New Every Morning

February 12, 2024

When we are born again into the kingdom of heaven, we become a child of Jesus Christ, we are welcomed into the house of Judah, under the New Covenant.

Jesus taught us to pray to our Father. We share the same Father with Jesus: that makes us brothers.

We become married to Christ as his bride, and as we consummate the wedding, we bare children with him.

^{Isaiah 54:1}Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. ⁵For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Your children become your brothers, joining you in the house of Judah, becoming your brothers as you pray together to our Father, consummating their marriage and bearing his children.

January 18, 2024

^{Colossians 1:28}Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

In the parable of the talents, two of the servants were complete in Christ, the single talent servant was not; he was cast to outer darkness.

When you love one another as you have been loved, and the other receives a “talent given”. That talent is only established when they love one antoher.

We preach Christ to others and teach them to share the gospel, warning them that unless they bear fruit, they will suffer loss.

^{Hebrews 12:2}Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith;

Jesus is the author of our faith when he loves us. He is the finisher of our faith when he loves others through us.

January 14, 2024

Becoming as a Child

We think of a child as someone who is innocent. Children are not innocent. The essence of being a child is that he has not formed his world view, his schema; he is still figuring things out.

When Jesus told his disciples to beware of thee leaven of the Pharisees, he was talking about their doctrine. When you accept doctrine into your schema, it permeates everything. It affects how you process everything else.

In preparation for their journey out of Egypt, into the promised land, they had to bake bread without leaven. Part of the Passover ritual was to spend significant time removing all leaven from the house. Unless you become as a child, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

This process is referred to as deconstruction, where you empty your schema of everything you think you know, because everything you accept as truth will affect how you learn new truth. If you accept something that is inaccurate, it will prevent you from resolving conflicting truths.

Deconstruction is a painful process. The absolutes that have guided you thus far have to be thrown out, and sometimes the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater, because you cannot trust your ability to tell the difference between the baby and the bathwater. Am I to believe all scripture? Can I trust that my interpretation of the scriptures, the ones I have been taught, are accurate? Throw it out. One saved, always saved? When’s one saved anyway? Throw it out. Is the Great Commandment of the law the greatest of all commandments? Throw it out.

A child ask questions: Mommy? Why? As a child we need to ask questions, and question everything. And when we get answers and accept those answers into our schema, they do not rise to the level of never being questioned again.

There is one thing I have accepted as absolute: there are no conflicts in reality; everything fits. When I see something that does not fit, the inaccuracy could be anything, even the most basic, most trusted truth. In fact, a basis for a conflict is often our most trusted truth. When I am building something with wood and something does not line up, I often say, “Clearly, we are not dealing with Euclidian geometry.” Never trust anything when you are resolving a conflict.

Eli Goldratt, in his book, It’s Not Luck, presents a strategy for conflict resolution, that allows you to migrate your current schema to an accurate picture of the kingdom of heaven. Basically, each time you need to resolve a conflict in your thinking, you become as a child and question everything. Nothing is sacred.

March 28 2023

Worship in Spirit and in Truth

I would like you to picture worship. Imagine singing this song with energy:

Love the Lord your God
With all you heart
With all your soul
With all your mind
And with all your strength.

Let’s sing it together a few times. Praise and worship; rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it? If it’s done well, a worship service will usher you into the very presence of God.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! 

The lyrics of that song are based on the Great Commandment.

^{Matthew 22:36}Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁷Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Jesus clarified for all time what our number one priority should be: to love the Lord thy God with everything we have.

Was that Jesus intention? Or is this just another instance of us misinterpreting what he said. Jesus was answering the question being asked. What is the great commandment of the law? 

^{John 15:9}As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. ¹⁰If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full. ¹²This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Here, Jesus is laying out the entire landscape, tearing the veil in two. There are three relationships mentioned in these verses: between the Father and the Son, between the Son and us, and between us and one another. 

Jesus spoke of two sets of commandments here: the Father’s commandments, the law of Moses, the law and the prophets which hang on the Great Commandment, and the Son’s commandments, the New Commandment. 

It is also clear in these verses which set of commandments apply to which relationships. Jesus said, I have kept my Father’s commandments. The Father’s commandments applied to the relationship between the Father and the Son. The Son’s commandments applied to the relationship between the Son and us. By looking at the commandment itself, we see that it also applied to the relationship between us and one another. Love one another as I have loved you.

Knowing which law applies to which relationship tells us which covenant belongs to which relationship. The relationship between the Father and the Son is based on the Old Covenant. The New Covenant applies to the relationship between the Son and us, and between us and one another.

^{John 4:23}But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

This is New Covenant language. This was the very moment in time when the New Covenant was inaugurated. In one phrase, the hour was coming – future tense – and the next phrase, and now is – present tense. Pay attention to what followed, because we are about to see what it means to worship in Spirit and in truth. And it happened among the Gentiles.

But first, we need to go back to the way it was before, under the Old Covenant. I want you to see what the landscape looked like under the Old Covenant. Look at the language of the Great Commandment again.

^{Romans 8:2}For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. ³For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

The New Commandment is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. 

The Great Commandment, the law of Moses, the law and the prophets which hang on the Great Commandment, is the law of sin and death. To appreciate why the Great Commandment is the law of sin and death, we need to understand what sin is, and what is death.

Death is separation from God. Life is God with us.

Sin is often characterized as missing the mark. The Greek word for sin is amartiaz. It begins with alpha, which is a negative particle and serves to negate the remainder of the word; you won’t know what sin is until you know what it is not. Missing the mark does not render a clear picture of what sin is. It provides a sense of negation, but it is not clear what mark is being missed. The remainder of the word being negated is martiaz. It means to be a constituent part. It means that you are a part of a bigger whole. And what is the whole that you are a part of? God with us. 

Sin is you, acting apart from God. Being apart from God is the definition of death. The Great Commandment is the law of sin and death.

Perhaps you still haven’t seen it yet. 

^{Matthew 22:37}Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all your strength.

This is loving God with your everything but the Spirit. 

^{John 4:23}But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

In the New Covenant, the Spirit steps in. We are about to see what it means to worship in Spirit and in truth. 

^{John 4:10}Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Jesus is inviting the Samaritan woman to ask for the living water.

^{John 4:15}The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Jesus invited and she accepted the invitation. She asked for this water.

^{John 4:23}But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. ²⁴God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth. ²⁵The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. ²⁶Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am [he.] ²⁸The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, ²⁹Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? ³⁰Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

Jesus just let the cat out of the bag. I am the Messiah. She goes back to her people, the ones that had shunned her, the ones she avoided at all costs because of her shame. The ones that had been shunning her, the ones they had bullied her, they listened to her. This was successful because it was done by the power of the Spirit dwelling in her. 

Worship involves the commandments of the covenant. Old Covenant worship involved love from us toward God, the Great Commandment. New covenant worship begins with God loving us and us loving one another, the New Commandment.

^{Matthew 9:12}But when Jesus heard [that,] he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.¹³But go ye and learn what [that] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Here is another example of Jesus calling us to be a part of something bigger. They that be whole are the ones who are complete in themselves. Jesus did not come for them. 

I will have mercy refers to the New Covenant – I will remember their sins no more. God does not prefer sacrifice, where you sin and need a another sacrifice every time you want to come into his presence. What God desires is a continuous relationship – I will never leave you nor forsake you. Everlasting life is just about continuity as it is about longevity.

Repentance is another word we stumble over. The Greek word is metanoian. It is generally thought of as changing one’s mind. The problem with that is, when you have changed your mind and landed on the right mind, if you repent once more you go back to being wrong again. Repentance is changing your mind toward the right thing. 

