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Holy Spirit & The Salvation of Man Part 1

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Trust and Obey 

Part 6a – Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

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Salvation – God, According To His Will By The Holy Spirit: Confirms Man As A Sinner

Then Removes His Sins and Their Consequences & Gives Him Grace For Righteousness

Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)

In this first part, The Holy Spirit & Restoration of Man Part 1 we will have a look at God, According To His Will By The Holy Spirit: Confirms Man As A Sinner. It looks at:
Introduction –
The Holy Spirit
Regeneration of Man
The Holy Spirit & Regeneration of Man
Salvation
The Components of Man (Body, Soul & Spirit)
Heart of Man
The Holy Spirit & Salvation
The unregenerate Man
The law

The Gospel of Christ – God By The Holy Spirit:Confirms Man As A Sinner

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.

“ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS SEEN BY CEPHAS, THEN BY THE TWELVE. AFTER HE WAS SEEN BY OVER FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN AT ONCE, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

We will in this post look at some parts of the work of the Holy Spirit in the eternal Purpose of God as we continue with our look at the first stanza of the hymn, Trust and Obey by John Henry Sammis as part of our mini series “Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God” In previous posts we have looked at God’s good will, His original plan of His eternal purpose Ultimately being, PLAN A – The Glory of God – We saw that it is safe to say that His good will, His eternal purpose, is a plan to ultimately, bring us to His Glory, with provision made for perceived blunders we will make along the way.

In our last post we looked at Justification : Before that, Redemption as part of God’s Regeneration of man. We saw justification as the “Act of God” by which (according to His promise) He approves us, based on His own standard of righteousness. This He can legally do without compromising His divine righteousness because of the finished redemptive work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary. We saw that justification can only be obtained through the grace of God and not by our works.

Before we move on to Faith & Believe I’ll like to stop briefly to have a look at the work of the Holy Spirit in this eternal purpose of God especially the work of the Holy Spirit in the salvation of man. We will be looking at this from the perspective of the specific activities of the Holy Spirit in the salvation of man.

Salvation
What Is Salvation?

God, According To His Will By The Holy Spirit:
Confirms Man As A Sinner
Then
Removes His Sins and Their Consequences & Gives Him Grace For Righteousness

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 Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)

I this first part, The Holy Spirit & Restoration of Man Part 1 we will have a look at

God, According To His Will By The Holy Spirit:                                                                  

Confirms Man As A Sinner

It looks at:
Introduction – The Holy Spirit
Regeneration of Man
The Holy Spirit & Regeneration of Man
Salvation
The Components of Man (Body, Soul & Spirit)
Heart of Man
The Holy Spirit & Salvation
The unregenerate Man
The law

Introduction – The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) is a real person – the third person of the Holy Trinity: Father (God), Son (Jesus Christ) and The Holy Spirit. He is equal in every way as The Father and Jesus Christ, with the same attributes as they have. The Holy Spirit is our helper in all things, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ promised to His disciples:
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26)

THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

These are of the same components as that of man, these components being, will, intellect and emotions (as we shall see later),

Will
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (I Corinthians 12:11)

Intellect
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11)

Emotions
Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me. (Romans 15:30)

FUNCTIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

He teaches us all things.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever ….. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:16,26)

He is our indwelling Spirit of God.
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (I Corinthians 3:16)

He exalts Jesus Christ in us, and as all truth is in Jesus, we are impacted with the Truth.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-14)

He strengthens us in our innermost being.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

SPECIFIC ACTIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

He guides us in truth.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:13)

He gives us victory over flesh (domination over our soul by that part of us which is at odds with God).
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

He speaks to us.
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ―Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. (Acts 13:2)

Then the Spirit said to Philip, ―Go near and overtake this chariot. (Acts 8:29)

He leads us.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

He convicts us sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (John 16:7-8)

Helps us in our weaknesses and prays for us.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (Romans 8:26)

He sanctifies us
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (II Thessalonians 2:13)

ATTRIBUTES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

He exists from Eternity to eternity
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? (Hebrews 9:14)

He is Omnipotent. (being the Spirit of God, He has all power over all things at all times and in all ways).
And the angel answered and said to her, ―The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)

He is Omnipresent. (being the Spirit of God, He is present everywhere at all times)
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? (Psalm 139:7)

He is omniscient (being the Spirit of God, He has complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding and perceives all things)
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (I Corinthians 2:10-11)

He is The Spirit of holiness.
And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. (Romans 1:4)

THE NATURE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

It is possible to blaspheme against The Holy Spirit.
Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. (Matt. 12:31)

It is possible to resist The Holy Spirit (in unbelief).
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. (Acts 7:51)

It is possible to insult The Holy Spirit.
Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29)

It is possible to Lie to The Holy Spirit.
But Peter said, ―Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? (Acts 5:3)

It is possible to Grieve The Holy Spirit.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Eph. 4:30)

It is possible to Quench The Holy Spirit.
Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thess. 5:19)

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE REGENERATION OF MAN

Regeneration is broadly made up of three parts; Propitiation (by God); Salvation (by Christ): and Repentance (by man) ALL CARRIED OUT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. At any point in time, a man can either be regenerate or unregenerate: But all men are born unregenerate:

Jesus answered and said to him, ―Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Nicodemus said to Him, ―How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother‘s womb and be born?‖ Jesus answered, ―Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you,  “You must be born again.” The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:3-8)

Every man from birth is in spiritual darkness until God through the Holy Spirit, shines light into his heart. This spiritual darkness in man is borne out of a lack of intuition and a communion with God; and until God shines light into a man‟s heart by the work of the Holy Spirit, this darkness remains. It could be outer or but definitely inner:

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Outer Darkness in Man

This is darkness that may exist due to the fact that there is nothing to enlighten man about God and godly spirituality.

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.(Matthew 4:16)

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ―How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things! (Rom 10:15)

But then there is no excuse because:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun ……… The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Psalm 19:1-4, 8)

But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: ―Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world. (Romans 10:18)

Inner Darkness in Man

Inward darkness is one that is borne of natural rot and depravity in man’s mind. This is corruption in things pertaining to normal everyday living such as social, political, economic, moral or even spiritual or heavenly things; it may even come in the form of ‘churchianity’ or ‘religion’. The full blown effect of this rot or depravity is often held back by the common grace of the Holy Spirit.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

No matter how eloquently presented, spiritual things can never be understood by such a mind. We will look at this further on in this presentation:

The fool has said in his heart, ―There is no God.‖ They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. (Psalm 14:1)

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them for Jesus‘ sake. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

But then:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

He has sent us the Holy Spirit. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever ….. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:16,26)

THE COMPONENTS OF MAN (BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT) 

Body – Physical Functions

God prepares man with a body that he may live for Him; with the expectation that, his (man‘s) body will be offered to Him and used to declare His Glory:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom. 12:1)

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God‘s. (1 Cor. 6:20).

According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. (Philippians 1:20)

And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:13)

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one‘s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (Romans 6:16).

Soul – Functions of Will, Intellect & Emotions

Will (Volition)

The will is the part of our soul through which we have our rationales and make choices. The process of decision making is (supposed to be) activated by the intellect (mind) though the information before us; our emotions could (if allowed to prevail) determine the outcome; but the will is the function of our soul that makes actual decisions.

So that my soul chooses strangling and death rather than my body. (Job 7:15)

Here we see that the choice made by the soul (of strangling and death rather than living); is coloured by the emotional pain that is a result of the picture Job‟s intellect (mind) paints of the state of his body.

My soul refuses to touch them; They are as loathsome food to me. (Job 6:7)

In this verse we see a choice being made by the soul (of not eating this particular kind of food) based on the fact that information from his intellect (mind) describes the food as being loathsome. It does not show if the emotion played a part in the processing of the information by the intellect (mind).

Intellect (Mind)

The Intellect (Mind) is the part of our soul where thoughts, ideas, concepts, reasons, understanding knowledge etc are processed. It contains our though faculties. The function of the Intellect (Mind) include:

Thinking, considering
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? (Psalm 13:2)

Knowing
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. (Psa. 139:14).

Remembering
My soul still remembers and sinks within me. (Lamentations 3:20)

Emotion             

The emotion is the part of our soul through which we love, hate, like or dislike, are joyful or grieved. The main aspects of the function of our emotions are of :

Sensing and affection:
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Desire
As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. (Psalm 42:1)

With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; for when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:9)

Feeling and Sensing
Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‗Father, save Me from this hour‘? But for this purpose I came to this hour. (John 12:27)

Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. (Psalm 86:4) Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. (Psalm 116:7)

Spirit – Functions of conscience, Intuition and communion.

Conscience

The conscience is for us to discern right from wrong, to justify or to condemn. Knowledge shows what is right or wrong but our conscience is that part of us that approves of what is right and disapproves of what is contrary to it. The conscience is a part of our spirit:

In the unregenerate man, the conscience as a part of the heart is devoid of guidance from the Spirit of God; but restricted within limits by the grace of God. But at salvation the conscience is restored to perform it’s full functions as part of the spirit of man.

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)

Intuition

Intuition is the function of our spirit that enables us to receive knowledge, perception or conviction directly in our spirit, regardless of reason or circumstance. It is a function of “spiritual sensing” . The sharpness of our intuition is very much dependent on the purity of our conscience – thus, it is impossible for someone with a polluted or corrupt conscience to have discernment. It is more like the “USB Connector” between our spirit and the Holy Spirit. The intuition is that in us which enables us (unlike our natural instincts or soulish emotional feelings) to adhere to what the Holy Spirit is saying (God‟s instructions).

