Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
New Blog Post: Been Sinned Against? http://matthew.theindywilsons.com/post/4158700443/been-sinned-against
Been Sinned Against?
Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
--------------
I have heard many lessons on this passage; I also have seen people ignore this passage. Here is the basics what what you need to know before you start exercising Christ's form of church discipline:
A) Is it a sin? If it is not a sin, you should realize there is no confrontation needed for the person you are against, but a confrontation on your own heart. We are the body of Christ and we are very diverse, holding someone with anger because they didn't like your favorite band or because they have a different opinion is not Christ-like.
B) Is it against you? This seems to be a silly thing, but it is pretty important. This is the first step of the confrontation spot, but at times I feel people skip this because of anxious desires to execute that last part. If you are not the one being sinned against, then you need to tell the one who was sinned against to get into contact with this person. There is another part to this it says "Go and tell", times have changed but I don't think this concept has, if you want to reconcile a relationship with someone, you need to physically be there. This is not a call for believers to e-mail one another or to call. This is personal, why? You can break someone's heart if they know who they sinned against. Then you can be reconciled back together.
C) Did they listen? Now this is a part where many people may have issues in their past relationships. People will often either assume the person isn't going to and exercise the next step (if they follow proper disipline) or sometimes they think getting it "off their chest" is enough. There is a happy medium, one that patiently awaits a change from God. I think I need to repeat that, one that patiently awaits a change from God. You are attempting to confront sin, the only way someone is going to change from sin is to have that change from God. This isn't "lets convince you of sin" this is "Here's your sin, Lord, change his heart". Now if you find that their actions do not change after waiting for them to repent, you then may exercise the next step. Do not go on to the next step without giving them a chance.
D) If they didn't listen and you waited patiently for God to change them (and draw them to repentance) then the next step is 2 or 3, this doesn't get people he would dislike and attack, it's getting one or two people who are probably neutral on the whole situation yet still see the sin that's being mentioned. This is where you confront the sin and then once again you wait on God to change his heart. This is the step that takes the seriousness of sin up a notch, this is where people are made more keenly aware of how sin effects relationships. This is an important step if confronting them on your own was not enough to break their heart.
E) If two or three people can't awaken the Holy Spirit, the next step is to have them confronted by the church, keep in mind that this process requires a lot of patience, it also requires you the whole way. This process can take minutes or it can take maybe even months! Once the church confronts them and we see that the person once again refuses to listen or to repent, that's when you exercise the next step.
F) If after waiting patiently for God to break their heart again does not work, then we are told to change how we treat them. You are told to treat them as a Gentile or tax collector. Now what does that mean? I have seen this to mean excommunication, I have seen it to mean ignoring them. What does it really mean though? To a Jew, this would mean treating them like we would a heathen or the scum of the earth. Now this is where it gets tricky, I don't hold that this means excommunication yet (unless the sin is considered beyond even what the pagans do, see Paul's excommunication of the guy having sexual relations with his father's wife). I think this is a time in the midst of the believers to still hear the word of God but not be considered as part of the flock. You are to treat them as if they weren't Christians. Which means you are to give them the gospel. We are not told to abandon unbelievers or even our enemies. We are told to give them the Gospel. Do not expect the unbelieving people to perform the duties of a believer. This is not a proper way to look at the unbelieving. You cannot expect someone who lacks the Holy Spirit to be changed like a person with the Holy Spirit.
G) If there is someone who is practicing a sin that even the culture does not approve of, then you are to exercise what's called excommunication, this is where you do not allow them to participate in the group of believers without repentance, the example we have in the Bible of this is Paul removing a guy because he was having sexual relations with this Father's wife. Even the culture did not allow such a gross sin, so they were excommunicated.
Now this is a path that will take a long time to get through, you're not going to get sinned against on Monday and see them under church discipline on Sunday, you have to be patient. If you lose your patience and start moving too fast, you yourself are sinning against them by not doing as the scriptures say. Your own heart may need repentance.