Meta has several meanings, one of such is against, or without. I prefer a meaning that is not listed in the Greek dictionary, beyond. For example, metadata is data about data. Where data would be the contents of a message, metadata would be the time of the message, who it was addressed to, and from whom was it sent.

Noieo has to do with knowledge, with understanding. Metanoieo is beyond understanding. It has to do with faith, something unseen. In repentance, we stop relying on what we can see and begin operating beyond ourselves, beyond knowledge, and allow the Spirit to control our actions. We become a constituent part of the whole, God with us.

Truth is another word that begins with an alpha. The word that is negated is lanthano, which means to be hidden. Worshipping in truth is to allow your light to shine, illuminating the presence of God in your life. That is done by living beyond the things your own capabilities. 

^{2 Chronicles 16:9} For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

If you are under the New Covenant, your heart is perfect. If you allow the Spirit access, he will show himself strong on your behalf.

February 22, 2023

^{Philippians 2:13}For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.

To will and to do are two separate things. To will is when God makes known his will for you. He does that when he loves you by way of the Holy Spirit.

To do is when God loves one another through you by means of the Holy Spirit.

The love you received by the Holy Spirit is a law written in your heart, and it is fulfilled when he loves one another through you by way of the Holy Spirit. He is able to do this when you yield your members unto him as instruments of righteousness.

December 3, 2022

In the parable of the talents, three servants of the lord were given talents, one five talents, one two talents, and the last a single talent. The lord left for a long time. When he returned, the accounts of the servants were opened and each servant, referencing his account, announced the number of talents given and the number of talents gained. The servants who faithfully gained talents were invited in. The servant who failed to gain any talents was sent to outer darkness.

In this parable, when was righteousness imputed, and when were the servants justified?

It is not clear to me how one would answer these questions from the viewpoint of conventional theology without clear contradictions. If the full righteousness of Christ was imputed to the servants when the talents were given, this righteousness being sufficient, what happened that it was not sufficient for the single talent servant? If justification, the declaration of righteousness, did not happen until the end, how was it that Abraham was justified by faith while he was yet uncircumcised, clearly before the Lord’s return.

Applying new covenant theology to this parable, both questions can be easily answered and understood. Just a note: impute means to make an entry in the account. The talents given were imputed when they were given. The talents gained were imputed at the time they were gained. Justification happened the first time a talent gained was imputed. Talents given that are not secured by a talent gained is lost. The first talent gained is called the first fruit.

Applying this parable to the new covenant, the talent is grace. Grace is the love originating with the Father for the Son, continuing to one, continuing to one another. The new commandment is the law of the new covenant: love one another as I have loved you. It is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets me free from the law of sin and death.

When a person is initiated into the new covenant, the first thing added to their account is their introduction to the gospel. That is always first, and it called the first love. To secure this talent, one must use that talent to gain a talent. One must share the gospel with another. Looking for salvation? Have you heard the gospel? Salvation is on your lips. All you need to do is share it with someone else! The Holy Spirit was present when you received the gospel and he is present when you share the gospel. Everything the Holy Spirit does through you, using your members as instruments of righteousness, is righteousness. Romans 8:28.

November 30, 2022

^{Proverbs 8:12}I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. ²²The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. ²³I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. ²⁴When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. ²⁵Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: ²⁶While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. ²⁷When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: ²⁸When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: ²⁹When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: ³⁰Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; ³¹Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. ³²Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.

Wisdom was with God from the beginning. Wisdom is speaking as if it were a person. One characteristic of this person is an understanding of cause and effect. We study history to increase our wisdom, so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. We get to see the results of actions that have taken place in the past.

God sees cause and effect. He knew the end from the beginning, even though there were thousands of years in between. Wisdom is iterative, where a cause creates an effect which become another cause creating more effects. It is like a combination shot in pool. Taking all causes and effects into account over thousands of years is the manifold wisdom of God.

A manifold is a description of an iterative process. There is the manifold grace of God, of which we are stewards. Grace is iterative: as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. As I have loved you, love one another. The one-another part is meant to iterate until the day of the Lord. We are stewards of the manifold grace of God because, as we receive it, we are to pass it along. It’s like being one atom in a nuclear reaction.

Manifold tempations is another example of an object that is iterative. When you give into one temptation, more come on its heels. This is one manifold to avoid.

The principalities and powers, Ephesians 3:10, will see the manifold wisdom of God by the church being stewards of the manifold grace of God. God is the Father of all grace; he is the origin of all grace. He did that with wisdom, understanding what grace to insert to which steward so that it would ripple through the church to cause the end which he had predicted from the beginning. He is the magician and we are his assistants. Together we are putting on a show for the principalities and powers, each one playing our role in the production.

October 1, 2022

Love your neighbor as yourself. That means – don’t be a hypocrite. What is good for you is good for everyone else.

September 22, 2022

^{Revelation 2:1}Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; ²I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: ³And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. ⁴Nevertheless I have [somewhat] against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. ⁵Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

First love. When we see this passage, it reminds us of the early days of our salvation and how passionate we were. We nod in agreement that we have lost that lovin’ feeling. This is an old covenant perspective. Notice in verse 5 that God equates love to works, not emotion. 

In the old covenant, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. In the new covenant there is a new commandment – love one another as I have loved you. In the new covenant, every commandment begins with God’s love for you. 

Old covenant thinking – I need to love God with more passion.

^{1 John 4:19}We love him, because he first loved us.

New covenant thinking – Jesus first act of love was to open our eyes to the gospel. He shared with us the good news and we responded. Under the new covenant, I am commanded to do for others what the Lord has done for me. Remember in the parable of the talents, the servant who did not gain any talents lost the one he had been given and was cast into outer darkness. Jesus gives us an additional talent each time he loves us. We secure that talent by loving one another with that same love to gain a talent, thereby securing the talent given.  

Do not forsake the first love. That is the most important talent to secure.

There is another term the scripture uses to describe the talent – that is grace.

May 12, 2022

Death is separation from God. Life is union with God.

Righteousness is working together with God. Sin is working apart from God.

Sin separates us from God. When sin is in our account, the Holy Spirit cannot remain in us. When he leaves, the possibilities for righteousness are gone. We are on our own.

To clear sin from our account, a sacrifice is needed. Claim Jesus as your sacrifice.

To get out from under the law so that sins are no longer remembered in your account, you need to die. Then you need to be resurrected so that you can participate in newness of life, united with God without the threat of abandonment if you mess up once. Baptism does that for you. You do not need to be baptized to be saved, but you do need to die to get out from under the law of sin and death. The good part about baptism is that resurrection is part of the deal.

April 15, 2022

^{Romans 2:7}To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

How does one continue in well doing patiently? Remember, it is God with us: God’s strength, our resources. 

^{Isaiah 40:31}But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Forget plan B. Wait on God. Wait for his strength. Do not continue without him. Wait patiently for him. We work together with God; we don’t proceed without him. 

To forgive someone as he forgave me: team effort. To love someone as he loved me: team effort. Stop doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Make your resources available to God, then wait on him. Learn how to do that. Try it once. Try it again. Turn it into a habit.

That is how to seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. Have you been taught that it is a bad thing to seek for glory? You have been messed with. The Bible teaches otherwise. 

April 8, 2022

^{Romans 2:8}But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

The truth is something to be obeyed. The opposite is to obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath. These are the opposite of truth.

Under the new covenant, the law to be obeyed is the love with which we have been loved.

So far we know that Jesus is the truth, the judgment of God is according to the truth, and that truth is to be obeyed. We also know that the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

It had escaped my notice earlier that the true worshippers are true. I had not seen that the true was another place truth is found in scripture.

