Month: June 2007

Categories
church romans salvation

The Measure of Faith Revealed

God’s Gospel should result in radical action and in such a manner that it will keep Christians reexamining themselves and acknowledging God’s grace and mercy. For it is at this point, right at the hinge of the book (Rom 12:1,2) that Paul illustrates the  practical application of the Gospel.

Not one Christian is to think more highly of himself than he ought to think says the verse and I’ve often heard it said that it means that the individual has a proper understanding of where he or she stands. Such as: a gifted teacher is to understand where his gift is over that of other teachers yet below others so that he doesn’t think above his gift.

I’m sorry, that is way off base because it is open to a person judging themselves more highly than someone else which is completely contrary to what Paul is saying If we take it as a whole, understanding the mercies of God then we have to understand that Paul isn’t telling Christians who stand on that equal ground of mercy to up and decide who is higher and who is lower—especially of their own estimation!

The grace was given to Paul to allow him to say what he’s saying, and allows Christians to understand where they stand, with the understanding that God has given the equal measuring rule of faith to the saints.

This measure of faith is not a bit of faith here and a bit more faith there reflecting a group of people thinking “I have more faith than him” or “man, he definitely has more faith than me!” Rather it’s the Christians standing on the object of their faith and seeing how completely dependant on that object they are.

Understanding that allows a Christian to really respect his fellow believers and makes him or her completely given over to the preaching of the Gospel.

Categories
apologetics salvation

Christian Blasphemy?

I hate that I’m embedding this video and I abhor how it’s defaming the name of Christ in what it’s doing but it has to be addressed: it’s wrong and a defamation of God’s Gospel. The video consists of a certain group of professing Christians who publicly protest funerals by raising banners and saying “This Person Has Gone To Hell” or the sort—even if the persons were professing believers like the case of the Amish girls who were killed in Lancaster County. This is the same group that raises signs like “God Hates Fags” and the sort but I think they’re actually making a blight of the Gospel and causing the name of Christ to be blasphemed.

For example, John would state that God loved the world in a specific manner. John doesn’t use world to mean the elect or even to mean the whole expansive planet and all the creatures on it but John uses world (very often) to mean the corrupt and immoral system. Yet these so-called Christians say God Hates The World because they are sinners: contrary to the words of John. Paul will add to John’s argument by showing that the sin in the world is actually God’s systematic judgment—not the cause for His supreme judgment. Then Paul will say that God demonstrated His love in the death of Jesus Christ which these professing Christians reserve solely for there elitist group.

In fact their wrong is akin to that of the Pharisee in Jesus’ illustration who prays in the public saying “Thank you God that I’m not like this filthy sinful tax collector” while the tax collector beats on his chest saying “God forgive me a sinner.” What’s so utterly wrong about this is that the Pharisee (and these professing Christians) are forgetting (or denying) that they are sinners just as bad as the Hitlers in the world and it was God’s love, mercy, and grace that offered a salvation to them as well as the Hitler’s in the world.

God’s righteous Gospel is glorious, is far-reaching, is patient, forbearing and for the worst of the worst sinners for whom Christ died. The fact that these Christians profess the exact opposite leaves me thinking that they don’t understand or really know who Christ is and what He is like. Video after the jump. Remember: I think it is evil.

Continue reading “Christian Blasphemy?”

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romans study

Romans Series

This post is home to my study in Romans.

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Categories
current affairs

Ruth Graham Goes To The Lord

Ruth Graham, wife of Billy Graham, passed on yesterday.

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acts church romans study worship

Living Sacrifices

Present your bodies not someone else’s body. And the whole entire body, not just the grumbling part or the angry part, but all of it to be offered as a sacrifice.

I’m reminded of two examples from the Old Testament. One is from Leviticus 1 where the offering is brought to the Lord and consumed on the altar as a well-pleasing sacrifice: a soothing aroma to the Lord. The entire thing is consumed in the fire and is pleasing to the Lord but that’s easy for a dead animal: after all, the thing is alive till it gets to the tabernacle then someone slits its throat and has its corpse on the altar. Living Sacrifices have a problem with staying on hot altars, or so the saying goes.

But then we have the second example of Numbers chapter 8 where the Levites are chosen by God to do special work. They remember their past: they’ve been rescued from the bondage of Egypt and delivered from the power of Pharaoh. They have crossed the great divide of the Sea and passed from one side through the other and they were being led to an inheritance and here they stood: a people freed by God and now His. They were cleansed, they were reminded of their salvation and they were told to serve Him in the tent of meeting.

Continue reading “Living Sacrifices”