STEPHEN ROSS

It is often very difficult not to be legalistic in situations that I find myself in, for me legalism is something that is very much a head thing where as love originates in the heart of a person. From the time we are born we are taught to judge things , in fact each day we would be making a judgement about something or someone ,knowingly of unknowingly. It is very much a part of our human conditioning,it is only through Gods grace that we learn to love and see people as God sees them. Obedience to Christ comes out of a love relationship with him, we should not obey out of the law but out of our love for Him.

John gives us the assurance that if we do sin we have a way back to the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus, and that he took on not only my sins but also the Sins of the whole of humanity. Oh how I love Jesus that he took on the penalty that was due to me and all mankind so that I could have a relationship with God. It is comforting to know that Jesus is continually interceding for humanity and pleading our case before the Father. We want to avoid sin because of our love for God and the knowledge of what it cost Jesus.

When we confess our sins we are acknowledging before God and sometimes others the true condition of our hearts. Confessing our sins is important because we are told in the Bible that we are to keep short accounts before God. If we stop confessing our sins, our relationship with God can be affected and we can become proud and think we are in a better state than we are. When we confess our sins we allow the Holy Spirit to draw us closer to Jesus and our fellowship with Him becomes fresh again. The Bible teaches us that our God is faithful in forgiving our sins if we confess them and that He will bring about a restoration in our relationship with Him. Cleansing occurs when we are forgiven and happens as we spend time with Him, reading the Bible and by yielding to the Holy Spirit so He can do what He wants to do.

When you knowingly sin, we by our actions have chosen to walk in darkness rather than in the Light of God's truth, and we our placing ourselves under darkness, where we can easily be influenced by a spirit of Deception. We do not fool God as he sees all and knows all, but we are really lying to ourselves and others. The way back to the Light is to acknowledge our sin to God, to ask for his forgiveness and any other person that may have been affected by our actions and turn away from that course of action and back to the Light of God's word.

Our fellowship is often on a surface level because it takes time to develop trust and feel secure to share the deep things of our lives, which cannot really be achieved in large gatherings once a week. I have found that this can only be developed in small groups where often people feel they can be vunerable and where time is given to develop relationships and get to know people in a less formal setting , often in someones home sharing a meal with others, then the barriers come down.

Jesus is the mediator between God and Man. He intercedes on our behalf . Jesus became our mediator when he stood in the gap between God and Man.

Jesus is described in verse 26as being holy blameless,Unstained by sin,separated from sinners,and exalted higher thatn the heavens. Jesus differs from human High Priests as He is perfect and and without sin. Jesus role as High Priest gives me special confidence as He is able to intercede for those on earth as he has been made perfect through suffering on our behalf.Having lived as a man He understands our infirmities and weaknesses.

Jesus is able to save people to the uttermost,as he lives forever l and is constantly interceding before the throne of God for His people. The function of a Priest is to be interceding for those that come to God through Him. Intercession is the primary role of a priest who offers sacrifices and prayers before a Holy God.

A Guarantor is someone who agrees to be responsible for any debts,or any agreements made on behalf of another person. Jesus has become our Gaurantor as he took on our sins so that we would not have to bear the punishment we so rightly deserved. In other words he stood in the gap,so we would not have to take the punishment directed towards man. The Gaurantee of the New Covenant was made through the shedding of the blood of Jesus.

Christ is our Anchor in the midst of the storm . As an anchor gives stability and firmness to a boat so Christ is our Anchor our support and our refuge in our life. We are to take hold of this hope actively,and trust God at His Word. Our Hope in Christ is based on the promises of God,where as something wished for has no strong foundation. An anchor remains strong and firm whatever conditions surround or come against it.

Apostosy is a deliberate turning away,from belief and living contrary to Gods word. It is a perilious situation to be in as the heart becomes so hardened towards God that it is very difficult for such a person to come back from such a state. I n the parable of the sower Jesus was talking about the different ground and the state of our hearts to recieve the Word of God in our lives. Our hearts must be softened and receptive to the workings of God.if we are to go on and produce fruit for God. Only God knows what is in our Hearts and therefore influencing our lives, the Holy spirit will remove the weeds and tares out of our lives if we co-operate with His workings.

Apostosy is a deliberate turning away,from belief and living contrary to Gods word. It is a perilious situation to be in as the heart becomes so hardened towards God that it is very difficult for such a person to come back from such a state. I n the parable of the sower Jesus was talking about the different ground and the state of our hearts to recieve the Word of God in our lives. Our hearts must be softened and receptive to the workings of God.if we are to go on and produce fruit for God. Only God knows what is in our Hearts and therefore influencing our lives, the Holy spirit will remove the weeds and tares out of our lives if we co-operate with His workings.

