Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "old-life"
Adam, meet Adam
When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the Lord dried up the water for them to do so. When they crossed the Jordan River, the Lord likewise dried up that water near the town of Adam, so they could cross over on dry ground. The symbolism is intriguing.
We must die to living in and for the world, symbolized by the exit from Egypt which ended by crossing the Red Sea. At the Red SeaGod's people died to their old sinful life (the first Adam). They were cut off from returning to Egypt. But that only begins the matter. We also must rise out of death to newness of life, symbolized by crossing the Jordan River and receiving our inheritance in the Promised Land.
In our earthly existence we are not merely to be born again. We are then to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are to mature spiritually into reborn adults, just as surely as newborns are to mature into adults in the natural realm.
By drying up the waters of both the Rea Sea and the Jordan River, the Lord taught both aspects of being new creations in Christ Jesus. The Promised Land symbolized victorious spiritual living, while the wilderness wanderings typified defeated carnal living. If we don’t enter the Promised Land and live by faith, then we are wandering the desert and living by sight.
If the Church would grasp this truth, not just intellectually but spiritually, what vast expanses would appear on the horizon! Revival would be the result. We mustn't merely call people to the front of the church building to “receive Jesus”, dear friends. We must needs rear them with strong spiritual meat to nourish them into spiritual maturity.
I fear that too often newborn spiritual babes are rushed into “serving Jesus”, into getting busy “doing things for Jesus”, before they are taught enough to grow up in Jesus. First we must be born again. Next we must spiritually mature enough to know our spiritual gifts. Only then are we equipped to know God's ministry for our lives and perform it under the power of the Holy Spirit.
We must die to living in and for the world, symbolized by the exit from Egypt which ended by crossing the Red Sea. At the Red SeaGod's people died to their old sinful life (the first Adam). They were cut off from returning to Egypt. But that only begins the matter. We also must rise out of death to newness of life, symbolized by crossing the Jordan River and receiving our inheritance in the Promised Land.
In our earthly existence we are not merely to be born again. We are then to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are to mature spiritually into reborn adults, just as surely as newborns are to mature into adults in the natural realm.
By drying up the waters of both the Rea Sea and the Jordan River, the Lord taught both aspects of being new creations in Christ Jesus. The Promised Land symbolized victorious spiritual living, while the wilderness wanderings typified defeated carnal living. If we don’t enter the Promised Land and live by faith, then we are wandering the desert and living by sight.
If the Church would grasp this truth, not just intellectually but spiritually, what vast expanses would appear on the horizon! Revival would be the result. We mustn't merely call people to the front of the church building to “receive Jesus”, dear friends. We must needs rear them with strong spiritual meat to nourish them into spiritual maturity.
I fear that too often newborn spiritual babes are rushed into “serving Jesus”, into getting busy “doing things for Jesus”, before they are taught enough to grow up in Jesus. First we must be born again. Next we must spiritually mature enough to know our spiritual gifts. Only then are we equipped to know God's ministry for our lives and perform it under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Like being sanctified...
I remember a popular song back in the day with the lyrics, "like being sanctified". No, that song hasn't a thing to do with this post. So if you want to discuss the song, go to your mp3s!
Imagine a person who commits a crime and is hauled before the judge to stand trial. The evidence against him is inconclusive so the judge pounds his gavel on the judge's bench and thunders, "Not guilty!" The man has just been justified. Trouble is, he IS guilty of the crime. In fact his life is filled with guilt for breaking the law.
This is where sanctification enters the picture. The guilty person has been freed from guilt for his crime. Double jeopardy prevents him from being retried for it. However, he does have a penchant for committing crimes. Will he return to his life of crime, or will he turn over a new leaf?
The word sanctification is a theology textbook word for turning over a new leaf. A saint is a sinner who has been justified. He/she has accepted the Lord's provision of forgiveness for sins, based upon the death on the cross of Jesus Christ for man's sins and his resurrection out of death. This acceptance was achieved by grace through faith. This means that the Bible stated this to be true, and he/she accepted in both the head and the heart that the Bible is true and acted accordingly.
The word sanctification refers to the continual present tense of a person's life, the day-to-day actions of a person in rejecting the old life of living for self and instead substitute the new life of living for Jesus. This is NOT a life of doing what seems good in our own estimation. It IS a life of faith, of feeding on the Bible daily in quiet time alone with the Lord to learn what He wants us to do, and then doing it.
Justification is a once-for-all act where we accept God's offer of forgiveness for sins by accepting the Lord Jesus' death on the cross as our substitute death, and receiving His new resurrection life in its place. Sanctification is our day-to-day action of refusing to live the old life of doing what seems right in our own eyes and living for self, but instead living according to what the Bible teaches us to do. This can only be done by quiet time alone with the Lord Jesus daily, in prayer and meditation on the Bible.
Justification is a one time, once-for-all act, with consequences which continue through the present time. In Grammar this is known as the perfect tense. Sanctification, contrariwise, is a present tense affair. It continues day in and day out throughout our lifetime.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure [Philippians 2:12-13]. God already worked His salvation in us. That is justification. Our job as those who are born again and therefore kids in God's family is to live like it, to work out what God has already worked in us. This is sanctification.
