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The Proposal
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THE PROPOSAL
In the beginning, God created man in His own image, to enjoy eternal life in the perfect world created for him. Man experienced a personal, continual, and direct fellowship with God. Sin was nonexistent in this good and perfect world; accordingly, absent also were pain, fear, suffering, confusion, toil, shame, and death. Man enjoyed both physical and spiritual immortality, devoid even of the knowledge of evil. Adam and his wife Eve were both naked and unashamed. Everything was truly good. The Garden of Eden, where they lived, was a paradise on earth. When God created Adam and Eve, He instilled within both an independent and free will. He was not interested in creating robots, incapable of making decisions on their own. Rather, God’s desire is to share mutual fellowship and love with the people He created. But free will is a double-edged sword. Without free will, it would be impossible for Man to disobey God…but equally impossible for Man to offer love of his own will back to God. God desires a relationship with all men and women, each of whom He created in His own image. Adam and Eve were free to enjoy Creation as they desired…with one exception. The single commandment God issued, designed for their own protection, was to not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet they both disobeyed God and ate of the Tree anyway after the Serpent deceived and tempted Eve. As a result, Creation as a whole came under the curse of sin. Adam and Eve both realized they were naked and became afraid. They tried to hide from God, but He confronted them and pronounced His judgment upon them. They were banished from the Garden of Eden, and the earth itself was changed. It now brought forth weeds and thorns, making agriculture – and survival itself – toilsome for Man. The joy and glory of childbirth would become tainted by pain and anguish for Women. With Creation now under the curse of sin, Paradise on Earth was lost. From the seed of sin comes the eventual harvest of death. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their immortality, both physically and spiritually, was removed. The day they sinned, they died, both spiritually (were separated from God) and physically (that is, their bodies became mortal; the aging process began, culminating in their physical death many years later). As a result of Sin’s curse which Adam and Eve brought upon the world, all of humanity is born into sin. There is no one in the history of mankind, except for Jesus Christ, the God-Man, who has not sinned. Therefore, each of us owes God a Debt for our sin-guilt. This Debt we all owe for our sin can only be satisfied with death (which is separation from God – Who alone is perfect and without sin). Physical death is separation from this life, while spiritual death (finalized upon our physical death) is eternal separation from God (and therefore, separation from everything good – because everything good comes from God, and all good things are attributes of God – see James 1:16-17). Life – that is, our conscious existence – continues after death has separated us from the physical realm of this world. Like Heaven, Hell is also both real and eternal (see Isaiah 66:22-24, Daniel 12:1-2, Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 9:42-48, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, Jude 7, Revelation 14:9-11, etc.). Heaven is filled with the presence of God, while Hell is completely absent of His presence. Since all people are held captive by the hopeless control of the Ruler of this world (Satan, the Devil) through our Debt, awaiting eternal judgment, God chose to intervene on our behalf. He personally came to earth in the form and likeness of a man to offer an escape from the curse. In White Linen, this alternative is referred to as The Proposal. It is also known as The Gospel, The Good News, etc. (For details of The Proposal and how to escape the curse of our Debt, see The A-B-C’s of Salvation section). God’s Justice and God’s Love are equally perfect and complete. Because He is Just, and sin produces death (separation), God’s plan for Salvation from the eternal curse of sin (our Debt) still requires death – no exceptions. Yet because His love for us is so great, and He is not willing that anyone should perish in Hell (see 2 Peter 3:9), He devised a plan to offer a Perfect sacrifice, once and for all, for the sins of all humanity (see Hebrews 10). This is where Jesus Christ, the Son of God, comes in. Of His own free will, Jesus came down to earth to be born as a human and walk in our shoes. As God in human form, He never sinned – not even once. Therefore, He was the only One in history qualified to carry out the ultimate Redemption plan for all humanity. Although perfectly faultless throughout His life, He was falsely accused…and condemned to die a criminal’s death – the agonizing torture of a Roman crucifixion. When He laid down His life willingly for the sins of the whole world, the Debt of all who personally accept His sacrifice was finally paid in full, wiping away forever all sin from the believer’s record. Since Jesus had never sinned, Death couldn’t hold Him; God raised Him back to life from the grave three days later (Matthew 28:1-15, Luke 24:1-28, John 20, 1 Corinthians 15:20-21, etc.). When Jesus took upon Himself the complete punishment for our lifetime of sins (past, present, and future), His perfect sacrifice became the open door to unity with God and an eventual home in Heaven. There is no greater