The Good Of The Father (Saving Grace)

 

Not for the works which are wrought in righteousness which we do, but according to His mercy, He saves us, through the bath of renascence and renewal of the holy spirit

Paul to Titus 3: 5, Concordant New Testament 

It's something which every believer strives for.  We struggle, hope and pray that we will one day be among the elect.  It is one of the key beliefs of our faith.  That when we believe in Jesus and follow a life of the Lord, that we will be saved.  Not only that, but spend our eternity in the presence of the Father.  For too many believers, this is the end game.  This is our reward for living a life in the Lord.  To be "Saved" is Gods reward for accepting His Son.  Or is it?  Growing up in the mainstream church, my salvation was a promise given to me if I flew right in the eyes of the Lord.  However, that same salvation could also be revoked should the Lord deem me unacceptable.  This was my struggle with knowing my own salvation.  A few years ago a good friend posed a question to me, did I consider God to be a Indian giver?  Did I consider God to be One who would promise me one thing and then take it away if He felt I didn't deserve it?  Of course, this made me question a few things about God as well.  Would God promise me something just to yank it away from me?  What kind of loving Father would do that?  We're told in scripture that God never changes {To the Hebrews 13:8}.  Therefore, if the Father makes me a promise, He intends to keep that promise {Paul to Titus 1:2}.  Yet the message of the mainstream church continues to be that of salvation in limbo.  Yes, Jesus shed His blood on that cross for you, but if you don't live your life the right way, you might just find yourself in hell someday.  This is the  mixed message that I grew up receiving from the church.  But it IS NOT the message which God has declared to His children.  For time and time again in the scriptures, we are told of the salvation of the Father {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul to the Romans 10:9, Johns Account 5:24}.  So who is it that we are to place our confidence in, God the Father or in man?  The words of man will tell us that our salvation is an object to be traded.  But the word of the Father proclaims that salvation is the gift freely given unto His children {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  

That, if ever you should be avowing with your mouth the declaration that Jesus is Lord, and should be believing in your heart that God rouses Him from among the dead, you shall be saved.  For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, yet with the mouth it is avowed for salvation

Paul to the Romans 10: 9-10, Concordant New Testament 

I see the topic of salvation to be the prickly pear of Christian theology.  For those in the mainstream church will hear that salvation is indeed conditional.  However, the apostle Paul, who undoubtedly knew of his own salvation, proclaimed this was not the case at all.  It is Paul who preaches that salvation is not a reward of our own works {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Want to know the key to your salvation?  You will find it in Christ Jesus.  Jesus has proclaimed that nobody comes to the Father but through Him {Johns Account 14:6}.  But what is salvation?  That is key to our understanding of it.  A simple Google definition describes salvation as a "Preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin or loss."  Knowing this, is our salvation simply a eternity in the Lord?  That ship might already have sailed.  For Jesus has proclaimed our union life in He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  So, how is it that salvation is our eternity in God if we already are there in Him?  My own belief on salvation is that it is that which is given freely of the Father unto His children.  Salvation is not simply a reward for good works, nor is it a destination of heaven.  I have been saved because of the love of the Father through the works of Christ Jesus.  I have been saved from what I once was, and redeemed unto who I am now {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  Those in the church will hang onto the words of Paul that all have sinned {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  But Jesus has died to that sin, thus saving me from being enslaved to it {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  THAT is my salvation.  Given freely out of Gods love for me.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (How Deep Are You?)

Religion has actually convinced people that there is a invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day.  And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do.  And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time!  But he loves you.  He loves you, and he needs money.  He always needs money.  He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing and all-wise, somehow he just can't handle money. 

George Carlin 

I heard a radio pastor the other day speaking with approval of those who find themselves "Deeply Religious."  In his words, these deeply religious believers are the ones who keep the faith of those around them alive.  As I listened, I thought that a better title for these mainstream church goers might be "Deeply in the weeds."  For those who might think differently, consider this prospect.  Who has ever been saved by religion?  Now, I agree that many have come to acquaint themselves with knowing the Lord and Jesus through immersing themselves in religion, but how many have been saved by religion itself?  Having grown up in the mainstream church, I'm well aware that having faith and believing are key points to the religious lifestyle.  I remember rising from the pool the morning of my baptism with the thought that I was now saved.  Was it this tradition that saved me?  Did John the baptizer save those he baptized?  Or, as John declared, did he simply pave the way for One greater than himself {Johns Account 26-30}?  As the baptizer declared, "He must be growing, yet mine is to be inferior."  Knowing this, we can say that it is definitely not the tradition of baptism by which one is saved.  For Jesus has proclaimed, "I am the way the truth and the life, no one is coming to the Father except through me" {Johns Account 14:6}.  So, it is not by being religious that we are saved.  We are saved when we trust in the work of Christ Jesus {Paul to the Ephesians 1:7}.  Religion has led us to believe that it is due to our own efforts that we have achieved salvation.  We believe.  We profess Jesus.  We accept Him into our hearts.  But the apostle Paul proclaims that it is not by our own efforts, but due to the love and grace of the Father {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  If you continue in this religious belief, then you might just be deep in the weeds.  

