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124 The Bible – “Seeing the Forest for the Trees”
Introduction
Today I’d like to spend some time talking about the Bible, the importance of the Word of God in which we place our faith. Our faith is based on the truthfulness of God’s word. There is no substitute for the Bible for no other book is spiritual in nature and must be spiritually discerned or understood.Show More
When I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior over 40 years ago, it was because of the faithfulness of my wife, Dee, who was a Christian before me. She literally prayed me into the Kingdom!
Since she had become a Christian several years before me, I tried to catch up on my understanding of the Bible by reading books about the Bible instead of reading the Word itself. I thought there was a shortcut to understanding God, his character and nature by reading books written by authors who were Christians already. Reading books by other Christian authors was a help to understanding the Bible but in no way could it be a substitute for reading the Bible itself.
One Corinthians chapter 2 (verses 9-16) states that the Bible or the word of God can only be discerned or understood by those who have the Holy Spirit living in them. Having the Holy Spirit means that a person is born-again and has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is only then that we develop spiritual eyes, spiritual ears, and a spiritual mind to comprehend the things of God. You see the purpose of the Bible is to get to know the author of the Bible… God!
Offer of Free book
Now it may seem that I may be contradicting myself, but I want to offer you a book that I’ve written as a free download that I believe will help you in your understanding of the word of God. The book is called “Seeing The Forest For The Trees”.
My early frustration making sense of the Bible.
I can clearly remember, in the early days of my walk with the Lord, how difficult it was trying to learn all aspects of the Bible, the names of all the characters, the names of all the books, the separation between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Trying to discern if there was a single unifying message that could be found between Genesis and Revelation. The Bible was a complicated puzzle to me, until I recognized the importance of Covenants in the Bible. The word covenant can be used instead of the word testament; therefore, the Old Testament can also be called the Old Covenant, and the New Testament can be called the New Covenant!
When I took the time to understand Covenant Theology, I went from knowing about hundreds of things about the Bible; each fact or truth was like a building block or brick. What I had was like a pile of bricks but when I began to understand the importance of God’s covenants all the isolated “bricks” became a single structure, a building, founded upon Jesus Christ the foundation stone.
As a Pastor and Teacher, I was led to write a book that would help the members of my congregation and then Christians in general grasp the important truth that our God is a Covenant Making and Covenant Keeping God. This single truth helped me put the Bible in its proper perspective, that is a book of Redemption, restoring to God that which was lost back to a loving relationship with our Creator. From beginning to the end, the Bible represents the “Scarlet thread of Redemption!”
The Bible is consistent, understandable, and trustworthy. The purpose of my book is to give context or background to reading and studying the Bible. It is not meant to be exhaustive in scope nor is it meant to be a substitute for reading the Bible. Hopefully, it will provoke your interest and cause you to investigate further into the most important book ever written.
The Bible is a spiritual book
The Bible was never meant to be understood solely by intellectual means because it is a spiritual book, and the most important elements need to be spiritually evaluated. By spiritual I don’t mean in the pious sense of outward religion or rote memorization of Scripture verses but through an honest dialogue with our heavenly Father and the working of His Holy Spirit. The Bible is the most effective way that God can “speak” to us about His love and His healing for our souls.
My Book “Seeing the Forest for the Trees” is meant to help us get to the real issue of what is most important in the Bible and that real issue is redemption. A Biblical definition for redemption is the restoration of a lost humanity back to a personal, open, loving relationship with our Heavenly Father, through the completed work of Jesus Christ and through the agency of His Holy Spirit.
The phrase, “seeing the forest for the trees”, the title of my book, is often used to mean that it is easy to get caught up in all of the details of an issue and miss the “big picture”. It would be like trying to assemble a 5000-piece jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the finished puzzle should look like. Many people wouldn’t even want to try to put a puzzle like that together; they would see it as an exercise in futility. This is often how many see the Bible; the complexity of details obscures the purpose of the Bible and therefore it doesn’t seem to make sense. The “trees” are so plentiful that the forest, or the purpose of the Bible, is missed.
There is so much in the Bible to consider. For instance, there are 2 major parts of the Bible- the Old Testament and the New Testament with a total of 66 books. The Old Testament is made up of 39 books and the New Testament has 27 books. Learning the names of the books and the sequence in which they are found is a challenge all by itself. Then each of the books are broken up into chapters and then the chapters are broken up into verses. You can begin to see all the “trees” so to speak.
