Mephibesheth

I think this parable is primarily about the forgiveness we obtain from Christ. When we sin, we are guilty and in debt to God. If we confess our sin to Christ, He is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness such that we no longer walk in sin or debt. If we insist on justifying ourselves in court, however, we reject forgiveness and purification and, consequently, walk in both sin and debt which we ourselves have not the value to cover. Christ forgave us all our sins because he loves us. He requires (and frees us to do) only one thing: love eachother.

1) Jesus is able to save us completely because He is completely sin free and ALL authority, including authority over the "uttermost" has been given to Him for the sake of His church, which is His body. 2) The essential function of a priest is to mediate peace between a man and God.

1) Faith that does not eventually change life has not life. For we were baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glorious power of the Father, we too may live a new (changed) life in submission and under guidance of the Holy Spirit. (Ro:6:2-4; Eph 1:13,14) 2) Faith without deeds may be alive for the newly born in Christ who, after being raised from the dead, need food (instruction) in order that they may be equipped for every good work (2Ti3:15-17)

1) Because we are in a relationship with Him. We dont claim salvation from the cross one day and bury it in the ground by forgetting it for the rest of our lives. Our Father is a shrewd investor when it comes to saving the souls of many. 2) I do four things most every day: a) I humble myself before his word; submit to every authority; c) watch Him orchestrate the events of my life and others; and d) pray and listen. 3) Observe and listen to the humblest children of God.

1) The poor and needy in our church community have in them the strength of faith and extremely valuable and necessary portions of the Lord's glorious inheritance. We who are not poor and needy are blessed to be able to support them financially so that we may share in their spiritual wealth. Failure to do so comes from judging with evil motives and will bring judgement upon ourselves from the Lord, which is very uncomfortable both spiritually and physically (see 1Cor 11:24-34; James 1:27;2:1-12) 2) Relative to non-believers who are poor, we should care for them as well. For Jesus miraculously fed those who were not interested in eating his words (John 6) and "the Lord causes the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous alike."

A guarantor or surety is a legal entity responsible for the debt of another. Jesus is our Guarantor inso much as He has paid the debt we owed to the law such that we are free from the law's demands and are now free to serve Him.

1) I think the primary symptom of a saint who loses his saltiness is rebelliousness against all forms of authority, including parental, governmental, and church leadership. These saints also tend to become isolated and fragmented in their relationships. 2) Secular people notice that "de-saltified" Christians are unhappy people. 3) It is possible to be "re-salted" through submission (humility). The Lord always disciplines his children and if we endure the discipline and humble ourselves under His mighty hand and "submit to every authority instituted among men" and submit ourselves before his scriptural word, the peace of the Lord will be ours and we will partake of His loving kindness again. We must not, however, run from the Lord's discipline which is intened to save us from being condemned with the world.

1) If we take seriously the writer's exhortation to exercise both faith and patience for the long haul, what effect does that have on our Christian life? On our perspective? I think this exhortation should be encouraging because it should tell each one of us who have not fully realized our salvation that it may take a long time. This encourages belief in a Christian who after a great deal of time still struggles with some sin; it helps struggling Christians not to lose heart. The salvation we are talking about is salvation from sin. For Jesus was sent to save His people from their sins. Relative to our perspective, this verse should tell us that salvation from sin on earth is a process! 2) How can we resist the subtle temptation to think that our salvation depends upon our endurance rather than Christ's atonement and the grace of God? By reminding ourselves that our salvation was completed in 33 A.D. by Jesus and already exists in timeless eternity and that Jesus' work of grace secures our patient endurance on earth.

In the beatitudes, Jesus is describing the children of the Kindom of God (Heaven), who are those who believe in Him. Righteousness is Jesus, Who is God. Thus, everything that Jesus said and did is righteousness. The children of the Kingdom have Jesus, and therefore have righteousness. However, this beatitude describes a hunger for righteousness, indicating a lack of righteousness in them. In other words, the children recognize that they themselves are not yet fully righteous. The promise of this beatitude is that they will be. In other words, Jesus promises that we will walk as He did! Jesus told Peter after the resurrection and after Peter received the Holy Spirit that when Peter was younger, he went only where he wanted to go, but when he is older (more mature in Him) someone else would dress him and lead him where he would not go, indicating that Peter would lay down his own life for the children of the Kingdom (Jn21:18,19). In Peter's second epistle (1:3), Peter wrote that we "have been given everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge Him. Jesus said eternal life is knowing God. We received the Holy Spirit when we heard the Gospel of Jesus, which is the gospel of our salvation, and received eternal life. Thus, the Holy Spirit who is our Teacher is everything we need for Godliness such that we too will walk as Jesus did. That's a promise from He who said "let there be light!"