For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11)

But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? (Mark 2:8)

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. (John 11:33)

When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 18:5)

This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. (Acts 18:25)

And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, (Acts 20:22)

For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men. (1 Corinthians 16:18)

Communion (Fellowship)

Communion is our contact, fellowship and our communication with God. Like any Father, God wants us His children to spend time with Him so that we can get to know Him. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

The woman said to Him, ―I know that Messiah is coming‖ (who is called Christ). ―When He comes, He will tell us all things. (John 4:23-25)

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. (Romans 1:9)

But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:17)

Fellowship is the most important thing God wants from us. He wants us to come to know him – to be with him – to spend time with him.

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:9-11)

THE HEART OF MAN

Heart of Man is made up of Body – Physical Functions Soul – Functions of Will, Intellect & Emotions Heart Spirit – Functions of conscience ONLY. The heart is a composition of the first part of the spirit – the conscience and all three parts of the soul.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb. 10:22)

Being part of our spirit (the conscience); it can condemn:
For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. (1 John 3:20)

As it also includes the mind, the will, and the emotion, which are the three parts of our soul:
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ―Why do you think evil in your hearts. (Matthew 9:4)

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

It Rejoices:
Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. (John 16:22)

Has Sorrow:
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. (John 16:6)

It Purposes:
When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. (Acts 11:23)

Has Intents:
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

In God’s eternal purpose, the intended main function of man‟s heart is to give man the ability to:

Love Him – And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.‘ This is the first commandment. (Mark 12:30)

Also, In God‟s eternal purpose, the intended main function of man‟s spirit is to give man the ability to:
a) Be in constant contact with Him – God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

b) Receive Him – But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:17)

c) Hold or Contain Him – The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:22)

Finally, In God‟s eternal purpose, the intended main function of man‟s soul is to give man the ability to:

Reflect or Express Him – But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Because our heart LOVES Him; our spirit is able to BE IN CONSTANT CONTACT with Him; RECEIVE Him; and HOLD or CONTAIN Him; so that our soul is able to REFLECT or EXPRESS Him in all that we think, like, and decide – in all that we are and all that we do.

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THE UN-REGENERATE MAN

The dictionary defines the unregenerate man as:

un•re•gen•er•ate

1. Not regenerate; not renewed in heart and mind or reborn in spirit; unrepentant: an unregenerate sinner.
2. Refusing to believe in the existence of God. : an unregenerate atheist; an unregenerate skeptic.
3. Unconvinced by or unconverted to a particular religion, sect, or movement; unreconstructed.
4. Persisting in the holding of prior convictions; opposing new ideas, causes, etc.; stubborn; obstinate: an
unregenerate reactionary.
5. Not reformed; wicked; sinful; profligate; dissolute: an unregenerate way of life.

Conscience of the Unregenerate Man

The dictionary defines the conscience as:

“a knowledge or sense of right and wrong, with a compulsion to do right; moral judgement that opposes the violation of a previously recognized ethical principle and that leads to feelings of guilt.”

The conscience of the unregenerate man as we can see from the dictionary definition is governed by:

‘Compulsion to do right’
‘Moral judgement’

So in our modern day culture where there is a daily attempt to „program‟ our minds to fit into this agenda or the other; “compulsion to do right” and “moral judgement” are ever so subjective and moving further away from what the laws of God says. The world’s thinking overrides and drowns out the inner voice of the true conscience that God put within man.

To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. (Titus 1:15)

There is a conscience in all men by nature. Let this never be forgotten. Fallen, lost, desperately wicked as we are all born into the world, God has taken care to leave Himself a witness in our bosoms. It is a poor blind guide, without the Holy Spirit. It can save no one. It leads no one to Christ. It may be seared and trampled under foot. But there is such a thing as conscience in every man, accusing or excusing him; and Scripture and experience alike declare it (Rom. 2:15).

J.C. Ryle

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THE LAW (AT SALVATION)  

The Law Law means instruction – do‟s and don‟ts; the norms of society as enforced by the state. In the context of our topic here; “The Law” refers specifically to the compilation of decrees found in the first five books of the Bible.
This whole body of law was given the name Torah.

While the purpose of treating this topic of the law here is NOT about relying on keeping the law to be saved:

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

But it is sensible for any man to know the reason why God gave these laws to the natural children of Israel: The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked. (Psalm 94:11-13)

Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. (Psalm 119:164-166)

The Law

The distinct duty of the law is to reveal what sin is. („dangerous‟ and „unwanted‟ piece of knowledge at that):

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20)

So if the law causes our desire to sin to increase, is it then safe to say that the law is bad? The answer here by Apostle Paul is No!!, Capital No!!! For if not for the law, we would not have known sin in it‟s deadly nature; it‟s resistance against God; in it‟s habitual enmity against God; and the hidden lustings it produces within us.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ―You shall not covet. (Romans 7:7)

With regards to salvation; the law enters; deeply and widely opens it’s own commission of enquiry in the conscience of unregenerate man; but here the conscience is only working closely with the soul (devoid of intuition and communion). A kind of “fear of God” (unrighteous because it is devoid of intuition and communion with God) is felt.

“Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Romans 5:20)

This ‘commission of enquiry’ headed by The ‘Lord Chief Justice’ Himself (of heaven, earth and all that exists); God Almighty, before whom nothing, absolutely nothing is hidden: Because He is:

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In our next post please look out for – God, According To His Will By The Holy Spirit:  Removes His Sins and Their Consequences & Gives Him Grace For Righteousness.

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Holy Spirit you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need as The Holy Spirit would have been pointing out to you while you read the post.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16-17. ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this REPENTANTLY (Having taken time to bring your sins before God with a determination to completely turn away from them):

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Selah!!! (stop; think about this)

Selah!!! (Stop; think about this!!!)

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When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul (Ezekiel 33:8-9)

Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’

When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.” (Ezekiel 33:8,9; 11-18)

“They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; yet return to Me,” says the LORD.

“Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them like an Arabian in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land
With your harlotries and your wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot’s forehead; you refuse to be ashamed.
Will you not from this time cry to Me, my Father, You are the guide of my youth? Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, as you were able.” (Jeremiah 3:1-5)

“Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
“Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.
“At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. (Jeremiah 3:14-17)

May His grace abound to us all – Amen

Christian Living

JUSTIFICATION – You’re Not Guilty!! Says God

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Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

Trust and Obey – Part 5

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The Gospel of Christ – JUSTIFICATION – You’re Not Guilty!! Says God

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.

“ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS SEEN BY CEPHAS, THEN BY THE TWELVE. AFTER HE WAS SEEN BY OVER FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN AT ONCE, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

We are continuing with our look at the first stanza of the hymn, Trust and Obey by John Henry Sammis as part of our mini series “Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God” In previous posts we have looked at God’s good will, His original plan of His eternal purpose Ultimately being, PLAN A  – The Glory of God –  We saw that it is safe to say that His good will, His eternal purpose, is a plan to ultimately, bring us to His Glory, with provision made for perceived blunders we will make along the way.

In our last post we looked at Redemption: Before that, Propitiation  as part of God’s Regeneration of man. We saw redemption as being the act of buying something back; or an act by which the original or prospective owner of a thing pays a price to return that thing from a present owner (back) to his/her possession.

In this post we will continue with our look at this provision He has made for our blunders, Now in our mortal bodies: as we saw in  PLAN A1- The Gospel of Christ – where we started looking at regeneration as part of  GOD‘S FULL SALVATION. Here we saw regeneration as the act by which God justifies us through propitiation by Christ Jesus and regenerates us in our spirit with His life by His Spirit; that it involves: Redemption, Sanctification (positional 1 Pet. 1:2; 1Cor. 6:11), justification, reconciliation. We will now look at Justification

 Justification

Justification is a doctrine that is a legal matter to the core; as the word infers, It describes a sinner under trial before the tribunal of a God who is:

 Life –               He is the essence of the breathe of life

Spirit –            It is impossible to see Him with human eyes, but through the eye of the spirit

Omnipotence – He has the ultimate power to do whatever He wills.

Omnipresence – He fills the whole of creation which makes it possible for Him to be present everywhere at once

Omniscience – He knows all things that can be known in the past,   present, future, so nothing can escape His knowledge

Infinity –         He is, if I may say, interwoven into all things.

Nature of Love –    God’s love for us is just as His attribute of being immutable, it cannot change

Immutability – God cannot change because He is the beginning and end ‘Alpha & Omega’

“If you, LORD, should mark iniquities, …who could stand?”  (Psalm 130:3).

“There is none righteous, no, not one….” (Romans 3:10).

The dictionary Says of Justification:

A good reason or explanation for something

So in other words, Justification is:

The Act or a good reason or explanation for Making Man Right with God by grace through faith In Jesus Christ.

Justification is the “Act of God” by which (according to His promise) He approves us based on His own standard of righteousness. This He can legally do without compromising His divine righteousness because of the finished redemptive work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary. This justification can only be obtained through the grace of God and not by our works.

 Aspects of Justification

PIC justification of man

There are two distinct aspects of justification:

Forgiveness

This is God‘s act of pardoning and releasing us from our mistakes or wrongdoings and actually ‗wiping them off the slate‘. (Jeremiah 31:34; John 3:18; 5:24; Acts 10:43; 26:18; Hebrews 8:12; 10:17).