Putting it together thus far, true worship is obedience to the truth in partnership with the spirit. The Father seeks those. This puts me in mind of one of my favorite scriptures:

^{2 Chronicles 16:9}For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 

The Father is diligently seeking those.

Is the truth the law which is written on the heart?

^{Romans 2:1}Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. ²But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

When I am judging someone, I am not loving them. If I have done the things I condemn in others and have received forgiveness for those things, when I fail to forgive them, I fail to obey the law; I have received the grace of God in vain.

True worship is obedience to the truth.

Tip: when you see someone that offends you, that is a prompting that Jesus wants to borrow your resources. Move in their direction. Lean into them. It is not up to you to make anything right, or to warn them off. That would be loving them in your own strength. Be still and know that he is God. Watch him work. Trust me. More importantly, trust him.

April 7, 2022

^{John 4:23}But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

This is the verse Jesus dropped into my lap this morning. He is going somewhere with truth.

What does it mean to worship the Father in truth? Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Worshipping in spirit and truth is also new with Jesus. The truth I know about would have existed in the Old Testament. 

April 6, 2022

^{John 1:17}For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

For a few days now I have been sensing that there is more to truth than the English version of the word.

The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth replaced the law of Moses, not just grace. This puts into question the idea of solus gratia – grace alone.

I am just at the beginning of a hint of revelation – there is something important going on here.

^{Romans 2:2}But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

It feels like grace and truth is a carrot and a stick: grace is the carrot; truth is the stick. Look at the verse preceding this.

^{Romans 2:1}Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

Recall the parable of the unforgiving servant. He was forgiven, then he passed judgment on someone who had offended him the same way he had offended the king. That servant was subjected to the judgment he passed on the one who owed him. He had been forgiven but was judged according to truth.

^{John 14:6}Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

I get the sense that “I am the way” is referring to grace – God with us: God’s strength, our resources. Jesus is the strength in our partnership.

I could be wrong about this, but truth has something to do with judgment. Look at what happens right after Pilate asks Jesus, What it truth?

^{John 18:37}Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. ³⁸Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault [at all.]

Pilate immediately passes judgment, declaring that he finds no fault in Jesus. Was Jesus silent when Pilate asked the question? What led Pilate to acquit? Does the truth always set you free? I am out of my depth at the moment, but I am confident that Jesus will clarify things as I enter this new room, a room that I did not even know was there.

April 5, 2022

^{2 Chronicles 16:9}For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 

Those whose hearts are perfect toward him have accounts that are free from sin. 

^{Hebrews 9:22}And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Their accounts were purged from sin by a blood sacrifice. Jesus is the sacrifice.

^{Romans 7:1}Know ye not brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth.

Sin is no longer added to their account because they are no longer under the law, but under grace. Grace is the new law of the new covenant, written in their hearts.

They were freed from the law when they died: in the Old Testament through various means (thrown into a pit, deep sleep, actual death), in the New Testament most often through baptism.

God’s work is righteousness. To do his work, he uses his strength with our resources. When he uses our resources to do his work, righteousness is added to our account.

Justification is God’s righteousness added to our account.

Faith is trusting God with our resources.

April 4, 2022

^{Romans 1:16}For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The gospel is that we are saved by grace: the power of God unto salvation. Grace is God with us: God’s strength, our resources, his purpose, our justification. Those who believe are everyone that trusts the Lord, yielding their resources to God unto righteousness.

It was first to the Jew, because it was available to the Jew in the Old Testament. It became available to the Greek in the New Testament.

^{Genesis 39:2}And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ³And his master saw that the Lord was with him…

This is what grace looks like in the Old Testament: the Lord with Joseph.

^{2 Chronicles 16:9}For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 

When God shows himself strong in your behalf, it is noticed.

April 3, 2022

^{Romans 6:14}For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

A person is saved when they are justified. A person under grace is not saved until he is justified.

^{Romans 7:1}Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

A person is under the law until they die. When they die, believing in Christ, they are under grace, the new law under the new covenant.

^{Romans 6:3}Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Baptism counts as death – not the only way to die, but the one I would recommend; the other ways can get messy. When you are baptized, you come out from under the law. 

^{2 Corinthians 6:1}We then, [as] workers together [with him,] beseech [you] also that ye receive not the grace (charin) of God in vain.

We are justified by faith, but not apart from works (faith without works is dead). When we work together with God, when we believe him enough to trust him with our resources, financial, members of our body, etc., we are justified. The work I do apart from God is not righteous. Work that God does without me is not counted in my behalf (why would it be?) Grace received is a calling. Saving grace is when we partner our resources with God’s strength to produce good works: that is justification – good works credited to my account. Grace is received in vain when it is received, but not acted upon to produce fruit (righteousness). Justification happens when a person acts upon their calling – the grace they received. 

Consider the parable of the talents, the servant who received a single talent and buried it was thrown into outer darkness. The only difference between the servant who received one talent and the one who receive two was what they did with their talent: the lost servant had produced no gain. The lost servant received the grace of the Lord in vain. The servant with the two talents was justified once he had produced a gain. The talent is grace; the gain is righteousness. Righteousness and justification are essentially the same Greek word. 

^{John 15:9}As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. ¹⁰If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. ¹¹These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full. ¹²This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

These verses are an accurate representation of the new covenant. In the language of the new covenant, grace received is the love a person receives from the Lord. Loving one another as the Lord has loved you is righteousness – obedience to the law as it is written in your heart. 

What, know ye not that the new covenant includes a new commandment? The law of the new covenant is written in your heart. When the Bible says we are justified by faith apart from the works of the law, it is talking about the old law – the law of sin and death. Are you really saying the law of the new covenant is optional? 

Jesus told you these things so that his joy might remain in you. The joy is grace, the talent he gave you. Act on the commandment he gave you so that you don’t lose the talent like the servant who received the grace of God in vain. Abiding in his love is partnering with God – your resources, his strength – to produce righteousness. Emmanuel – God with us, partners.

April 2, 2022

^{Psalm 46:10}Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

I sense that God is quiet this morning, waiting to see if I will post something of my own. Is this going from, I can’t wait to see what God is going to show me today, to, What will I share this morning?

April 1, 2022

^{Romans 1:9}For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Grace is God with us: God’s strength, our resources, his purpose, our justification. Paul had received the gospel by revelation from the Lord. That was grace received: his calling. Paul is now sharing that gospel, the love he received from the Lord, with the Romans. Grace shared is justification. Sharing the gospel was Paul’s justification, but to the Romans it was their calling. Verse 9 describes Paul serving God, using his resources coupled with the strength of the spirit to share the gospel.

^{Romans 1:16}For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. ¹⁷For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Because of the gospel and my obedience to the faith – allowing God to use my resources – I will not be ashamed on the day of the Lord. The righteousness revealed is the power of God: God showing himself strong in Paul’s behalf. Paul exercised his faith by yielding himself to God, allowing God to spread the gospel through him, thereby calling the saints in Rome to the gospel, so that they could, in turn, exercise their faith in the same way. Faith is trusting God with your resources, fulfilling the new commandment. As you have been loved, love one another. It was the righteousness of God, but it was credited to Paul’s account because it was done using Paul’s resources.

^{2 Corinthians 5:10}For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.

March 31, 2022

^{Ephesians 1:7}In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (charitos);

I sense there is a hidden message in this verse. Paul is telling me something about forgiveness; something very important. Here is the parable of the unforgiving servant.

^{Matthew 18:23}Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. ²⁴And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. ²⁷Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. ²⁸But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took [him] by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. ²⁹And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. ³⁰And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. ³¹So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. ³²Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: ³³Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? ³⁴And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. ³⁵So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

This parable opens with the king taking account of his servants. On the day of the Lord, God will be reviewing my account as well. 

