts and written in your heart.
(Rom 7:15-23)
Now, supposing that instead of the law of human nature, there was the law
of divine nature in your inward parts and written in your heart. How would
you think, feel, and act then? Well; I can tell you, with confidence, that you
wouldn't need a book of instructions to think, feel, and act divine because
the law of divine nature would manage all that for you. Is what I'm saying
possible? Yes.
• 2Pet 1:3-4 . . His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life
and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and
virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious
promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.
That passage mentions "great and precious promises" relative to the divine
nature. Where are they? Well, they're contained in the language of the new
covenant quoted at the beginning of this posting. The promises are also
contained in the language of Ezek 36:24-28 which says:
"I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries,
and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols,
will I cleanse you.
. . . A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you:
and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an
heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in
My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments, and do them. And you shall
dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people,
and I will be your God."
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