Imputation

This is the application of the righteousness of Jesus Christ to us in our sinful state. (Romans 4:4-6; 5:1, 19; 8:1; 10:4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:8-9)

We have:

Imputation for Positional Sanctification

PIC positional sanctification

Thank God

PIC self hussle justification of man

Imputation for Experiential Sanctification

PIC experiential sanctification

Imputation for Perfection (Christian Liberty)

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13) “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1) “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)

In our next post please look out for Faith (Hebrews1:1) the 4th component of Regeneration.

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Jesus you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16-17. ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this REPENTANTLY (Having taken time to bring your sins before God with a determination to completely turn away from them):

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living, Foresight of the master planner - Gospel of Jesus Christ

Redemption: An Act of The Master Planner

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Redemption: An Act of The Master Planner

Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

Trust and Obey – Part 5

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The Gospel of Christ – Redemption: An Act of The Master Planner

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.

 Image                

 “ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS SEEN BY CEPHAS, THEN BY THE TWELVE. AFTER HE WAS SEEN BY OVER FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN AT ONCE, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezek. 36:26–27)

I want to start this look at Redemption by taking us back to some of what we looked at the beginning of this mini- series Trust and Obey, especially where we asked the questions – What is God’s good will? And What provisions has He made for us to take hold of this good will?The answer for the first question being that God’s good will is the pursuit of His eternal purpose. The answer to the second question The Gospel of Christ is what we are now looking at.

In our look at The Gospel of Christ, we saw that it is the singularly most important communication of God to man. We saw that in Jesus, who is God the Son, we have the revelation of God‘s love and sacrifice that saves us from Gods righteous judgment upon sinners. We then started our look at this GOD‘S FULL SALVATION which comprises of Regeneration, Transformation and Consummation.

 REGENERATION•

God justifies us through propitiation by Christ Jesus and regenerates us in our spirit with His life by His Spirit. It involves: Propitiation, Redemption, Justification, Forgiveness, Imputation, Sanctification (Positional), Sanctification (Experiential), Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Reconciliation to God

TRANSFORMATION•

This is the process of our freedom from the dominion of indwelling sin. It involves: Freedom from Sin, Sanctification (mainly dispositional Roman 6:19, 22), growth in life, transformation, building up and maturing.

CONSUMMATION•

Redemption of our corrupted body (Roman 8:23) and transfiguring into Christ’s glory (Phil. 3:21). This is the inheritance of God’s Kingdom and participation in Jesus’ Kingship.

We are now looking at Regeneration , of which in our last post we touched on Propitiation.

We will now continue with our look at Redemption.

 REDEMPTION

Re·demp·tion

1. Repurchase, buy back (as of something sold).

2. Christianity

    a. Deliverance or rescue from sin through the incarnation, sufferings, and death of Christ

    b. Atonement for guilt

3. An act or process of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake, or the state of being redeemed.

Redeem – gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment.

Compensatory – Providing, effecting, or aiming at compensation, in particular. (Of a payment) Intended to recompense someone who has experienced loss, suffering, or injury.

Retrieve – Get (something) back; regain possession of.

Regain  –   Obtain possession or use of (something, typically something

                 abstract) again after losing it.

Reach –     (a place, position, or thing) again; get back to.

Reclaim –   Retrieve or recover (something previously lost, given, or

                 paid); obtain the return of. The action or process of

                 reclaiming or being reclaimed: “beyond reclaim”.

Repossess –  Retake possession of (something)

Redemption is the act of buying something back; or an act by which the original or prospective owner of a thing pays a price to return that thing from a present owner (back) to his/her possession.  

Three of the Greek words that point to redemption in the Bible are –  ‘agorazo’, ‘exagorazo’ and ‘lutroo’.

Image                                        Click on Image to see presentation on Propitiation

In our next post please look out for Justification  (Romans 5:8-10) the Third component of Regeneration.

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Jesus you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.

The Bible tells us in John 3:16-17. ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like thisREPENTANTLY (Having brought your sins before God with a determination to completely turn away from them):

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living, Resources

Propitiation – It Is Finished

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Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

Trust and Obey – Part 5

 

Propitiation - It is Finished

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The Gospel of Christ : Propitiation – It Is Finished

While we do His good wiPROPITIATION It Is Finished REVISED.pptll, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.

 “ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS SEEN BY CEPHAS, THEN BY THE TWELVE. AFTER HE WAS SEEN BY OVER FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN AT ONCE, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezek. 36:26–27)

 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, by his blood, to shew his righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins one aforetime, in the forbearance of God; for the shewing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:24-26).

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                                                   Click on Image to see presentation on Propitiation

Propitiation and Atonement

 In our look at this very important core of our Christian witness – propitiation, I will like to first of all clarify the relationship between propitiation and atonement as it seems that the two are sometimes being taken to be the same.  Using atonement in place of propitiation as seen in some modern versions of the bible renders the death of Christ a perpetual sacrifice which it is not. Propitiation was a one time event.

 Propitiate: to conciliate, appease. Propitiation:

 The act of propitiating. Latin propitius, a disposition of favour (one can think pro-pity, a setting forth of pity or mercy). The Greek word translated propitiation in the New Testament is hilasmos, which is a means of appeasing, a conciliation.

 To appease: to bring peace or calm, to satisfy or relieve.

 To atone: to make amends or reparations for an injury or wrongdoing, to expiate.

 In layman’s terms, atonement is the bringing together of two parties that were initially at odds, and propitiation is the idea of making correction for something that may have caused the two to be at odds.

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Let us take for example, at the case of a man whose wife empties out his savings and runs away. After a period of separation they decide to settle their disagreement (propitiation) and get back together as one (atonement). In this scenario, bringing the wife and husband together is atonement (reconciliation) and the provision for taking care (appeasement) of the sinful act of the wife (or husband) – the “money problem” is propitiation. I guess one of the first questions here would be “how much of the money has she got left”? And for that question to be asked, the husband and wife have to come together one way or the other.

Depending on the state of mind of the husband (or how broke he is), the person resolving this conflict will first of all have to be very well sure that the “money problem” is resolved (Holy God: righteousness, truth and justice) who provided (lamb slain from the foundation of the earth). A comprehensive package that addresses the covetousness of the wife (or as the case may be, the stinginess of the husband and/or other factors that might have caused the situation to occur) must be put in place – these (man’s debt from his sinful nature) are what the Gospel of Jesus Christ addresses through His death, burial, and resurrection. The whole idea here is that, Jesus makes atonement for us by bringing us into fellowship (atonement) with His Father through providing propitiation, which was done by Him dying on the cross to pay the ransom price that our sin demands and that caused us to be at odds with Him who is absolutely righteous.

 ATONEMENT

 

Obsolete : reconciliation

The reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

“That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

To supply satisfaction for:

Expiate – to put an end to; to extinguish the guilt incurred by.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures”. (James 1:17-18)

Atonement is a concept in which obstacles to reconciliation with God are removed; through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” (Ephesians 2:14-16)

“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” (Colossians 1:19-22)

 Atonement (Before Jesus Came)

Man is (at default) separated from God due to the sin committed by the first man Adam and he (man) have had to contend with the consequences of Adam’s actions:

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2)

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32)

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

In the old testament days, the Ark of the Covenant was the place where the Lord had the sacrificial blood poured out, for the forgiveness of Israel’s sins. The blood was sprinkled on the atonement cover.

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” (Exodus 25:17-22)

This was blood of animals which had to be sacrificed time after time

Atonement (At Calvary)

Man was reconciled to God at Calvary. This was made possible by God sacrificing His only begotten Son Jesus Christ (once and for all) unlike the continual sacrifices made in the old testament.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” (Colossians 1:19-22)

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

When Jesus made Himself a sacrifice at Calvary, He paved the way, cleared out all the impediments – all the blockages that kept man away from God. He then signified the end of this task when He:

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:1-4).

He did not just ‘cover’ our sins, He totally removed them:

“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)

One of the strategies of Satan is to make sure that at least he can rob us of our joy if he is unable to steal our salvation by reminding us of our past sins; we will always do ourselves a lot of good to have it in mind that Jesus did not only forgive our “small sins” but “ALL sins”.

PROPITIATION

Propitiation points to what God has received from the death of Christ, whether or not a sinner trusts Jesus Christ. The Holy, Justice, Righteous nature of God has to be completely satisfied and this was done on the cross.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)

“This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” (1 John 5:6-7)

Propitiate: to conciliate, appease.

Propitiation:The act of propitiating.

Latin propitius, a disposition of favour (one can think pro-pity, a setting forth of pity or mercy). The Greek word translated propitiation in the New Testament is hilasmos, which is a means of appeasing, a conciliation.

To appease: to bring peace or calm, to satisfy or relieve.

To atone: to make amends or reparations for an injury or wrongdoing, to expiate.

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)

Propitiation is the work Jesus did on the cross to appease and satisfy God’s wrath so He would be able to pardon sinners who trust in Christ. It is God’s way of making amends for our sins. This He does by a process in which the guilt or innocence is transferred from one person (Jesus) to another (man). The guilt or the bad actions of one person is attributed or imputed to another. So that when it comes to punishment, the person who is the substitute bears the brunt, and that the person substituted goes away free. This way God made reparations for our sins by transferring them to Christ’s account as He hung on the cross at Calvary. The absolute sinless life of Jesus Christ makes this transaction possible as His innocence is transferred to those who believe and follow Him.