Imagine a person who commits a crime and is hauled before the judge to stand trial. The evidence against him is inconclusive so the judge pounds his gavel on the judge's bench and thunders, "Not guilty!" The man has just been justified. Trouble is, he IS guilty of the crime. In fact his life is filled with guilt for breaking the law.
This is where sanctification enters the picture. The guilty person has been freed from guilt for his crime. Double jeopardy prevents him from being retried for it. However, he does have a penchant for committing crimes. Will he return to his life of crime, or will he turn over a new leaf?
The word sanctification is a theology textbook word for turning over a new leaf. A saint is a sinner who has been justified. He/she has accepted the Lord's provision of forgiveness for sins, based upon the death on the cross of Jesus Christ for man's sins and his resurrection out of death. This acceptance was achieved by grace through faith. This means that the Bible stated this to be true, and he/she accepted in both the head and the heart that the Bible is true and acted accordingly.
The word sanctification refers to the continual present tense of a person's life, the day-to-day actions of a person in rejecting the old life of living for self and instead substitute the new life of living for Jesus. This is NOT a life of doing what seems good in our own estimation. It IS a life of faith, of feeding on the Bible daily in quiet time alone with the Lord to learn what He wants us to do, and then doing it.
Justification is a once-for-all act where we accept God's offer of forgiveness for sins by accepting the Lord Jesus' death on the cross as our substitute death, and receiving His new resurrection life in its place. Sanctification is our day-to-day action of refusing to live the old life of doing what seems right in our own eyes and living for self, but instead living according to what the Bible teaches us to do. This can only be done by quiet time alone with the Lord Jesus daily, in prayer and meditation on the Bible.
Justification is a one time, once-for-all act, with consequences which continue through the present time. In Grammar this is known as the perfect tense. Sanctification, contrariwise, is a present tense affair. It continues day in and day out throughout our lifetime.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure [Philippians 2:12-13]. God already worked His salvation in us. That is justification. Our job as those who are born again and therefore kids in God's family is to live like it, to work out what God has already worked in us. This is sanctification.
Turkey or jerky?
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift [2 Corinthians 9:15].
Seems a fitting thought in the Thanksgiving season, does it not? God's "gift" is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that He GAVE. Something "given" is a "gift".
This gift is "indescribable". It cannot be described. It cannot be put into words suitable to depict it. While we were still sinners—that is, while we hated God, shook our fist at him in rage, and bellicosely blurted anathemas at Him, saying, "We won't have this man Jesus to reign over us!"—while we were content to be like that, God gave His only Son to die as a sin offering in our stead. Yes, indescribable.
"Thanks be to God". It was God Who did this, so our thanksgiving belongs to Him. Yes, thanks should ring out for His indescribable gift of Jesus the Son of God.
So then why am I not feeling particularly thankful at this time? Go figure. Perhaps I had too much turkey...or was that too much beef jerky? Turkey. Now that is soft and edible, and usually quite tasty. It should evoke thanksgiving from us.
I can't speak for you, but beef jerky? Now that is another matter altogether! Can you imagine sitting around the family table for Thanksgiving, the full course meal spread out in decorative fashion, and there in the center is the turkey? Scratch that, it's not turkey at all. It's beef jerky!
Didn't think so. I can't imagine that either. Turkey is appreciated on Thanksgiving by most folks, but beef jerky only appeals to a select bunch. And no one wants it on Thanksgiving in place of the turkey! Maybe that's it. Maybe, just maybe, I've been indulging myself with beef jerky. Think I better switch to the turkey because Thanksgiving is not for crab apple faints: it's for cranberry saints.
Lord, You are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Forgive me, please, and fill my heart with Your joy. I want to be filled with thanksgiving for You on Thanksgiving Day and always. Amen.
Seems a fitting thought in the Thanksgiving season, does it not? God's "gift" is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that He GAVE. Something "given" is a "gift".
This gift is "indescribable". It cannot be described. It cannot be put into words suitable to depict it. While we were still sinners—that is, while we hated God, shook our fist at him in rage, and bellicosely blurted anathemas at Him, saying, "We won't have this man Jesus to reign over us!"—while we were content to be like that, God gave His only Son to die as a sin offering in our stead. Yes, indescribable.
"Thanks be to God". It was God Who did this, so our thanksgiving belongs to Him. Yes, thanks should ring out for His indescribable gift of Jesus the Son of God.
So then why am I not feeling particularly thankful at this time? Go figure. Perhaps I had too much turkey...or was that too much beef jerky? Turkey. Now that is soft and edible, and usually quite tasty. It should evoke thanksgiving from us.
I can't speak for you, but beef jerky? Now that is another matter altogether! Can you imagine sitting around the family table for Thanksgiving, the full course meal spread out in decorative fashion, and there in the center is the turkey? Scratch that, it's not turkey at all. It's beef jerky!
Didn't think so. I can't imagine that either. Turkey is appreciated on Thanksgiving by most folks, but beef jerky only appeals to a select bunch. And no one wants it on Thanksgiving in place of the turkey! Maybe that's it. Maybe, just maybe, I've been indulging myself with beef jerky. Think I better switch to the turkey because Thanksgiving is not for crab apple faints: it's for cranberry saints.
