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Monday, September 26, 2011

What Do We Have To DO To Be "In Christ"?

(A beautiful print of this may be ordered here: http://goo.gl/yhYFK - not an affiliate link.)

I saw a comment on someone's social media that kind of surprised me.

Responding to a good posting about our new identity in Christ, the commenter objected to the idea that we can be "in Christ" without sorta earning it by our actions.


His main point went like this:

"To be IN Him though, we need to read the Word, go to church and discover more of Jesus through a truly intimate relationship."

Here's the response I made to Him:

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Whoa, [name withheld to save embarrassment :)]- Go here: http://olivetree.com/cgi-bin/EnglishBible.htm?version=nasb&help=search - do an exact word search for "in christ" (without the quotation marks) and you will see that being "in Christ" is a once-for-all state that we enter immediately upon our salvation -- before we read the Word, go to church, or anything else.

Particularly, look at Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 1:30 ("by HIS doing you are in Christ"); 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 3:28; Eph 2:6,10; etc., just for starters.

You will not find ANY verse that indicates that we GET "in Christ" by doing any acts of any kind.
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In retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised at all, considering how much "performance-based Christianity" (earning the love and favor of the Lord from our DOING) has infected the Church.

The point is, at the moment when we are saved by grace through faith, we are "in Christ"...forever. And of course, He is in us, as well :)

SIDENOTE to those who might be enquiring about Jesus Christ -- the Good News is this:

"God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting (eternal) life."

Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day.

The Bible says "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved", and "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Will you believe in Him and call on Him today?

Jesus himself said, "If any man will come to me, I will in no way cast him out."

If you would like to look at Jesus further, I recommend beginning with the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible. God bless you.

Monday, September 05, 2011

What Do You See When You See People?

If the Bible is true (and it is) we live in a world that is in many ways stranger than a Science Fiction movie.

For example, we know that there are spirit beings around us in the air. Normally they are invisible to our eyes, but there are times in history when they have visibly manifested themselves. They are called "angels" (messengers) of God.

Most are good. It was an angel that announced to Mary that she would bear a son, even though she had never known a man.

Some are evil. These are called "demons" by the Bible.

Another example of how we live in a world stranger than Science Fiction is this: there is no such thing as Luck.

"The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD." - Proverbs 16:33. In modern times we might say, "Man throws the dice, or deals the cards, or spins the roulette wheel, but the Sovereign Lord has decreed before time what the outcome will be.

"The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. - Proverbs 16:9.

This is called Providence. And obviously we can't fully understand it. But we know it's true.

Here is a beautiful and touching reminder that the Lord has sovereignly put into our paths people, and as the song says, "People need the Lord".

Take 4 minutes and see if it softens your heart as it did mine.