God freed humanity from Law to Grace; from legislation punishing misbehavior to Grace that inspired righteous behavior; from fear of Judgment to the blessing of Forgiveness. All because God DID NOT impose circumcision on Cornelius and the men of his family and friends. Meaning that the rite characterizing all Jewish men as children of Abraham wouldn’t be imposed on Gentile men who accepted Christ as Savior and Lord.
In the finale of this series Praise God for a few of the benefits of being saved by Grace alone through faith in Christ—each benefit equal in importance. First, his Perfection compensates for our failures in discipleship, however zealously we try to succeed. No believer will be lost for failing to succeed, for Christ succeeded in being God’s Perfect Man. And his complete humanity eclipses our human limitations. Second, his Forgiveness, instantly granted when we repent of our sin and confess it to him I John 1:9. That maintains our freedom in Christ from guilt. Third, each believer has the pleasure of personally entering God’s presence when we pray. The curtain between our personal lives and God’s Unapproachable Being has been removed and Christ’s High Priesthood bridges the difference between us Hebrews 4:14-16. Fourth, all members of God’s family, wherever we live, however different our worship styles and cultural distinctions, UNITE in our common faith in Christ and in our allegiance to him as God’s Only Begotten Son. Knowing that ONE DAY, God will remove all differences from us Matthew, 15:12-13, I Corinthians 3:10-15. Fifth, the death that God warned Adam would follow if he ate from the tree of Knowledge and Good and Evil, has been sovereign over every generation. The Rest of the Story, however, IS, I Corinthians 15:5-58, Revelations 20:11-15. And these benefits only the first few of many more to come. Fini
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Simon Peter proved a bewildered, but obedient, servant of Christ’s grace in Acts 10:1-22. Note Luke’s account of both.
First, he adamantly refused God’s order “to get up…kill and eat.” Second, he repeated his objection to all three appearances of the visions and God’s command. Third, the Spirit’s direct orders moved him to obey, whatever he thought…
Note that he used his experience in Acts 10, in the same orders given by the Holy Spirit, in Acts 11:1-18, when criticized by the circumcision party when returning from Caesarea to Jerusalem. He had a particular spiritual-growth experience in Caesarea. He realized that the people he considered unclean, and not subject to forgiveness, had been pronounced clean by God and particularly subjects of forgiveness Acts 10:27-48. An ominous omission in their discussion must be noticed: no reference to circumcision occurs. Though it hadn’t been imposed on Cornelius, the Judaizers had been offended. And, in a losing cause, they devoted themselves to guarantee it would NOT BE ignored again when evangelizing Gentiles. End Part IV The large number of Jewish priests who became Christians, Acts 6:7, likely inspired by God’s action in tearing the Temple veil, surfaced two issues that threatened early church unity.
The first: eating with Gentiles. To prove that no absolutist leadership existed in apostolic behavior, the circumcised believers criticized “Simon Peter for entering the home of, and eating in the home of,” Cornelius Acts 11:1-3. It’s surely not excessive speculation to identify those “circumcised believers” as those very priests. Simon Peter’s careful, step-by-step, recitation of Acts 10:9-48 certainly offers Christians the way to answer objections to God’s actions: from the Bible, verse by verse, with no diversion to any other source of authority. By the way, in Acts 28:23, the apostle Paul used the Law of Moses and the Prophets to convince Jewish leaders in Rome. A lesson in evangelism: convince unbelievers from God’s Word, not from our personal experience. End Part III This writer drove his family from Colorado Springs, Colorado to Las Vegas, Nevada, in February, 1968, to begin a ministry with Central Christian Church (CCC). We knew it had suffered two major splits in its five year life. We didn’t know how spiritually impoverished they left the congregation. For the first two years a series of conflicts and problems left this writer unsure of the congregation’s future.