Upon reviewing the account, the servant was found to owe the king ten thousand talents. I have offended God on many occasions, especially when I consider the verse where Jesus said, In that you have done it to the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me. Will these offences be found when my account is under review?

The servant asked forgiveness and the king granted his request. When I asked God to forgive my sins, my request was granted.

But then it was found that the servant had not forgiven someone else who had offended him in the same way he had offended the King, only on a much smaller scale. I am thinking of the ones that I have not forgiven. I have said the words, I forgive you, but I know there is still an unforgiving spirit toward that person. What am I to do?

The one thing that I need to know about forgiveness is how to do it. I have already tried everything I can think of: I keep repeating the words, I forgive you, I ignore it, overlook it, avoid it. I know in my heart it isn’t working.

^{Matthew 7:1}Judge not, that ye be not judged. ²For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

What measure am I meting out to the one(s) who offended me? Would I be pleased if that measure were to be meted to me? (No.) What am I to do about this?

I have forgiveness according to the riches of his grace. Forgiveness from the heart takes grace. Grace is God with us: God’s strength, my resources. I have been trying to forgive that person without God’s strength. Silly me. I need God’s strength. 

^{Ephesians 2:8}For by grace (chariti) are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

Grace comes through faith. I have been asking God’s for his strength, but I have not had the faith to yield my resources to him to resolve the issue.  I have been waiting for God’s strength; he has been waiting for my resources.

^{Luke 6:35}But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil.

Love using my resources apart from God’s strength is token love: not effective. Watch what happens when you partner with God. The unforgiveness disappears. Magic.

March 30, 2022

Grace as found in Galatians.

^{Galatians 1:3}Grace (charis) [be] to you and peace from God the Father, and [from] our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul gets right to the point with the Galatians: the purpose of his letter to them is that grace and peace would be unto them. 

^{Galatians 1:15}But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called [me] by his grace (charitos), ¹⁶To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: ¹⁷Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. ¹⁸Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

Paul had been called by grace and, with this letter, was fulfilling his calling by extending that grace to the Galatians. In his fulfilling of the gospel, he is illustrating the gospel. That is one way to know when somebody believes what they are preaching – they are saying what they are doing by doing what they are saying.

I digress, but I once was impressed by a professor teaching us how to write great sentences. He was explaining different styles of sentences, and while he would describe a certain style, he would describe it by using sentences of the style he was describing. As amazing as this was, I see Paul doing the same thing here. In his explanation of the gospel, he is fulfilling the gospel. 

Paul spent three years in Arabia under the discipleship of Jesus. (Is it a coincidence that Jesus spent three years teaching his other disciples?) Paul received the gospel, not of man, but by revelation directly from the Lord. His discipleship was Jesus’ expression of love to Paul. In the language of the parable of the talents, Paul had received a talent from the Lord. In the parable, when the lord returned, that talent was later found in the account and identified as having been received from the lord. In the language of the gospel, a talent is grace, and a talent received is a calling. Hence, Paul was called by grace.

Paul, having graduated from the Lord’s discipleship curriculum, went to see Peter in Jerusalem.

^{Galatians 2:2}And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

Paul went to those which were of reputation and communicated unto them that gospel which he had received by revelation and had been preaching among Gentiles.

^{Galatians 2:9}And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace (charin) that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we [should go] unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Paul’s calling was confirmed by those of reputation when they witnessed the Gentiles being baptized by the Holy Spirit, the very same thing they had witnessed in the upper room with the Jewish believers. 

Paul, while preaching to the Gentiles, God had stepped in, showing himself strong in Paul’s behalf. Grace is God with us, working together: God’s strength, our resources.

^{Galatians 1:6}I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace (chariti) of Christ unto another gospel:

Who was the one who called them into the grace of Christ? It was Paul who had himself been called by the Lord to preach the gospel unto the Gentiles. Paul, in preaching to the Gentiles, loving them with the love he had received from the Lord, fulfilled the new commandment by calling the Galatians into the grace of Christ, the gospel. In preaching the gospel, Paul was fulfilling the gospel; the gospel being the new covenant as supported by the new commandment.

In the language of the parable of the talents, Paul, preaching the gospel to the Galatians, was creating an additional talent. That talent would later show up in his account as a gain. In the language of the gospel this talent is grace. The gain shows up in the account as righteousness. The act of adding righteousness to an account is called justification. We are justified by grace when we fulfill our calling in partnership with God: his strength, our resources.

The very same thing that was righteousness from Paul’s perspective, preaching the gospel, was a calling from the perspective of the Galatians, receiving the gospel. A talent is used to produce gain when faith is acted upon in obedience to the new commandment, to love one another as you have been loved. Acting in faith by obedience to the new commandment is how one uses a talent received to create a talent gained. 

It is interesting that the location of the account is on the tables of the heart. Databases have tables and those tables can be easily queried to generate a report. A recursive query can be used to see the impact of a single talent multiplied from servant to servant, generation to generation.

^{Galatians 2:21}I do not frustrate the grace (charitos) of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

The Greek word for frustrate is the same word used in Galatians 1:6, removed. This verse gives us a little more insight into what Paul meant in verse 6: not that they were being removed from him, but that they were being removed from the gospel that had been preached to him. Here Paul is saying that he will not remove himself from the gospel of Christ, the grace of God. If righteousness could have come by the law, Christ would have died in vain. But Christ had not died in vain, and righteousness cannot come by the law. 

Righteousness is good works, and no human is capable of good works. However, grace, God with us, working together, God’s strength, our resources yielded to him as instruments of righteousness, is our justification. The just shall live by faith. By faith we join together with God to allow our resources to be used by him.

^{Galatians 5:4}Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace (charitos).

Removing yourself from the gospel as it was delivered unto you, trusting that you can be justified by the law, you abandon grace. Faith in yourself is not saving faith.

Catholic theology postulates that the works of man are necessary to achieve righteousness; Protestant theology postulates that the work of Christ apart from man is sufficient to achieve righteousness. 

^{Matthew 1:23}and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

The gospel states that it is God with us, working together in partnership that achieves righteousness.

^{Galatians 6:18}Brethren, the grace (charis) of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with your spirit. Amen.

Paul finishes his letter to the Galatians reiterating his purpose for the letter: that grace be with you. If you get nothing else, remember to practice grace: Christ with you.

March 29, 2022

^{John 15:9}As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. ¹⁰If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. ¹¹These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full. ¹²This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Jesus told us these things that his joy might remain in us. The implication is that his joy is in us, but there is a danger that it won’t remain, and that what he has just said will prevent that from happening.

Compare the parable of the talents. Look what happened to the servant with the one talent.

^{Matthew 25:24}Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: ²⁵And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, [there] thou hast [that is] thine. ²⁶His lord answered and said unto him, [Thou] wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: ²⁷Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and [then] at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. ²⁸For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

The talent is the love that the Lord gave us. We gain talents by loving one another, just as Jesus had commanded that we should. In verse 28, unto everyone that hath, what is it that they have? The only thing the other servants had was gain: they had used the talent they were given to produce a gain. The ones that have will have abundance, but everyone that did not use their talents to produce a gain shall lose even the talents they were given. 

The talent corresponds to grace. Grace is God with us, working together: God’s strength, our resources. There are mutual benefits: God’s purpose, our justification. 

God loves Jesus; Jesus loves us; we love one another. Grace we receive is our calling. Grace we deliver is our justification. Recognize when God loves you and be diligent to use that love: it is the wind beneath your sails.