On top of all these details is the fact that each book is set in a time and place unfamiliar to our times and culture. Added to all those details are the obscure names of hundreds of characters from different eras and lands. When you look at all the details that can be found in the Bible, it is no wonder that so many give up reading it by the time they get to the book of Leviticus, the third book of the Old Testament.
The logical way to begin studying the Bible, as with any book, is at the beginning, but before we begin, we must have the end in mind. For instance, when we pick out a book for personal reading, we tend to pick out a certain genre. It might be non-fiction, mystery, romance, or a biography. What we choose determines what we expect to find in the story. The same thing is true of the Bible. We must ask ourselves what is the predominant message of the Bible in its entirety or put another way, for what purpose was the Bible given to us by the Lord? It is so easy to lose sight of the message because of all the details found in the Bible.
So, what kind of book is the Bible? Why are we reading it? What do we hope to get out of it? Some would say that the Bible is about the history of man’s beginnings. Others would say that the Bible is about wisdom or a guide for living. Still, others would say that the Bible is spiritual in nature. While the Bible is all these things, it is first and foremost a God-inspired book regarding His plan of redemption or salvation for mankind. Redemption from God’s perspective means to save from sin, to recover a lost relationship, to exchange blessings for curses, to pay off a debt, or to fulfill an obligation. From a human perspective, redemption means eternal security.
Human tendency is to look for what you expect to find. What are you looking for? If you look only for history, you will only see history. If you look for a guide to life, you will find that. What you get out of the Bible is colored by your expectations. If you have no idea of the purpose of the Bible, then the Bible will probably not make any sense at all. Many people give-up on reading the most important book in the world simply because they don’t know what they are looking for.
As I have said before the Bible is consistent, understandable, and trustworthy. It is, without doubt, the most influential book in history. The Bible has been translated into virtually every language known and found in every country of the world. For much of the world’s population, the Bible has been the most important wellspring of moral truths. The Bible is the foundation of the 3 most significant religions in the world today: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
My personal hope for you is that as you read this book you will find it informative, interesting, and most of all that it will provide an “anchor” for your soul. That anchor being faith in Jesus Christ and seeing that He really is… “The way, the truth, and the life”.
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123 God’s Never-Ending Love!
123 God’s Never-ending Love
Let’s review the first three principles of Romans chapter eight.
1.. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. It is worth repeating that you must accept the truth and believe by faith that you are loved by God, totally forgiven, and the Holy Spirit lives in you.
The Holy Spirit is your helper to overcome temptation and break old unrighteous habits. You can’t do it without Him; He is your helper and comforter. When you stumble and fall into sinful behavior, the Holy Spirit will not abandon you because He is in you! The Holy Spirit will convict you, strengthen you and urge you to repent and turn away from that behavior that displeases the Lord. You can’t do it without His Help! Show More
2.. We need to recognize that we have a new position in our relationships with the Lord, “we are sons!” The story of the “prodigal son” found in Luke 15 demonstrates how it is impossible to lose our position as a son even we stray from God’s plan for our lives. Once a son, always a son. You may recall the prodigal son who took his share of his inheritance, left home, and lived a wild ungodly life. It didn’t take long for him to lose all his inheritance, all his friends, and end up feeding the pigs for employment. He eventually came to his senses and decided to go back to his home, repent before God and his father and beg for a position as a hired servant. On his return, the father patiently waiting for the son’s return saw him afar off. The father ran to the son, hugged, kissed the son, had his robe, ring, and sandals brought to the son, and finally called for a party. Even though the son tried to convince the father that he was only worthy of being a servant, the father insisted, “rejoice for my son who was dead is now alive and returned to me. You see, a son is a son forever in the eyes of a father. Your heavenly Father sees you as a son— forever. So, walk and live with the confidence that you are a son of God most high. (I suggest you read Galatians 3:26-29, 4:1-7 for more about our new position in Christ.)
3.. Life is a struggle, and the Lord calls us to persevere! Life is sometimes hard and often unfair; however, you are never alone. We prefer that the Lord deliver us from trouble, but the Lord doesn’t always do that. There are times when you must go through the storm, but always remember when you are going through the storm, Jesus is with you. You are never alone; Jesus promised that He would never leave you nor forsake you. He is present in and with you through the Holy Spirit. So, no matter what you are going through, there is always hope in the knowledge that the Lord loves you, and nothing is impossible with Him!
