The Commands of God are not negligible, but doable as the Spirit comes and works to strengthen our faith in future grace.
Obedience is tied to Love, which is tied to Faith.
When the law meets an unwilling heart of stone, it condemns. When that
law is written on hearts softened by the Spirit, the result is LIFE.
OT Law contains both Moral laws which remain, and Ritual/National laws that no longer hold obligation.
Faith is the triumphant power by which the commandments of God are kept.
We do not make ourselves born again by deciding to believe. God makes us willing to believe by causing us to be born again. God initiates salvation, and thus gets all the credit and glory.
Faith in Christ is not just assenting to what God is for us, but also embracing Him in love.
Loving your enemy doesn't earn you heaven. Treasuring heaven empowers you to love your enemy.
Faith in Future Grace empowers us to Obey.... "joy set before Him, endured the cross". Hebrews 12:2
James 2:14-26... True saving faith is effective in producing practical obedience to God.
James 1:5-8... Ask in faith [in future grace].
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
A Love Affair with God's Law - ch. 11
God's Law was always making the case for a faith that was evidenced by righteousness.
OT demands the obedience of faith in future grace.
Deut 10:13 - keep commandments for your good. - they are blessings, not burdens.
Commands - make wise the simple, restore the soul, enlighten the eyes... more desirable than gold [Psalm 19:7-10]
Exodus 19 - God carried them with grace before he commanded them for their good.
For most of them, the effectual power of transforming grace was not given. Deficient because it was not accompanied with inner, transforming, enabling divine power.
The root of disobedience is unbelief in God's future grace.
All righteousness is not filthy rags, it is precious to God and is required, not as the ground of our justification, but as an evidence of our being truly justified.
Psalm 32 - human righteousness
God has a very big heart and very high standards, he is easy to please and hard to satisfy.
Hebrews 11 - Faith in future hope produced obedience.
OT demands the obedience of faith in future grace.
Deut 10:13 - keep commandments for your good. - they are blessings, not burdens.
Commands - make wise the simple, restore the soul, enlighten the eyes... more desirable than gold [Psalm 19:7-10]
Exodus 19 - God carried them with grace before he commanded them for their good.
For most of them, the effectual power of transforming grace was not given. Deficient because it was not accompanied with inner, transforming, enabling divine power.
The root of disobedience is unbelief in God's future grace.
All righteousness is not filthy rags, it is precious to God and is required, not as the ground of our justification, but as an evidence of our being truly justified.
Psalm 32 - human righteousness
God has a very big heart and very high standards, he is easy to please and hard to satisfy.
Hebrews 11 - Faith in future hope produced obedience.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Four Pillars of a Precious Promise - ch. 9
"all things to work together... called according to His purpose [presdestined]... conformed"
God pledges future grace will make everything beneficial.
Romans 8:28 is a promise built on the foundation of 4 pillars. If you live inside this massive promise, your life is more solid and stable than Mt. Everest. Nothing can blow you over when you are inside the walls of Romans 8:28.
The chain of verses 29 and 30 cannot be broken...
The call is effective, it creates what it commands. No like "Brownie, come here"; but, like "Lazarus, come forth". The call is infallibly effective because of God's sovereign power.
The call is not a mere invitation to people with the power of self-determination. The call is an act of creation in people who are spiritually dead.
Foundation: Election, Predestination, Effectual calling, Justification. Great halls of the Building: Romans 8:28 - God will cause all things to work together for our good.
God pledges future grace will make everything beneficial.
Romans 8:28 is a promise built on the foundation of 4 pillars. If you live inside this massive promise, your life is more solid and stable than Mt. Everest. Nothing can blow you over when you are inside the walls of Romans 8:28.
The chain of verses 29 and 30 cannot be broken...
The call is effective, it creates what it commands. No like "Brownie, come here"; but, like "Lazarus, come forth". The call is infallibly effective because of God's sovereign power.
The call is not a mere invitation to people with the power of self-determination. The call is an act of creation in people who are spiritually dead.
Foundation: Election, Predestination, Effectual calling, Justification. Great halls of the Building: Romans 8:28 - God will cause all things to work together for our good.
The Solid Logic of Heaven - ch. 8
Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, ..... will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"
Psalm 84:11 "No good thing does [God] withhold..."
2 parts of verse 32 of Romans 8 - The foundation [the hard thing of not sparing His son], and the promise [the easy thing of freely giving us all things].
"His father killed Him" for us all, on our behalf... 2 Cor 5:21
Puritan pastor John Flavel, "He spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him freely give us all things?" [Rom 8:32]. How is it imaginable that God should withhold, after this, spirituals or temporals, from his people? How shall he not call them effectually, justify them freely, sanctify them thoroughly, and glorify them eternally? How shall he not clothe them, feed them, protect and deliver them? Surely if he would not spare this own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, once circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever he should, after this, deny or withhold from his people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them."
Psalm 84:11 "No good thing does [God] withhold..."