Now for the common objections - what if they sin but it's not against someone? The broad category that this entails is sins that are against God, such as using his name in vain, the sabbath, idols, and God's priorities. These are sins I believe that should be addressed from the pulpit, these are the sins that God himself must respond to with his Word.
What if they sin against someone and that person won't confront them? What love do they have for them then? If you're not willing to approach your brother to reconcile a situation, you don't love your brother.
If you are attempting to reconcile a person by using methods outside of this outline, you must approach it in a completely different way. Say someone sins against their wife, you see it and you attempt to confront them about it before the wife does, what will it look like to the person? Attacking. He has no reconciling to do to you, he needs it with his wife! The person being sinned against needs to be involved the whole time because the reconciling needs to occur between those two people. If you witness a sin and neither know about it, you can give a person God's word to help break their heart, you just cannot confront them in the path that leads to discipline.
Example, you are in a study with a group of guys and you find out that one of the guys has lied to his girlfriend about where he went last night, you can tell them it's not right, you can give them God's word to show it's not right, however you cannot seek reconciliation on behalf of his girlfriend. This is why God gave the Holy Spirit, He is able to take your guidance, break a heart and cause them to reconcile, but you are not the one that's able to reconcile that relationship on your own.
--------------
I have heard many lessons on this passage; I also have seen people ignore this passage. Here is the basics what what you need to know before you start exercising Christ's form of church discipline:
A) Is it a sin? If it is not a sin, you should realize there is no confrontation needed for the person you are against, but a confrontation on your own heart. We are the body of Christ and we are very diverse, holding someone with anger because they didn't like your favorite band or because they have a different opinion is not Christ-like.
B) Is it against you? This seems to be a silly thing, but it is pretty important. This is the first step of the confrontation spot, but at times I feel people skip this because of anxious desires to execute that last part. If you are not the one being sinned against, then you need to tell the one who was sinned against to get into contact with this person. There is another part to this it says "Go and tell", times have changed but I don't think this concept has, if you want to reconcile a relationship with someone, you need to physically be there. This is not a call for believers to e-mail one another or to call. This is personal, why? You can break someone's heart if they know who they sinned against. Then you can be reconciled back together.
C) Did they listen? Now this is a part where many people may have issues in their past relationships. People will often either assume the person isn't going to and exercise the next step (if they follow proper disipline) or sometimes they think getting it "off their chest" is enough. There is a happy medium, one that patiently awaits a change from God. I think I need to repeat that, one that patiently awaits a change from God. You are attempting to confront sin, the only way someone is going to change from sin is to have that change from God. This isn't "lets convince you of sin" this is "Here's your sin, Lord, change his heart". Now if you find that their actions do not change after waiting for them to repent, you then may exercise the next step. Do not go on to the next step without giving them a chance.
D) If they didn't listen and you waited patiently for God to change them (and draw them to repentance) then the next step is 2 or 3, this doesn't get people he would dislike and attack, it's getting one or two people who are probably neutral on the whole situation yet still see the sin that's being mentioned. This is where you confront the sin and then once again you wait on God to change his heart. This is the step that takes the seriousness of sin up a notch, this is where people are made more keenly aware of how sin effects relationships. This is an important step if confronting them on your own was not enough to break their heart.
E) If two or three people can't awaken the Holy Spirit, the next step is to have them confronted by the church, keep in mind that this process requires a lot of patience, it also requires you the whole way. This process can take minutes or it can take maybe even months! Once the church confronts them and we see that the person once again refuses to listen or to repent, that's when you exercise the next step.
F) If after waiting patiently for God to break their heart again does not work, then we are told to change how we treat them. You are told to treat them as a Gentile or tax collector. Now what does that mean? I have seen this to mean excommunication, I have seen it to mean ignoring them. What does it really mean though? To a Jew, this would mean treating them like we would a heathen or the scum of the earth. Now this is where it gets tricky, I don't hold that this means excommunication yet (unless the sin is considered beyond even what the pagans do, see Paul's excommunication of the guy having sexual relations with his father's wife). I think this is a time in the midst of the believers to still hear the word of God but not be considered as part of the flock. You are to treat them as if they weren't Christians. Which means you are to give them the gospel. We are not told to abandon unbelievers or even our enemies. We are told to give them the Gospel. Do not expect the unbelieving people to perform the duties of a believer. This is not a proper way to look at the unbelieving. You cannot expect someone who lacks the Holy Spirit to be changed like a person with the Holy Spirit.