Lord, You are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Forgive me, please, and fill my heart with Your joy. I want to be filled with thanksgiving for You on Thanksgiving Day and always. Amen.
God's Dictionary
It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring [Romans 9:6-8].
The Apostle Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He was not ashamed of his lineage. He was, however, ashamed of the natural man, the sinner. The Lord taught him that natural birth can only breed sinners. We must be born again. This applies to Jews as well as to Gentiles (non-Jews).
Abraham had many descendants, but only those of the lineage of Isaac were incorporated in the Lord's covenant. Abraham's progeny had nothing to do with it either. Those in the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it. Those outside the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it.
This teaches us that it is all of God's grace, not man's goodness or worth or smarts or athleticism, or anything else in all creation. This logically raises the question, "Then why are we accountable?" We could answer it philosophically by visiting with Aristotle. No good ever came of that, though, so we pass.
God's mysterious workings are inscrutable to us, His mere creatures. Instead of attempting to descry eternal things which are beyond our temporal abilities, we would be better served to stick with the text. So let's return to the text now.
By His own sovereign choice God chose Abraham. By His own sovereign choice He chose Isaac. Abraham's other kids were not included in God's covenant with Abraham. That is the point Paul made. God created the nation of Israel to be His people and He their King. Those who submitted to Him were His people. Those who didn't were not. That is how God's Dictionary defines a true Israelite.
He made this point to note that natural birth does not make anyone a child of God. The context for Paul's words in Romans 9-11 had to do with the Hebrews, not the Gentiles. Yes, we Gentiles also must be born again, but that isn't Paul's subject matter here.
Paul taught the Gentile Christians in Rome how they should understand the situation with the Jewish people. Just because someone was born of Abraham did not make them God's kid. Some of the Hebrews received Jesus and so they were God's kids. Others didn't, so they were not God's kids. Their natural birth did not determine it. Their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah did.
Back in Paul's day the Jewish authorities, who controlled the Jewish communities throughout the world, violently rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They persecuted those Jews who accepted Him. These Gentile Christians in Rome were hated by the Jewish leaders because they promoted what the Jewish leaders considered to be heresy.
Paul wanted them to understand that salvation was an individual matter, not an ethnic one. Yes, the Jewish communities overall made life difficult for Christianity because their leadership instigated it. Nonetheless, many Jews did receive Jesus and were born again. Ergo, the Christians should not see people as their enemies based on ethnicity—in Paul's case because they were Jews—but they should share Jesus with everyone, including the Jews.
This is not much understood today. There is no way to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6). Culture isn't the issue. Ethnicity isn't the issue. Christianity is hated because the Word of God denies that all religions are different approaches for getting into heaven. Every person MUST be born again, and Jesus is the only way to reach that destination. Hard words, these. But we dare not deny them!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Apostle Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He was not ashamed of his lineage. He was, however, ashamed of the natural man, the sinner. The Lord taught him that natural birth can only breed sinners. We must be born again. This applies to Jews as well as to Gentiles (non-Jews).
Abraham had many descendants, but only those of the lineage of Isaac were incorporated in the Lord's covenant. Abraham's progeny had nothing to do with it either. Those in the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it. Those outside the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it.
This teaches us that it is all of God's grace, not man's goodness or worth or smarts or athleticism, or anything else in all creation. This logically raises the question, "Then why are we accountable?" We could answer it philosophically by visiting with Aristotle. No good ever came of that, though, so we pass.
God's mysterious workings are inscrutable to us, His mere creatures. Instead of attempting to descry eternal things which are beyond our temporal abilities, we would be better served to stick with the text. So let's return to the text now.
By His own sovereign choice God chose Abraham. By His own sovereign choice He chose Isaac. Abraham's other kids were not included in God's covenant with Abraham. That is the point Paul made. God created the nation of Israel to be His people and He their King. Those who submitted to Him were His people. Those who didn't were not. That is how God's Dictionary defines a true Israelite.
He made this point to note that natural birth does not make anyone a child of God. The context for Paul's words in Romans 9-11 had to do with the Hebrews, not the Gentiles. Yes, we Gentiles also must be born again, but that isn't Paul's subject matter here.
Paul taught the Gentile Christians in Rome how they should understand the situation with the Jewish people. Just because someone was born of Abraham did not make them God's kid. Some of the Hebrews received Jesus and so they were God's kids. Others didn't, so they were not God's kids. Their natural birth did not determine it. Their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah did.
Back in Paul's day the Jewish authorities, who controlled the Jewish communities throughout the world, violently rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They persecuted those Jews who accepted Him. These Gentile Christians in Rome were hated by the Jewish leaders because they promoted what the Jewish leaders considered to be heresy.
Paul wanted them to understand that salvation was an individual matter, not an ethnic one. Yes, the Jewish communities overall made life difficult for Christianity because their leadership instigated it. Nonetheless, many Jews did receive Jesus and were born again. Ergo, the Christians should not see people as their enemies based on ethnicity—in Paul's case because they were Jews—but they should share Jesus with everyone, including the Jews.
