In all of the New Testament, there is only one verse which states that we are to confess our sins to God to obtain forgiveness. Yet we Christians are taught from the earliest age that we must ask Him for forgiveness in order to stay on His good side, remain in fellowship with Him, receive His blessings. So every night before bed and every Sunday morning we are busily trying to remember all of our unrighteous deeds and thoughts to once again become clean in His eyes. It's like we are scrubbing ourselves thoroughly, hoping to not forget any sins else leaving a spot of unrighteousness somewhere. That's why 1 John 1:9 has the reputation of being the "Christian bar of soap".
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
This verse is unique. Yes, it's fact! Whether or not constantly confessing sin to receive God's forgiveness is Biblically sound or not, it does "seem right" and "feel good". And it does make sense from our own life's experiences. Almost everyone can relate to doing something that offended their father and seeing the relationship improve after a humble apology. We knew dad loved us, but apologizing was still the right thing to do. And his actions demonstrated that belief to be true! But before we bring God down to our human level, let's consider some most important issues. The rest of the story...
Grace Links
ExploringChrist.com
JesusLovesMe.org
Life In Jesus
For years I heard Bible teachers refer to this writing, but it seemed to be something that only seminary students read. Then the movie "Luther" was released. I rented and watched it at home and his story stirred my heart to know more about this most remarkable man.
After reading "Preface", my entire understanding of God's grace and mercy became real and intense. Luther added the vibrancy back into Romans that has been washed away with religious sermons. He explains the depths of Paul's words. Romans is what Paul referred to as "his gospel".
I can't encourage you enough to read and study this. Aside from the Bible itself, there is no greater source writing that can help to grow you into the Christian God desires. Full story...
The Lord's last supper occurred the evening before His crucifixion. It was after twilight and –according to the Hebrew time table– was the beginning of the "day of preparation" for the Passover Feast. The Passover is celebrated with the community as a whole at the synagogue. It's also a Hebrew tradition to celebrate it with family, friends, and neighbors, the evening before that.
When God told Moses the date for the Passover to be celebrated –the 14th of Nisan, He was announcing the date on which His Son Jesus –the Lamb of God– was going to die. He also announced the day that He –Jesus– was going to be put on public display for all to see the perfection of His Son. It was the "Triumphal Entry" and it was going to happen on the 10th.
Jesus' last supper was celebrated in the traditional manner –with His family and friends on the Day of Preparation. We don't know who the woman was that lit the candles, but it was probably His mother –after all, Mary was the one who brought the Light of Men, the Light of Life, into this world. They had drank the first cup of wine –the Cup of Joy, washed, eaten the karpas, displayed the three matzos (the Trinity), broken the middle one (wrapped half in a linen napkin and hid it away –buried it), repeated the story of the Exodus, drank the Cup of Judgment after dripping the ten drops, washed again, eaten the bitter herbs, and eaten the traditional meal.
It was at this time that He stood up and raised up the half of a matzo that had been wrapped in linen from its burial place –foreshadowing the resurrection. And He said "This is my body, it is broken for you." The middle matzo is called the Afikomen. Ironically, it's the only Greek word in the entire Seder meal as if to call special attention to it. The word "Afikomen" means "I have come". That's what His disciples heard when He spoke those words to them that night. He then broke that half and they ate it –all of it. They ate the Bread of Life –foreshadowed by the manna given to their fathers in the wilderness. His body is gone –it can no longer be seen. (It exists only in those who belong to Him –His bride.) Then He lifted the third cup of wine –the Cup of Redemption– and explained that it represented His blood that was going to be shed for them. That was the price that was going to be paid for restoring men to a righteous relationship with God. When God said "I have redeemed you by My outstretched arm", He was referring to Jesus' arms that were stretched out on the cross for our redemption.
The rest of the story...
The most troublesome passages in the Bible are found in the book of Hebrews. Troublesome because they have been read to say that if Christians aren't careful, they will lose their salvation. The first is found in chapter 6.
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Hebrews 6:4-8)
The other is found in Hebrews chapter 10.
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26-27)
Both of these have been used to frighten and manipulate Christians into changing their behavior. This study is intended to put the these passages into the context of the Hebrews' story and consequently free wounded Christians from that legalistic teaching.
The saying that "context is everything" is so very applicable here so let's not neglect the title of the book: "A Letter to the Hebrews". It is filled with references to their historical people and events.