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 “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.” (Hebrews 9:14-17)

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3)

“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14)

In our next post please look out for Redemption (Ezekiel 36:25-27) the second component of Regeneration.

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Jesus you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16-17. ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living

REGENERATION – From Enmity To Friendship With God

1 Comment

Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

Trust and Obey – Part 5

Regeneration –  From Enmity To Friendship With God

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JOURNEY OF REGENERATION – From Enmity To Friendship With God

The Gospel of Christ –  Journey of Regeneration  God’s Provisions & Man’s Acts (A)

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.

 “ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS SEEN BY CEPHAS, THEN BY THE TWELVE. AFTER HE WAS SEEN BY OVER FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN AT ONCE, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezek. 36:26–27)

 “who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13).

In this post we will have a look at: Journey of Regeneration – God’s Provisions & Man’s Acts. We will have a look at the different components of God’s act of providing for our justification; Jesus’ acts of bringing it to pass on the cross at Calvary and our own little contribution of just believing, repenting and getting baptised.

“Every Generation Needs Regeneration” – Charles H. Spurgeon

“The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.” – William Booth

First and foremost – What Regeneration Is Not

 

Regeneration does not mean that a change takes place in the substance of human nature.

Regeneration does not mean that there is a new physical seed – IT IS NOT PHYSICAL

Regeneration does not mean that there is a complete change in the whole nature of man.

Regeneration does not mean that man becomes divine or that he becomes God.

Regeneration does not mean ADDITION TO or  SUBTRACTION FROM the normal faculties of the soul or the essence of the soul.

 It is not simply a change in one or more of the faculties of the soul.

Regeneration does not just mean moral reformation or change of will.

Regeneration IS NOT Conversion

 

Conversion is TURNING AWAY FROM ONE THING TO ANOTHER IN PRACTICE AND IN YOUR LIFE.

BUT

Regeneration is THE WORK OF GOD THAT EMPOWERS A MAN TO CONVERT.

Conversion is something that a man does BUT Regeneration is EXCLUSIVELY THE WORK OF GOD.

The outward change in a man is the manifestation that had already taken place inside of him.

Regeneration is PLANTING OF THE SEED OF LIFE.

Just like generation (conception) takes place instantaneously, long time before birth.

  What is Regeneration

 

Regeneration is an Exclusive act of God by which a principle of new life is implanted in man, with the result that the governing disposition of the functions of the soul is made holy.

Regeneration means to be renewed, reformed, or reconstituted; to have a spiritual rebirth (be spiritually reborn) “Born Again”; to cause to be completely reformed or improved and to grow anew (a part to replace one hurt or lost).

“But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)

In the world we live in today, the result of man’s quest to “go on the road of discovery of OTHER WAYS TO GOD” or “have MY OWN VERSION OF GOD or my own DESIGNER GOD” or to just believe in “SOMETHING UP THERE” or to outright “DO IT MY WAY”. You know – “anything, anyway or anyone other than this omniscient  God who I am told is able know all my thoughts even before I think them; who is able to know my acts even before I do them when no one could physically do so”  is so glaring.

In a world where it can be seen that the darkness that covers mankind is ever increasing; a world where greed, avarice, self-aggrandizement and outright disregard for the foundational pillars that have held societies together are the order of the day.

A world where the destiny of the human soul; supposedly the main beneficiary of everything that has been made to exist is now at the mercy of corporate profit, a situation that automatically triggers a curse against a nation. The prophet Amos touched on this in his writings:

“Hear this, O you who would swallow up and trample down the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail and come to an end, saying, When will the New Moon festival be past that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath that we may offer wheat for sale, making the ephah [measure] small and the shekel [measure] great and falsifying the scales by deceit, that we may buy [into slavery] the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals; yes, and sell the refuse of the wheat [as if it were good grade]? The Lord has sworn by [Himself Who is] the Glory and Pride of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their [rebellious] deeds.  Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? Yes, it shall rise like the river [Nile], all of it, and it shall be tossed about and sink back again to normal level, as does the Nile of Egypt. And in that day, says the Lord God, I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the broad daylight. And I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation, and I will cause sackcloth to be put upon all loins and baldness [for mourning] shall come on every head; and I will make that time as the mourning for an only son, and the end of it as a bitter day.” (Amos 8:4-10). Whenever

In a commentary on the book of Amos – John Blanchard puts it this way:

“A holy, covenant-keeping God was being rejected by an unholy, covenant breaking nation – When this happens there is always a price to pay”.

Let me not be tempted to dwell too much on this.

Outer Darkness in Man

This is darkness that may exist due to the fact that there is nothing to enlighten man about God and godly spirituality.

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16)

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Rom 10:15)

But then there is no excuse because:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun ……… The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Psalm 19:1-4, 8)

But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.” (Romans 10:18)

 

Inner Darkness in Man

Inward darkness is one that is borne of natural rot and depravity in man’s mind. This is corruption in things pertaining to normal everyday living such as social, political, economic, moral or even spiritual or heavenly things; it may even come in the form of ‘churchianity’. The full blown effect of this rot or depravity is often held back by the common grace of the Holy Spirit.

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. (Ephesians 4:17-18)

But then:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

He has sent us the Holy Spirit.

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever ….. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:16;26)

John Barnett in “The Miracle of Salvation: Uninhabitable to Inhabited by God” wrote:

God has made provision for us to be born again, and regenerated through the new birth – in order to give us His life living within. But why would we – the greatest and highest and most wonderful of all earth’s creatures – why would we need regeneration? Because a disaster that has stricken each of us, has rendered us uninhabitable by God.

You and I are by nature from birth uninhabitable to God. We were born with a heart that was emitting a deadly radiant far worse than the gamma rays of that exploded reactor; we were producers of the element most hated by God in the Universe, which is called sin.

The presence of sin within each of us made us completely uninhabitable to God. He could never live within us because He is holy, and we are sinful.

Restraining Grace

The restraining grace is the unmerited favour God bestows on both the regenerate man and the unregenerate man so as to be often withheld from committing sins. This is done by God’s gracious control of circumstances.

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)

As the unregenerate man has only the conscience function of his spirit active and the body and soul also (his heart) exposed to the elements of the first and second heavens; he will definitely be at odds with God.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men; who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20)

So, how is it possible TO RESPOND TO RIGHEOSNESS if THE un-regenerate man (in his sinful state) is dead to God?

Regeneration – An Exclusive act of God by which a principle of new life is implanted in man, with the result that the governing dispositions (or nature) of the soul are made holy.

At any point in time, a man can either be regenerate or unregenerate: But all men are born unregenerate:

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3-8)

Every man from birth is in spiritual darkness until God through the Holy Spirit, shines light into his heart. This spiritual darkness in man is borne out of a lack of intuition and a communion with God; and until God shines light into a man’s heart by the work of the Holy Spirit, this darkness remains. It could be outer or but definitely inner.

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Regeneration is when God comes down to the site of the worst disaster in the universe – us sinners – and completely removes the deadly, toxic elements at the core of our being.

Regeneration is a “supernatural work of the Holy Spirit” by which the divine nature and divine life are given (John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5). Regeneration occurs when God sovereignly acknowledges a person’s belief of the gospel. Regeneration is the most dramatic change in a new believer; when we are “born again” we enter the family of God.

The gift of salvation is about Jesus who died to take us who are dead in our sins, bring us to life; and welcome us as family members, full of endless life and brand new – that’s regeneration!

Regeneration is what brings together; Propitiation (by God); Salvation (by Christ though The Holy Spirit): and Repentance (by man).

Propitiation Points to what God has received from the death of Christ, whether or not a sinner trusts Christ. While:

Salvation Focuses primarily on the blessing the one who trusts Christ receives.

Repentance What man has to do (by faith) on his own part.

Just as it is what nature of internet flows into and from the wireless access port that GOVERNS what NATURE of internet service (3G, 4G, 5G) you get in all the devices: SO DOES THE DISPOSITION OF A MAN GOVERN THE NATURE OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SOUL OF THAT MAN

In addition to the faculties of the soul, there is something that governs them all which is the disposition. Dispositions determine what we do and what or who we are.

For example, there are two men with the same faculties as per their abilities; when it comes to their faculties and their abilities it is impossible to choose between the two of them, one lives a good life and the other a bad life.

To become a Christian means to have a new heart. In the scriptures the heart stands for the centre of the personality; the very core of a man’s being; the spring of his life.

When a man becomes a Christian there must be a profound change of his disposition.

 

In our next post we will be looking at the

SUPERNATURAL CHANGE OF DISPOSITION – THE ONLY REMEDY FOR THE DECADENCE OF OUR TIME

Prayer:

We pray O Lord, that You will saturate the whole earth with Your restraining grace like never before.

 

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Father you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.
We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?
In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16-17. ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

 What must a person do to accept this gift?
Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living

Gospel of Christ Jesus

1 Comment

Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

Trust and Obey – Part 4

The Gospel of Christ Jesus  – Introduction

 

While we do His good will, He abides with us still,And with all who will trust and obey.

 “ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS SEEN BY CEPHAS, THEN BY THE TWELVE. AFTER HE WAS SEEN BY OVER FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN AT ONCE, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

We are continuing with our look at the first stanza of the hymn, Trust and Obey by John Henry Sammis as part of our mini series “Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God” In our last post we started with our look at God’s good will, we stopped at the original plan of His eternal purpose Ultimately, PLAN A  – The Glory of God – We saw that it is safe to say that  His good will, His eternal purpose, is a plan to ultimately, bring us to His  Glory, with provision made for perceived blunders we will make along the way.

