paulcrf

Flesh is the sinful nature of our human mind, and body. Our system is controlled by sin. We cannot get away with it ( with our own efforts ) because it is within us.

God's glory is exalted whenever we live a life like Jesus who is humble, submissive & obedient to the will of his Father. In our civil society, God has placed leaders who is supposed to guide us achieve the goals. The leaders who oversee us are humans and most of the time Christ unbelievers . As christian workers, we are bringing the reputation of Jesus on the line. Our actions reflects upon Jesus whom we should model. To bring glory to God, we should put in our hearts that God is always watching us. He will be happy to see us bringing glory to His name in our society or in the workplace.

God is Good. Being His followers, doing good is our way of worshiping Him. Christians should imitate Christ. The Spirit in us will shine such that it is seen by people around us and glorify our father in heaven. We are Christ ambassadors on earth whose duty is to influence the ungodly with our heavenly culture hoping to bring them back to God. There is no such thing as "secret service" christian. We should not blend with the ungodly. We have to be Christians in words and in deeds. God is pleased when we overcome obstacle to our faith. He is pleased when we overcome temptations. He is pleased when our faith survive the test of circumstances.

Peter is telling us not to conform to the sinful desires of this world because it will hurt our soul. We are just temporary residents on earth. We will not be here for long. Our soul is destined for heaven. Our soul has been redeemed by Jesus. we have been set free from sin through the blood of Jesus. We should stay focused to Jesus being the only way to the Father. We should live a life pleasing to God.

My actions: It should reflect God's presence in me. I should do what God wants me to do, living a holy life and using all parts of my body to worship God. My attitudes: It should always hope for the coming of Christ. The presence of the Holy Spirit in me should be manifested through my attitudes. I should have inspire people who are still in the darkness to come to Christ and experience His goodness.

My praises to God will be offered through obedience to His words. I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Doing good and sharing blessings to others likewise pleases my Lord. My G12 cell group with initial members of 5 "fathers" ( and growing) is one way of proclaiming the gospel to these family heads. I have learned to praise God in good and in bad times.

I offer our praises to God by obeying His words, by offering my body as holy and living sacrifices being my spiritual acts of worship. I also offer my praises to God by doing the great commission which is to make disciples and proclaiming the good news to them. I also offer my praises to God by being generous giver supporting the church ministries and to the needy. All this is made possible being thankful of the bountiful grace God has showered me, for saving me from eternal damnation and for giving me a new life.

The mindset of priest towards God is that he should be Holy because God is Holy. He has to communion with God all the time through mind and actions. Everything he thinks and does should be acceptable to God being his spiritual offerings. All these things will then radiate towards our neighbors because it is not possible to hide the glory of God through Jesus Christ in us. This mindset inspire me because I am a priest of God in my family. I am suppose to bring my family to God and model Jesus Christ to them. The relationship that my family will build towards God is my responsibility.

Have you ever felt you were of no worth or of no value? Yes. This was the time when I was broke I did not know that I am the son of God and it took His son's life to rescue me from eternal death. What does 1 Peter 1:18-19 say about your worth? I was redeemed with the precious blood of the son of God. I was redeemed with the most precious life of Jesus. I am the son of the living God. I will not waste my life on worthless works instead follow the teachings of my redeemer- my new master. What does it say about God's love for you? God's love for me is unfathomable. How can He send His only son to save a sinner from eternal death. That's the love of God for me. What are your true long-term investments? Why? My long term investments is doing the great commission. God loved me by redeeming me. I will show my love for Him by following his commands.

Why are people in our culture so upset when they sense they are being judged by someone else? Humans are proud. They don't want to be reminded of their flaws. They are self-righteous. They hate others telling them the wrongs they did. They don't like to repent because they think they did no wrong. How do you reconcile final judgment with God's love for the world? God is just. He will judge us accordingly in the final day. He loves us that's why He sent His only son to save us from eternal death. But if we still refuse His plan for us then we will face the judgment that we deserve. Why must final judgment be at the core of the Good News of Jesus Christ? It is conclusion of the Gospel. Good came to save us. If we accept Him, we will reap the benefits of it which is eternal life in heaven. However; if we refuse Him then God will send us to where we belong- to hell with our master-Satan. What happens to the Gospel when final judgment is left out or ignored? We will continue our companionship with Master Satan in hell.

What about Christ's coming should get our undivided attention? Ans: We have to focus our attention on the coming of Christ because we are anticipating an awesome and precious salvation. We should live a life prepared for the coming of Christ. Why should it inspire hope? Ans: Hope strengthens our faith. We believe that Christ is coming. Why should it inspire self-control and soberness? Ans: The coming of Christ should not make us confused but rather be self-desciplined avoiding mental and spiritual excesses which may lead to sin. What happens in our lives when we don't really expect Christ to come soon? Ans: If we are not expecting Christ to come soon, then we are not hoping for something. We dont have motivation to change our lives. His coming for judgment motivates us to turn away from sin and go back to God.

Q. In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Ans: There is no other independent freedom apart from slavery to sin or to Christ. If you are not for Christ you are for the devil. that's plane and simple.WE are given by God the free will to choose which master to follow. Q. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Ans: Maybe because we have no faith in God but we don't want to commit sin. We don't know the benefit of being a slave to righteousness which is holiness resulting to eternal life. A.Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? Ans: Following Christ is such a difficult task because we have been used to sin. People who do not know God or who have not tried to know God do not know the unlimited grace that God provides to his followers. They try to understand spiritual things using their human judgment. So to be safe with our friends, we fell safe by not being so religious. Neither we accept that we are slaves to sin because we think we are righteous when we have not done wrong to our neighbors. So we think we are not sinners but we don't need God either. We think we have the power to do things our way specially when times are still on our side.

