FourFifteen

In the last three posts, hopefully you've seen the truth that we've been made righteous in Christ Jesus. The Believer is NOT just a forgiven sinner. We have been covered in Jesus' own righteousness - made just as right with God as He is! What's more, we've been given the free gift of righteousness. In other words, I don't have to be afraid to talk about "MY" righteousness . I know where it came from, and I know that it was given to me! This is critically important - we MUST believe that God made us righteous. It's not an optional doctrine or a "feel good" message. This right-standing with God must become a reality to every  believer in Jesus Christ! Walking In Agreement With God " Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? " Amos 3:3 If you're going to walk with God, then the two of you have to be in agreement. And friend, I've got news for you: He won't change His mind to agree with you.  No, if the...

A few years back, money was pretty tight for my family. I was working in a minimum wage job, with a growing family to provide for and an increasing number of mouths to feed. We had to move into my parents basement and put our tiny house up for rent...just so we could pay the mortgage on it. Through it all though, God was faithful. We never lacked what we needed, and we came out the other side of that pressure better than when we went in. During that low time - to help us out - my in-laws gave us cell phones that were included on their monthly plan. What a blessing that was! For me, there was a sense of peace in knowing that my wife could get a hold of anyone she needed to while I was away at work. For my wife, there was a sense of relief in being able to connect with friends, family, and the outside world in general when she was at home with the kids all day. We were very grateful for those phones that were given to us. And we never forgot where they came from. Having said that...

Remember the picture that God gave us of OUR OWN righteousness in Isaiah 64:6? What did He compare it to? Filthy rags! He said that all of our attempts  at obedience cover us like dirty, filthy, smelly, tattered, greasy, grimy, worn-out rags...and that's the best  we could ever hope to accomplish on our own! "Rich Robes" " Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments , and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, 'Take away the filthy garments from him.'" -  Zechariah 3:3 Have you ever had to go out in public while wearing dirty clothes? How did you feel about it? If you're like me, this carries a little bit of shame. You can try to make yourself look presentable in spite of your clothes, but that self-consciousness is still there. We all like to look our best, and we hate to look as if we're  less than  other people. We even have a term for this concept..." under-dressed ....

" He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He ." Deuteronomy 32:4 God is righteous. He's always been righteous. There's never been any hint  of blame or wrongdoing in Him. This is why everything He made was " very good " when He was done with it. Creation came out of His righteousness, and was perfect and without a single flaw in it. At the end of day 6, there was no death, no sin, no sorrow, no Devil, and no demons. Everything was perfect...because it was all made by God Himself. But shortly after Creation was finished, Satan and his angels fell from righteousness. Then shortly after that, mankind fell from righteousness. And because of man's fall, all of Creation broke away from God's standard of perfection. In all of that mess, God alone  remained righteous. Throughout history, He was praised for His constant and enduring righteousness. "...

Before we move on to our final foundation layer, let's recap: We found out that anything done in your own strength ("good" or "bad") is a dead work. We found out that living by faith means more than just "being saved" We found out that we are called to three baptisms: Water, The Holy Spirit, and Pressure We found out that God set up the laying on of hands as a way to transfer spiritual things from one person to another We found out that everyone is going to rise from the dead; some to eternal life, some to eternal torment According to Hebrews 6:1-3, these issues are foundational  to our spiritual growth! Hebrews 6:1-3 " Therefore,  leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ,  let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of  repentance from dead works  and of  faith toward God , of  the doctrine of baptisms , of  laying on of hands , of  resurrection of the dead , and of eternal judgment. And this we...

Hebrews 6:1-3 " Therefore,  leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ,  let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of  repentance from dead works  and of  faith toward God , of  the doctrine of baptisms , of laying on of hands , of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. " If you've been following along, we've already laid three of these five foundations: 1 - Repentance from Dead Works and Faith Toward God 2 - Baptisms (All three of them) 3 - The Laying on of Hands All of these foundations concern issues in the here and now.  But the next two layers are directly connected to faith in future events . But understanding these two future events, you'll see, will still impact the way you live in the present. An Actual Event To Come "Your dead shall live; together with my dead body, they shall arise. Awake and sing you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the de...