This is not much understood today. There is no way to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6). Culture isn't the issue. Ethnicity isn't the issue. Christianity is hated because the Word of God denies that all religions are different approaches for getting into heaven. Every person MUST be born again, and Jesus is the only way to reach that destination. Hard words, these. But we dare not deny them!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Like being sanctified...
I remember a popular song back in the day with the lyrics, "like being sanctified". No, that song hasn't a thing to do with this post. So if you want to discuss the song, go to your mp3s!
Imagine a person who commits a crime and is hauled before the judge to stand trial. The evidence against him is inconclusive so the judge pounds his gavel on the judge's bench and thunders, "Not guilty!" The man has just been justified. Trouble is, he IS guilty of the crime. In fact his life is filled with guilt for breaking the law.
This is where sanctification enters the picture. The guilty person has been freed from guilt for his crime. Double jeopardy prevents him from being retried for it. However, he does have a penchant for committing crimes. Will he return to his life of crime, or will he turn over a new leaf?
The word sanctification is a theology textbook word for turning over a new leaf. A saint is a sinner who has been justified. He/she has accepted the Lord's provision of forgiveness for sins, based upon the death on the cross of Jesus Christ for man's sins and his resurrection out of death. This acceptance was achieved by grace through faith. This means that the Bible stated this to be true, and he/she accepted in both the head and the heart that the Bible is true and acted accordingly.
The word sanctification refers to the continual present tense of a person's life, the day-to-day actions of a person in rejecting the old life of living for self and instead substitute the new life of living for Jesus. This is NOT a life of doing what seems good in our own estimation. It IS a life of faith, of feeding on the Bible daily in quiet time alone with the Lord to learn what He wants us to do, and then doing it.
Justification is a once-for-all act where we accept God's offer of forgiveness for sins by accepting the Lord Jesus' death on the cross as our substitute death, and receiving His new resurrection life in its place. Sanctification is our day-to-day action of refusing to live the old life of doing what seems right in our own eyes and living for self, but instead living according to what the Bible teaches us to do. This can only be done by quiet time alone with the Lord Jesus daily, in prayer and meditation on the Bible.
Justification is a one time, once-for-all act, with consequences which continue through the present time. In Grammar this is known as the perfect tense. Sanctification, contrariwise, is a present tense affair. It continues day in and day out throughout our lifetime.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure [Philippians 2:12-13]. God already worked His salvation in us. That is justification. Our job as those who are born again and therefore kids in God's family is to live like it, to work out what God has already worked in us. This is sanctification.
Imagine a person who commits a crime and is hauled before the judge to stand trial. The evidence against him is inconclusive so the judge pounds his gavel on the judge's bench and thunders, "Not guilty!" The man has just been justified. Trouble is, he IS guilty of the crime. In fact his life is filled with guilt for breaking the law.
This is where sanctification enters the picture. The guilty person has been freed from guilt for his crime. Double jeopardy prevents him from being retried for it. However, he does have a penchant for committing crimes. Will he return to his life of crime, or will he turn over a new leaf?
The word sanctification is a theology textbook word for turning over a new leaf. A saint is a sinner who has been justified. He/she has accepted the Lord's provision of forgiveness for sins, based upon the death on the cross of Jesus Christ for man's sins and his resurrection out of death. This acceptance was achieved by grace through faith. This means that the Bible stated this to be true, and he/she accepted in both the head and the heart that the Bible is true and acted accordingly.
The word sanctification refers to the continual present tense of a person's life, the day-to-day actions of a person in rejecting the old life of living for self and instead substitute the new life of living for Jesus. This is NOT a life of doing what seems good in our own estimation. It IS a life of faith, of feeding on the Bible daily in quiet time alone with the Lord to learn what He wants us to do, and then doing it.
Justification is a once-for-all act where we accept God's offer of forgiveness for sins by accepting the Lord Jesus' death on the cross as our substitute death, and receiving His new resurrection life in its place. Sanctification is our day-to-day action of refusing to live the old life of doing what seems right in our own eyes and living for self, but instead living according to what the Bible teaches us to do. This can only be done by quiet time alone with the Lord Jesus daily, in prayer and meditation on the Bible.
Justification is a one time, once-for-all act, with consequences which continue through the present time. In Grammar this is known as the perfect tense. Sanctification, contrariwise, is a present tense affair. It continues day in and day out throughout our lifetime.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure [Philippians 2:12-13]. God already worked His salvation in us. That is justification. Our job as those who are born again and therefore kids in God's family is to live like it, to work out what God has already worked in us. This is sanctification.
Turkey or jerkey?
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift [2 Corinthians 9:15].
Seems a fitting thought in the Thanksgiving season, does it not? God's "gift" is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that He GAVE. Something "given" is a "gift".
This gift is "indescribable". It cannot be described. It cannot be put into words suitable to depict it. While we were still sinners—that is, while we hated God, shook our fist at him in rage, and bellicosely blurted anathemas at Him, saying, "We won't have this man Jesus to reign over us!"—while we were content to be like that, God gave His only Son to die as a sin offering in our stead. Yes, indescribable.
"Thanks be to God". It was God Who did this, so our thanksgiving belongs to Him. Yes, thanks should ring out for His indescribable gift of Jesus the Son of God.
