Titus 2:11-12"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age"
Here's a thought...would an increase in my faith help me to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age"...answer YES.
So why didn't Paul say this..."Build your faith, because increased faith levels help us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age"
i believe the reason he didn't say that is because when we "know" and "understand" grace (the gospel of grace) it will increase our faith and thus help us to say NO...
Acts 20:32...32"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
What will build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified? The word of His grace obviously...because he says "which"...if he said "who" then we would have said he's referring to God, but he says which, which tells us he's referring to "the word of his grace"...
the word of his grace builds us up and gives us an inheritance...but some will say, surely faith is needed for that...of course its needed...BUT...then why didn't Paul say that...why say the word of his grace...because... grace comes before faith...grace was there long before i believed!
When i understand (see through my spiritual eye's) grace, i respond in faith....How did i get saved?...the same way, someone preach the gospel to me, i started to see "grace", i.e. Jesus on the cross, what he had done for me, the lengths he went for me...and a response was faith on my part and salvation followed...
Preach grace and faith follows....simple
Monday, September 21, 2009
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Law is God sitting in His car blowing on His hooter, calling you to come. Grace is God getting out of the car, walking up the driveway and knocking on the door. Faith is opening the door and embracing God.
What good is grace to a man who has "no ears to hear", and will not respond to God's grace with his faith...and what good is that man's faith until he actually directs it towards the already existing Grace of God?
Grace comes first (for sure!), since that is what leads one to repentance (God's goodness), but due to free will, man can choose to walk in God's grace and be set free, or he can choose to walk in law and not experience God's grace and freedom (and i'm not even talking about the world, this is even happening in most churches today).
Grace is fully and completely released by God, but it's intention to set free and bless will not fully be appreciated unless man, in his capacity to exercise free will, decides to renew his mind with that truth and be set free (and this is what faith is, a response to God's grace).
Good one Anonskie...
When a mixture of law and grace is preached in the church believers are doomed to offer works without faith (faith-less-ness)...when grace (the gospel of )is preached in the church people are destined to be built up and walk in their inheritance (faith-ful-ness)...
So preach grace and the rest WILL follow...
it’s like you are a wretched pauper and dressed like one too but since a rich man gave you a make over in his armani suit(grace), you now look like a million dollar from the outside though you are still a pauper within.
but of course, you were also told that wearing the armani suit has the power to transform the real you(faith), a pauper, into a rich and holy person.
i also particularly like this other story. you are a wretched filthy murderer about to be condemned to the eternal abyss of fire and brimstone by our righteous judiciary. but lucky for you, a wealthy, powerful and righteous man appeared from no where, stood against the harsh judgment by offering a substitute for your heinous crime. miraculously, the judiciary agreed to your rescuer glorious plan. so instead of punishing you, the murderer, the court wisely punished the innocent son of your rescuer.
you walked out the horrible legal court room, grateful for your new found freedom.
you vouched to build a shrine for the son of your rescuer and spread his gracious heroic deeds.
and it turned out to be a clever business idea(faith) which made you a very rich person.
i like the happy ending, don’t you?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_evangelist_scandals
the above is not even exhaustive.
moral of the story?
if the leaders can't live the "incredible claims", don't count on the millions who follow such teachings to live it either.
and millions don't and can't live it but some do simply because, it's the best psychological/motivational therapy you can ever get for free - well, not exactly free if you pay tithes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_evangelist_scandals
(here is the complete link. please have your eyes opened to reality)
seems like you can't put up the link in your blog.
anyway, visit wikipedia and search for....
...List of Christian evangelist scandals
or pastors scandals
"and millions don't and can't live it but some do simply because, it's the best psychological/motivational therapy you can ever get for free - well, not exactly free if you pay tithes."
and i have to qualify this. you basically don't change but as grow older, you become wiser and learned from your experiences...like any other human being.
in other words, you mellowed or matured and think that it's the work of "grace".
a misplaced faith though harmless on the surface but still....deadly because such teachings are potentially very divisive as history has shown in all the religious wars.
.
It's a little confusing with so many "Anonymous's" contributing to this conversation (I am the first Anonymous).
3 Things:
* A fault finder (with the intent to break down bitterly), is someone who himself hasn't found answers he's looking for.
* What you are referring to as "mellowed and mature", i find in scripture to be hinted to as "less of me and more of you..." and you probably will find testimonies of experiencing God's grace when mellowing out....
The tighter you hold onto your theories, the less chance you have of actually experiencing God's Grace - Jesus never forced His teachings on anyone, He gave the truth, taught the consequences (sometimes aggressively) and left people to make their own decisions,why would the Holy Spirit work any differently now.
* Instead of venting on other people's mistakes (and here's a shock...leaders do make mistakes...), Try gathering your information from the Bible and not Wikipedia...i don't know...that's just a suggestion...
God's grace is not "magic", it will only benefit you as much as you allow it to (by faith) - that's why so many christians are not even experiencing God's goodness with abundance, because they're reading too much perverted literature instead of renewing their minds with the life-giving promises of God. And issues such as "rejoicing in tribulation" and "abundant life" are not "psychological/motivational therapy", they are biblical truths, experienced only via a revelation of how good God is (i.e. His grace)!
Anon no 1...good on you, more grace to you, whoever you are! Anon no. 2...me thinks you should start your own blog...
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