Category Archives: Grace

What the Bible says about Grace

Romans 8:28-30

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I have been reading, studying and thinking (meditating) about Romans 8:28-30 recently. While I don’t think I’ve sucked every bit out of the passage I have found it to be full of ideas that blow the status quo of Christianity out of the water. Don’t settle for less if you’re a believer. Anything less is just an imitation of Christ, and we don’t need that. Here’s the text:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

I have heard the first part of verse 28 out of context lots of times, and its not done anyone who is quoting it or listening to it out of context much good. Granted, I’m taking these three verses out of Romans 8, which you need to read in context. Romans 8:28 starts with God’s causing all things to work together for good to those who love God. God is the one who’s in charge, not me. When something happens that seems unjust or unfair instead of asking why (which the answer will be because mankind is corrupt and in desperate need of a savior) we should be asking when will the justice be corrected. Then, immediately afterward we should ask, “What can I learn from this because God is using it for my benefit?” When what looks like garbage happens in my life, including my sinning, God can still use it for His good. He can still use it to His glory.

I used to look at pornography with as much frequency as possible (Mom, I know you read this, don’t beat yourself up for this, God has used it to His glory, seriously) when I was younger. I was addicted to the fleshly feeling of lust. I wanted more and more exposure to sexual things because the emotional feeling was exciting. It wasn’t satisfying, but it was exciting. Then, afterward I would feel guilt for looking at such things. Fortunately I’m not alone in this wrestling of the flesh so when I come across other youth or men I am able to offer them hope and empathy. I am able to take them to places and scripture that lead them to a better understanding of who they are in Christ and how that can help them cease walking in the flesh and live in victory over the flesh. God has been able to take what was a past sin, and use it as one of my very ministries! Instead of my living righteously for my whole life I have constantly wrestled with various sins so that now I can understand my brothers and sisters in Christ and be an edifying member of the body.

But God doesn’t stop there. You see, when you sin, God has covered it in the blood of Christ and you are instead accredited with the righteousness of Christ so God is given glory for His grace, mercy and love even in our sin (which was His sin on the cross). So not only is the event possible to be used by God, but he gets the glory for what happens no matter what. That beats the snot out of any sort of guilt, shame or punishment for our sins, plus it gives us a glimpse into God’s perspective. You cannot be in a situation that God cannot use in your life. Period.

Some look at that verse and say, “But it says those who love God.” And then get off on a high horse about how some people, when they sin do not love God. Not loving God while you sin does not mean that you don’t love God at all, does it? Don’t sell someone a shorted check of Grace. Either Christ died for all of our sins (which we’ll look at in a moment) or he didn’t. God can use events in our lives for His glory now, later or in eternity… don’t limit an infinite God to your puny perspective. I’m learning that I need to quit trying to short sell God in this very area.

Then, the hum-dinger of Romans 8:28, the second part, comes out: Because we love God, we’re called according to His purpose. Instead of lacking purpose in life, instead of not having a calling, we’re called to God’s purpose. What purpose can be better than that? When earthly things take place they’re usable by God for our good, His glory and we are called and can be used for His purpose! Though it is in an Old Testament context Jonah was walking in the sin and selfishness [ha ha, the word fish is in the middle of that word, get it? Jonah? Fish?], then did God’s will through the help of a fish, and then walked in the selfishness again with the plant but God used Jonah for His purpose. Paul died, was resurrected, was lashed, shipwrecked, tortured, homeless, and naked (See II Corinthians 11:23-27). All of those to God’s glory for God’s purpose. Paul could not write with such authority if he had not been associated with Steven’s murder, and then once establishing His relationship with Christ, turning around and being involved with all sorts of physical hardships in Christ’s service. Instead, God used those things to validate Paul’s ministry and Paul knew it. Instead of finding sorrow in those things he knew they were part of his sanctification and growth. On top of that he knew that God had eternity in store of him, in which God would forever be revealing Himself to Paul and all believers (Ephesians 2:4-7).

