The Gracious Gospel
The Gospel: God’s ability
Grace is a two-way street: Teach the new believer of what they can do in response to what God is able to do.
Believers have a responsibility to live the Christian life.
The believer’s body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, from God, and you are not your own. For you are bought with a price.
The price was His Blood. God’s teachings declare that only blood covers and cleanses sin. The blood that was shed was innocent blood, in that Jesus had not sinned: he was one of a kind in this regard. It was shed to fulfil all that the sacrificial laws (teachings) handed down to Israel by Moses required (1 Cor 6:19-20).
God has set forth Jesus ‘to be propitiation through faith in His blood’. The word ‘propitiation’ means ‘to cover’, ‘to appease’ God’s righteous anger, justice, and holiness is involved (Rom 3: 25).
The blood of Jesus covers anything and everything that is displeasing to God: namely our sin. Accept the good news; go and tell the good news.
Believers have a responsibility to recover themselves from having gone astray.
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Evil One, who are taken captive by him at his will (2 Tim 2:26).
Believers have a responsibility to submit (give way) to God
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Evil On, and he will flee from you (Jas 4:7).
Believers have a responsibility to live wisely
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Evil One, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour( 1 Pet 5:8).
Believers have a responsibility to fellowship with other believers and be fed spiritual food. Young children need overseers. They need to be taught the ways of the household. We are sustained by reading and doing (obeying) the Word of God. To eat together, fellowship with other believers. To be genuine and honest in our dealings with everyone within and without the household of faith. To eat the bread of sincerity.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28).
Believers have a responsibility to obey the royal law. Not to return evil for evil. Whatever you do, do it AS unto the Lord and of the Lord you shall receive your reward.
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets (Mt 7:12).
The believer’s response: obedience to the Gospel
The faithful people of Israel under the old agreement, had been promised a city that has foundations. they had gone into Egypt, they lived in the land called Goshen. They were stateless. They were homeless. They, like Abraham and Sarah, looked for the Promised City.
The City of God, the New Jerusalem is not like the cities of this world. That city has foundations. It’s builder and maker is God. It will not be shaken by invading armies, war or rotting pylons. It will not be run by corrupt politicians. It has foundations that will not be shaken.
In Jesus, under the new agreement, we believers are living in that city now. We are already back in Eden living in faith, in friendship with God. God’s Grace is here. God’s Peace is here. No more work by the sweat of our brow. No more pain and anguish with the New Birth.
We are seated together with Christ (Heb (Gal 4).
Sarah, the freewoman, acts as a metaphor for that city. The City of God the New Jerusalem is our mother. We can liken it to Sarah and how she became a mother. Sarah teaches us ‘faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God’. The Christian life is not passive Faith is not prayer. Faith is not reading the bible. Faith is not having intellectual discussions. Faith is a doing word. It is acting upon what God has said in the Bible. Faith is action.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by believing and acting upon God’s promises.
Get to know the promises of God. Read and meditate on the Word. Do the teachings of Jesus, Put them into daily practice.
If you do the doctrine you shall know it.
Patricia Px
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