CAN GOD FAST?! PART 8

NEO-SCHEME

    Since all human being are the creations of the Almighty, He wants everybody to be His people. He doesn’t want to be a God to a specific person, family, village, town, city or country. He wants to be God for All and God of all. He wants to treat human beings individually. He now wants every individual human being to be His own. He chooses not to consider humanity as enemy, but wants them all to be His friends. That was why He promised and made a new permanent covenant with mankind. In that wise, anyone that will be beneficiary to this perfect covenant automatically becomes part of “…God’s chosen people, Royal priest, Holy nation and God’s very own possession”, 1 Peter 2:9.

    This new covenant was heralded by, established through and centre on the blood of Jesus Christ, Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25. As priests of the old served as intermediary between God and Israelites, so also Jesus serves as intermediary between God and a saved person. Jesus is the highest Priest that sacrificed once and for all a lamb (HIMSELF) for the remission of humanity’s sins. The new plan of salvation has been done by the Lord Jesus Christ. In that wise the prerequisite to any man’s salvation is to believe in the redemptive work carried out by Jesus Christ, Roman 10:9. With Jesus redemption work, we have freedom from and liberty over sin, the freedom that is gained by faith in Jesus Christ and not by the works performed by any man. It is simply the work of grace.

            THE MYSTERY OF GRACE

“For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of the whole human race. That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this world, as we wait for the blessed day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ will appear”.

Titus 2:11-12

    The prerequisite step and the only action to man’s salvation is to believe in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, Romans 10:9. At salvation, a saved person change leadership. In the past, such person had been; under the tutelage of Satan. A saved fellow is thus subject to a leading and authority of Jesus Christ. He now takes charges from Jesus Christ and not from Satan anymore. In total submission of his being to God he becomes God’s slave and no longer a slave to Satan. This freedom gives a saved man power over sin, thus no longer the slave to sin. This is the saving power that was provided and activated by Jesus death- the saving grace.

    Grace is the free and undeserved favour introduced through Christ. The Scripture affirms that by the virtue of our fore parents’ sin of disobedience we have been initiated into the world of sin. Romans 5:12. Initially, the look God has on mankind is that He sees us as a sinful generation and a distant people from Him, Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1, 13. But by the free gift of God’s grace all men are put, right with God through Jesus Christ. Our past sins are thus forgiven, Romans 3:24-25; Colossians 2:13-14. So grace is an unmerited god’s assistance given to human beings for our Spiritual Rebirth by Christ and so we are gradually being made holy through the action of the holy spirit.

    By God’s Grace through Jesus Christ, our past sins are forgiven and forgotten by God. However that doesn’t encourage us to continue sinning, Hebrews 10:26. God’s grace makes us charming and pleasing to God by giving us power to resist sin. Our arch-enemy, Satan strives always to distract us from enjoying God’s continuous union as he did to our fore parents, Genesis 3:1-7, so also he still tempts believers to distract us, that’s why Bible says that we be self-controlled and be at alert. Our enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, 1 Peter 5:8, we are not battling with devil and sin with our power and strength. We thus must solely bank on the power of God’s Grace back with the power of Holy Spirit. We are made righteous beings by God’s free volition following our belief (faith) in God’s free redemptive plan but our holiness is a product of our total obedience to God through the directives from Holy Spirit. Justification, being declared righteous by God, is God’s business. God then gives us power and grace to be holy; holiness is a role to be played by saved person.

THE HERALD AND ERA OF GRACE

    In the Old Testament days sins are judged instantly. Judgment is passed to anyone who sin against God immediately. Law breakers don’t seem to have second chance then because what was being operated then was operation no mercy. The fullness of Grace was brought by Jesus, John 1:16.

    The law was given through Moses. Before Moses surfaced there had been laws, but the fullness of law was heralded by Moses. That’s why some part of the laws are regarded as Mosaic law. God gave Moses instruction to build a house called House of Law. God masterminded the building project but gave it to Moses as building contractor. The construction of the building was done by Moses. Moses, while building the house might have added his own designing and artistic work thus the reason the building was sometimes refer to as Moses’ House. The house has some rooms like moral law room, ceremonial law room, ritual law room and so on. The dreadful ancient house has nothing to offer but to punish law breakers. Nobody enters the house of law and leave scot-free. The person must be convicted, amputated condemned, judged, fired, stoned, hung, scourged, or fined. Most time death is a result for entering the house of law. This was so because God is holy and He cannot withstand man’s sin, Habakkuk 1:12-13. Therefore whosoever sins, is led into the house of law.

    During the period of law, God-man relationship is like drawing water from a very deep well with a drawer. Men of those days (precisely the Israelites, because the law was made for the nation of Israel alone) used their sweat, blood, money, power, energy, resources to serve and please God especially to atone for their sins. That was the reason God devised another easier way for the people to serve Him better.

    The house of law till date has not been demolished but was renovated. Before the advent of Jesus there was a partial show of Grace. For instance, David was a beneficiary of Grace. Samson had the opportunity to experience second time. Moses, the father of law would have missed it totally but the King of Grace sent His Angel to deliver Moses’ body, Jude 1:9. Moses missed the earthly Promise Land; maybe he would have missed the heavenly Promised Land if the king of Grace didn’t show up for his rescue.

    

    The house of law was reconstructed by Jesus Christ. Jesus, in the rebuilding work did not demolish the house of law but He renewed the building, Matthew 5:17-20. He renamed the house of law to Castle of Grace. The rooms there in were re-branded. So we now have mercy room, favour room, justification room, salvation room, holiness room, glory room and so on. The castle of Grace is a fortified building having the host of heaven on guard against Satan and his cohort. It is only accessible to anybody who has the master key. The master key is Grace which is Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9.

    

    With the advent of Grace, God-man relationship is like having an organized water system whereby the smooth running of the water has been made. All you need to do to get water is just to turn on the tap and get the free flow of water. Access to God has been made easier with Jesus’ death, Hebrew 7:19.

    

    God’s stand about sin has not changed. He abhors sin greatly. He could not behold sin. He practically hid his face from His Dear son, Jesus when Jesus carried the sins of mankind upon Himself, Matthew 27:46. God has no grudges again with someone who has claimed and acknowledged the death of Jesus by faith is saved. His past sins are forgiven and he is bonded into the family of God. However, Jesus still takes the responsibility of continual pleading for His elects, Romans 8:34; Hebrew 7:25.