The Final Principle in Romans Eight is, You are Loved by God!
The final principle that we find in Romans 8 is that “you are loved by God!” This is the most important truth that will lead you to overcome in this life. Nothing is more important than knowing that you are loved with an everlasting love and that nothing can separate you from His love. After all, God is Love! (1John 4:8, 4:16)
- Notice what the Apostle says in Galatians 4:9a, “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God…” How powerful a statement that can easily be overlooked, you are known by God!
Love
We can misunderstand God’s kind of love if we connect it to our own experiences with love. God’s love is unconditional, and in the original Greek of the Bible is called Agape.
In the Bible, the word love is used about 418 times and 257 times in the New Testament alone. However, the word love is used to mean different kinds of love in the original Greek language, for instance:
- Agape – an unconditional love that means it is unearned and undeserved. You can’t perform or behave to deserve it. God has decided to love you, and that is it. It is His unmerited favor. I like the definition of Agape love as “living your life for someone else’s good.” That pretty much says it all about God’s kind of love.
- Philio – is a brotherly kind of love between 2 people. The best example of this is the love between Jonathan and David in the Old Testament. I’m also reminded of the verse in Proverbs 18:24, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” This friendship can also apply to the fellowship of two women.
- Eros – this kind of love is the “romantic” type of love we associate between a man and a woman. It is the type of love portrayed in books, magazines, and movies. If I say the word love, this is what comes to people’s minds. Eros love is an essential type of love in the intimate relationship of marriage.
- Storge – is used to describe family love. Parental love, sibling love, and love of family relationships. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “blood is thicker than water,” well that can be storge love.
Romans 8:31-39 God’s Everlasting Love
In Romans 8:31-39, the Apostle Paul uses the word love three important times, and every time it is Agape love, the love that imposes no conditions. So, keep that in mind as we go forward.
The Apostle Paul poses six rhetorical questions that point to the great Agape love God has for us, His sons and daughters. Rhetorical questions are asked not expecting an answer, but to make a statement.
Romans 8:31-39
- “31 What then shall we say to these things?
“These things” is in reference to the previous verses dealing with the hardships we face in life and the fact that through it all, Jesus is with us. We never have to deal with the trials and tribulations of life alone. This is emphasized in the following verse…
2. If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Here the Lord makes a statement that if He was willing to sacrifice His own beloved Son for us, how can we think that He would hold back anything from us.3. 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
Here the Lord challenges anyone to bring a charge against us, His elect. Only the Lord can judge a person’s heart and behavior. No power or person has that right. Don’t judge others.4. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
As it says in John 3:18 a person condemns themselves when they reject the gift of grace in the salvation found in Jesus Christ. John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” No demonic force or natural person can effectively condemn another. The assurance of our salvation and sanctification is the fact that Jesus is making intercession on our behalf.5. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
No one has the power to cause the Lord to turn away from one of His sons or daughters. A person may choose to turn away from the Lord, but the Lord will never turn away from that son or daughter. The Lord’s love is Agape or unconditional.6. Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.This is a hard statement to make when you consider the hardships one may face in life, despite that we “win” in the end. If we endure till the end, we receive the prize, heaven for eternity. The difficulties of this life will be a faint memory in the glow of heaven’s promises.
Hebrews 10:35 “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”
The Great Conclusion
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Many theologians have speculated upon the identity of the agents represented in these two verses; suffice it to say that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God.
A commentary writer says the following: Thus does this wonderful chapter, with which the argument of the Epistle properly closes, leave us who are “justified by faith” in the arms of everlasting Love, where no hostile power or conceivable event can ever tear us. “Behold what manner of love is this?” And “what manner of persons ought we to be,” who are thus “blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ?”
God bless you and be a blessing to others!
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122 My Peace I Give to You…
122 My Peace I Give You.
As I have said in the last two messages, Romans 8 gives us four essential principles to receive by faith, and if we learn to walk by these four principles, we will indeed be able to say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” because He loves me and at the same time, He’s not finished with me. Show More
Let’s review the first two principles.
