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Posts Tagged ‘eternal life’

Sin Has No Right – Romans 8:3

01 Feb

(Romans 8:3Romans 8:3
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: for sin: or, by a sacrifice for sin  

WP-Bible plugin)  “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”

The Law could forbid me.  The Law could scold my conscience.  The Law could correct me.  But what could the Law not do?  It could not free me from the law of sin and death! In my Christian walk, every time I try to live according to the letter of the law, I face condemnation.  I am not able to escape failure under the law.  I see my own inadequacies.  But when I come back to the source, the center of my identity, I realize once again that in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation.  My sinful flesh is weak and powerless to fulfill the law.  My sinful flesh is unable to meet the righteous requirements of God.

God’s plan is not for me to receive constant condemnation.  God’s plan is not for me to bear a continual burden in my soul as a reminder of my past.  God’s plan was to turn the tables on sin and the flesh.  Instead of condemning my spirit, “sin in the flesh” received the condemnation.

When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, sin in my flesh was condemned.  When I placed my faith in Him, God rewrote my history so that Christ became my Adam.  My past link to the first Adam was removed and my life is now eternally linked to the second Adam, Who is Christ.

(1 Corinthians 15:451 Corinthians 15:45
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.  

WP-Bible plugin)  “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

Because sin stands condemned, it has no right to operate in me.  Sin is a convict without a home.  When I choose to sin, I am choosing to allow something without spiritual rights and privileges to have power over me.  Therefore, sin operates illegally when it has free reign to work through me.

Renewed Thought – Thank you Lord that my history is defined by Christ alone.  Sin has no legal right over me today.  I choose to be a servant of You and I choose to be defined by You in all that I am.

 
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Casting Out The Bondwoman And Her Son – Galatians 4:30-31

05 Jun

(Galatians 4:30-31Galatians 4:30-31
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.  

WP-Bible plugin)  “Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.“

The bondwoman and her son are Hagar and Ishmael.  They represent the Law and the flesh.  Sarah’s advice to Abraham was:

(Genesis 21:10Genesis 21:10
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.  

WP-Bible plugin)  “Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.”

The Galatian believers, as heirs of eternal life, were identified with Isaac the child of promise.  But Jewish teachers put enormous pressure on the Galatians to seek holiness by the Law.  In essence, they were attempting to make a child of promise also become a child of the flesh.  This is an impossible and incompatible proposition.  Paul’s plea to the Galatians was the same as Sarah’s plea to Abraham – “Cast out…”  Everything about bondage and legalism was to be driven out from their presence.

It’s never easy to come to terms with our flesh.  It requires an honesty that makes us uncomfortable.  It requires us to deal with habits formed.  We must recognize our religious self is not our new self in Christ.  Just as Abraham was grieved at Sarah’s words, our religious self will be grieved when we recognize the need to cast out legalism and the flesh.  Our flesh will want to compromise.  It will say, “Just a little legalism can’t hurt, right?”  Just as Abraham plead for Ishmael (Genesis 17:18Genesis 17:18
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!  

WP-Bible plugin), we will be tempted to plead for our religious self.  But we cannot be a child of the bondwoman and a child of the freewoman.  If we try to be both at the same time, our Christian lives will be fragmented, never peaceful or unified.

Come to terms with the flesh.  Is your service for the Lord really your flesh acting religious?  Deep down inside you don’t have peace.  You thought your service would earn you blessing and favor with God.  But you aren’t satisfied and you feel as if what you are doing is drudgery.  This is legalism and the flesh operating.  You thought singing in the choir would earn you something special.  You thought becoming a Bible teacher would bring blessing.  You may have become a pastor because you thought it would give you peace and joy.  But now all you feel is pressure to perform.  You feel frustration.  You feel disappointment. You wonder where the blessing is.  You are bound in legalism even though your life has all the appearance of a Christian life.  It is time to come to terms with the source of your service.  It is time to drive out the religious reason for serving.  It is time to find a new source of power and a new motivation for living for the Lord.  It is time to cast out the bondwoman and her son.  That isn’t your heritage.  You are a child of promise, heir of eternal life.  You are free – this is your true spiritual heritage!

Renewed Thought – We cannot please God by manufacturing joy and motivation within ourselves.  Christ must be the source of our joy and motivation first, before we ever attempt to serve Him.

 
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What God Hath Promised – Galatians 4:28

03 Jun

(Galatians 4:28Galatians 4:28
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.  

WP-Bible plugin)  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

Isaac was the fruit of a promise made by God.  God bound Himself to fulfill the promise.  God obligated Himself to provide the way for Abraham and his seed to inherit the world.  At the core of it all, God promised eternal life.

(Romans 4:13Romans 4:13
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.  

WP-Bible plugin)  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

God’s promise wasn’t fulfilled through “a deal” made with Abraham.  It wasn’t based on performance.  It was founded in faith.  Isaac was a child of promise because Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.  Righteousness is required for eternal life.

