loveprevails
January 13th, 2006, 01:06 AM
A way of thinking prevailing in the majority of church goer’s minds and hearts goes something like this...
Jesus died and paid my debt so if i mentally accept this truth, go to church often, and read the bible more often i will go to heaven when i die.
This is a plastic way of thinking from today's time and veils the truth.
The eternal gospel involves a Savior who came from heaven from the bosom of the God the Father (who is to be ever praised) to a world of men caught in their own sins and worthless traditions. Jesus Christ, a savior born of a virgin, who came to save His people from their sins. Jesus came to save all men even the seemingly religious folk from arrogance and pride, their useless traditions, there false thoughts concerning God, their OWN perception of truth. He came to make them blind so they could see; he came to rebuke them so they could live. To turn them from their SELF-dependence and false hopes that comes from the pride of human reason and understanding. He came to call sinners not 'good' people... and grant them repentance from there sin... of pride, wrath, envy, selfishness and EVERY hint of sexual immorality. He suffered and died and crushed Satan's head and forgave all our sins (no where in the gospel does it relate the redemptive work of Christ to paying a debt, rather "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.")... He accepted our wages of sin on Himself. WE worked hard for the death that comes from sin. We labored for it. And we received the result of working in sin... the curse of death, and spiritual death. And God in His wisdom sent His Son Jesus Christ in the flesh, who knew no sin, to be sin...
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 1 Corinth. 5:21
Literally, not just some distant impartation... God really and truly works in His children true righteousness. Faith in Christ produces obedience to God's command "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Now by God's grace and power working in our hearts we labor (not us-His grace in us) in righteousness for eternal life. We may slip and doubt but more and more we rest in His power, more and more we praise His name, aiming to please God and doing His will - while HATEing our own selfish will. We rest on His power and His promises and strive to make it in through the strait gate, knowing that few will ever find it. The narrower the gate seems the more we call on Jesus and depend on His work on the cross. The more the living waters flow out of our hearts... and the more our SELVES disappear and the image of God is restored. We aim for perfection and the higher our goal of perfection the more we need to depend on God to work it in us... in truth. A hating of evil in our OWN hearts and a riding ourselves of "... all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind."
Do not say in your hearts... "im doing ok, im better than most people i see... i don't drink, i don't do drugs, im not sexually immoral...i go to church twice a week" Is this the righteousness of God? Is this the wisdom of God? Is this walking in the Spirit? Is this the mind of Christ considering others better than ourselves?
Some trust in the things they think they know, they should think again and let them go... This is not the same it is a different thing, altogether - put away the sword and get behind! This is love. Agape love (love for all men) is what we need.
God also raised this same Jesus from the dead... and now Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Hallelujah!
When Christ said "the kingdom of God is within you"... He meant it. If we wonder why our lives are not as holy, and righteous as St. Paul's or the other apostles... we only need to look as far as where our treasure is... "where your treasure is there your heart will also be" If our treasure is truly in heaven... denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily won't just be a prayer it will be a reality. If our treasure is in heaven... why should we fret if someone steals our digital camera? Why would i spend my time as the world does, wasting it in the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and in the pride of life? This is certain -without holiness no one will see the Lord.
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
heb. 14,15
The Gospel involves the King Love, living in hearts and sanctifying them through and through. Not sunday mourning, some heartless prayers, and a vigorous study of the bible... the pharisees had that and more. No, obedience to the gospel involves a whole life devoted to God, given to God. A waiting and watching for the coming of the bridegroom, a life of love, of loving enemies, of mourning over sin in your own heart, of rejoicing in hope, patience in affliction, of laying down your life for your brothers, of giving with your left with out letting your right hand knowing it, of prayer and fasting in SECRECT so that our Father in heaven will reward us, of pouring our hearts out to God for strength, of leaning on the breast of Christ for LIFE.
OF eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
Our Father... cause us to forsake all for the Christ like joy of your presence.
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? heb. 22-25
Yes, this life starts very small, as small as a mustard seed. But, it does not remain so, "yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." mark 40:32
A childlike yearning and mourning and longing to be filled with righteousness which comes from the grace of God in you. With more and more care, nurture this hunger... and "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
"But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city
"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
Paying Taxes to Caesar
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.
matt. 22:1-15
Let us show our faith by what we do!
