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391  Theology / Bible Study / “SPRINKLED FROM AN EVIL CONSCIENCE:” HEB 10:22 –Bob Hall (Netchaplain) on: January 02, 2012, 01:52:54 PM
We can never use our condition, regardless of how good and pure it may seem to us at times, as a reference for God to determine our position in Him. We must use what He uses to determine our status with Him and that is His Son, our Lord (Col 3:3).

It has been well said that “when we are disappointed, we have trusted in ourselves and not God, for God never disappoints.” The same occurs when we base our position in what we do or do not do, instead of remembering Jesus’s propitiation for us (1Jhn 2:2). Only what saves us can keep us saved, so since we didn’t save ourselves, we cannot keep ourselves saved. “Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? (Gal 3:3).”

As the Father is training us to grow in our Lord’s image, we experience at times, seemingly interrupted fellowship with Him. I believe our unity with Him in fellowship is unbreakable as our salvation (1Jhn 1:3; Rom 8:35, 39, 39; Jhn 10:29), so these seemingly times of interruption with God are our own concept when we allow for a guilty conscience, regardless the reason. When we do wrong, we should realize it is part of our learning so mistakenly we falsely accuse ourselves, because God never accuses us but chastises us (Hbr 12:6). Remember, there is only one “accuser of the brethren” (Rev 12:10).

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. . .” (Hbr 10:22).

“For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the (sprinkling of) blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience. . .” (Hbr 9:13, 14: italics mine).

“But ye are come unto. . . Jesus the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of (His) sprinkling. . .” (Hbr 12:24: italics mine)

Remember, regardless of how much we are accused of guilt, even from within our old nature, it’s always a false accusation because since God doesn’t accuse us, we’re always guilt-free! “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1Jo 3:20).

Hid With Christ<>< (Col 3:3)

392  Theology / Bible Study / Israel--Law / Church--Grace on: December 29, 2011, 07:10:55 PM
ISRAEL'S NEW COVENANT
Miles J. Stanford


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We must stop here and stanch the flow of Covenant theology that is flooding onto Dispensational ground--beginning with the primary effusion, Israel's New Covenant.

 

All traditional Dispensationalists believe and teach that Israel alone will be under the New Covenant of Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the future Messianic Kingdom.  Yet they all, almost without exception, forsake this exclusiveness of the rightly-divided Word by maintaining that the Church shares in the "spiritual" blessings of Israel's New Covenant!  Down goes the scriptural separation between Israel and its Law, and the Church and her Grace.

 

Those who pander to Israel's New Covenant, and seek to participate in - its "spiritual" blessings, are simply playing into the hands of Amillennial Covenant Theology, its stepchild, Theonomy, as well as Judaistic Messianic Christianity. They are evidently in need of Israel's New Covenant to help them legalize their legality.

 

Mr. F. W. Grant long ago warned against such a teaching: "To take from Israel what is hers is only to diminish her and not enrich ourselves; nay, what has been called in this way the spiritualizing of the promises has led most surely and emphatically to the carnalizing, and the legalizing, of the Church."

 

There is neither word nor inference in the Covenant concerning the Church, nor is it to be established during the Church's dispensation.  Paul, in his time, stated that Israel's New Covenant was yet future: "And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Rom. 11:26,27).

 

THE ETERNAL COVENANT -- The Church, on the contrary, presently has the benefits of the Eternal Covenant of Hebrews 13:20,21:

"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the Blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through - Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

NT NEW COVENANT -- There are a number of NT references which have to do with Israel's New Covenant, and others which have to do with the Church--some of which we will briefly touch upon.

"For this is My blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the remission of sins."  "And He said unto them, This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many."  "Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you" (Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Lu. 22:20).

In these Synoptic references the Lord Jesus is introducing the New Covenant of His coming Church.  He is not explaining it, but is instituting it eschatalogically, on the basis of the soon-coming Cross.

 

He introduced the subject of the Church in Matthew 16:18: "I will build My Church," but He did not explain it. That He would do through Paul to the members of His Body. The explanation of the Church's Eternal Covenant is the responsibility of Paul, the primary source of Church truth.

