 The Sanctity of Teaching Truth
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Jesus teaching His disciples the truth of God's Word.
Jesus prayed,
"Father, sanctify them by Your truth,
Your word is truth.
As You sent Me into the world,
I also have sent them into the world.
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself,
that they also may be sanctified by the truth."
JOHN 17:16-18
Jesus prayed this prayer for me and for all of you who are my Christian brothers and sisters. Jesus prayed this prayer the night before he was sanctified on the cross for you and for me. To be sanctifed means to be set apart by God for a holy purpose.
It is a holy and humbling experience to realize when I am in the midst of Jesus' prayer being answered in my life by God my Father. This answer is me being set apart by God to teach His holy Word, knowing all the while the Spirit is teaching through me and my personality.
And with this sanctification comes much spiritual warfare and wordly persecution, but also much joy of the Spirit of Christ.
I have been set apart to teach Romans chapters 5 through 8 on January 23-25, 2014. Following are two quotations in the introduction of the study workbook I am preparing.
Be encouraged to realize more and more how God has uniquely set you apart to teach His Word!
THE SANCTITY OF
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
I wholeheartedly concur with Martin Luther in the following words he wrote in the preface of his commentary on the epistle to the Romans:
Romans is truly the most
important piece of the New Testament. It
is purest gospel.
It is well worth a
Christian's while not to only memorize it word for word, but to also occupy
himself with it daily, as though it was daily bread of the soul.
It is impossible to read or to meditate on
this letter too much or too well. The
more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.
It seems that St. Paul, in writing this letter,
wanted to compose a summary of the whole of Christian and evangelical teaching
which would also be an introduction to the whole Old Testament.
Without doubt, whoever takes this letter to
heart possesses the light and power of the Old Testament.
Therefore each and every Christian should
make this letter the habitual and constant object of his study. God grant us His
grace to do so. Amen
THE SANCTITY OF
TEACHING THE BIBLE
There is much freedom and humility in belieiving the following words of Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his introduction to his expository preaching and teaching notes on the epistle to the Romans:
The
Bible is not an ordinary book - it is God's Book, and it is a Book about God
and man's relationship to Him.
Therefore, every time we consider or study the Bible we are, of
necessity, worshipping.
In other words,
I do not propose to consider this great epistle (to the Romans) in a merely intellectual or
academic manner. It was written as a
letter by a great pastor (Paul). It is not a
theological treatise, written to experts and to professors. It is a letter written to a church, and like
all other New Testament literature it had a very practical aim and end in
view.
The apostle was concerned to help
these Christians in Rome, to build them up and to establish them in their most
holy faith, and, God willing, I shall certainly be trying to do the same
thing. It is an occasion, then, for
worship, and not really just a lecture.
CLOSING
Ultimately, being sanctified means that you have been set apart by God to live and dwell in Christ. To be in Christ means to be in an intimate union with Christ by the grace of God.
To be sanctified in Christ never leads to acting sanctimonious. Being sanctified by God in Christ always results in the expression through you and me the holiness of the Spirit of Christ in genuine, simple actions each day.
God bless you in Christ this week!
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About 
Discipleship through
Counseling
Teaching
Training
Gregg Gibbons
Pastoral Director
Michael Chalmers
Training Director
Kellie Boggs
Fellowship Director
Joy Gibbons
Ministry Assistant and women's ministry coordinator
Carole Blyth
Board member and women's ministry coordinator
Paul Crews
Board member and Pastor Mountain Creek Baptist Church
Florence Colby
Board Member and Exec Assistant
at US Endowment of Forestry
Dave Loser
Board Member and Chaplain with Corporate Chaplains of America
Carolyn Kennedy
New discipleship counselor!
Randy Garrick
Board Advisor and
CFO Engineered Systems Inc.
Dawn McClendon
Board Advisor and
school teacher in Durham NC
Marty Price
Board Advisor and Pastor
Pendleton Street Baptist Church
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Partnership
I believe with all my heart that ministry is through relationships.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you for your partnership in the gospel (Philippians 1:3, 5).
YouTube link below of my ministry commissioning service that included testimonies from several partners, including Bobby Richardson, former 2nd baseman for the NY Yankees.
Please contact me to learn more about partnering with me. I'd love to hear from you!
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Ministry News
Pray as some of my ministry partners in Laurens SC are now planning to host a Grace Life Conference for me to teach in early January 2014 in Laurens SC.
Pray as I prepare to teach Romans chapters 5 thru 8 verse-by-verse January 23-25, 2014. This is the foundational study of our ministry, and of our lives. Please come if possible. Let others know. I'll share more details of times and locations later.
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Contact Info
JOURNEY IN CHRIST, INC.
655 Fairview Road
Suite H-188
Simpsonville SC 29680
(864) 483-3201 (Gregg cell)
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