expression of Love than to lay down one’s life for others (see John 15:13). Therefore, God’s great plan of Salvation – accomplished solely through the death, burial, and resurrection of the sinless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ – was the only possible way in which Justice could be perfectly executed with Love perfectly expressed, simultaneously (see Romans 5:8). This was God’s plan from the very beginning. His plan alone offers the only possible way of escape from the eternal punishment awaiting everyone still bound to their Debt. Also called Salvation, this gift is freely available to EVERYONE who puts their faith (life-changing belief) in Jesus, in humble repentance (admitting of and turning away from sin, and instead following Jesus – see Romans 10:9-10). It is completely and equally necessary for every person on earth, despite the magnitude of excellence or evil within an individual’s character. His sacrifice is greater by far than the worst sin we could ever commit, yet completely necessary even for the best human alive…because it has never been about us; it’s ALL about Jesus. To summarize, we have but two options: to live with Jesus forever in Heaven where there will be eternal peace, love, joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, excitement, wonder, light, pleasure, etc… Or to live forever separated from Him in Hell (the Lake of Fire), where there will be eternal Hatred, Darkness, Turmoil, Confusion, Lies, Fear, Pain, Suffering, Torment, etc. A crucial fact that many people overlook is that God didn’t devise Hell as some awful, horrible place for bad people, filled with unspeakable suffering. Rather, God created Hell specifically for the Devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41). Hell is a place where God’s presence (and consequently, all of His good attributes) will be completely absent…which is precisely why it is such a terrible place, filled with unspeakable suffering. Why doesn’t everyone go to Heaven? The answer is simple: Our free will…because God will never force Himself upon anyone. And why will many people go to Hell, the place reserved for the Devil and his angels? The answer, once again, is simple: Pride…more specifically, a person’s unwillingness to surrender to or receive the sacrifice of Jesus on behalf of their Debt. Once again, God will never force Himself upon anyone. When people choose to completely reject Him and His plan of Salvation – and therefore (by default) choose to follow the Devil instead – they are literally rejecting everything which is good…and instead choosing everything bad...for all eternity. Put another way, choosing God is rejecting the Devil, and rejecting God is choosing the Devil. Although the Devil would like us to believe otherwise, there really are no other options…for while there are many different world religions, all are rooted in the Devil’s scheme, which ultimately places the focus upon the individual’s own merit or ability to earn their way into whatever version of Heaven is promised. There are many counterfeits, but only one Truth. Therefore, all other world religions are focused inwardly upon self, with Pride as their foundation. Yet with God’s plan of Salvation, all focus is directed upon Jesus, without whom no one could make it to Heaven. It’s all about Him, and never about our futile efforts to earn God’s favor. In summary, all people will spend eternity either with God – or apart from Him – depending upon whether they accept His proposal or not. When we enter a personal relationship with Jesus through God’s plan of Salvation, He teaches us, with time and patience, to practice all His good attributes. (For an explanation of this simple but life-changing process, see The A-B-C’s of Salvation section). Furthermore, as His victorious Bride (made victorious through His triumph over Death and our Debt), we are given a new name as well as a new identity when we accept His proposal. Revelation 2:17 states: “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious, I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.” NOTE: Salvation is NEVER accomplished by our own “good works”. Rather, it is exclusively granted as a free gift by the mercy and kindness of God when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior (a verbal affirmation and heart-belief, resulting in an inner change away from following our own path of sin, and instead committing our life to follow the path of God’s way as revealed in the Bible, in humble obedience to His Proposal – see Ephesians 2:8-9). Whereas good works never brought us to Salvation, Salvation is the catalyst that springs us forward into a life of obedience to God, which in turn bears the fruit of good works in our life as a result. This fleeting life on earth is the closest to Heaven a person who rejects Jesus (rejecting God’s plan of Salvation) will ever be, while it is also the closest to Hell a person who accepts Jesus as their Savior will ever be. Through God’s gift of free will, this choice is available to each of us as long as we draw breath in this life. But free will has an expiration date…after death, it’s too late (see Hebrews 9:27). Either way, according to Philippians 2:10-11 (see below), EVERYONE WHO EVER LIVED will one day acknowledge Jesus Christ as LORD. Either via free will during their life on earth now, awaiting the bliss of eternal life in a humble heart of repentance by choosing to follow His ways and rejecting the empty ways of the world…or else in final realization when they see Him at last, standing before Him after death on Judgment Day, awaiting eternal damnation.
