For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgement, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.
May 2016 - Page 3 of 3 - GraceAndWorks
Save me, O God, by thy name, and vindicate me by thy might. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
This blog comes to you by my sister, Connie Willoughby. Connie is a 60 year Christian and attends the Waterview Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas. Enjoy the read.
Over the years on my walk with God I have studied the Ephesian letter many times. As I was preparing to lead my little neighborhood class in a study of Ephesians, a window of understanding opened to me that I want to share.
After Paul’s greeting, which is packed with important information, Paul praises God for the blessings received. He is referring to the spiritual blessings God has granted. These are blessings that effect the spirit or the soul of man. He defines three parts of this blessing: 1) We are chosen or called by God. 2) We are made acceptable to God through Christ. This is, of course, an act man cannot do on his own because he is a sinner. 3) The third part of the blessing is the removal of man’s sin. This is called redemption and is due to the sacrificial death of Christ and requires our acceptance.These three parts of the blessing given by God to man are the nuts and bolts of Christianity.
Ephesians 1:4-5 reads: For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will. These two verses are the open window of understanding I earlier referred to. They are among the most exciting verses I have studied.
We are all chosen or predestined as God’s adoptive children before God even created the world!!
I WAS CHOSEN (predestined) by God to be His adopted daughter before the world was formed—before the beginning of time!!
HOW EXCITING IS THAT??
In the past I have heard many Bible students stumble over the word, predestined, trying to figure out why one would be chosen over another.
In God’s reality, we are NOT chosen because one person is better than the other. It is NOT a matter of luck or reward. We are ALL chosen.
However, we learn in Romans 3:21 that mankind sins and Isaiah 59:2 tells us that man’s sinful nature separates him from God. If our fate ended here, we would all fall short. But, remember, before God created the world, He had a plan. That plan included offering man a way to be redeemed of his sin. God gave His Son as a sacrificial lamb that all might have the opportunity to live with Him as He had planned. Part of His plan was to give man free will. We have evidence of this part of His plan as early as God’s command to Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:16-17).
I rejoice that God has already chosen ME as His adopted daughter. All He requires of me is that I choose to believe, follow and obey His Son. When I’ve done that, I will receive the blessings promised me as His adopted daughter.
This is WIN-WIN!!!!!
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