CHRIST'S ATONEMENT RENDERS GOD SATISFIED....

       13 TERMS OF SALVATION – PROPITIATION

         

Most often when we ponder the work of Christ on the cross, we think of its SIN-WARD and MAN-WARD aspects. Sin was atoned for and man is justified by God the Judge when he/she believes in Christ.  

But, PROPITIATION is the GOD-WARD effect of Christ’s “once for all” death for sin and sinners. A key word to define it is SATISFACTION. PROPITIATION = SATISFACTION. What is satisfied? God’s holiness and righteous demands toward the sinner were rendered fully satisfied when His Son died in the sinners place. In the mind of God the offense of sin has been cleared.

^“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: ² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2

THE OLD TESTAMENT PERSPECTIVE

In the Old Testament the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant in the holy of holies had to be regularly made a place of PROPITIATION by sacrifice.

 The writer of Hebrews describes this: “But [inside] beyond the second curtain or veil, [there stood another] tabernacle [division] known as the Holy of Holies. It had the golden altar of incense and the ark (chest) of the covenant, covered over with wrought gold….But into the second [division of the tabernacle] none but the high priest goes, and he only once a year, and never without taking a sacrifice of blood with him, which he offers for himself and for the errors and sins of ignorance and thoughtlessness which the people have committed.” (Hebrews 9:3-4,7 AMP). 

All this was a type of Jesus’ actual and propitiatory fulfilment on the cross: “But [that appointed time came] when Christ (the Messiah) appeared as a High Priest of the better things that have come and are to come. [Then] through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with [human] hands, that is, not a part of this material creation, He went once for all into the [Holy of] Holies [of heaven], not by virtue of the blood of goats and calves [by which to make reconciliation between God and man], but His own blood, having found and secured a complete redemption (an everlasting release for us)” (Hebrews 9:11-12).

THE NEW TESTAMENT PERSPECTIVE

NOW, the blood-sprinkled body of Christ on the cross IS the Mercy Seat for sinners once and for all. The prayer of the publican (Luke 18:13), “God be merciful to me, the sinner!” can be translated “God, be Thou propitiated to me, the sinner.” God was rendered satisfied a short time after the publican’s prayer when His Son died. Now, we believe in Jesus for salvation and thank Him for the propitiatory work of Jesus on the cross. The mercy has been extended historically at Calvary.

OTHER NEW TESTAMENT VERSES

^“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

“…for all  have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation  in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:23-26).

“Therefore, He (Jesus) had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the  people” (Hebrews 2:17).

EASTON’S BIBLE DICTIONARY:

Propitiation

...that by which God is rendered propitious, i.e., by which it becomes consistent with his character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure his love or make him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to execise his love towards sinners. In Rom 3:25 and Heb 9:5 (A.V., "mercy-seat") the Greek word _hilasterion_ is used. It is the word employed by the LXX. translators in Ex 25:17 and elsewhere as the equivalent for the Hebrew _kapporeth_, which means "covering," and is used of the lid of the ark of the covenant (Ex 25:21; 30:6. This Greek word (hilasterion) came to denote not only the mercy-seat or lid of the ark, but also propitation or reconciliation by blood. On the great day of atonement the high priest carried the blood of the sacrifice he offered for all the people within the veil and sprinkled with it the "mercy-seat," and so made propitiation.

In 1 John 2 Ex 2:2 4:10, Christ is called the "propitiation for our sins." Here a different Greek word is used (hilasmos). Christ is "the propitiation," because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our obligations he expiated our guilt, covered it, by the vicarious punishment which he endured. (Comp. Heb 2:17, where the expression "make reconciliation" of the A.V. is more correctly in the R.V. "make propitiation.")

-rdc

REDEEMED AND SO HAPPY IN JESUS, NO LANGUAGE MY RAPTURE CAN TELL....

        13 TERMS OF SALVATION – REDEMPTION
                    (SCROLL DOWN FOR CHART OF ALL 13 TERMS)

                            

 Both the Hebrew (O.T.) and Greek (N.T.) terms for REDEMPTION denote deliverance, severance and release from sin, particularly by payment of a price. Some set forward the idea that redemption primarily has the idea of ‘release’ and also includes the idea of the price paid, while ransom emphasizes the idea of the payment paid, but also includes the notion of freedom from bondage. The shed blood of Jesus Christ is the ransom paid for the sinner’s release from the bondage of the curse and from God’s dictum that the soul that sins must die.

