Take a Moment

this is something i have been working on. I feel that i'm supposed to publish it here. i does not have anything to do with my childhood, but it is about my life now.
Please take a moment to consider it. thks

Sin, Justification, Sanctification and Grace:
B.Mac2005

Sin: For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God,
No One is Righteous, no not one.
Everyone, saved or unsaved, commits sin in some form, manner or way. There are too many verses and too much physical evidence to argue that point.
Saved people commit sin but are not Sinners.
Unsaved people are sinners. The difference is how God views and deals with what we all do. Sinners will stand before the Great white throne judgment some day and be found guilty of sin and sentenced to death. People who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior by faith will not. Why...

Justification: is our Right standing with God, and is often synonymous with righteousness.
Justification:
A forensic term, opposed to condemnation.
As regards its nature, it is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as righteous in the eye of the law, i.e., as conformed to all its demands. In addition to the pardon (q.v.) of sin, justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied in respect of the justified. It is the act of a judge and not of a sovereign. The law is not relaxed or set aside, but is declared to be fulfilled in the strictest sense; and so the person justified is declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience to the law. Ro 5:1-10
It proceeds on the imputing or crediting to the believer by God himself of the perfect righteousness, active and passive, of his Representative and Surety, Jesus Christ
Rom 10:3-9.
Justification is not the forgiveness of a man without righteousness, but a declaration that he possesses a righteousness which perfectly and for ever satisfies the law, namely, Christ's righteousness 2Co 5:21 Rom 4:6-8
The sole condition on which this righteousness is imputed or credited to the believer is faith in or on the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is called a “condition,” not because it possesses any merit, but only because it is the instrument, the only instrument by which the soul appropriates or apprehends Christ and his righteousness Rom 1:17 Rom 3:25,26 Rom 4:20, 22 Phi 3:8-11 Gal 2:16.
(eastons)

Works of the law (our behavior) will never bring us justification. Ro 3:20-22

Justification occurs when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and express and demonstrate our faith in Him.
It is the RESULT of faith.

*FAITH is (A)THE ONLY CONDITION OF JUSTIFICATION.*


"the person justified is declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from PERFECT obedience to the law" Ro 5:1-10 (eastons)

SO:

Justification arising from faith in Jesus Christ is the KEY to our relationship with God. It allows a perfect God to adopt as children imperfect, sinful people. It is based SOLELY upon FAITH in Jesus Christ and not by any type or form of WORKS. It determines how God perceives and RELATES to US and how God views our ACTIONS/WORKS. regardless of our perception of their being "Good or Bad".
then:

Sanctification:
(Old Testament Holy- from same root)
To separate from the world and consecrate to God. (isbe)
Saint: one who belongs to God, without indication of their moral condition.

We are foreordained to be conformed to the image of God's Son. Rom 8:29
Carrying on to perfection, (complete Christ like-ness) the work begun in Justification.

Christ is the Goal. Rom 8:29
We are to grow in Him. Eph 4:15
He is to be formed in us. Gal 4:19
We are to behold Him and be changed into his image 2Co 3:17

This is an Active Process by Which the Life is Made Holy.

It can only begin after justification has occurred, and will continue until the christian stands before Jesus the Christ in heaven. ONLY then will it be completed.
Perfect sanctification will never, ever, never occur while the believer is here on earth.
Ro 7:14 Phil 3:12 Pr 20:9 Ecc 7:20

The question of sanctification,(ie) the Christian life. Is not what we do, but
WHAT ARE WE BECOMING..

There is much to sanctification but for this discussion the emphasis is on the fact that it is accomplished by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in every TRUE Christian, and that IT IS A PROCESS.
NO ONE but our Lord and Savior has or ever will live a sin free life on this earth.

At this point of our Christian life is where we and others expect and often demand to see the Fruit of the Spirit or works.

Here we must balance what is clearly said in Gal 2:16. about faith being the Key and Eph 2:10 which clearly says we were created for good works.
There would seem to be a contradiction, but we know that the bible does not contradict itself so a study of the verses shows that Gal 2:16 deals with the works of the Law. but we being saved and justified Christians are no longer under the law. Rom 3:21-28, 4:1-8 , 4:13-15
so the works mentioned in Eph 2:10 are not works of the Law, but fruit of the Holy Spirit prompted by love and faith.