G) If there is someone who is practicing a sin that even the culture does not approve of, then you are to exercise what's called excommunication, this is where you do not allow them to participate in the group of believers without repentance, the example we have in the Bible of this is Paul removing a guy because he was having sexual relations with this Father's wife. Even the culture did not allow such a gross sin, so they were excommunicated.
Now this is a path that will take a long time to get through, you're not going to get sinned against on Monday and see them under church discipline on Sunday, you have to be patient. If you lose your patience and start moving too fast, you yourself are sinning against them by not doing as the scriptures say. Your own heart may need repentance.
Now for the common objections - what if they sin but it's not against someone? The broad category that this entails is sins that are against God, such as using his name in vain, the sabbath, idols, and God's priorities. These are sins I believe that should be addressed from the pulpit, these are the sins that God himself must respond to with his Word.
What if they sin against someone and that person won't confront them? What love do they have for them then? If you're not willing to approach your brother to reconcile a situation, you don't love your brother.
If you are attempting to reconcile a person by using methods outside of this outline, you must approach it in a completely different way. Say someone sins against their wife, you see it and you attempt to confront them about it before the wife does, what will it look like to the person? Attacking. He has no reconciling to do to you, he needs it with his wife! The person being sinned against needs to be involved the whole time because the reconciling needs to occur between those two people. If you witness a sin and neither know about it, you can give a person God's word to help break their heart, you just cannot confront them in the path that leads to discipline.
Example, you are in a study with a group of guys and you find out that one of the guys has lied to his girlfriend about where he went last night, you can tell them it's not right, you can give them God's word to show it's not right, however you cannot seek reconciliation on behalf of his girlfriend. This is why God gave the Holy Spirit, He is able to take your guidance, break a heart and cause them to reconcile, but you are not the one that's able to reconcile that relationship on your own.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
New Blog Post: Pictures of Jesus? http://matthew.theindywilsons.com/post/4076708298/pictures-of-jesus
Pictures of Jesus?
Below is an set of answers from some Catechisms:
Question 96. What does God require in the second commandment?
Answer: That we in no wise represent God by images, nor worship him in any other way than he has commanded in his word.
Question 97. Are images then not at all to be made?
Answer: God neither can, nor may be represented by any means: but as to creatures; though they may be represented, yet God forbids to make, or have any resemblance of them, either in order to worship them or to serve God by them.
Question 98. But may not images be tolerated in the churches, as books to the laity?
Answer: No: for we must not pretend to be wiser than God, who will have his people taught, not by dump images, but by the lively preaching of his word.
Westminster:
The Westminster Larger Catechism Q&A 109
Q109: What are the sins forbidden in the second commandment?
A109: The sins forbidden in the second commandment are, all devising, counseling, commanding, using, and anywise approving, any religious worship not instituted by God himself; tolerating a false religion; the making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever; all worshiping of it, or God in it or by it; the making of any representation of feigned deities, and all worship of them, or service belonging to them; all superstitious devices, corrupting the worship of God, adding to it, or taking from it, whether invented and taken up of ourselves, or received by tradition from others, though under the title of antiquity, custom, devotion, good intent, or any other pretense whatsoever; simony; sacrilege; all neglect, contempt, hindering, and opposing the worship and ordinances which God hath appointed.