Then, selecting more positive people as elders and deacons gave a glimmer of hope. For the new board voted to begin a Building Fund to replace the dilapidated structure housing the congregation. We promised the people the fund would be devoted ONLY to the new building. Previously, money in the fund went to pay weekly expenses. When we had built a modest fund, we decided to hire draftsman Fred Greil as an architect. Being dissatisfied in their church, he and Charlotte transferred their membership to CCC. I didn’t know it at the time, but THEIR Substantial Christian lives, along with 2-3 other families who came with them, began a SPIRITUAL RENEWAL in CCC that lasted until we left in 1974. That illustration relates to the impact Christ’s DEATH had on priests in the Temple when God clearly TORE the Babylonian tapestry between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place from Top to Bottom. Acts 6:7 records the result. Now…the addition of “a large number of priests” to Christ’s lordship seemed at the time a major success. However, the addition posed a great danger to Christianity’s future. While the priests brought religious convictions with them, they lacked the spiritual vivacity that characterized Gentile Christianity. End Part II NOTE: Family health issues and technical problems have kept us from posting blogs. V
Matthew 27:50-53 reveals that four events occurred at the moment Jesus died:
While each had meaning, consider the tearing of the Temple Veil for this blog series. First, while Jewish priests performed their services in the Holy Place, they witnessed an invisible cutting edge begin at the ceiling and slice a cleavage all 30 feet down to the floor. By checking and cross-checking that event with Christ’s death, they verified the Cause and its Effect on the Shielding Curtain. Second, that shocking experience made the most astonishing impact on the priesthood—to be covered in Part II. Third, for men practiced in the Temple ritual and its meanings, an unmistakable clarity convinced them:
Summary of Part I The Sanhedrin –
Unlike earthly kingdoms, which disintegrate with or shortly after the leader’s death, Christ’s kingdom only began with his death. And his resurrection proved the success of his death. Messiah of the Jews while he lived, he became Universal Lord of all history and eternity by rising form the dead. End Part I When friends importuned 16-18 year old Mustafa Kemal on his ambitions, the future Ataturk replied simply, “I am going to be somebody.” Bio, p. 18
Exceeding that goal, the Christian boasts, “I am somebody by association with Jesus Christ, the SOMEONE who shares HIS WORTH with me. When someone saw adult Tommy Kirk on a Hollywood street, he searched his face at length, then asked the man who as a youngster starred in Disney movies, “Didn’t you used to be somebody?” Every Christian would answer that question saying, “No, I used to be a Nobody, but am now a Somebody through Jesus Christ’s Grace. Jesus makes the difference. And each Christian now has the confidence of saying, “It is now my pleasure to have my life hidden with Christ so HE can be seen in me” Colossians 3:3. What greater compliment can any mortal receive than to have it said, “That person is like Jesus.” Well known in Israel as Teacher—Mark 12:32, Luke 22:11, John 3:2 and 13:14 as examples, Jesus interfaced with many people. They often came with:
Consider Nicodemus in John 3:1-2. He came, giving Jesus the highest praise possible:
Only to discover, for the first time, a breakthrough:
Consider the Rich Young ruler:
Only to discover:
Consider Simon Peter who, in Matthew 16:21-23,
Either idea foreign to Simon’s theology and Christ’s exalted station. Only to discover himself:
Summary: Be careful what we say when coming to Christ. Never assume:
And lots of other inquiries receiving strange, new responses from the Singularly ORIGINAL Christ of God. Ways Joseph’s experience can be repeated today.
First, consider where we live the place to begin our witness. We may need a fresh start somewhere else. If that isn’t possible, get started where we are. Remember…no accidents occur in a committed Christian’s life. God has us where we are for his reason. Second, consider the apostle Peter’s formula in I Peter 3:15-16, and the words of the apostle Paul in I Corinthians 6:19 and II Corinthians 3:18 our call to service. While it’s easier to hide Christ’s glory from unbelievers than to reveal it IN Christians, God has charged us to REVEAL Christ’s Glory. Third, and a hitchhike on Point Two, remember that Christians must sometime content themselves with being a Ministry of PRESENCE until we have opportunity to be a Ministry of ACTION. Paul proved a Presence in Malta, gathering wood to protect ship passengers from the cold before he started a revival throughout the Island. Included in the former could be:
Joseph proved the depth of his spiritual life in two ways. First, when he rejected the services of Potiphar’s wife. He based it:
Instead, God directed his behavior, and any moral failure would have betrayed GOD! Second, he waited for opportunities to bear a fruitful witness for God. Which came finally in the dreams of Pharoah’s cupbearer and baker. Only to be delayed two more years by the butler’s failed appreciation. It took Pharoah’s own indecipherable dreams to bring Joseph to influence and fame. When told Joseph could interpret dreams, Joseph left no doubt: he couldn’t but his GOD could. End Part I Jonathan, son of Saul, would later prove that coming in second would be remembered. He matured in a secular household. Joseph, son of Jacob, matured in a godly home, but spent years 17-110 in a secular culture, with values different from, and hostile to, what he knew as a youth.
Nevertheless, from the beginning of a catastrophic change in his personal life, he became a model believer in, and servant of, God. Slavery, the onus that by its very nature demeaned personhood, found in Joseph a man who ennobled any imposition laid on him. (An encouragement to Christians. We don’t have to like the adverse alterations in our status quo to rise above the debasement by improving it.) Adversity in Egypt created a better MAN of Joseph where prosperity in Canaan could have left him a broken YOUTH! Indeed, as his physical circumstances degraded, his relationship with God muscled him by inches and feet into a spiritual colossus! End Part I |
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