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Concept of Grace

Concept of Grace

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Satan really wants you to realize you are a bad person; he wants you to think you cannot obey the rules God set before you. He wants you to think that knowing you will fail in The Law, leaves little options on how to get to God. He wants you to seek the pleasures of this world instead of the demands of it. He may even take the route of letting you feel comfortable in the religiosity of your church participation, the rituals that you go through to fell good about yourself for the week. Satan has many tactics to keep your eyes and heart from the promises found in God’s grace. Grace is an undeserved gift, freely giving you what you do not deserve. God’s grace is found in the sacrifice of his Son, to justify the necessary sin debt due; to open the door to eternal paradise with Him. Satan never wants you to grasp the concept of Grace.

Galatians 2:17-21 is a confrontation between the apostles Peter and Paul. Peter had exemplified hypocrisy, and to the point that many followed his lead. He dwelled with the sinners (Gentiles), until the religious Jews arrived. He then removed himself and ate what only the Jews ate, to appear holy and righteous. Paul called him out on it, and presented the Gospel of God’s grace to all that would hear. 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (ESV) The purpose of the Law is to point us to our need of Christ. It is to reveal our sin to us, and to help us understand that we cannot abide by the Law to become righteous before God. Any works based faith goes against all of God’s grace found in Christ.

I grew up thinking you went to heaven because you went to church. It was not until much later in life that I came to grasp the concept of Grace. In that realization of a life of rebellion against God, it humbled me. How could God not strike me down and condemn me for the sinful lifestyle I had lead? How could God offer me anything, let alone everything, without paying a price? A humble heart that repents and pleas for the forgiveness found through Christ will be transformed. Grasping that Grace produces a life as a disciple; produces the good works after Salvation, not as a means to earn it. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. (ESV) I now seek to live my life for God; to make my life about the eternal, and not the temporary work or pleasures found here. If you truly grasp the concept of Grace, you will rest in the hope and promises of it, and dedicate your life to it.

Hypocrisy

16 Jan

Hypocrisy

Matthew 23:1-4 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

Matthew 23 is a chapter that Christ bears down on the self-proclaimed religious of that time. The scribe and the Pharisee were interpreters of the law of Moses; the book of the Torah; God’s word and commandments to early Israel. They fancied themselves high above others; their pride was the backbone of their existence. The felt separated, elevated, chosen, above, special……one could make an endless list of the adjectives wrapped up into their self-worth. But in reality all they were was religious. They were wrapped up in religiosity in their pride; and they were not only failing miserably in trying to reach God, but they were dragging those seeking God down the path to hell with them.

The term hypocrite is used nine times in Jesus’s condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23. He points early in the chapter of them knowing what to do, yet not even lifting a finger to do it. Hypocrisy is simply the act of saying one thing and doing another; not living what you believe or preach. We all know it; we all have done it; we all know that it is one of the leading reasons people look down upon Christianity. They see our hypocrisy lived out every day when we tell them we go to church every Sunday. If you are the only Bible, or the only example of a Christian to a lost soul every day, how do they view Christians based solely on your example? 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

I have been having the discussions of religiosity with a friend of mine. Of the people who feel good about themselves for going to church every Sunday; fulfilling their obligation of their Christian duty. The only time they think of their Christian duty is that Sunday morning; living for the cares of the world the other 6.5 days in the week. I lived most of my life as that person; I know the false comfort found in religiosity. Many will pay for that mistake eternally when they stand before Christ and He says he did not know them. Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ That is the most terrifying scripture in the Bible! It alone should stir you to pursue Christ with every essence of your being; living a life dedicated to him every single day; a life so given over to him you are filled with the peace that you know He knows you; for he speaks to you every single day.

You don’t have to go to seminary to be a disciple

15 Nov

You don’t have to go to seminary to be a disciple

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

To understand the good news, you must first understand the bad. You are going to be punished in hell if you believe that you can obtain your Salvation by any other means than the understanding that is only comes through Christ alone. John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. The idea that any good works earn you any merit towards your salvation is a false teaching. You earn nothing by going to church every week; by repetitious prayers required from priests; by the good deeds to outweigh the bad; by anything that has an act of the requirement of religion behind it. There will be many in hell that were in church every Sunday feeling good about themselves for doing so. Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Religion is the false security found in oneself on the acts falsely required of it.

Hope is not lost now that you question all your religiosity. Hope is gained in the simplicity of the Gospel. Gospel is actually defined as good news. The good news is that, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:17) The way to the obtain God’s saving grace through His son is the understanding that you can never do ANYTHING to earn it. Pride is at the root of all sin, and pride is at the root of all the religiosity of merits to earn God’s favor. You can only enter the narrow gate of forgiveness by removing the swollen heart of pride, and accepting Christ’s free gift. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. A humble repentant heart in that understanding; a plea for forgiveness of one’s sins; and a desire to live one’s life for Christ will gain eternal paradise. Christ holds the key, and only through Him may the gate be opened for you. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

What do we now do with all that we freely gained? Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. This is known as the Great Commission; Christ’s last words before He ascended into heaven. You are called to action; you are to be a disciple sharing the Good News to all that He places before you. He may use your testimony, but He always uses the power found in the words of the Gospel. You cannot continue to live in sin, nor in your religiosity, once you have come to the understanding of the Gospel, and it’s power to save. Being a disciple does not require a seminary degree. It only requires a heart that produces good works as a result of the realization of the simplicity of the Gospel. The good works we once believed earned our merit before God, now are the product of a heart transformed with Christ. A disciple longs to share all that they have gained in Him. A disciple feels the urgency of the need for the Good News to those around them. A disciple plea is for God to use them.

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Tag Archives: religiosity

Concept of Grace

Hypocrisy

You don’t have to go to seminary to be a disciple

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