It is so easy for us to forget the love that first called us. It is so easy to get a little worn down by the culture around us... how much more does it hurt when other Christians hurt us? Life is hard.It is even harder when living with a faulty understanding of grace. And so many of us do. Somewhere in the middle of the mess of our Christianity is Jesus and He is destroying the lies we have so often believed about Him.
It's amazing what happens when we put aside everything we have always been taught about the Scriptures and let the Scriptures speak for themselves.
Now, in no way am I saying there is not a place for exposition. My personal area of closest study is in hermeneutics (that is: the art and science of explaining and pulling meaning out of ancient texts, the interpretation of texts). But the number one rule of a good hermeneutic is asking, "What does the text plainly say?"
Sadly it is the rule that we most overlook.
So today, in place of a blog on some spiritual principle, theological issue, or my own exposition on Scripture I offer this collection of 10 passages that I hope you will read and think about.
Pray through these passages.
Wrestle with them.
Let them speak.
And let them challenge every part of you.
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God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
-Romans 5:20-21
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet
God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this
through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For
God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right
with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his
blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back
and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for
he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this
present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he
himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his
sight when they believe in Jesus.
-Romans 3:23-26
When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he
saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because
of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new
life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.
-Titus 3:4-7
-Titus 3:4-7
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
-Titus 2:11-14
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
-Romans 5:1-2
All of this is for your
benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be
great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
-2 Corinthians 4:15
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
-2 Corinthians 12:8-9
So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So
let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will
receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it
most.
-Hebrews 4:14-16
In his kindness God
called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So
after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and
strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
-1 Peter 5:10
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that
even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he
raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have
been saved!) For he
raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the
heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So
God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible
wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done
for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
-Ephesians 2:4-9
“Grace, then, is grace,–that is to say, it is sovereign, it is free, it is sure, it is unconditional, and it is everlasting.”
~ Alexander Whyte
Nathan Bryant
Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our causes.
Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our boundaries.
Follow him on Twitter: Follow @nathanpbryant
Nathan's Website
Follow him on Twitter: Follow @nathanpbryant
Nathan's Website
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