Q. How does good doctrine affect the way we live? Ans: A good doctrine is based on God's word. God's word gives life, hope and justice. It gives us peace and joy. Q. Why should we honor good doctrine? Ans: Good doctrine is conforms to the actual teachings of the bible. We should honor it because it is the word of God. The word of God gives light to this dark world. Q. If we shouldn't look down on doctrine itself, what kind of teaching should we be avoiding? Ans: We should avoid teaching that is not biblical. Jesus warned us of false prophets, in fact there are numerous of them. We should be knowledgeable with God's words so we can discern false teachings.

Q. What does obedience have to do with slavery? Ans: We are slaves to the one we obey. It could be either to sin or to God. Q. In what way does doing acts of righteousness demonstrate your slavery to God? Ans: When we are slaves to God we do what is pleasing to Him. We obey His commands through love. Obeying His commands brings righteousness. Q. In what ways does doing bad things demonstrate a slavery to sin? Ans: Sin are things done against the will of God. When we are slaves to sin, we do bad things because that is the fruit of it. Q. How is such a slavery or bondage broken? Ans: By wholeheartedly obeying the teachings of Christs. Q. What part does obedience have in breaking this bondage? Ans: The obedience which comes from inner desire to obey Christ. This is not just an outward expression of obedience but a personal decision to follow the teachings of Christ. Q. In what areas is God speaking to you about a fresh obedience in your life? Ans: God is speaking to me to obey the great commission. I am doing it now in fact. I have a cell group initially composed of 5 fathers.

Q. In what ways do you "offer the members of your body" to either sin or God multiple times in a day? Ans: By willingly placing ourselves in servitude either to sin or to God. By allowing sin or God to control us. Whoever we serve, sin or God , we use parts of our body to satisfy the desires of our master. Q. How can we begin to offer our members deliberately to God? Ans: By allowing the righteousness of Christ dwell in our heart. If Christ is in us, all that we do is pleasing to God. Q. What changes will it take in our daily life to do this? Ans: It will take a repentant heart. A repentant heart bears a changed life.

First, obedience has to do with the master. We obey to whoever is our master. If sin reigns in us, if becomes our master, hence we obey.

First, obedience has to do with the master. We obey to whoever is our master. If sin reigns in us, if becomes our master, hence we obey.

Inexpressible and glorious joy is based on the expectation that we will receive the goal of our faith which is the salvation of our souls. This inexpressible joy is based on faith and hope not ordinary human emotions which requires evidence to be joyful. Earthly acquired happiness are based on material , emotional or psychological possessions which we visually experience. Happiness from the love of God is based on faith. This faith is based on things not seen but things hoped for.Genuine joy is internal. It is expressed with love. Counterfeit joy is external. It is more of personal interest

Answer: God's part in securing my salvation is to protect me from harm and sickness, trials and temptations, providing my needs and most of all giving me the fruit of the Holy Spirit. My part is to have faith and follow the teaching of Jesus Christ and his apostles.

(Romans 6:6-7) In what way has our "body of sin," our "flesh," our old nature been made powerless because of our crucifixion with Christ? Answer: By the crucifixion with Christ, our "body of sin" has been made powerless because anyone who has been freed from sin is no longer slaves to it. Hence it has no more power within us. We are no longer controlled by our sinful nature but by Christ who is alive in me. In what way have we been freed from slavery? Answer: Having been united with Christ death on the cross, I died to sin and I am no longer slave to it. A dead person is no longer slave. What difference does this understanding make in our struggles against temptation? Answer: Now being slave to the righteousness of Christ, temptation has already lost its power over me.

(Romans 6:1-7) Is Paul referring to a figurative "death" to sin, or to a kind of historical, actual death? Answer: Paul means " death to sin" as putting off our sinful nature or burying with Christ through baptism. Knowing that our old self was crucified with Christ, our new life is freed from sin. Whose death is he talking about? Answer: Death to our old sinful life. How does this death become our own? Answer: By being united with Christ in His death. To what degree is this just theological mumbo-jumbo or does it have some basis in reality? Answer: The death of our sinful nature being united with the death of Christ on the Cross can be real when we accept the fact that Christ died for our sins. Instead of us suffering for our sins, Christ bear the consequences of it. Our role is to accept his death for our death by changing our old sinful life with a life with Christ.

Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Answer: "Not everyone who keeps saying to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will get into the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who keeps doing the will of my Father in heaven. Mat 7:21. Forgiveness is the fruit of obedience. Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other? Answer: It is deceptive because most of us focus only on the promise of God which is forgiveness and tend to disregard the preceding conditions which is obedience to his commands. Extra credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10) Answer: True faith is manifested by submission to God's authority. Grace comes through faith. It is freely given to those who believe. No works will merit God's abundant grace.

Q1: That kind of Christian could seem to enjoy the culture in his present homeland. He has adopted their culture rather than maintaining his heavenly culture which he represents. Q2: Yes. Many times because the culture of this world is so tempting that most often I tend to forget my own. Q3: I need to remind myself through God's word that I am just passing through this planet earth. My residence is heaven. I have to think and act heavenly things and meet my loyal heavenly friends often.

Q1: Buried correspond to immersion in the act of baptism. We bury our old sinful nature. Q2: "Christ raised from the dead correspond to coming up of the water in baptism. It symbolizes rising from the grave to a new life.