"For I received of the [ascended] Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed.. . took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come" (1 Cor. 11:23,25,26).

Here Paul establishes the Church's New Covenant, identical to that previously introduced in the Synoptics by the Lord Jesus.

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit" (2 Cor. 3:6).

Paul's ministry to the heavenly Church is not made up of, nor does it contain, aspects of Israel's New Covenant. The Church's New Covenant consists of the life of the Son, not the law of the Kingdom.

"And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new testament [Greek: recent in its beginning as well as new in quality], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." "And to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and the Blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel" (Heb. 9:15; 12:24).

His Blood having been poured out in fulfillment of the eternal pact between the God of peace and Himself, the Lord Jesus thereby becomes the Mediator of the New Covenant for His Body, the Church--of which the Lord's Supper is the blessed reminder.

 

The blood of Abel spoke of judgment--"The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And now art thou [Cain] cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand" (Gen. 4:10,11). But the Blood of sprinkling--the application by faith in the shed Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ--testified of the judgment of the Cross, and of everlasting peace with the God of peace Himself!

"And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Rom. 11:26,27).

Paul here is speaking of some of the gracious I wills of Israel's New Covenant. "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more." "I will also; save you from all your uncleannesses...in the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities" (Jer. 31:34; Ezek. 36:29,33).

 

The primary purpose of the Book of Hebrews was to keep the Jews, both saved and unsaved, from turning back to Judaism and the law, the old decaying Mosaic Covenant. They were exhorted to focus, not on the Covenant, but the Mediator of a better covenant.

 

Those Jews who were saved had come to Jesus, the Mediator of Israel's New Covenant, not to the Covenant itself, which was yet future. They were in living union with Him who is the Mediator of the Church's New Covenant, and that is a higher thing than if merely come to Israel's earthly kingdom Covenant. The Mediator will actualize this New Covenant with Israel on earth in the Millennial Kingdom.

"But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the Mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises ['I will'].

 

"For if that first covenant, had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, He saith, Behold, the days come [Millennial], saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Heb. 8:6-8).

In these verses (Hebrews 8:10-13) the writer gives more details concerning Israel's New Covenant, and then in verse 13 he states: "In that He saith, a new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and groweth old is ready to vanish away."

 

They were not to turn back to Moses, but to the greater than Moses, greater than all: "that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant" (Heb. 13:20).

Covenant theology at the utmost, is forgiveness of sins and divine favor enjoyed; and all that concerns their new position in the Lord Jesus Christ is ignored, or alas! guarded against as dangerous.

 

Men are placed under Israel's New Covenant which does not go beyond remission of sins and the law written on the heart. But being new creations in Christ Jesus, and knowing it by the Holy Spirit, and what 'that involves now--that is not a part of their creed. --J.N. Darby

 

We are come "to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant" (Heb. 12:24). We are not come to the New Covenant, but to Jesus the Mediator of it. We are associated with Him who is the Mediator; that is a far higher thing than if merely come to the Covenant. He will make this New Covenant with Israel on earth. --H.H. Snell

 
393  Theology / Bible Study / Re: HAND HEWN / TRIUMPH IN TRIAL / LlTTLE-KNOWN REQUISITE-miles stanford on: December 24, 2011, 09:38:27 AM
Thanks for the complement NChrist and God's "rest" to you!
394  Theology / Bible Study / HAND HEWN / TRIUMPH IN TRIAL / LlTTLE-KNOWN REQUISITE-miles stanford on: December 23, 2011, 08:09:56 PM
HAND HEWN
"Hearken unto Me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord; look unto the rock from which ye are hewn" (Isaiah 51:1).

If we care for His glory, we will want to serve. If we care for others, we will want to be well prepared for that service. And that care will enable us to hold still and trust Him through all that is entailed in the preparation.

"When a certain breaking down of self takes place in a believer's life, it produces a marked change in him; but afterwards he has to learn it all in detail." -J.N.D.

