What is the Goal
Materially
Matthew 19:21
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go,
sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
(Whole Chapter:
Matthew 19�In context:
Matthew 19:20-22)
Socially
1 Corinthians 1:10
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree with one another so that there may
be no divisions among you and that you may be
perfectly united in mind and thought.
(Whole Chapter:
1 Corinthians 1�In context:
1 Corinthians 1:9-11)
Absolutely
Matthew 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.
(Whole Chapter:
Matthew 5�In context:
Matthew 5:47-49)
Honestly; How is it going?
What is our Attitude
Matthew 20:25-28
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Luke 6:43-45
For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Proverbs 2:10-22
When wisdom enters your heart, And
knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you, To deliver
you from the way of evil
1 Kings 11:10-12
So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude
and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you,
I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.
Philippians 2:5
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
[Matthew 5 (NIV)]
[Matthew 5 (KJV)]
The Be-attitudes
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
and he began to teach them saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
But How:
[Galatians 5]
[Romans 7]
Fruit of the Spirit
Start with Galatians 5:13. In general, context is king. A good rule to follow is to allow the clear passages to help with the more difficult passages.
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature.
Just as in the passage of Romans 7 and in Galatians at verse 17, we see the battle
that rages within us. All who are living have "nature of evil" tendencies as expressed in Romans 3:23.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Then there is the spiritual nature that is given to us through Jesus Christ when we are born of the Spirit. God speaks to us in the Spirit through the scripture and our mind.
1 Samuel 3: 21 "The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.")
and Romans 9:1 (my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit).
So then I identify with Paul in Romans 7:18
�I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.�
There are two words that while not stated explicitly, were reflected in the
2 Corinthians 5:17(NIV) passage.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
�Salvation� is the one point in time event of when we are born of the Spirit (John 3:3)
. Then we live the life of �Sanctification� or being set apart for use by God. Sanctification is the process of maturing in Christ. Here in Galatians, it seems as though we can just arrive if we �live by the Spirit� mentioned in verses 16 and 25 and �led by the Spirit� in verse 18. And indeed it is true IF we could eliminate the sinful nature within us.
That has not happened in me and will not happen in me until the resurrection when God gives me a new operating system. As I read the scripture, I am impressed with the holiness of God, and the grace of God not by what man can accomplish.
When I think about the Sanctification process, I look to Peter to help me out. Here you can see the cooperation between God and man.
In answering God�s call he has given us the availability through the Spirit to participate in his divine nature.
2 Peter 1:3-8
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul too explains the process. It is God�s goal to mature us or purify us through the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
Titus 2:11-14
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
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 glorious appearing 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.
Living by the Spirit, is mentioned in John 15 in a word picture of the vine and the branches. Verse 4 states, �No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine� I don�t want to hurt the metaphor but the Spirit is the sap or life blood of this cooperation.
Galatians 5:14-18
The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Actions speak louder than words. We can say what we are but what do people see in us. Are we salt and light? I can go through the list of �acts� below and identify those items that I do not do but some of them are a little harder to eliminate, or can I. What about �discord�, �selfish ambition�, and �envy�; are they after all as bad as idolatry? Yes they are all the same in light of the righteousness of God. James 2:10 �For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.� Thank God for the forgiveness he offers.
Galatians 5:19 � 21
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery (the enticement to do evil);
idolatry and witchcraft (drug use); hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Now we pass from the outward actions we can see to the inward parameters that govern our actions. Note especially that they are not the fruit of Kurt or Jerry but the fruit of the Spirit. He works in us to be the foundational motivation of our actions. We show these fruits in the actions we do that are initiated and motivated through being led by the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship (Greek: poiema where we get the word poetry), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
When we are being led by the Spirit, these phrases can apply to us. �There is no law� with the same thought as above in verse 18, �you are not under law� and verse 14 that the law is summed up in the command of love. It is not the brute force of the outward constraint of the law but the internal motivation that compels us. Another favorite of mine in this area is:
Romans 2:13-15
For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law,
since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
Galatians 5:22 � 23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The crucified sinful nature is that �one time� action of Christ where the Spirit is made alive in me at the time of Salvation.
I am in a positional context of being In Christ, however I am not fully free from the flesh or sinful nature.
As a living sacrifice, I seem to slither off the offering block.
You can see the processing statement of �transformed by the renewing of your mind�.
Romans 12 : 1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Galatians 5:24 � 25
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
God enables us when we believe to grow toward him through effort motivated by him. We continue to evaluate ourselves 2 Corinthians 13:5 and know that we fall short but he is pleased with our effort. Otherwise why would he ask us to make the effort. But his faithfulness is even beyond that:
Galatians 4:6-7
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
It is the humble heart that focuses on the thankfulness toward God for his gifts. If we turn toward ourselves we can loose out.
2 Peter 1:9
But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Galatians 5:26
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
2 Peter 1:10 -11
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
There is much more. Time for you to look into it.
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