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?" heb. 5,6
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." revelation 22:12,13
we are in this battle for our hearts together,
paul
Jesus died and paid my debt so if i mentally accept this truth, go to church often, and read the bible more often i will go to heaven when i die.
This is a plastic way of thinking from today's time and veils the truth.
The eternal gospel involves a Savior who came from heaven from the bosom of the God the Father (who is to be ever praised) to a world of men caught in their own sins and worthless traditions. Jesus Christ, a savior born of a virgin, who came to save His people from their sins. Jesus came to save all men even the seemingly religious folk from arrogance and pride, their useless traditions, there false thoughts concerning God, their OWN perception of truth. He came to make them blind so they could see; he came to rebuke them so they could live. To turn them from their SELF-dependence and false hopes that comes from the pride of human reason and understanding. He came to call sinners not 'good' people... and grant them repentance from there sin... of pride, wrath, envy, selfishness and EVERY hint of sexual immorality. He suffered and died and crushed Satan's head and forgave all our sins (no where in the gospel does it relate the redemptive work of Christ to paying a debt, rather "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.")... He accepted our wages of sin on Himself. WE worked hard for the death that comes from sin. We labored for it. And we received the result of working in sin... the curse of death, and spiritual death. And God in His wisdom sent His Son Jesus Christ in the flesh, who knew no sin, to be sin...
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 1 Corinth. 5:21
Literally, not just some distant impartation... God really and truly works in His children true righteousness. Faith in Christ produces obedience to God's command "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Now by God's grace and power working in our hearts we labor (not us-His grace in us) in righteousness for eternal life. We may slip and doubt but more and more we rest in His power, more and more we praise His name, aiming to please God and doing His will - while HATEing our own selfish will. We rest on His power and His promises and strive to make it in through the strait gate, knowing that few will ever find it. The narrower the gate seems the more we call on Jesus and depend on His work on the cross. The more the living waters flow out of our hearts... and the more our SELVES disappear and the image of God is restored. We aim for perfection and the higher our goal of perfection the more we need to depend on God to work it in us... in truth. A hating of evil in our OWN hearts and a riding ourselves of "... all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind."
Do not say in your hearts... "im doing ok, im better than most people i see... i don't drink, i don't do drugs, im not sexually immoral...i go to church twice a week" Is this the righteousness of God? Is this the wisdom of God? Is this walking in the Spirit? Is this the mind of Christ considering others better than ourselves?
Some trust in the things they think they know, they should think again and let them go... This is not the same it is a different thing, altogether - put away the sword and get behind! This is love. Agape love (love for all men) is what we need.
God also raised this same Jesus from the dead... and now Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Hallelujah!
When Christ said "the kingdom of God is within you"... He meant it. If we wonder why our lives are not as holy, and righteous as St. Paul's or the other apostles... we only need to look as far as where our treasure is... "where your treasure is there your heart will also be" If our treasure is truly in heaven... denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily won't just be a prayer it will be a reality. If our treasure is in heaven... why should we fret if someone steals our digital camera? Why would i spend my time as the world does, wasting it in the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and in the pride of life? This is certain -without holiness no one will see the Lord.
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
heb. 14,15
The Gospel involves the King Love, living in hearts and sanctifying them through and through. Not sunday mourning, some heartless prayers, and a vigorous study of the bible... the pharisees had that and more. No, obedience to the gospel involves a whole life devoted to God, given to God. A waiting and watching for the coming of the bridegroom, a life of love, of loving enemies, of mourning over sin in your own heart, of rejoicing in hope, patience in affliction, of laying down your life for your brothers, of giving with your left with out letting your right hand knowing it, of prayer and fasting in SECRECT so that our Father in heaven will reward us, of pouring our hearts out to God for strength, of leaning on the breast of Christ for LIFE.
OF eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
Our Father... cause us to forsake all for the Christ like joy of your presence.
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? heb. 22-25
Yes, this life starts very small, as small as a mustard seed. But, it does not remain so, "yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." mark 40:32
A childlike yearning and mourning and longing to be filled with righteousness which comes from the grace of God in you. With more and more care, nurture this hunger... and "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
"But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city
"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
Paying Taxes to Caesar
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.
matt. 22:1-15
Let us show our faith by what we do!
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?" heb. 5,6
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." revelation 22:12,13
we are in this battle for our hearts together,
paul