F
And this also:
By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 1 John 5:2-3
[TABLE="width: 400, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 43, bgcolor: #3D2E54"][TABLE="align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]20
Mar[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 14"][/TD]
[TD="width: 100%"]1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]![]()
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: left"]"You have to love God more! You must have more passion for God!” You have probably heard this type of preaching and may have even tried your best to love God, only to fail miserably.
But what is the true definition of love? Let the Bible define it for us: “…this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us…” Yes, it is not about our love for Him, but His love for us!
"but the Bible says that you must love God with all your heart, soul and strength!”
Yes, that is true according to the law (Deuteronomy 6:5), and even Jesus taught that as the great commandment when He walked on earth. (Matthew 22:37)
But that was BEFORE HE DIED ON THE CROSS. At the cross, He became the very fulfillment of this law for us when HE loved us with all His heart, soul and strength, by laying down His body and life on the cross for us. Today, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE LAW BUT UNDER GRACE.
And grace tells us that God loves us, not that we love God. Yet, we will love Him when we see how much He loves us. The Bible says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8) That’s how much He loves us!
Beloved, God has seen you trying your best to love Him. And because He loves you, He wants you to sit down and be still, and let Him love you instead. He wants to love you with all that He is and all that He has. He loves you unconditionally regardless of who you are or what you have done because His love is not dependent on you but on Himself. He will never stop loving you.
So let God love you today. Don’t worry about loving Him. The more of His love you receive, the more you will fall in love with Him!
Destined to Reign Devotional for today[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
It's not a matter of keeping salvation intact. GOD keeps it intact IF we don't allow the wicked one to kick out the one who preserves us. GOD will cease to sanctify us if we through habitual disobedience tell him that he is no longer welcome.
"I hope no one was saying we should keep the commandments as In the ten commandments.I may have misunderstood what some were saying"-STH,If I did,please forgive me.
I believe the New Covenant teaches us that we live from a different life in us now. It's not a matter of "keeping" the 10 commandments as all these are fulfilled in Jesus and we are in Him. We live from the Life in us and not from the Old Covenant command keeping. ( we love and thus fulfill all the law )
Live from the 10 promises now instead of the 10 commandments
1) When you know ME, you will have no need for other gods because you have a good, loving Father.
2) When you know ME, the idols in life will fade like mist in the sun.
3) When you know ME, you will never stop speaking My name to establish freedom - My name is Jesus
4) When you know ME, you will cease from your own works and rest in My finished work by grace through faith alone.
5) When you know ME, you will be honoring to others and be honored as fathers and mothers to others in the world.
6) When you know ME, you will restore life.
7) When you know ME, you will experience deep authentic relationships that you will treasure.
8) When you know ME, you will be established in abundance and generosity.
9) When you know ME, you will be my witness.
10) When you know ME, your love for your neighbor will bring restoration to this world.
The 10 commandments in the Old Covenant are now the 10 promises fulfilled in us through our relationship and union with our Father because we are in Christ.
The law is good and holy but we can't keep them - only Jesus can and has already done so for us. We keep all the good in the law by the law of love that is in us in Christ.
It's a different focus in the New Covenant. The focus is on Christ and in His finished work which imparts to us a Life that loves in and through us and thus demonstrates the true heart of our Father to a hurt and dying world as well as to our brethren in Christ.
If I tell my child ... Do NOT USE THE STOVE.
And then I tell him later ...you CAN use the microwave.
Are these both the same statements? ... no.
He should remember BOTH of my statements.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Example: In number 9 you wrote ... "when you know me you will be my witness" That's good and true ... but ALSO let's not forget to NOT SLANDER OUR NEIGHBOR!
Example: In number 7 you wrote "when you know me, you will experience deep authentic relationships that you will treasure." ... but ALSO ... nonetheless DO NOT LUST WITH YOUR EYES for that is ADULTERY!
Example: In number 3 you wrote " When you know me, you will never stop speaking My name to establish freedom - My name is Jesus" ... indeed we will advance Christ as savior ...but ALSO we will CRINGE when someone uses the name of the Lord to profane : "J...C!" For we REMEMBER that we SHALL NOT TAKE THE LORD'S NAME IN VAIN!
the old covenant was given under law,before grace.Let's not get so carried away by theological doctrine that we start shuddering at the thought of keeping the ten commandments ...WHAT is wrong with the TEN COMMANDMENTS? We SHOULD keep them!