(Romans 4:21-22Romans 4:21-22
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  

WP-Bible plugin)  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Politicians make promises to get our vote.  Parents make promises to get their children to respond in a certain way.  We have been conditioned our whole lives to base the fulfillment of promises on our own behavior.  If we don’t behave, we don’t receive.  This is performance based on conditional response.  This is not grace.  Before the world began, God promised to give eternal life (Titus 1:2Titus 1:2
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; In: or, For  

WP-Bible plugin).  We are recipients of that promise because we are recipients of His righteousness.  None of this is based on our performance.  It is all based on the work accomplished for us by the Lord Jesus Christ when He paid for our sins on the cross.

When politicians don’t fulfill their promises, we become cynical.  When our parents don’t fulfill promises, we become bitter.  Sometimes we think there is “a deal” with God.  We believe God is obligated to provide a life that fulfills our expectations.  When our life doesn’t go according to our plans, we become cynical and bitter against God.  But the promise of eternal life never included a deal to meet all of our expectations.  Eternal life is designed to meet our deepest needs.  We need His righteousness.  We need His forgiveness.  This is what enables us to appreciate His life, not ours.  This is what empowers us to live His life, not ours.  His life is the unconditional promise we have as children of God.

Renewed Thought -

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

-Hymn “What God Hath Promised,” Annie J. Flint, 1919

 
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The “Right” Gene – Galatians 3:29

29 Apr

(Galatians 3:29Galatians 3:29
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.  

WP-Bible plugin)  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

God promised eternal life to Abraham and his seed.  The Apostle Paul was not saved on the basis of being a physical descendent of Abraham.  He was not saved on the basis of practicing Judaism.  He was not saved on the basis of his strict adherence to the Mosaic Law.  Paul (then called Saul) was saved because he was a man, and all men are sinners (Romans 3:23Romans 3:23
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  

WP-Bible plugin).  Then how did Paul inherit eternal life?  How can any of us inherit eternal life?  We now know that Christ makes Abraham relevant.  Abraham is relevant because of the spiritual promise, not because of his physical genes!

(Romans 4:13Romans 4:13
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.  

WP-Bible plugin)  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Righteousness is the “spiritual gene” necessary to inherit eternal life.  Abraham received justification by believing what God told him about the promise.  This is faith.  Abraham became the spiritual father of all future generations who would receive eternal life through justification by faith.  We receive righteousness by believing what God told us about His Son.

(Romans 4:16Romans 4:16
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,  

WP-Bible plugin)  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

We must be in Christ to receive eternal life.  We must be spiritual descendents of Abraham.  Strangers do not receive an inheritance.  Strangers have no stake the estate.  In Christ, we are not strangers, we are children.  This is our relationship.  We are part of Abraham’s family through Christ.

Renewed Thought – In Christ, I have everything I need to inherit eternal life.  My flesh has no claim on Abraham, but my spirit receives the promise.

 
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Baptized Into Christ – Galatians 3:27

27 Apr

(Galatians 3:27Galatians 3:27
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  

WP-Bible plugin)  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

A symbol is something used to represent something else.  When we see a heart shape, it doesn’t usually represent the vital organ that keeps our blood flowing.  Rather it represents love.  In algebra, x typically represents a variable number rather than the actual number.  Countries are often represented by their national flag.  We see symbols around us every day.

Some mistake the baptism in this verse to also be symbolic.  Rather than understand this baptism in literal terms, some believe “baptized into Christ” is a symbolic representation through a water ceremony.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  Just as the Law could not gain us eternal life (Galatians 3:21Galatians 3:21
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.  

WP-Bible plugin), water baptism plays no part in securing eternal life.  In fact, water baptism has been excluded from the gospel of the grace of God.

(1Corinthians 1:17)  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Read the first part of that verse carefully again and ask the following question:  If the gospel included water baptism, how could Paul write, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel…?”  It couldn’t!  Water baptism and the gospel are mutually exclusive according to 1 Corinthians 1:171 Corinthians 1:17
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. words: or, speech  

WP-Bible plugin!   The baptism in Galatians 3:27Galatians 3:27
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  

WP-Bible plugin isn’t symbolic, it is literal.  This is a literal placing of the believer into a living union with Jesus Christ.  It is the baptism described in 1 Corinthians 12:131 Corinthians 12:13
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. Gentiles: Gr. Greeks  

WP-Bible plugin:

(1Corinthians 12:13)  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

The moment we believe the gospel, God supernaturally places us into His Body, also known as the Body of Christ or the Church.  We become part of an eternal, living organism.  Christ is in us and we are in Christ.  This is literal, not symbolic.  This is our reality.

Renewed Thought – Justification by faith is God’s supernatural declaration that I am righteous in Christ.  Baptism is God’s supernatural identification with Christ because I am righteous in Him.

 
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