18
Sep

Understanding and Owning Christian Theology: The Salvation of Man in Jesus Christ – Why It Matters

   Posted by: Doug   in Audio, Social Issues, Theology - Soteriology

Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 6 (Sept 11): The Salvation of Man in Jesus Christ – Why It Matters

The Sunday School Class was NOT recorded and can NOT be heard here because I failed to get it turned on properly 8-O

Salvation – What is it?

Everyone knows that there are problems in their lives and the world. The world is broken. Is it right to say that we need salvation economically? In our families? Internationally (wars)? Politically?

RCC Confessional Statement:

8. We believe that God the Son, namely Jesus Christ, though existing eternally in the Godhead, was born to the virgin Mary, and that He lived a life in complete obedience to God’s Law, and yet suffered and died on the cross, becoming the sinbearer of the elect. We believe that all those that believe on Him (being enabled to believe by the Holy Ghost) are saved from eternal damnation and will live forever with God. We believe that all those that do not believe on Christ (being unable and unwilling to do so apart from the quickening of the Holy Ghost) will spend eternity in damnation and death.

The guilt of sin requires forgiveness – Ex. 34:7; Num. 14:18

“And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”” (Exodus 34:6–7, NKJV)

Atonement – To be made one with God – Bloody

Biblically – Life is associated with blood (Gen. 3:21; 4:4:10; 9:4-5) – Blood is required

“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.” (Genesis 9:4–5, NKJV)

Every attempt of man to be right with God apart from the shedding of blood (both OT & NT) is an attempt at making things right in life on man’s terms – not in God’s terms. Necessity of Atonement: Guilt & pity; sadism & masochism. Only by the blood of Christ can men have their sins forgiven.

“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22, NKJV)

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7, NKJV)

Atonement restores relationships – with God and with others.

Justification: Vicarious (substitutionary) sacrifice = forensic justification (a legal/court act)

Justification = Righteousness in the Bible

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21–26, NKJV)

It is by grace, through faith, we are saved – not by any works that we do: No boasting.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, NKJV)

There are so many more biblical concepts related to salvation: redemption, adoption, sanctification, etc.

The solas of the Reformation: Jesus Christ alone, Faith alone, grace alone

Why It Matters

How much of man’s life is impacted by salvation in Jesus Christ?

When we sin against each other – do we require a bloody sacrifice? How do we deal with sins?

What are other means (apart from Christ) that men use to bring salvation to their lives? Politics (negotiation, compromise, funding/investment), economics, education, counseling, medications

 

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21
May

A Hailstorm of Biblical Proportions – Exodus 9

   Posted by: Doug   in OT - Exodus, Silliness, Video

This hailstorm happened last Sunday, May 16th,  in Oklahoma.

Too often when we see something like this we are merely amazed and amused.

How easy it is in our modern world to fail to see that at all times and places God is the one who rules and uses all the universe for His purposes. God sometimes reminds us of His judgments in the world by sending us surprises like this.

Of course the great Exodus story includes THE hailstorm that all others are compared to so as to remind us forever to respond to God’s words with humility and submission to Him.  Notice in the story that there were some that came to fear the word of the Lord and responded accordingly, and others that refused to take seriously God’s word and suffered the consequences. Even when it is over, even when God’s rule and authority are evident to all, the hardhearted are not moved to anything but further hardening.

May God, when he shows forth His glory in such a way as this, grant fear and loving submission to all whom he softens with faith!

Exodus 9:

The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: “Release my people so that they may serve me! For this time I will send all my plagues on your very self and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth. But for this purpose I have caused you to stand: to show you my strength, and so that my name may be declared in all the earth. You are still exalting yourself against my people by not releasing them. I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. So now, send instructions to gather your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place. Every person or animal caught in the field and not brought into the house – the hail will come down on them, and they will die!”

Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses, but those who did not take the word of the Lord seriously left their servants and their cattle in the field.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sky that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on people and on animals, and on everything that grows in the field in the land of Egypt.” When Moses extended his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire fell to the earth; so the Lord caused hail to rain down on the land of Egypt. Hail fell and fire mingled with the hail; the hail was so severe that there had not been any like it in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. The hail struck everything in the open fields, both people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail.

So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time! The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty. Pray to the Lord, for the mighty thunderings and hail are too much! I will release you and you will stay no longer.”

Moses said to him, “When I leave the city I will spread my hands to the Lord, the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God”…

So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain stopped pouring on the earth. When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder ceased, he sinned again: both he and his servants hardened their hearts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he did not release the Israelites, as the Lord had predicted through Moses.

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