HOW WE COME TO GOD?
Redeemed ~ to regain possession of, by payment of a specified amount; to pay off; to rescue; to save from sin and its consequences; to buy back that which belonged to you.
The law of the redeemer
Leviticus 25:25
“If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.”
This law is illustrated in Ruth 4:4
“And I thought to advertise thee, saying Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.”
Parcels of land were given to families in Israel. These parcels of land were to be a perpetual inheritance, or were to stay in the family throughout generations to come. If someone got into a situation which required them to sell their inheritance, the “law of the redeemer” provided for its restoration. The inheritance could be reclaimed by its original owner, or by another party, provided the one who intermediated met three qualifications: near kinsman, able to pay the price of ransom, willing to pay the price.
Adam and Eve had enjoyed an unbroken daily fellowship with God in the beginning. But they listened to the voice of Lucifer, they sold out their “inheritance” and became servants of Satan.
Romans 6:16
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Jesus Christ came to this world, as a man, to restore the human family back to its rightful
relationship with God. Jesus Christ fulfilled all the requirements of the “redeemer”.
He is our near kinsman ~
Hebrews 2:9-18
“But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.
Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of people.
For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”
He was able to pay the price ~
I Peter 1:18-19
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
He was willing to pay the price ~
Romans 5:6-8
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare die.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
We are saved by Grace.
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast”
We human beings cannot do enough good to merit deliverance or redemption. The divine grace of God is all that can deliver, redeem or save man.
Grace ~ goodwill; favor or honor; a favor rendered voluntarily.
By definition ~ “Divine love and protection bestowed freely on human beings.”
A common religious definition ~ “the unmerited favor of God.
Strong’s definition ~ “The divine influence upon a heart and the reflection that portrays forth from that life.”
We must accept the grace of God through faith and walk humbly before Him in obedience to His Word. This is our individual responsibility.
God Has Been Working In Your Life
What God has done for us was not done by accident. He has a plan for each and every one of us. God has been preparing you to be in a position to be open to Him. God was dealing with you long before you ever acknowledged Him. The following verses of scripture may help to explain what has happened in your life.
John 1:11-13
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God?”
John 6:44
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me to draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Acts 16:14-15
(What the Lord had done in Lydia’s heart?)
“And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thy-a-ti-ra, which worshipped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
And when she was baptized and her household, she besought us, saying, if ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there, and she constrained us.”
Consider some of the things that have happened in your personal life that began to draw you to God. (Make a list of them for yourself.) Conviction, being convicted; being convinced; strong belief; “Divine Discomfort”
Proverbs 14:12
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a
man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
We may think we are okay as we are, but it is very important to know what God thinks.
Isaiah 64:6
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
Our righteousness is as filthy rags. When we come in contact with a Holy God, things begin to look different. Things that “seemed” right may not feel right in His presence. We don’t see our true spiritual condition until we come into the presence of the Lord.
Acts 2:37
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
Conviction makes us aware of our need of Him. Conviction causes discomfort so that we will come to Him and want to be rid of our sins.
Repentance
The first step man makes toward God is repentance. God is anxious to pardon the ungodly, but a pardon can only be given to those who admit to being guilty.
Defined as remorse or contrition for past conduct or sin. “To do an about face.”
Repent – In the New Testament, the word translated as 'repentance' is the Greek word μετάνοια (metanoia), "after/behind one's mind", which is a compound word of the preposition 'meta' (after, with), and the verb 'noeo' (to perceive, to think, the result of perceiving or observing). In this compound word the preposition combines the two meanings of time and change, which may be denoted by 'after' and 'different'; so that the whole compound means: 'to think differently after'. Metanoia is therefore primarily to think different from the former thought; a change of mind accompanied by regret and change of conduct, "change of mind and heart."
Repent (Merriam Webster) ~ to turn from sin and resolve to reform one’s life. To feel sorry for (something done) regret: to change one’s mind.
The full and literal meaning of the word Repent in the New Testament. Is one feels remorse, self-reproach and deep sorrow for ones sins. To be broken and contrite in one’s spirit. A desire and want to change ones direction. Repentance is preached by Peter,
Acts 2:38
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Peter preached repentance as the first step of salvation. Repentance ~ is actually dying out to one’s self.
Paul commanded repentance,
Acts 17:30
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent:”
What does God ask of us?
Isaiah 55:7
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abuandantly pardon.”
Proverbs 28:13
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
I John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Repentance is not just for the unsaved. It is also for the saint. God knows our weaknesses and has provided a way to correct all these wrongs, through repentance.
Forgiveness of sins or Pardoned
Forgiveness does not put us on parole or on probation. We are completely pardoned, we are justified.
I Corinthians 6:11
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
“Washed” and “sanctified” depicts the cleansing. “Justified” is a strong, legal term describing what God has done to our record of sin. Justified means to absolve or clear one of a charge.
Psalms 103:12
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
Isaiah 38:17
“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.”
Jeremiah 31:34
“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Micah 7:19
“He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
If He who knows us better than we know ourselves would clear us of our sins, then we should accept His wise judgment and forgive ourselves. Do not let guilt from your past affect your walk with God. You have been set free and your record has been washed clean.
No comments:
Post a Comment