Christ's coming has been delayed because God is patient, which is an attribute of love. Both the earth and our minds are in a process of renewal. We are part of a courtship process preparing us for perfect unity. In the same way the events described in Jesus' Olivet discourse concerning Christ's return to earth must come to pass, these same events occur within the life of an individual believer. This is how the last generation will be able to recognize the imminence of His return. We have only a deposit of His Spirit, but that Deposit leads us into the truth about Jesus and conforms us to His image through submission and She is our engagement ring as well. The revelations She gives us about Jesus are preparatory for a more full union with Him. Christ is patient because He is loving and will not take us by force; instead He says "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" (Song of Songs, 3:6). When we say "Come, Lord Jesus" and "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" with the full cry of our heart, "He who is coming will come and not delay."

1. What is apostasy? I don't know for certain. I think it has something to do with adding the law of "you must not sin" or "you must do something" to grace which says "I cant do anything by myself, but Christ can and did" so often and for so long that they get mentally and permanently confused and think that they believe in the person of Christ when they are really only believing in the power of Christ they once had in the same way demons do without believing in his long-suffering love, patience and forgiveness such that repentance to Christ when they fall becomes impossible because they think admitting their sin is the same as calling Jesus a sinner (which is sick and twisted) and because they don't admit their sin, they do not receive forgiveness nor the purification which results from forgiveness. Or they take pride in the ability the Spirit's freedom gives to obey in such a lasting and perverting way that they pridefully think they no longer need Christ since fulfilling the law has become habit to them with such a great and powerful pride that they sever themselves from the vine and are unable to repent because they don't trust God to re-graft them into the vine, which only shows that their belief in His authority and willingness to forgive was inadequate in the first place. I don't know, but it feels like I have rode on the brink of this cliff. I think this is the reason it is so important for us to admit in our heart and to others our sin. For the record, I sinned terribly Saturday by disrespecting my own mother when she asked me to help her do something because I felt that "I must" do some good work I had already scheduled my day for (because I thought I must and could do this work to stay saved) and then I figured that it was sinful not to obey my mother so I thought I must and could do both good works and I did neither and I feel terrible because I know my failure to obey was a lack of belief in the efficacy of Christ's work and therefore my forgiveness in Him and a refusal to submit the matter to Christ my PERSONAL Savior and also because I know I came to that place through pride in my self - which is insanity! Please pray that Jesus keep me in belief in all that He is only and that He build a wall between me and legalism. When I read this and other warnings like it, I choke on them. They make me fearful and make me run back to milk, which I still need. I think that is the reason the writer gives this meat to children who still need milk but in their pride demand the meat. By giving the meat, the prideful children get a more sober view of themselves such that they are able to accept the milk they still need. 2. Jesus' point of the Parable of the Sower refers to the fact that the word is also the Holy Spirit. If a man's heart does not remain soft and humble, the Seed of the Spirit gets stunted in its growth and may also be lost. So, we must humble ourselves before the Lord and believe the Holy Spirit in us who testifies of Christ's great love for us. 3. The point of the parable of the tares and weeds is that Believers rarely sin because of their belief in Christ's forgiveness which frees them from fear and Legalists appear on the surface not to sin (though inwardly they fear condemnation and are in fact in bondage to fear) such that to outside observers they appear indistinguishable. The Lord, however, judges the heart and will make the identity of both plain to all because He will send a great trial upon the church such that only those in Christ's love will persevere.