God has a purpose for our lives and so being distracted by this world and trying to reconcile this world with the flesh is only going to lead to disappointment instead of having a perspective that looks at God’s working in our lives for His glory, our growth and with His purpose. We are called to God’s purpose… there is meaning to life. On top of that Ephesians 2:10 says that we’re going to walk in the good works that God has planned for us. We cannot fail to do God’s planned works for us, they’re predestined.

Verse 29 starts out with God’s foreknowledge of us: “For those whom He foreknew….” God knew us in eternity past. Intimately. He didn’t just know me, Randy Peterman, a little bit, He didn’t just know all about my musical talent [or lack there of], he didn’t just know I’d know how to program computers or that I’d live to be [insert the age I live to be here], but he knew me intimately, 100%. What’s so amazing about that? Several things: God knew me and still He chose to die for my sins on the cross. God knew me and still planned for me to do good works. God knew me and is going to reward me for those good works he has planned for me no matter how many beautiful women (that he created) I defiled by lusting after them. He knew me, knew how I would screw up with my wife, children and anyone else I’m involved with and still died for me on the cross. That’s what’s so amazing about that. God foreknew me and loved me anyway. That’s love.

Beyond foreknowing me He also, “…predestined to [me] become conformed to the image of His Son…” So not only did He know me and promise to pay for my sins, but he also promised to sanctify me, or set me aside to be conformed to and identified with His Son, Christ. I don’t have to worry about whether I will one day be a godly (godlier) man, I know that Christ is my position (Colossians 3:3), but also my destination when I’m with God in the heavenlies. My sanctification (spiritual growth) is guaranteed. There is nothing else so liberating in life than to know that you don’t have to try any more, because God’s doing it and He’s conforming you to the image of His Son. The world sometimes practices self mutilation wherein they carve or manipulate their flesh. By trying in the flesh to live a righteous life we are simply doing the same thing inwardly. Instead we must rest in God’s work and walk in our relationship with Him, it will guarantee results rather than bring them into question because of a faulty source (the flesh). We’re predestined: it is our destiny. That predestination is so that Christ would be the first-born of the brethren. Christ would be the first to be resurrected and we will follow in Him and have eternal life. God uses our Christ-conformance to His glory in many ways, including Christ being glorified as the first-born.

As if being foreknown, predestined to be conformed to Christ image and bringing Christ (and therefore God) glory, we are called with a purpose (again, reiterating what was written in verse 28). But those whom God called he also justified. That’s a past tense word there. I have been justified. I have been made just in God’s sight. When he looks at me He sees a Randy that has no sin or blemish on him. He sees the resurrection of Christ in me. I am made just. As has been said before, “Justified, its just as if I’d never sinned at all.” And I’ve sinned, let me tell you. But I don’t have to worry about it because Christ took care of it. The worldly concern for sin and the flesh is not my concern because mine has already been taken care of and is being conformed to the image of Christ! I can stop worrying about doing righteous deeds in the flesh since the flesh is dead and my new life in Christ is inherently filled with righteousness.

Beyond justification I am also glorified. I’m going to confess to not having grasped all that glorification means. It is hard for my mind to wrap itself around my being glorified. God being glorified is understandable, but I have been glorified. A past tense word, again. Second Corinthians 3:18 says it well: 18But 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. We are being conformed to Him who is glorified, therefore we are glorified as well. What an amazing thing that all of this is true of every believer. It makes me want to be more gracious with other believers who are not aware of this so that they may see the truths of this lived out in me. Fortunately as I abide in Christ and rest in what God is doing in me He will do things like that through me.

What a rich passage this is. I suppose much more could be drawn from it, but as I live I learn places that this (and many other verses) apply to me. Furthermore, I am learning how they apply in different areas and scenarios. I find myself looking at trials, past since, present since, and future growth with hope. All of it, every single bit of my life can be used for God’s glory and my good. I can’t ask for more than that.

The 10 Commandments: A Response

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From my 10 Commandments post from a while ago I got a comment that was disagreeing. Below I am going to reply to that comment and hopefully clear up my position. The comment is in line in marked segments. I believe that Shane, the author of the quote, and myself approach scripture from different perspectives. I hold a dispensational view, and I’m not getting the impression that he uses the same method of scriptural interpretation. I don’t think that Shane and I will see eye to eye on this, but he offered genuine questions and didn’t do it in a nasty way, so I’m honored to give him my best, short replies.

