Christian Living
GFL Study Forum • View topic – What is Growing in Grace?
March 10, 2013 | 
Author What is Growing in Grace?
by Theophilos on Sat Mar 08, 2008 2:00 pm
There are several terms used for essentially the same process in a Christian’s life, “increasing faith”, “growing in grace”, “spiritual maturity”, and “sanctification”.
Increasing Faith # 2 Pet 1:5-12 Eph 4:14-24
When we talk about increasing our faith, we are talking about spiritual maturity in terms of “putting on” something new. When we were “born again”, we didn’t get a new old (old being the Flesh). We were not made righteous in the Flesh. By the grace of God, we are being changed from the image of Adam into the image of Christ. This change comes by responding to what God puts into our heart by the Holy Spirit enlightening us as to the meaning of Scripture. He is not looking for “sacrifice” but a contrite heart. The Psalms 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart”. I think this means He is changing the desires of our heart, not giving us what we want.
Spiritual maturity # Rom 1:1-5 Eph 1:17,18 1 Joh 3:2 Col 1:15,18 Col 3:10 Php 3:20,21
We (the NEW MAN), because of Christ, are righteous before God.
We, in spite of the OLD MAN, are being changed –
BY PUTTING ON THE NEW – Eph 4:22 Col 2:9-11 Rom 6:6
BY RENEWING OUR MIND – Eph 4:23 Rom 12:2
BY WALKING IN THE SPIRIT – Gal 6:8 5:16-18,25 Rom 8:1-4
BY TRIBULATION – Rom 5:1-5 2 Cor 12:9-10 Php 1:29 James 1:2-3,12
BY TRUTH – John 8:32 1 Pet 1:22 John 14:17 16:13 Eph 4:15
BY KNOWING HIS LOVE – Gal 2:20 Rom 5:8-10 1 John 2:15-16
Discuss how these can be prioritized. (Spirit – Truth – Love)
What difference does it make?
In us – We should experience the fruit of the spirit and grow by coming to know God and depend on Him more and more. Gal 5:22-26 Eph 1:17-23
In others – We share this GOOD NEWS with others, in love. Rom 12:10 Joh 13:34,35 Gal 5:6-13 6:2
If faith is responding to what God puts into our heart, how do we increase our faith?
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:16-17 (KJV)
Copyright © 1996 – 2008 Theophilos and gflstudy.org web site. All rights reserved.
GFL Study Forum • View topic – New Life Plan
New Life Plan
by Theophilos on Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:06 pm
Our problem is not our sin.
Our problem is that we are spiritually dead.
GUILTY and DEAD
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From a Biblical perspective, everyone is born in the image of Adam, born without the Spirit of God in them. This means that we not only have the distinction of having the same basic fallen nature of Adam, but we are also dead spiritually.
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If we are guilty and dead, we not only need to be forgiven, but we need life. Jesus not only came to pay the penalty for our sins, but to give us life. Romans 5:10
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Chapter two of Genesis explains how Adam was created in God’s image. And that God breathed the breath of life into man.
The soul consists of the MIND, EMOTION and WILL. Animals have this, but animals don’t consider where they came from or how they came to be. Animals don’t have the “breath of life” which God gave man.
The Bible and our experience indicates that man is BODY, SOUL and SPIRIT. Man was created by God, in the image of God. Created with free- will, the ability to choose.
An unanswerable truth, for natural man, is “how are we here” and “why are we here”? These are spiritual questions which reveal the difference between spirit and soul (man and animal).
Lack of understanding of the difference between the spirit and the “flesh” is the major misunderstanding of Christianity today. Scripture talks about the contention between the spirit and the flesh. Scripture also says God is spirit and “speaks” to us Spirit to spirit.
This is a link to another page which has a diagram which shows the relationship of the body, soul and spirit. http://www.gflstudy.org/?p=13
Copyright © 1996 – 2008 Theophilos and gflstudy.org web site. All rights reserved.
No Condemnation
This is one of my all-time favorite books. Dr. Narramore is a Professor at Biola. There are several extremely helpful chapters and concepts in this book.He makes a strong case that human “conscience” was derived from “the Fall” and contrary to how many Christians think. It is not the way God talks to us. In fact, the conscience is why humans think they don’t need God. They can be self-sufficient. Or, that the conscience was given to humanity by God, so they can know what is right and wrong.
Another significant theme is that “guilt feelings” should never be used to motivate anyone.
The Astonished Heart
Robert Farrar Capon is an Episcopal priest. On page 101 he tells how a true body of believers might start a new group when a marginal church dies.
WHERE HAS THE CHURCH BEEN, AND WHAT HAS IT BECOME?
According to Robert Farrar Capon, the answers to these questions are
in many ways dispiriting. Although the church has done much good,
it has also made numerous blunders in its checkered history. Chief
among them is that it has lost its astonishment over the Good News
of the gospel – the gift of salvation we receive from Christ.
By taking readers on an illuminating ramble through the history of the
church, Capon shows how we have lost this sense of astonishment
by making Christianity into a religion that focuses on requirements and
restrictions rather than on the Good News, and by turning the church,
which should be a body of believers, into an institution that empha-
sizes its corporate functions to the detriment of its gospel message.
After exploring all the ways in which the church has mis-embodied
itself over the centuries, Capon .explains how the church today might
re-create itself. The key, according to Capon, is recovering the gift
of astonishment with which it began.
Capon is fully alert to both the tragedy and the comedy of church
history, and he covers this uneven ground with great heart and great
humor – and genuine hope for the future of the church.
ROBERT FARRAR CAPON is an Episcopal priest and the author of
many widely popular books, including The Romance of the Word;
The Mystery of Christ; Health, Money, and Love; and a trilogy on Jesus’
parables – The Parables of the Kingdom, The Parables of Grace,
and The Parables ofJudgment.
ISBN O-8028-D7’91-7
Cover design by Stephanie Milanowski
____ I 1\WM B EERDMANS
PUBLISHING Co 9 780802 807915
Grand Rapids/Cambridge
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