I read a really good article today about busyness, which completely speaks to me at this point in my life and was a great reminder of my purpose. As I posted a couple of weeks ago, life has been busy. This really helped me gain perspective. A few take-aways from the article:"Like you, I’ve got a hundred things going on between family and church and work and all the in between. Let me be the first to say that all of these things are absolute gifts from God. He has been amazingly kind to me and I’m genuinely thankful."
"Remember, though we’re all busy, busyness by itself is neither godly nor sinful. Busyness doesn’t make you a super Christian and it doesn’t make you a wretch. It only reveals sin or temptation bubbling beneath the surface."
"Christ has freed me from self-reliance and bound me to his grace. I’m not doing God a favor; he’s giving me a mission. My life, my family, my work — it’s all from him and for him. I can rest in this. And I don’t have to be perfect; I can be obedient to my calling with the expectation that God’s glory will overcome my failures.""In the end, my struggles had more to do with my outlook than with my busyness. Instead of looking for a closet to hide in, I should’ve been looking to the only one who can give me rest. And when I cried out to him in despair and fatigue, he reminded me that he’s given me responsibilities for a reason. His glory and my good are always his aim. I had forgotten that. He graciously answered my prayer for rest not with affirmation, but with correction. Rest wasn’t release from responsibilities; rest was release from self-gratification. There is great joy in this."Sometimes I wonder if life will ever slow down. Sometimes I long for it to slow down, to have a moment of rest; other times I look at the tasks I've been given with joy. A wise woman once told me that she looks at her schedule as choices she's made, and that keeps her from complaining about being busy. I think there is a balance for certain, and learning to say no to things is a huge challenge for me, but I want to look at life and all of the busyness that comes with it with the right heart, rather than being overwhelmed and bogged down by all of the good things that fill my calendar and allowing them to start to feel like one more thing on the to-do list, I want to look at them with a heart of gratitude- thankfulness that God has put so many wonderful people in my life, thankful that we have jobs and family, thankful for the home I get to take care of, thankful for the many dinners and lunches and coffees I get to share with people in my community, thankful that God has trusted me to take care of some of His children and has sent people to take care of me. Not complaining, but thankful.
SALVATION WITHOUT FORGIVENESS
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to be saved without having your sins forgiven? Was Saul saved by faith alone before his sins were forgiven?
If Saul was saved on the road to Damascus, then he was saved without having his sins forgiven.
Saul believed in Jesus on the road Damascus, but his sins were forgiven three days later in Damascus
Act 9:1-19......9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank....
Saul sins were forgiven in Damascus, three days later, not on the road to Damascus.
Acts 22:1-16.....10 And I said, 'What shall I do Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.'.......16 Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins,calling on His name!
Saul was not saved by faith only. Saul was saved by believing and being baptized in water.
Jesus did not establish faith only salvation on the road to Damascus. Jesus confirmed what He already had said "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved"... (Mark 16:16)
You cannot be saved unless your sins have been forgiven.
In order to support the doctrine of faith only men have offered many reasons why the Scriptures cannot be trusted.
REASONS.
1. The Bible is not the inerrant word of God, it has many errors and contradictions.
2. You have to be a Greek scholar to understand the Bible. If you understand the original Greek language, then you would know water baptism is not essential for forgiveness of sins.
3. You need to use extra-Biblical writings to understand the plan of salvation.
4. The Bible has been mistranslated, therefore men are saved by faith only and not the way it is presented in the Bible.
If God is not smart enough to give men an accurate translation of His plan for salvation and Christian living, then why would anyone trust in Him for salvation or for anything else.
God has given us His plan of salvation in many translations, in different languages. You do not have to know Greek.You do not have to have a Greek dictionary. You do have to be Greek. If men had to be able to read and understand original Greek to understand the Bible, then all Bibles would be in Greek.
GOD IS INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO GUIDE MEN TO GIVE A TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE IN THE LANGUAGE THAT YOU READ! JUST READ IT AND BELIEVE IT.
Men are not saved by faith only and there is no verse of Scripture that states men are saved by faith only. Men are saved by faith, but not by faith only.
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