A Thought for the Day – 092 – Grace gospel.
Proverbs
18:22 – He who finds a wife finds a
good thing, and obtains favor from
the LORD. If you have been married for any length of time you know that your
wife is not a THING. But you also know that you have obtained FAVOR from the
LORD. So in every moment with her, remember she is a gift of GRACE or someTHING
beautiful that you do not deserve.
Comments and challenges
Every day is a
different, is it not? Today I am in a hurry the days agenda is packed with
things to do. Well enough of that let me get to it. When I was a young boy;
well that was so long ago that I do not remember the exact age but maybe around
nine. My mom and I were walking to my school on a cold day, all bundled up and
sort of bent over pushing our way against the wind. We stepped into the street,
the car to our left was stopped at the stop sign, no problem but then as we
moved to the middle of his vehicle, the man stepped on the gas.
Pushing against us
the car was picking up speed, our screaming and yelling had no effect, the
windows of the car were closed and the man was watching the traffic to his left
approaching. As a last ditch effort I threw my school books at his windshield. The
noise startled the man and he stepped on his brakes. The moment was a horror,
but it was over and we were safe once again. My mom and I did not know the LORD
Jesus Christ as our Savior at that time and my mom at 91 this past July 14th
still does not know the saving grace of LORD Jesus.
How is it that some
believe in Jesus to be saved and some do not? The answer is: Personal choice! There
is much clerical controversy over this important life changing experience. None
of us seem rightly qualified to accomplish a full understanding of the Gospel
of the Grace of God which is available to every soul who is born into this
world. As humans we can and do look at the saving grace of God from a human
viewpoint and this is WRONG. From this viewpoint we develop doctrines that
include obstacles; or better put “stumbling blocks”.
These obstacles come
in the form of “works” to earn ones salvation, this would be seeking to gain
God’s grace or favor by doing good in addition to believing the message of the
gospel. On the other side of this problem are “limits” to salvation, such as; a
limited number of believing people, chosen by God who will by His own authority
atone for those He selects out of the world to be with Him in eternity. So these
are the main two doctrines in Christianity today, and folks to be very blunt.
BOTH OF THESE SYSTEMS OF THEOLOGY WILL LEAD THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THESE BELIEFS
STRAIGHT TO HELL.
People who are
working fervently to be pleasing to God with good works and people who believe
that they have been selected to spend eternity with God because they are of
some conviction that God has a special interest in their person or religion are
standing in the cold in front of the car, ready to be tossed into the grave
without the true gospel, these folks are without Christ and without hope. Let me
say that I can hear the AMEN from those you who are saved by grace.
So now if salvation
is not from works and not from a limited atonement controlled by God what is
it? First of all, this is not salvation by the words of Jesse, it is salvation
by the words of the Living Word of God; any Holy Bible will reveal this saving
grace of God to you. Let me say this quickly… if you are using Bibles that are
rewritten by men who remove the Deity of Jesus Christ from the words of the
original transcripts of the written word of God then you ARE in trouble. Bibles
that are reworded to present Jesus as nothing more than a spirit or half-brother
of Satan are garbage and need to be burned.
Now I am very adamant about this and before I run
out of time and paper, let me show you why. It is sort of simple really, no
doubt the religion of work and the religion of limited atonement controlling
beliefs; if God who truly is the Father focused in these theologies, there
would be little need for Jesus. But Jesus makes a few statements to help you
and me, or to keep you and me from making these critical errors. John 8:42-47; John 14:1-6 and from God the
Father we hear these words when Jesus was ordained for ministry (baptized by
John the baptizer) Matthew 3:13-17. If you have time read John 1:1-34.
Those are all familiar passages from the Holy
Bible; there are many more, the most popular of all is another comment about
the Son of God, which is spoken by the Son Himself. Speaking in reference to
His mission to earth as God and man in the flesh, He says” For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life. And of course that verse of scripture is
John 3:16. Did you notice the words WHOEVER BELIEVES?
Let me take you to a statement of the apostle
Paul speaking to the Galatians, Galatians 2:16 – “KNOWING that a man is not
justified by the works of the law but by FAITH in Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not
by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be
justified.
So this is what I believe from scripture,
scripture that has not been tarnished by the hands of unprincipled men but
scripture authorized by God Himself. The simple but powerful verse of John 3:16
speaks boldly that there is no such thing as limited atonement and secondly
Galatians 2:16 speaks just a boldly about any system of works to gain access to
heaven. To put the finishing touches on this; this is what I believe and I will
go to my grave or enter the rapture of the saints of God with this thought. “I have
been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God
who loved me and gave Himself for me” Galatians 2:20. When I came to know this,
I was simply like the Philippian jailer (as he is referred to) notice Acts
16:25-34.
I once saw a billboard that said something like
this: KNOW CHRIST AND KNOW LIFE; NO CHRIST AND NO LIFE. Well there is truth
written there but the gospel of the Grace of God is greater than the words of
MAN. Grace has appeared to ALL men to resist ungodliness and receive salvation,
such as written once again by the apostle Paul in Titus 2:11-15 so my speech to
you will always be seasoned with grace (saving grace) but I will always use
salt by speaking with the authority found in the Living Word of God and truly I
favor your relationship, fellowship and your friendship, so do not despise what
I am saying… take the time and search it out, it is a subject that your soul
longs to be comforted with.
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