Paul said the Law is holy and just and good. (does [sic] he contradict himself?) Yeshua (Jesus) said if you love me keep my commandments.

First, Paul writes about the Law and its character due to it being perfect revelation from God to the Jews. The Law perfectly reveals man’s need for a relationship with a gracious God [Romans 3]. As Shane relays later in his comment you cannot separate the Ten Commandments from the whole law. I wrote this because many Christians try to do this very thing but still want the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament to apply to believers. Later in the New Testament the 10 commandments are reiterated, but not as part of the 613 laws. These ten of the 613 are partially and firstly for an uninterrupted relationship with God and partially and secondly moral standards given to the children of Israel. Paul writes in Romans 7:4 that we are dead to the Law in Christ. Paul further writes in Romans 7:6 that instead of obeying the law we should abide in the Holy Spirit.

I assume that you are referring to Romans 7:12 where Paul writes, “So that the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good.,” when you refer to Paul’s saying that. You’ve pulled that out of context. Romans 7 talks about how the Law brings about something that the flesh wants to fight… but the flesh was crucified with Christ. The Holy Spirit trumps the law because instead of limited rules via lists we get the unlimited, imputed righteousness of Christ and the power to live out His righteousness.

You quote Matthew 5:17 where Christ says that he came to fulfill the law. Then, in the end of the book Christ does fulfill the law and when we accept Christ’s gift of salvation we are died, buried and resurrected with Him. We ascend into the heavenlies with Him (positionally, though conditionally, until death or the rapture we are still tied to these mortal coils in our condition) where we are hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3). We are one with the very one who fulfilled all of the laws. We no longer have to perform those laws because we are imbued with the His righteousness. Works are not part of the Christian Faith for salvation, but instead are part of our sanctification.

Sanctification is a process [Philippians 1:6] and consists of our working out the logical conclusions of our position in Christ and our identification with Christ on this earth. Logically if you’ve been indwelled with the Holy Spirit you will do good works – those works are planned by God [Ephesians 2:10].

1 John 5:3 says:
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
1 John 2:4-6 states:
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
If commandments are not for “New Testament Saints” then either they are liars or His Word is. (insidently, you realize that all the disciples were Jews and so was the Messiah and they kept Jewish festivals after the cross (see Acts 2 and 20:16)) No covenant was ever made with Gentiles only “the house of Israel and Judah” (Jer 31:31), Gentiles are grafted into the same covenant (Romans 11) and become Abraham’s seed (Gal 3:29, Eph 3:6).

I never said that commandments were not for New Testament Saints, there are New Testament instructions, I did imply (and should have stated more clearly) that the 613 laws are not given to New Testament Saints. I would again site that a Christian, who is clearly said in scripture to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, is capable of obeying God’s commandments… the question is what are those commandments? I don’t think that you can state that those are the 613 laws in the Old Testament. A believer now is completely unable to live up to some of the commands because the physical temple is destroyed. I wonder how you propose we deal with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph? None of them had the Law but all had relationships with God. Clearly none of them lived pure and spotless lives but clearly all of them had faith in God. They were saved by faith and the Law was not given to them. Is it possible for generations of Saints (people set aside unto God) to not be under the law given to the Jews? Yes.

As for the Jewishness of the disciples that has nothing to do with the Church, which is made up of Jews and Gentiles alike. Their application of those festivals was cultural and in no way intended to be normative for the Church. Acts is a book of transition between the Old Testament Saint and the New Testament Saint. Both saved by faith, one saved by Faith in God and the messiah who was to come, and one saved by faith in Christ, who was the Messiah. I support Sojourner Ministries [I redesigned their site, in fact], lead by Steven Ger who teaches about the Jewish Heart of Christianity. He meets as a member of a Messianic Jewish congregation on Friday nights because of his Jewish Heritage but at no time in the last 5 years that I have known him has he ever suggested that I meet on Friday night. The reason for this is that we are, in the Grace of Christ, allowed to celebrate our ‘sabbath’ any day of the week – even if it was on Wednesday night. The seasons and festivals were set aside as times to worship God – but they were in no way communicated to the New Testament where Paul writes in Colossians 2:16 that no one should judge others for their festivals or food choices. This commandment from Paul is because of Grace. If a person wants to live out parts of the Jewish tradition because they are Jewish (and possibly otherwise) but are not doing those things out of religious conviction but rather culture or tradition, that is fine.