March 28, 2022

^{Ephesians 1:11}In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

I have always thought of the inheritance as something that we will receive in the future, in the by and by. Although obtained is in the past tense, the Greek uses the aorist tense which means the tense is unspecified; the act takes place but does not indicate when. It could also mean past, present and future.

Recall in the parable of the talents, the lord, before he left, entrusted his servants with his property, breaking his estate into allotments, the inheritance being one of the allotments. He gave an allotment to each servant according to his several abilities. The allotments were predetermined: which allotments would go to which servants. The distribution of the allotments, although predetermined and distributed in the parable at a point in time, in reality some have been distributed in the past and some are yet to be distributed.

In the parable the lord leaves and it is up to the servants to generate an increase, yet Ephesians 1:11 is clear that the one who divided the allotments also works all things after the counsel of his own will. 

The allotments were called talents. While the lord was away, the value of the estate increased as the servants made more talents. The talents became abundant and, when the lord returned, each of the servants who used his talents to make more was invited into the joy of the lord.

So far, we have considered the division of the Lord’s estate from an individual’s point of view. 

^{2 Corinthians 4:15}For all things [are] for your sakes, that the abundant grace (charin) might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

The all things refer to the estate of the Lord. This verse identifies the allotments as grace. Here we see the division of all things from the collective point of view. The allotments I have received are for your sakes. Talents are generated through interactions with one another. 

Recall that Jesus began the parable of the talents saying, For the kingdom of heaven is like. The kingdom of heaven is the new covenant. The new covenant is governed by the new commandment: love one another as I have loved you. When I receive love, I receive a talent. I make an increase when I obey the new commandment and love one another as I have been loved. In the kingdom of heaven there is nothing for me to do until I have been loved. When I am loved, I am commanded to set about loving one another accordingly. The love I receive is grace. The grace I receive is for your sake. 

^{2 Corinthians 6:1}We then, [as] workers together [with him,] beseech [you] also that ye receive not the grace (charin) of God in vain.

When you think of grace, think of it as us working together with him: God’s strength, our resources; with mutual benefit: his purpose, our justification. When we receive our allotment and fail to generate an increase, we receive the grace of God in vain. Like the servant who failed to create an increase, his allotment was taken and given to another. Although it would sadden me to receive an allotment at another’s expense, I would prefer not to be the one who forfeits my allotment. Instead I would work to encourage others to generate an increase of their own, that they may be of the many who will be giving thanks and redound to the glory of God.

March 27, 2022

The age-old question: If there is a God, why would he allow so much suffering?

^{2 Corinthians 1:4}Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. ⁵For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. ⁶And whether we be afflicted, [it is] for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, [it is] for your consolation and salvation. ⁷And our hope of you [is] stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so [shall ye be] also of the consolation. ⁸For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: ⁹But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: ¹⁰Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver [us; ] ¹¹Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift [bestowed] upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf. ¹²For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to youward.

Paul is outlining a context for God allowing troubles in the world: that we would be able to comfort others in their troubles. But it’s more than that. Comfort also means strengthen. God strengthens us in our tribulation, showing himself strong in our behalf. God is the one who “loves” us through troubled times, so that we can in turn love others through their troubles. This does not make sense in our world, but in the context of the new covenant, that is the part where God says, I will be their God and they will be my people. Trouble would make no sense if we were self-sufficient. If we were self-sufficient, we would not need God.

Being under the new covenant, we are under the new commandment; we are under grace. Being under the new commandment, we are not able to love one another with the strength of God until we have first been loved. The reason we are loved is so that we can love one another. Jesus went through trouble and was strengthened by the Holy Spirit. When Jesus left, he sent us the Holy Spirit who would strengthen us in our time of trouble. 

In verse 12, the conversation in the world we have had is the experience of having been turned upside down in the world. By God’s grace (his strength, our resources), we pioneer the way through trouble to clear a path for others, not just having this benefit for ourselves, but more abundantly by extending God’s strength to you, that you would be able to receive the grace of God and, in turn, extend that grace to others. 

What is this benefit that is worth so much suffering? Extending grace to others is documented in your account in the righteousness column. Adding righteousness to your account is called justification. This benefit is eternal.

^{Romans 8:18}For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

March 26, 2022

^{Jeremiah 31:33}But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

One of the features of the new covenant is that God would write his laws in our hearts. That feature is implemented by the new commandment. 

^{John 13:34}A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

In the language of the parable of the talents, the love you receive is like a talent received. When the lord gave a talent, his expectation was that the talent would be used to gain more. When you receive love, the expectation is that you would love one another as you have been loved, thus fulfilling the commandment.

^{Matthew 25:19}After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. ²⁰And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliverest unto me five talents, behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

When the lord returned, the servant brought out the account (reckoneth) and he showed the lord the five talents that had been delivered and the five he had gained; both had been documented in the account. The account is on the tables of the heart.

Love received is the law written in your heart. Love distributed is obedience to the law. The love you distribute is both your talent distributed and someone else’s talent received. That love is called grace. Your grace distributed is someone else’s grace received. 

There is another aspect of grace at play in the new covenant: and I will be their God.

Grace means to do someone a favor. This is illustrated in Acts 25 when the chief priest asks Festus for a favor, a charis. A favor is done when someone uses their resources for someone else’s benefit. The favor the Bible refers to as grace is of this nature: God’s strength, our resources, his purpose, our righteousness, mutual benefit. We offer our resources to God when we yield our members as instruments of righteousness to God. It takes faith to do this because he doesn’t always return our resources in the same condition. When my friend borrows my truck and returns it smashed, am I likely to let him borrow it again? Take up your cross and follow me, he says. Suck it in.

^{Romans 14:17}For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy (chara) in the Holy Ghost.

Joy is another word for grace: chara is closely associated with charis, the Greek word for grace. The Holy Ghost is called the comforter, but the Greek word also means strengthener. The Holy Spirit is God’s agent to whom we yield our members as instruments of righteousness. He acts to show himself strong in our behalf. When he acts, righteousness is imputed to our account. Impute means to represent as being done, caused, or possessed by someone. The Holy Spirit performs the work; we get the credit when he uses our resources.

Grace is the term used in the Bible for several aspects of the operating system of the new covenant: the operating system itself, love received, love distributed. Love received is our calling(s) – we are called by grace. Love distributed is our righteousness – we are justified by grace. Righteousness and justification are the same in the Greek.

The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 

May we experience the kingdom of God to the fullest.

March 25, 2022

^{Romans 11:1}I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. ²God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, ³Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. ⁴But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to [the image of] Baal. ⁵Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

The election of grace?

^{1 Peter 1:2}Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Both passages speak of election; both also speak of foreknowledge. Election implies that God is the one who chooses, but his choice is according to foreknowledge..

^{John 15:16}Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

The process of election is a merry-go-round. Who does the choosing depends on where you are when you give the answer. Let’s go for a ride on the merry-go-round. I speak in the context of the parable of the talents.

God gives me talents according to my several abilities. I decide whether to trust the Lord by yielding my members as instruments of righteousness: am I willing to partner with him to produce righteousness on my behalf? If I do, that righteousness is grace added to my account. Grace in my account is the God’s basis for choosing me. The election is according to the foreknowledge of God. The thing that God foreknew was the contents of my account before any of it was written. This does not make sense in our three-dimensional reality. But God is not constrained to three dimensions. God is the I AM. He is omnipresent in four dimensions. He is everywhere and ever present: our past is his present; our future is his present.

God knew the status of my account from before the beginning of time; on the day of the Lord will my account have any grace in the gain column? The part we don’t get is that God’s foreknowledge does not control our choice. The final condition of my account is completely dependent on the choices I make. In the parable of the talents, the servant with the one talent did not have faith in the lord and instead of using that talent to produce a gain, he buried the talent. That servant did not trust his lord. It all comes down to faith. 