1) How can an intense desire for righteousness put you at odds with the world? When we walk according to the Spirit, we walk in Righteousness. When we do so in the presence of the world, or even wordly Christians, they see the wickedness in which they walk by comparison. Our righteousness brings forth condemnation in the hearts of the unbeliever and because they dont want to see their own condemnation, they sometimes act to remove us from their sight as an alternative to repentance. This persecution can be painful. However, if we perservere in obedience during this persecution even to the end of our earthly lives, we see from Christ's own persecution that many of our persecutors do repent. This is because some who are persecuting us are really testing the nature of our righteousness to see for themselves if it is worth repenting for! It is for these we perservere, and they are our great reward in heaven! 2) What sort of righteousness is Jesus talking about, do you think? Jesus is talking about His righteousness and we receive it when we are brought forth from death and become spiritually born. For Jesus commanded that everyone who raised from the dead be given something to eat (see Lazarus and the 12 yr old girl,etc). And what do God's heavenly children eat? They eat true heavenly bread and Jesus is the true heavenly bread and the bread of life (John 6). Jesus is also the Word (John 1) For this reason we eat his words which are the words of life. That is why Christians read their Bibles "from infancy" (2Ti) and, because even full grown adults must eat less they starve to death, through the remainder of their lives eternal. We read (eat) the Bible to see for ourselves that God approves of us (2Ti2:15). But first we must come out of the world (repent) and remove the dung of disbelievers (sin) of the world from our feet. For the Bible is written for believers and not disbelievers! Someone might say, but Jesus spoke harshly to the Pharisees, so the bible was written for disbelievers too. No! Jesus spoke to disbelievers harshly and it was recorded in the Bible for the benefit of believers, for it is written that "all scripture is God-breathed and profitable for....instruction.....so that THE MAN OF GOD may be fully equipped to do every good work." (2Ti 3:16) God is instructing us believers not to be hypocrites so that we can enjoy our salvation. And what do the Beatitudes say about us that shows us we have His approval? For starters, its says that the Kingdom of Heaven has been given to us! Would God give us His kingdom if He didn't approve of us? Heaven forbid! This scripture was God-breathed by the One who speaks things into existence out of nothing! So, we do have His kingdom. Let not the world tell us differently. And after eating the encouragement of the word which brings belief, Christians wash it down by drinking His blood (which is His life, for "the life (spiritual) of a thing is in it's blood", Leviticus), which is love that drives out every particle of fear. And after being filled with this wine (Spirit), Christians do what all drunks do - together they sing to each other psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (see Mark 14:22-26 Last Supper and Ephesians 5:19) In this way and in this order Christians assemble for holy communion until Jesus returns. 3) What promise are we given in this Beatitude? Jesus promises us that if we eat (accept) his words and drink his wine (Spirit), we will be filled. The word filled in the greek means "satisfied." The children of the Kingdom who have done and do this can testify that His righteousness truly is more satisfying than "Wonder Bread" and "Boones Farm Wine" - to the praise of His Glorious Grace!

ESSAYS TO MAKE THE SPIRITUALL POOR A LITTLE RICHER! 1. Why is it necessary to be aware of your spiritual poverty before you can become a Christian? I must respectfully disagree with the premise of the question, for all Christians are aware of their spiritual poverty. The awareness of a Christian's spiritual poverty is merely the reflection of the Christian's hunger for and dependence on more of Christ. This is so because anyone born of the Spirit is spiritual and therefore, "born anew," and belongs to Christ's kingdom and has eternal life. It matters not that they only have a little spirit, for a new spirit is by definition little and if it's life is eternal, it will never be more little than it is today! Jesus explained this fact to Nicodemus in John 3. The fact that we who are born of the Spirit have eternal life necessarily implies eternal growth. Thus, whether you received eternal life today or fifty years ago, you will never be as spiritually poor as you are today and you are happy because the Kingdom of God belongs to you every bit as much as it belongs to those who have more spiritual growth (belief) than you. Thus, all Christians are spiritually poor and all are happy because they know they are the King's and the King is theirs, because they are spiritual! Put more simply, it is true that Christians are spiritually poor, but at least they are spiritual! We have to remember that the gospel is good news in order to accurately read it. We need to be encouraged by this verse because it says that even if you only believe in Jesus a little - the whole Kingdom is open to you! Remember the man who said "I believe, help my unbelief?" He was saying "I only believe a little". In other words, "I am spiritually poor." And how did Jesus respond to the man who only believed a little? Not only did he cast the demon out, but he said the demon was never allowed to come back! (Mark 9:23-25) That means the kingdom belonged to him forever because the demon could never come back! That should make us want to sing His praises today and forevermore! 2. What kind of mourning is necessary for a person to become a Christian? People do not get in Christ by mourning their sins; people mourn their sins because they are in Christ. Mourning, or godly sorrow which leads to true repentance, is a gift granted by the Holy Spirit as part of their new spiritual life (see Acts 11:18) Thus, only those already born of the Spirit are able to truly mourn for the person(s) they sinned against because they no longer have a fear for self, since Christ removed the fear of death from them, and noone is able to boast about their repentance because it is a gift from God. I think people get confused about this fact because John the Baptist and Jesus both said "The kingdom of God is near! Repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15) The word "repent" in this verse is actually a different word from the word "repent" used in Acts 11:18, but the difference was lost by English translators. In Mark, repentance meant merely a change in mind about whether or not God would and did send a Messiah as promised to save people from their sins and whether or not Jesus was that Messiah. In Acts, "repent" meant a change in mind concerning the nature of sin, accompanied by deep moral compunction with a view toward restoring (justice) the persons sinned against. Thus, a man need not have perfect sorrow to be given life and in fact is not able to, he need only believe that Jesus died for His sins and was resurrected according to the scriptures. If he does this, then the Spirit of Christ who was raised from death gives the new believer a mourning repentence as a gift, so that he may be free from sin. 3.What kind of mourning is a common experience of Christians? The definition of a Christian's mourning can be seen in the preceeding answer to question 2. However, a wonderful description of a Christian's mourning can be seen in 2Cor 7, which includes a list of 7 attributes of godly sorrow (v.11), including: 1) earnestness; 2) eagerness; 3) indignation; 4)alarm; 5) longing; 6)concern; and 7) readiness to see justice done. This type of repentance is wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ (and not our own strength/works) and saves us from sinning. And remember, Jesus does not require perfect repentance to help you help those you sin against. "I mourn for those I hurt, help my callousness." What will Christ in you do? "Mark my words", He will pay the victim back (Philemon 18-19)

