The word that is translated sin, is HAMARTIA. Literally it means to miss the mark, or a missing of the mark. It may me rendered "MISTAKE". Not all sin is immoral. Many mistakes have no moral tinge.

When Adam got the whole human family on to the wrong road, he committed no act of immorality. But he certainly made a mistake.

The value of Christ depends on His relation to God. In the first chapter of Hebrews He is spoken of this way: "---a Son Whom He, (God), appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all; through Whom He also makes the eons; Who, being the brightness of His glory, the emblem of His assumptions; besides carrying on all by His powerful declaration,; making a cleansing of mistakes---".

God turns over to this Son, the universe to administer for Him. He enjoys doing so, and will administer it perfectly.

In the carrying out of His purpose through the Son, God divides up duration, during what is called eonian times, into segments known as seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, centuries, and eons---the latter, the longest segment. This is done through the Son.

In a special way, the Son reveals in Himself, the brightness of the Father's glory.

What the Father assumes to do, the Son does, because in Him the entire filling delights to dwell.

The Son carries on all by His Powerful declaration. This is the way the work of God is done---not by questions, nor by entreaties, but by declarations. It is interesting to read, "And the spirit of God is vibrating on the face of the waters, and God is saying, "It is becoming light', and it IS becoming light". And, God is saying, 'We are making a human in our image and as our likeness', and God IS making a human in His image and as His likeness". The point is, God's works are done by saying they are done.

The Son under consideration is "making a cleansing of mistakes". One of the first things that Adam seems to have done, was to make a mistake. Paul sums it up this way: "Through one man the mistake entered into the world and through the mistake, death, and thus death passed through into all mankind, on which all make the mistake". But it is heartening to turn to the last book in our Bible, and find that before the down-casting of the world, the Lamb was in a slain state. Thus, before any man actually existed, except in the thought of God, He made provision by which mistakes would be cleansed. The Son, Whom John introduced as the Lamb of God Who is taking away the mistake of the world, did actually die on the cross, many centuries after man made the mistake, but in God's reckoning He was in a slain state from the down-casting of the world. A wise man has said, "That which is to be, has already been". The Lamb Who in our passage, is called a Son, WAS to die---and did. But what men saw enacted on Golgotha, God had seen a long long time before. There was never a time since man came to be on earth, when mistakes were not already cleansed. As man existed only in the thought of God, so the cleansing of mistakes existed only in His thought. But it was sufficient. There was never a man who could not be saved. The remedy ante-dated the mistake.

Unless we are careful we will miss the reading. The passage in Hebrews speaks of the fact that mistakes, themselves, are cleansed.

Apparently, it suited God's purpose to have Adam make the mistake. He had given to him such a disposition concerning his wife, that he announced beforehand that if it came to the test, he would leave all others, even God, his Father, in order to cleave to his wife. And this he did.

One thing that God requires is that man walk humbly before Him. If man had never made a mistake, there probably would have been no humility among mankind. But now, when we think correctly, we know that, having made a mistake, we may make others, unless we humbly rely on God to keep us.

Also it suites God's purpose to neutralize the mistake, so that it will not keep man from coming, finally, into glory with God.

In respect to God's long-range purpose, the mistake is not wrong. Here is where justification comes in. Paul speaks of it this way, "Being justified freely in His grace, through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus." When we read of "a Son", as in Hebrews, we are seeing His relationship to His Father. But when we see His name, Jesus, we see Him as He walked among men---Jesus is His name. When the word, "Christ", is used of Him, it is a title. It means "The Anointed". Frequently He is mentioned as "Jesus Christ". Paul says, "Christ Jesus".

In Hebrews 1 He is called God. This is in a relative sense, since He is called "the Son", in the same passage. He is said to have been anointed with oil of exultation above His fellows. I am one of His fellows, but He is anointed with the oil of exultation above me. I am His fellow in that I am associated with Him in trusting God and serving mankind. But He occupies a place unique. No other man ever occupied the position that He occupies. Not I, but HE, is making a cleansing of mistakes.

Justification means "not guilty". Mankind is guiltless,---is in a justified state---because if the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus.

The Son is God's Fellow, in the sense that He sustains a relationship to God that is described in the words, "The only begotten Son", and in the sense that He is the enjoyer of the allotment of all, is the One through Whom God made the eons, is the brightness of His glory, is the emblem of His assumptions, is carrying on all by His powerful declaration, and in making a cleansing of mistakes. I am the Son's fellow in that I am a son of God, am anointed in less degree, and have the privilege of walking with Him and serving God and mankind. I am taken into the circle of His fellows, by reason of the fact that I, together with all mankind, am justified, and not guilty.

