BoazNigel
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Posts posted by BoazNigel
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I know I am not what I should be but Praise God I'm not what I was!
As I allow God, through the Holy Spirit, to mould & shape me I am being 'changed from one degree of glory to another' into the likeness of Christ
As I allow God to use me to serve others & disperse His grace so that 'change process ' continues
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1 Cor 14:12 says "... you a re SO eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives seek those that will STRENGTHEN THE WHOLE CHURCH" (NLT)
The whole purpose of the gifts is to STRENGTHEN the church - not just those whom God uses & therefore they are to be operated in community
Isolating yourself impoverishes not only you but the whole church community. We were not created to be individuals but to be members of the Body of Christ.
We should embrace our spiritual gifts & seek to bless the Body of Christ of which God has made us a part.
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A steward/trustee is responsible for the protection, maintenance & usage of something that is not their own
As stewards we are not to hoard but freely use what we have been entrusted with, by God, for the good of others
We are responsible to God, & others, to use/operate the spirital gifts that God has given us for the benefit of others & for the progress of the Kingdom
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The link between grace and gifts is hidden in their name in Greek grace=charis=favour & gifts=charis=favour bestowed. Spiritual gifts are form God & they are 'given in grace & 'used in/with grace'.
The chief characteristics of a generous person is that they GIVE ... it is part of their nature to give to others automatically - as a natural reaction to seeing the need of others.
Spiritual gifts work by grace & they operate by God's grace working through/and in us
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Simply put - when we are weak then our only resource is God & then God's power has room to flourish ... it is when we have nothing of ourselves that God's power has 'freedom'
Grace's sufficiency is able to do anything that our faith allows
The 'practical limits' on the sufficiency of grace are the limits we place on it by our faith & our trust
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The blunt truth ... when we suffer sickness or affliction we can become 'self centred' or 'me-centred' & hence tempted to stop ministering to others as we draw into ourselves (a person wrapped up in themselves is a very small parcel indeed!)
"I hope all is well with you & that you are healthy in body as you are strong in spirit" (3 Jn 2, NLT) ... there is a link between our physical health & our soul health (our mind, our will & our emotions) - as one goes so does the other!
Personal comment I have heard, on a number of occasions, teachers/preachers refer to Paul's 'thorn in the flesh' as a physical ailment. May I suggest an alternative view in Num 33:55 it states "... if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like SPLINTERS IN YOUR EYES & THORNS IN YOUR SIDES. They will harass you ..." (NLT) In this context 'thorns in your sides' is a euphemism for opposition & harassment rather than physical ailments - just a thought!
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For some approaching God's throne can be a fearful thing - they are afraid in approaching an all powerful, all knowing God ... they are fearful of judgment & punishment but the writer to the Hebrews encourages us "... let us come BOLDLY to the throne of our gracious God - there we will find His MERCY & we will find GRACE ..." (Heb 4:16, NLT)
Our home a 'place of grace' ... personal response we pastor a 'house church' & host worship, Bible studies & prayer meetings -we preach grace to all who visit
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Life can be a struggle: we struggle with lifr, we struggle with situation, we even at times struggle with our selves etc
We can't do it on our own - but scripture assures us that it is by faith not our own effort
This gives me assurance & stability that it is all by faith
God knowing how weak we are told us these things
"... this is the WILL OF GOD that I should not lose even one of all those He has given Me" (Jn 6:39, NLT) - this gives me a strong assurance I WILL NOT BE LOST - IT IS GOD@S WILL! 😄
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It is by faith we walk in God's protection ... it is by faith we hold on to God's protection
It is only by grace that protection is available & our faith is activated by our trusting in grace
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It is impossible for people to turn to Christ in their own power - because "... EVERYONE has sinned, we ALL fall short of God's glorious standards" (Rom 3:23, NLT) & as the Apostle Paul wrote "... I know that NOTHING GOOD lives in me ..." (Rom 7:18a)
There is NOTHING about us that would cause us to come to God - it is only by God's grace & His drawing us that we come to Him
Scripture tells us "... God showed His great love for us WHILE WE WERE SINNERS" (Rom 5:8, NLT)
This is grace God was at work even while we were sinners!
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God's grace is that He 'does good' for/to us even though we don't deserve it ... " even before He made the world God LOVED US & CHOOSE US in Christ to be holy & without fault in His eyes" (Eph 1:4, NLT)
This is why predestination is gracious ... before Creation - before we had done anything - (and knowing what we would do!) God LOVED & CHOOSE us!
God's grace is glorious because all things about God are glorious ... imbued with His character
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This is a complex issue - & a 'mystery'!
If we could fully understand we would be equal to God ... WE ARE NOT!!
Suffice to say we live in a finite world & God dwells in 'eternity living outside our 'space-time continuum' but reaching in & interacting with us
How it all fits together is a 'mystery' & there are aspects & times we have to say with Abraham "Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?" (Gen 18:25b, NLT)
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After we are saved/rescued the Holy Spirit works within us to 'do good works' (Eph 2:10) - also He "makes us more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image" (2 Cor 3:18, NLT) ... from 'one degree of glory to another'
In 'working out our salvation' we are co-operating with God as He prompts & enables us to change... we 'work out' & God is also at work within us
John Wimber phrased it this way 'we work OUT what God has already put IN'
We should expect change because the Spirit is alive & at work to change - in the same way that we expect healthy seeds to produce healthy plants after their type
If - after time - there is no change discernible then it is questionable whether new birth has taken place
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The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sinfulness (Jn 16:8-11), hence our need of salvation & the Father (through the Holy Spirit) draws us (Jn 6:44)
Salvation is a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9) it is not of ourselves ... the Holy Spirit's revelation is key to faith - for without it we would not know our sinfulness & where to look for God's answer. We need God's revelation (Matt 16:16-17)
Working as I did with asylum seekers, many of whom were Muslims, we saw many drawn by God through dreams and visions More Than Dreams: Khosrow as God wooed them by His grace
Free Will is a difficult issue/concept but we are drawn/assisted to salvation but not coerced
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The idea that we can earn salvation by being 'good enough' runs counter to the Gospel because we are not 'good enough'! - we are sinners ... only Jesus is 'good enough' to die in our place
Such a view negates the power of the Cross - the Cross is essential we cannot earn our salvation!
