Christianity Oasis Forum

[saint701]

Hello All,


Blessings!

We begin a new study now on the doctrines of the New Covenant in the Blood of Jesus. The purpose of this study is to examine portions of scripture that our Lord would like to teach us about His work of grace through the New Covenant our Father has made with us in the Blood of His Son. Such is His work and we pray His light will direct us.

I hadn't intended to get side tracked telling the story of my own on again off again Christian walk, but many of us have had similar paths, and I seemed led to explore how the enemy disrupts our walk at times in order to illustrate the down side of our Lord's grace. That down side is really our stubbornness and self will which our Lord must break off us before we are really fit to do right things under His directing hand.

The first great doctrine given the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ was justification by faith. (However, faith never stands alone in the Bible. It is always accompanied by the election of grace. We can attempt to talk about faith by itself, but everywhere in the Bible where faith is, there is also the election of grace). This doctrine has been knocked about generation after generation by both sides of the scholarly spectrum, those for , and those against it. But justification by faith has never been placed in the hand of any scholar as a mystery needed solving by a human mind.

Justification by faith is the method our Heavenly Dad has and does use to illustrate His sovereign work of salvation in all that He has chosen to be His children, of His household, of His Kingdom, forever. Many scriptures attest to this truth along with all the lives of the Apostles, Prophets, and other saints of old. Such is hardly something one can argue against, but many do.

Let us begin with the lives of the Apostles. How did they become the Disciples of Jesus? I will submit a few scriptures.

Matt: 4

[18] And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
[19] And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
[20] And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
[21] And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
[22] And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

Their first act as children of God was of faith. They left what they were doing and followed Jesus. Then there was Saul, murderer of the children of God extraordinaire. How could such a man be elect in the calling of God? But such testifies not only to the faith of Paul, as being directed by our Lord in how he might receive His sight, he obeyed in faith. But wasn't it the grace of God also that elected him? Not works? But to satisfy James we also must add that Paul's obedience of faith brought the work of Paul seeing. And not only seeing, but baptized in the Holy Ghost also, and preaching the word of God in Damascus soon after that.

But Paul was a murderer! Yes, but the blood of Jesus had been poured out before the Almighty God in Heaven and his sin had been dealt with even though he was unaware of His freedom from it. We are justified by our faith.


Blessings!
Love, In Christ Jesus, Saint701.