How many have committed themselves to pursuing after GOD or how about this, striving after GOD? I will at a look into this in this post. But first Pastor Hoekstra's writing on Grace. And the I will make use of the ESV translation and as always when the LORD gives me an inspiration I will add it.
"Death In Adam or Life In Christ"
"For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." (1Corinthians 15:21-22)
"The New Covenant of Grace is a covenant of Relationship restored. Spiritual death through Adam made the Covenant of Grace necessary. Restored Spiritual life through Christ makes Intimacy with GOD possible. Every human who has ever existed inherited a sinful, fallen, earthly life from Adam: "by man came death." Every person who has ever put their faith in Christ has received from Him a righteous, risen, heavenly Life: "by Man [i.e., Jesus] also came the resurrection of the dead." This is Promised in Genesis 3:15.
Adam began with Intimacy with His Creator. "And the LORD GOD formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of Life; and man became a Living being . . . Then the LORD GOD took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it" (Genesis 2:7, 15). In the garden, Adam served the LORD and had fellowship with Him, when He would walk "in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8).
Adam could partake freely of all that was in the garden, except for one tree. "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). For Adam, as for all of his race, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). The day that Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate of the forbidden fruit, they died spiritually. From then mans spirit no longer was intimate with his Creator GOD. "And they heard the sound of the LORD GOD walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD GOD among the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8). Whereas they had enjoyed intimacy with LORD, they now fled from His presence. Ever after, the natural children of Adam would begin there existence "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesian 2:1). Adam changed his, mankind's, family head from the LORD to Satan in his rebellion.
The only remedy for the spiritually dead human family would be through a restored relationship to their first "family head." "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned . . . if by the one man's offense many died, much more the Grace of GOD and the gift by the Grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many" (Romans 5:12, 15). There are only two families to which humanity can belong: Adam's or Christ's. There are only two family head's to which anyone can be related: Adam or Christ. Adam passed along spiritual death to his offspring. Christ gives to His own Life Eternal, Life abundant — all by His glorious Grace."
The Duty of Striving for Perfection:
Genesis 17:1-8, and Deuteronomy 18:13, 1Kings 8:61 "When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I AM GOD Almighty; walk before ME, and be blameless, that I may make My Covenant between Me and you, and may multiply you greatly." Then Abram fell on his face. And GOD said to him, "Behold, My Covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I Will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I Will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I Will establish My Covenant between Me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be GOD to you and to your offspring after you. And I Will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I Will be their GOD."
(The last five words are the key to being counted as One with the LORD GOD again as His inheritance forever. As seen in Psalm 2.)
Deuteronomy 18:9-1 "When you come into the land that the LORD your GOD is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter (the hidden meaning of Easter) as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this."
1Kings 8:56-61 "Blessed be the LORD Who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that HE promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promises, which He spoke by Moses His servant. The LORD our God be with us, as HE was with our fathers. May HE not leave us or forsake us, that HE may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His rules, which HE commanded our fathers. Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, and may HE maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is GOD; there is no other. Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our GOD, walking in His statutes and keeping His commandments, as at this day."
Matthew 5:43-8 (Jesus is speaking) "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father Who is in heaven. For HE makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
2Corinthians 13:11-13, 14 "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the GOD of Love and Peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
The Grace of the LORD, Jesus Christ and the Love of GOD and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Ephesians 4:7-16 and Philippians 3:15 "But Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's Gift. Therefore it says, "When HE ascended on high HE led a host of captives (in Matthew 27:52-54 and Colossians 1:15-20), and HE gave gifts (Acts 2:1-4 and Psalm 68:18) to men." (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that HE had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He Who descended is the one Who also ascended far above all the heavens, that HE might fill all things.) And HE gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of GOD, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes (of mans religions and denominationalisms which divide GODS House). Rather, speaking the Truth in Love, we are to grow up in every way into Him Who is the Head, into Christ, from (through, in) Whom the whole Body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the Body Grow so that it builds itself up in (GODS selfless) Love."
Philippians 3:12-16 "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of GOD in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, GOD will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained."
Colossians 1:24-29 and 2Timothy 3:17 "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His Body, that is, the Church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from GOD that was given to me for you, to make the word of GOD fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His Saints. To them GOD chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that HE powerfully works within me."
2Timothy 3:10-17 "You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the LORD rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived (this is the false churches of this world who hinder and destroy mankind keeping them spiritually dead and children of Satan by his lusts). But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from Whom you learned it (Matthew 11:29's question) and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by GOD and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of GOD may be complete, equipped for every good work."
Hebrews 6:1-12 and 13:21 "Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of Repentance from dead works and of faith toward GOD, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if GOD permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly Gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,
Heb 6:5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of GOD to their own harm and holding Him up to contempt (these are called the wicked ones, the blasphemers and mockers of GOD, spoken of in Ezekiel 22:5). For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing (Grace) from GOD. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to Salvation. For GOD is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for HIS name in serving the Saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now may the GOD of Peace Who brought again from the dead our LORD Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the Blood of the Eternal Covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do HIS Will, working in us that which is pleasing in HIS sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."
James 1:2-4 and 1Peter 5:10 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
1Peter 5:6-11 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of GOD so that at the proper time HE may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because HE cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the GOD of all Grace, Who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself Restore, Confirm, Strengthen, and Establish you. To HIM be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
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