Posts filed under ‘Religious – Christian – Theology’
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 14
I think we see this in the Prodigal Son. It seems clear that he literally and with vigor walked away from his father. It is clear that he completely misunderstood his father’s love, seeing it as something it was not. His pride, stubbornness, and sinful attitude kept him from seeing the truth about his father. The Prodigal deliberately broke off fellowship with his father because of the wrong views he harbored about his father. It took the problems of life to begin to move him back toward his father, but even there, he got it wrong. It was only the starting point.
Continue Reading December 12, 2015 at 8:25 AM Leave a comment
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 13
Out of the two sons, who ended up being better off? Clearly, it was the young son who initially walked away, squandered his inheritance (that he had no right to take at that point since his father was still alive!), almost starved himself to death, and in the end, became truthfully humbled. It was this humility that brought him back to his father, not to “regain” salvation that some say he lost, but to enter into fellowship with his father, fellowship that should have existed from the getgo. Would it have been better off had he never gone through any of that? Of course, but please note that it seems like he had to go through it in order to cast off the things that kept him enslaved to SELF. He needed to be divested of a good amount of arrogance and pride before he would be ready to begin fellowship with his father. In the end, he truly became his father’s son! Do you think he ever broke off fellowship with his father again? While it’s possible, I can’t imagine it because he always had that lesson to draw on. He may have even exercised a great deal of compassion toward his older brother, we just don’t know.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 12
In some ways, Luke’s narrative of the ten lepers highlights different reactions to being saved (and we’ll talk more about this in an upcoming article in this series). They gain salvation but never really stop to consider the fellowship aspect of it. Like the nine lepers, they are overjoyed to have salvation and they continue to go their way, paying little to no attention to the One who provided it. Is it any wonder their joy (and potential fellowship with God), dissipates and sometimes disappears altogether?
Continue Reading December 10, 2015 at 4:49 AM Leave a comment
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 11
Paul says that no unrighteous person will inherit the Kingdom of God. This is what we were before we received salvation from the Master’s hand! We were absolutely and pitiably unrighteous with no ability to help ourselves!! But just like those within the Corinthian church, once we received salvation through Christ, we stopped being seen by God unrighteous and were declared righteous! But guess what? I can still do unrighteous things and so can you!
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 10
My salvation is secure. I firmly believe that, based on what I believe the Scriptures teach. My legal standing before God is predicated only on my faith in Jesus and His work on my behalf. I cannot earn salvation and my exercised faith in Him is what opens the door to Him and His salvation (and potential fellowship; Revelation 3:20). Once I exercise faith in Him and that finished work, God grants me salvation. The first step in that salvation process is for God to change my legal standing before Him, permanently. I literally go from being “unrighteous” to “righteous.” This is a determination, a legal declaration by God that can never change, theoretically, in spite of what I do, what I say, or how I act for the rest of my life. I am saved (present-tense, ongoing). Nothing can change that (Romans 8:31).
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 9
God’s Word – the Bible – is His final revelation to humanity (and this includes the revelation through His Son because the Bible represents that written record of Christ’s life, miracles, and redemptive work). It’s something He began writing through Moses and didn’t stop until all the “t’s” were crossed and “i’s” dotted by the apostle John. In that volume – the Bible – is what God wants us to know about Him. Is it all there is to know about God? Absolutely not, but it is all that God believes we need to know now, while we are in this life.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 7
Now, consider the couple that grows apart. This can happen to everyone. We marry under the delusion that those feelings of euphoria will always be there. Sleep? Who needs it. Food? Nah, I’ve got “love.” Those feelings fade and the hard work of life takes hold. For many couples, this hard work becomes intolerable and because it feels so much like actual work, one or both partners begins to chaff under it. Soon, they grow tired of the pressure created by the loss of feelings and start looking elsewhere to find them again. This means they might pour themselves into their work or have an affair. In either case, even though they haven’t argued, they have grown apart. The fellowship has stopped and one or both are looking elsewhere for “fellowship” that they should only be looking for and expecting with their lawfully wedded spouse.
Continue Reading December 7, 2015 at 11:52 AM Leave a comment
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 8
In short, unlike human beings with whom we are in relationship, we are in relationship with an invisible God who, though He has a human form (in God the Son), remains invisible to us because He does not physically live in this dimension. The only possible way we can get to know God and fellowship with Him is through His revelation we call the Bible. That’s it. Certainly, the Holy Spirit who indwells us, teaches us God’s truth from that source and does many other things as well, but chiefly, the Bible is our guide to our fellowship with God Almighty.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 5
While it is also absolutely true that there is nothing we can do to change our legal standing before God once He declares us righteous, there are things we can do that cause our fellowship with Him to be broken. This happens when we sin, when we adopt a rebellious attitude, when we do things that bring Him dishonor. These things break our fellowship with God and will remain so until we come to a point of recognizing our sin and in contrition, admitting it to God. It is only at that point can fellowship with us be restored. Short of that, we live outside of fellowship with Him, though we continue to be legally declared righteous.
Continue Reading December 7, 2015 at 7:07 AM Leave a comment
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 6
I need you to understand that it is God who grants us salvation. Christ’s sacrifice opens the door and through faith, we walk through that door to take hold of and gain salvation, which God freely gives to those who believe in Him. Salvation opens the door to fellowship with God and the quality (or lack) of fellowship is totally up to us. While the state of our salvation can never change, our fellowship is dependent upon us and how we long for God.
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