Post by Rodgers on Apr 10, 2006 22:54:11 GMT -5
Romans 5
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God"
Is this our hope as Christians? Or do we merely claim Christ for our own end. Anyone who does not hope in the glory of God will not be part of the eternal Kingdom; of this we can be assured. To claim Christ for your own end is in affect not claim Christ at all. A person may claim Christ with their words or even actions. But to be able to claim Christ as our advocate on that Great and Terrible day of judgment we must claim Him in our hearts, thoughts, motives and intentions. For ones outward deeds may be “righteous” but if their motives or intentions are not, they are not righteous. Do we claim Christ so that we may be saved from hell, or do we claim Christ to uphold the integrity of God and His Law? I say we must do the latter to truly belong to Christ. God has invested a lot in the human race by sending his Son to make Atonement for a sinful human race. He did this to preserve the integrity of His eternal Kingdom. Do we wish to bring glory to God by appealing to his mercy and upholding His Law? Or do we wish to bring glory to ourselves for conforming to the world’s standards of right and wrong?
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God"
Is this our hope as Christians? Or do we merely claim Christ for our own end. Anyone who does not hope in the glory of God will not be part of the eternal Kingdom; of this we can be assured. To claim Christ for your own end is in affect not claim Christ at all. A person may claim Christ with their words or even actions. But to be able to claim Christ as our advocate on that Great and Terrible day of judgment we must claim Him in our hearts, thoughts, motives and intentions. For ones outward deeds may be “righteous” but if their motives or intentions are not, they are not righteous. Do we claim Christ so that we may be saved from hell, or do we claim Christ to uphold the integrity of God and His Law? I say we must do the latter to truly belong to Christ. God has invested a lot in the human race by sending his Son to make Atonement for a sinful human race. He did this to preserve the integrity of His eternal Kingdom. Do we wish to bring glory to God by appealing to his mercy and upholding His Law? Or do we wish to bring glory to ourselves for conforming to the world’s standards of right and wrong?