Written and posted by Jean-Louis. 12/2012
SOUND DOCTRINE
SOUND DOCTRINE
- Yet I am not ashamed, because I
know WHOM I have believed and I am
convinced that he is able to guard
what I have entrusted to him for that day. What you heard from me, keep
as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 2 Timothy
1:12-14.
STAND FIRM. HOLD
ON
- So then brothers, stand firm and HOLD
ON TO THE TEACHINGS we passed on to you whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and
God our Father who loved us and by his
grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and
strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17.
- WHAT DO WE HAVE OF LASTING ETERNAL VALUE? let´s meditate on that.
- The Lord Jesus to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia: I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Revelation 3:11.
- “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us.” II Corinthians 4:7.
- The jars of clay (our bodies). For God made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. II Cor. 4: 6.
To summarize:
- God´s part: John
the Baptist giving his testimony about who Jesus is: A man can
receive only what is given him from
heaven. John 3:22.
- Jesus praying to
the Father: For the words which You gave Me I
have given to them; and they
received them and truly understood
that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. John 17:8 NASB
- Our part: Jesus said: Freely you have
received, freely give. Matthew 10:8
So now that we
know what to hold on to, what we have, what we have been given and that we are
to give, what do we do?
1. If a person
wants to feel really humble and use one of those clichés that sounds really
spiritual, here is one cop out tantamount to substituting grace through faith or adding works to grace with the social gospel “Preach the Gospel and use words if necessary” (quote attributed to Francis of Assisi).
Reams of articles have been written on the subject, so no need to explain. But
when in doubt Google!
The opposite that sounded also quite spiritual used to be the fashion statement when I grew up in Catholic France and was asked “ Are you a Catholic?” the answer would be: “I am not practicing but I believe”. The worst of it was that I really was living in a schizoid, make believe phony world of existential philosophy until
the Lord intervened and revealed himself, his unfailing grace and his love for me a miserable sinner that had broken every one of his commandments and offended his Glorious Majesty, thus deserving hell reserved for the devil, his angels and rebellious independent, self-sufficient human beings that refuse to acknowledge the sovereignty of their Creator over his creatures and receive on his terms his way of reconciliation and peace he provided through the substitute sacrifice of His son Jesus-Christ on the cross
- through the preaching of his Word,
- through my reading of the Beatitudes that revealed my total inability to measure up to God´s standard of holiness and earn my salvation through my own efforts, being a wretch that I was and
- my need for a Savior and
- the love and faith in action of the Christians around me.
2. Or like Paul, we can say: It is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken” with the same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak”. II Cor. 4:13.
Peter obeying
his Lord said to the crippled beggar:
- Silver
or gold I do not have, but what I have I
give you. Acts: 3:4.
We
are not given in order to hoard what we have but to share with others.
In the way of common
grace, as the Father makes the rain fall
and the sun shine on the just and the unjust on the earth that “the Lord formed to be inhabited”, we
share the truth of the Gospel with everybody who will
- listen, hear, and through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit
- understand with an open and willing heart their natural propensity for sins, their incurable condition facing the just wrath of a Holy God,
- repent and receive Jesus-Christ who died for them and if they accept what the Bible say about who they are and who Jesus-Christ is,
- become saved by his grace through faith (given to them),
- believe in his name and become children of God (being born again),
- receiving forgiveness and eternal life through his resurrection.
In a more
specific way we share everything we have received with our brothers and sisters
in Christ as the day of the redemption of our bodies draws near and we need to
be strong and remain standing firm in the power of his might against the flaming
arrows of the evil one.
It is I who made the earth and created mankind
upon it. I, the Lord speak the truth, I declare what is right. Isaiah 45:12,19.
Therefore, this
is what we have been entrusted with and this is what we proclaim the Gospel of
Jesus-Christ that “salvation is found in
no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12.
This is
righteous kingdom living.
Not a guilt trip
I am trying to put on you. Jesus said:
“Without me, you cannot do anything”. (Spiritual, that is).
“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming
from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” II Cor. 3:5.
Whatever you
think you don´t have or are unable to do because of fear or timidity, ask him,
he will provide what you lack.
Let us emulate
Paul the Apostle who asked the Ephesians: “and pray
on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to
make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador
in [a]chains; that [b]in proclaiming
it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:19,20. NASB
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