The first principle is that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. It is worth repeating that you have to accept the truth and believe by faith that you are loved by God, totally forgiven, and the Holy Spirit lives in you. The Holy Spirit is your helper to overcome temptation and break old unrighteous habits. You can’t do it without Him; He is your helper and comforter. When you stumble and fall into sinful behavior, the Holy Spirit will not abandon you because He is in you. The Holy Spirit will convict you, strengthen you and urge you to repent and turn away from that behavior that displeases the Lord. You can’t do it alone!
The second principle is that we need to recognize that we have a new position in our relationships with the Lord, “we are sons!” The story of the “prodigal son” found in Luke 15 demonstrates how it is impossible to lose our position as a son even we stray from God’s plan for our lives. Once a son, always a son. You may recall the prodigal son who took his share of his inheritance, left home, and lived a wild ungodly life. It didn’t take long for him to lose all his inheritance, all his friends, and end up feeding the pigs for employment. He eventually came to his senses and decided to go back to his home, repent before God and his father and beg for a position as a hired servant. On his return, the father patiently waiting for the son’s return saw him afar off. The father ran to the son, hugged, kissed the son, had his robe, ring, and sandals brought to the son, and finally called for a party. Even though the son tried to convince the father that he was only worthy of being a servant, the father insisted, “rejoice for my son who was dead is now alive and returned to me. You see, a son is a son forever in the eyes of a father. Your heavenly Father sees you as a son— forever. So, walk and live as a son the Father would be proud of!
Today’s message is about the third principle in Romans; life is a struggle, and the Lord calls us to persevere!
Life is sometimes hard and often unfair; however, you are never alone. We prefer that the Lord deliver us from trouble, but the Lord doesn’t always do that. There are times when you must go through the storm, but always remember when you are going through the storm, Jesus is with you. You are never alone; Jesus promised that He would never leave you nor forsake you. He is present in and with you through the Holy Spirit. So, no matter what you are going through, there is always hope in the knowledge that the Lord loves you, and nothing is impossible with Him!
Why do I have to suffer troubles?
Remember what Jesus said in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Life is filled with challenges, and there are many reasons for life’s difficulties. We live in a fallen world. Some troubles are caused by others, and some we cause ourselves. Every decision anyone makes has consequences. It is like throwing a stone into a pond; the stone “plops in,” then it causes ripples to flow out from it. Good choices produce blessings, and obviously, bad choices have harmful consequences. Our choices, in a sense, are like seeds planted in our lives they are supposed to bear fruit. When it comes to the bad choices in our lives, we sometimes need to pray for “crop failure.”
Now before we look at some consequences, I want to make clear that in Christ, your past decisions don’t define you. You are a new creation in Jesus Christ, the old has passed away, and all things have become new. The Blood of Jesus can wipe away every and all sin; we should never take on guilt and shame because of the past, but the past can produce consequences to work through. Remember, you are loved, forgiven, and accepted!
Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). This means that the Lord can take that “which is meant for evil and turn it to good,” as it says in Genesis 50:20.
Let’s look at some examples of areas where we may have to deal with troubles.
- Dealing with the consequences of choices by others such as spouses, parents, teachers, friends, and employers. None of us live in a vacuum; we are all influenced by the decisions of others.
- Dealing with the consequences of our own past behavior such as lying, stealing, sexual behavior, abortion, drugs, and alcohol. All of these unrighteous behaviors can produce consequences long after the events took place.
- The struggle of living under the control of corrupt governments, cultures, and societies who embrace a secular world view vs. a Biblical world view and dealing with laws and policies contrary to the Word of God. If we are not careful, we can accept the world’s standards as normal when in fact they are against God’s best for us.
- Struggle with the temptations of the Devil. As Believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to obey the teachings of Jesus. The Devil’s objective is to get us to disbelieve His teachings and disobey. When we do what the Devil tempts us to do, he will immediately heap guilt and shame upon us. All of this to try and separate us from the love and grace of God that brings healing and wholeness. The temptations can be summed up in the following three areas: The lust of the eyes (material things), the lust of the flesh (improper sexual desires), and the pride of life (pride of position, authority, or control).
When the Holy Spirit brings to our attention some of these areas in our lives we need to repent to the Lord, learn to forgive others for their bad judgment; ask for forgiveness when we were the guilty party, make restitution wherever possible; and finally, to forgive ourselves.
You need endurance.
