I realize more and more that people hold to so many different types of religion and beliefs for what is to happen in the afterlife and where they are bound for eternity! One of the most common that I run into is the belief in people's good works resulting in their hope in entering heaven! This isn't going to be a long post at all! I just wanted to share something that I had read through in Romans chapter 3, primarily verse 20. I would like to use verses surrounding around this primary verse as well. Here is what Romans chapter 3 states directly from the Apostle Paul, given by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. "Now we know that whatever the law says speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God's judgment. For NO flesh will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:19-20
Now this is what I want you to meditate on! Why would God place His son on the Cross on our behalf if we were able to uphold the law! If we were able to uphold the law then we would not offend God by our sinful natures! According to the Old Testament, the law was established by God as a covenant! The law is given so that we might know how we can please God and how we displease God! This is a very plain and simple process really! We fulfill the law, we obey God! And if we break the law, we disobey God! So why was the law established by God? The answer is simple! We as a sinful people need to know what God requires of us and how we are commanded live our lives unto Him! That in itself is even a measure of grace from God! Think about it! What if we walked around not knowing what is right or wrong all the time! Romans chapter 1 verse 20 states that God has clearly given His invisible attributes to all creation, therefore we are without an excuse when it comes to whether we know what is right or wrong! He has written His law on our hearts! We have a conscious that reveals right between wrong. Science even reveals the truth of our conscious! So, now that we have reviewed the law that God established in us, lets get to the issue at hand in how we are not saved according to our good works!
Romans 3 states that NO flesh will be justified (made right with God) in His sight by the works of the law because through the law comes the knowledge of sin! Okay let me break this down! What this means is because there has been a law established, we must come to understand that this law has been established because of our depravity of sin! Because once again, if law has been established, there must reason behind it! Because we have sinned before a mighty and holy God! Now I know so far this seems to be bad news! And well it is if I were to stop there but this is why we as children of God call this "Good News"!
The Good News! Here it is.... God established the law because of our separation resulting from our sin to Him. God graciously gave us His law so that we could have a covenant relationship with Him! This is a key emphasis to the Old Testament but not the main emphasis! God's establishment in His law to us wasn't His ultimate means to an end! The very law that He established with us is the key to revealing His Righteousness and Love by what we call Grace! The bad news is that because of our sin, the law was established and because of the law being established we are condemned to eternity separated from Christ forever! This is where the Cross comes in and sheds light to the best News in History! God sent His son to the world, Jesus Christ, who lived a pure life, free from Sin and was placed on the Cross so that our Sin, which is condemned through the law would be rescued from Death through a perfect and blameless propitiation (The shedding of Christs blood)! It is the Sacrifice that God, the Father made in order that we might have life! You see it is not by our works because when we compare ourselves to the law in where we spend eternity then we are condemned! Romans 8 verse 1 states, "For there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." And then verse 2 states, "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the Law of Sin and death."
Okay, so it ended up being a lengthy post hahaha... I can't help it! You know when you have such "Good News" to proclaim, it is hard to keep it so short! I pray that this word would encourage those that believe that their good works will result in eternity spent with God, to read more into Romans! It is by Grace through Faith we are saved! Not by Works! Essentially it comes down to our surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit to show us the True way to life and knowing that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life and there is no other way to the Father except through Him! Praise God for His grace and salvation to all men that repent and believe!
For His Kingdom,
Twiga
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Job Updates, Evangelism opportunities and Prayer Request
Hey everybody! So it has definitely been a few weeks since I last posted a blog. My apologies on negligence! I have definitely been very very busy! With 2 jobs and Greek class I have felt quite overwhelmed as of late! We only have 2 weeks of classes left here at the Seminary! I am actually stunned by how quickly this semester has passed! I have been a little passive towards my Greek within the last week! I have allowed an excuse to working a lot to resort to way too much laziness! I am still making a high grade in my Greek class but I am not interested in just making an A in the class. God has been moving within my heart as of late to press me towards diligence to understanding His Word better! Not so I can boast about how much more I know than the next guy here at the Seminary but so that I can preach the gospel more soundly! When I evangelize to others, I don't want to have a confused facial expression because I have not been diligent enough in my practice of Greek and the study of the Holy Word! I ask all that read this blog to pray for me! Pray that my heart would continue to be convicted so that I might be the light to the darkness!