I am not quite sure how to answer this,except to say that it is possible to operate in the gifts and know God with a head knowledge ,without fully s.urrendering your heart to him. I wuold be interested in your comments.

By training and equipping ourselves to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.We do this by applying the word of God to our lives and walking in it.

Pastor Ralph, Jesus was made perfect ashe did what He came to earth to do . To preach the Gospel of The Kingdom and set the Captives free .Todie so that we we could be saved from our sins and have a living relationship with Him. He completed the will of the Father.

Pastor Ralph, Jesus faced and endured suffering throughout his whole life , up unto the time of his crucifixion as he stood against the religious leaders of the day. He learnt obedience through the sufferings he bore,as the Fathers will became his will. We learn obedience as we journey through lifethrough the decisions we make and the cosequences we must face if we disobey.

Jesus Shares in our weaknesses and temptations because in going to the cross he took on our humanity with all its weaknesses and imperfections. As we are tempted to sin so Jesus was also tempted, when he was in the widerness Satan tried to tempt him from His mission by offering Him worldly enticements.but Jesus was not to be disuaded bythese attempts. By this Jesus understands the frailty and fragility of us. Jesus struggled in His flesh to go to the cross,but submitted to the will of the Father for the good of mankind and our Eternal destiny.

Jesus Shares in our weaknesses and temptations because in going to the cross he took on our humanity with all its weaknesses and imperfections. As we are tempted to sin so Jesus was also tempted, when he was in the widerness Satan tried to tempt him from His mission by offering Him worldly enticements.but Jesus was not to be disuaded bythese attempts. By this Jesus understands the frailty and fragility of us. Jesus struggled in His flesh to go to the cross,but submitted to the will of the Father for the good of mankind and our Eternal destiny.

Pastor Ralph our confession of faith is that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour . It is important for us to hold on to our confession of faith so that we are not led astray by other ways or doctrines not of Christ. Jesus is our Eternal hope and security.

Faith is the essential ingredient in our walk with God. We must remain faithful to Christ so that we do not allow our Hearts to be entangled by the world and its ways.Fellowship with other Christians is essential if we are to remain in Christ . Fellowship brings Encouragement in times of difficulty ,helps build our character and brings correction when required. Without fellowship we can become weak and ineffective instruments for God. I would be interested in some feedback so far. Stephen.

The writer is exhorting his followers to hold on to Christ sothat they are a part of the household of God . We must contionue on with our faith so that we do not loose our inheritance in The Kingdom of God.If we do not hold on to our faith in Jesus we are likely to stray away and be unfaithful to God..

Jesus Christ took on the sins of the whole world.He took on Death so that we we could have Eternal Life.When He rose from the dead he defeated Death so that we could experience Eternal Life .Death was no more we could enter into a new and abiding life with Jesus.Through HIm taking on my darkest sins,and defeating their power through the blood, I am able to have access to the Father,and live in fellowship with HIm. My response to this must be to Love and Serve the Lord in a greater way.

Jesus suffered in many ways through his life and death.He suffered as he was rejected by the religious leaders of the day .they saw Him as a threat to their stabilityand sought ways to shut him and his followers up. T hey were afraid of losing their position and influence. Jesus was misunderstood and alienated from the society in which he lived. He was tempted as we are tempted,he was persecuted for his teachings and actions ,he was betrayed, and finally crucified,but throughsuffering he learnt obedience . None of us like to suffer,but sometimes it is the only way that we can learn and come into a deeper relationship with Jesus.

The truth of salvation has been confirmed to me by first hearing the word and coming to anunderstanding of the problem of sin and that somebody had to pay the penalty so that as individuals we could be set free from the punishment that was due to us Jesus took on my sins and the sins of the whole world so that I did not have to pay the penalty. I believe that signs and wonders would help to establish the truth of Christ's ministry today as His healing and delivering power changes those lives and other people see the changes brought about in other lives. I have formed my opinion from the Acts of the Apostles where thereare many accounts of the life changing power from people affected by the signs and wonders that followed Christ's and his Disciples ministry.

We are not immune from drifting away from the Gospel if we allow ourselves to be swayed by every wind of Doctrine instead of seeking The Truth which is only found in Jesus.According to the Author we must pay careful attention to what we have heard,and model ourlives on the teachings ,or more importantly the Author of our Faith. Jesus described this phenomenon of drift,when he used the comparisons of Sowing the Seed in the different type of ground.It is important to sow the seed in good ground where it can be nurtured and well cared for.