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God’s Desires for the Christian’s Life

As members of the body of the Christ, God has revealed to us His desirous will for our lives. We are not to sleep as unsaved do, but arise out from them so that Christ shines in our lives. Not governing our lives as fools, but as those who are wise, because the days are malignantly evil, understanding the desirous will of the Lord. (Ephesians 5:15-17).

God reveals in Scripture many things about His desires for the life of a Christian. As we do what He has already revealed we learn how to identify His will in any situation; our knowledge of His will becomes a full experiential knowledge, not just head knowledge (Colossians 1:9).

What God has specifically revealed concerning His desirous will for you as a Christian

Present your body as a living sacrifice, Romans 12:1

This is a logical response to the fact that Christ has purchased you. He gave Himself in order to redeem us from our lawlessness (Titus 2:14). We are bought with a price and therefore are to express a proper opinion of God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20)

It is a one time act, giving to God what is rightfully His. Since we belong to God we should not serve men (1 Corinthians 7:23). Regardless of what position you have in life, serve God within that position, rather than man.

Bring transformed from the renewed mind that we now posses in Christ, Romans 12:2

Not being outwardly conformed to this world, as ones who are masquerading, but being transformed from the inside out by using the new mind we now have as a result of salvation, (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 But the soulish man does not receive the things […]

God’s Desires for the Christian’s Life2023-11-23T14:09:58-08:00

Habitual Sin and the Christian

In Greek class we were discussing the Middle/Passive form of the verb and looking at 1 John 3:9. I know I started speaking grammar, but don’t let that intimidate you, the truth we learned from this passage is incredible. Our major translations in English make the statement “and he cannot sin” as active; the one born from God is the one inhibiting the ability for that saint to habitually sin; however, the form of the verb is middle or passive so it actually cannot be translated that way.

Quick grammar lesson.

Middle is a voice in Greek that does not exist in English and means the subject is not only producing the action of the verb, but also receiving the action. We would express a similar idea with “he did this for himself (or his own benefit)”; although that is a bit more reflective than middle voice.

Passive means that the action of the verb is being acted upon the subject.

To justify an active translation on a middle/passive form of Greek, some grammarians have come up with the concept of a “deponent verb” in error. A deponent verb is a verb that never occurs in Scripture in an active form, but these grammarians think that it should be translated as active. This not only violates the normal grammar of the Kione Greek, it is actually unsupported when you examine the words they think must be translated as active, even though their form is passive or middle. Without justifiable evidence to show that in the original language exceptions were made on a regular basis by using the wrong form of a verb to express an idea that is not inherent to its form, […]

Habitual Sin and the Christian2023-12-14T11:21:18-08:00

The Substantial Value of the Blood of Christ Seen through the Different Cases and Prepositions used with the Blood

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Understanding the cases and how they relate to the sentence is extremely important to fully understanding what is being expressed by the author. Since in the Greek language, case is governed by function, not by form, it is important to also look at other aspects of the sentence to determine which case the noun is being used in and then in what way that case is being expressed. Prepositions are also a very significant part of the sentence and often limit the nouns to a specific case because of the function of the preposition. When it comes to the blood of Christ there are many different views; however, the more predominate ones are whether it is figurative or literal. Did Jesus shed His blood on the cross for all mankind or is the blood only being used figuratively of the work of Christ on the cross? In order to understand if a concept is figurative or literal we need to understand how it is being used in the sentence and whether the function is restricted to either figurative or literal all the time. If it is not restricted to one concept or the other, we then need to look at the meaning of the case and the context to determine if it is figurative or literal in application.  As we study Scripture it becomes very clear that the blood of Christ is literal and was shed for the sins of mankind. We see this through the different cases and preposition that are used with the blood of Christ. Each case has its own sphere of understanding and expressed a completely different concept that often times must […]

The Substantial Value of the Blood of Christ Seen through the Different Cases and Prepositions used with the Blood2018-10-28T06:03:04-07:00

Celebrating the Resurrection of Christ

As we take time today to consider this day, the day that the Lord made, a day in which He raised Christ from the dead, let us remember why we put this time aside. The day that God raised Christ out from the dead was the most significant day in the history of His creation. Not only does His resurrection have huge significance to mankind, but also to spirit beings for it was through the death and resurrection of Christ that God trumpet over Satan; showed His righteousness the all spirit beings; and created a new man in which all the Church would live freed from the condemnation and death that was passed down to all men through Adam’s trespass and sin.

Are you “In Christ” the new creation?

This is not a day to celebrate the death of Christ, as so many focus on. It was on the Wednesday before this day that Christ was put to death and rejected by His own people through the hands of the Gentiles. A day of such great shame on this earth that the sun did not even shine for three hours while Christ was spiritually separated from the Father and the Holy Spirit, paying the price for our trespasses. A day in which Christ, giving up His life, also died physically to pay the debt of our sins. This is a day to celebrate the resurrection; to celebrate that we are no longer separated from God; to remember all that we have in Christ because God through Him brought about this incredible salvation that we now live in.

There are many Gospels that you will hear today, but only one is true. Christ died for our sins, was buried, […]

Celebrating the Resurrection of Christ2013-03-31T08:35:58-07:00

SET APART CHRIST AS LORD: Always ready to give a defense

1 Peter 3:15 But set apart Christ as Lord (Master) in your hearts and always be prepared towards a defense to all who ask you a word concerning your hope, with objectivity of mind and respect…

If someone asked you why you believe what you believe, could you answer intelligently?

When we are asked about the hope that we have, it is not much of an answer to say, “We believe because we believe.” Or, in other words, we are not able to give a reason, or articulate, why we accept as truth the things we believe. We cannot have faith for the sake of having faith. Since a promise is always the basis for faith there is no such thing in Scripture as blind faith.
In the context of the book of 1 Peter, the author is encouraging Christians who are suffering unjustly and facing false accusations against their character because they are not getting involved with the lifestyle of unbelievers around them. When we live a life the follows God rather than the ways of the world, we are discernably different to unbelievers because of our actions, not our words, which can give the perfect opportunity to share with an unbeliever the Gospel for salvation and the resulting hope from believing when we are asked why we are so unusual and dissimilar to others.
You do not have to be a theologian to know what you believe. You may not be able to read the Bible in the original languages, or explain every verse, but that does not mean you cannot know what you believe and why you have the hope that you have. All Christians can and should mature enough to know at the very least […]

SET APART CHRIST AS LORD: Always ready to give a defense2023-12-14T12:31:19-08:00
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