If there is a difference between Spirit-filled Believers and the attributes described in verses 4 and 5, it could only be in degrees of how often and how long has one tasted the goodness of the word and the powers of the coming age. This is true because all Spirit-filled believers have experienced the goodness of the word, which is the gospel. For Paul writes in Ephesians, "you too were included in Christ when you heard the GOSPEL of your salvation, having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, which is a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of His glory." It should also be clear, then, that believers have tasted the powers of the age to come, for the Holy Spirit Herself has come from that age with power from God. The writer's point in forming this description for the reader is to cause the reader to identify himself with the description. For all of the scriptures are written for the profit of believers, and not apostates. I believe readers and writers in this forum should work diligently to understand the purpose of these warnings which are very threatening to believers in disobedience against the backdrop of the assurance that they are for our profit and within the context of the whole letter, remembering that God disciplines those He loves on this side of eternity and that He doesn't discipline us until we become fully obedient; while we are in disobedience, He is kind to us with the intention that we would repent and come under obedience. Remember, if we repent, we will be punished for our past disobedience by Him who loves us and has mercy and remembers that we are but dust. Therefore, these readings should cause us to repent and not fall utterly away, because we much prefer to be disciplined in love on this side of eternity than in wrath for eternity. Why does God discipline us? To help us not sin, which is what we want and why He sent His Son - to save us from our sin!

1) I see three parts to each Beatitude in this order: a) The condition of the children of the Kingdom of God which is happy, The character of the children of the Kingdom; and c) The reason for both the condition (happy) and the character. 2) The Beatitudes only appear to be paradoxical to the carnal mind that is not yet fully liberated from this world through knowledge of the true King, but it nevertheless pleases the carnal ears of the children of the Kingdom because it is the sound of spiritual life. To the fully obedient, however, the Beatitudes have not paradox but are straight truth and are music to their spiritual ears because it is the sound of carnal death. 3) There is a close relationship between the Fruits of the Spirit and the Characters of the Blessed. The 9 Christian characters illustrated by the 9 beatitudes are the products of the 9 Fruits of the Spirit! To see the parallel, however, you must view the Fruits of the Spirit in reverse order, for "the first shall be last and the last shall be first." What may be seen by those who have eyes to see is a ladder of steps that lead men to "Light," which is Godliness. This is our Christian Journey or "Pilgrim's Progress". This is "Jacobs Ladder". This is the path to salvation. For this reason, we should make every effort to live up to the step(s) we have already attained and strive to possess each succeeding step until we have won the race and arrested Him who arrested us. It is noteworthy as well, I think, that the human gene which has the code for our physical life is also shaped like a ladder. On this point, let him who has ears to hear and a degree in Genetics hear and be assured, once again, that all things were created through Jesus and without Jesus nothing was created that has been created.