"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God..."
God is most clearly shown in holiness for He is Holy. If our lives do not point to the Lord, that is to the Holy One in our midst, who can see the invisible God? Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God who lives in us through the Holy Spirit, is the one who makes us holy. To live holy is to live incarnationally as the salt and light of the earth.
And so we also see to it that no one misses the grace of God for unto us a new righteousness has been revealed. Because of Jesus Christ, all have free access to the throne of God. Those who resist grace do so because they do not recognize grace. Grace is irresistible save for the act of God himself which makes men have eyes but never seeing and ears but never understanding lest he turn and be healed. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
So as we live holy as God is Holy, we continue to shine the light of the world that was brought forth from the virgin's womb and begotten of the Father through the Holy Spirit. It is this light which opens the eyes of men that the scales might fall off.
Showing posts with label evangelism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evangelism. Show all posts
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Hosea 2:23
"I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one' I will say to those called 'Not my people', 'You are my people' and they will say, 'You are my God'."
Originally this verse is taken in the context of the election of Israel over all other nations, however now all who were non-elect have access to this God who takes for himself a people to worship him eternally because Christ. God's purpose for us, then, is for us to realize the glory he has given us in causing us to be elect in Christ.
And this realization is not a "choice". We don't choose to recognize if our houses are on fire or not. We could deny the reality but our houses will burn down regardless. Our job as Christians is to tell of this glory and grace that all might recognize the world as it truly is.
Everything God does is so that he might be revealed to us as God. God has, throughout history, revealed himself through Human instrumentality. He has revealed himself through the history of the Jewish people as preserved in the Old Testament and through the humanity of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, and now through his Church, the Body of Christ in the present age. He lifted us up out of our sin. Once you realize the totality of the grace you have been given, you will be brought to faith by God.
Originally this verse is taken in the context of the election of Israel over all other nations, however now all who were non-elect have access to this God who takes for himself a people to worship him eternally because Christ. God's purpose for us, then, is for us to realize the glory he has given us in causing us to be elect in Christ.
And this realization is not a "choice". We don't choose to recognize if our houses are on fire or not. We could deny the reality but our houses will burn down regardless. Our job as Christians is to tell of this glory and grace that all might recognize the world as it truly is.
Everything God does is so that he might be revealed to us as God. God has, throughout history, revealed himself through Human instrumentality. He has revealed himself through the history of the Jewish people as preserved in the Old Testament and through the humanity of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, and now through his Church, the Body of Christ in the present age. He lifted us up out of our sin. Once you realize the totality of the grace you have been given, you will be brought to faith by God.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
John 9:33
"If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
People come and people go. Nations and empires rise and fall. However, there comes a day when the entire world will fade away like a dream to be forgotten. The only person who actually does anything productive on earth is the one who also can bind in heaven what he binds on earth. It is the one who, while living in the Mortal realm, can effect the Eternal and can usher in the Heavenly Realm into the Earthly one. A truly productive person is an intersection of two worlds; a place where Heaven and Earth meet. They are the temple of the Holy God.
And apart from Him, they can do nothing, nothing that lasts anyway.
It is only those who believe and trust in Christ and have received the Holy Spirit into their hearts who are the only ones able to accomplish anything good. There are those who seek to do good apart from God but nothing they do has any lasting impact. None of it has real value. They labor in vain. If you rescue a drunkard from the bottle but fail to save him from the sinking ship, have you really done anything at all? Such are those who work for social concerns but ignore the spiritual. If we are not about winning souls to the Great Banquet, we are not about anything at all. If not for God, we could do nothing at all.
People come and people go. Nations and empires rise and fall. However, there comes a day when the entire world will fade away like a dream to be forgotten. The only person who actually does anything productive on earth is the one who also can bind in heaven what he binds on earth. It is the one who, while living in the Mortal realm, can effect the Eternal and can usher in the Heavenly Realm into the Earthly one. A truly productive person is an intersection of two worlds; a place where Heaven and Earth meet. They are the temple of the Holy God.