The Second Helvetic Confession - Chapter IV
Images of God. Since God as Spirit is in essence invisible and immense, he cannot really be expressed by any art or image. For this reason we have no fear pronouncing with Scripture that images of God are mere lies. Therefore we reject not only the idols of the Gentiles, but also the images of Christians. Although Christ assumed human nature, yet he did not on that account assume it in order to provide a model for carvers and painters. He denied that he had come to abolish the law and the prophets. But images are forbidden by the law and the prophets. He denied that his bodily presence would be profitable for the Church, and promised that he would be near us by his Spirit forever. Who, therefore, would believe that a shadow or likeness of his body would contribute any benefit to the pious? Since he abides in us by his Spirit, we are therefore the temple of God . But what agreement has the temple of God with idols?.
--------
So do I believe having a picture of Jesus to be breaking the second commandment, absolutely. It is forbidden to have a picture of God (or a god) that is not authorized by him for use. Since Christ gave no such image of himself for us to use, then having a picture of "Jesus" does indeed break this rule. There are also other images in our lives that we often must remove as well such as our favorite character on American Idol, Basketball players, or many many more. So it is our job as Christians to flee from such images of God or gods(idols) especially in worship of them.
Question 96. What does God require in the second commandment?
Answer: That we in no wise represent God by images, nor worship him in any other way than he has commanded in his word.
Question 97. Are images then not at all to be made?
Answer: God neither can, nor may be represented by any means: but as to creatures; though they may be represented, yet God forbids to make, or have any resemblance of them, either in order to worship them or to serve God by them.
Question 98. But may not images be tolerated in the churches, as books to the laity?
Answer: No: for we must not pretend to be wiser than God, who will have his people taught, not by dump images, but by the lively preaching of his word.
Westminster:
The Westminster Larger Catechism Q&A 109
Q109: What are the sins forbidden in the second commandment?
A109: The sins forbidden in the second commandment are, all devising, counseling, commanding, using, and anywise approving, any religious worship not instituted by God himself; tolerating a false religion; the making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever; all worshiping of it, or God in it or by it; the making of any representation of feigned deities, and all worship of them, or service belonging to them; all superstitious devices, corrupting the worship of God, adding to it, or taking from it, whether invented and taken up of ourselves, or received by tradition from others, though under the title of antiquity, custom, devotion, good intent, or any other pretense whatsoever; simony; sacrilege; all neglect, contempt, hindering, and opposing the worship and ordinances which God hath appointed.
The Second Helvetic Confession - Chapter IV
Images of God. Since God as Spirit is in essence invisible and immense, he cannot really be expressed by any art or image. For this reason we have no fear pronouncing with Scripture that images of God are mere lies. Therefore we reject not only the idols of the Gentiles, but also the images of Christians. Although Christ assumed human nature, yet he did not on that account assume it in order to provide a model for carvers and painters. He denied that he had come to abolish the law and the prophets. But images are forbidden by the law and the prophets. He denied that his bodily presence would be profitable for the Church, and promised that he would be near us by his Spirit forever. Who, therefore, would believe that a shadow or likeness of his body would contribute any benefit to the pious? Since he abides in us by his Spirit, we are therefore the temple of God . But what agreement has the temple of God with idols?.