Noah was not of Israel and even Abraham was not a of Israel, but Israel was of Abraham. The Jeremiah Passage does not say that Israel was the only one through whom covenants came.

The Church is not grafted into Israel in Romans 11… I don’t see your point here.

You referred to Colossians 2:14. Do you realize that the word for law (nomos) is never used in that chapter? The Greek word used means “certificate of debt”. In other words your penalty was nailed to the cross, not God’s eternal Law! Remember the charge placed over His head on the cross? That was done for you an I.

I’m going to refer you to Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, whom I have studied under at Tyndale Theological Seminary when he was a guest lecturer. Specifically I find he disagrees with you at least in this Q&A on Pants (strangely enough). The whole section is highly informative.

“elementary principles of the world” – It should be obvious, that this could never mean God’s Law! Are you saying that what God gave was elementary and of the world? Would you want to worship a God like that?

I never said that the elementary principles of the world were the law. Those are in reference to the flesh and its nastiness, sinfulness of mankind if you will.

If you think that it(Col 2) was the Law, then you are saying that God’s Law was evil and legalism. Would you want to worship that God? God did not give leglism [sic]. No one was ever saved by Law. Grace is an “Old Testament” teaching. It did not start in the New Testament but continued into it.

The law, which applied without heart or brain is legalism. Take for the example a German in World War Two who happened to be hosting a Jewish Refugee. When the SS comes to his door and asks, “Do you have any Jews here?” Does he lie to save a life, or tell the truth to comply with the ‘false witness’ statement, but be involved with murder? Which of those non-compliances of the law is better? Christ brings up similar examples to the Pharisees and Saducees in the gospels.

I never once stated that mankind was saved by the law, in fact you can see my other post about this here. Grace is a concept in scripture as early as Genesis 3. In fact, it could be argued that since God predestined believers that Grace is a characteristic of God like Love, Justice and Righteousness. Our definition of those words comes from Him, we don’t use those words to define Him.

Yeshua told those that He healed and the adulteress to go and sin no more.
You may ask why I am telling you all of this. It is very important to understand what you are teaching others because:
Sin is transgression of the Law

OK, but the Law was not set for those before Moses and Israel. Jacob/Israel did not have the Law, nor did Abraham or Noah. Adam had a very simple law: Don’t eat of the trees of the Knowledge of Good and Evil [Genesis 2:17]. I am not encouraging anyone to sin, but to instead abide in the Holy Spirit so that they may obey God and bear fruit. Romans 6 is clear about the benefits of Grace to believers so that they will stop focusing on the Law, but instead focus on Christ. Colossians 3 states that we should set our minds on things above where Christ is seated in the heavenlies. By having our minds focused on those things we will not be thinking of the Law, the desires of the Flesh (which is dead), or any list of things but instead we’ll be looking at life from God’s perspective, which is Holy, Righteous and Just.

Luke 17:2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Heaven and earth are still here, so all is not fulfilled. Many of the prophecies pertain to after the cross, so all is not fulfilled. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) for isntance [sic] is a Holy Day not fulfilled. That will be fulfilled with His triumphant return!

I’m not sure what you are referring to in the Luke Passage… please clarify what you are after so that I can more properly respond to this in the comments section of this post. The Matthew passage I addressed above. As I don’t believe that you apply the same dispensational timeline I do I don’t think we’ll be able to simply resolve this issue until we can discuss hermeneutics, which was not in the scope of this post. I recommend that you check out the Sojourner Ministries site and the Ariel Ministries sites to gather information on Yom Kippur in a New Testament time frame. I strongly recommend you get, borrow or steal [not really on the stealing for obvious reasons, sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I love a good joke as much as the next guy. Get it? ‘Good’ Joke? Nevermind.] a copy of Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s book Israelology [Amazon.com link].

