further to yesterday’s post, here is an excellent outline by Matt Chandler on what it looks like to “make every effort” to walk the Christian life.
We fight sin and grow in godliness by using the weapons grace provides. There are at least three:
The Word of God
The Blood of Christ
The promises of the covenant
Go read the rest for verses and exposition under each weapon in the struggle.
and here by way of Vitamin Z is a helpful reminder from Ray Ortlund about the importance of Paul’s letter to the Galatians for us today.
The book of Galatians is in the Bible because our hearts are engines of self-justification. It’s so deep in us it feels normal. Whenever I detect that impulse at work in my feelings and relationships, my thought should be, “Well, there I go again.” That we have any faith in Christ at all is a miracle. That we have Galatianism in our hearts just makes us thankful for the book of Galatians. Now we know what to expect of ourselves, and now we know what to do about it: take our theology even more to heart and refocus on Christ alone. It’s what Christians do.
This comment from Chandler caught my eye:
“By threats I mean that many try to behave and modify their behavior because they fear hell and God’s wrath and so that they can earn their way out of hell. The problem with this is that heaven isn’t a place for those who fear hell; it’s a place for those who love God.”
Tim Hawks taught on the fear of the Lord this past Sunday. He points out that our fear of God is not about us, but about who God is. He commands us to both fear Him and to love Him for our own good (Dt. 10:12-13). As Chandler implies, we are to fear God, not hell. Hawks brings out many scriptures that show the connection between our fear of God and our love of Him. The video is here: http://mediaplayer.hcbc.com/sermons/501
Trivia: How is Aqua Velva related to this topic? You’ll have to listen.
excellent. I have downloaded the message and will give it a listen while I commute today. Merci beaucoup.