So then why am I not feeling particularly thankful at this time? Go figure. Perhaps I had too much turkey...or was that too much beef jerky? Turkey. Now that is soft and edible, and usually quite tasty. It should evoke thanksgiving from us.
I can't speak for you, but beef jerky? Now that is another matter altogether! Can you imagine sitting around the family table for Thanksgiving, the full course meal spread out in decorative fashion, and there in the center is the turkey? Scratch that, it's not turkey at all. It's beef jerky!
Didn't think so. I can't imagine that either. Turkey is appreciated on Thanksgiving by most folks, but beef jerky only appeals to a select bunch. And no one wants it on Thanksgiving in place of the turkey! Maybe that's it. Maybe, just maybe, I've been indulging myself with beef jerky. Think I better switch to the turkey because Thanksgiving is not for crab apple faints: it's for cranberry saints.
Lord, You are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Forgive me, please, and fill my heart with Your joy. I want to be filled with thanksgiving for You on Thanksgiving Day and always. Amen.
Seems a fitting thought in the Thanksgiving season, does it not? God's "gift" is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that He GAVE. Something "given" is a "gift".
This gift is "indescribable". It cannot be described. It cannot be put into words suitable to depict it. While we were still sinners—that is, while we hated God, shook our fist at him in rage, and bellicosely blurted anathemas at Him, saying, "We won't have this man Jesus to reign over us!"—while we were content to be like that, God gave His only Son to die as a sin offering in our stead. Yes, indescribable.
"Thanks be to God". It was God Who did this, so our thanksgiving belongs to Him. Yes, thanks should ring out for His indescribable gift of Jesus the Son of God.
So then why am I not feeling particularly thankful at this time? Go figure. Perhaps I had too much turkey...or was that too much beef jerky? Turkey. Now that is soft and edible, and usually quite tasty. It should evoke thanksgiving from us.
I can't speak for you, but beef jerky? Now that is another matter altogether! Can you imagine sitting around the family table for Thanksgiving, the full course meal spread out in decorative fashion, and there in the center is the turkey? Scratch that, it's not turkey at all. It's beef jerky!
Didn't think so. I can't imagine that either. Turkey is appreciated on Thanksgiving by most folks, but beef jerky only appeals to a select bunch. And no one wants it on Thanksgiving in place of the turkey! Maybe that's it. Maybe, just maybe, I've been indulging myself with beef jerky. Think I better switch to the turkey because Thanksgiving is not for crab apple faints: it's for cranberry saints.
Lord, You are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Forgive me, please, and fill my heart with Your joy. I want to be filled with thanksgiving for You on Thanksgiving Day and always. Amen.
God’s Dictionary
It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring [Romans 9:6-8].
The Apostle Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He was not ashamed of his lineage. He was, however, ashamed of the natural man, the sinner. The Lord taught him that natural birth can only breed sinners. We must be born again. This applies to Jews as well as to Gentiles (non-Jews).
Abraham had many descendants, but only those of the lineage of Isaac were incorporated in the Lord's covenant. Abraham's progeny had nothing to do with it either. Those in the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it. Those outside the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it.
This teaches us that it is all of God's grace, not man's goodness or worth or smarts or athleticism, or anything else in all creation. This logically raises the question, "Then why are we accountable?" We could answer it philosophically by visiting with Aristotle. No good ever came of that, though, so we pass.
God's mysterious workings are inscrutable to us, His mere creatures. Instead of attempting to descry eternal things which are beyond our temporal abilities, we would be better served to stick with the text. So let's return to the text now.
By His own sovereign choice God chose Abraham. By His own sovereign choice He chose Isaac. Abraham's other kids were not included in God's covenant with Abraham. That is the point Paul made. God created the nation of Israel to be His people and He their King. Those who submitted to Him were His people. Those who didn't were not. That is how God's Dictionary defines a true Israelite.
He made this point to note that natural birth does not make anyone a child of God. The context for Paul's words in Romans 9-11 had to do with the Hebrews, not the Gentiles. Yes, we Gentiles also must be born again, but that isn't Paul's subject matter here.
Paul taught the Gentile Christians in Rome how they should understand the situation with the Jewish people. Just because someone was born of Abraham did not make them God's kid. Some of the Hebrews received Jesus and so they were God's kids. Others didn't, so they were not God's kids. Their natural birth did not determine it. Their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah did.
Back in Paul's day the Jewish authorities, who controlled the Jewish communities throughout the world, violently rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They persecuted those Jews who accepted Him. These Gentile Christians in Rome were hated by the Jewish leaders because they promoted what the Jewish leaders considered to be heresy.
Paul wanted them to understand that salvation was an individual matter, not an ethnic one. Yes, the Jewish communities overall made life difficult for Christianity because their leadership instigated it. Nonetheless, many Jews did receive Jesus and were born again. Ergo, the Christians should not see people as their enemies based on ethnicity—in Paul's case because they were Jews—but they should share Jesus with everyone, including the Jews.
This is not much understood today. There is no way to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6). Culture isn't the issue. Ethnicity isn't the issue. Christianity is hated because the Word of God denies that all religions are different approaches for getting into heaven. Every person MUST be born again, and Jesus is the only way to reach that destination. Hard words, these. But we dare not deny them!