^“You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible things [such as] silver and gold,
But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19, Amp).

KEY OLD TESTAMENT PASSAGES:

The doctrine of redemption finds its seed introduction in the Old Testament and comes to full fruition in the New. The Hebrew pada means “to deliver” or “to sever.” The Jews were a redeemed people, set free from the bondage of Egypt by the power of God and commemorated forever by the Passover (blood shed). This was an annual offering of slain lambs to the LORD. The blood was applied to the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses and God said:

“The blood shall be for a token or sign to you upon [the doorposts of] the houses where you are, [that] when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be to you for a memorial. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations, keep it as an ordinance forever” (Exodus 12:13-14. Amp).

Redemption, in a very Gospel oriented sense, is set forth in Psalm 49:6-10,15:

^“Even of those who trust in and lean on their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him—
For the ransom of a life is too costly, and [the price one can pay] can never suffice—
So that he should live on forever and never see the pit (the grave) and corruption.
For he sees that even wise men die; the [self-confident] fool and the stupid alike perish and leave their wealth to others…………¹⁵But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol (the place of the dead); for He will receive me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!” (Psalms 49:6-10,15).

KEY NEW TESTAMENT PASSAGES:

REDEMPTION FINDS ITS FULLNESS OF DEFINITION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES. The Greek apolytrosis denotes a loosing by payment of a price. Its meaning centers in the atoning work of Christ as the price paid for human redemption, and on account of which Christ is called the Redeemer.

Passages: Matthew 20:28; Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; and 1 Peter 1:18,19 (see above).

The necessity of redemption implies prior bondage. In his natural state man is held captive by Satan and in subjection to the dominion and curse of sin (Galatians 3:13; 1 Corinthians 15:56). Belief in Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior frees a sinner’s soul from such captivity to Satan and to sin. Believers look forward to a final redemption when the body is likewise loosed from all the ravages of sin (Romans 8:15-23; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57). We can conclude that the Redeemer completely frees sinners from sin, liberating both the soul and body from the curse of sin. The payment of Christ’s blood is made to the Father, thereby satisfying (the propitiatory power of the blood) His order that the soul that sins must die.

-         Dick D. Christen 

A PRAYER FOR OLD AGE...

"Lord, Thou knowest, better than I know myself, that I am growing older. 
   Keep me from becoming talkative, and from the habit of thinking that I must say something on every occasion.
   Release me from the craving to straighten out other peoples' affairs.
   Keep my mind free from endless detail; give me wings to get to the point. 
   Give me grace to listen to the recital of others' tribulations. Help me to endure with patience.
   Seal my lips against my own aches and pains. They are increasing, and Thou knowest my love of rehearsing them is becoming pleasanter as the years go by.
   Teach me that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken.
   Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. Give me an awareness of the limits to my own store of wisdom. It seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Amen."

THOUGHTS ABOUT "GRACE"...

"For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God...  (Ephesians 2:8 AMP)."

Without grace my heart would be estranged;

   Wayward, rebellious, faithless and lost.

But, oh, in grace my God has arranged

   To rescue my soul at infinite cost.

Proud man, reckon that you are nothing

   Apart from the Christ of matchless grace.

Of this God-man exuberantly sing,

   While proud self-centered thought you erase.

-rdc

DON'T FORGET COMMON GRACE......

 "But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

To show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike]"  (Matthew 5:44-45).
                                                                                                                                                            "The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers." (Psalms 24:1-2).

Oh, the beauties through the vicissitudes of life,

   Sublime potentialities of man, child and wife.

Magnificent and ineffable is God's earth, 

   with awe-inspiring grandeur visioned on its girth.

rdc

GOD AND US WEAK VESSELS

GOD AND US WEAK VESSELS

All things honestly considered, I serve my God

   in a relatively meager way:

And such does go along with this idea:

   my weak body is just a jar of clay.

But, little is much when God is in it;

   and a Master can still use a lesser tool;

In fact, God used little David, who,

   by God’s great grace, the nine foot giant did out duel.

'Cause David saw God bigger than that giant,

   seeing himself as just a servant;

But unlike his brothers who cried, "Can't",

   David stopped Mr. Giant's godless rant.

God specializes using things most humble

   and thus gains for Himself all glory;

By HIS strength my weakness is  made strong….    

   And….uh…. this now concludes my lesson-learned story.

