I have had many talks with believers over the years, many of whom are at different places in their relationship with Christ. Even so, there is one issue that seems to be brought up again and again… and that is this inner-desire or perceived need to fulfill the Law. These people feel as though the Law somehow remains unmet or unsatisfied and that they are left to fulfill it themselves, and that to not do so, disappoints God or shows Him disrespect.
Another commonly held belief is that by attempting to keep or fulfill the Law, we are showing gratitude toward God for what He has done. However both of these ideas are simply avenues by which the Old Covenant is being reintroduced – placing new wine back into an old wineskin, which Jesus said cannot be done in Mark 2:22. This desire to fulfill the Law ourselves, is erroneous because it fails to recognize the finished work of Jesus Christ for you and in you. This is what we will be studying today.
We have previously studied how walking uprightly according to the truth is not about performance, but it is about believing rightly the Gospel of Jesus Christ and receiving His righteousness. It is the understanding and acceptance of this truth that enables us to truly live the abundant life in Christ, free from uncertainty, worry and fear. Yet many people are not experiencing this, because for the most part, this truth is not taught in today's culture. We are not hearing the original Gospel that Paul preached and received from the LORD Jesus, and therefore we are not experiencing the same results from the Gospel either.
That's why in this study today, we will be examining what the true Gospel is, and how by believing and receiving the message of truth, we can live the abundant life of Christ as we are meant to.
You have probably heard it said before, that God is a God of second-chances. But what exactly does this statement mean? What is the implication of such a truth? If God is a God of second-chances, then does that mean that there are no second-chances without Him? And how precisely do we avail ourselves of the second-chances that we are offered?
In this study today, we are going to be answering these questions from scripture. Taking a look at where this popular phrase comes from and how it applies to our daily life. By seeing this truth, you can have security in the completed work of Jesus Christ, and doubt, confusion and fear will no longer steal the peace you have in Christ.
There is much confusion and differing ideas regarding what it means to “walk” from a Christian standpoint. It is often said that we are to “walk worthy of our high calling in Christ”, and this is generally thought of to mean that we should guard against sinful acts in order to prove our worthiness. But is this what the Bible actually means when it speaks of our walk in Christ? Are we really supposed to prove our worthiness by our performance or behavior?
In this study today, we will be examining this question in the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ, because there is no other light by which things can be clearly seen. Everything will either stand or fall by Jesus Christ. 1st Corinthians 3:11-13 makes it clear that anything built on Christ will stand firm, but anything built on another foundation will be burned-up. So we will see if this idea of proving our worthiness by our performance stands up by Jesus.
The word “know” is an interesting word. We sometimes use it to refer to personal, even intimate relations, and other times we use it in more of a formal and distant familiarity – as in “I know of him.”
The Scriptures speak of knowing God, in-fact the entire Bible is designed to show us Jesus for the purpose of us knowing Him. Even so, there are a great many believers today who know more of God, than actually know Him. You may have even heard me say that before and wondered about it. So today we will be exploring what it means to actually know God, and how a real relationship with Jesus benefits us in our daily lives.