I hope your recieve this [sic] words with the love intended.
Shalom (peace)

I don’t take what you have written in a negative way, but instead looked at it as a challenge for me to dig deeper into the Scriptures and to know my Lord Jesus better through His word. I look forward to your reply. Peace to you as well.

Resting in Him,
Randy Peterman

Post Script: I used [sic] in some places, which is a way of indicating a copied typo or misspelling in quoted text. I’m not trying to mock Shane, wanting to indicate that I’m not trying to hack his text up and reflect upon his spelling. My mom corrected my spelling all of the time as I grew up. She’s probably spotted several mistakes in my grammar already 🙂

Are We All Sinners?

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I just heard on a podcast the insinuation that we’re all sinners. I can’t stand this since as Christians we have been identified with the righteousness of Christ rather than the wretchedness of sin. The image below displays a timeline of sorts. It illustrates the fact that we’ve got an eternal new nature as believers in Christ, but also an adamic nature something that the non-Christian has. This is why Paul recommends in Romans 6:11 that we reckon our old self to be dead. We are identified with Christ and not with anything else that could be pointed to as who we are. In Christ we are not sinners.

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Click image for a larger version of this image.

We are not sinners, we are more than conquerors.

A Typo With a Lesson

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In the following screen shot (click for a larger version) you will see that I ranked high for ‘imorality’ on this blog due to a previous post.
Immorality Screenshot
While the correct spelling would be good (and has been corrected) I don’t think that the real focus should be on my ranking or type. The real intersting thing is the third ranking result: Immorality: Compare Prices

While we can buy immoral things for inexpensive prices, or get them for free, it is important to realize that we are not called to sin and should abide in Christ as we walk in the good works he has planned for us (Ephesians 2:10). Count the cost, don’t compare prices. Sure, we’re under grace, but don’t you love Christ? Love Christ in your relationship and the cost of being out of fellowship will surely be too high.

Compare the prices… and you won’t buy. Immorality comes with a price – is the gold plated grenade that plays MP3’s really worth it? Once that pin gets pulled its a timebomb of death.

Top Ten Reasons Why the Ten Commandments Are Not for New Testament Saints

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This is partially taken from Lectures in Systematic Theology by Henry C. Thiessen. It is a work in progress. What other ideas/verses would you add? I need to cite everything here so please be patient with me 🙂

  1. The believer is delivered from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:10).
  2. The believer is delivered from the penalty of the law.
  3. The believer is delivered from the law itself (Romans 7:4, Ephesians 2:14-15; Colossians 2:14,20).
  4. The ten commandments have faded away (II Corinthians 3:7-11).
  5. The believer is seated in the heavenlies [the law is for the earth] (Colossians 3:1-3).
  6. The law is not just the ten commandments, there are 613 commands.
  7. The law was given to the Jews to set them apart from the rest of the world.
  8. Noah, Abraham, Moses and David were all saved by faith and not the law.
  9. The Temple no longer exists which makes fulfilling the law impossible.
  10. Jesus fulfilled the law and we are hidden in Him (Colossians 3:1-3).

The Church

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I am starting to think about things that I haven’t thought about for a while: semantics. When people use the term ‘the church’ what do they convey? The word has various meanings in various contexts and I don’t want to try to force a singular meaning on it – that’d be just confusing and a lot of work for me to try to start an international campaign 🙂 Instead I want to take a brief look at the uses and then suggest care in using it in some contexts.

Meanings:

The Church
A building in which people of a Christian denomination come together (in contrast to a temple, mosque or Community Center)
The Church
A group of people that are gathered together in a particular building or that area associated with a particular denomination’s meeting place. Example: The Assemblies of God Church in Carson City is called Capital Christian Center.
The Church
The bride of Christ as defined by being a believer in Christ and not being associated with a denomination or meeting location.