"This is a fact borne out in the case of every servant of God in history who has really come under the hand of God--that the real values of their lives for all time have been those which correspond to the wine of the grape, the thing trodden out in the winepress, the agony of heart; and you know that it is true in your case that if ever you have had anything at all which you knew to be worthwhile and which has helped someone else, it has been born out of some travail in your own experience."

"If we knew the heart of our Father we would never question any of His dealings with us, nor should we ever desire His hand lifted off us till we had learnt all He would teach us." -E.D.

"Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:19, 20).


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 TRIUMPH IN TRIAL

"Always guarded by the power of God through faith.... In such a hope keep on rejoicing, although for a little while you must be sorrow-stricken with various trials" (1 Peter 1:5, 6, Wms.).

There are testimonies, and there are testimonies. Some can testify as to how God cleared up adverse circumstances for the victory; but others can testify to the triumph God gave in the midst of difficult circumstances. The essential consideration is that our Father be glorified in all His dealings with and for us. How He brings it all about should be secondary to us.

"If there is a great trial in your life today, do not own it as a defeat, but continue, by faith, to claim the victory through Him who is able to make you more than conqueror, and a glorious triumph will soon be apparent. Let us learn that in all the hard places our Father brings us into, He is making opportunities for us to exercise such faith in Him as will bring about blessed results and greatly glorify His Name."

"God has put you in exactly the right crucible to burn up what He sees needs to be burnt up. Many think 'victory' means getting your circumstances put right. No! true triumph is within--when in the midst of your circumstances the Spirit of God can so energize you and strengthen you in spirit, that you can stand quiet in the thick of it all, and say, 'God is God,' and know that you are held by Him--which is infinitely better than all your trying to hold things steady."

"Therefore, my brethren . . . stand fast in the Lord" (Philippians 4:1).


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 LlTTLE-KNOWN REQUISITE

"My beloved children, I am again bearing the pangs of travail for you, till Christ be fully formed within you" (Galatians 4:19, Cony.).

It is essential that we "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," for three reasons: (1) that our Father may be glorified; (2) that the Lord Jesus might be manifested in us; (3) that the Holy Spirit might have a suitable instrument through which to win and establish others.

"Paul had one great consuming purpose to be brought to birth by his sufferings for the Galatians, and that was the living expression of the Lord Jesus Christ in them. Nothing less could satisfy God, and nothing less than this should ever satisfy a servant of God. Numbers were still good in Galatia, activities well maintained and zeal unabated, but the Lord Jesus was being crowded out--and that is the greatest tragedy possible." -H.F.

"It is a marvellous grace that we should be conformed to the image of God's Son. I think it is very sad that the highest thought which God has about us, and that which His heart is set on, is that which is least known by Christians; for I know no truth that is so little realized as union with Christ." -J.B.S.

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9).


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395  Theology / Bible Study / INTERNAL PRIORITY / RAGS TO RICHES / RELIANCE IN TOTO -miles stanford on: December 17, 2011, 12:25:31 AM
INTERNAL PRIORITY

"Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

Beware! The world, both secular and religious, is seeking to destroy your individuality by conforming you to the mass of faceless ones. But our heritage and destiny in the Lord Jesus Christ is to be conformed to His image--not at the loss of our individual personality, but by the gain of His nature and character. "I in you"; "Christ liveth in me" (John 15:4; Galatians 2:20).

"Something has got to be done in us as well as for us. We want to proceed on the line of having things done for us, heaven intervening for us, our difficulties removed for us, having a straight path made for us. Heaven may be ready to come in, the Lord may be prepared to work for us, but it is not sufficient for Him--and it would not prove good enough for us--if that were all. The very principle of spiritual growth and maturity demands that He keep the objective and the subjective balanced; that is, that something is done in us as well as for us." -T. A-S.

"We are apt to think that if and when the circumstances and conditions of our lives are changed and we are in another position than the one we now occupy, then something will happen, the purpose of God will begin to be fulfilled. But the Lord says, 'No, it is not circumstances, not conditions, at all; it is you.'"

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).


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4-5. RAGS TO RICHES

"But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (Romans 7:23).

Self is the believer's indwelling enemy; its degrading bondage is his deepest heartache. However, the reign of self is overthrown by its own enmity, since it creates the needs that cause us to hunger for and appropriate Christ's life and liberty.

"A sense of spiritual poverty is necessary to spiritual growth. This awareness of failure becomes acute to the believer during those days when he is attempting to attain holiness of heart through self-effort. Knowing what he ought to be and do, he proceeds to try to reach those goals. He purposes, resolves, promises, struggles, weeps, and fails again. His testimony, with Paul, is, 'The things that I want to do, I do not do, and the things that I do not want to do, I do' (Romans 7:15).

"What a delightful day it is for him when he realizes that 'in him, that is, in his flesh, dwelleth no good thing' (Romans 7:18). Only then does he, in his failure, cry out, 'Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' 'I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Romans 7:24, 25) comes back the reply. He begins to recognize that God expects only failure from the flesh, never success, but that 'in Christ' is his sanctification, his growth. Thus it is that freedom comes through bondage, life through death." -W.W.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).


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4-6. RELIANCE IN TOTO

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace" (2 Thessalonians 2:16).

It has been well said that "it takes a lifetime to learn real dependence upon God, and to accept practically our own inadequacy." We are going to learn this only through experience, and now is the time to settle down to this schooling--a day at a time.

"We are to understand that God loves us, and that He justifies us by the work of His Son. We have no longer conscience of sins before God, because He Himself has taken them away before His eyes; we know that being united to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has fully glorified God in that which concerns our sins, we have been made the righteousness of God in Him. So the heart is free to enjoy His love in the presence of the Father." -J.N.D.

"I no longer attempt to produce that which will satisfy God from myself as originator. I know that even if I try I shall only fail. But I do seek to please God by faith in the activity of Another. The Son of God who indwells me by His Spirit is able and willing to carry out in me 'those things that please Him'; and I count upon Him to do so. Consciously, day by day, I take the attitude that I trust Him to work the will of God in me, and in that attitude I go forward and serve Him. I do not trust myself. 'I live by faith in the Son of God.'" -A.I.K.

"Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work" (2 Thessalonians 2:17).

396  Theology / Bible Study / FAITH -miles stanford on: December 14, 2011, 08:28:58 AM
The Holy Spirit has Paul write to each of us, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5a), and the recommendation is certainly not out of order at the very inception of this series of studies. First of all, we must remind ourselves that "without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6a). Moreover, and this is all-important, true faith must be based solely upon scriptural FACTS, for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Unless our faith is established upon facts, it is no more than conjecture, superstition, speculation, or presumption.

Hebrews 11:1 leaves no question about this: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith standing on the FACTS of the Word of God substantiates and gives evidence of things not seen. And everyone knows that evidence must be founded upon facts. All of us started on this principle when we were born again -- our belief stood directly upon the eternal fact of the redeeming death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This is the faith by which we began, and it is the same faith by which we are to "stand" (1 Corinthians 16:13); and "walk" (2 Corinthians 5:7); and "live" (Galatians 2:20b). "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him" (Colossians 2:6).

Since true faith is anchored upon scriptural facts, we are certainly not to be influenced by IMPRESSIONS. George Mueller said, "Impressions have neither one thing nor the other to do with faith. Faith has to do with the Word of God. It is not impressions, strong or weak, which will make the difference. We have to do with the Written Word and not ourselves or our impressions."

Then, too, PROBABILITIES are the big temptation when it comes to exercising faith. Too often the attitude is, "It doesn't seem probable that he will ever be saved." "The way things are going, I wonder if the Lord really loves me." But Mueller wrote: "Many people are willing to believe regarding those things that seem probable to them. Faith has nothing to do with probabilities. The province of faith begins where probabilities cease and sight and sense fail. Appearances are not to be taken into account. The question is -- whether God has spoken it in His Word.

Alexander R. Hay adds to this by saying, "Faith must be based upon CERTAINTY. There must be definite knowledge of God's purpose and will. Without that there can be no true faith. For faith is not a force that we exercise or a striving to believe that something shall be, thinking that if we believe hard enough it will come to pass." That may be positive thinking, but certainly not Biblical faith.

Evan Hopkins writes: "Faith needs facts to REST upon. Presumption can take fancy instead of fact. God in His Word reveals to us the facts with which faith has to deal." It is upon this basis that J.B.Stoney can say, "Real faith is always increased by opposition, while false confidence is damaged and discouraged by it." There can be no steadfastness apart from immovable facts. Peter's burden was, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).

Once we begin to reckon (count) on facts, our Father begins to build us up in the faith. From his profoundly simple trust in God, Mueller was able to say that "God delights to increase the faith of His children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God's hand as a means. I say -- and say it deliberately -- trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith."

On this same subject, James McConkey wrote: "Faith is DEPENDENCE upon God. And this God-dependence only begins when self-dependence ends. And self-dependence only comes to its end, with some of us, when sorrow, suffering, affliction, broken plans and hopes bring us to that place of self-help-lessness and defeat. And only then do we find that we have learned the lesson of faith; to find our tiny craft of life rushing onward to a blessed victory of life and power and service undreamt of in the days of our fleshly strength and self-reliance."

J.B.Stoney agrees by saying, "It is a great thing to LEARN faith: that is, simple dependence upon God. It will comfort you much to be assured that the Lord is teaching you dependence upon Himself, and it is very remarkable that faith is necessary in EVERYTHING. 'The just shall live by faith,' not only in your circumstances, but in everything. I believe the Lord allows many things to happen on purpose to make us feel our need of Him. The more you find Him in your sorrows or wants, the more you will be attached to Him and drawn away from this place where the sorrows are, to Him in the place where He is." "Set your affection on things above" (Colossians 3:2a).

Actually, we cannot trust anyone further than we know him. So we must not only learn the facts involved, but ever more intimately come to know the One who presents and upholds them! "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the
divine nature" (2 Peter 1:2-4).
397  Theology / Bible Study / IMITATING IS IMITATION -miles stanford on: December 10, 2011, 10:10:49 AM
                                                  IMITATING IS IMITATION -miles stanford

For to me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:2l).

Once we learn the truth of our union with the Lord Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, any attempt to imitate Christ will be seen for what it is: unscriptural, and futile.

"Our Father is going to teach us, mainly through personal failure, that the life we live is the life of our Lord Jesus alone. The Christian life is not our living a life like Christ, or our trying to be Christ-like, nor is it Christ giving us the power to live a life like His; but it is Christ Himself living His own life through us; 'no longer I, but Christ.'"

"The end of Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection was to prepare and form an holy nature and frame for us in Himself, to be communicated to us by union and fellowship with Him; and not to be able to produce in ourselves the first originals of such an holy nature by our own endeavors."

"The believer's true education is in the growth of Christ within. The Church's real ministry is not multitudinous public services, so-called, but the forming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the lives of His people; the reproduction of Christ; epistles made alive by the Holy Spirit, to be seen and read of all men." -C.A.F.

"There is no answer to infidelity like the life of the Lord Jesus displayed through the Christian. Nothing puts the madness of the infidel, and the folly of the superstitious more to shame and silence than the humble, quiet, devoted walk of a thorough-going, heavenly-minded, and divinely-taught believer."

"But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you" (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

To Our Growth in Christ <><
Netchaplain (Bob)




 
398  Theology / Bible Study / CONDITION –Miles Stanford on: December 08, 2011, 10:52:24 PM
(Fact pertaining to conditional truth is that it cannot affect positional truth. Fact pertaining to positional truth is that it can affect conditional truth.)

First of all, we must consider the area in which we are not accepted by God, nor ever can be (Rom 8:7: verse insert mine). It is only natural for us to feel that our spiritual walk and service make us acceptable to our Father. We imagine that it is our responsibility (with His help) to live and serve so faithfully and fruitfully that He will approve of us, and therefore continually an abundantly bless us. We are making the natural mistake of depending on condition, instead of position, for our acceptance.