Thinking we can earn our salvation artifucially inflates our ego, our sense of 'self righteousness', our pride & causes us to look down on those we consider to be 'not good enough'
This false idea of works-righteousness is rooted in self effort & pride ... & is 'flipped' by the truth of God's grace
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I have been saved/rescued from sin & eternal judgment - by God's grace
In my own life although I was raised in a somewhat 'religious family' & I was sent to Sunday School as a child - I never heard the Gospel until the late 60s when I read Billy Graham's 'The Jesus Generation' & responded to the Gospel.
This was despite being 'raised in the church' & being an 'altar boy', a 'choir boy' & a member of the PCC but God in His grace bypassed all of that to reach me
What has God's favour have to do with this? EVERYTHING - Praise His Name!
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Under the Old Covenant animals were sacrificed to atone for sin but this had to be repeated
Jesus was the Lamb of God that 'took away the sin of the world' ... & this does not have to be repeated!
God in His grace sent Jesus to be oue perfect sacrifice to atone for our sin
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We have been redeemed from the slavery to sin. The 'price' was that the Lord Jesus gave everything even to dying in our place to redeem us - Praise His Him
Although we have been redeemed from 'slavery to sin' regrettably we can still fall & yield to our 'flesh'
But Praise God for His grace & forgiveness
Paul wrote "you are now a slave to Christ' (1 Cor 7:22, NLT) - yes we are redeemed from being 'slaves to sin' & we are saved to be 'slaves of Christ' - we serve a Master Who only wants our best
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This is a complex question - we were all created in the image of God "CHRIST LIVES WITHIN YOU so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life" (Rom 8:10, NLT) yet "everyone has sinned, we ALL fall short of God's glorious standard" (Rom 3:23, NLT)
As Grudem wrote 'every part of our being is affected by sin'
While we have God indwelling us (by His Holy Spirit) - the image of God (His goodness) is encased & distorted by the Fall/Sin
Praise God for Jesus & grace that offers us salvation despite our 'fallen-ness''
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqSvTJeGU0k
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Jesus said 'what is IMPOSSIBLE for people is POSSIBLE with God' (Lk 18:27, NLT) - salvation is IMPOSSIBLE by human effort & is only POSSIBLE through the MIRACLE OF GRACE
Jesus 'cast' a rich/righteous man in this parable because such a man 'appeared' to have everything in his favour & it was believed only such as the rich could afford to keep all the commandments necessary for salvation
Grace shines though in this way ... salvation is IMPOSSIBLE for us but Jesus in His grace came & died in our place to make salvation POSSIBLE
To quote the old adage:
- salvation for me is IMPOSSIBLE
but with Jesus I'M POSSIBLE 😃
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This is one of my favourite stories.
Did this thief deserve salvation ... a resounding NO!
- he has lived a 'horrible life' not deserving salvation
- he has been declared guilty by the world/others
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can he 'earn his salvation'? NO!
- he is soon to die - he has no time left to do anything
- he will never go to church
- he will never tithe or give money
- he will never 'do a good deed'
- he is at the end
But by God's revelation he looks to Jesus & knows Who He is & what He is able to do ... & Jesus makes him an astounding promise
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The parable illustrates God's generosity of grace in that the father gives the son his inheritance before he dies. And we are told 'while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming' (v20, NLT) the father is looking - he is eager - for the son's return & runs to greet him even before he is home (v20).
This is grace & we are told that the father was 'filled with love & compassion' (v20) this is grace - laying aside all that had gone before & responding in generous grace.
Repentance is 'turning around' & returning to God which is excatly what the son did.
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The man begged 'please be patient with me & I will pay it all' (v26, NLT)
The king showed grace in this way 'filled with pity for him ... he released him & FORGAVE his debt' (v27, NLT)
This was grace not to 'extend terms' but to CANCEL the debt!
'When he went to another servant who owed him money we are told 'he grabbed him by the throat & demanded instant payment' (v28, NLT) & 'he had the man arrested & put in prison until the debt could be paid in full' (v30, NLT)
He withheld grace!
Do Jesus' disciples withhold grace?
Simple answer ... NO! we are to forgive as we are forgiven - recipients of grace should be dispensers of grace.
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Jesus 'cast' a Samaritan as the hero of the parable because He wanted to make a point. Jews & Samaritans hated each other & would have nothing to do with each other. The injured man on the road, who was a Jew, was not in a position to help himself. The Samaritan who cared for him had nothing to be gained. This was undeserved & unrepaid favour.
In my community one of the 'resented neighbours are asylum seekers - even rejected by the Government. I worked with a Christian charity with asylum seekers - we organised support through food banks, clothes banks, temporary accommodation in church buildings & spare rooms in private houses ... plus legal advocacy, medical help & pastoral support as necessary.
Q35. Ethics and Grace
in 9. A Grace-Filled Way of Life
Posted
The difference between ethical bahviour & grace:
Rolling this teaching onto how we should 'love our enemies' is very radical - our enemies hate us & they only want the worst for us ... Jesus taught we should do good to our enemies & want the best for them - even as we would for ourselves
Jesus illustrated it thus:
Creative Resistance