RDC

INFINITE BUT INTIMATE, THE GOD OF PRAYER

INFINITE BUT INTIMATE, THE GOD OF PRAYER!

I Chronicles 29:10-13

WHEN MY VOICE LIFTS HEAVENWARD

     ECHOING THROUGH LONELY SPACE,

I RETRACE THE PATH MY LORD

     USED, SAVING ME BY HIS GRACE.

YOU SEE, HE IS WAY OUT THERE,

     INFINITE AND TRANSCENDENT,

BUT REACHABLE BY MY PRAYER…..

     BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT GRACE MEANT.

WHEN MY WHISPERS REACH HIS EAR,

     NESTLED IN HIS LOVING CARE,

WARMLY LOVED AS HIS CHILD DEAR…..

     JUST A THOUGHT BECOMES A PRAYER.

YOU SEE, HE HOLDS ME RIGHT HERE,

     INTIMATE AND MOST PRESENT,

ON HIS LAP, A FATHER DEAR…..

     HELD SNUG, HIS LOVING INTENT.

WHEN BY FAITH I FIND HIM THERE,

     THROUGH CHRIST WHO TO CALV'RY WENT;         AS HIS CHILD I KNOW HE CARES
      AND GIVES ME WARM BLESSINGS SENT.

YOU SEE, PRAYER REACHES HIM THERE,

     INSISTENT AND CONFIDENT,

AND HE COMES TO ME RIGHT HERE…..

     OUR TIME INTIMATELY SPENT.

- Dick Christen

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN? WHAT EVER DOES THAT MEAN?

     13 TERMS OF SALVATION – REGENERATION

REGENERATION is “born again” truth. The Christian Gospel exceeds mere reformation. Instead, God, by the Holy Spirit, effects an inner new birth or creation of a new nature within. This is necessary because the sin nature, with which all are born, cannot now be eliminated. When a sinner believes in Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior, he/she is made a new creature in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit quickens the sinner (Eph. 2:1), opens the heart (Lydia, Acts 16:14) thereby enabling a dead sinner to believe in Jesus. At once he/she is regenerated (born again). (Key passage: John 3:1-17. Other verses: Ephesians 4:22-14; Colossians 3:9,10; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:22,23; 1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:1.)

MAJOR TEXT – JOHN 3:1-17

NICODEMUS’ CURIOUS QUESTION vv.1,2

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: ² The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”

(Nicodemus is very religious, but a lost sinner. God is raising his curiosity about just who this Jesus is.)

JESUS’ UNCEREMONIOUS ANSWER v.3

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

(Jesus ‘cuts to the chase’ and pursues a Gospel presentation.)

NICODEMUS’ OBLIVIOUS QUESTION v.4

“Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?”

(His question is obviously devoid of spiritual insight. All he can think of is physical birth, religiously learned though he be.)

JESUS’ STUDIOUS ANSWER vv.5-8

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. ⁸ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

(Jesus transitions from the physical to the spiritual – “except a man be born of water – (the physical) – and of the Spirit.” There exists another realm of reality wherein God moves sovereignly and unpredictably, like the wind.)

NICODEMUS’ INCREDULOUS QUESTION v.9

“Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?”

(The learned Jewish leader turns ‘Indian” – HOW? Now his curiosity has peaked.)

JESUS’ MARVELOUS SALVATION ANSWER vv10-17

This passage leads right into the renowned verse, v. 16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

(Salvation (the new birth – regeneration) happens when a sinner believes not merely ‘about’ Jesus, but ‘in’ Him! To believe ‘in’ Him is to trust Him completely putting all one’s hope for eternal life wholly in Him.

-         Dick Christen 

WHAT IS GOSPEL 'CONVERSION' ??????

   #6 – 13 TERMS OF SALVATION – CONVERSION

                

CONVERSION (Gr. epistrophe) essentially means a “turning” or “a turning toward.” The verb is hepistrepho, rendered in the N.T. “to convert” or “to turn.” When Paul and Barnabas were on their way to Jerusalem, they passed through towns and villages ^“….declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren” Acts 15:3. In other words, the Gentiles had turned from their sinful ways and, by the power of the Gospel, they had turned toward God through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Hb. terms of the O.T. have a similar significance and usage (Pss. 19:7; 51:13; Jer. 31:18 and Ezek. 33:11). In Psalm 51:13 David, after his horrendous sin with Bathsheba, confesses the sin and asks God to restore him so he can be useful again: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” 

MORE KEY VERSES FOR CONSIDERATION:

1.   The Apostle Paul was commissioned by God to take the Gospel to the Gentiles: “…to open their eyes, and to turn them (convert) from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18).