Justification is God adding grace to the gain column in my account. The just shall live by faith. The servant with the single talent had grace in the bestow column, but none in the gain column. In the end even the talent in the bestow column was taken from him.

There are two choices being made in this circle of life: God’s choice based on the grace in my account, and my choice to work together with God to put grace in my account.

Who can come to God? Whosoever will. Will you partner together with God to work with him according to his purpose?

^{Romans 8:28}And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. ²⁹For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Foreknowledge here is associated with predestination. Predestination and election go hand in hand: they are related. Predestination is God preordaining good works that we should walk therein. Election is God choosing those who choose to walk therein.

God works all things together for good. God works all things together with us that love God to produce good works. This is not works together with works but God together with us to produce good works according to his purpose. When the angel came to Mary and proposed an opportunity for grace on her behalf, the work that was to be done was according to God’s purpose: that Mary would participate with God to fulfill his promise to Abraham. 

^{2 Chronicles 16:9}For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

Allow the eyes of the Lord to land upon you today, to show himself strong in your behalf.

March 24, 2022

^{Romans 12:3}For I say, through the grace (charitos) given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

What was the grace that was given to Paul? And what was the grace he is delivering to us?

^{2 Corinthians 12:6}For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but [now] I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me [to be,] or [that] he heareth of me. ⁷And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

This is the circumstance where Paul received this grace. Paul faced a difficulty in his life. 

^{James 1:2}My brethren, count it all joy (charan) when ye fall into divers temptations;

When you are faced with a trial, it is grace, charan, that will bring you through it. Sometimes, as in this case, the solution does not include resolution of the problem. The grace that brought Paul through this trial was the information pertaining to why the problem could not go away: Paul was in danger of exalting himself above measure. Paul, after having received this information, passed that grace to us. If you self-regulate your self-exaltation, you can perhaps avoid having to entertain the messenger of Satan.

^{2 Corinthians 12:10}Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

As much as Paul took pleasure in his infirmities, he is suggesting that this one pleasure you would be more pleased to avoid.

March 23, 2022

I am in the process of writing a book about grace. This is the teaser I plan on using for the introduction.

As the story goes, there was a group of blind men who had never come across an elephant before and who attempted to learn what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man felt a different part of the elephant’s body, but only one part, such as the ear, the tusk, or its trunk. When they described the elephant based on their limited experience, their descriptions of the elephant were different from each other. 

This story could have included an army of blind men, each examining and describing the part of the elephant they had handled, each using the word, elephant, to name their part. Putting all the parts together would not have brought them any closer to understanding the animal. Were they wrong in calling their part an elephant? No, they were describing the elephant. The result of their exercise only brought division.

Grace is like that. We are looking for a definition of grace by examining one of its parts, calling that part grace, and then being astounded by all its facets, or divided by the thing that was intended to unite us. Our conclusion is that grace is many different things, and at the conclusion we are no closer to an understanding grace, the animal.

My book is about grace, the animal. We use words to model reality. We often mistake the word for the reality, being more interested in accurately defining the word than understanding the reality of grace as a whole. Is grace the same in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament? Is the meaning of the Hebrew word for grace the same as the Greek word for grace? The words may mean something different but the reality did not change. The animal in the Old Testament is the same as in the New.

I would like you to introduce you to the animal called grace. Together we are going to look at the animal, not just its anatomy. I will start by taking you through the process that led me to my understanding of grace and then, having seen the animal, you will be able to appreciate each of its parts and the role each plays in relation to the whole.

The most amazing thing about grace is that even God thinks it is amazing.

March 22, 2022

^{Romans 1:5}By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

To capture the meaning of this verse you need to understand yesterday’s entry. With that in mind, obedience to the faith would require a law to be obeyed. The law to be obeyed is the law written in your heart; that is one of the aspects of the new covenant. 

Review the end game in the parable of the talents when the lord returned.

^{Matthew 25:19}After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth (logon) with them. ²⁰And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

I need a little poetic license here because the translators took poetic license when they translated this verse. The Greek word, logon, is a noun and the translators made it a verb. Logon is the account; they were reviewing the account. The account is in the heart. When the account was examined, the servant, referring to the account, showed the lord the five talents that were delivered to him, and the five he gained. The account includes not just the gain, but also the original investment. That initial investment is the law that was written in the account in the heart. That is the law spoken of in the new covenant.

^{John 13:34}A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

The new commandment of the new covenant includes the initial investment as well as the gain in the parable of the talents. As I have loved you is the talent delivered; love one another is the talent gained.

Back to Romans 1:5: we received grace from Jesus as he has loved us: that is the talent delivered. As we love one another, an increase is achieved. That increase is achieved by obedience to the faith. That faith is trusting our resources to the spirit of holiness as we yield our members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Recall in the parable of the talents, it was the increase that saved the servant, not the talents that were delivered. The servant without an increase was cast into outer darkness. In the parable, both the talent delivered, and the talent gained were grace: they were both called talents. It was the talents gained by which they were saved. Talents were gained by faith; ye are saved by grace through faith.

In the language of the talents, we have all (all nations) received talents from the lord that we may use those talents received to create an increase. Faith is required because we are turning over our “talent” (our resources) to someone else’s control: the Holy Spirit. The increase is righteousness: the works that are not of ourselves. The righteousness is the gift of God. The gift is the works that are not of ourselves, but of God. The works are righteous because they are of God and not of ourselves. In the end, both the talent delivered and the increase are from God. Our contribution is faith.

^{Romans 1:17}For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

I create an increase when I obey the law of the new covenant and love one another. My increase is the talent delivered to one another. I do that by faith, and they create their own increase by faith. This is how the righteousness of God is revealed.

March 21, 2022

^{Jeremiah 31:33}But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

With the new covenant comes a new commandment:

^{John 13:34}A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

The verse that ties the new commandment to the new covenant is Romans 6:17.

^{Romans 6:17}But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form (tupon) of doctrine (didache) which was delivered you.

The Greek word for thanked is charis, often translated as grace.

The Greek word for form is tupon from which we get the word, type, as in typewriter.

The Greek word for doctrine is didache which means a teaching. 

Romans 6:17 embodies the new commandment. Grace is both love received from the Lord and love shed abroad to one another, illustrating both faces of grace: the one facing you and the one facing away. The love received from the Lord is the law written in the tables of your heart, on your account. The love shed abroad to one another is done through obedience to that teaching which was delivered you.

The new covenant is a covenant between me and the Lord. My covenant with the Lord has its own set of laws, typed on the tables of my heart; each law a calling; each law a teaching delivered to me with love. I obey that law by yielding my members, my resources, as instruments of righteousness to the Lord, for him to replicate that love through me to one another. 

^{2 Corinthians 12:10}And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

As you humble yourself by yielding your members as instruments of righteousness to God, becoming weak, may the power of Christ rest upon you.

March 20, 2022

^{Romans 1:3}Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made (genomenou) of the seed (spermatos) of David according to the flesh; ⁴And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Paul establishes the genealogy of Jesus, first on the mother’s side, then on the Father’s. The term, made, pertains to genetics. The mother was of the seed of David. His mother’s side was according to the flesh. 

On the Father’s side, he was a descendant of God by declaration – it was the spirit of holiness that overshadowed Mary. Whatever the process was, it did not affect her virginity. Yet it was the seed of the Father by which she was conceived.