- Abraham (Abram) is considered the great father of the Hebrews and the one given the Promise.
- Melchizedek is an unknown, yet most significant high priest of God; Abraham gave tribute to him.
- Moses led the people and gave them the Law.
- The priests of the Levitical Priesthood were the mediators between God and the people
- Joshua experienced the Exodus and was the first to enter and later lead the people into the Promised Land.
- The nation which was led out of Egypt, across the desert to the Promised Land, where many refused to enter.
- There were notable Hebrews who lived their lives by faith and serve as examples to the rest.
This amazing book communicates a single message: Jesus is the only way to eternal life with God. Yet, Christian teaching treats the Hebrew background much too lightly when applying passages to New Testament believers. Every passage needs to be understood how it first relates to Hebrews before it is applied to non-Hebrews. Their story is the lens through which the entire book must be viewed to be understood. The rest of the story...
Its purpose is to communicate the Gospel truth of God's grace that took so long for me to learn and understand. I've gone to many churches over the years and found that most of them are based to a large degree on legalism. By that I'm referring to the theology where Christians stay on God's good side through their actions and attitudes. The simplest form requires doing our best to keep God's laws and commandments. The more subtle forms demand us to demonstrate certain spiritual gifts, to be baptized in a particular manner, to pray and read the Bible a minimum amount of time per day, or to follow well meaning traditions such as not drinking alcohol, using tobacco or dancing.
That all sounded so reasonable to me back then. The ranking members of those churches had great sounding reasons and arguments for what they believed. And I believed it too for a long time. But I thank God that He showed me that all of it was actually works of my flesh –wood, hay and stubble.
I'm not suggesting that the people in those churches were unproductive. No! In fact some of them have been the dearest of friends –supporting me in some of my most difficult times. However, they were missing out on an abundant life found by living everyday life in God's grace. In regard to their faith, their lives were primarily motivated by guilt. Basically, it came in two forms: Fear of lost fellowship with God and fear of condemnation by other church members.
The pastor of the church my wife and I were attending was preaching on the commandment regarding adultery. It was the seventh week in a series on obeying the Ten Commandments. Each week the sermons became more burdensome –to the point that my wife was dreading Sunday mornings. They were no longer spiritually uplifting.
That week, he revealed a recent personal experience in which he and one of the elders were driving through the neighborhood and an attractive woman, wearing a very small bikini, was walking down the street. He made an excuse at the time to the elder about having to go back to his office for something; the real reason was so that he could take another look. The pastor explained that this was an example of adultery that plagued him –one that's very common for men. He summed up the sermon by telling the audience that at the end of the day, he needed to make things right between God and himself –to restore their fellowship– and that required his praying for God's forgiveness and repenting from those thoughts.
I knew in my heart that something was wrong with that message and kept asking God to help me to understand what the real intent of that law was. Within a few days I heard a message on the radio where a man was teaching on God's grace. He told about his own experiences where the normal things in Christian life seemed so difficult –actually impossible to bear. Unlike the usual teachers who quoted short passages to make their point, this man read long passages directly out of the Bible and he put them in context! The topics he presented were the same ones that I found so difficult. God has answered that request many times over. He has used life's situations combined with what is in the Bible to reveal what Christian life is and what it isn't. The section I call "Foundation Topics" deals with many of them.
Most evangelical Christians are familiar with stories about Jesus found in the New Testament. But have you wondered if there is more that can be learned about Him before that day when we see Him face to face? There is! And it's found in the Old Testament. There's an old saying: "The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed. And the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed."
The tale of Adam and Eve is so much more than mankind's fall from grace. Eve bit into sin's deception and swallowed rebellion against God –knowing that the result was expulsion from the garden. Eve represents you and I –the church –the bride. Adam had a choice to make. He could either stay in the garden and let the love of His life go into the wilderness alone. Or he could take on her sin and die for her. The punishment for him was death and toil; for her it was trouble with new birth.
The Old Testament is full of pictures –foreshadows– about Jesus. Jonah provides insight into our salvation and also what Jesus thought about during and after the punishment He paid for our sins. The seven days of Creation describes Jesus' purpose for joining us on this earth. In fact the first three days foretell of his birth, death and resurrection. The stories of Ruth and Deborah detail the working of the Trinity for our salvation. Sampson explains Jesus' relationships with three categories of mankind: "The world", Israel, and the Church. Those picture stories are in a section "Foreshadows about Jesus".