2.   An angel told Zacharias that his ‘soon-to-be-born-son’, John the Baptist, would have a powerful ministry: “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn (convert) to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:16).

3.   The Apostle Peter’s Gospel preaching included an appeal for conversion: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3:19).

4.   The Prophet of old, Ezekiel, was to preach ‘conversion’. God said to tell His people: ^“As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11)

5.   After declaring the power of nature to turn people back to God (Psalm 19:1-6), David, in v.7, says: “The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

6.   Nominal Christians (those who sometimes are even numbered among the congregation but not truly saved) need to ‘be converted’ or ‘turned back’ by truth to authentic salvation This is not being saved again, but rather being truly saved, moved from mere profession to true possession Of Jesus Christ: “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).

R.C.H. Lenski says concerning this difficult passage: “What was one of the great dangers that threatened his readers? Why, to revert to Judaism. To be sure, James also includes all mortal sins. But the most damnable and deadly sin is unbelief. Read what is written to other Jewish Christians who were thinking of going back to Judaism (Heb. 6:4-8; 10:25-31)….What erring from the truth means to James is all too apparent from what he says about turning such an erring one back to the truth; such erring means that a soul is in death and in a multitude of sins…What a great thing it is to rescue a person from physical death! This is a greater thing, for spiritual death is far worse than physical death. James states this in the third person: ‘he that turns back.’ He thereby makes the statement objective and general for every case of this kind. How this turning back is accomplished is indicated by the means: the sinner is turned back to the truth by the truth. There is only one objective means to save such a sinner, namely the truth; and only one subjective means, repentance (contrition for sin, faith in the Savior). We translate ‘shall turn back’ and ‘he that turns back’.”

-          Dick D. Christen

-           

DAILY WORSHIP

CHURCH IS GREAT for weekly worship but daily family and personal worship are also strongly stressed in God's Word. "How blessed is the man (whose) delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:1,2). Every believer has the Holy Spirit Who enables us to read and understand Scripture (1 John 2:27). And so, anywhere and at any time (as often as we can, 24/7) we can sit, read, ponder and turn thoughts of  truth into praise, adoration, thanksgivings and exultations unto Jehovah God of the Bible - Father, Son and Holy Spirit! We are believer priests! I would prioritize this daily worship as more important than weekly, as vital as that (the weekly) should be. Today's Church too often behaves like 'big government.' It fancies itself to be the keeper of the keys whereby it can unlock all the mysteries of truth and also feels responsible to come up with all types of programming in order to meet ALL the needs of any person's spiritual life. The Church desperately needs to review its God ordained purposes. When ecclesiastical 'big government' steps aside or gets voted out, then individual responsibility will kick in and God's people will begin to take personal responsibility for walking with God. When the  Church gets this  straight, personal Godliness will increase. I see in such a change the beginnings of true revival. Nowadays the average church goer sits and soaks. The show starts and better stop within the hour. We clap and clap for each segment of the program, except when the preacher finishes. In some places the preaching becomes a 'guilt reducing' add-on because we don't want to forsake the traditions of the fathers altogether. Oh, no! Perish the thought! If we're honest with ourselves, a participant in such churches gets the feeling he's at just another world-sponsored 'show.' The multi-colored lighting, the flashing of cameras and lighting effects all add up to such. We finish, go home, and, well, that's it for another week. In the meantime we scarcely open our Bibles, if at all. Be honest! That's the way it comes down in the majority of professing believers' lives. 'Big government' church must be rejected and replaced with the necessities of a local church (Read the last verses of Acts 2). Such necessities are vital. But, when the superfluous is eliminated, much time, money and energy will immediately be saved. This will open the way for believers to step up and begin assuming the life of a Biblical Christian. What is such a life? We will proceed to prize and practice personal Christianity and DAILY WORSHIP. My church? It will change its philosophy about the very meaning and purpose of its existence. It will begin to aim its ministry toward the individual providing instruction and materials whereby believers can 'go-it-alone' because, when all is said and done, only so many hours can be carved out to be at church. Many believers have already decided too much church is too much church. Churches have decided the same. Services have been eliminated, BUT, instead of encouraging personal Christianity and providing instruction and educational materials to guide in such a life, a vacuum has been left and believers, tuned to the world's media, are becoming more and more secularized and their walk with God suffers terribly. Oh for the day when individuals are saying, "'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.' And, day by day, I WILL WALK WITH GOD AND ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY TO DO SO!" "O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day" (Psalm 119.97). Do it!

