Understanding Grace #3
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How was the Old Testament people saved?
Was it by keeping the law?
or was it by animal sacrifices?
Neither one because its says in
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
They were saved by grace through faith just like we are.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Faith is my part and Grace is God’s part.
Bible says that in the mind of God Jesus died for our sins before the world began.
8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
Those who were before Christ recieved righteousness on credit and those after Christ died on the cross recieved it paid in full.
I got to live in my house that I first recieved on credit. Now it’s paid in full.
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
If you are doing the work then you can boast in yourself.
In religion man does all the work, offers it to God, God receives it and man get the glory.
Whoever does the work get the glory.
In Christianity, God did the work, offers it to man, man receives it. God gets all the glory.
2. Pride which is a grace killer.
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
5 Likewise, you who are younger and of lesser rank, be subject to the elders (the ministers and spiritual guides of the church)—[giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel]. Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.
Pride is the motivator when we try and figure out and handle our own situations instead of rather than humbling ourselves and asking God what we ought to do.
And then being obedient enough to do what He says, whether we agree with it or not, weather we like it or not.
Submission really isn’t submission until we disagree and submit anyway.
There is a difference between trying to use what we think is faith to make our plans work vs relying on grace to allow God to work out His plan.
Difference between pride and humility
between frustration and rest
I use to rebuke the devil every time I felt opposition. However the scripture says God does he opposing, frustrating, and defeats the proud. Who are the proud?
try to figure out everything on their own
do it their way instead of God’s way
try and change themselves into what they think they should be rather than asking God to bring about within them the changes that He desires to make.
follow their own plan for their life instead of God’s plan.
Definition of pride =Undue confidence in and attention to one’s own skills, accomplishments, state, possessions, or position
Self reliance is the pinnacle of pride.
Myth of the self made man: .... Economics would tell you otherwise.
I had to relay on hundreds of thousands of people that I don’t even know to have my house and everything in it and pretty much everything I own. Most everything in my house was engineered, resourced,and manufactured by someone else.
The pencil -
Made from a cedar tree.
Think about all the man power and their tools such saws, trucks, rope, countless other gear in harvesting the cedar logs. (Think of the people and their skills that it took in creating all their tools to use. The mining of ore, the making of steel and its refinement into saws, axes, motors. The growing of fabric for the ropes). Then we have all the logging camps with their beds and mess halls, the cookery and the raising of all the foods. The untold thousands of people who had a hand in every cup of coffee the loggers drank.
The led part.
Which is graphite that is mined. Consider all the miners and all those who make the miners tools, and all those who make the paper sacks in which the graphite is shipped in and those who make the string that ties the sacks and those who put them aboard the trucks.
Then its mixed with clay and refined with other chemicals. After passing through many machines the mixture comes out that has to be baked for several hours at 1850 degrees.
The metal brass piece.
We have all the miners who mine the zinc and copper those who have the skills to make shiny the sheet of brass.
The labeling
which is a film formed by applying heat to carbon black mixed with resins. Think of how you would make the resins and all thats involved there.
Then you have the crown glory the eraser.
This is made by rubber like product which consist of seed oil from the Dutch East Indies and sulfur chloride. The color that gives its color is cadmium sulfide.
If we are that dependent on each other how much more are we dependent on God who the Bible says holds everything together by the power of His word.
The world doesn't realize how dependent it is on God. How would that effect our faith life if we had a revelation of that dependence on God.
The series Alone. None would have lasted
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
3: Definition of humility
3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
A child is completely reliant on their parents. To completely rely on someone doesn't make that person as great but it points to the greatness of the one your relaying on.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Fifteen: The King’s Rebuke (Matthew 18)
An unspoiled child has the characteristics that make for humility: trust (Matt. 18:6), dependence, the desire to make others happy, an absence of boasting or selfish desire to be greater than others
Humility is asking God for what you need and then waiting on Him to provide it as He sees fit, knowing that His timing is always perfect.
Grace and Worry.
7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
The person who understands grace will not worry because worry is a work of the flesh.
Its figuring out what to do to save oneself rather than trusting God for deliverance.
When we are living in constant worry is not receiving the fullness of God’s grace, because just as perfect love cast out fear, so God’s grace expels anxiety.
Grace and Stability
8 Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. 9 Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.
Up till this point Peter is telling us to:
get God involved in our problems
to humble ourselves under His mighty hands
refuse to worry or be anxious but instead wait on God
Now hes while we are waiting we must resist the devil who is out to devour us. That we must be rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined as we stand in faith and trust.
4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [the leaning of your entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] and of the love which you [have and show] for all the saints (God’s consecrated ones),
the leaning of your entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.
Faith is totally leaning on God. That means taking all the wait of myself and placing everything on Him and trusting in:
His power and ability to do what needs to be done
His wisdom and knowledge to do it when it needs to be done
His goodness and love to do it the way it needs to be done
Jesus completely trusted His very life to the Father.
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Complete trust and reliance on God
There once was a man who was traveling on foot through a snowstorm in a strange country. He had to get to a certain town by nightfall and was somewhat perturbed when he came to an ice-covered river. How thick was the ice? Could he trust it to hold him? He began crawling on the ice on his stomach, inch-by-inch, tapping with his fingers. Sweat poured from his forehead. He was filled with the fear that at any moment he could plunge to an icy death.
An hour later, he had progressed only about 40 feet. He suddenly stopped crawling. He could hear singing! He turned his head to see a horse and cart, laden with people. The driver was singing at the top of his voice as he drove his cart across the ice. The driver knew that lake was solid ice and his faith was such that he had total confidence, with not an ounce of fear. Such are the solid promises of God.