Quotes from Friday's Reading
Ritual or Reality
Let me explain by giving one of the common uses of baptizo in classic Greek. Farmers, who were forced by circumstances into going to war, changed their hunting spears into warrior’s spears by dipping them in pig’s blood. Now, is the true meaning of baptizo "to dip or immerse", or is it "to identify with something different in order to indicate a real change".
It is my firm conviction that the principle or the reality is always more important than the ritual.
What was John preaching? Was the emphasis of his message the importance of getting wet in the river? Of course not! It was repentance and personal preparation for entrance into God’s kingdom! The emphasis is obviously on the reality, not the ritual!
If you simply emphasize the ritual, the principle gets lost.
The Dawn of Religion
In the beginning man had no religion. In the Garden of Eden he respected God, reverenced His being, and served without it... In this state the Creator freely conversed with the being made in His own image, and there was no fear in the heart of the creature, nor was there any sense of shame (Gen. 2:22).
Inasmuch as sin is an offense against the dignity and majesty of God, the terms of reconciliation must be dictated by the offended and not by the offender.
God proposes the conditions, man must accept or reject them. Since man cannot ascertain the thoughts of God, except as He reveals them, the acceptable system of religion must be a revelation. It represents, then, not the groping, climbing, or struggling toward heaven upon a ladder erected by the trial-and-error method of human experience, but a bold approach through "a new and living way" provided by a kind and beneficent Father.
What Is Life in the Spirit?
We must start out with faith and love, and we must never outgrow or abandon either. Everything that is said must be spoken in faith and love. Everything that is done must be performed in faith and love. We must begin by going down into the soil of love. We must continue by growing up in love.
God's love is not our love for God; it is rather the love that God is (1 John 4:16).
Slavery or Freedom?
Think of the implications in the phrase "led by the Spirit of God." The original for "led" is ago. Two things can be said of its usage in the New Covenant Scriptures. First, it generally applies to persons, and has to do with their motivation to act. Second, it implies willingness and cooperation on the part of those who are led. The leading is not by force. It is not against the will. To be led by the Spirit is to surrender to the influence and guidance of the Spirit. This is a proof of divine sonship. Only sons of God will be led by the Spirit, and thus, when one is so led he has a personal relationship with God. This is quite different from the measuring rods employed by men.
Slavery to sin demands all of our powers and resources, and places every faculty under tribute. Sin reigning in our mortal bodies exacts obedience to the body's desires. It forces us to put all of our parts at its disposal as instruments for wrongdoing (Romans 6:12, 13). Sin is the most cruel taskmaster in the universe.
Let me explain by giving one of the common uses of baptizo in classic Greek. Farmers, who were forced by circumstances into going to war, changed their hunting spears into warrior’s spears by dipping them in pig’s blood. Now, is the true meaning of baptizo "to dip or immerse", or is it "to identify with something different in order to indicate a real change".
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It is my firm conviction that the principle or the reality is always more important than the ritual.
--------------
What was John preaching? Was the emphasis of his message the importance of getting wet in the river? Of course not! It was repentance and personal preparation for entrance into God’s kingdom! The emphasis is obviously on the reality, not the ritual!
--------------
If you simply emphasize the ritual, the principle gets lost.
The Dawn of Religion
In the beginning man had no religion. In the Garden of Eden he respected God, reverenced His being, and served without it... In this state the Creator freely conversed with the being made in His own image, and there was no fear in the heart of the creature, nor was there any sense of shame (Gen. 2:22).
--------------
Inasmuch as sin is an offense against the dignity and majesty of God, the terms of reconciliation must be dictated by the offended and not by the offender.
--------------
God proposes the conditions, man must accept or reject them. Since man cannot ascertain the thoughts of God, except as He reveals them, the acceptable system of religion must be a revelation. It represents, then, not the groping, climbing, or struggling toward heaven upon a ladder erected by the trial-and-error method of human experience, but a bold approach through "a new and living way" provided by a kind and beneficent Father.
What Is Life in the Spirit?
We must start out with faith and love, and we must never outgrow or abandon either. Everything that is said must be spoken in faith and love. Everything that is done must be performed in faith and love. We must begin by going down into the soil of love. We must continue by growing up in love.
--------------
God's love is not our love for God; it is rather the love that God is (1 John 4:16).
Slavery or Freedom?
Think of the implications in the phrase "led by the Spirit of God." The original for "led" is ago. Two things can be said of its usage in the New Covenant Scriptures. First, it generally applies to persons, and has to do with their motivation to act. Second, it implies willingness and cooperation on the part of those who are led. The leading is not by force. It is not against the will. To be led by the Spirit is to surrender to the influence and guidance of the Spirit. This is a proof of divine sonship. Only sons of God will be led by the Spirit, and thus, when one is so led he has a personal relationship with God. This is quite different from the measuring rods employed by men.
--------------
Slavery to sin demands all of our powers and resources, and places every faculty under tribute. Sin reigning in our mortal bodies exacts obedience to the body's desires. It forces us to put all of our parts at its disposal as instruments for wrongdoing (Romans 6:12, 13). Sin is the most cruel taskmaster in the universe.
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Slavery to sin reduces us to servitude and then pays off with death. Sin promises everything and provides nothing.--------------
The fact is that Jesus made sense out of death by making sense out of life. By showing me how to live He taught me how to die.posted by GBT at
Sunday, May 22, 2005
