What’s Your Excuse?

~ Are You Pleasing God in Your Every Day Life? ~

This posting is about the very fundamental core principles of living the Christian life effectively.

God’s Expectation of His Children  ~  “The Kingdom of God is not just talking; it is living by God’s power” (1 Corinthians 4:20 TLB).

You Have NO Valid Excuse  ~  “Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing His will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7 TLB).  “So don’t be proud of following the wise men of this world.  For God has already given you everything you need” (1 Corinthians 3:21 TLB).

Are You Struggling?  ~  So did the Apostle Paul, who sad, “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t.  I do what I don’t want to—what I hate.  I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience proves that I agree with these laws I am breaking.  But I can’t help myself because I’m no longer doing it.  It is sin inside me that is stronger than I am that makes me do these evil things.

“I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned.  No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right.  I want to but I can’t.  When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.  Now if I am doing what I don’t want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp.

“It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.  In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin.

“So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin.  Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in!  Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature?  Thank God!  It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord.  He has set me free” (Romans 7:15-23 TLB).  All true believers can identify with this struggle, but have you grasped the reality of those last three sentences! 

The Refinement Process  ~  “Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace?  Then learn to know Him better and better.  For as you know Him better, He will give you, through His great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: He even shares His own glory and His own goodness with us!  And by that same mighty power He has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings He promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us His own character.

“But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough.  For then you must learn to know God better and discover what He wants you to do.  Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have His way with you.  This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply.  The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ.  But anyone who fails to go after these additions to faith is blind indeed, or at least very shortsighted and has forgotten that God delivered him from the old life of sin so that now he can live a strong, good life for the Lord.

“So, dear brothers, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen, and then you will never stumble or fall away.  And God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:2-11 TLB).

“But remember this—the wrong desires that come into your life aren’t anything new and different.  Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you.  And no temptation is irresistible.  You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it, for He has promised this and will do what He says. He will show you how to escape temptation’s power so that you can bear up patiently against it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 TLB).

The Bottom-Line  ~  God has pointed the way and He has given us the resources for victory.  It will be a struggle—but as the Apostle Paul points out victory in this life can be achieved.  The real questions are:  Where is your heart’s desire?  Are you progressing in Christ-likeness. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Identity in Christ, 26

~ I Am Free From Any Charge Against Me ~

Introduction  ~  When Christians understand the various characteristics and aspects of the birthright which came with their second birth, they comprehend their identity in Christ.  Once Christians understand their identity, their destiny is also clear!  This series of “Abundant Life Now” posts will look at one of those facets each week. 

This Week’s Verse  ~  “What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  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?  Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies.  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” (Romans 8:31-34). 

~~~ EXPLANATORY “IDENTITY IN CHRIST” NOTES ~~~  

(1)  Each Monday ALN posts an example of Scripture’s description of aspects/characteristics of Christians—those who have personally trusted in Jesus Christ, The Messiah, as their personal Savior.

(2)  This series is not intended to be an exhaustive list.

(3)  God the Father described Himself to Moses as the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14).  God the Son also said “I AM” (John 8:58). 

(4)  Jesus Christ is the Son of God and several times in the Gospel of John He refers to Himself as “I am.”  “I am the Bread of Life” (6:35-51), “I am the Light of the World” (8:12, 9:5), “I am the Door” (10:7-9), “I am the Good Shepherd” (10:11-14), “I am the Son of God” (10:36), “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (11:25), “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (14:6), “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me … Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me” (John 14:10-11), and “I am the True Vine” (15:1-5). 

(5)  Individual Christians are also sons and daughters of God.  This series will show some of the various “I am” aspects of a Christian. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Christ-Atonement, 3of6

~ The Facts of the Atonement of Christ for Your Sins ~

Atonement Was Made On The Cross  ~  “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).  “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.  For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken’” (John 19:34-36).

“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.  Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.  For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:11-15). 

Atonement Was Accepted In Heaven  ~  “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession” (Hebrews 4:14).  “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24).  “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). 

Atonement Was Verified By The Resurrection  ~  “Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.  But God raised Him from the dead” (Acts 13:29-30).  “It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:24b-25). 

Atonement Was Witnessed By The Spirit of God  ~  “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him” (Acts 5:32).  “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.  For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.  But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’  Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:12-18). 

Atonement Is Proclaimed By The Gospel  ~  “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).  “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).  “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). 

Atonement Is Relied Upon By The Christian  ~  “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:21-26).  “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). 

note  ~  This series about atonement includes:  

1.  The Concept of the Atonement of Christ for Your Sin

2.  The Basics of the Atonement of Christ for Your Sin

3.  The Facts of the Atonement of Christ for Your Sin

4.  The Results of the Atonement of Christ for Your Sin

5.  7 Benefits of Christ’s Atonement for Your Sin 

6.  The Atonement of Christ Foreshadowed 

the key question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This is the most important question you will ever answer. If you do not answer it, or answer it incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .