{"id":11520,"date":"2011-08-27T12:37:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-27T17:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buddymartin.net\/blog\/?p=11520"},"modified":"2020-01-10T17:17:12","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T17:17:12","slug":"the-point-of-no-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buddymartin.org\/blog\/2011\/08\/27\/the-point-of-no-return\/","title":{"rendered":"The Point of No Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cFor it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.\u201d<\/em> (Heb 7:25-27)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\">J<\/span>ournal,<\/p>\n<p>The point of no return can be applied to various situations, and especially in the work of redemption it has a place. I decided to draw on this term from my experience as a radioman in the Navy.<\/p>\n<p>I was stationed in the Philippine Islands during the early years of the Vietnam War. (1960-62) As a radioman on a Navy Marlin-Martin P5M (Seaplane), it was our job to check on Chinese and Vietnamese\u00a0shipping in the South China Sea. We flew low while taking pictures of the shipping. Was never shot at to my knowledge.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-11521\" title=\"p5m4\" src=\"http:\/\/buddymartin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/p5m4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"260\" height=\"214\" \/>When we reached a certain point between our home base in Sangley Point and a forward safety area, I would send a secret morse code message stating, <em><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; color: #993300;\">\u201cWe have reached the point of no return.\u201d<\/span><\/em> That code meant that if we were in trouble, we could not look back at our home port for help.<\/p>\n<p>There was no turning back. In the event of a problem, we had to go forward to the closest safety port.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Points of No Return<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>There are noted &#8216;points of no return&#8217; in the Scriptures. One such point of no return involves a last judgement.<\/p>\n<p>Forget reincarnation or transmigration of the soul or any other such nonsense. There are no second chances after death.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cAnd inasmuch as it is appointed for men <strong>to die once and after this comes judgment<\/strong>, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.\u201d<\/em> (Heb 9:27-28)\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Take note that the judgment is for those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. True believers do not have to be judged. Their judgment took place at the cross.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>&#8220;He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.\u201d<\/em> (Joh 3:18)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The apostle adds to this &#8216;no damning judgement&#8217; for a believer when he says,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cTherefore there is now no <strong>condemnation<\/strong> for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.\u201d<\/em> (Rom 8:1-2)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-11577\" title=\"Jesusloves\" src=\"http:\/\/buddymartin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Jesusloves-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/>The Biblical term for condemnation is the word &#8216;<span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; color: #003300;\">katakrima&#8217;<\/span> (<span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><em>kat-ak&#8217;ree-mah<\/em><\/span>). It speaks of a judicial damnatory sentence. The reason there can never be a damming sentence against the believer is because his life has been placed in Christ. To condemn a believer, Christ would have to be condemned.<\/p>\n<p>The tenses in the Greek speak in this way: &#8216;<em><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; color: #003300;\">There is not now nor can there ever be a damnatory sentence against anyone who is in Christ Jesus.&#8217;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>All of this wraps around God&#8217;s plan of redemption from the beginning. It involves the mystery of the cross in how the Father would place each believer in His Son. It is in this way that no believer could ever be separated from God&#8217;s redemption love.<\/p>\n<p>Paul said it this way:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><span style=\"color: #000080;\">\u201cBut in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.\u201d<\/em> (Rom 8:37-39)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It all has to do with the cross.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">The Cross is God&#8217;s Covenant of No Return<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The defining point of redemption history is found in the message of the cross. The new covenant is a covenant of creation. It is not the covenant of Moses made better. The new covenant addresses a new humanity. This new humanity is made up of<em> <span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; color: #003300;\">\u2018in Christ\u2019<\/span><\/em> believers.<\/p>\n<p>The Lord said to this Jewish leader,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>&#8220;That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, &#8216;You must be born again.&#8217;\u201d<\/em> (Joh 3:6-7)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Greek term for <span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; color: #003300;\">&#8216;born again&#8217;<\/span> is,\u00a0<em>&#8216;<span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; color: #003300;\">gennao anothen.&#8217; &#8216;Anothen&#8217;<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means,<em> <span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; color: #003300;\">&#8216;from above.&#8217;<\/span>\u00a0&#8216;<span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">Anothen<\/span>&#8216;<\/em>\u00a0is a Greek modifier. It includes the idea of <em>&#8216;<span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">from the beginning.&#8217;<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-11579\" title=\"inchrist\" src=\"http:\/\/buddymartin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/inchrist-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Thus the lost man must have a heavenly rebirth that gives him a new beginning. But it is a birth that has its origin from the beginning. This is where the idea of &#8216;<em><span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">heavenly<\/span><\/em>&#8216; comes in. The birth from above is divine in origin. It is from above.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle alludes to this, when he says,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>&#8220;Just as <strong>He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world<\/strong>, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of His will.&#8221;<\/em> (Eph 1:4,5)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>God spoke through the prophet Isaiah in setting forth a new humanity made up of sons and daughters &#8211;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cThus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: \u2018Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, and you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.\u2019\u201d<\/em> (Isa 45:11)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Paul is drawing on this in describing God&#8217;s new creation in Christ.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cThe first man [<span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">Adam<\/span>] is from the earth, earthy; the second man [<span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">Christ<\/span>] is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.\u201d<\/em> (1Co 15:47-49)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">The Centerpiece of the New Covenant<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>A key issue of the new covenant is that God\u2019s new creation people are not only hidden in Christ, but they are also given the spiritual nature of Christ. Peter makes reference to our new nature &#8211;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cFor by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.&#8221;<\/em> (2 Peter 1:4)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-11583\" title=\"redeemed\" src=\"http:\/\/buddymartin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/redeemed1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/>One day we will fully enjoy the total of our spiritual inheritance, but for now we are the heavenly children of God in earthly bodies.