Myth, 11

~ I’m Not Good Enough For God ~

Introduction  ~  This is a tricky myth because it includes truth—but is typically used as a false statement.  This is a common trick of Satan—if he can get you to believe his implication of this truth (turning truth into a myth) he has you defeated.  The truths are: you are not good enough for God; God loves you; God sent His Son to pay the penalty of your sin; and if you accept His gift of salvation then as God looks at you He sees not your sin but Christ’s righteousness covering you!  What a deal!  

Key Passages  ~  The truth of believers covered by Christ’s righteousness is found in both the Old and New Testaments.

old testament:  “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of Righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.  In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely;

now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).  This truth applies to individuals. “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  For what does the Scripture say?  ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Romans 4:2-3).  “Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Galatians 3:6). 

“David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works” (Romans 4:6-8). 

new testament:  “For if by the one man’s offense [Adam] death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). 

“What shall we say then?  That Gentiles … have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith” (Romans 9:30).  “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Results  ~  Listen to the testimony of the Apostle Paul.  “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:8-9).

Application  ~  God created you and God is in love with you!  Do you view God as a police officer with a sin trap waiting to say “Gotcha”?  God is just the opposite—He loves you so much He provided a way of payment for you sin and become a member of His family.  “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).  Have you accepted the gift He extends to you? 

~ 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/ .

Fear God, 136

~ The Fear of God Creates Well-Being ~

God does not want His children living in fear.  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:2-3).  However, God does want His children to have a proper respect and reverence for Him.  We are told in many places in Scripture to “fear God.”  

This Week’s Passage  ~  “Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done.  This also is vanity.  Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.  Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.  But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God” (Ecclesiastes 8:10-13).

Fearing God Results in Salvation  ~  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).  “A wise person fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident” (Proverbs 14:16).  This does not mean the Christian is to live a fearful life—but a life which reverences God and seeks to do His will. 

Fearing God Results in Fearlessness  ~  “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).  The answer is: only God.  With the gift of salvation comes responsibility.

Fearing God Results in Witnessing  ~  “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16). 

~ 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/ .

Ministry, 6of15

~ 2 Essentials of Ministry ~

Prolog  ~  “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).  

In this post we look at: THE WALK AND WORK OF SERVICE.

Walking With God (one path)  ~  “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.  After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.  So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:21-24).  

“This is the genealogy of Noah.  Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations.  Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9).

Working With God (one object)  ~  Saul answered, ‘God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.’  But the people said to Saul, ‘hall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel?  Certainly not!  As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.’  So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.  Then Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place” (1 Samuel 14:44-46).   

~ 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/ .