Important as it is, service is often a condition-centered detriment in the lives of many zealous believers. When service is given predominance over fellowship with and growth in the Lord Jesus, doing, instead of being, takes over the life. Fellowship and growth must ever take precedence over service and activity, otherwise spiritual declension sets in.

In this reversal of God’s order for us, the heart seeks satisfaction and a sense of acceptance through production (law), instead of reception (grace). Bible study and prayer, as well as one’s outlook, become almost exclusively service-centered. Instead of life bringing forth service, service becomes the life. Thus, as long as the service goes well, the servant is happy and feels accepted. But once the service wanes or fails to produce results, all else falls with it. We are to be sons, not servants. “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son . . .” (Gal. 4:7).

In time, we begin to realize that there is something very wrong with this entire concept. We become aware that our walk and service are less and less acceptable, even to ourselves. In seeking to do rather that to be, in attempting to give out more than we take in, our condition becomes barren and carnal. We have been depending on self to do what only Christ our life can do; the farther we move on this tangent, the more active and malignant the self-life appears to be.

What the condition-centered believer does not realize is that God Himself is causing this shattering revelation of self. He takes us into situations and relationships that finally cause us to face up to the fact of our failure as Christians ---our nothingness, our total unacceptability in ourselves. Not until we understand we understand that in our flesh (carnal nature: insert mine) there “dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18), can we rest in our position of complete acceptance in the Lord Jesus, just as we are. To abide in Christ, and consent to be loved while unworthy, is the believer’s positional privilege and responsibility.  Love functions according to its nature, not according to the quality of its object.
399  Theology / General Theology / "Not I, But Christ"! on: December 07, 2011, 05:15:07 PM
It's a good and restful thing to realize that the fruit (works) of the Spirit isn't required by Christians to produce but to "bring forth" or "bare", for it's the vine which produces, the branches bare (Jhn 15:8). It's not the works done by Christians using the Holy Spirit that produces. What lasts are the works done by the Holy Spirit using the Christian.

So, "our good works which glorify our Father which is in heaven" (Mat 5:16) are actually performed by the Spirit; first in us, then by us. In this way it's not the life of self being manifested but the life of Christ, for the Spirit's purpose is to, "teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (Jhn 14:26). Our "abiding in Him" isn't from "walking as He walked". Our walking in Him is evidence that we abide in Him (1Jo 2:6) because "without Me ye can do nothing" (Jhn 15:5).

Stanford writes, "Our Father is going to teach us, mainly through personal failure, that the life we live is the life of our Lord Jesus alone. The Christian life is not our living a life like Christ, or our trying to be Christ-like, nor is it Christ giving us the power to live a life like His; but it is Christ Himself living His own life through us; 'no longer I, but Christ.'"

"The end of Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection was to prepare and form an holy nature and frame for us in Himself, to be communicated to us by union and fellowship with Him; and not to be able to produce in ourselves the first originals of such an holy nature by our own endeavors."

"The believer's true education is in the growth of Christ within. The Church's real ministry is not multitudinous public services, so-called, but the forming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the lives of His people; the reproduction of Christ; epistles made alive by the Holy Spirit, to be seen and read of all men." -C.A.F.
400  Welcome / About You! / Greetings Household of Faith! on: December 07, 2011, 08:48:38 AM
May God cause our primary motive to always be neighborly love because I believe it's the foundation of our love for Him (1 Jn 4:20; Mt 22:39).

I chose to believe in and accept Christ when I was 25 and now I'm 57. It's not how long you've been a Christian but how Christian do you want to be.

My time in the Words is mostly consumed in the Spiritual Growth category. Most of my posts are from the spiritual growth writer Miles Stanford because his material is highly instructive for Christian maturity and always Bible based. 

Married 33 yrs. with three sons and I work as an automotive technician.

Hid With Christ
Bob Hall (Netchaplain)
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