REPENTANCE, ESSENTIALLY A CHANGE OF MIND (AND THEREFORE, A CHANGE OF LIFE)

#5 – 13 TERMS OF SALVATION – REPENTANCE

        

REPENTANCE may be defined as a God-sensitive change of mind about sin, God, the gospel and life in general in ways wherein God and His truth are thereby glorified. The Greek metanoia means just that, a change of mind or to think again. Before salvation, sinners need to think differently about their sin and about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The power of God's Word  and the Holy Spirit quicken the sinner thereby  enabling such  (Eh.  2:1). After being saved, wayward Christians need to reevaluate their lives, change their minds and realign their thinking to the Word of God. Repentance is bound up with faith and inseparable from it. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same thing, sometimes illustrated by the two sides of the hand.

SEVERAL SALIENT STATEMENTS ABOUT REPENTANCE:

1.   God is the effective cause of repentance.

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”  Romans 2:4

^“Him (Jesus) hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31

^“When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Acts 11:18                                      A pastor is to teach God’s Word  ”In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth…” 2 Timothy 2:25   (cf Acts 5:31; 11:18)

2.    Repentance is “an inward repugnance to sin necessarily followed by the actual forsaking of it.” The repentant sinner sees sin as God sees it. It is more than being merely sorry for wrong.

⁹ Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. ¹⁰ For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” 2 Corinthians 7:9-10

3.   Repentance is an upward embracing of God and His truth.

The Apostle Paul preached “that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” Acts 26:20  ^“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:21

Illus. When Paul was saved he experienced a complete change of mind (repentance) concerning both his sin but also his understanding of the Gospel. As a scholar he knew the Bible well, but rejected it, especially as it related to the Messiah. His salvation turned the rejection into acceptance (a complete change of mind – metanoia). And so, given his vast knowledge of the Scriptures, in repentance he was able to immediately preach. “Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. ²⁰ And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” Acts 9:19b-20

4.   Both repentance and faith are essential aspects of the Gospel appeal throughout the Church age.

AT PENTECOST: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? ³⁸ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:37-38

 AT ATHENS:     ^“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. ²⁹ Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. ³⁰ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” Acts 17:28-30

5.   Wayward (backslidden) Christians, in returning to fellowship with God, must repent and stay repentant.

“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner…¹⁰ For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. ¹¹ For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” 2 Corinthians 7:9-11

Dr. Dick D. Christen

A LITTLE HUMOR

Jock, the painter, often would thin his paint so it would go further. So when the Church decided to do some deferred maintenance, Jock was able to put in the low bid, and got the job. As always, he thinned his paint way down with turpentine.

One day while he was up on the scaffolding -- the job almost finished -- he heard a horrendous clap of thunder, and the sky opened.

The downpour washed the thinned paint off the church and knocked Jock off his scaffold and onto the lawn among the gravestones and puddles of thinned and worthless paint.

Jock knew this was a warning from the Almighty, so he got on his knees and cried: “Oh, God! Forgive me! What should I do?”

And from the thunder, a mighty voice: “REPAINT! REPAINT! AND THIN NO MORE!”

WHEN WE'RE IN HEAVEN GOD WILL "EXULT" OVER US! REALLY!

Often, when we think of heaven we visualize Jesus being adored by all the saints, and quite rightly so! He will be cherised and praised again and again! But, Scripture seems to point to the wonder that God's saints will be loved, appreciated and treated as trophies of God's grace. And, God Himself will lead the way!

Ponder this verse: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a  victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy (Zephaniah 3:17).

Primarily this pertains to Israel in time of her Kingdom victory. After Jesus defeats the nations of the earth, upon His return after the Tribulation Period, He will be the "victorious warrior" and will proceed to "exult over" His people "with joy." He will do this in three ways:

     1. "He will exult over you with joy"
         Certainly the Jews will be super happy when they see their King and learn that He is indeed the
         expected Messiah and now all is well, but Jesus will delight beyond words ("exult") to see His
         people believing, safe and in their promised home, at long last.