In this post we will have a look at this provision He has made for our blunders, Now in our mortal bodies:  PLAN A1- The Gospel of Christ. which we have in fact delved into already in the last post and also in    –Part 1 ALL HAVE SINNED 

Where we addressed the reason for plan A1 in answer to a very valid question asked about the use of the phrases Plan A or Plan A1 – “What Plan B!? Like I said then, it was always plan A from the get go!” (I Used Plan B before making it A1); maybe I had been watching too much of the confusing political debates – oh!! Modern day politics – the more you hear; the less you understand (abracadabra politics). We have also in the same post looked at His plan for us and how we have (through Adam) “temporarily deviated” from the path of this plan and the consequences of Adam’s original sin.

We also in  First Begotten Son is God Part 1  looked at the consequences of Adam’s choice to develop the functions of his will, intellect and emotions “APART FROM GOD” at the expense of developing the functions of his conscience, intuition and communion with God; this (now) being the state of the unregenerate man, who does not know God. (We will examine this further when we have a comprehensive look at Romans 5)

We will now continue with the first stanza of the hymn by looking at this presentation called: Gospel of Christ Jesus

The gospel of Christ Jesus is the singularly most important communication of God to man. In Jesus, who is God the Son, we have the revelation of God‘s love and sacrifice that saves us from Gods righteous judgment upon sinners.

                                          GOD‘S FULL SALVATION

REGENERATION•

God justifies us through propitiation by Christ Jesus and regenerates us in our spirit with His life by His Spirit. It involves: Redemption, Sanctification (positional 1 Pet. 1:2; 1Cor. 6:11), justification, reconciliation and regeneration

TRANSFORMATION•

This is the process of our freedom from the dominion of indwelling sin. It involves: Freedom from Sin, Sanctification (mainly dispositional Roman 6:19, 22), growth in life, transformation, building up and maturing.

CONSUMMATION•

Redemption of our corrupted body (Roman 8:23) and transfiguring into Christ’s glory (Phil. 3:21). This is the inheritance of God’s Kingdom and participation in Jesus’ Kingship.

Christ in you Hope of Glory

 Gospel of Christ Jesus

    (Click here to view presentation)

In the next post we will be examining Regeneration when one believes in Jesus Christ.

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this God you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16-17. ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Evangelism

DON’T BLAME GOD!!! (Part 1)

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DON’T BLAME GOD!!! (Part 1)

 

Have you ever been asked by a self confessed “enemy of God” “why God was permitting so much evil to take place here on earth”? or:

Have you ever been asked by an unbeliever “why God was permitting so much evil to take place here on earth”? or:

Have you yourself ever wondered “why God was permitting so much evil to take place here on earth”?

Have a look at this:

BUT THEN!!!!:

 “GOD HAS SPOKEN ONCE, TWICE HAVE I HEARD THIS: THAT (ALL) POWER BELONGS TO GOD. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work.” (Psalm 62:11-12 emphasis added)

“So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:9-12)

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

“And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. BUT I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU THAT YOUR FAITH SHOULD NOT FAIL; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32)

AGAIN I SAY:

“GOD HAS SPOKEN ONCE, TWICE HAVE I HEARD THIS: THAT (ALL) POWER BELONGS TO GOD. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work.” (Psalm 62:11-12 emphasis added)

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this God you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16-17. ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

 

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living

God’s Good Will

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Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

Trust and Obey – Part 3

 Slide2

While we do His good will, He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

 

 We are continuing with our look at the hymn, Trust and Obey by John Henry Sammis as part of our mini series “Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God” In our last post we looked at the presentation…….

What a glory He sheds on our way!

In this post we shall now continue with the first stanza of the hymn by looking at While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.

God’s Good Will

According to thesaurus ‘While’ could also be used as: At the same time as; concurrently; alongside; concomitantly; in tandem; parallel; along with

‘Will’ as: Desire, wish, choice, preference, bidding, command. So:

As we do His good ‘desire, wish, choice, preference, bidding, command’; He (At the same time; Alongside; concomitantly; In tandem; in parallel; Along with) abides with us still.

The immediate questions now are – What is God’s good will? And What provisions has He made for us to take hold of this good will?

 What is God’s good will? 

God’s good will is the pursuit of His eternal purpose.

 PLAN A – The Glory of God – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. PLAN A1 – The Gospel of Christ – In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: PLAN A That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (Eph. 1:3-12 emphasis added)

To cut the long story short, God’s good will is: “bringing many sons unto glory” through His Son Jesus Christ. (Heb. 2:10)

God’s eternal purpose being a reflection of who He is; a reflection of those virtues that make Him God as we have seen in earlier posts, is the embodiment of His Good Will. Watchman Nee’s observation puts it this way:

“In Romans 3:23 we read: “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God”. God’s purpose for man was glory, glory, glory, but sin thwarted that purpose by causing man to forfeit God’s glory. When we think of sin we instinctively think of the judgement it brings; we invariably associate it with condemnation and hell. Man’s thought is always of the punishment that will come to him if he sins, but God’s thought is always of the glory man will forfeit if he sins. The result of sin is that we forfeit God’s glory: the result of redemption is that we are qualified again for glory. God’s purpose in redemption is glory, glory, glory.

The Lord Jesus was the only begotten Son, and as the only begotten He had no brothers. But the Father sent the Son in order that the only begotten might also be the first begotten, and the beloved Son have many brethren. There you have the whole story of the Incarnation and the Cross; and there you have at the last the purpose of God fulfilled in His “bringing many sons unto glory” (Heb. 2:10)”.

In other words the pursuit of God’s good will is whole hearted pursuit of Holiness; because the pursuit of Holiness will only lead to glory. God’s holiness is the fundamental attribute that defines all His other attributes:

Life – He is the essence of the breathe of life

Spirit – It is impossible to see Him with human eyes, but through the eye of the spirit

Omnipotence – He has the ultimate power to do whatever He wills.

Omnipresence – He fills the whole of creation which makes it possible for Him to be present everywhere at once

Omniscience – He knows all things that can be known in the past, present, future, so nothing can escape His knowledge

Infinity – He is, if I may say, interwoven into all things.

Nature of Love – God’s love for us is just as His attribute of being immutable, it cannot change

Immutability – God cannot change because He is the beginning and end ‘Alpha & Omega’

Holiness is bound to be at the core of His good will. This holiness which is inherent in Him means that in His time transcending existence, God was, is, and will be righteous in all His ways, so that – His plans can never be flawed (Psalm 145:17); He cannot look at wrong (Habakkuk 1:13); and cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13); Thus, the good will of God (bringing many sons unto glory) has holiness at it’s core:

 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.” (Psalm 89:14)

If the foundation of His throne (not so much about the chair that He sits on, but by virtue of His power, rank and privileges as The Almighty King of all that exist) is:

Righteousness –Complete performance of whatever is right which warrants divine approval; a divine arrangement by which God leads men to a state acceptable to him; a revelation of His love for Holiness.

Justice – virtue which gives each one his due; revelation of God’s hatred for sin.

And before Him goes:

Mercy – God’s goodness and love shown towards people who have no way out; judgement which was due but was diverted. 

Truth – Honesty or directness of mind (whether refreshing or distasteful) which is free from affection, pretence, simulation, falsehood or deceit. Our God is God of Truth; who lives in Truth; whose work is done in truth; who keeps truth forever.

Then we can safely say that His good will, His eternal purpose, is a plan to ultimately, bring us to His  Glory, with provisions made for perceived blunders we will make along the way.

 Ultimately, PLAN A  – The Glory of God

provision made for:

Now in our mortal bodies:  PLAN A1- The Gospel of Christ

The working out of salvation (not WORK FOR our salvation): PLAN A–Back on Track  

Ultimately, PLAN A  – The Glory of God –

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:3-6)

“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  (Revelation 21:3-4)

 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”  (I John 3:2)

 We shall “be like him” (not Him, because God will always be God above all); Then we will be granted His attributes like: being incorruptible (sinless): And possess wisdom (be shown all truth)

 “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

 In a nutshell, WE WILL HAVE ABSOLUTE FREEDOM because:

 COMPLETE TRUTH – SIN = ABSOLUTE FREEDOM

 “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

 “Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). If,

JESUS = TRUTH, (WAY & LIFE)= ABSOLUTE FREEDOM

So, when sin came along through Adam (first Adam),

JESUS – SIN = ABSOLUTE FREEDOM

But then,

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. LIKEWISE RECKON YE ALSO YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD INDEED UNTO SIN, BUT ALIVE UNTO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.” (Romans 6:3-11)

Watchman Nee, in describing the fourfold conditions of living the normal Christian life in the book The Normal Christian Life – chapters on “Path To Progress” numbers the four stages as being : (a) Knowing, (b) Reckoning, (c) Presenting ourselves to God, and (d) Walking in the Spirit) : (we will have a comprehensive look at this discourse in Romans 6 when we get to it). Here, he describes this reckoning that comes after knowing as:

What does reckoning mean? ‘Reckoning’ in Greek means doing accounts book-keeping. Accounting is the only thing in the world we human beings can do correctly. An artist paints a landscape. Can he do it with perfect accuracy? Can the historian vouch for the absolute accuracy of any record, or the map-maker for the perfect correctness of any map? They can make, at best, fair approximations. Even in everyday speech, when we try to tell some incident with the best intention to be honest and truthful, we cannot speak with complete accuracy. It is mostly a case of exaggeration or understatement, of one word too much or too little. What then can a man do that is utterly reliable? Arithmetic! There is no scope for error there. One chair plus one chair equals two chairs. That is true in London and it is true in Cape Town. If you travel west to New York or east to Singapore it is still the same. All the world over and for all time, one plus one equals two. One plus one is two in heaven and earth and hell.