“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:10-11
In the beginning, God created man in His own image, to enjoy eternal life in the perfect world created for him. Man experienced a personal, continual, and direct fellowship with God. Sin was nonexistent in this good and perfect world; accordingly, absent also were pain, fear, suffering, confusion, toil, shame, and death. Man enjoyed both physical and spiritual immortality, devoid even of the knowledge of evil. Adam and his wife Eve were both naked and unashamed. Everything was truly good. The Garden of Eden, where they lived, was a paradise on earth. When God created Adam and Eve, He instilled within both an independent and free will. He was not interested in creating robots, incapable of making decisions on their own. Rather, God’s desire is to share mutual fellowship and love with the people He created. But free will is a double-edged sword. Without free will, it would be impossible for Man to disobey God…but equally impossible for Man to offer love of his own will back to God. God desires a relationship with all men and women, each of whom He created in His own image. Adam and Eve were free to enjoy Creation as they desired…with one exception. The single commandment God issued, designed for their own protection, was to not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet they both disobeyed God and ate of the Tree anyway after the Serpent deceived and tempted Eve. As a result, Creation as a whole came under the curse of sin. Adam and Eve both realized they were naked and became afraid. They tried to hide from God, but He confronted them and pronounced His judgment upon them. They were banished from the Garden of Eden, and the earth itself was changed. It now brought forth weeds and thorns, making agriculture – and survival itself – toilsome for Man. The joy and glory of childbirth would become tainted by pain and anguish for Women. With Creation now under the curse of sin, Paradise on Earth was lost. From the seed of sin comes the eventual harvest of death. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their immortality, both physically and spiritually, was removed. The day they sinned, they died, both spiritually (were separated from God) and physically (that is, their bodies became mortal; the aging process began, culminating in their physical death many years later). As a result of Sin’s curse which Adam and Eve brought upon the world, all of humanity is born into sin. There is no one in the history of mankind, except for Jesus Christ, the God-Man, who has not sinned. Therefore, each of us owes God a Debt for our sin-guilt. This Debt we all owe for our sin can only be satisfied with death (which is separation from God – Who alone is perfect and without sin). Physical death is separation from this life, while spiritual death (finalized upon our physical death) is eternal separation from God (and therefore, separation from everything good – because everything good comes from God, and all good things are attributes of God – see James 1:16-17). Life – that is, our conscious existence – continues after death has separated us from the physical realm of this world. Like Heaven, Hell is also both real and eternal (see Isaiah 66:22-24, Daniel 12:1-2, Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 9:42-48, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, Jude 7, Revelation 14:9-11, etc.). Heaven is filled with the presence of God, while Hell is completely absent of His presence. Since all people are held captive by the hopeless control of the Ruler of this world (Satan, the Devil) through our Debt, awaiting eternal judgment, God chose to intervene on our behalf. He personally came to earth in the form and likeness of a man to offer an escape from the curse. In White Linen, this alternative is referred to as The Proposal. It is also known as The Gospel, The Good News, etc. (For details of The Proposal and how to escape the curse of our Debt, see The A-B-C’s of Salvation section). God’s Justice and God’s Love are equally perfect and complete. Because He is Just, and sin produces death (separation), God’s plan for Salvation from the eternal curse of sin (our Debt) still requires death – no exceptions. Yet because His love for us is so great, and He is not willing that anyone should perish in Hell (see 2 Peter 3:9), He devised a plan to offer a Perfect sacrifice, once and for all, for the sins of all humanity (see Hebrews 10). This is where Jesus Christ, the Son of God, comes in. Of His own free will, Jesus came down to earth to be born as a human and walk in our shoes. As God in human form, He never sinned – not even once. Therefore, He was the only One in history qualified to carry out the ultimate Redemption plan for all humanity. Although perfectly faultless throughout His life, He was falsely accused…and condemned to die a criminal’s death – the agonizing torture of a Roman crucifixion. When He laid down His life willingly for the sins of the whole world, the Debt of all who personally accept His sacrifice was finally paid in full, wiping away forever all sin from the believer’s record. Since Jesus had never sinned, Death couldn’t hold Him; God raised Him back to life from the grave three days later (Matthew 28:1-15, Luke 24:1-28, John 20, 1 Corinthians 15:20-21, etc.). When Jesus took upon Himself the complete punishment for our lifetime of sins (past, present, and future), His perfect sacrifice became the open door to unity with God and an eventual home in Heaven. There is no greater expression of Love than to lay down one’s life for others (see John 