What’s the difference?
Works of the Law are required for forgiveness and acceptance from God. THESE ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED FOR THOSE WHO HAVE APPROPERATED THEM BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. Rom: 4:13-15. 5:13...

Fruit of the Holy Spirit are acts that are prompted by the Holy Spirit and result because of our love for Jesus and for our fellow man.
They are not required, they are desired, for the effect they have on our souls and on others.
And THEY ARE OFTEN NOT THE SAME ACTS REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

STRICT OBSERVANCE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, FOR INSTANCE, IS NOT PROOF OF EITHER SALVATION OR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.

THE GOOD WORKS THAT GOD HAS DESIGNED FOR US, AND US FOR, WOULD OBVIOUSLY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT OUR SINFUL FLESH, OUR PERSONALITIES AT THE TIME HE PLANNED FOR US TO DO THE WORK AND EVERY OTHER FACTOR OF OUR LIVES.

GOD IS SOUVERGN. HE KNEW AT THE MOMENT OF SALVATION/ JUSTIFICATION EVERY SIN WE WOULD EVERY COMMIT AND FACTORED IT INTO HIS PLAN FOR US AND OUR WORKS.
IN DOING THIS HE DOES NOT CONDON THE SIN; HE USES IT IN HIS PLAN, SHOWING HIS ABSOLUTE POWER.

So.
We are former sinners who have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ. God imputes justification to us by our faith, accomplished by the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ. Then the Holy Spirit enters us and the PROCESS of sanctification begins. But What about The sins that the believer commits, or the good works that the believer does not commit?

Grace:

Unmerited Favor.
Unmerited Mercy.
Unmerited Power from (Of) God.

An attitude on God's part that proceeds ENTIRELY from within Him, and that is not conditioned, earned, affected in any way, by the objects of His favor (Us).

Rom 5:1, 2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:3-5 and not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
And perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Grace allows us to come into God's presence. And Grace compels, entices us to go into God's presence.

Grace is the Holy Spirit within me EMPOWERING me to deal with a sin filled world,
A life of past and future wrong choices, sin and disappointment.
Grace appropriated is A life with an absolutely unworldly Peace and Joy.

Grace is my ice cream from God. The more I have the more I want.

Grace causes/allows me to smile and praise God when my life is absolutely not where I thought it would be at this time of my life.

Grace is a warm hug from the strongest, warmest most loving arms.

A rigid definition of Grace is hardly possible, but still a single conception is actually present in almost every case where “grace” is found - the conception that all a Christian has or is, is centered exclusively in God and Christ, and depends utterly on God through Christ.
The kingdom of heaven is reserved for those who become as little children, for those who look to their Father in loving confidence for every benefit, whether it is for the pardon so freely given, or for the strength that comes from Him who works in them both to will and to do. (isbe)

Gal 5:4 And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his wonderful kindness.

Grace is not a license to sin.
Grace is not an excuse to sin.

Grace is a Perfect God's way of dealing with his children, whom he loves dearly but who are not now mature, nor will they be mature until they come to be with him.

So is it O.K. to sin NO

Rom 6:1, 2 so what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving?
I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there?

So:
It means that I as a Christian must allow God to live through me so that the life I live is really his, and sin, then is a non issue.

Can I do this?
Sometimes I can, sometimes I can not, or more honestly I just don’t.
Selfishness it has been said is the single vilest part of the human personality and is the basis for all sin. I am a witness to that!!
But no matter what sins I commit or good works I don’t do, I KNOW that God loves me and he will forgive me as long as I confess my sins, and repent from them
1 Jn 1:9, Ja 5:16, Mat 4:17, Mat 11:20, Luk 13:3
BECAUSE I have faith in Jesus Christ.

Col 2:6-19, 3:1-3 msg.
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him.
You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ.
Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.
When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in--insiders--not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin.
If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ.
When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive--right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven,
The slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross.
He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.
So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days.
All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.
Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are.
They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.
so, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it?
"Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!"

Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?
Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.
So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides.
Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ--that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life--even though invisible to spectators--is with Christ in God. He is your life.





Conclusion:
This simple study came about by the prompting of the Holy Spirit as I began a study of the book of Romans. My study of that book will not be complete for some time.
I don’t know if this study is intended more for me or others and honestly that is God’s work. The writing and the study is the blessing for me.
I love my Lord Jesus So very much; I must by faith do what He asks.

AND YOU!

I'm still around

No i have not forgotten about this blog, nor do i think anyone is actually reading it, but i'm working on something now. i will post soon. and then i will continue my story.....

Apology for being away

i apologize for being away so long. i doubt if anyone is reading this but there we go.
so i'm born now what..
for the next couple of years i suppose my life was mostly like everyone elses. we did not have a lot of money and we did not live on a farm so we could not grow food. times became hard for my parents.
my parents became desperate. you have 6 kids to feed, and remember this was before welfare. so they decided that robbing a bank would probably pay off. i guessing this because i never really asked my mother about it and she never really brought it up with me. i found out most of this information from newspaper articles and speaking with family members is the last 4 or 5 years.
so my parents hatched and carried out a bank robbery. my mom and dad loaded me.( who was about 2 at the time) into the car and went went to the next county north of where we lived. again i guessing this was in hope of no one recognizing my father or the fact that my uncle lived in the same county and i could be left with them when the heist occured. good babysitters have allways been hard to find, either way that is how it went down.
my father went to the bank, robbed it. he then picked up me and my mother and we went home...
my fathers luck was not very good or else he was just not a very good bank robber. he had not used a mask and one of the bank tellers recognized him and told the police and f.b.i. just who he was..
my aunt and uncle were questioned and i believe them when the said they did not know he was going to do it.
it did not take long for the coppers to show up at our house. my dad took the rap even though i later learned from my sister that mom was was the major architect of the plan.
my dad gave most of the money back. some of it had been spent buying food and paying bills.
we have a picture of my dad being lead away in handcuffs by police and fbi agents.
the look on his face really bothers me, if i think about it it haunts me.
he did very wrong, trying to do very right.
i would like to think that if my daughter were hungry i would find some other way but i must admit... if times were bad enough i would do what i had to do to take care of her..

we continue.

so we have a mother on speed, who wants to keep her baby.
Lets talk about the father. we allready know that he has problems keeping his pants zipped. we know that he is 27 years older than his wife/ actually his second wife, his first wife,with whom he has a daughter older than his current wife, is living in another city.
(and please note that everything i writing is the truth. none of this is fabricated and and most all of it can be verified).
This father had lead a very interesting life. when he was born there were 0 miles of paved road in NC. most homes did not have electricity, or inside bathrooms.
By this point in his life he had been in the navy just after WWI, a successful boxer holding some featherweight titles. he had moved to california where he worked and lived in hollywood as a stunt double for James Cagney.
he also ran and sold moonshine, and was a car salesman.
he had made and blown more money than anyone in his wife's family had ever seen. When he met his second wife, he had suits, not overalls. he owned his own car. and appeared on the fast track, well as fast as you got in 1945 when me married this 15 year old who had never traveled more than a hundred miles from home.
But since they had married things had not gone as anyone had thought. He was much better and spending than saving or investing. The story goes that he was in florida driving in a then quaint little town called miami and there were signs advertising land for $ 15.00 an acre, in what would now be downtown. he supposedly had over a hundred dollars in his pockets but he did not think land would be a good investiment... he worked at numerous odd jobs trying to support his growing family. but things were not going well.
We are back to a smoking, speed taking expecting mother who wants to keep her baby.
We dont know how it was decided but, the baby was allowed to come to term. The delivery, that cold december , was anything but routine. a surgeon was called in to try and save both the mother and child. I now understand that God's will kept both the mother and child alive. and just to make it interesting they had to break the baby's left arm during the delivery. I was told that there is nothing more moving than seeing a new born child with it's tiny arm in a cast..
Dont worry I dont remember it hurting ..
I would hope before now you would have gotten that I'm the child and the roudy old man and the innocent young girl were my parents.