Why does God say we are to reckon ourselves dead? Because we are dead. Let us keep to the analogy of accounting. Suppose I have fifteen shillings in my pocket, what do I enter in my account-book? Can I enter fourteen shillings and sixpence or fifteen shillings and sixpence? No, I must enter in my account-book that which is in fact in my pocket. Accounting is the reckoning of facts, not fancies. Even so, it is because I am really dead that God tells me to account it so. God could not ask me to put down in my account-book what was not true. He could not ask me to reckon that I am dead if I am still alive. For such mental gymnastics the word ‘reckoning’ would be inappropriate; we might rather speak of ‘mis-reckoning’!

Reckoning is not a form of make-believe. It does not mean that, having found that I have only twelve shillings in my pocket, I hope that by entering fifteen shillings incorrectly in my account-book such ‘reckoning’ will somehow remedy the deficiency. It won’t. If I have only twelve shillings, yet try to reckon to myself: ‘I have fifteen shillings; I have fifteen shillings; I have fifteen shillings’, do you think that the mental effort involved will in any way affect the sum that is in my pocket? Not a bit of it! Reckoning will not make twelve shillings into fifteen shillings, nor will it make what is untrue true. But if, on the other hand, it is a fact that I have fifteen shillings in my pocket, then with great ease and assurance I can enter fifteen shillings in my account-book. God tells us to reckon ourselves dead, not that by the process of reckoning we may become dead, but because we are dead. He never told us to reckon what was not a fact.

Having said, then, that revelation leads spontaneously to reckoning, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are presented with a command: “Reckon ye…” There is a definite attitude to be taken. God asks us to do the account; to put down ‘I have died’ and then to abide by it. Why? Because it is a fact. When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, I was there in Him. Therefore I reckon it to be true. I reckon and declare that I have died in Him. Paul said, “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God.” How is this possible? “In Christ Jesus.” Never forget that it is always and only true in Christ. If you look at yourself you will think death is not there, but it is a question of faith not in yourself but in Him. You look to the Lord, and know what He has done. ‘Lord, I believe in Thee. I reckon upon the fact in Thee.’ Stand there all the day.

The Reckoning Of Faith

 The first four-and-a-half chapters of Romans speak of faith and faith and faith. We are justified by faith in Him (Rom. 3:28; 5:1). Righteousness, the forgiveness of our sins, and peace with God are all ours by faith, and without faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ none can possess them. But in the second section of Romans we do not find the same repeated mention of faith, and it might at first appear that the emphasis is therefore different. It is not really so, however, for where the words ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ drop out the work ‘reckon’ takes their place. Reckoning and faith are here practically the same thing.

What is faith? Faith is my acceptance of God’s fact. It always has its foundations in the past. What relates to the future is hope rather than faith, although faith often has its object or goal in the future, as in Hebrews 11. Perhaps for this reason the word chosen here is ‘reckon’. It is a word that relates only to the past—to what we look back to as settled, and not forward to as yet to be. This is the kind of faith described in Mark 11:24: “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them.” The statement there is that, if you believe that you already have received your requests (that is, of course, in Christ), then ‘you shall have them’. To believe that you may get something, or that you can get it, or even that you will get it, is not faith in the sense meant here. This is faith—to believe that you have already got it. Only that which relates to the past is faith in this sense. Those who say ‘God can’ or ‘God may’ or ‘God must’ or ‘God will’ do not necessarily believe at all. Faith always says, ‘God has done it’.

 When, therefore, do I have faith in regard to my crucifixion? Not when I say God can, or will, or must crucify me, but when with joy I say, ‘Praise God, in Christ I am crucified!’

 In Romans 3 we see the Lord Jesus bearing our sins and dying as our Substitute that we might be forgiven. In Romans 6 we see ourselves included in the death whereby He secured our deliverance. When the first fact was revealed to us we believed on Him for our justification. God tells us to reckon upon the second fact for our deliverance. So that, for practical purposes, ‘reckoning’ in the second section of Romans takes the place of ‘faith’ in the first section. The emphasis is not different. The normal Christian life is lived progressively, as it is entered initially, by faith in Divine fact: in Christ and His Cross.

So if,

Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin

 Then in JESUS is our ABSOLUTE FREEDOM

 

In our next post will still continue with the first stanza of Trust and Obey (While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey). by looking at  PLAN A1 – The Gospel of Christ. Which we have in fact delved into already.You might say – “Why do I have to know Him experience this Jesus you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life’s greatest high.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living

Trust and Obey – Part 2

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Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

Trust and Obey – Part 2

  What a glory He sheds on our way!

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph. 1:3-6 )

In this post we shall continue with our series “Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God” with our look at the hymn, Trust and Obey by John Henry Sammis. In our last post on the series we looked at “When we walk with the Lord, In the light of His Word” 

We will now continue with the first stanza of the hymn by looking at this presentation called:

What a glory He sheds on our way!

Slide17

Glory He sheds on our way (Click Here to view presentation)

Glory He shed on our way 1 (Click Here for PDF of presentation; feel free to use it in it’s entirety)

Evangelism

It Wasn’t Easy

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Jesus -Saviour, Son of Adam, The Second Adam, Son of Eve, Son of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, Bright Morning Star, Lion of Judah, Son of David, Root/Shoot of Jesse, Holder of David’s key, Son of Mary the Virgin, Foster Son of Joseph, Jesus of Nazareth, The Prophet, Emmanuel, Wondrous Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, The Lord our Justice, Good Shepherd, The Messiah – Christ, King of Israel, King of the Jews, Servant of God, Pierced One, Man of sorrows, Son of Man, Holy One from God, Just One, Good One, Greater than Jonah, Greater than Solomon, Greater than the Temple, Lord of the Sabbath, I Am, Wisdom of God, Power of God, Word of God, Lord of glory, Brightness of God’s glory, Exact image of God’s own being, Image of the unseen God, Son of the Most High God, Only Son, Dear Son, God himself , Bright Dawn of Salvation, Lamb of God, The Crucified Christ, Sin Offering, Our Justification, Our Sanctification, Our Redemption, Our Freedom, Our Peace, Our Reconciliation, Our Pride and Boast, Our Leader, Messenger, our High Priest, our Mediator, our Intercessor, our Advocate, Saviour of the World, True and Faithful Witness, Doctor, Preacher of the Good News, The Good News that is preached, Teacher — Rabbi, Gentle and Humble of Heart, Light of the world, The Gate, The Way, The Truth, The Life, The Living One, The Resurrection, Bread of Life, The True Vine,  The Head, Stone rejected by the builders, Our Cornerstone, Our Foundation, Our Hope, The One who Loves us, The Victor, Lifted up, Bridegroom, Temple, Lamp, The Firstborn Son, First fruit of those who, a fallen asleep, Judge of the living and dead, The Alpha and the Omega, The First and the Last, The Beginning and the End, King of kings, Lord of lords, Ruler of the kings of earth, Lord.

Haba!!!!! With all these don’t you think it is time you know Him?

You might say – “Why do I have to know Him experience this Jesus you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can getto know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life’s greatest high.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living

Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God – Trust and Obey

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Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

Trust and Obey

“Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.” (Deut 13:4).

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28)

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)

In this post, we shall continue with our mini series on “Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God” by looking at a very important pre-requisite for maintaining a reverent fear of The Lord and have a fixed and unshakable focus on Him (keeping our eyes set on the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ) – The Grace to Obey and Trust.

I will try to explain this by looking at the hymn When We Walk With The LORD, my favourite ‘song’ at primary school; but before that, I will like to look a little bit more at what the fear of The Lord really is.

We have said in previous posts that the fear of God is simply the reverential response, the submissive attitude that should be triggered by a revelation of God – A response of being totally and absolutely fixed on Him that follows any revelation of Him. In the times ahead of us, there will be a very serious need to have our whole being totally and absolutely “fixed on the Lord”. The fear of the Lord (not the fear of a vicious God) means different things to the believer and the unbeliever:

To the unbeliever – For someone who does not believe in God, the fear of God should mean the fear of the judgement of God and eternal residence in hell; a waste of man’s sojourn on earth, a sojourn that ultimately qualifies him/her for eternal separation from God –

“But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him”. (Luke 12:5)

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”. (Hebrews 10:31)

To the believer –  the fear of God is a reverence for God; it is as we have seen in “Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God” – a holy and righteous reverence for the Lord; a healthy reverence that is borne out of an absolute and total trust in the Lord; an extra-ordinary, absolute and total trust that is a derivative of an unconditional love for Him, and an unconditional love that is steadied by knowing who our God is –

“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire”. (Hebrews 12:28-29)

“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby”. (Hebrews 12:5-11)

This chastening which He does though may be harsh according to the way one might perceive it, but to His own, it is not; because even through it He “cushions” and “furnishes” his own –

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

So that we can all through His chastening realise that all He is doing is to train us to conform to the nature of His Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, even as if it has to be painful –

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”. (Hebrews 13:5)

Trust and Obey – John Henry Sammis

 “He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.” (Proverbs 16:20).