For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not out of you; it is God's approach present, not of works, lest anyone should be boasting. 

Paul to the Ephesians 2: 8-9, Concordant New Testament 

I personally would hate to see the after affects of those who, through their own efforts, achieved their own salvation.  Can you imagine the arrogance?  Knowing that they were saved, and rubbing this knowing in the faces of those who weren't.  Of course, this has nothing to do with the love and grace of the Father, but of the arrogance of man.  It is for this reason that God loved us enough to save us {First Epistle of John 4:10}.  To be in the weeds is to hold onto the belief that my own efforts are leading to my salvation.  The mainstream church is known for telling us that we can "Punch our ticket" for salvation if we only believe and live the right life.  But this goes against the declaration of Jesus Who has proclaimed that it is He who is the way to the Father.  It is Christ Jesus who has paved the way for the love of God to be manifested.  It is through the love and grace of the Father that we are saved {First Epistle of John 4:16}.  God saved you, not the church.  Sure, the church can TELL us of how it is that the Lord has loved and saved us.  I am thankful that I grew up in this knowledge.  I am thankful that I was raised knowing of Gods love for me.  I believe that this knowing kept me from getting too deep into the weeds of mainstream church theology.  I knew that I wanted to live my life in the Father and not simply punch my ticket for heaven.  The truth of the Lord that is so often overlooked is that WE DO live our lives in union with Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  Yet sometimes we need to dig ourselves through the weeds in order to see it. 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Free In Jesus)

 

Knowing this, that our old humanity was crucified together with Him, that the body of sin might be nullified, for us by no means to be still slaving for sin, for one who dies has been justified from sin.  Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also, having perceived that Christ, having been roused from among the dead, is no longer dying.  Death is lording it over Him no longer, for in that He died, He died to sin once for all time, yet in that He is living, He is living to God.  Thus you also, be reckoning yourselves to be dead, indeed, to sin, yet living to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Paul to the Romans 6: 6-11, Concordant New Testament 

A friend asked me the other day, upon reading my previous post, of what advice I would give someone who had left the church as I have.  Now, this might be difficult to handle for some people, but I say it after more than a few years of living in the knowledge that I am indeed in Christ.  So, be prepared to be shocked.  That life I once lived in the church, went against what I now know the Lord Jesus to be.  To say that I had been misled is definitely an understatement.  For in my time in the halls of the mainstream church, I was no closer to knowing Jesus than when I began.  Sure, I had gained much knowledge about Him, but I still did not know Jesus as I do now.  Part of this is due to the theology of the mainstream church while the rest is due to my not knowing that there was more to Jesus than what I was being taught.  That in itself is a lethal combination.  Yet I believe that I had a advantage over others who had for one reason or another left the church behind and never looked back.  That is, I wanted to know more about this Jesus I had grown up learning about.  I wanted more than to just know about what He had done.  I wanted something which the mainstream church could never provide for me, a relationship with Christ Jesus.  The mainstream church has been very good at what they do best, which is telling people about Jesus.  For that, I am grateful, for they introduced Christ into my life.  But as I said, knowing about Jesus and truly knowing Him are two different animals.  For to know Jesus is to live in the knowledge that we live in union with Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  The closest which I had come to knowing Jesus through church theology was the belief of being "Like" Jesus if I behaved well enough to earn Gods approval.  I wanted for than that.  