My wife, Dee, recently made the following statement, “We are redeemed in a moment, but we are renewed over time!” Christianity is about being born-again through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; this takes place in an instant of time. What follows is a gradual renewing of the mind to conform to the teachings of Christ. Because renewal of the mind is a process that takes time, we must be willing to persevere and not give up when we stumble and fall. Pick yourself up and press into your relationship with the Lord. Like the Father of the prodigal son, He is waiting for you to return to Him.
Pass the test.
Some of the challenges we face are put there by God. These struggles are called tests. They are opportunities for our faith to be tested. Not that the Lord needs to know what we would do when we face trials, but so that we would know what we would do in the face of a test. Listen to what the Lord said to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 8:2, “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Here is a question, did God need to know what was in their heart? Of course not! The Lord knows all things, even the secret things of the heart, but the people of Israel need to see what was in their own hearts!
Some might argue that God does not test, but then I refer you to John 6:4, “Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.” Jesus wanted Philip to see that he was trusting in the availability to buy food instead of trusting in Jesus to make a way.
It’s easy to say that we will obey the Lord- words are easy, but the truth comes out in the test. As I heard someone say, “we are legends in our own minds.” It is only by testing that we can determine if we are legends or committed followers of Christ.
As a final note on the testing of God, remember the example in school, when you fail the test, there will be a retest! The Lord cares too much about you to allow you to be defeated.
Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
My peace I give you…
John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Finding peace through Jesus means putting your faith in Him and trusting that He will make a way for you.
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121 What Does God See!
121 What does God think of me?
Hi, and welcome back to another Nugget of Truth.
To start, I want to perform an experiment with you. I’m going to ask a question, and then for ten seconds, I want you to remember the first thing that comes to your mind. So here we go with the question. “When God looks down on you, what do you think He sees?” Show More
If you thought of any of the following, you are wrong. If you thought I’m a failure, I’m ashamed, I’m unworthy, I’m no good, I don’t deserve God’s love or forgiveness. Let me say this is not what God sees when He looks down upon a person who has accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. What God sees when He looks upon a Believer is the Blood of Jesus, which cleanses and redeems a son or daughter. You are the beloved child of God and forever in the family of God!
One of the great challenges of being a Christian is trying to live a sinless life. Living a sinless life is a lifelong struggle and at times, a very difficult challenge. While a sinless life is impossible to achieve in this life, we should always strive for that goal! Living righteously is the sure path to peace, success, and love in your life.
We understand that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has erased all of our sins, and we are new creations in Him; however, we still deal with temptation and sliding back to our old ways. I heard someone say recently, “we may be done with sin, but sin is not done with us.” In other words. we still have to deal with temptations and trials of the flesh; we know that they come from the enemy of our soul Satan. The Devil’s purpose is to cause us to feel defeated and condemned! When we feel condemned and defeated, we often pull away from the Lord; that is the Devil’s strategy. We feel so unworthy of God and ashamed, we spiral into a downward fall that draws us away from the love, forgiveness, and acceptance of Jesus Christ.
Romans 8 gives us four essential principles to receive by faith, and if we learn to walk by these four principles, we will indeed be able to say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” because He loves me and at the same time He’s not finished with me.
The first principle is that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. It is worth repeating that you have to accept the truth and believe by faith that the Holy Spirit lives in you. The Holy Spirit is your helper to overcome temptation and break old unrighteous habits. You can’t do it without Him; He is your helper and comforter. When you stumble and fall into sinful behavior, the Holy Spirit will not abandon you because He is in you. The Holy Spirit will convict you, strengthen you and urge you to repent and turn away from that behavior that displeases the Lord. You can’t do it alone.
The second principle is that we need to recognize that we have a new position in our relationships with the Lord, “we are sons!” Sonship will be the subject of today’s message.
The third principle is that life is a struggle! It is sometimes hard and unfair; however, you are never alone. Jesus promised that He would never leave you nor forsake you. He is present in you through the Holy Spirit.
The fourth principle is the fact that nothing and no one can separate you from the love that God has for you! The Lord’s love is total and absolute. You are unconditionally loved!
Let’s Look at the second principle, What it Means that We are Viewed as Sons by the Lord!
Romans Chapter 8:12-17
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
The Seal of The Father is the Evidence of Our Adoption.