     2. "He will be quiet in His love"
         Love that isn't quite sure of itself can be noisy. A man can make a fool of himself (and a
         woman too) if a relationship isn't yet secure. The antics to nail down the relationship can be
         hilarious, especially when looked back upon. But, as in marriage, once love is in place, things
         quiet down. When the sin, waywardness, frustrations of Israel are all history, and God Himself
         has established their eternal safety, His love will quietly dwell upon His people forever and
         ever. What a peaceful thought! No doubts as to her standing, no agitations as to "where is
         our God?", no insecurities concerning the future, and the list of unsure love can go on and on,
         but instead, the battles have been fought and the final victory won, and God and His people
         settle in forever by quiet waters.

     3. "He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy"
         Interestingly, the "quiet" of His love does not rule out "shouts of joy", at least now and then.
         Heaven will be perfect in its emotions, times for calm but times for exuberance. How beauti-
         ful! America presently is plagued by too much "hype" always and ever, or so it seems. Every
         TV commercial, every half-time at a sports event, every concert (and even church services)
         seem to glory is noise. The louder the better. Now and then this is fine, but all the time? At
         least seemingly so? What happened to the joys of "quiet", times of reflection, times just to
         get in touch meaningfully with a subject at hand? I say, heavens emotions will be in perfect
         balance.

Now, by way of application, apply what will be true of Israel in the Kingdom Age to the Church in heaven, the New Jerusalem. Believers will of course adore their King and Savior, Jesus Christ. They
will lay their crowns at His feet. But, in reverse, He will delight in seeing His "trophies of grace" home at last. He will make over us. He will delight in His people, saved and perfect at last, free from all sin, its guilt, its penalty, its power and now, its very presence. We will be free from the presence of sin, in His presence. Oh, that will be glory, glory at last! We will hear His exultations over us, catch His eyes and smiles and be surprised when heaven breaks forth in sharp shouts of joy, realizing they are directed toward us. But, all we then enjoy is only because of His grace and goodness, His replete salvation, and so, we will mostly worship and forever adore Him, to Whom be glory forever and ever.

- Dick D. Christen

IS CREMATION A CHRISTIAN THING?

CREMATION?

 

As best as I can tell, there is no Bible passage that attempts to give guidelines regarding acceptable burial procedures. No matter which burial practices one follows, the results are always the same: “Dust to dust, ashes to ashes." Job reiterated the final disposition of the body in Job 34:14-15: “If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust."

The ancient Egyptians embalmed bodies to delay decay and to prepare for the afterlife.

In first-century Israel, bodies were buried on the day of death! A 60-foot length of one-foot-wide cloth was wrapped around and around the deceased while all sorts of spices were sprinkled in the wrappings in order to reduce the stench of decay. The bodies were then placed in caves or stone sepulchers.

In more recent times, it's customary to embalm a body before burial in order to delay decay long enough for the family to mourn the deceased and to give time for out-of-town friends and relatives to arrive before the funeral.

Burial procedures are rapidly changing in today’s culture. Many people are turning to cremation as the body disposition of choice. One of the primary drivers in this change is the astronomical cost of having a "traditional funeral." The costs for embalming, buying a casket and purchasing a piece of ground to put the casket in is cost prohibitive for too many families.

The only long-term difference between embalming and cremation is time. Cremation just speeds up the process.

You may do well to investigate why your family doesn't approve of your cremation choice. Perhaps they consider cremation as not Biblical. However, as we have seen, cremation is never a Biblical issue.

Perhaps they are worried that when Jesus returns at the Rapture and the bodies of long-dead Christians are resurrected and transformed into spiritual bodies — that you won’t have a body to resurrect. Frankly, since the first century, most (if not all) bodies are now dust anyway. Since God is big enough to produce a world-wide resurrection, He certainly can make a spiritual body from only a speck of dust -- or less.

Perhaps your family wants you in a casket-filled grave so they can have a place for remembering you and your lives together. This desire is natural and normal.

Recently, I've observed families foregoing the expensive caskets and burial plots by choosing cremation. They then purchase a small cemetery plot in which to bury the ashes. Others scatter the ashes over a prearranged place meaningful to the deceased. Some save a few ashes in a small locket as a token reminder of their loved one. Some ashes reside in burial urns over fireplace mantles.

With all that being said, remember that your body is still your body. Discuss openly with your family that you want to dispose of your body in the way most comfortable to you. In your case, that is cremation.