As, then, you accepted Christ Jesus, the Lord, be walking in Him 

Paul to the Colossians 2: 6, Concordant New Testament 

I really did not see the difference between a life of knowing Jesus and a life knowing Him through church theology until I had walked away from the church.  What I noticed is that I had grown up being taught of the life of Jesus in the past.  Of what Jesus HAD done for me.  I was keenly aware through the teachings of the church that death could never hold Jesus.  That He in fact overcame the death of the cross and was raised again days later.  This is a core part of mainstream church theology.  So, why not speak to Jesus being alive and well?  Why not speak to Jesus being in the Fathers creation?  This is declared through the scriptures {Paul to the Galatians 2:20, Paul to the Colossians 2:6, Paul to the Ephesians 2:10}.  I see this as the mainstream church cherry picking scriptures to suit their own narrative.  Again, some people will disagree with my observations, and I'm ok with that.  I'm also ok with knowing the living Christ as I now do.  I have also learned that our own definition of "church" has been misconstrued over the years.  What is important for every believer to know is that the church is not the fancy building.  The church is not the Sunday sermon.  THE CHURCH, for all intents and purposes, consists of those who follow Jesus {Paul to the Corinthians(1) 12:27}.  It is we who are the individual members of Christ, with Jesus at the head of the church {Paul to the Colossians 1:18}.  Therefore, my advice to someone who has walked away from the church and desires to once again sit in that pew come Sunday morning is this, be sure that you are aware of the true meaning of the church.  That WE, in Christ Jesus, are all members of His church.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Religions Grip)

 

Religion has actually convinced people that there is a invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day.  And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do.  And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time!  But he loves you.  He loves you, and he needs money.  He always needs money.  He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing and all-wise, somehow he just can't handle money.  

George Carlin 

I have a good friend who is a retired pastor who has often regaled me with the struggles he often faced in his time in the church.  Of the conflict in himself as he began to understand the truth of Christ Jesus in him.  I get it.  For this is the very same conflict that I faced myself as I began to walk away from the church I had known for so many years.  All too often we see the news stories of just how many people are becoming disillusioned with the mainstream church.  Again, I get it.  My own discomfort with the church began a few years before I walked away from it.  I started to witness things which I had not witnessed as I was growing up.  From the change from traditional church hymns to more modern rock and roll worship music.  It's obvious to me that were I to walk into a church these days that I more than likely would not recognize it.  What happened?  I believe that this is the question that many believers have been wondering.  What happened to my church?  What happened to the strength in the congregations?  Well, I believe that there has been an increase in those who are seeking to know Jesus.  Now, the church that I recall has always been good at telling people "about" Jesus, but they always dropped the ball when it came to telling us who Jesus truly is.  Before I walked away from the church, I could tell you all about what I knew about Jesus from the scriptures.  Yet I really didn't know Him.  I was caught in the grip of man made religion.  I believe that this is the issue which we face today, the issue of religion versus the reality of Christ Jesus.  One teaches while the other reveals.  

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are taking tithes from the mint and the dill and the cumin, and leave the weightier matters of the law, judging and mercy and faith.  Now these it was binding you to do, and not leave those.  Blind guides!  Straining out a gnat, yet swallowing a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are cleansing the outside of the cup and the plate, yet inside they are brimming with rapacity and incontinence.  

Matthews Account 24: 23-25, Concordant New Testament 

I have often wondered what Jesus would proclaim were He to confront the pastoral church leadership of today.  The way I see it, the same words He proclaimed against the Pharisees of His day still ring true for us today in regards to our mainstream church leadership.  It is more about the organization that the individual.  It has become more about the traditional theology than actually proclaiming Christ Jesus as He is.  Never in my time in the church was it revealed to me my union life within the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Never in my time in the church was I told that the sin I was taught to fear had been put to death by Christ Jesus on the cross {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  This is the truth of Christ Jesus!  Yet the mainstream institutional church seemingly chooses to not proclaim this truth for all to hear.  To be fair, my own knowing of Christ in me came not from a church sermon, but from the revelation of the Father.  So it is that when I hear of someone else who has become disillusioned with the church, I remember my own struggle with leaving the church I had come to know so well.  In the end, it wasn't about abandoning my faith, but about coming to know Jesus.  My desire was to know Him, not just know about Him.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Bold Confidence)

 

Now, at His entering Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, entreating Him and saying, "Lord, my boy is prostate in the house, a paralytic, dreadfully tormented."  And He is saying to him, "I, coming, will cure him,"  And answering, the centurion averred, "Lord, I am not competent that Thou mayest enter under my roof, but only say the word and my boy will be healed!  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I am saying to this one, 'Go,' and he is going, and to another, 'Come,' and he is coming, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he is doing it."  Now, hearing it, Jesus marvels.  And He said to those following, "Verily, I am saying to you, With no one in Israel so much faith did I find." 