The evidence of our salvation is the Holy Spirit of God living in us. Christianity is not a religion of rites, traditions, and formalities, but a living relationship with our Lord. The Holy Spirit is the evidence of our “sealing” by the Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 1:21 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
- Ephesians 1:13” In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Our Position as Sons
The Apostle Paul states in clear terms who his faith is in. His faith is not in a church building, a denomination, or the beliefs of some leader. Instead, Paul’s faith is in one person- “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1Corinthians 2:2).
- We are adopted as sons.
- “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,” (Ephesians 1:5).
- “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
- Jesus is The Son of God, and we are His brothers. “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:10-11).
- Because of our sonship position, we have access to God.
- “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18).
Son vs. Stranger
Remember the question at the beginning “When God looks down on you, what do you think He sees?” The Apostle Paul did not define himself by what he did or thought, but he defined himself by what God said of him. God said he was a son, and therefore Paul chose to live as a son! Paul saw himself as a son who decided to serve his Father. Isn’t this what Jesus demonstrated for us throughout His life in His obedience to Father God? “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).
Let’s take a closer look at God’s idea that we are sons in Galatians 3:26-29.
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”.
- Notice in verse 28 God makes no distinction of position, gender, status, or reputation. All that is required is to be in Christ.
- Notice also that God does not distinguish between male or female. That means that sonship is not about gender but position in Christ. It may seem odd to us, but it is perfectly acceptable to God that a female can be a son in position!
- In verse 29, sons are declared to be heirs. That means we have access to the promises of God because only sons inherit.
Paul continues to teach about sonship in Galatians 4:4-7
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ”.
- Success as a Christian happens when you understand that your identity is to live by faith as a son!
- You are not defined by what you do but by what God says of you… you are a son!
- An illustration of believing God- Private Chauvin
In the early 1800s there was a story about Nicolas Chauvin, a private in Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. Private Chauvin was standing at attention while King Napoleon reviewed the troops riding on his white horse. For some reason, the horse became startled, Napoleon dropped the reins, and the horse ran out of control with Napoleon still on the horse. Immediately Private Chauvin ran after the King, grabbed the reins, calmed the horse, and brought Napoleon to safety.
Napoleon said, “What is your name soldier”? To which Chauvin said, “My name is Private Chauvin, sir.” The King then said, “Thank you Captain Chauvin.” Immediately Chauvin went to his quarters, took off his enlisted uniform, and replaced it with an officer’s uniform, that of a Captain! His fellow soldiers began to ridicule him and challenged his right to wear the uniform of an officer. To which Captain Chauvin said, “I have the right to wear this uniform because My King called me Captain”! Your King calls you son!
- As a son, you inherit the promises of God. Write down these scripture verses and study them to strengthen your faith and walk in the Lord!
- Your Father is God (Matthew 5:16, Matthew 5:48, Matthew 6:1, Matthew 6:8, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:36).
- You have access to the Throne Room of God (John 14:6, Ephesians 2:18, Ephesians 3:12).
- God’s Holy Spirit dwells in you (Romans 8:9, Romans 8:11, 1Corinthians 3:16, 1Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 5:18, 2Timothy 1:14).
- Supernatural power and authority are available to you to fulfill God’s ministry, mission, or assignment(Luke 10:19-20, John 16:7, Acts 1:8, 2Corinthians 12:9, 1John 4:4).
- You are anointed for service (2Corinthians 1:21)
Jesus Christ purchased your Position as a son. His death on the cross of Calvary opened a door into a New Covenant that describes our new relationship with God.
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120 No Condemnation in Christ Jesus!
Father God gave us two important gifts for salvation and deliverance from sin. The first was Jesus (John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”), and the second was the Holy Spirit who came down to live in us (John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever). Jesus came to provide salvation for all who would believe in Him, and then He released the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to live in us so that we would be able to live a victorious life conquering sin, walking in righteousness, which brings about Gods abundant blessings. Show More
One of my favorite chapters in the book of Romans is chapter 8. Remember, the entire book of Romans is doctrinal. The word doctrine means truth or truths. Jesus proclaimed the truths of the Kingdom; the Apostle Paul explained how to apply the truths, how to live in the Kingdom while on earth.
Four Principles of Romans 8
There are four important principles that we can learn from Romans 8 that will help us to understand how we are to become victorious in this life:
- The only way we can successfully overcome temptation and sin is to recognize that as a believer in Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit lives in. The Holy Spirit is available to teach us, lead and guide us, and most importantly, empower us to do what is right in God’s eyes which brings the blessing!
