In A Courtroom

In  a Courtroom.                                                              10-5-21

Have you ever noticed the legal language used in the Gospel of John? It is used throughout the Gospel in differing circumstances. The noun judge or the verb to judge is used 14 times in the Gospel. The verb “to prosecute,to condemn”are used.”Penal servitude,” a Greek word that Paul uses in Romans is in the Gospel of John. Words such as eyewitness,testimony, testify,witness appear multiple times in the Gospel. There is a reason for all of this legal imagery. This Gospel is written for the purpose of bringing people to faith in Jesus.

John 20:31

“but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

That is the purpose statement of the Gospel of John. To bring people who are unbelieving and condemned,to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Messiah. In order to accomplish this purpose,John employs courtroom language to make unbelievers aware that they indeed are in a legal proceeding when salvation from hell is the subject. Now,John does not elaborate on this courtroom setting,but the Apostle Paul certainly does in Romans. Paul portrays God as a judge before whom the whole world stands accused. Not only accused but condemned with no remedy save one. There is much to be said about the futility of offering anything to God as payment for sin in His courtroom. The perfect nature and character of a Holy God render any attempt (see repentance,turning from sin,prayer,praise,worship and all other human attempts at satisfying Him) laughable. In this courtroom,where the standard is total perfection and holiness,we as human beings stand as Paul somewhere says “without God and without hope.”

Yet in the midst of our pitiable state,the Gospel of John,as do other Books of the Bible,hold out hope, But,especially the Gospel of John. Using courtroom language to draw our eyes to the hopeless state we exist in,John points us to the Messiah, the Son of God,who has the gift of eternal life. And what must we do to obtain this gift and be declared not guilty and righteous before a perfect God? Ninety nine times John tells us what to do in his Gospel. Ninety nine times. Believe. Believe.Ninety nine times.That is the totality of our responsibility toward a perfect God to escape eternal condemnation. 

Think about this.Just what is it that you,me,or anyone else can offer God for our justification? Anything? NOTHING. God makes the rules in His courtroom and He says the ONLY thing I can do is BELIEVE. Nothing else will or can satisfy. Not only that. For believing in Jesus the Messiah we receive eternal life,never to be lost. That is a far cry from what we as humans try to add to His requirement because of our pride. But,He will not allow it. No boasting about ANYTHING in His presence.

That dear brothers and sisters is why they call the Gospel ,Good News. Good news to the drug addict,the alcoholic,the prostitute…….but also good news to the doctor,lawyer,bus driver and the self righteous. Good news to all of humanity.

All we must do is believe.

God Bless

rewards

The Doctrine of Rewards 11-16-24

Have you ever been confused about something you read in the Bible? Even worse, have you ever read a verse or verses that seemed to contradict what another verse or passage said? Well,welcome to my world.(smile)I have read and still read passages that seem to contradict.Indeed that don't fit my human understanding.But,that can't be. How do you know that Ronnie?What makes you so self assured? Well,it has nothing to do with me.It is because Jesus said so.Yep.Jesus the Lord Himself said Scripture could not be broken.Where did He say that Ronnie? Look here.

John 10:34-35 34 "Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken"

Without trying to get into the meaning of this verse(Psalms 82:6). When Jesus used that word "broken" He was saying that Scripture could not be set aside.He was stating the doctrine of inerrancy.He was saying that there were no mistakes in Scripture.He was saying that Scripture was not contradictory.Indeed,Scripture actually interprets itself.There are no contradictions.Well,Ronnie you sure fooled me cause it seems to me that there are all kinds of confusing verses.Yeah I know it is confusing.Here is a clue to the solution.Read the Bible in context and read it literally.I hope to show you how that works in practical usage.Now,that being said, shortly into this study I am going to give you a list of verses that seem to contradict. Just bear with me and you will see. I once spoke with a homeless person and told him that all he had to do to go to heaven was believe in Jesus.As he sat there thinking about what I had said, he replied to me that no one had ever told him that.He said that all he had ever heard was how he needed to stop sinning and start going to church.He needed to do this and that, stop this and that,on and on.I told him that what he had heard was NOT the Gospel of salvation, and shared with him again the message of simple faith.Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.The conversation ended and he went on his way and I,mine. I don't know if he came to a saving faith or not.That chance encounter long ago is a prime directive for sharing this study.Look at this verse.

1 Corinthians 9:27 24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

In this verse Paul entertains the possibility that he might fail as a Christian. Many today teach this verse as if Paul were saying that it was possible for him to lose his salvation.This is encouraged by the KJV use of the word"castaway." In Romans however, he states that God will justify all that He called, using the past tense.Look.

Romans 8:29-30 29 "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

Do you see the use of the past tense?If He called you,He justified you,He glorified you.If He justified you,He glorified you.All past tense.The only action that is missing is sanctification.The gradual process of being conformed into the image of His Son.More on that later.Much more!

This is not a study on salvation.However,in this introduction it is imperative that we answer two questions.Maybe you can't answer these questions due to what you have been taught.I have seen people in church videos, during a question and answer session, literally break down.Standing in a sanctuary, in tears because they didn't know the answer to those questions for their personal lives.Beenin church for years and did not know whether they were saved at that particular moment.Why? Because of contradictory teaching from the pulpit due to doctrinal error.If you are one of those,I hope this study will clear your thinking and provide for you the assurance of your salvation.Here they are.

1( Is salvation from hell(justification) a gift.Is it free of charge?

2)Is the gift of salvation from hell eternal.Is it neverending?To put it another way.Is it possible to lose your salvation due to lifestyle,apostasy?

The author believes the answer to the above two questions is in the affirmative.Yes,God's gift of salvation from the lake of fire is free of merit.We as human beings can't do anything to earn it.NOTHING.All we must do is believe in Jesus. The author also believes that at the precise moment of believing,the person believing is granted eternal life.Eternal life in the present tense at the very moment of belief.The author also believes that this life which is eternal can never be lost for ANY reason.Neither can it be taken away or given back. If any of those conditions were true, the life given would cease to be eternal.

Dwell on these questions.Think and pray about them.If you are unsure,I believe this study will provide the answers to both of those questions.In addition, the study will look at the issue of accountability we as Christians face at the Bema Judgment.We will do this by focusing on several different threads or concepts found in Scripture.Judgment,Kingdom,Distinctions,Inheritance,The Sermon on the Mount,Characteristics of what the Bible calls "overcomes"and, of course the title of the study,REWARDS.It isn't as lengthy as it seems but it will take several parts to do it justice.Hope you enjoy it.More than that,I hope it will clear up any confusion you may have about the harmony of Scripture;and I hope it will lay to rest any fears you have about your eternal destiny.

God Bless.