--------
So do I believe having a picture of Jesus to be breaking the second commandment, absolutely. It is forbidden to have a picture of God (or a god) that is not authorized by him for use. Since Christ gave no such image of himself for us to use, then having a picture of "Jesus" does indeed break this rule. There are also other images in our lives that we often must remove as well such as our favorite character on American Idol, Basketball players, or many many more. So it is our job as Christians to flee from such images of God or gods(idols) especially in worship of them.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Plans of the Lord
Numbers 23:
19 God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20Behold, I received a command to bless:
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
------
Mal 3:6 "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
------
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
----
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, 'My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,'
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
------
Find comfort Beloved, God does not change, what he says he will do, he will do. He is beyond your understanding, that is why we can find rest in verses such as Romans 8:
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Keep this in mind Beloved, God chose you, he called you out of the darkness, you who were children of wrath prior! He called you and set you apart to be holy. Trust then that He who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion. You are saved by God, not of your own doing. Wicked men seek not him, but run from his presence. You, Beloved, have a new heart, a new life of sanctification. God won't change his mind about you, the elect. You have an inheritance, you will see God face to face because of the cleansing blood of Christ Jesus. Rejoice in this day that you have the privilege to call God - father. It was not so before Christ, no man could consider the Holy to be his loving father, to address him in that way would have been absurd. You, the Church, have this blessing, you have a God that reckons you as his child, he made you his. By adoption we can rest in the joy of God. By adoption we can sing praises to our God on high. Therefore Beloved, do not sit with idleness, you are saved by grace, how much more then shall you be willing to speak it from the roof tops? How much more then should we see you in the streets, see you in your homes, see you in the store preaching such a wonderful gospel. Beloved, you can rely on God, his love will grant you what you desire if you desire him. He will give you strength to stand up to the slaughter or to give a poor man a meal. You must rely on the savior, let him work in you, oh Beloved. In this day we desire you God, we pray you work in our hearts and give us a passion for you and to rest in knowing you are the one that kept us from our deserved fate. Lord you didn't change your mind, you planned this out from the beginning, you planned every molecule so that your plan will come to pass. Merciful savior, you are more than we can imagine, you have brought such crooked men to yourself. You, oh Lord, are Holy and we praise you and ask for a chance to spread your gospel in this day. In Christ's Holy and Blessed name, Amen.
19 God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20Behold, I received a command to bless:
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
------
Mal 3:6 "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
------
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
----
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, 'My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,'
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
------
Find comfort Beloved, God does not change, what he says he will do, he will do. He is beyond your understanding, that is why we can find rest in verses such as Romans 8:
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Keep this in mind Beloved, God chose you, he called you out of the darkness, you who were children of wrath prior! He called you and set you apart to be holy. Trust then that He who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion. You are saved by God, not of your own doing. Wicked men seek not him, but run from his presence. You, Beloved, have a new heart, a new life of sanctification. God won't change his mind about you, the elect. You have an inheritance, you will see God face to face because of the cleansing blood of Christ Jesus. Rejoice in this day that you have the privilege to call God - father. It was not so before Christ, no man could consider the Holy to be his loving father, to address him in that way would have been absurd. You, the Church, have this blessing, you have a God that reckons you as his child, he made you his. By adoption we can rest in the joy of God. By adoption we can sing praises to our God on high. Therefore Beloved, do not sit with idleness, you are saved by grace, how much more then shall you be willing to speak it from the roof tops? How much more then should we see you in the streets, see you in your homes, see you in the store preaching such a wonderful gospel. Beloved, you can rely on God, his love will grant you what you desire if you desire him. He will give you strength to stand up to the slaughter or to give a poor man a meal. You must rely on the savior, let him work in you, oh Beloved. In this day we desire you God, we pray you work in our hearts and give us a passion for you and to rest in knowing you are the one that kept us from our deserved fate. Lord you didn't change your mind, you planned this out from the beginning, you planned every molecule so that your plan will come to pass. Merciful savior, you are more than we can imagine, you have brought such crooked men to yourself. You, oh Lord, are Holy and we praise you and ask for a chance to spread your gospel in this day. In Christ's Holy and Blessed name, Amen.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Changing my blog
Well,
For a long while now, everything has been sent to my blog, including many updates from my status, I thought this was a cool idea at first but realized that people don't really want to see that inside of a blog.
The update will do this, I removed all status updates that go to it(and were there already), I left it to only 3 things will be in the blog - Blog posts, Pictures, and Videos. This is part of a lot of redesigning I have been doing today around www.theindywilsons.com
I am hopeful that the new edits will look better and also make it easier for people to find what they want on the site. Also in this whole swipe of things I will be unblocking and such of people that are not spammers. This will only open the window to like 3 people to see things, but you know, I am past the past and over it. I won't let it be brought up again and again.
So hoping that this new system will be nice, let me know of anything that you guys can think of anything in order to make things easier for you or allow you to understand better.
Thanks everyone!
For a long while now, everything has been sent to my blog, including many updates from my status, I thought this was a cool idea at first but realized that people don't really want to see that inside of a blog.