And apart from Him, they can do nothing, nothing that lasts anyway.
It is only those who believe and trust in Christ and have received the Holy Spirit into their hearts who are the only ones able to accomplish anything good. There are those who seek to do good apart from God but nothing they do has any lasting impact. None of it has real value. They labor in vain. If you rescue a drunkard from the bottle but fail to save him from the sinking ship, have you really done anything at all? Such are those who work for social concerns but ignore the spiritual. If we are not about winning souls to the Great Banquet, we are not about anything at all. If not for God, we could do nothing at all.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
John 15:19
"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
Jesus has not made it a secret what we must do but has revealed everything necessary and sufficient for our salvation. Actually, it isn't a question of "What must we do?" but rather "Who must we know?". But who can know the Father except those to whom the Father has revealed himself? Those who do not belong to him do not see him, but his sheep recognize his voice.
Not everyone will be saved on that great and terrible day and we have no time to waste. Jesus had three years to complete his mission and never once is he seen begging and pleading with people to believe. They either did or they did not believe. He didn't have time to waste when there were others who were willing to listen who have not heard. It's a hard reality, but unless we can accept that some will perish, we will never get around to reaching everyone else.
The ship is sinking and this world is passing away. God has given us lifeboats, but if no one believes our message that the ship is sinking but there's a way out, how can they be saved? So we press on to find those who will believe our message and pray those who do not believe come to their senses before it's too late.
Jesus has not made it a secret what we must do but has revealed everything necessary and sufficient for our salvation. Actually, it isn't a question of "What must we do?" but rather "Who must we know?". But who can know the Father except those to whom the Father has revealed himself? Those who do not belong to him do not see him, but his sheep recognize his voice.
Not everyone will be saved on that great and terrible day and we have no time to waste. Jesus had three years to complete his mission and never once is he seen begging and pleading with people to believe. They either did or they did not believe. He didn't have time to waste when there were others who were willing to listen who have not heard. It's a hard reality, but unless we can accept that some will perish, we will never get around to reaching everyone else.
The ship is sinking and this world is passing away. God has given us lifeboats, but if no one believes our message that the ship is sinking but there's a way out, how can they be saved? So we press on to find those who will believe our message and pray those who do not believe come to their senses before it's too late.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Mark 4:27
"Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how."
As much as we work the land and sow seeds, there is a limit to what we can do. Can we make a seed grow? We may be able to provide the conditions that make it highly probable that the seed will grow, but some things can only be done by God, the actual act of growing and giving life. Most plants grow on their own without our help, whether we are sleeping or awake. God is always working to grow something.
And the whole process is a complete mystery. Science can observe its growth up close and tell us about things like mitosis and DNA, but such close scrutiny only tells us what this growth looks like, the actual mechanics of growth, not how it grows or why. God does that work, He who freely gives life.
So we partner with God, both harvester and grower, to obtain the crop at the designated time. We reap the life that God has grown night and day. We soften the hearts and sow the seed in them and pray God causes them to grow. In this way we can share in the joy of the harvest, together rejoicing over the life that the land has brought forth. What a wonderful God who allows us to delight with him in every new believer come to fruition!
As much as we work the land and sow seeds, there is a limit to what we can do. Can we make a seed grow? We may be able to provide the conditions that make it highly probable that the seed will grow, but some things can only be done by God, the actual act of growing and giving life. Most plants grow on their own without our help, whether we are sleeping or awake. God is always working to grow something.
And the whole process is a complete mystery. Science can observe its growth up close and tell us about things like mitosis and DNA, but such close scrutiny only tells us what this growth looks like, the actual mechanics of growth, not how it grows or why. God does that work, He who freely gives life.
So we partner with God, both harvester and grower, to obtain the crop at the designated time. We reap the life that God has grown night and day. We soften the hearts and sow the seed in them and pray God causes them to grow. In this way we can share in the joy of the harvest, together rejoicing over the life that the land has brought forth. What a wonderful God who allows us to delight with him in every new believer come to fruition!
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