The Apostle Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He was not ashamed of his lineage. He was, however, ashamed of the natural man, the sinner. The Lord taught him that natural birth can only breed sinners. We must be born again. This applies to Jews as well as to Gentiles (non-Jews).
Abraham had many descendants, but only those of the lineage of Isaac were incorporated in the Lord's covenant. Abraham's progeny had nothing to do with it either. Those in the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it. Those outside the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it.
This teaches us that it is all of God's grace, not man's goodness or worth or smarts or athleticism, or anything else in all creation. This logically raises the question, "Then why are we accountable?" We could answer it philosophically by visiting with Aristotle. No good ever came of that, though, so we pass.
God's mysterious workings are inscrutable to us, His mere creatures. Instead of attempting to descry eternal things which are beyond our temporal abilities, we would be better served to stick with the text. So let's return to the text now.
By His own sovereign choice God chose Abraham. By His own sovereign choice He chose Isaac. Abraham's other kids were not included in God's covenant with Abraham. That is the point Paul made. God created the nation of Israel to be His people and He their King. Those who submitted to Him were His people. Those who didn't were not. That is how God's Dictionary defines a true Israelite.
He made this point to note that natural birth does not make anyone a child of God. The context for Paul's words in Romans 9-11 had to do with the Hebrews, not the Gentiles. Yes, we Gentiles also must be born again, but that isn't Paul's subject matter here.
Paul taught the Gentile Christians in Rome how they should understand the situation with the Jewish people. Just because someone was born of Abraham did not make them God's kid. Some of the Hebrews received Jesus and so they were God's kids. Others didn't, so they were not God's kids. Their natural birth did not determine it. Their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah did.
Back in Paul's day the Jewish authorities, who controlled the Jewish communities throughout the world, violently rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They persecuted those Jews who accepted Him. These Gentile Christians in Rome were hated by the Jewish leaders because they promoted what the Jewish leaders considered to be heresy.
Paul wanted them to understand that salvation was an individual matter, not an ethnic one. Yes, the Jewish communities overall made life difficult for Christianity because their leadership instigated it. Nonetheless, many Jews did receive Jesus and were born again. Ergo, the Christians should not see people as their enemies based on ethnicity—in Paul's case because they were Jews—but they should share Jesus with everyone, including the Jews.
This is not much understood today. There is no way to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6). Culture isn't the issue. Ethnicity isn't the issue. Christianity is hated because the Word of God denies that all religions are different approaches for getting into heaven. Every person MUST be born again, and Jesus is the only way to reach that destination. Hard words, these. But we dare not deny them!
Like being sanctified...
I remember a popular song back in the day with the lyrics, "like being sanctified". No, that song hasn't a thing to do with this post. So if you want to discuss the song, go to your mp3s!
Imagine a person who commits a crime and is hauled before the judge to stand trial. The evidence against him is inconclusive so the judge pounds his gavel on the judge's bench and thunders, "Not guilty!" The man has just been justified. Trouble is, he is guilty of the crime. In fact his life is filled with guilt for breaking the law.
This is where sanctification enters the picture. The guilty person has been freed from guilt for his crime. Double jeopardy prevents him from being retried for it. However, he does have a penchant for committing crimes. Will he return to his life of crime, or will he turn over a new leaf?
The word sanctification is a theology textbook word for turning over a new leaf. A saint is a sinner who has been justified. He/she has accepted the Lord's provision of forgiveness for sins, based upon the death on the cross of Jesus Christ for man's sins and his resurrection out of death. This acceptance was achieved by grace through faith. This means that the Bible states this to be true, and he/she accepts in both the head and the heart that the Bible is true and acts accordingly.
The word sanctification refers to the continual present tense of a person's life, the day-to-day actions of a person in rejecting the old life of living for self and substituting in its place the new life of living for Jesus. This is not a life of doing what seems good in our own estimation. It is a life of faith, of feeding on the Bible daily in quiet time alone with the Lord to learn what He wants us to do, and then doing it.
Justification is a once-for-all act where we accept God's offer of forgiveness for sins by accepting the Lord Jesus' death on the cross as our substitute death, and receiving His new resurrection life in its place. Sanctification is our day-to-day action of refusing to live the old life of doing what seems right in our own eyes and living for self, but instead living according to what the Bible teaches us to do. This can only be done by quiet time alone with the Lord Jesus daily, in prayer and meditation on the Bible.
Justification is a one time, once-for-all act, with consequences which continue through the present time. In Grammar this is known as the perfect tense. Sanctification, contrariwise, is a present tense affair. It continues day in and day out throughout our lifetime.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure [Philippians 2:12-13]. God already worked His salvation in us. That is justification. Our job as those who are born again and therefore kids in God's family is to live like it, to work out what God has already worked in us. This is sanctification.
Imagine a person who commits a crime and is hauled before the judge to stand trial. The evidence against him is inconclusive so the judge pounds his gavel on the judge's bench and thunders, "Not guilty!" The man has just been justified. Trouble is, he is guilty of the crime. In fact his life is filled with guilt for breaking the law.