As for my job status! There have been some shifting if you will. My last night with Target was actually this past Saturday! I will continue to work for UPS because of how much assistance I receive in my education funds! I have been trying more and more to be involved with Highview and the members within the body of the church! I have been attending a campus church through Highview, which is based on the University of Louisville. I talked with the pastor of the campus church about being involved with the media ministry at the campus church. Dan, the pastor at the campus church recently offered me a media staff position at Southern Seminary! For this I am so excited, I am without words! Because of this opportunity I will have access to resources I need in order to create media resources to aid the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I am most certain that God has me at this campus church for a reason! God has already weighed my heart heavily for the students on campus!
Now, just to share a little more about the situation at Target! I am no longer an employee obviously but I was surprised by how much of a connection that God has planted from me to others that I worked with at the Target store! I was only at this store for no more than 2 months and yet when many came to understand the news of my leaving the store they were unhappy with my decision to leave. I can only resort to the essence of the power of the gospel in this instance! For I will be blunt in saying that because of how busy I was at Target, I was honestly not given many opportunities to really sit down and talk about the Lord with others! Therefore, I conclude that the Spirit of Christ was heavily at work within me during my time at the store! Moreover; I am pressed to visit the store when I am able to, in order that I might continue to share the gospel with these employees at the store! Praise God for the work of His gospel to men everywhere! Would you please, also pray for these employees as I search for more opportunities to reveal the gospel to them!
This next request for prayer is of high value! I am in utter despair over my coworkers at UPS! Not that it is a surprise to me but I sense a very supernatural darkness while working with the coworkers in my area! This fact causes me to have a bit more hesitancy in how I present the gospel! I must be honest in saying that I have taken very little efforts in sharing the good news with these people! I truly beleive that this is cause by the spirit of timidity by the devil himself! I feel more and more frustrated with myself when I leave my job at UPS! Its not that I have the power to save these people! I know that this an obvious statment but I know that God has placed His sovereign hand over this situation and that I am called to be within this particular mission field! I truly want the people I work with at UPS to see the gospel in me! Please! Please! Pray for these people and for this evil power of timidity that is at work within me to be vanquished and that I would have more and more opportunities to share the good news with these people!
I sincerely thank everyone for their prayers and encouragement! God is at work in the city! I can see it more and more! I pray that I can only die more and more to myself in order that Christ and Christ alone is seen and I fade away!
For His kingdom,
Twiga
As for my job status! There have been some shifting if you will. My last night with Target was actually this past Saturday! I will continue to work for UPS because of how much assistance I receive in my education funds! I have been trying more and more to be involved with Highview and the members within the body of the church! I have been attending a campus church through Highview, which is based on the University of Louisville. I talked with the pastor of the campus church about being involved with the media ministry at the campus church. Dan, the pastor at the campus church recently offered me a media staff position at Southern Seminary! For this I am so excited, I am without words! Because of this opportunity I will have access to resources I need in order to create media resources to aid the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I am most certain that God has me at this campus church for a reason! God has already weighed my heart heavily for the students on campus!
Now, just to share a little more about the situation at Target! I am no longer an employee obviously but I was surprised by how much of a connection that God has planted from me to others that I worked with at the Target store! I was only at this store for no more than 2 months and yet when many came to understand the news of my leaving the store they were unhappy with my decision to leave. I can only resort to the essence of the power of the gospel in this instance! For I will be blunt in saying that because of how busy I was at Target, I was honestly not given many opportunities to really sit down and talk about the Lord with others! Therefore, I conclude that the Spirit of Christ was heavily at work within me during my time at the store! Moreover; I am pressed to visit the store when I am able to, in order that I might continue to share the gospel with these employees at the store! Praise God for the work of His gospel to men everywhere! Would you please, also pray for these employees as I search for more opportunities to reveal the gospel to them!
This next request for prayer is of high value! I am in utter despair over my coworkers at UPS! Not that it is a surprise to me but I sense a very supernatural darkness while working with the coworkers in my area! This fact causes me to have a bit more hesitancy in how I present the gospel! I must be honest in saying that I have taken very little efforts in sharing the good news with these people! I truly beleive that this is cause by the spirit of timidity by the devil himself! I feel more and more frustrated with myself when I leave my job at UPS! Its not that I have the power to save these people! I know that this an obvious statment but I know that God has placed His sovereign hand over this situation and that I am called to be within this particular mission field! I truly want the people I work with at UPS to see the gospel in me! Please! Please! Pray for these people and for this evil power of timidity that is at work within me to be vanquished and that I would have more and more opportunities to share the good news with these people!
I sincerely thank everyone for their prayers and encouragement! God is at work in the city! I can see it more and more! I pray that I can only die more and more to myself in order that Christ and Christ alone is seen and I fade away!
For His kingdom,
Twiga
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