- The presence of the Holy Spirit (seal, and awareness) confers upon us a new relationship with the Lord, and that is sonship. We are, in reality, sons and daughters of God through adoption and therefore brothers with Christ and heirs of all that the Father has. In other words, we get to inherit.
- The Holy Spirit encourages and gives us the confidence that we will overcome and see the victory no matter what we are going through now. In the end, we win!
- As Believers, we can be sure that God’s love for us will never fail. Never think that your behavior can cause God to love you less. We live in a “fallen” world consumed by sin. (Isa 5:20, Rom 1:18-23) and the enemy of your soul, the devil wants you to reject the Love of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today we only have time to cover the first principle; we will continue with the others next time.
Romans Chapter 8:1-13
Free from Indwelling Sin
Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
If you are in Christ, you are not condemned. Condemnation is a sentence to punishment in the same manner as an earthly Judge sentences a criminal to prison or death. Condemnation means guilt, shame, separation, and does not come from God. Satan is called the “accuser of the brethren,” and he tries to condemn us before God, but Jesus is our intercessor who sits at the right hand of the Father, and Jesus claims us as His own. Furthermore, Jesus says that no one can “snatch us out of His hand”, John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”
Now, the evidence that you are in Christ is that you behave in a manner that reflects God in you. That means to walk in the Spirit, notice that the Spirit has a capital “S,” which refers to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. Christianity is not about belonging to a Christian organization or institution; it is about a relationship with the living God! Remember, when Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He went to sit at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us. When Jesus went up, the Holy Spirit came down to dwell in the believer just as Jesus promised in the Gospel of John.
- John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
- John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
As a side note, don’t fall into the trap of “self-condemnation” or let others heap condemnation on you! Feeling condemnation will only cause you to separate yourself from God. Instead, pick yourself up, run to Him and repent. Be assured that the Holy Spirit lives in, and you are loved, forgiven, and accepted.
Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The Law, or the Law of Moses, was given so that we would know what sin is. It also was given so that we would know what God expects from us; the law is like a set of train tracks to keep us going in the right direction. God’s desire is to bless His creation, and when we live to please Him, we have access to the abundant life. The problem is that we don’t want to stay on the “tracks”; we want to go to the left or the right, and when we do, we sin. So, the temptation to sin is powerful because we all want our own way; we want what we want! All of this is because of what Paul calls the “Sin Nature” that all of mankind acquired due to the “Fall” in the Garden of Eden. Paul makes the case in Romans 7 that we wind up doing what we don’t want to do or unable to do what we want to do. The problem is that we operate in the flesh, that is, doing what we think is right in our own eyes or opinion.
What Jesus did was to fulfill the Law through His final sacrifice once and for all on the Cross; now who ever accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior has been delivered from condemnation and receives the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Father and is able to lead us into righteousness!
Romans 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
What you set your mind on, you will follow. The Scriptures say that who you obey is master over you. Obey the carnal desires, and the flesh is your master and death will be your outcome; obey the Holy Spirit’s promptings, and God is your master resulting in life and peace. Something I’ve learned in life is that if your focus is on sin, it will lead you to sin, but if you focus on righteousness and grace, it will lead you to righteousness. So, instead of concentrating on avoiding sin, focus on doing right, and temptation will fall away!
Romans 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
If you have been a Christian for any length of time, it should be obvious that without the Spirit of God working in us, it is impossible to avoid sin and do the right thing. It is so difficult to rely on your own self-control to please God. That’s what “those who are in the flesh cannot please God” means. You need the Helper; the Holy Spirit helps you overcome temptation and sin!
Romans 8:9 “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you”.
When you allow the Spirit of Christ to empower your life, you won’t be controlled by the flesh. By the way, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t live in you, you can’t belong to Jesus! You cannot pick and choose your doctrine! On a positive note, now that Christ lives his life in you even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life-giving Spirit imparts life to you because God fully accepts you. Yes, the Father raised Jesus to life! And since God’s resurrection spirit lives in you, He will also raise your mortal body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you!
Romans 8:12 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live”.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, the flesh has no claims on us, and we have no further obligation to live in obedience to it. For when you live controlled by the flesh, you are about to die. But if the life of the Spirit puts to death the corrupt ways of the flesh, we then taste His abundant life.
Let me close this section with the words of Paul in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
