Our Daily Bread”     http://odb.org

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie    http://www.harvest.org/devotional

Written by bruce r. mills for “Gods group”   [Revised from 11/16/2012]

“From Death to Life”

2 Corinthians 5:17… Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  (NKJV)

Yesterday, I wrote about the original sin of Adam and Eve, and how God kicked them out of His paradise known as the “Garden of Eden”, after they were deceived by the serpent (Satan)…  This separation from God, cursed man with sin; and with this sin nature, is what is known as death…

Romans 5:12… Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (NKJV)

 The term, “in Christ”, in the opening scripture…means that a person has gone from being dead in their sin, to being made alive in Christ…

There is nothing a sinner can do in their own self-righteous efforts, to be forgiven of their lifetime of sins…  We see this very clearly in the Old Testament, in…

Isaiah 64:6… But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.  (NKJV)

There is only one way to get into heaven… Jesus tells us this, in…John 14:6… Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  (NKJV)

We must go through Jesus Christ to get to heaven; but it is God who must first draw the sinner to Himself…John 6:44… No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  (NKJV)

The sinner is drawn in by God, and sees for the first time that they can in no way save themselves… Their sinful rejection of God, is changed by God to see the truth… Salvation is a gift of God’s grace through saving faith alone in His Son Jesus Christ…

Ephesians 2:8-9… For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.  (NKJV)

This pure grace through saving faith in Jesus Christ, is accomplished by those who turn from and repent of their sins, and seek Jesus Christ to become their personal Lord and Savior… (Obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ)… I wrote about this grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, in a writing that can be found at the following link… https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/gods-group-thoughts-for-10202012-gods-grace-through-obedience-to-the-gospel-of-christ/

The exact sequence and timing of being drawn in by God, repenting and turning from one’s sins to seek Christ, and God’s grace shed on the undeserving sinner by obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ…is for many (including myself), a mystery that may never be clearly understood…

Salvation is God’s gift of grace, as God reconciles the sinner to Himself through Jesus Christ… the Apostle Paul writes this, in…

2 Corinthians 5:18a…  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ,  (NKJV)

And this reconciliation happens when the sins of the recipient of God’s grace are imputed to Christ; and Christ’s righteousness, that the sinner doesn’t deserve, is given to them by God…

Here is the very heart of the gospel message, in the following scripture…

2 Corinthians 5:21… For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  (NKJV)

The Holy Spirit is given to the new Christian as a Helper by God (John 14:26)…  They have gone from being dead in sin to being born again (John 3:3)… The new Christian is made a “a new creation” by God; and is now alive “in Christ”, and sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

2 Corinthians 1:21-22… Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, ²² who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.  (NKJV)

For anyone who has not been given the Holy Spirit by God, today’s writing may not be understood… The Apostle Paul reveals why, in the following scripture… 

1 Corinthians 2:10 & 13-14…  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  (NKJV)

I would urge anyone who wants to learn more about what God requires to become a Christian, to open the P.S. below, about God’s grace through obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Heavenly Father, why You chose to grace me, a poor wretched soul with salvation…is still a mystery to me…  I thank You, Lord for Your grace and Your mercy, where neither was deserved… I pray Lord, that this truth from Your Word may be used by You, to open the eyes and quicken the hearts of those You don’t yet know as one of Your children… I pray for Your gift of grace for those in need…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

Blessings in Christ,  bruce

P.S.   When there is no other place to turn…turn to God !!  If you’re not a “born again” Christian, is the Holy Spirit urging you to open this link ??  Here is the truth about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through understanding and obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…   https://godsmanforever.com

To my brothers and sisters in Christ, please feel free to share this message of the cross with those in need…

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