Thirteen points on back-to-basics:
- Do you want to feel better about who and what God is? Then realize who and what you are.
- So, who are you? You, like everyone else, are a sinner saved by grace. So, what are you? You are a human being, meaning: you’re not God. Your being is human. You are a mortal being with an inherited sin nature – a nature fallen, lost, separated from God, who is perfectly righteous and immortal.
- We are humans, therefore, by our own sinful nature, we are contrary to God – we are at enmity with Him.
- God provided salvation through Jesus Christ. Why would God do that? He doesn’t need us, we need Him.
- We have our relationship with God because of Christ, if we believe in His cross-work.
- God chose to save us prior to creation. God chose us, not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of who He is and what He has done.
- We, as believers, have a new nature in Christ. Romans Chapters 7 and 8 address this well. (Take some time to meditate on these chapters in the company of the Lord.) Old things have been removed, things that were counted against us. What old things? The sin barrier between God and humanity.
- We have flesh as a covering for our soul. Sin is genetically in our flesh, therefore as long as we are in this fleshy body, we will sin. God knows that, that’s why He died for us. When we die, we stop sinning. We depart from our corrupt, dying bodies. We leave the sin nature far behind.
- Until then, we are stuck with our flesh. It is the flesh that lusts, and it lusts against our soul, so that our real battle in life is with our own flesh. Our weakness is our flesh. Our enemy is our flesh. The flesh has many lust-patterns. We all, believers and unbelievers, have these same lust-patterns.
- Lust is a trait of our sin nature, the Adamic nature. There are all kinds of lusts: sexual, power, greed, coveting, jealousy, and on and on… Ask yourself this: “What are my lusts? What are the things I put before God that are, in all reality, my idols?”
- Here are some “Points For Peace” with God: 1. He knows us perfectly well. He loves us anyway. Why? Because He is Love. There is no true love apart from God. 2. He chose us, knowing everything about our lusts and our sin nature, our personal sins, and our total depravity. But He loves us even in our deprivation (Romans 5:8). Why would Christ die for ungodly people? Because of His perfect love. Love is perfect because God is perfect. 3. We are directly related to God as His adopted children. God is our Father because of Christ. We are joint-heirs with God just as is, and because of, Christ. 4. God has a plan for you, for every believer, called Grace.
- God’s love is based on God, not us, not our performance, not our failures, not our disobedience, not our lust-patterns, not our sin issues, not our social status, and not our wealth (or lack thereof), not our rituals, not our legalism, not our religion, but on God.
- God is immutable. His love for you never changes.
Happy studying in fields of grace!