<\/p>\n<p>It is important to understand this. The apostles never discounted the fact of our being in earthly bodies. Believers are still subject to issues in this present life. We struggle with temptations and with our own fleshly weaknesses at times. Yet within every believer is the source of life that helps us to overcome those things that we are confronted with.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus describes this divine source of life in terms of an overflowing heart. In speaking with the woman at the well, He said,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201c\u2026 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.&#8221;<\/em> (Joh 4:14)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>One of the most powerful lessons that a believer can ever learn is the lesson of learning to draw from the deep of their own inward spiritual fountain.<\/p>\n<p>The prophet of old tells us how this works. Listen carefully with your heart. This is something every believer should make part of their victory language. &#8211;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>&#8220;\u2019Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.\u2019 Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.\u201d<\/em> (Isa 12:2-3)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And it all has to do with&#8230;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">The Children of the Covenant\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>John said,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><span style=\"color: #000080;\">\u201cSee how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cBeloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.\u201d<\/em> (1Jn 3:1-2)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>We belong to a kingdom that is not of this world. It is a kingdom of sons and daughters. It is a kingdom of freedom. It is a kingdom where each child is treated as part of the royal family. And even when the Father brings discipline into our lives, it is always the discipline of a loving Father designed to help the child learn how to live in righteousness.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus said,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>&#8220;My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would\u00a0not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this world.&#8221;<\/em> (John 18:36)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So, once again we hear that Jesus did not come to give us a new religion. Nor did He come to give us a visible structure by which we can find ourselves. We must learn to find ourselves with the Jerusalem from above. The kingdom we serve is invisible to the eye. No one can say, <span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><em><span style=\"color: #003300;\">&#8220;Lo, Christ is here.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/span> Or, <em><span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">&#8220;Lo, Christ is there.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Does this mean that we should not flock ourselves together as believer. Not at all. Actually it is just the opposite. The Lord places each child in the body as it pleases Him. There will always be a proper flock for each believer to associate himself with.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at one more issue. It has to do with &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Unique Traits of God&#8217;s \u2018No Return\u2019 People<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>There is identifiable traits of God&#8217;s new Adam race in Christ. Every person who is born from above has direct access to God Himself. It is this fact alone that does away a need for an intermediary ministry in the new covenant.<\/p>\n<p>No single believer has more access to the divine counsels of God than does another believer. Lots of folk don&#8217;t like to hear this, but it is Biblical.<\/p>\n<p>One noted weakness that can be found with many believers today is in their attempt to live the new covenant, on an old covenant level. This is why they continue to look for a prophet who can give them a word from the Lord. Any attempt to live on that level is an open door for disaster.<\/p>\n<p>Listen very carefully to how Jesus describes His new covenant people;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>&#8220;I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one Shepherd.&#8221;<\/em> (John 10:16)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Note the Lord&#8217;s emphasis on His &#8216;<span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #003300;\">Voice<\/span><\/strong><\/span>.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>In the former covenant, the prophets served as the voice of God. In God&#8217;s new humanity, each person born from above, has the Voice of the Shepherd speaking into\u00a0his or her life.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-11575\" title=\"light4\" src=\"http:\/\/buddymartin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/light41-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is not to say that new covenant believers have no need of mature counsel. Quite the contrary. Mature guidance is especially crucial for the immature believer. But the guidance given must be only from what God has given us to say in the Scriptures.<\/p>\n<p>Then we have another unique trait found in God&#8217;s new humanity. Inside each and every believer is found the &#8216;<em><span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">authorship<\/span><\/em>&#8216;\u00a0of heaven. This means that the believer carries a seal over his or her heart. And in this seal is the very presence of heaven. That is what the Spirit of Jesus is all about.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cIn Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation&#8211;having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God&#8217;s own possession, to the praise of His glory.\u201d<\/em> (Eph 1:13-14)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It is this presence of heaven in our hearts that creates our homesickness. Every true believer knows intuitively that they are only pilgrims and strangers in this life. We know that our true home is glorious beyond words. We also know that we will have a new heavenly body and that there is nothing in this world to compare to the life that awaits us.<\/p>\n<p>Listen to these Scriptures. See where they fit in your life &#8212;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cBut the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.\u201d<\/em> (Gal 4:26)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cFor he [<span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">Abraham<\/span>] was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.\u201d<\/em> (Heb 11:10)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cBut as it is, they [<span style=\"color: #003300; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">Old Testament believers<\/span>] desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.\u201d<\/em> (Heb 11:16)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cFor our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.\u201d<\/em> (Php 3:20-21)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cFor we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven\u2026\u201d<\/em> (2Co 5:1-2)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here is a song for your meditation. If you have not surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus, now is the time. Let this song be your prayer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><object style=\"height: 390px; width: 640px;\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowScriptAccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/7x2IpLSfqp8?version=3\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><\/object><br \/>\nIn Christ always,<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\">B<\/span>uddy<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Views: 74<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cFor it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once forContinue reading &rarr;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","_crdt_document":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[119,185,207,289,290,739],"class_list":["post-11520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-children-of-god","tag-eternal-covenant","tag-finished-work","tag-heavenly-jerusalem","tag-heavenly-life","tag-voice-of-god","no-thumb"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Buddy","author_link":"https:\/\/buddymartin.org\/blog\/author\/buddy\/"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Point of No Return - Brother Buddy&#039;s NEW Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/buddymartin.org\/blog\/2011\/08\/27\/the-point-of-no-return\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Point of No Return - Brother Buddy&#039;s NEW Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cFor it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 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