My mother just traded in her outdoor burial plot for an indoor mausoleum space. She decided that she was uncomfortable with the idea that she would be down in the ground with the “worms and maggots!” Then, she got to worrying that above ground a tornado could hit the mausoleum! She wanted to change back; but, she finally decided that worms were worse than tornadoes.

If you are more comfortable with cremation then I recommend that you do so.

Personally, I want my body cremated. I've picked out four golf courses where I want my family to spread my ashes. I think.

Recently, our church erected a columbarium with small niches for burial urns of ashes. It's on an outdoor wall of the new chapel. Recently, Julie and I exhumed our first daughter's ashes from Evergreen Cemetery and placed them in an urn in the niche in the far-left top row of the columbarium. I'm thinking about changing my mind. I just might have my ashes placed in the niche with Jessie.

After all, the chapel wall sounds like a great final resting place while we wait for the sounds of the resurrection trumpet. Jessie and I could even hold hands together on the way up!

Psalm 103:15-17 gives us a great perspective on cremation -- or on any other burial practice:

As for man, his days are like grass,

He flourishes like a flower of the field;

The wind blows over it and it is gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting

The LORD's love is with those who fear him,

And his righteousness with their children's children…

-       Dr. Roger Barrier, Retired Senior Teaching Pastor, Casas Church, Tucson, AZ

AT ONE AND THE SAME TIME A CHRISTIAN MAY SAY, "I AM SANCTIFIED" AND "I AM BEING SANCTIFIED."

    TERMS OF SALVATION,  #3 SANCTIFICATION
    

SANCTIFICATION means to be set apart unto holiness or holy use. In the Scriptures people, objects or situations may be thus set apart. At salvation a believing sinner is at once sanctified in Christ. He is our sanctification. This is positional sanctification. “But of Him (the Father) you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and…..sanctification” (1 Corinthians 1:30,31). Again, in daily life the Christian is being sanctified by Christ. This is called practical or progressive sanctification. In praying for His disciples, Jesus said to His Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Christians, therefore, can say both, “I am sanctified” and “I am being sanctified.”

1.    POSITIONAL (ONCE FOR ALL) SANCTIFICATION

The Holy Spirit authors sanctification – 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14: “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

When God saves a sinner, immediately he/she is saved, justified and sanctified (to use the terms we’ve studied). The Holy Spirit quickens us (Eph. 2:1) giving us new life (regeneration, new birth), a perfect standing before God the Judge (justification), deliverance from the penalty of sin (salvation) and now, SANCTIFICATION, a perfect standing in Christ. All that Jesus is, is reckoned to us. An old chorus puts it this way: “Jesus Christ is made to me, all I need, all I need. He alone is all my plea; He is all I need” (Based upon 1 Corinthian 1:30,31).

In this regard, ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS ARE SAINTS, RIGHT HERE AND NOW. So they are addressed as “saints” in the letters of St. Paul (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1, etc.)

2.    PRACTICAL (ONGOING OR DAILY) SANCTIFICATION

Day by day, God continues to “perform” (Phil 1:6) His work in the believer’s life – 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24 says: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” 2 Peter 1:2-4 informs us that God has given all that is needed to every believer in order to progress in holiness. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Availing him/herself of these means of daily growth in Jesus (Bible reading/study, prayer, the church, the ever-present Holy Spirit, etc.), the believer progresses in sanctification, becoming more and more like Jesus Himself. "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit"  Corinthians 3:18).

-         Dick Christen

LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE....IN MY STRENGTH (WAYS) OR CHRIST'S?????

THE CHOICE IS MINE. I can live for Jesus in my strength and ways, or in His power and with His enabling graces.

2 Corinthians 10: 3,4 states: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds..." God has given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). In fact this verse richly reminds us that these "all things" are "according as His divine power" and "through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue..."

Think about it! He chose me to His "so great salvation," called me in time and history to it, gave me His Holy Spirit, the Bible, the Church, service gifts, and His undying love and continuing and sanctifying efforts in my behalf. The Word declares: "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:24). But, He involves us in the process of living for Him. Again, God has given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

In faith it is our responsibility to avail ourselves of these enabling graces! He will never give up on us; but we must give ourselves to Him and to all the means He has provided whereby we may glorify His Name! Otherwise, we hobble on square wheels.

rdc

EASY 'FORGIVISM' OR FORGIVENESS GOD'S WAY?