This is where sanctification enters the picture. The guilty person has been freed from guilt for his crime. Double jeopardy prevents him from being retried for it. However, he does have a penchant for committing crimes. Will he return to his life of crime, or will he turn over a new leaf?
The word sanctification is a theology textbook word for turning over a new leaf. A saint is a sinner who has been justified. He/she has accepted the Lord's provision of forgiveness for sins, based upon the death on the cross of Jesus Christ for man's sins and his resurrection out of death. This acceptance was achieved by grace through faith. This means that the Bible states this to be true, and he/she accepts in both the head and the heart that the Bible is true and acts accordingly.
The word sanctification refers to the continual present tense of a person's life, the day-to-day actions of a person in rejecting the old life of living for self and substituting in its place the new life of living for Jesus. This is not a life of doing what seems good in our own estimation. It is a life of faith, of feeding on the Bible daily in quiet time alone with the Lord to learn what He wants us to do, and then doing it.
Justification is a once-for-all act where we accept God's offer of forgiveness for sins by accepting the Lord Jesus' death on the cross as our substitute death, and receiving His new resurrection life in its place. Sanctification is our day-to-day action of refusing to live the old life of doing what seems right in our own eyes and living for self, but instead living according to what the Bible teaches us to do. This can only be done by quiet time alone with the Lord Jesus daily, in prayer and meditation on the Bible.
Justification is a one time, once-for-all act, with consequences which continue through the present time. In Grammar this is known as the perfect tense. Sanctification, contrariwise, is a present tense affair. It continues day in and day out throughout our lifetime.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure [Philippians 2:12-13]. God already worked His salvation in us. That is justification. Our job as those who are born again and therefore kids in God's family is to live like it, to work out what God has already worked in us. This is sanctification.
Turkey or jerkey?
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift [2 Corinthians 9:15].
Seems a fitting thought in the Thanksgiving season, does it not? God's "gift" is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that He GAVE. Something "given" is a "gift".
This gift is "indescribable". It cannot be described. It cannot be put into words suitable to depict it. While we were still sinners—that is, while we hated God, shook our fist at him in rage, and bellicosely blurted anathemas at Him, saying, "We won't have this man Jesus to reign over us!"—while we were content to be like that, God gave His only Son to die as a sin offering in our stead. Yes, indescribable.
"Thanks be to God". It was God Who did this, so our thanksgiving belongs to Him. Yes, thanks should ring out for His indescribable gift of Jesus the Son of God.
So then why am I not feeling particularly thankful at this time? Go figure. Perhaps I had too much turkey...or was that too much beef jerky? Turkey. It is soft and edible, and usually quite tasty. It should evoke thanksgiving from us.
I can't speak for you, but beef jerky? That is another matter altogether! Can you imagine sitting around the family table for Thanksgiving, the full course meal spread out in decorative fashion, and there in the center is the turkey? Scratch that, it's not turkey at all. It's beef jerky!
Didn't think so. I can't imagine that either. Turkey is appreciated on Thanksgiving by most folks, but beef jerky only appeals to a select bunch. And no one wants it on Thanksgiving in place of the turkey! Maybe that's it. Maybe, just maybe, I've been indulging myself with beef jerky. Think I better switch to the turkey because Thanksgiving is not for crab apple faints: it's for cranberry saints.
Lord, You are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Forgive me, please, and fill my heart with Your joy. I want to be filled with thanksgiving for You on Thanksgiving Day and always. Amen.
Seems a fitting thought in the Thanksgiving season, does it not? God's "gift" is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that He GAVE. Something "given" is a "gift".
This gift is "indescribable". It cannot be described. It cannot be put into words suitable to depict it. While we were still sinners—that is, while we hated God, shook our fist at him in rage, and bellicosely blurted anathemas at Him, saying, "We won't have this man Jesus to reign over us!"—while we were content to be like that, God gave His only Son to die as a sin offering in our stead. Yes, indescribable.
"Thanks be to God". It was God Who did this, so our thanksgiving belongs to Him. Yes, thanks should ring out for His indescribable gift of Jesus the Son of God.
So then why am I not feeling particularly thankful at this time? Go figure. Perhaps I had too much turkey...or was that too much beef jerky? Turkey. It is soft and edible, and usually quite tasty. It should evoke thanksgiving from us.
I can't speak for you, but beef jerky? That is another matter altogether! Can you imagine sitting around the family table for Thanksgiving, the full course meal spread out in decorative fashion, and there in the center is the turkey? Scratch that, it's not turkey at all. It's beef jerky!
Didn't think so. I can't imagine that either. Turkey is appreciated on Thanksgiving by most folks, but beef jerky only appeals to a select bunch. And no one wants it on Thanksgiving in place of the turkey! Maybe that's it. Maybe, just maybe, I've been indulging myself with beef jerky. Think I better switch to the turkey because Thanksgiving is not for crab apple faints: it's for cranberry saints.
Lord, You are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Forgive me, please, and fill my heart with Your joy. I want to be filled with thanksgiving for You on Thanksgiving Day and always. Amen.
God’s Dictionary
It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring [Romans 9:6-8].