This is significant because, according to Genesis, every living being had seed in themselves to reproduce after their own kind. In order to determine how Jesus could reproduce, we would have to know how he was conceived. Unless there is another way to figure that out: if we know how he reproduces, we could determine how it was that he was conceived – reverse engineering.

^{1 Peter 1:23}Being born again (anagennao), not of corruptible seed (spora), but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Born again does not do this term justice: it is begotten again or conceived again. We are begotten again by the incorruptible seed. Every seed has a parent who was conceived by the same seed. The question is, who is the father of the incorruptible seed? It was Jesus Christ who was not conceived in the normal way. That seed is identified by Peter as the word of God. Jesus was conceived by the word of God, and that is how he became the Word of God.

The significance of this is that, had Jesus been conceived in the normal fashion, he would only be able to reproduce that way. For us to be his children, we would have had to be his direct descendants, but because he was conceived by the word of God, he can reproduce by the word of God, and we can become his children by being conceived again by the word of God.

Being conceived again by the word of God, we, too, can reproduce by the word of God. This adds a new wrinkle to the commandment, love one another as I have loved you.

For more details, see the Seed of Christ.

March 19, 2022

^{Romans 1:1}Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

Paul gives more details of his calling in Galatians. 

^{Galatians 1:15}But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called [me] by his grace, ¹⁶To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: ¹⁷Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

I Galatians 1:15 once again Paul uses separated in the same sentence as called. Paul was called by his grace when God revealed his Son to Paul. He went through a three-year boot camp, just like the disciples, only this time it was one on one. I am guessing but I don’t think Jesus spoke in parables during Paul’s three years of training.

^{John 15:9}As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Love one another as I have loved you. ¹⁰If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. ¹¹These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full. ¹²This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

The Father had loved the Son by showing him what he was doing. The Son loved Paul with the same love, showing Paul what he was doing; that was his calling. Paul loved us with the same love by showing us what he was doing. Grace is the loved that is passed like a baton in the relay race we are running. 

Paul was called by the love he received from the Son, then he was sent – an apostle is one who is sent – to share that what he had learned = the gospel of God.

March 18, 2022

^{Romans 4:4}Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. ⁵But to him that worketh not …

It is understood that what naturally follows is that the reward is reckoned of grace, so much so that it would be redundant to say that. It would be much better to say the same thing with different words and clarify what is meant by that. What does it mean for the reward to be reckoned of grace?

^{Romans 4:5}But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

The reward being reckoned of grace means that his faith is reckoned for righteousness. Counted in verse 5 is the same Greek word as reckoned in verse 4. 

^{James 2:17}Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Faith that doesn’t include works is not counted for anything: it is dead.

Those who do not work yield their members as instruments of righteousness to God and allow God to do the work. Their trust is in the one who performs the good works on behalf of those who are not God: the ungodly. Justify is the same Greek word as righteousness.

^{2 Chronicles 16:9}For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 

The Lord shows himself strong in the behalf of those who yield their members as instruments of righteousness to him. Their heart is perfect toward him because their account is free from sin: they are not under the law but under grace. The account is on the tables of the heart. 

March 17, 2022

^{John 5:19}Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. ²⁰For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

Jesus did nothing of himself.

^{Matthew 12:22}Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard [it,] they said, This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

The Pharisees acknowledged that Jesus was not doing these miracles of himself but attributed his power to Beelzebub.

^{Matthew 12:31}Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy [against] the [Holy] Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Jesus attributed the source of his power to the Holy Ghost; the Spirit of Holiness. That is the same Spirit that is within us to perform good works.

^{Ephesians 2:10}For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The good works we are to do were before ordained. These good works are constrained by the limitations, or enhanced by the extravagance of our faith, our free will. The good works he foreordained were predestinated by God from the foundation of the earth. God had the advantage of foreknowledge and predestinated the good works accordingly. God’s sovereignty does not infringe on man’s free will, it embodies man’s free will. God’s foreknowledge does not control man’s free will, it anticipates man’s free will.

I cannot understand predestination, but I can leverage it. The question I need to ask myself today is, What do I want God to have known when he was ordaining the good works that I should walk in today?

Faith must be founded on something. My faith is founded on Jesus’ commandment – love one another as I have loved you. I ask myself, How has he loved me? He awakened me this morning and shared his thoughts with me. These thoughts I am sharing with you.

In the parable of the talents, the lord distributed talents severally according to their ability. Ability is as ability does. Today, as the Lord loves you, share that love with one another. Today, share the love you received yesterday. That love is grace. Grace received is your calling. Grace shared is your righteousness.

^{2 Peter 3:18}But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Increase your ability by exercising your faith. You don’t need to remain a one-talent servant of God.

March 16, 2022

^{Matthew 13:33}Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

A week ago, in our Wednesday night Bible Study, Pastor George Porter unpacked the parable of the leaven in a way I had not previously understood. It was thrilling. He took one sentence and filling the whole session with it, holding my attention with every sentence. I compress it back into a single sentence, but then add what God revealed to me this morning.

In the Bible, leaven is most often used in a negative sense: Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Here, leaven is taking the world in secret, being hidden by the woman in three measures of meal. The Greek word for hidden is the word from which we get encryption. 

The kingdom of God is like leaven, hidden in the world and encrypted to take the world by surprise.

Would it surprise you that the leaven is grace? 

Grace is something that we are to grow in, individually, and passed from one to another mysteriously.

Grace is something that, at least until now, has been encrypted: elusive to the point that even Google has not been able to decrypt it into a coherent definition.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Love one another as I have loved you.

Grace came to the Son from the Father. Grace came to us from Jesus Christ. Grace spreads to one another as we love one another. Grace received is our calling. Grace one anothered is our justification and our salvation.

Grace is the love of the Father to the Son. Grace is the love of the Son to us. Grace is the love we one-another (verb).

March 15, 2022

^{Luke 2:52}And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

The Greek word for favour in this verse is chariti, often translated as grace. Jesus had a grace connection with God and with man.

^{John 15:9}As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

Grace with the Father is the first half of the verse: as the Father hath loved me. Grace with man is the second half of the verse: so have I loved you.

^{2 Peter 3:18}But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.

The Greek word for grace in this verse is chariti, the same word translated as favour in Luke 2:52. We are also to grow in grace with God and man.

^{John 15:12}This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Grace with Jesus is the second part of this commandment: as I have loved you. Grace with man is the first part of this commandment: that ye love one another.

Grace is the transaction of love. It occurs between the Father and the Son. It occurs between the Son and us. It should also occur between us and one another.

Love must be received before it can be replicated. You cannot export what you have not received. When I operate outside my calling, I am operating according to the limitations of my own strength. By loving one another as I have been loved, I yield the members of my body as instruments of righteousness to God, and that enables God to perform righteousness through me. The essence of grace is when one’s resources are used for the benefit of another.

Grace received is my calling. Grace one anothered is my salvation. I am called by grace; I am saved by grace. 

March 14, 2022

^{John 15:9}As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

How has the Father loved the Son? Shall I expect to be loved by the Son with that same love?

The clock showed 3:16 when I opened my eyes this morning. Yesterday I was wondering if God did daylight savings time. The answer is yes.

^{John 3:16}For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

When God gave his only begotten Son, was that an act of love directed at the Son? The answer is an unthinkable yes. And Jesus received it as an act of love.

^{Hebrews 12:2}Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy (charas) that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus looked beyond the horror of the cross to the joy that was set before him. The Greek word for joy is a variation of the word we translate as grace. What was the joy set before him?

^{Philippians 2:5}Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: ⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; ¹¹And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¹²Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

The joy set before him was on the other side of the horror, where God highly exalted him. 

The horror that Jesus had to look beyond was this: Jesus was God; Jesus had everything; Jesus set everything aside, not considering himself the victim of a robbery; Jesus was obedient even unto death; even the death of the cross. 