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.” (Psalm 84:11-12)

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:7-11)

I will now like to have a look at this hymn, Trust and Obey by John Henry Sammis; It has been one of my favourite hymns right from the reception class in primary school: like all timeless hymns, it is one that addresses our need to stay on the ‘narrow road’; one that addresses our need to permanently abide in our Lord and have our whole being fixed on Him. The hymn also reminds me of an experience of what ‘Yearning to the Lord with purity of heart’ can do. Connie Ruth Christiansen wrote this about the hymn:

In 1887, just following an evangelistic meeting held by Dwight L. Moody, a young man stood to share his story in an after-service testimony meeting. As he was speaking, it became clear to many that he knew little about the Bible or acceptable Christian doctrine. His closing lines, however, spoke volumes to seasoned and new believers alike: I’m not quite sure. But I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.

Daniel Towner was so struck by the power of those simple words that he quickly jotted them down, then delivered them to John Sammis, who developed the lyrics to Trust and Obey. Towner composed the music and the song quickly became a favourite. It remains popular with hymn singers today.

She said that although at the time of giving this testimony it became clear to many there then that John Sammis “knew little about the Bible or acceptable Christian doctrine” but I’ll say that the hymn was in him, and gave him the confidence beyond all reasonable and ‘unreasonable’ doubts to say “I’m not quite sure. But I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey”

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (Matthew 13: 44-46) Selah!!! (stop and think about this)

May our Lord continually give us cause and empower us to say: though “I’m not quite sure, but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey”.

 Chorus:

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way: To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

(We will come back to the chorus in our conclusion)

When we walk with the Lord, In the light of His Word:

Before we believed in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we were children of darkness; but now we are children of light. We have to move far from the works of darkness–

“Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” (Isa. 50:10-11)

We must abide in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as He abides in our Heavenly Father;  For it is only in him that we can see this wicked world in it’s true colours–

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

“Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (John 14:5-7)

They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. FOR WITH THEE IS THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE: IN THY LIGHT WE SHALL SEE LIGHT. O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. (Psalm 36:8-10)

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto 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 the truth: BUT IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT, AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP ONE WITH ANOTHER, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSETH 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.” (1John 1:5)

So then, we can confidently pray:

As JESUS is THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: THE WAY; THE; TRUTH AND THE LIFE: AND with You, our Heavenly Father IS THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE (our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ): Also IN THY LIGHT (our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ) WE SHALL SEE LIGHT. For You, our GOD IS LIGHT, AND IN YOU IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL. So IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT, AS HE (our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ) IS IN (You) THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP ONE WITH ANOTHER, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST (Your) SON CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN.

When we walk with the Lord in the light oh His Word; then we are bold enough to attempt exploits that people like Elijah did: and more importantly to be able to totally depend on the Lord in these perilous end times.

“And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.” (1Kings 18:35-37)

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32).

In the next post we will have a look at What a glory He sheds on our way!

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Father you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can be ready by getting to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life’s greatest high.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living

He alone is God; And He is God alone Part 2

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Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

He alone is God; And He is God alone. Part 2

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28)

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

We are still looking at the very important asset we need to have in these perilous times; in other to be able to keep our eyes set on the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ – The Fear of The Lord. In this post we will conclude on why He “Fainteth not, neither is weary”; How  – “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength” because He alone is God; And He is God alone.

As we said in our last post, sometimes when we have ceased to have our whole being totally and absolutely “fixed on the Lord”, all the Lord does is to refer us back to some lessons we have learnt earlier but may have forgotten, often due to the wiles of the enemy being projected at us from all angles or when we allow fear (not a healthy fear of God this time) to have it’s way.

 “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)

The way our loving heavenly Father does this is to have the Holy Spirit help us by teaching us more about Him, assure us of His own unconditional love for us (The power of The Father’s Approval), remind us of the extra ordinary things our Father has done in the past and then teach us more about our Father’s Holy attributes: we will now conclude on the rest of His attributes:

The next set of attributes are:

God is Omnipotent –

The whole of creation declare the fact that all, I mean “all” power belong to Him; all power that was, that is and that is to be, belongs to God. Even from the very beginning right through the creation of all that exist, all  as the physicist declares, belongs to Him.  So, as the physicist also declares that energy transfer can be used to do work, so power is also the rate at which this work is performed; time here being from eternity to eternity –

 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters………..Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 1:1-2:3)

“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Revelation 19:6).

He has the ultimate power to do whatever He wills. God’s nature limits His will and as such He cannot do anything that is contrary to His being God, such as sin or ignore sin –

“Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face” (Psalms 89:14).

There is nothing He cannot do except that which is contrary to His nature. There is no power that can confront Him or His children that is beyond Him: With His power he conquered sin and death. That’s why King David concluded –

“God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work” (Psalms 62:11-12).

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

This is the reason why we can have cast iron believe in His promises and when the enemy comes with his trials, we are able like Job to focus our attention on Him and not our own power to overcome and say –

“I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee” (Job 42:2):

God is Omnipresent –

As with His infinity He fills the whole of creation which makes it possible for Him to be present everywhere at once. No other has the ability to this –

“Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:23,24).

What a relief this is – to know that The One who watches over us can be anywhere our adversaries are at any point in time –

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).

His presence everywhere means He is there even when man sins and no one is present and there is nowhere we can hide to sin that He is not present. The Psalmist observed –

“If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” (Psalm 139:8).

God is Omniscient –

Like God’s omnipresence, His Omniscience means that because He knows all things that can be known in the past, present and future, nothing can escape His knowledge. The fact that He is interwoven into everything (BUT APART FROM, ABOVE AND BEYOND EVERYTHING)  that exists, means that nothing in the heavens, on earth, even underneath the ground escapes His knowledge  –

“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:4-5):

“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10).

Just as He knows everything that can be known of all creatures great and small, even the number of hair on everyone’s head –

“Known to God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18).

He knows our intensions and motives for all our actions. No surprise man keep trying to build a database that is as big as God’s (man’s struggle to “DO IT WITHOUT GOD”), but then –

He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. (Daniel 2:22)

“The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men” (Psalm 33:13).

God is Love –

God’s love for us is just as and backed up by His attribute of being immutable – it cannot be wholly comprehended by man except through His Son Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. A.W. Tozer in “I talk back to the devil” tells us of the connection between God’s love and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit when he said:

“Brethren, it is well for us to remember that as human beings we can never know all of the Godhead. If we were capable of knowing all of the Godhead perfectly, we would be equal to the Godhead. For illustration, we know that we cannot pour an entire quart of water into a vessel which has a capacity of less than a quart. So you could never pour all of the Godhead into the experience of any being who is less than God Himself.

A similar kind of illustration was used long ago by ancient fathers in the church as they argued for the trinity of the Godhead. They pointed out that God the eternal Father is an infinite God, and He is love. The very nature of love is to give itself. But, the Father could not give His love fully to anyone not fully equal to Himself. Thus we have the revelation of the Son Who is equal to the Father and of the eternal Father pouring out His love into the son, who could contain it, because the Son is equal with the Father. Further, these ancient wise men reasoned, if the Father were to pour out His love into the Son, a medium of communication equal to both the Father and the Son would be required, and this was the Holy Ghost. So we have their concept of the Trinity –the ancient Father in the fullness of His love pouring Himself through the Holy Ghost who is in being equal to Him, into the Son who is in being equal to the Spirit and the Father”

God is love and that’s why the greatest power that man can possess is love –

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (I John 4:16).

But then real love (God’s agape Love) in the world we live in today would make anyone look naive and stupid; Real love as should be infused of by a bond servant of Christ, seems to be a strange phenomenon in the world we live in, even among the so called ‘men of God’. Real love as described by Apostle Paul –

“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned”  (1 Tim. 1:3-7).

THE GOAL OF OUR COMMAND IS LOVE; that comes from a PURE HEART, GOOD CONSCIENCE AND SINCERE FAITH.

Now, If you look at these 3 components of love:

Pure heart – Hold no evil whatsoever against anyone.

Good Conscience – knowledge shows what is right or wrong, but it is the conscience that approves of what is right and disapproves of what is contrary to it.

Sincere Faith – no matter how bad it looks in reality, I have this hope that it shall be well – “substance of things hoped for; evidence of things not seen”.

To have these 3 qualities in the world we live in today qualifies you as being excellently naive. But then it is these three qualities that equip any living being with LOVE that is the greatest power on earth. Jesus warned us when describing the end of the ages –

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12.).

It is also said that –

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1John 4:18).

I have come to see the act of walking in love as one that can be compared to tightrope walking. Walk it through without falling, everyone applauds; but when the reality of learning to walk in love as in training for a tightrope walk show, you will sometimes fall off the rope at different points along the journey, and people will naturally jeer – it is a lowly point to be in, a point where one is vulnerable, a point where the ungodly sees a chance to take advantage, a point where you realise that –

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9).

You do not just see this from afar off, and judge others, but more importantly come to the realisation of the fact that if not for the GRACE of God; ones own natural heart can be just as deceitful.

But as the saying goes “practice makes perfect” – Until we are able and have perfected the act of walking that tight rope (walking in God’s Agape Love) without falling off along the way; we just have to keep moving on; practising how to walk in this wonderful attribute of our creator putting into consideration the advice of His Son Jesus Christ when He said –

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16).

I Tosin, personally would rather be misunderstood to be naive than lack the power of God and continually have my whole being totally and absolutely “fixed on the Lord”.