2 parts of verse 32 of Romans 8 - The foundation [the hard thing of not sparing His son], and the promise [the easy thing of freely giving us all things].
"His father killed Him" for us all, on our behalf... 2 Cor 5:21
Puritan pastor John Flavel, "He spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him freely give us all things?" [Rom 8:32]. How is it imaginable that God should withhold, after this, spirituals or temporals, from his people? How shall he not call them effectually, justify them freely, sanctify them thoroughly, and glorify them eternally? How shall he not clothe them, feed them, protect and deliver them? Surely if he would not spare this own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, once circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever he should, after this, deny or withhold from his people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them."
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Looking Back for the Sake of the Future - Ch. 7
Lord, you are wise... powerful...merciful... Amen is an exclamation point of hope after a prayer for help.
Confidence in someone's future reliability is grounded in a history of past faithfulness.
the Holy Spirit is called a down payment; there is so much more future grace yet to come; an he is the guarantee of it. [Eph 1:14]
Confidence in someone's future reliability is grounded in a history of past faithfulness.
the Holy Spirit is called a down payment; there is so much more future grace yet to come; an he is the guarantee of it. [Eph 1:14]
Thursday, October 18, 2012
You Can't Take It With You...
Counting Forever
In the inaugural issue of the newsletter A Higher Purpose, published by the Great Commission Foundation, Campus Crusade for Christ president Steve Douglass says, “Frankly one thing that doesn’t count forever is wealth that is left over at the end of our lives, wealth unused in any worthy cause whatsoever. From a biblical point of view, you see that some day, eventually the end will come. As we read 2 Peter 3:10, we see that the earth will be burned up, there will be nothing left — just an ash heap. On that day, in the midst of all these ash heaps, the only thing a wealthy person will be able to say to a poor person is, ‘Oh look! My ash heap is bigger than your ash heap!’ Not significant!”
As we strive for significance, it is wholly appropriate that we should call others to significance as well, to join us in the quest, to make something of eternal value during our earthly lifetime.
* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, More Than Money: The Truth About High-Capacity Givers.
In the inaugural issue of the newsletter A Higher Purpose, published by the Great Commission Foundation, Campus Crusade for Christ president Steve Douglass says, “Frankly one thing that doesn’t count forever is wealth that is left over at the end of our lives, wealth unused in any worthy cause whatsoever. From a biblical point of view, you see that some day, eventually the end will come. As we read 2 Peter 3:10, we see that the earth will be burned up, there will be nothing left — just an ash heap. On that day, in the midst of all these ash heaps, the only thing a wealthy person will be able to say to a poor person is, ‘Oh look! My ash heap is bigger than your ash heap!’ Not significant!”
As we strive for significance, it is wholly appropriate that we should call others to significance as well, to join us in the quest, to make something of eternal value during our earthly lifetime.
* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, More Than Money: The Truth About High-Capacity Givers.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Faith in Future Grace vs. Pride - ch. 6
C.S. Lewis - "The pleasure of pride is like the pleasure of scratching. If there is an itch one does want to scratch; but it is much nicer to have neither the itch nor the scratch. As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval; but the happiest moments are those when we forget our precious selves and have neither but have everything else instead."
Jeremiah 9:23 - 24 "...boast of this... understands and knows Me, ...lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness... delight in these things"
Humility can only survive in the presence of God. We can expect to find humility applauded in our society about as often as we find God applauded.
Belief is not merely an agreement, is is also an appetite... More than what we think, but what we drink...
God's competitors are our wisdom, might and riches [Jer. 9:23]... Our intelligence, our strength, our material resources.
Pride is an issue of whee your satisfaction is... what you are trusting in for your future.
Look away from your own resources and rest in God.
God's reality is overwhelmingly intrusive. "If the Lord wills..." [James 4:13-17]
Weak pride = self pity... The wounded ego wishes to be viewed as a hero, not as helpless. Self pity comes from a sense of unrecognized worthiness, and not a sense of unworthiness.
Freedom from anxiety in trusting someone else who is wiser and stronger - cast cares on Him, He cares!
Jeremiah 9:23 - 24 "...boast of this... understands and knows Me, ...lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness... delight in these things"
Humility can only survive in the presence of God. We can expect to find humility applauded in our society about as often as we find God applauded.
Belief is not merely an agreement, is is also an appetite... More than what we think, but what we drink...
God's competitors are our wisdom, might and riches [Jer. 9:23]... Our intelligence, our strength, our material resources.
Pride is an issue of whee your satisfaction is... what you are trusting in for your future.
Look away from your own resources and rest in God.
God's reality is overwhelmingly intrusive. "If the Lord wills..." [James 4:13-17]
Weak pride = self pity... The wounded ego wishes to be viewed as a hero, not as helpless. Self pity comes from a sense of unrecognized worthiness, and not a sense of unworthiness.
Freedom from anxiety in trusting someone else who is wiser and stronger - cast cares on Him, He cares!
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