I do believe in Grace ... we were redeemed by Christ and live in Christ. Jesus and the Holy Spirit lead and counsel us in spirit and truth. They work in us ...
that said ... to respond to this post that said:
'I hope no one was saying we should keep the commandments as In the ten commandments"-STH
I will say ...
!!!We SHOULD keep the ten commandments!!!
The true believer was never under the law but under grace...even in the OT.
Read Heb 11.
The law never nullified the promises of God which were given before Sinai.
"I hope no one was saying we should keep the commandments as In the ten commandments.I may have misunderstood what some were saying"-STH
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make idols.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet.
- Of COURSE we should not have any other God!!!
-WHY would we make IDOLS ... to worship them like pagans?
-The world takes the Lord's name in vain all the time- it's sickening to me!
-I DO keep the sabbath ... 24/7 for God has given me rest in Christ
-what's wrong with honoring those who raised you?
-murder, adultery, theft! Are you kidding me?!!! These are horrible things!
-slander my neighbor? I'm supposed to LOVE my neighbor
-covetry? That's what started all this misery! Shall I envy like the devil?
Let's not get so carried away by theological doctrine that we start shuddering at the thought of keeping the ten commandments ...WHAT is wrong with the TEN COMMANDMENTS? We SHOULD keep them!
I do believe in Grace ... we were redeemed by Christ and live in Christ. Jesus and the Holy Spirit lead and counsel us in spirit and truth. They work in us ...
that said ... to respond to this post that said:
'I hope no one was saying we should keep the commandments as In the ten commandments"-STH
I will say ...
!!!We SHOULD keep the ten commandments!!!
I understand your approach, and it's not too far off from the Grace perspective, except that the Grace perspective comes at the Ten Commandments like this:
Living in obedience to the Ten Commandments as a believer in Christ is not so much about not doing the don'ts as it is about walking in love:
[*=1]We love God because He first loved us
[*=1]Any idol pales in the presence of the One True God who lives in us - there is no desire for idolatry
[*=1]Our lips lift up and praise the God of our salvation \o/
[*=1]I mirror your statement above - we do keep the Sabbath in Christ - 24/7 for God has given me rest in Christ \o/
[*=1]When we are walking in love we are honoring our parents
[*=1]When we are walking in love we are not murdering
[*=1]When we are walking in love we are not committing adultery
[*=1]When we are walking in love we are not stealing/cheating/scheming
[*=1]When we are walking in love we are not lying to or about others
[*=1]When we are walking in love we are thankful for what we we have and take joy in others' accomplishments/blessings
Grace then takes us further than the Ten Commandments and into the arena of God actually producing His Fruit in and through us, not just Him telling us what His standard is and then expecting us to meet that standard.
14 Let all that you do be done in love. (from 1 Cor. 16)
And love is the Fruit of the Spirit:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (from Gal. 5)
God's Fruit goes so far beyond His Law \o/! It is the new and living way through Christ and can reach out to all tongues and tribes with the Gospel (Good News) of the Work of Christ:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (from Rom. 1)
-JGIG
No doubt God loved us first, and it is by His love shed abroad in our hearts by the Spirit that we also love Him, and keep His commandments. Love flows both ways.
John 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 15:10
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
John was not talking about keeping the commandments according to will-power(law)but he Is saying we keep the commandments because GOD first loved us.(grace)
I hope no one was saying we should keep the commandments as In the ten commandments.I may have misunderstood what some were saying,If I did,please forgive me.
Doesn't matter how you keep the commandments. GOD said do this and don't do that. If out of an act of your own will you refrain from stealing something you desire, because you know his book says to not do that, then you have done GOD's will.
We of our will can't clean up the problem in our heart that caused the desire to steal, but by not outwardly committing a sinful act we keep from defiling ourselves in a worse way.
Self-control is a fruit of the spirit, and and is entirely an act of the will. So it is good and godly to use our will to serve GOD and do his will.