SO WHEN WE REALISE THAT:

God is Holy– This is the pure loving nature of God separate from evil.

God is Life – He is the essence of the breathe of life

God is Spirit – It is impossible to see Him with human eyes, but through the eye of the spirit

God is Infinite – He is, if I may say, interwoven into all things.

God is Immutable – God cannot change because He is the beginning and end ‘Alpha & Omega’

God is Omnipotent – He has the ultimate power to do whatever He wills.

God is Omniscient – He knows all things that can be known in the past, present, future, so nothing can escape His knowledge

God is Omnipresent – He fills the whole of creation which makes it possible for Him to be present everywhere at once

God is Love – God’s love for us is just as His attribute of being immutable, it cannot change.

THEN WE CAN SEE WHY:

“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isa. 40:28-31).

What are you going through at this point in your life? Do you feel God cannot see your troubles? Or even if He sees them, He has decided to turn a blind eye? Or even worse still He is powerless to do anything about them? We all go through this but the solution is to always wait on Him. When we put our focus on who our God really is, the grace to trust Him is bestowed upon us;

“Thou wilt keep him in Perfect Peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

Then we can be rest assured that when we wait upon Him, we can never, I repeat “never” be disappointed.

Ray C. Stedman asks about Isa. 40:28-31 in “WHO IS LIKE OUR GOD?”:

How many thousands through the centuries have taken those promises literally and found that to “wait upon the Lord” does this very thing. It all hinges on that one word, wait. Wait! The hardest word to learn in the language for some, especially young people. Wait. Let God work. The Hebrew word has a note of expectation about it: expect God to work, wait in expectation that God will move. It takes time, you cannot have it overnight, but they that wait upon the Lord shall find their own strength renewed. They shall find their spirit mounting up like the eagle in its flight, their souls able to run the gamut of emotions. They shall never be weary. And they shall walk (in body) and not faint.

What a wonderful God we serve.

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Father you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can be strengthened by getting to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.

John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life’s greatest high.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Christian Living

Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God

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He alone is God; And He is God alone. Part 1

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28)

We will have a short break in our look at the eternal purpose of God to look at a very important asset we need to have in these perilous times; in other to be able to keep our eyes set on the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ – The Fear of The Lord.

What is the fear of the Lord? The fear of God is simply the reverential response, the submissive attitude that should be triggered by a revelation of God – A response of being totally and absolutely fixed on Him that follows any revelation of Him. In the times ahead of us, there will be a very serious need to have our whole being totally and absolutely “fixed on the Lord”

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)

To be able to have one’s mind fixed on our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and maintain it, one needs to have a holy and righteous fear of the Lord; a healthy fear that is borne out of an absolute and total trust in the Lord; an extra-ordinary, absolute and total trust that is a derivative of an unconditional love for Him, and an unconditional love that is steadied by knowing who our God is.

Sometimes when we are stuck, all the Lord does is to refer us back to some lessons we have learnt earlier but may have forgotten, often due to the wiles of the enemy being projected at us from all angles or when we allow fear (not the healthy fear of God this time) to have it’s way.

“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)

The way our loving heavenly Father does this is to have the Holy Spirit help us by teaching us more about Him, assure us of His own unconditional love for us (The power of His Approval): The Holy Spirit also reminds us of the extra ordinary things our Father has done in the past and then teaches us more about our Father’s Holy attributes:

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalms 8:3,4)

“Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” (Rev. 15:4)

O’ Lord help us to continually grow in your knowledge, intimacy and confidence in the knowledge of Your attributes.

So we will start this mini series by having another look at a topic we dealt with in FORESIGHT OF THE MASTER PLANNER – The Glory of God Eph.1:3-6  

 He alone is God; And He is God alone. Part 1

 

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

As we see before our very eyes, the warnings as given by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ about the end of the ages (Matthew 24) being played out; I will today like to say a word or two about some of the difficulties that confronts a person who finds him/her self in the situation Jesus warned us about when He said:

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12).

So many people today still go to Church even more than twice a week or so but deep down inside they are beginning to ask the questions – is these all real? Am I getting anything from this? How do we deal with this situation? There is only one way to deal with the situation and that is to arm ourselves with the true knowledge of who our God really is.

Ray Stedman observed in The Olivet Discourse of Jesus 1963:

How then shall we characterize these events He (Jesus) outlines which are to occur in the intervening time before the end of the age is reached? They are of enormous importance to us for we live in this time before the end. If, as we have seen, the dominant note of this discourse is to warn against the allure of the false, the glamour of the phony, and to indicate the ease by which the uninformed may be led astray, then it is immediately evident that in these intervening events He is listing the perils of the age. These are the threats to faith, the powerful forces by which men and women, observing the events of their day, may be misled into confusion and error. These perils to faith are forces, deceptive in their character, which will mislead men throughout the whole course of this intervening time. They make it difficult to believe, they act powerfully upon men’s minds to turn them from the unseen spiritual kingdom to depend only upon the things of sense and time. Each peril, when once introduced, runs on to the end of the age.

He was saying this 50 years ago – wonder what he would say about the situation today.

These perils only have one and only one precursor, ‘Man trying to do it his way APART FROM GOD’ Just like Adam and Eve did. Looking at the whole situation even as a Christian could make a person ask if God is seeing all what is going on, and if he does, what is He doing about it? Or even, what can He do about it? Is He still in control? Who or what holds the earth together in the first place? Who is in control of the earth?

These questions (when asked by a Christian) could be concluded to be a sign of weariness or worst still unbelief: But the basic truth containing fundamental answers to these questions, are to be found in a sound understanding of who our God is. You know as a child you would think your dad is well able to have a fight with everyone else’s dad and win – until the day you meet someone whose dad is probably a heavy weight boxing champion; then even as a child, you start to think rationally.

This knowledge of our God which reveals His overall omniscience and absolute sovereignty in all aspects of His creation puts us on the right track– like the Prophet Isaiah asks:

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. (Isa.40:28)

“Fainteth not, neither is weary” How can He be? If he is Spirit, life, infinite, immutable, the truth, love, eternal, holy, immortal, invisible, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.

I will pick up on a few of these attributes to show why He “Fainteth not, neither is weary”; and “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength”.

God is Holy-
This is the pure loving nature of God separate from evil. This is our goal, to pursue this great attribute of God –“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (I Peter 1:16–25). For “this then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). “Wherefore we labour that . . we may be accepted of Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:9)

“We Labour” – against the instigations; then followed by the accusations of the enemy of our soul; we labour in this 21st century, where the enemy daily perfects his devices to make us walk in the opposite direction to the holiness and righteousness of God; but our loving Father, instead of unleashing His wrath, the manifestation of His holy, moral character against sin upon us at a time when we fall short (unlike man’s unholy anger, it is neither impersonal nor acts on impulse); gives us the opportunity to consider our ways and confidently take hold of His word and confess that:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).

Then we can face our accuser and exclaim: “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me” (Micah 7:8).

Oswald Chambers captures this better:

“Wherefore we labour . . . .” It is arduous work to keep the master ambition in front. It means holding one’s self to the high ideal year in and year out, not being ambitious to win souls or to establish churches or to have revivals, but being ambitious only to be “accepted of Him.” It is not lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but lack of labouring to keep the ideal right. Once a week at least take stock before God and see whether you are keeping your life up to the standard He wishes. Paul is like a musician who does not heed the approval of the audience if he can catch the look of approval from his Master.

Any ambition which is in the tiniest degree away from this central one of being “approved unto God” may end in our being castaways. Learn to discern where the ambition leads, and you will see why it is so necessary to live facing the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says –
“Lest my body should make me take another line, I am constantly watching so that I may bring it into subjection and keep it under.” (1 Cor. 9:27.)
I have to learn to relate everything to the master ambition, and to maintain it without any cessation. My worth to God in public is what I am in private. Is my master ambition to please Him and be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how noble? ”
God is Spirit –

It is impossible to see Him with human eyes – His sending of His only begotten Son demonstrates His existence and desire to be sought by His creatures. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”. (John 4:24)

God is Life –

He is the essence of the breathe of life; it is a gift from Him that is (if lived in fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ) is not interrupted by physical death but attains perfection and full reality in eternal fellowship with Him the giver. God is unlike idols; He is the creator; He created His worshipers and not created by His worshipers –

“But our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.” (Psalm 115:3-9)

God is Infinite –

He is, if I may say, interwoven into all things. It is said of His Son Jesus –

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Col. 1:15-17):

“The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:2-3).

King David observed –

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded.” (I Kings 8:27).

That’s why –

“Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24):

If this is the case –

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).

God is Immutable –

Change takes place by moving from one point or state to another – it has a beginning and end; God cannot change because He is the ‘Alpha & Omega’ (the Beginning and the End); He exists from eternity to eternity.

“But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end” (Psalm 102:27): “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”. (James 1:17)

Have you listened to Him say:

“For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed”  (Malachi 3:6).

Because:
“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:17-18).

In the next post we will find out why “Fainteth not, neither is weary”; and “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength”.

You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Father you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can be ready by getting to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life’s greatest high.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

The book of Romans is the most basic, comprehensive statement of true Christianity. This page explores the relevance of Romans to our world today. As it deals with the morally deficient individual (as illustrated in Cityboy Beer and Loathing in the Square Mile-Geraint Anderson which describes life within the square mile of the city of London, the bankers haven), so does it deal with the morally astute person; who wants to please God by their own works. Travel with us on this interesting highway.

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