Salvation 101, 1of6

~ You Are A Sinner! ~

The Basic Reality  ~  It is a fact that we all live in a fallen and broken world that is full of faulty and broken people, The Old Testament states this clearly,  “There is no one who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46).  The New Testament confirms this reality, “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). 

“But I’m Not So Bad!”  ~  Really?  Did you hear about the fellow appearing before a judge facing charges of bank robbery.  He decided to defend himself before the judge.  After the initial evidence was presented he was given the chance to defend himself.  He told the judge he wasn’t as bad as many others.  After all there are literally thousands of banks which he hadn’t robbed—and there was only one bank which he actually robbed!  He’s still complaining that he wasn’t all that bad as he sits in his jail cell. 

The First Point About Salvation  ~  You must acknowledge that you have sinned.  It’s not a matter of being graded on a curve.  “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one … there is none who seeks after God’” (Romans 3:10-11).

Additional Scripture  ~  “So where does that put us?  Do we Jews get a better break than the others?  Not really.  Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners.  Scripture leaves no doubt about it:  there’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God.  They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down blind alleys.  No one’s living right; I can't find a single one.  Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mud slides.  Every word they speak is tinged with poison.  They open their mouths and pollute the air.  They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, don’t know the first thing about living with others.  They never give God the time of day.  This makes it clear, doesn’t it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place!  And it’s clear enough, isn’t it, that we’re sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else?  Our involvement with God’s revelation doesn’t put us right with God.  What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else’s sin” (Romans 3:9-20, The Message).

~ 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, 106

~ I Am a Saint, 6 ~

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  ~  “Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.  And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

~~~ 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/ .

Jesus Saw, 28

~ Jesus Christ Cries Over Our Tears ~ 

General Comment  ~  When Jesus saw there was always an appropriate reaction and in each case we can learn from the event.

Today’s Scripture  ~  “Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’  They said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see.’  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’  And some of them said, ‘Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?’  Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, ‘Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.’  Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.’  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him, and let him go’” (John 11:32-44). 

Application  ~  God knows, understands, identifies with, and feels our emotions.  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.  Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer.  Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.  And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation” (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). 

~ 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/ .