If you have been following this blogs posts from it's inception you have grown with me in the knowledge and revelation of Christ, restored to us as the seed faith of Abraham and the GOD of promises. We know that these promises are all directed toward and fulfilled in Christ Jesus and Him alone. For it was Christ Who formed and then placed His Spirit in man at mans creation, Christ being the LORD of the book of His record. Our Bible. Being Christ centered again is what His Revelation or Light is all about for in this Light mankind as a whole is of His Family unit, receives Salvation. There is no divisions in any unit, as all that is united to it are One. And Salvation is batted about like a rag doll and is misunderstood. So I will attempt with the LORD's help to set His record straight. But first Pastor Hoekstra and his teaching on Grace. And then with the use of the ESV translation I will begin to look more closely at Salvation.
"The God of Peace Making Obedience Available to Us"
"Now may the God of Peace Who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His Will." (Hebrews 13:20-21)
"These powerful verses continue our inquiry concerning a life of obedience. They conclude with what results when God is allowed to do His work in our lives. We become "complete in every good work of His Will." This hope is made available to us by "the God of Peace." We no longer struggle within ourselves nor to we resist His workings in fact we totally agree with His plan and purpose and become His ambassadors of Light, to the world under the bondage to the law and curse of sin and death.
We all started out in life at war with GOD. Although we may not have been aware of this fact, we were enemies of GOD: "You . . . were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works" (Colossians 1:21). We were disobedient by our very nature: "the sons of disobedience . . . by nature children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:2-3). Yet, through His Son, GOD reached out to offer us Peace. "For He Himself is our Peace, Who . . . abolished in His flesh the enmity . . . making peace . . . through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity" (Ephesians 2:14-16). This sacrifice on the cross was effective, because the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead with victory over sin and death: "the GOD of Peace Who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead." Who being LORD of all creation is the LORD Who's Spirit Now resides within our soul as in the beginning. (Genesis 1:27-28 and 2)
At the cross of Christ, the blood was shed that brings eternal blessings to all who believe Him: "through the blood of the everlasting covenant." The LORD promised these eternal benefits to His people through the prophets of old. "And I Will make an Everlasting Covenant with them, that I Will not turn away from doing them good; but I Will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me . . . Moreover I Will make a Covenant of Peace with them, and it (He) shall be an Everlasting Covenant with (within) them" (Jeremiah 32:40 and Ezekiel 37:26).
The blood of the New Covenant of Grace secures these benefits: "This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20). This shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is able to cleanse and forgive forever all who humbly trust Him. Also, that shed blood of the New Covenant (GOD's new arrangement for living) supplies the adequacy we need from GOD for the obedient life He has called us to live: "Our sufficiency is from GOD, Who also made us sufficient as ministers of the New Covenant" (2Corithians 3:5-6).
Salvation promised,
Psalm 91:14-16 "Because he holds fast to Me in love, I Will deliver him; I Will protect him, because he knows My name. When he calls to Me, I Will answer him; I Will be with him in trouble; I Will rescue him and honor him. With long life I Will satisfy him and show him My salvation."
Isaiah 45:14-17 "Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: 'Surely GOD is in you, and there is no other, no god besides Him.'" Truly, you are a GOD Who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together. But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity."
Mark 16:14-18 "He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw Him after He had risen. HE said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name (as a free woman marries a husband and takes his name in like fashion those who in essence are married to the LORD are One with Him more completely and bear His stamp, seal or name) they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Luke 19:1-10 "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
Acts 11:1-18 "The apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of GOD. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." But Peter began and explained it to them in order: "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But I said, 'By no means, LORD; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' But the voice answered a second time from heaven, 'What GOD has made clean, do not call common.' This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.' As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If then GOD gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in GOD's way?" When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified GOD, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also GOD has granted repentance that leads to life."
Acts 16:25-34 "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe the in Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed GOD."
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