It is this last definition that most concerns me. I recently read a statement wherein the person said [roughly], “The church has been judgmental in the past.” This is a sticky wicket and I wouldn’t normally even want to touch it. Here’s my concern though: by using the singular, universal term for Christians throughout history regardless of denomination or adherence to the authority of scripture you are painting with too broad a brush. Also, by doing this you’re actually defining the church differently compared to how the Bible teaches it to be on a doctrinal level. Practicioners of a religion do not necessarily represent the religion in its pure, ideal form.

I’m not suggesting that we white-wash church history so as to always appear as if all believers throughout history were abiding in the Holy Spirit and acting as God’s messengers in all things, but I am suggesting that we be careful how we use the church. The Bride of Christ has been made perfect by her redeemer/groom, Christ. We are sanctified in Him, perfected in Him and presentable to Him (see Ephesians 5 for this last reference). Let us not forget this when trying to interact with people and how we use the term ‘church.’ I’m sure I need to be more careful myself, but I do want to remind believers that by representing the church as anything but a redeemed group we short sell our savior.

Satan

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This last Sunday we talked about Satan in Sunday School. Not your typical lesson, I suppose, but I had one quick thought I wanted to share: Satan was responsible for bringing glory to God, however, at some point in time he got bored of God’s glory. He took his mind off of God’s glory and looked at himself. This is so bizaare for me because I’m used to starting out with not looking towards God’s glory and then, through salvation, being able to behold God’s glory (positionally, in the heavenlies). I’m grateful that God gave mankind a second chance through Grace.

Using Romans 6 Unlawfully

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Romans Chapter 6 is loaded with really great stuff. It encourages the believer to abide so that they might live righteously while discouraging sin. However, more than once I’ve heard this book hammered on as if righteousness is the line with which we’re measured and that we shouldn’t sin any longer. Sure, there’s grace, but it’s not to be ‘used.’

This whole perspective ignores chapter 7 and completely bypasses chapter 8. Chapter 7 clearly states that we’re going to sin and stumble. Chapter 8 plasters us with grace. There’s no reason why we should ever consider 6 without 1 through 5 and 7 through 16 (I double checked and they haven’t added a chapter 17 to Romans). I had a talk with my step-father-in-law this evening and we marvelled at the gift of grace and how so many times we’ve been taught the law and nailed with condemnation instead of encouraged with the 100% nature of grace and that our sins were nailed to the cross with Christ.

Therefore, chapter 8 starts out, we have no condemnation because we are in Christ Jesus. Chapter 6, verse 7 states this another way: For he who has died is aquitted of sin. And since our old nature was killed on the Christ’s cross with Him, we are aquitted. Furthermore, Christ’s righteousness was given to us instead of neutrality, a blank slate or anything else. We are so completely tied in with Christ that when God the Father looks at us, He sees only His Son in us.

1 Timothy 1:3-7

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This passage is one that should be a stumbling block to most elders 🙂 OK, not a stumbling block, but instead a focal point for their ministry, a mission statement. Look at Paul’s writing to Timothy and see what is instructed here in contrast to what is so often the roll leadership takes in the church.

1 Timothy 1:3-7 (NASB)

3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,
4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere rather than the administration of God which is by faith.
5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,
7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

So, you see Paul’s instructions are to Timothy, and you think to yourself, “Randy, this is to Timothy, it this for every church?” Good question. I think that in the greater context of the Timothy’s (first and second) that it is clear that Timothy was in Ephesus to help establish a strong elder based leadership at that church. Therefore, I think that since leadership shouldn’t die off in the church, these principles apply to the leadership of the church today.

Looking at verse three we see that Paul, trusting in the Holy Spirit’s work through Timothy, went on to Macedonia. Timothy’s Ephesian charge was to instruct certain men not to teach ‘strange doctrine.’ I love that phrase, it’s fun. In our post-modern, anything goes, relativistic culture ‘strange doctrine’ doesn’t happen. In fact, if Paul were writing (or righting) today I think he might go so far as to say, “…so that you may instruct certain men not to teach whatever doctrine is blowing through town.” The church has become so doctrinally splintered over the last 2,000 years that I believe few actually believe that there are true doctrines worth holding to. Just in case you’re not familiar with the term ‘doctrine’, it means ‘a teaching.’ In this context we can see in verses six and seven that the strange doctrines involve the mixture of Grace with the Law. And, if you know Galatians at all, you know the Law is not to be mixed with Grace.

