Eph 2:8 (KJV) For by grace we are saved through faith; & that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: Eph 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Hebr 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author & finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, & is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebr2:10 (ESV) For it was fitting that He, for whom & by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. —When we place our faith in Jesus, we become spiritually alive thru Him, & all our sins are forgiven. For Jesus is the author & finisher of our faith! Hallelujah! It was our salvation that was perfected thru the suffering of our God! He is always waiting to bring us home with His arms wide open! Now shout Hallelujah! Love Mel
The Problem with Legalism
ROM 6:14 (KJV): For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
COL 2 (KJV): And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. 20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
Once men get a hold of something wonderful it will soon be spoiled. God gave the law to the Hebrew people through Moses and before long the religious leaders added so much detail and extra work that it became unbearable to live up to it. Jesus railed against this many times when telling the Pharisees that they themselves could not keep the laws they made, and he asked them why they laid these heavy burdens on others. It made Jesus angrier than He ever was at anything else. He hated religious legalists who were short on mercy and long on condemnation.
The same thing happened to the Christian church, which ultimately resulted in Martin Luther and the reformation. The list of religious laws added by the church on top of the Holy scripture was enormous. And the church assumed the place of God in the world. Both sets of leaders are actually quoted as saying that they were more authoritative than the scriptures.
Both the Jewish and Christian leaders were guilty of “over-managing” their flocks. They laid heavy burdens on the people and exercised religiously based control over them.
The Bible tells us that by grace we are saved though faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift we cannot lose. Such knowledge frees us to love God and obey Him willingly. When we are always fearful of doing the next correct law, we rarely arise to the place where we love and honor God in the deepest way possible.
Congregations that are legalistic in nature can never live up the standards they set for themselves. This results in people who are often sad, very critical and controlling of others and quite judgmental. In order to meet their own standards of legalism most often the standards of what is right are changed. Victory is declared after “moving the target” and then hitting it.
My purpose here is simply to say this. JESUS is the whole story and He should get all the glory. He gave His life for us. He said He will never leave us or forsake us. And He empowers us to obey the law of love. Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself.
If you do not learn to love and trust God Himself you will likely never be a joyous Christian. Your good days will be based upon your perceived good behavior. Your bad days, which will be by far the majority, will be based upon your ever-present true human failure.
The Bible tells us ALL of our works are as filthy rags and will earn us nothing toward our salvation. (They do count toward rewards at the believer’s judgement however, only if done for the right motive – love). The Bible also tells is God will never leave us or forsake us and that our sins are constantly being forgiven. We should rejoice.
So, what’s left to focus on then? LOVING GOD.
Then the world gets to be a much happier place.
Prayer is a Very Important Part of Your Purpose Here
1Tim2:1-2 (ESV) First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, & thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings & all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful & quiet life, godly & dignified in every way. — Do you ever wonder what your purpose is? Could it be prayer, intercession, supplication & thanksgiving? Prayer is a solemn or earnest request of God. Intercession is the action of intervening on behalf of another. Supplication is the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly. & Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude, especially to God. The Bible tells us that if we will draw near to God, then He will draw near to us! — Matt 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as TOUCHING any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. — Touch means to come into, be in contact with or handle in order to manipulate, alter, or otherwise affect. We must ask as if to take possession of the request with full expectation that we will receive, having all knowledge that it is the will of God. We must touch the hem of His garment to receive the full power of His might! There is purpose here! Pray without ceasing! Love Mel
Teach Us to Number Our Days
Psalm 90:1-17 (KJV) (Prayer of Moses the man of God.) Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth & the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction; & sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, & as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, & groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. For we are consumed by thine anger, & by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years & ten; & if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour & sorrow; for it is soon cut off, & we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So TEACH US to NUMBER OUR DAYS, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O LORD, how long? & let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice & be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, & the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, & thy glory unto their children. & let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: & establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. Love Mel
The Most Important Thing – LOVE
1 John 1 (KJV): 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 Jn 2: 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1 Jn 3: 22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
I really enjoy John’s epistles. He is definitely the Apostle of love. In the Old Testament the law was given and there were around 613 commandments. Not all of them applied to everyone. Some applied only to priests and other groups. But there were plenty for everybody.
When Jesus was asked what He thought the most important commandment was, He replied essentially that we should love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and the second most important was like unto it – that we should love our neighbor as ourselves.
Doing what God wants shows you love God and doing to your neighbor only what you would want done to you shows you love your neighbor. The first four imperatives of the 10 Commandments are from us to God and the last six are from us to our neighbor. Amazingly enough – loving God and loving our neighbor will fulfill the whole law as James tells us. Once again, we see the secret to success in the Christian life… learn to love God – and His commandments will not be burdensome. Remember – God gave His own life for us – and we love Him primarily because He first loved us. Two commandments – love God and love your neighbor.