The update will do this, I removed all status updates that go to it(and were there already), I left it to only 3 things will be in the blog - Blog posts, Pictures, and Videos. This is part of a lot of redesigning I have been doing today around www.theindywilsons.com
I am hopeful that the new edits will look better and also make it easier for people to find what they want on the site. Also in this whole swipe of things I will be unblocking and such of people that are not spammers. This will only open the window to like 3 people to see things, but you know, I am past the past and over it. I won't let it be brought up again and again.
So hoping that this new system will be nice, let me know of anything that you guys can think of anything in order to make things easier for you or allow you to understand better.
Thanks everyone!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Your Inheritance, Beloved
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with thepromised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
---
I often come to these sets of verses for many reasons, the most important one is it is a brief explanation of the Gospel. It is sometimes missed by our minds when we read over it, but it's true. Paul starts with rejoicing, God has blessed us with everything spiritual in the heavenly places. Amazing as Christians we often go back and forth from a belief in grace to a belief in works. It is shameful that we do this all the time. We even say it in our preaching and even in our prayers at times. Now what do I mean by that? Simple, often times we tell people "do this", "do that" and often when we talk about it, it makes it sound as if doing this or doing that actually maintains your salvation. We hear all the time of people saying "don't drink", "go to church", "don't dance", and so much more, now I understand what these "rules" are trying to do. Don't get me wrong here though, going to church is indeed a good thing, if you struggle with getting drunk or your conscience bares you not to drink then don't, or if every time you dance you look like you could work at a strip club, it might not be good for you.
The point I am hinting out here is that this list that we make up and hold to is often what we come to make our hope for salvation, if not directly, often indirectly. We even start setting a standard of living between us and the person next to us thinking, "oh they drink, they probably aren't saved" or something similar. Here is what I know, every single person you come into contact today.. is a sinner, they will be until death or resurrection. The first person you encounter on a daily basis is a sinner, that person is you. Your set of standards will ultimately forget a few rules during that day and you will want to justify it in some way, "Well, at least I'm not as bad as Hitler" or something else. Here's something to think about and ponder on, God has sent people to hell for less than the sin you have accumulated. You are not without sin and the only way to justify those sins you commit is death. You do not deserve heaven..
But Christ.. That's the gospel, you get spiritual blessings not because of what you have done but because of what Christ has done for us.
Now the passage continues with some of the hardest scriptures that our hearts, as mentioned before, have trouble hearing. He talks of God predestining us in him before the foundation of the world. We were chosen, we are the beloved. Note here, at the time in which we are chosen is well before we choose either good or bad, Romans 9 references Jacob and Esau in the same sense when talking about predestining us. What you have done has deserved you nothing but a torment in hell, but Christ chose you Beloved before the foundation of the world! He chose you in him, Beloved, that you would be holy and blameless! Oh merciful savior, you see a wretch such as I and you saved me regardless. Beloved, this is the amazing Gospel, God did not come to let you earn your way back to him, for that is impossible, God came to save.. He came to bring Glory to his own. He lavishes us with grace and forgiveness. It is amazing. We who deserve the lake of fire just like our neighbor, oh us sinners who indeed rest on Christ's righteousness can grasp this wonderful inheritance.
As the passage continues we find that it is in accordance to His will that we have all these blessing. Beloved, he has willed your salvation, he has brought you from the dark because it was his own desire, a God that saves! Oh glorious be! This is his plan, to save the Beloved, this isn't what he "wishes" would happen, this is what was, is, and will be happening. God's plans cannot be foiled by man's efforts.
