2012-02-10
Good Morning Dear Ones,
What brought us to this point was discussing the need to make a covenant commitment in circumstances like marriage, close friendship, and especially, our covenant relationship with God. Making this kind of covenant with another person before God requires a measure of maturity, because of the seriousness of any vow before God. It is a vow unto death. A vow to partner with God for lifetime is an especially important commitment; and it must be made by someone who recognizes he is a sinner, who knows he needs to have a covenant relationship with God in order to mature spiritually, and who is making this choice of relationship freely, not under compulsion. Once such a covenant is made, the human partner will engage in discovery of how God fulfills the needs no human can fulfill in this earthly life. That is why Christ at the Last Supper said, on the night He was betrayed when He took bread, and He had given thanks, and He had broken it, in 1 COR 11: 23-25, “’This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” Every pastor and most regular church attendees, know this by heart, as it is central to the taking of Communion. In (26) we are reminded, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” The consequences which are beneficial to someone taking Communion with pure motives are far-reaching indeed!
If we go back to the last phrase in (26), “you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes,” we will have a better understanding of just what this means. Let’s look at 1 COR 15: 3-8 to shed light on exactly what this means. “For what I received I pass on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [IS 53: 5; GA 1: 12; JN 1: 29; JN 3: 16], that He was buried, and He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures [AC 9: 3-6, 17; 1 COR 9: 1; GAL 1: 16], and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve [apostles]. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep [the archaic expression for having undergone physical death]. Than he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me [Paul] also, as to one abnormally born.” 1 COR 15: 3-8 is the most concise statement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, complete with the proof given by reliable human witnesses, that we have. The phrase “as to one abnormally born” in (8) refers to the fact that Paul was not one of the original apostles, but was elevated to the office of apostle by means other than having lived with the Lord Jesus. In the course of his conversion, he was abruptly snatched from his former way of life [AC 9: 3-6].
We must remember that hearing the Gospel is the first step to rejecting sin and a very necessary one to having faith. RO 10: 17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” The second step is renewal; and that happens supernaturally. RO 12: 2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is –His good, pleasing and perfect will.” We learn of the third step in RO 10: 9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” These two elements, confession and true belief, can’t be separated; otherwise people would be giving lip service only, which is faulty faith, even unbelief. Then, comes step four, God’s stamp of ownership through the Holy Spirit. EPH 1: 13-14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked in Him with the a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.” And step five is having one’s mind set on the Holy Spirit, which we learn about in RO 8: 1-5. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a Sin-offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires.” All of this shows us just how important Christ’s actions and our faith really is to our salvation. We are honor-bound to repent of our sins and believe in Christ with pure hearts open to the Holy Spirit, and then, we can count on our salvation [JN 3: 16], eternal forgiveness [1 JN 1:9], justification [RO 4: 3], and the gift of the Holy Spirit [RO 8: 14-16, 26-27].
PRAYER: O Lord, You are showing us by example and experience that true spiritual maturity requires making a commitment to a covenant relationship with You. You want us to enjoy the greatest blessings possible on earth and the greatest outcome eternally, which is a blissful fellowship in heaven with You that never ends. The words of Your Son’s and Your mission statements are imprinted on our hearts, that is that You want as many of us as will listen to the truth of the Gospel message of salvation and peace to be returned to Your side in heaven [JN 6: 39-40; EPH 1: 4-5]. The steps outlined above are grounded in Your word, as is everything You do and reveal to us. Christ, Your beloved Son, has said, in JN 15: 13- 17, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I call you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose and appointed you to bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then, My Father will give you whatever you ask for in My name. This is My commandment: love each other.” How great is Your love, Dearest Abba, that You would share all Your business and Your will with us, so that with it, we have the help we need to achieve eternal life! You are trusting us to take these teachings and to use them wisely in our lives, so that we can be a good example to others who observe us. And furthermore, you make this assertion, in PHIL 4: 6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Yes, Father, we keep our faith strong, offer You thanks and praise, and accept PHIL 4: 13, “I can do everything through Him, Who gives me strength.” We offer this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: In the course of this “Rejecting Sin” segment of the “Our Covenant” series of messages, I have been led by the Holy Spirit to bring up the issue of salvation on God’s term for a second time. It is so necessary for us to gain some self-discipline in the areas of making time for an active prayer life and for DAILY study of God’s word. My working definition for prayer is two-way communication with God where God gets to speak first. As for daily study, it means that something else earthly must be moved down the personal priority rank to make room for study of and meditation on God’s word [from the OT and/or NT]. There are some ground rules which will help in studying God’s word: 1) God’s word must be placed in the context meant; 2) When something doesn’t make sense, try reading it in another well-accepted version of the Bible; 3) Use cross-references liberally, as God is best able to explain Himself; 4) Take time to meditate on how the precept expressed makes sense for the time in history it was written first, then, as it applies now, and finally, as it applies to the future. [This is what our senior pastor refers to as “behind the text, inside the text, and in front of the text”]; 5) See how this precept applies to one’s own life; 6) Take time to memorize the more important Scriptures word for word. This suggestion will allow God to give His gift, for your immediate use and also, if God forbid, our Bibles are ever confiscated due to political upheaval; 7) Only after all the first six rules have been accomplished, if you still don’t understand completely, it’s okay to consult a well-accepted commentary, e.g. The Believer’s Commentary, the Wycliff Commentary, or the New Illustrated Bible Commentary by Nelson. Taking all these suggestions yield countless blessings from God for taking the time to learn His word well. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15