Matthews Account 8: 5-10, Concordant New Testament 

I've enjoyed watching The Chosen series on the life and ministry of Jesus simply for the fact that it presents the life of Jesus in a way which most people can relate.  This was the case in a scene which depicts Jesus' interaction with a Roman centurion soldier.  Many have referred to this interaction in the scriptures as "The faith of the centurion." or "The centurions faith."  Either reference would be a good indication of the nature of this mans interaction with Jesus.  This centurion has come to Jesus seeking Him to heal his "boy" who is sick at home.  Obviously, to confront Jesus in such a way we can assume that he knew something about what Jesus could do.  Either from conversations with the locals or simply from hearing of the reputation of Jesus, this man knew that Jesus would be able to heal his boy.  What impressed me about this scene in The Chosen is Jesus' reaction to the request of the centurion.  Amazed, Jesus turns to His followers and proclaims that He had not witnessed one in all of Israel with such "Bold confidence" in what He could do.  Obviously, these words of Jesus were similar to those we find in scripture, and the producers took a few liberties with that, but I believe that they do justice to what the scriptures proclaim that Jesus said.  To have "Bold confidence" in Jesus is to believe that He will do what He has proclaimed, no matter what.  To have bold confidence in Jesus is to know that we live in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  To truly know Jesus is to be confident in what He has done and what He will do. 

That, if ever you should be avowing with your mouth the declaration that Jesus is Lord, and should be believing in your heart that God rouses Him from among the dead, you shall be saved

Paul to the Romans 10: 9, Concordant New Testament 

I was thinking the other day of those words as I prayed, bold confidence.  What was interesting wasn't the results of my prayer, as that has not yet been revealed.  What I noticed was that instead of waiting anxiously for the Lord to answer my requests, as I have done so many times before, I now found myself anticipating where it was that the Father was leading me.  Not fearful, but confident.  Obviously, I have grown a bit in my faith and trust in the Lord, which is evidenced by this situation.  But how is it that I came to such a bold confidence about who Jesus is and what He can do?  Part of this is trust in who He is and part is believing in what has been revealed unto me by the Father.  For my own knowledge of my life in Christ didn't come from countless hours of studying scripture.  It didn't come from the words of a Sunday sermon.  No, my knowing of who Jesus is, and who it is that I am in Him, has been revealed to me by the Father Himself {Paul to the Galatians 1:15-16}.  It is God, who in His timing, has revealed Himself in me.  I look upon the moment the man Saul was introduced to Jesus, the One he had been persecuting.  Think of how many times God could have introduced Himself to Saul, yet He chose that moment to reveal Himself unto Him.  This is exactly how God works.  Not by human predictions, but by His will and grace for His children.  To know and understand this is to have that bold confidence in our own life in Him.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (A Life Without Fear)

 Fear is not in love, but perfect love is casting out fear, for fear has chastening.  Now he who is fearing is not perfected in love 

First Epistle of John 4: 18, Concordant New Testament 

How many of us can honestly say that they live a life free of fear?  We are often so enamored by fear that we admire those who we see as "Fearless."  But there is indeed much to fear in this life of ours.  We fear the unknown.  We fear that which we cannot control.  Sometimes we even fear ourselves.  I was once gain reminded of the fears we often inspire in our minds this past few weeks.  having come down with a persistent virus, I feared that it would not heal fast enough.  Not only that, there were people who feared being near me for fear of catching that virus.  It seems that at times the grip of our fears can spread quicker than a California wildfire.  So much so, that at times it sems that our fears control our lives.  We live each moment in fear of what might happen.  But I've recently asked myself this question, is this how God really wants us to live?  In fear?  Is it the Lords purpose that we live in fear of what lies before us?  Or is it His desire that we live each day in the bold confidence that whatever happens, it is through His desire to work all for the good {Paul to the Romans 8:28}.  As believers, we have a choice to make.  We can live in the grip of fear, or we can trust in the Lord that He is working all for His good.  We might not realize that good in the moment, but rest assured that the Father is working things out specifically for that reason.  Are our fears of getting sick by being around those who are justified?  Maybe, but who's to say that we won't get ill from something else?  I've endured my illness, and it's slowly getting better.  There will be other trials, but I cannot live in fear of that.  Living a life of union in the Father means trusting that He is working all out for the good.  

Now we are aware that God is working all together for the good of those who are loving God, who are called according to the purpose.  