Verse four tackles an old Jewish tradition/problem wherein Rabbinic tradition and geneology were counted as important. Using tradition is of some external value for some slight details, but it is certainly not to be incorporated into full fledged teachings. Geneology, as you can see in Matthew 1, was thick and rooted in the Jewish culture. Being able to say you were a son of [insert important name here] apparently meant something to these folks. However, Paul does not want them to focus on these things since they were now sons of God! Having been grafted into salvation through Christ, they were adopted children of God (Ephesians 1:5). Finally in this point we see that those distractions don’t lead to God’s final goal for believers on this earth. We also see that they are not rooted in faith.

Verse five gets into the fun stuff because we see that the goal of the leadership in the church should be instruction that produces the following results in the believers:

  • Love from a pure heart
  • A good conscience
  • A sincere faith

Point one in that list points out that we should let the Lord, who bought our hearts, have control of them, and then love through us with purity. It is so easy to not love people. It is even easier to tolerate, ignore or hate people when we’re in the flesh. Pure love comes from a submitted heart.

A good conscience is one that is not distracted by sin, one that is not hounded by guilt, and one that understands the awesomeness of grace. If you know grace, what it means, then your conscience will be clear, past sins will be a forgotten thing because you look for a hopeful future with your bridegroom, Christ.

A sincere faith is one that genuinely believes and knows the truth of Christ and the doctrines upon which the Christian life rests. We all have doubts at times, points in our lives where we question God’s work, our salvation or various other parts of our faith. If we are well equipped with spiritual truth many of the doubts we face (if not all) will be eraced by the confidence in our relationship with our savior.

So you see that a pastor/elder is to be teaching, discipling, and re-enforcing these things in the flock that God has bestowed to them. If you are spiritually mature, you might consider heavily investing these things into others lives. Sure, it will require time, possibly money, and surely a lot of emotional commitment, but it is the call of a spiritually mature believer to do this. I’m blogging about my Bible study time to help teach others what has been invested in me. While this small blog can’t reach all believers, or even a small fraction of believers, I do hope to help encourage those who read to study and know God’s word, which is Christ!

Verse six shows the fruitless discussion that is a result of straying from the fundamental and important things of the believer. Trust me that in seminary I more than once saw people discussing fruitless things that did not edify them, or anyone listening. Sometimes big words, new ideas or any of the other fruitless practices like geneologies and traditions can be distracting. They make us feel like we may have a corner on truth, a new, better solution or any number of fleshly things, however, if we’re rooted in the core of Christianity (Christ) then we’ll be set for growth and maturity.

Lastly, verse seven makes it clear that the Law is not for the believer. Often teachers mix the Law in with their teaching because they feel it instills a moral rightness, a better, more clear instruction for their parishioners. Frankly, it can’t be too much worse than just outright telling them to sin! Why? Because it does not encourage the believer unto Holy Spirit led righteousness. Instead it calls believers to keep accounts of their sins (or not sinning) rather than counting their righteousness in Christ. If the fruit of the Spirit is a long list of good, God rewarding things why not encourage spiritual growth and spiritual thinking (Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:1-3)?

OK, have a good weekend, I’ll be travelling so Saturday or Sunday may not be blogged, but I’ll do my best to post next week!

Resting in Him,
Randy Peterman

Salvation Throughout the Scripture

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It can be confusing when we first study God’s word trying to understand the requirements of salvation in each time period of scripture. I picked up a handy acronym in an intensive that should be useful. The acronym is COMB came from Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum and it stands for Content, Object, Means and Basis. It is important to understand that salvation was always by faith [and not by works], but the elements of faith varied throughout the dispensations (or time periods associated with covenants in scripture).

Content
This element of faith changes, this involves what you have to believe to be saved.
Object
Always God.
Means
Always by grace through faith.
Basis
Basis of salvation was always the substitutionary work of Christ.

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