Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Are you a follower of Jesus or a church? | Matt 10:32 | flinkywood | 108865 | ||
Aixen, thanks for your reply. Could you clarify "So, in context of Psalm 14, some Israelites were clearly righteous. How did they get that way? Probably not (not probably, certainly not) by loving God and following the Ten Commandments as best they could. It was by faith. Romans 1:17 The just shall live by faith." Are you saying that the righteous did not need to love God or follow the Ten Commandments in order to live by faith? Colin |
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2 | Are you a follower of Jesus or a church? | Matt 10:32 | Aixen7z4 | 108872 | ||
My dear friend: Your question has been asked in a thousand ways on a thousand different forums. The gist of it seems to be that there is something we can do to earn acceptance with God. I will make just one effort to show that this cannot be, and it is not so. By ourselves we cannot please God. When he is in control, we do. God requires two things of us, and these combine to establish a right relationship with him. One is repentance. The other is faith. We have to come to the end of ourselves, and stop relying on our wisdom and our strength. We have to realize that we are sinners by nature and that we do not have what it takes to please God. We then cease that reliance on ourselves and turn instead to him. When we have turned to him, he requires that we trust in him. He is able to do what is necessary, and he has done it. We have to submit to him in simple faith, and trust him. When we do that, he changes us. He changes our heart. He changes our nature. As new creatures, we are able to obey him and to produce righteous acts. The good that we try to do without repentance does not count. We must surrender to God to do things his way. When we surrender, God declares us righteous, and we are saved from ourselves, from our sin, and from the eternal consequences of sin. We are then free to be righteous in our ways. We are also free to do bad things, but those are contrary to our nature. We will not continue doing them. There have been people, from the time of Abel to this day, who have put their faith in God. They are righteous, and it is because of their faith in God. This is what I understand, and this is what I have experienced. Am I saying that the righteous did not need to love God or follow the Ten Commandments in order to live by faith? I am saying, because I believe it is what God says, that when we believe God we are declared righteous and we will keep his commandments. This is a part of living by faith. It is not a means to an end. The essence of it is trusting God. We do that even when we do not know or understand. We look to him for knowledge and for guidance in what we do. We depend on him to teach us and to show us, to be patient with us, to work with us and in us, to will and to do his good pleasure. We depend on his promise that he will never leave us or forsake us or fail to guide us and protect us. Knowing all he has done for us, we love him, and we do the things that please him. |
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3 | Are you a follower of Jesus or a church? | Matt 10:32 | flinkywood | 108876 | ||
Thanks, Aixen. You wrote: "...when we believe God we are declared righteous and we will keep his commandments. This is a part of living by faith. It is not a means to an end." In the New Covenant our righteousness depends on belief in Christ, without whom our "good" works, our attempts at self-justification, are dead. In the OT, however, something interesting is going on. In Genesis 12:1-2 God tells Abram, then 76-yrs-old, to go forth from his country "...to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, and make your name great..." But it's not until Genesis 15:6 when Abram is 99, before the birth of Ishmael, that we read "Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." 23 years had passed from God's first promise to Abram. Why was Abram's righteousness so long in coming? What of all those prior years? Colin |
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4 | Are you a follower of Jesus or a church? | Matt 10:32 | Aixen7z4 | 108919 | ||
Although it is not stated in Genesis 12, it is evident that Abraham believed God when God told him to go and he went. It was by faith that Abraham obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went (Hebrews 11:8). That faith is pointed out again in Genesis 15 and again in Genesis 22 when God said, “Now I know”. Some will say that it was only then that he was saved, as the sacrifice of Christ was prefigured. But his righteousness was declared in Genesis 15, and I submit that it had been bestowed in Genesis 11 when he obeyed and arose and went. Righteousness never did come by the law because the Law did not have that power. The law judged and condemned. It led men to look to Christ even before he was manifested in the flesh. They laid hold on the promise that he was coming and they trusted in him. When they did they were saved. In the New Covenant our righteousness depends on belief in Christ. And it was the same in the Old. Why was Abram's righteousness so long in coming? It may be it had been there without his realizing it. It may be that intellectual assurance comes with time, but justification is instantaneous when faith is exercised. There is a certain settled peace which we may not recognize at first or ever fully understand. I wonder if Abram had that peace as he left his home not knowing where he was going. That is one reason God gives us his word. And we should wait to hear what the Lord will speak, but the Lord will speak peace to his people. At the moment of faith we have that righteousness imputed. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Sooner or later we will know it. |
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5 | Are you a follower of Jesus or a church? | Matt 10:32 | flinkywood | 108920 | ||
Aixen, thanks for your considered reply. Colin |
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