Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How are you being perfected? Law? | Rom 7:4 | Searcher56 | 14402 | ||
I have been perfected, being perfected and will be made perfect (References previously cited). You can break any law you wish - I chose to try obey them ALL. Tho, I am free from being bound to the consequences. It is a struggle. BTW the ones Jesus gave were before the New Covenant, which was instituted after His death. Steve |
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2 | Will you enter God's rest? | Rom 7:4 | Bill Mc | 14418 | ||
Dear Steve, I do understand what you are saying. I was bound for 30 years, as you say, 'trying to obey them ALL.' And, you're right, brother, it is a struggle. Always trying to keep short accounts with God, even though God had said that the account was 'paid in full - it is finished.' If you are being honest with yourself, you KNOW that you can't obey them all. No one ever has EXCEPT Christ. He fulfilled ALL of the Law. Then, He caused us, through our union with Him, to die to it. Why? Because we are now joined to Him. Brother, I love you in the Lord. I have been where you are now. You're right - under law, the Christian life is a struggle. But Christ said, "My yoke is EASY, My burden is LIGHT. Come to me and you will find REST (not struggle) for your soul." Would you describe your Christian life as easy, light, and restful? I couldn't. After 30 years, I felt no more 'perfected' than the day I began my walk with Christ. I could still think the same sinful thoughts and act out the same sinful patterns of my 'old man.' I was miserable. I, too, wanted to obey all the laws of God. I knew that they were holy, good, and righteous. But I couldn't find LIFE there. Scripture says that no law was ever given which could IMPART LIFE or righteousness. All the Law could do was show me my sinfulness. I was like Paul in Romans 7. I wanted to obey with all my heart but I always, somewhere, fell short. No matter how much I repented and confessed my sins, no matter how much I attended church, no matter how much I prayed, no matter how much I tithed, no matter how much I witnessed, no matter how many times I rededicated myself (I wore my rededicator out), I NEVER felt like I measured up to the Christian I ought to be. In frustration, I was ready to bail out, and I cried, "What a wretch I am!" Then, through a series of events, and the help of some wonderful Christians, I began to understand my identity in Christ. Christ, my brother, is the ONLY one who can ever live the Christian life as it is meant to be lived. He alone is acceptable to God. Through are spiritual union with Him, we are MADE acceptable and righteous before God. At our deepest level of being, our spirit has been joined to Christ's Spirit. That is how the scripture can say we HAVE BEEN (past tense) perfected. As I now live by His Spirit (remember, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me), I am BEING perfected (present tense) in my soul (my behavior). And, one day I WILL BE perfected (future tense) COMPLETELY, spirit, soul, and body, when I inherit my redeemed body. But, Steve, my identity, who I am at the spirit level is a new creation in Christ. My spirit IS perfect before God. Why? Because it is joined with His Spirit. How could it be otherwise? That is where I rest. Yes, I still commit sins, my behavior (soul) is not perfect. But that is not who I am. As Paul says in Romans 7, sin dwells in my body, but it is NOT ME. I am a new creation created to, yes, do good works. But why? Look at Christ's life, Steve. Did He do good works to be made righteous? No, He did good works because He WAS righteous. He did do good works to be made acceptable to His Father? No, God said that He was acceptable BEFORE Christ ever started His public ministry (remember, 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.') Christ was righteous, holy, acceptable because He and His Father were one. There were united. Jesus said, "I only do what the Father tells Me to do. I only say what the Father tells Me to say." Are you united with Him, dear brother? The Bible says you are. Then how can your identity (not your performance) be anything less than what He IS. Your performance will catch up (become sanctified) as you live out of your new identity with Him. He wants you to live out of a vital, pulsating, life-filled, abundant relationship with Him, not rules. Steve, this is the only place I know where there is rest. There is no rest under the Law. But, "there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God (that's you, brother). For the one who has entered (past tense) His rest has himself also rested from his works (before salvation or after), as God did from His. Therefore let us be deligent to enter that rest..." - Hebrews 4:9-11 You must rest from YOUR works. Let God do the good works through you. He predestined them, He will be faithful to do them. He ALONE will finish the good work He has begun in you. Trust Him, Steve. I pray, dear brother, you will enter HIS rest and there find YOUR OWN. In Christ, Bill Mc BTW, Yes, Jesus did proclaim the New Covenant (remember His blood at the Lord's Supper?) but, you're right, it did not go into effect until He died.) |
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3 | Will you enter God's rest? | Rom 7:4 | Searcher56 | 14426 | ||
Bill Mc, I am in His rest. My point of the New Covenant is that it did not happen at the start of Matthew 1:1, as some teach. Steve |
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4 | What are the provisions of the NC? | Rom 7:4 | Bill Mc | 14429 | ||
That's true. Unfortunately our Bibles put the NEW TESTAMENT heading before the gospels when it should be before Acts. Christ taught under the Old Covenant (law) but proclaimed that the New was coming. (No, all other readers, this does not affect the inerrancy of the Bible) Steve, do you know what the provisions of the New Covenant are? In Christ, Bill Mc |
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5 | What are the provisions of the NC? | Rom 7:4 | Searcher56 | 14430 | ||
The New Covenant is with the Church. He built His church with His own blood, all the fury of hell would never destory it and He would perfect all the members of His church (Mat 16:18, 26:28; Luk 22:20; 1Co 11:25; Heb 13:20-21). | ||||||
6 | What are the provisions of the NC? | Rom 7:4 | Bill Mc | 14434 | ||
Steve, I agree, the New Covenant is with His Church, which is made up of born-again Jews and Gentiles. But where did the gospel first go? To the Jew, who (as a nation) rejected it. So it was then taken to the Gentiles. And the main provisions for this New Covenant are found in Hebrews 10:16-18 - God writes His laws (plural) not Law (Mosaic) upon our hearts and minds. And He remembers on sins no more. Also, reitterated in Hebrews 8:12-13 - He is merciful to our sins, and He remembers them no more. Verse 13 says that the first covenant (Mosaic) has been made obsolete. We are no longer under that Old Covenant. And, when Christ returns, the nation of Israel will recognize Him as Messiah and the New Covenant will then be brought to fruition. If you are resting in this Covenant, Steve, then your standing before God should not be a struggle. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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7 | What are the provisions of the NC? | Rom 7:4 | Searcher56 | 14441 | ||
I pray with Paul for the Jews to come to their Messiah. | ||||||