The passage continues once more to describe this God who sets plans in motion, who does things according to his will and his counsel. He is the one that brought you the gospel, he is the one that set you to believe in him, amazing! But the passage ends on one of most powerful statements I find, wretched men who are saved by the blood of our merciful savior... He has sealed you.. You know what this passage shows? You see what this passage is telling you Beloved? You, who folly time and time again when you rest not in his mercy, are sealed as a guarantee of your salvation! Beloved, he has made it where you cannot fall away, he put himself in you to draw you home. He is constantly fighting the battles inside of you against your flesh to draw you unto himself! You, the beloved, will indeed see your inheritance, you will see the face of God. Oh praise our savior, praise to his glory! Mighty is our Lord to save his Beloved, he has brought us unto him, Praise be to God.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with thepromised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
---
I often come to these sets of verses for many reasons, the most important one is it is a brief explanation of the Gospel. It is sometimes missed by our minds when we read over it, but it's true. Paul starts with rejoicing, God has blessed us with everything spiritual in the heavenly places. Amazing as Christians we often go back and forth from a belief in grace to a belief in works. It is shameful that we do this all the time. We even say it in our preaching and even in our prayers at times. Now what do I mean by that? Simple, often times we tell people "do this", "do that" and often when we talk about it, it makes it sound as if doing this or doing that actually maintains your salvation. We hear all the time of people saying "don't drink", "go to church", "don't dance", and so much more, now I understand what these "rules" are trying to do. Don't get me wrong here though, going to church is indeed a good thing, if you struggle with getting drunk or your conscience bares you not to drink then don't, or if every time you dance you look like you could work at a strip club, it might not be good for you.
The point I am hinting out here is that this list that we make up and hold to is often what we come to make our hope for salvation, if not directly, often indirectly. We even start setting a standard of living between us and the person next to us thinking, "oh they drink, they probably aren't saved" or something similar. Here is what I know, every single person you come into contact today.. is a sinner, they will be until death or resurrection. The first person you encounter on a daily basis is a sinner, that person is you. Your set of standards will ultimately forget a few rules during that day and you will want to justify it in some way, "Well, at least I'm not as bad as Hitler" or something else. Here's something to think about and ponder on, God has sent people to hell for less than the sin you have accumulated. You are not without sin and the only way to justify those sins you commit is death. You do not deserve heaven..
But Christ.. That's the gospel, you get spiritual blessings not because of what you have done but because of what Christ has done for us.
Now the passage continues with some of the hardest scriptures that our hearts, as mentioned before, have trouble hearing. He talks of God predestining us in him before the foundation of the world. We were chosen, we are the beloved. Note here, at the time in which we are chosen is well before we choose either good or bad, Romans 9 references Jacob and Esau in the same sense when talking about predestining us. What you have done has deserved you nothing but a torment in hell, but Christ chose you Beloved before the foundation of the world! He chose you in him, Beloved, that you would be holy and blameless! Oh merciful savior, you see a wretch such as I and you saved me regardless. Beloved, this is the amazing Gospel, God did not come to let you earn your way back to him, for that is impossible, God came to save.. He came to bring Glory to his own. He lavishes us with grace and forgiveness. It is amazing. We who deserve the lake of fire just like our neighbor, oh us sinners who indeed rest on Christ's righteousness can grasp this wonderful inheritance.
As the passage continues we find that it is in accordance to His will that we have all these blessing. Beloved, he has willed your salvation, he has brought you from the dark because it was his own desire, a God that saves! Oh glorious be! This is his plan, to save the Beloved, this isn't what he "wishes" would happen, this is what was, is, and will be happening. God's plans cannot be foiled by man's efforts.
The passage continues once more to describe this God who sets plans in motion, who does things according to his will and his counsel. He is the one that brought you the gospel, he is the one that set you to believe in him, amazing! But the passage ends on one of most powerful statements I find, wretched men who are saved by the blood of our merciful savior... He has sealed you.. You know what this passage shows? You see what this passage is telling you Beloved? You, who folly time and time again when you rest not in his mercy, are sealed as a guarantee of your salvation! Beloved, he has made it where you cannot fall away, he put himself in you to draw you home. He is constantly fighting the battles inside of you against your flesh to draw you unto himself! You, the beloved, will indeed see your inheritance, you will see the face of God. Oh praise our savior, praise to his glory! Mighty is our Lord to save his Beloved, he has brought us unto him, Praise be to God.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
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