FORGIVE? YES! BUT, BEWARE OF EASY 'FORGIVISM'! Couple this Old Testament verse with this N. T. Verse (see below) ... and think about it. Face to face we are to confront wrong and, if the sin is confessed, we forgive..... This is the 'horizontal' aspect of forgiveness. It takes times, sometimes a long time. On the other hand, a 'vertical' facet of forgiveness is always immediate when we give a wrong to God and let Him handle it, as did Jesus on the cross. He asked His Father to forgive His tormentors for they didn't what they were doing. But, both aspects of forgiveness must be practiced lest sin go unchecked. It's easy to say, "Oh, I forgive you" and then go our merry ways, but leaving a problem or offence ignored which will most probably later haunt the relationship. 

"He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
Than he who flatters with the tongue." - Prov. 28:23

"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." Luke 17:3

And so, it works this way: I'm offended. At once, I talk to my heavenly Father and give the matter to Him. I release the offense to God (put it in His hands) and, because of Calvary, I know He is immediately concerned in that that sin has already been dealt with at the cross of Jesus. God saw His Son pay for that sin. I give it to God knowing He knows all about it and will deal with that person and the wrong done in His own wise ways. This at once frees my heart of ill-will, any spirit of revenge and any lingering animosity. From my perspective the "air is cleared" of negativity. Again, this is the vertical aspect of forgiveness.

Next, comes the horizontal. Matthew 18 as well as the above verses instruct me to "go" to my brother or sister and confront. This is hard to do but since God has given the instruction to do so, He will be my strength. In any such confrontation I am assured God is present and will also be doing what He alone can do. This is the context of the phrase "where two or three have gathered in My name, I am there in their midst" (Matthew 18:20). He will be at work in the hearts of all concerned and can bring reconciliation, and, horizontal forgiveness. I call this 'face to face' forgiveness. 

Both facets of forgiveness must be enacted if the forgiveness is to be authentic and complete. The Scriptures are clear!

rdc

WHEN GOD THE JUDGE DECLARES YOU 'ALRIGHT'.......

THE 13 TERMS OF SALVATION - JUSTIFICATION

JUSTIFICATION is a judicial term whereby God, the judge of the universe, declares absolutely righteous a sinner who comes to Him, by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, whereby such a sinner is forgiven and washed clean in the shed blood of Jesus and made righteous through the imputed righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

KEY PASSAGES:

ROMANS 3:19… “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” 

(And so, the keeping of the law or merely doing good and even religious works, does not and cannot make us acceptable to God. It is rather "by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." The work of Jesus propitiates, or satisfies, the necessary demands of a Holy God - 1 John 2:1,2.)

ROMANS 5:1… “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” 

(The sinner appropriates this justification "by faith." It is ours by God's grace and faith placed in the person of Jesus Christ, His shed blood and atoning work at Calvary and in His victorious resurrection.)

ROMANS 5:9… “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him…” 

(Blood redemption and justification are absolutely necessary. Without the shedding of blood there cannot be forgiveness by a perfect God, so the Book of Hebrews declares - Hebrews 9:19-22.)

GALATIANS 2:16… “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” 

(This is a John 3:16 verse because it so simply and clearly rules out any human endeavor to gain acceptance with God, glorifies Jesus' work as the only means, and declares unequivocally that our justification is "by faith of Jesus Christ." Have you trusted in Him as personal Savior and Lord?)

FROM UNGER’S BIBLE DICTIONARY:  Justification is a divine act whereby an infinitely Holy God judicially declares a believing sinner to be righteous and acceptable before Him because Christ has borne the sinner's sin on the cross and has become "to us... righteousness" (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:24). Justification springs from the fountain of God's grace (Titus 3:4- 5). It is operative as the result of the redemptive and propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, who has settled all the claims of the law (Rom. 3:24- 25; 5:9). Justification is on the basis of faith and not by human merit or works (3:28- 30; 4:5; 5:1; Gal. 2:16). In this marvelous operation of God the infinitely holy Judge judicially declares righteous the one who believes in Jesus (Rom. 8:31- 34). A justified believer emerges from God's great courtroom with a consciousness that another, his Substitute, has borne his guilt and that he stands without accusation before God (8:1, 33- 34). Justification makes no one righteous, neither is it the bestowment of righteousness as such, but rather it declares one to be justified whom God sees as perfected once and forever in His beloved Son.

-RDC