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For if when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son,
much more, having been reconciled,
we shall be saved by His (resurrection) life.
ROMANS 5:10
This verse speaks of a beautiful union we have with the resurrected life of Christ! Our enemy does not want us to know the reality of this intimate relationship with Christ. There are a lot of sayings that sound so right and pious, but actually lure us away from the truth of Christ as our life and put the focus on us. A few examples:
Do your best and God will do the rest.
I just need to get out of God's way.
God will never put on me more than I can handle.
What would Jesus do in my situation?
Lord, just tell me what to do and I'll do it.
Lord, give me a sign and I'll follow.
I need to do more for the Lord.
I need to know the Bible more before I minister to others.
Lord, give me strength so I can get through this crisis.
Following is a discussion of one of these sayings.
DO YOUR BEST
AND GOD WILL DO THE REST?
This saying, along with all the other above sayings, are man-centered. It is not biblical. A friend of mine would say it comes from the Bible book Hesitations 1:20! :)
Now we certainly want to do our best, but it is not according to our good works but according to Christ in us! Apart from Christ, we have nothing worthy to start with. He is the source of life for each of us!
Christ in us, the hope of glory!
I labor, striving according to His working
which works in me mightily.
(Colossians 1:27, 29)
Now that's biblical! And that's hopeful! Following is a further description of truth based on our Rest Stop verse.
BECAUSE GOD HAS ALREADY DONE THE BEST
HE WILL ALSO DO THE REST!
This saying is Christ-centered. It is based on the Bible, beautifully portrayed in Romans 5:10. If Christ died for us to reconcile us to God when we were at our very worst as His enemies, will He not do the very best for us now that He has made us His friends?
Ohbwe must know and meditate on the depth of what Christ has done for and in us so that we can personally know the height of our life with Him!
CLOSING
Indeed, God has done the best for us through the cross of Jesus Christ! And He promises to do the rest for us through our union with the resurrected Jesus Christ!
I'll be elaborating these truths by teaching verse-by-verse on the heart of the gospel found in Romans 5-8 on March 29-31. I am as excited about this opportunity as I have ever been about any opportunity. I'll share more details soon.
God bless you,
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Do Your Best?
