Post by foxjj on Oct 7, 2022 7:34:42 GMT
Redemption And Reconstruction
In my early Church years I had no understanding of the Biblical doctrine of Redemption or Reconciliation, all I understood were the rules and rituals that my Church required. Once I began prayerfully reading The Bible for myself, my understanding changed. It soon became clear that if I desired to attain reconciliation with God, I had to whole heartedly turn from rituals to The Scriptures for guidance.
Among the life changing Scriptures that spoke to my searching heart was: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:6-11)
Whilst seeking after understanding the claims of Christianity, I would often hear the saying ‘you must be born again.’ Confused about such a term, I was directed to the Gospel of John where I read that a Jewish leader named Nicodemus was also confused. From the Gospel of John I came to the understanding that Jesus was speaking of something very important, so important in fact, that it affects our eternal life. After praying for understanding, it soon became apparent that Jesus was not speaking of our natural life, but our spiritual life, which starts in the here and now, going on for eternity. The passage in John is similar to Ezekiel 36:25-27 where God said: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
It is passages like these, along with numerous others, that led me to seek a personal relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ, who came among us offering new life to all who seek redemption. For you and I to experience forgiveness and new life in Jesus, is the most awesome of experiences because, one has personally experienced the love of God, as Paul states: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
Today, let us seek and rejoice in The New Life in Jesus.
John Joseph Fox.
In my early Church years I had no understanding of the Biblical doctrine of Redemption or Reconciliation, all I understood were the rules and rituals that my Church required. Once I began prayerfully reading The Bible for myself, my understanding changed. It soon became clear that if I desired to attain reconciliation with God, I had to whole heartedly turn from rituals to The Scriptures for guidance.
Among the life changing Scriptures that spoke to my searching heart was: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:6-11)
Whilst seeking after understanding the claims of Christianity, I would often hear the saying ‘you must be born again.’ Confused about such a term, I was directed to the Gospel of John where I read that a Jewish leader named Nicodemus was also confused. From the Gospel of John I came to the understanding that Jesus was speaking of something very important, so important in fact, that it affects our eternal life. After praying for understanding, it soon became apparent that Jesus was not speaking of our natural life, but our spiritual life, which starts in the here and now, going on for eternity. The passage in John is similar to Ezekiel 36:25-27 where God said: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
It is passages like these, along with numerous others, that led me to seek a personal relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ, who came among us offering new life to all who seek redemption. For you and I to experience forgiveness and new life in Jesus, is the most awesome of experiences because, one has personally experienced the love of God, as Paul states: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
Today, let us seek and rejoice in The New Life in Jesus.
John Joseph Fox.