The Apostle Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He was not ashamed of his lineage. He was, however, ashamed of the natural man, the sinner. The Lord taught him that natural birth can only breed sinners. We must be born again. This applies to Jews as well as to Gentiles (non-Jews).
Abraham had many descendants, but only those of the lineage of Isaac were incorporated in the Lord's covenant. Abraham's progeny had nothing to do with it either. Those in the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it. Those outside the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born outside of it.
This teaches us that it is all of God's grace, not man's goodness or worth or smarts or athleticism, or anything else in all creation. This logically raises the question, "Then why are we accountable?" We could answer it philosophically by visiting with Aristotle. No good ever came of that, though, so we pass.
God's mysterious workings are inscrutable to us, His mere creatures. Instead of attempting to descry eternal things which are beyond our temporal abilities, we would be better served to stick with the text. So let's return to the text now.
By His own sovereign choice God chose Abraham. By His own sovereign choice He chose Isaac. Abraham's other kids were not included in God's covenant with Abraham. That is the point Paul made. God created the nation of Israel to be His people and He their King. Those who submitted to Him were His people. Those who didn't were not. That is how God's Dictionary defines a true Israelite.
He made this point to note that natural birth does not make anyone a child of God. The context for Paul's words in Romans 9-11 had to do with the Hebrews, not the Gentiles. Yes, we Gentiles also must be born again, but that isn't Paul's subject matter here.
Paul taught the Gentile Christians in Rome how they should understand the situation with the Jewish people. Just because someone was born of Abraham did not make them God's kid. Some of the Hebrews received Jesus and so they were God's kids. Others didn't, so they were not God's kids. Their natural birth did not determine it. Their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah did.
Back in Paul's day the Jewish authorities, who controlled the Jewish communities throughout the world, violently rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They persecuted those Jews who accepted Him. Those Gentile Christians in Rome were hated by the Jewish leaders because they promoted what the Jewish leaders considered to be heresy.
Paul wanted them to understand that salvation was an individual matter, not an ethnic one. Yes, the Jewish communities overall made life difficult for Christianity because their leadership instigated it. Nonetheless, many Jews did receive Jesus and were born again. Ergo, the Christians should not see people as their enemies based on ethnicity—in Paul's case because they were Jews—but they should share Jesus with everyone, including the Jews.
This is not much understood today. There is no way to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6). Culture isn't the issue. Ethnicity isn't the issue. Christianity is hated because the Word of God denies that all religions are different approaches for getting into heaven. Every person MUST be born again, and Jesus is the only way to reach that destination. Hard words, these. But we dare not deny them!
The Apostle Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He was not ashamed of his lineage. He was, however, ashamed of the natural man, the sinner. The Lord taught him that natural birth can only breed sinners. We must be born again. This applies to Jews as well as to Gentiles (non-Jews).
Abraham had many descendants, but only those of the lineage of Isaac were incorporated in the Lord's covenant. Abraham's progeny had nothing to do with it either. Those in the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born into it. Those outside the covenant didn't choose to be so. They were born outside of it.
This teaches us that it is all of God's grace, not man's goodness or worth or smarts or athleticism, or anything else in all creation. This logically raises the question, "Then why are we accountable?" We could answer it philosophically by visiting with Aristotle. No good ever came of that, though, so we pass.
God's mysterious workings are inscrutable to us, His mere creatures. Instead of attempting to descry eternal things which are beyond our temporal abilities, we would be better served to stick with the text. So let's return to the text now.
By His own sovereign choice God chose Abraham. By His own sovereign choice He chose Isaac. Abraham's other kids were not included in God's covenant with Abraham. That is the point Paul made. God created the nation of Israel to be His people and He their King. Those who submitted to Him were His people. Those who didn't were not. That is how God's Dictionary defines a true Israelite.
He made this point to note that natural birth does not make anyone a child of God. The context for Paul's words in Romans 9-11 had to do with the Hebrews, not the Gentiles. Yes, we Gentiles also must be born again, but that isn't Paul's subject matter here.
Paul taught the Gentile Christians in Rome how they should understand the situation with the Jewish people. Just because someone was born of Abraham did not make them God's kid. Some of the Hebrews received Jesus and so they were God's kids. Others didn't, so they were not God's kids. Their natural birth did not determine it. Their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah did.
Back in Paul's day the Jewish authorities, who controlled the Jewish communities throughout the world, violently rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They persecuted those Jews who accepted Him. Those Gentile Christians in Rome were hated by the Jewish leaders because they promoted what the Jewish leaders considered to be heresy.
Paul wanted them to understand that salvation was an individual matter, not an ethnic one. Yes, the Jewish communities overall made life difficult for Christianity because their leadership instigated it. Nonetheless, many Jews did receive Jesus and were born again. Ergo, the Christians should not see people as their enemies based on ethnicity—in Paul's case because they were Jews—but they should share Jesus with everyone, including the Jews.
This is not much understood today. There is no way to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6). Culture isn't the issue. Ethnicity isn't the issue. Christianity is hated because the Word of God denies that all religions are different approaches for getting into heaven. Every person MUST be born again, and Jesus is the only way to reach that destination. Hard words, these. But we dare not deny them!