15:13). Therefore, God’s great plan of Salvation – accomplished solely through the death, burial, and resurrection of the sinless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ – was the only possible way in which Justice could be perfectly executed with Love perfectly expressed, simultaneously (see Romans 5:8). This was God’s plan from the very beginning. His plan alone offers the only possible way of escape from the eternal punishment awaiting everyone still bound to their Debt. Also called Salvation, this gift is freely available to EVERYONE who puts their faith (life-changing belief) in Jesus, in humble repentance (admitting of and turning away from sin, and instead following Jesus – see Romans 10:9-10). It is completely and equally necessary for every person on earth, despite the magnitude of excellence or evil within an individual’s character. His sacrifice is greater by far than the worst sin we could ever commit, yet completely necessary even for the best human alive…because it has never been about us; it’s ALL about Jesus. To summarize, we have but two options: to live with Jesus forever in Heaven where there will be eternal peace, love, joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, excitement, wonder, light, pleasure, etc… Or to live forever separated from Him in Hell (the Lake of Fire), where there will be eternal Hatred, Darkness, Turmoil, Confusion, Lies, Fear, Pain, Suffering, Torment, etc. A crucial fact that many people overlook is that God didn’t devise Hell as some awful, horrible place for bad people, filled with unspeakable suffering. Rather, God created Hell specifically for the Devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41). Hell is a place where God’s presence (and consequently, all of His good attributes) will be completely absent…which is precisely why it is such a terrible place, filled with unspeakable suffering. Why doesn’t everyone go to Heaven? The answer is simple: Our free will…because God will never force Himself upon anyone. And why will many people go to Hell, the place reserved for the Devil and his angels? The answer, once again, is simple: Pride…more specifically, a person’s unwillingness to surrender to or receive the sacrifice of Jesus on behalf of their Debt. Once again, God will never force Himself upon anyone. When people choose to completely reject Him and His plan of Salvation – and therefore (by default) choose to follow the Devil instead – they are literally rejecting everything which is good…and instead choosing everything bad...for all eternity. Put another way, choosing God is rejecting the Devil, and rejecting God is choosing the Devil. Although the Devil would like us to believe otherwise, there really are no other options…for while there are many different world religions, all are rooted in the Devil’s scheme, which ultimately places the focus upon the individual’s own merit or ability to earn their way into whatever version of Heaven is promised. There are many counterfeits, but only one Truth. Therefore, all other world religions are focused inwardly upon self, with Pride as their foundation. Yet with God’s plan of Salvation, all focus is directed upon Jesus, without whom no one could make it to Heaven. It’s all about Him, and never about our futile efforts to earn God’s favor. In summary, all people will spend eternity either with God – or apart from Him – depending upon whether they accept His proposal or not. When we enter a personal relationship with Jesus through God’s plan of Salvation, He teaches us, with time and patience, to practice all His good attributes. (For an explanation of this simple but life-changing process, see The A-B-C’s of Salvation section). Furthermore, as His victorious Bride (made victorious through His triumph over Death and our Debt), we are given a new name as well as a new identity when we accept His proposal. Revelation 2:17 states: “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious, I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.” NOTE: Salvation is NEVER accomplished by our own “good works”. Rather, it is exclusively granted as a free gift by the mercy and kindness of God when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior (a verbal affirmation and heart-belief, resulting in an inner change away from following our own path of sin, and instead committing our life to follow the path of God’s way as revealed in the Bible, in humble obedience to His Proposal – see Ephesians 2:8-9). Whereas good works never brought us to Salvation, Salvation is the catalyst that springs us forward into a life of obedience to God, which in turn bears the fruit of good works in our life as a result. This fleeting life on earth is the closest to Heaven a person who rejects Jesus (rejecting God’s plan of Salvation) will ever be, while it is also the closest to Hell a person who accepts Jesus as their Savior will ever be. Through God’s gift of free will, this choice is available to each of us as long as we draw breath in this life. But free will has an expiration date…after death, it’s too late (see Hebrews 9:27). Either way, according to Philippians 2:10-11 (see below), EVERYONE WHO EVER LIVED will one day acknowledge Jesus Christ as LORD. Either via free will during their life on earth now, awaiting the bliss of eternal life in a humble heart of repentance by choosing to follow His ways and rejecting the empty ways of the world…or else in final realization when they see Him at last, standing before Him after death on Judgment Day, awaiting eternal damnation.
“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:10-11