Paul to the Romans 8: 28, Concordant New Testament 

Do you love the Lord?  Good, then stop being afraid of every little thing!  Instead, trust in the Father that He will work all for the good.  This world around us isn't our show, so then why do we waste so much time worrying over circumstances?  There is a good reason why Jesus proclaimed in His sermon on the Mount not to worry {Matthews Account 5:25-32}.  Why?  Because the Father is aware of all that we may need {Matthews Account 5:32}.  If God has indeed promised to provide for us, what good are our own fears that He won't do what He says He will do?  By giving in to fear, aren't we giving up our own trust in Him?  What is it that you have ever been afraid of that God cannot handle?  In recent days here in Oregon, local weather predictions have been painting a gloomy picture of "possible" snowfall in our area.  Now, some people might like snow, I really don't.  My job requires me to work outdoors in all types of weather, so I usually am not looking forward to slogging through snow.  So, I became anxious and fearful with each gloomy forcast.  Of course, I also prayed that the good of the Father would be done through all of this.  Well, guess what, I woke up this Saturday to the news that the local weather gurus were lamenting the fact that the expected cold front did not materialize as bad as they had been predicting.  Had I been afraid over nothing?  Maybe, but I also know that what I have seen over the past few days is indeed the Father working things for the good.  We often lose sight of just how little control we have over the world around us.  This is Gods domain!  God does not deal in fear, but in love.  His desire is that we do not live a life of fear, but one of trust in His love that He will work all for the good despite what we might see and hear.  This is a life free of fear.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Union Life)

 In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament 

For many years in the church I was bombarded with the teaching of how I could "Be like" Jesus.  Of course, this took effort on my part.  If I was good enough.  If I believed and IF I followed the rules of the church theology.  Then, I could "Be like" Jesus.  And who wouldn't want to be like Jesus?  Jesus is recognized by both believers and non believers alike as one of the most merciful and kind men ever to walk the earth.  To be like Jesus is an honorable accomplishment.  But what there's more?  What if I am now living not like Jesus, but AS Jesus?  Now, this belief has been passed over and ignored by too many in the mainstream church.  But the truth is there in the scriptures.  The truth that to those to whom it has been revealed that they now live as Jesus.  This line of thinking also might get you chastised in the halls of the traditional church.  For it goes against the image of Jesus which the church has been upholding for thousands of years.  So what is it like to live as Jesus?  I have thought a lot about this question during the past few weeks.  Jesus has proclaimed that we shall see and know the union life which we share with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Jesus has declared that He and the Father are one in the same {Johns Account 10:30}.  It was for this that the Pharisees of His day sought to stone Him.  But He wasn't lying.  For as we live in union with Jesus, we also live in union with the Father through Him.  Our lives are divinely connected to God and His Son.  Again, what exactly does that mean?  Well, I can remain confident that there is nothing which I will ever face which Jesus has not already experienced Himself {To the Hebrews 2:14}.  Have you ever read of how Jesus was embarrassed or intimidated?  Well, I can rest assured that if I've experienced these things, then Jesus has experienced them through my union life with Him.  This is life in Christ. 

For let this disposition be in you, which is in Christ Jesus also, Who, being inherently in the form of God, deems it not pillaging to be equal with God, nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming to be in the likeness of humanity

Paul to the Philippians 2: 5-7, Concordant New Testament 

After a recent prolonged struggle with a virus I began to look upon my experience through the lens of my union life in Jesus.  Yes, I was sick and not feeling my best, but I also trusted that it was Christ Who was sharing in my afflictions as I endured them.  I cannot speak to living a union life in Jesus and the Father without knowing this truth.  Whatever it is that I endure, Jesus is there with me.  This is the union life.  This is exactly why Paul spoke to living  a life that is pleasing to the Lord {Paul to the Thessalonians 4:1}.  Of course, we all know that this isn't always the case, right?  We all have those times where we slip up and do the wrong thing.  Think of these times in this way, how is it that you suppose Jesus feels when we engage in these behaviors?  Is He angry with our backsliding?  Or, does it grieve Him that you, knowing the truth in you, would choose to act this way?  I prefer to think of it in the latter.  That Jesus is so fully connected with who we are that He grieves in those times of our struggles.  He grieves when we grieve.  He laughs when we laugh.  Whatever it is we are doing in that moment, you can be assured that through our union in Him, that Jesus is experiencing the same thing.  We have never been like Jesus, we ARE Jesus.  

~Scott~