^{Romans 1:5}By whom we have received grace (charin) and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Jesus, the author of our faith, was obedient to the faith, even unto death.

Will Jesus love us with the love he received from the Father? Philippians 2:5 says that we should be of the same mind as Christ. Verse 12 says that through obedience, we need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. 

^{James 1:2}My brethren, count it all joy (charan) when ye fall into divers temptations;

If the scriptures are any indication, the answers are yes and yes. It was an act of love when he gave his only begotten Son. It will be an act of love when our moment of fear and trembling comes. 

In the parable of the talents, each servant was given according to his several ability. Am I up to the task?

When they come for me, knocking on my door to whisk me away to an encampment for extermination because I refuse the Mark of the Beast, how shall I greet them? Armed to the teeth to defend myself? Claiming my rights as an American citizen? Here is the response I have worked out thus far:

You come to me with the threat of weapons, but I stand before you as a child of the living God. I rejoice that you are here although it saddens me that my gain comes at your expense. My God is able to deliver me from your hand, but even if he does not, I will not bow my knee to receive the Mark. If my God delivers me, I will be an eyewitness of the power of God. If he does not deliver me, it will be because he has considered me worthy to offer my life as my Savior offered his. You, on the other hand, find yourself in a dilemma: for if you fail to take me, you will face the wrath of your superiors; if you take me away, you will certainly face the wrath of the living God, whether or not he delivers me. You have a difficult decision; it is not a decision I would want to make. 

I would force their decision by offering my hands to be bound. 

These are trying times. Jesus had time to consider how he would handle his trial. Take time to consider how you should handle yours.

March 13, 2022

^{John 13:34} A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Grace encapsulates the new commandment: loving one another as Jesus has loved me. God’s grace to us is his love received by us: his calling. God’s grace through us is God expressing his love to one another: his righteousness. 

^{Matthew 7:1} Judge not that ye be not judged. ² For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Mercy is the corollary to grace: mete out the judgment to those who offend you that judgment with which you would be pleased to be meted out to you. Love one another the way you want Jesus to love you. 

^{Matthew 5:44}But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

For we were once his enemies. Loving your enemy is not just another platitude; it is a strategy.

March 12, 2022

^{Isaiah 50:4}The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. ⁵The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

Jesus was awakened each morning and was taught by God. This is similar to Paul’s experience for three years in Arabia, when God revealed the gospel to Paul as he wrote in Galatians chapter 1.

^{John 15:9}As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

One way the Father loved Jesus was by awakening him morning by morning and teaching him. I can expect Jesus to fulfill his promise and love me in the same way. When I am awakened in the morning, if I don’t recognize that it is Jesus, I can lie there awake and attribute it to insomnia, or I can lie there and read myself to sleep.

^{1 Samuel 3:8}And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

Samuel was mistaken when the Lord woke him up. In Samuel’s case, the Lord was persistent. Is the Lord being persistent in your case as well?

March 11, 2022

^{Romans 6:1}What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ²God forbid

The Greek word for continue is epimenō, which is often translated abide; should we abide in sin? This question is reasoned from a previous verse.

^{Romans 5:20}Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

Here, Paul is not comparing sin with grace, saying that grace is greater than sin. He is weighing sin against sin, and grace against grace. 

^{Luke 7:47}Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, [the same] loveth little.

The corollary to this is that to whom much is forgiven, the same loveth much. The comparison is between people: those who have been forgiven much, love much, those who are forgiven little, love little.

Back to Romans 6, Paul is positing the question, should we sin more so that we can be forgiven more, so that we love more? That logic is twisted. It is better to respond to love, not forgiveness.

^{John 15:10} If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. ¹²This is my commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you.

He who is loved more should love others more. There are two sides of the equation: the receiving end of love, and the giving end. Those who focus on the receiving end of love are focusing on the wrong end. Books are written about the receiving end of God’s love. We equate basking in the love of God with abiding in his love. Not so! When you receive love, you receive a command. Now that you have your orders, go forth and execute your orders: use that love to love one another. 

In the parable of the talents, the servant was given talents according to his several abilities. Ability is measured by your effectiveness in using your talents to reproduce those talents, the concept being that he that is faithful in much shall be given much. When love is measured as if it were an emotion, then nothing you can do can make God “love” you more. But when love is measured in deeds, as in love one another as I have loved you, using that love, using that talent, will directly affect God’s directed to you. Remember at the end when the single talent given to the unfaithful servant was taken and given to the one with ten. Wouldn’t you rather be a five talent servant?

How I respond to God’s love matters!

March 10, 2022

^{Romans 6:14}For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the law but under grace.

When you are under the law, you are under the dominion of sin. How does one get out from under the law?

^{Romans 7:1}Know ye not brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth.

You must die.

^{Romans 6:3}Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

When Paul says know ye not, he is speaking of the law, just like in Romans 7:1. Under the law, baptism counts as death and resurrection. Baptism is the most convenient way to get out from under the law. You do not need to be baptized to be saved, but you do need to die to get out from under the law. There are many ways to die, physical death being one of them, an example of which is the thief on the cross.

^{John 12:24}Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Death is a prerequisite to abide in him.

^{John 15:4}Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Abiding in him is a prerequisite to bearing fruit.

March 9,2022

The reason we don’t experience many miracles today is that we are ignorant of the righteousness of God.

^{Romans 10:3}For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

We have chosen to be the masters of our own destiny, not yielding our members as instruments of righteousness to God. We have received talents, like in the parable of the talents, but have failed to recognize them and, therefore, do not know enough to use them to gain additional talents.

We are more willing to believe that miracles are a thing of the past than admit our own short fallings. We are more willing to believe that there is nothing that we can do “earn” God’s love, than to admit that God gave talents to the servants, each according to his ability, and that ability is demonstrated by the effectiveness of our use of the talents we have already been given.

Instead, we go about to establish a righteousness of our own, doing what is right in our own eyes, then making a hollow attempt to give “God the glory,” even for the things he has not done, we insult him by attributing to God things that we have done in our own strength, of our own volition.

We still think the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, not realizing that those are the Father’s commandments, not the commandments of the Son. If we follow Jesus, we keep his commandments, not the Father’s. 

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you.

The love you receive is your calling. You are called by grace.

The love you “one another” is God’s righteousness working through you. That is the grace you are saved by. It takes faith to yield your members to God as instruments of righteousness; by grace are ye saved through faith.

The one-talent servant was thrown into outer darkness. His calling was taken from him and given to another.

March 8, 2022

This morning’s insight gave me, for the first time, a clear picture of what grace is. The insight connects the Parable of the Talents to the New Commandment.

The New Commandment is to love one another as I have loved you. The love with which I am loved is the talent given to me, the servant, by the lord. That is grace. That is the grace by which I am called.

The love with which I love one another is the talent generated by the servant while the lord was away. That is the fruit of righteousness. That is grace. That is the grace by which I am saved. The servant who generated no fruit was cast into outer darkness.

Relating the parable to Romans 8:28-30, the talents given were all things being worked together for good. The good was the increase, it was the fruit. The purpose was that I would be conformed to the image of the Son, that my love to one another would conform to the love the Son loved me with. That love constituted my calling. 

For whom he did foreknow, them he also did predestinate. Each talent was given according to the ability of the servant. The lord had foreknowledge of each servant’s ability. 

When the load returned, the accounts were brought forth. The accounts contained a record of both the investment and the increase. The content of the account justified or condemned the servant.

In the parable the investment was called a talent; the increase was also called a talent. They are both grace.

We are called by grace; we are saved by grace.