God's Grace in Genesis 1-11

Today I was reminded that God showed grace in each of the episodes where mankind sinned. After the fall in chapter 3 God showed grace by holding off the punishment of death. Adam and Eve were told that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would die that day (Genesis 2:17). That is not what happened though they were spared for a time. The second came after Cain killed Able God showed grace by marking Cain so that everyone would know that he was protected and was not to be killed (Genesis 4:15). God also showed grace to the human race in the flood first in not wiping out the whole race because of the sins but also in the promise that he gave Noah that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood or water (Genesis 9:11). At the tower of Babel God had grace in not destroying the nations but here we see something that has not been in the other accounts. God scatters them by confusing the language and then leaves them in that condition. The question begs is God now through with the nations? Well the answer is no he simply shifts focus to creating a people through Abraham so that they will be the blessing to the nations. Gods grace did not start in the New Testament, it began at the fall. Gods grace is all around us and he just asks that we seek him and let him transform us into the image of Jesus. Gods grace comes at the highest price of all the death of his Son Jesus Christ. Thank you Jesus for allowing grace to flow. Your grace still amazes me.

Salvation

In preparing my work for teaching the theological concept of salvation I was reminded that the concept of sanctification is an event and process. There was a time in every believers life that they were sanctified in God's sight and then started the process of becoming more like Jesus. I would like to say that it has been easy or is easy to be sanctified but the truth is because God is holy and we are not it makes it difficult for us to become holy. The fact is though that is exactly what must happen. Thank God he has made a way for us to accomplish this and it is not left to our own devices to become holy. The fact is God helps us to become more like Jesus every day. We merely need to look to Him for guidance and help.

The concept of sin and the affect on our lives

Today I walked through the Biblical teaching on sin. For me it is the least favorite topic in theology for me because it is here that all my failures come out. The enemy reminds me of all the times that I fail and have failed but the great thing is that my failures are covered by Jesus' blood. It is amazing to me that the fall recorded in Genesis is not seen by many in the church as more than a simple fall to the ground. This "fall" was catastrophic in the fact that it separated us from God. This separation was a death blow to our soul. It makes me appreciate exactly what Jesus did on the cross for us that much more. I can only imagine what it was like to walk with God in the cool of the day. To feel God's presence at all times. One day the sin that is in the world will be eradicated and we will once again have the relationship with our creator that we were meant to have. Praise God for this marvelous gift.

The Need for Theology

As I sit here on Wednesday evening I am anticipating my time tomorrow when I get together with a friend and discuss theology. I am sort of using him as an alpha project to hopefully launch a class in the church this fall. I have really enjoyed the time that I have been able to spend with him discussing these issues. It has really challenged me in my thinking again to live a life that reflects what I know to be true from scripture. I am also reminded that even if one does not think they have a theology they do. It shapes the way that we see our world. Some use scripture to form their theology and others deny the existence of God. Either way there is a theology that shapes the way that person sees the world. Tomorrow I look at sin and its affects upon the world and upon us as Christians. This is the one topic that I would just rather skip because it reminds me of all my short falls. The reality is though that it is needful to remind me that I can do nothing to remove myself from my situation and that I am in need of God's help.

Working out ones salvation

I must admit that I like a good friend of mine are very terrible at blogging but I would like to get better. Recently I was asked to do a series on different religions for the Sunday school class that I attend. It has been going slow but the one thing that I have found is that all the other religions have a common theme of false gods or works orientation. They all seem to have a push that one must work out their own salvation and failure to do so they will not achieve heaven. Now some of you may be saying that Paul made these very same words come to life in Philippians 2:12. There is one major difference here though and that is I do not believe that he is really referring to the idea that one can somehow obtain salvation by doing works rather that one should not take their salvation lightly but should be examining it and making sure that it is not false. When we stand before an almighty God one day I do not believe that he will be interested in what good works we did but rather what good works we did because of the good work Jesus did for us on the cross.

Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up

There used to be this show on TV called "To Tell the Truth" in which 3 people claimed to be the same person and it was up to the contestants to decise who was telling the truth by asking them questions. I feel like that with the life and ministry of Jesus. There are so many imposters it is difficult at times to tell who the real Jesus is. My wife Staci recently took a religion class from a Christian school that taught that there are multiple ways to get to heaven. That the Jesus of the Bible was mostly just a good teacher and profit. The problem that I have is that is not the pcture that one gets when they read the scriptures. John 14 clearly claims that Jesus is the only way to the Father and that except through him o one can see the father. The president of Liberty Seminary Dr. Caner said something today in one of his updates that I believe needs to be repeated he said, "Over 20 religions consign Jesus to being a good man and a servant. Too bad. He said He was the God-Man and the only Savior!" Well said. It does not matter if you or I believe that Jesus did or did not say these things the fact that the Bible claims them makes it fact. In the end it will matter if you or I believe what he said but if one choses not to believe the Bible it in no way negates the truths contained within it. The book that Staci had to read is The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg. Marcus Borg is a member of the Jesus Seminar that had as a goal to set out and discover the real historical Jesus and the real historical actions that he did. They took the Bible and discounted 82% of the words of Jesus as not being said by him. They reduced Marks Gospel to just one verse. His book opens the door to pluralism and the door to many other things like alternate lifestyles being accepted because God made them that way. It is truly sad that this is the type of thing that is being taught but in the end the Real Jesus will stand up and he will show the world that he was who he claimed to be.

Forgiveness

As I write this today I am puzzled by this concept. In my Christian walk I have always wanted to believe that accept for the unpardonable sin then everything else can be forgiven. I have been proven again that this must be the central core to our belief. Unfortunately I have seen today again that there are those in my circle of fellowship that have found a reason that has allowed forgiveness to go only so far. Now I know many believers would say that there is nothing that can not be forgiven (except the unpardonable). My question is do we really live this out or do we harbor things that do not allow us to forgive. In my life I have seen much pain and one of my old wounds was opened today and I am struggling to understand where forgiveness comes into this. I know that God wants and even requires me to forgive and I will. The struggle that I have is in the continued fellowship with those that have set limits on forgiveness. I wonder what those that set limits would think if Jesus would do the same. I thank my God that Jesus has forgiven all that seek it. It never ceases to amaze me though that some can see limiting forgiveness as somehow as being christian. I hope that God will help me to understand this because it is a real struggle for me.