I've been convicted of a couple of things lately, and I thought it'd be wise to share some of it with you. I may have a faith in God, but I am just a mere human... just as broken as the next person, and in no way6 superior through my own efforts.
I've been thinking of how easily Christian's INCLUDING me... have a tendency to "put things on the tab".
This is wrong... from the smallest error to the greatest crime. We shouldn't live this way. We should be alert and watchful towards our behaviour.
It's a delicate balance... yes the full and total price of our redemption was settled on Good Friday. Christ died once for all!
This does not give us free reign to do whatever the heck we want though, as Paul sums up in these passages:
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
and:
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
and:
"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"
So it's pretty clear... and to be honest... you don't really need the Bible to tell you that, as a Christian you should know in your heart that any rebellious act shows disregard for what Jesus did for us. How can we callously do the things we do... and offend God? We know what our sins did... because hundreds of years before Christ died for us Isaiah the prophet inspired by God... wrote these words:
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."
We know his pain was for our redemption and the Father's glory. Theologians have argued who was responsible for the death of Christ for centuries. Many blamed the Jews... but the simple truth is that regardless of the "angry mob... regardless of the gentile form of execution, race has nothing to do with it.
Want to know who crucified Christ?
TAKE A GOOD LOOK IN THE MIRROR!
For:
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
... the iniquity of US ALL. The Human Race in total is responsible. You and I. This is why I have included a picture of Christ on the cross from "The Passion of Christ". We as Christian's need to remind ourselves that we WERE bought at a price... and remember just what that price was!
Back to my original point, and the Bible makes it clear we have a responsibility for the way we live our lives after accepting Christ. However, we know that we are not alone in our struggles because as John in his first epistle reassuringly tells us:
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
So we as Christian's still sin... but this is not right... what should we do? Paul writes:
"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
We must allow God full reign in our hearts and allow him to guide us away from the things that tempt us to fall prey to sin. The only way to do this is to trust in Jesus because:
"For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
I pray that God will enable you and I today this today.
N
I've been thinking of how easily Christian's INCLUDING me... have a tendency to "put things on the tab".
This is wrong... from the smallest error to the greatest crime. We shouldn't live this way. We should be alert and watchful towards our behaviour.
It's a delicate balance... yes the full and total price of our redemption was settled on Good Friday. Christ died once for all!
This does not give us free reign to do whatever the heck we want though, as Paul sums up in these passages:
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
and:
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
and:
"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"
So it's pretty clear... and to be honest... you don't really need the Bible to tell you that, as a Christian you should know in your heart that any rebellious act shows disregard for what Jesus did for us. How can we callously do the things we do... and offend God? We know what our sins did... because hundreds of years before Christ died for us Isaiah the prophet inspired by God... wrote these words:
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."
We know his pain was for our redemption and the Father's glory. Theologians have argued who was responsible for the death of Christ for centuries. Many blamed the Jews... but the simple truth is that regardless of the "angry mob... regardless of the gentile form of execution, race has nothing to do with it.
Want to know who crucified Christ?
TAKE A GOOD LOOK IN THE MIRROR!
For:
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
... the iniquity of US ALL. The Human Race in total is responsible. You and I. This is why I have included a picture of Christ on the cross from "The Passion of Christ". We as Christian's need to remind ourselves that we WERE bought at a price... and remember just what that price was!
Back to my original point, and the Bible makes it clear we have a responsibility for the way we live our lives after accepting Christ. However, we know that we are not alone in our struggles because as John in his first epistle reassuringly tells us:
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
So we as Christian's still sin... but this is not right... what should we do? Paul writes:
"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
We must allow God full reign in our hearts and allow him to guide us away from the things that tempt us to fall prey to sin. The only way to do this is to trust in Jesus because:
"For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
I pray that God will enable you and I today this today.
N
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