He is our Fellow, because He has been tried in all parts, as we, and is touched in a sympathetic way with our infirmities, so that we have the privilege of coming to Him in thought, knowing that, figuratively we are coming to the throne of grace, and shall obtain mercy, and find grace for opportune help. We do not have to do with an unfeeling One. We must remember that the throne is called a throne of GRACE. This means favor. And this teaches us that we shall obtain the help even if we have not made our self worthy of it. Grace is for the unworthy.

We are not to come timidly. Our approach must be in boldness---not boastfully or arrogantly. It must be in humility. But let us not forget that we have the privilege of coming BOLDLY. Whatever we have suffered, He knows all about it, for He is our Fellow.

It is to Him as Christ, the Son of God, that we are to come. His thought reached out beyond His name, Jesus, when He said, "Come unto Me all who are toiling and laden, and I will be giving you rest". Not all could physically approach Jesus, the Man. But there is no limit to the number who may approach Christ, the Son of God. Not many passages have been worth more to me than this one. Man can hardly rest from his toil and load. His thoughts won't let him. But when we turn it all over to Him, we turn over our thoughts, too. The sweetness of the rest that He gives, cannot be described. He is our Fellow.

In His graciousness He further says, "Take MY yoke upon you, and be learning from ME", rather than the word, "yoke", must be emphasized. Mankind is bearing a yoke, already. It is not that those without a yoke should take one. The lesson is, those who are bearing a yoke of conditions about them are invited to lay it aside, and take the yoke of Christ.

I know of nothing more important than learning from Christ. He is our Fellow; let Him be our Teacher. It is from Him that we learn the lessons that enable us to walk in faith, and live the fullest life.

He Who is our Fellow tells us that in doing this we shall be finding rest to our souls. Furthermore, bearing His yoke is not grievous. He is Humble in heart, and His yoke is kindly, and His load is light.

This is not an invitation to join ourselves to something that requires ritualism and forms and ceremonies. These constitute the heaviest load---the most irksome burden---as many can testify.

When will we ever learn that coming to Him is a mental act? It is performed by the mind that is actuated by faith. It is not an act of becoming slaves to ritual; it is an act of becoming free.

Back to the original thought: I said that in respect to God's long-range purpose, the mistake is not wrong. This means that God holds nothing against us.

But, lest I be misunderstood, let me say that in respect to our welfare now, mistakes ARE wrong. The law of sowing and reaping still holds good. We suffer, now, the consequences of mistakes. The greatest mistake is a lack of faith. People trust to their own devices, and are afraid to trust God. It is hard to find a person who can bring himself to trust Him and rely on His word. This attitude is far more widespread than you may imagine. It is really astonishing to know that many people who claim to be in touch with God, often speak of prayer in a negative way. One will say, "I believe in prayer, but you won't get what you pray for, if it is not God's will for you to have it". Of course not! But why put it negatively? It would be more in keeping with faith, if we would say, "We WILL get what we pray for, if it IS God's will for us to have it".

Another will say, "I believe in prayer, but God has His own way of answering prayer". What is new about that statement? Does not God have His own way of doing EVERYTHING that He does? And does the fact that He has His own way of answering prayer, make praying an uncertain venture? Is it not much better this way? Who would think that OUR way is better?

When Paul bids us make all our requests known to God, is he playing with us? Does he tell us this, so that people can laugh at our presumption that God will give us what we request? Why make our requests known to God, if it is His intention to laugh at us for presuming to trust Him.

I think that we make more mistakes in failing to pray to, and rely on, the living God, than in any other way.

Yes, our failures in this respect constitute the great majority of our mistakes. We go through life without living abundantly, because we think of God as isolated from us, and wonder if we could reach Him if we tried.

We are not to think of God as unwilling to help us.

He has cleansed our mistakes. This is known to but few...And those who do not know it, receive no benefit from the fact. Another mistake is ignorance of His provision. Being ignorance of it, we, not God, deprive ourselves of many of His benefits.

One said to me recently: "You seem to have found the way to meet life in a way that you get much out of it. I would that I knew the way to abundant living". I replied that the way is not hard to find. It is a matter of knowing that in every department of life---I mean in every department, without exception---We may turn our affairs over to Him Whose life is in us.

HEALING

My friends will be happy to know that my wife is steadily manifesting better health, day by day. I am trusting God---yea, relying on the living God.

It is safe to trust Him.