Born.Again.Christian.

The Picture of the Gospel and the Necessity of Jesus The Position: God is a perfect God who can have no part with sin. This notion is explainable through the Old Testament priestly laws. Haggai 2:12-13 gives the following logic: ““If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?”’ Then the priests answered and said, “No.” 13 And Haggai said, “If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?” So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.” 14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.”  Something clean cannot come into contact with something unclean lest it becomes unclean itself, for the unclean thing will by its nature defile it. Something clean can never cleanse something that is un...

Isaiah chapters 59-60 presents a perfect picture of the gospel, even though it is written approximately 600 years before Jesus came to earth. These chapters add to the weight of the Bible as the supreme Word of God and give us hope in a bleak situation. For those people at the time of writing of the book of Isaiah, the things spoken of were things to look forward to. For us today, these things have come to pass and the hope in Christ Jesus is available to us right now. Read Isaiah 59-60 and see the living breathing Word of God. The Hopeless Situation We are In: Chapter 59 Chapter 59 provides a picture of the world today and the current position for those who do not know Christ Jesus. Are you one of those people? Isaiah 59 1-3 states, " Behold, the   Lord ’s hand is not shortened,  That it cannot save;  Nor His ear heavy,  That it cannot hear. 2  But your iniquities have separated you from your God;  And your sins have hidden  His ...

We are all accountable to laws. It is by the law that we are able to live peaceably and order is kept. The law is good. Knowing that there are laws in place gives us peace of mind (unless you break it, of course). Countries have objective legal structures in place and without them there would be anarchy. The laws which we live by every day are based on the principles laid down by God. Man may change and introduce different laws from time to time that are not of God, but on a whole, the moral laws in place across the world such as do not steal, do not murder, do not defraud, are all based upon God and God’s law. (The picture shows the US Supreme Court building which has the Ten Commandments etched into the stone).   We all live accountable to the local laws where we live, however we are all also accountable to God’s law which is much more sovereign and unchanging than any earthly legal system. As our laws are based on God’s law, it is sometimes easier to understand the Gos...

The final chapter in Joshua: Joshua, before his death in verse 29, speaks to the people of Israel , whom He had led into the promised land, at Shechem, remembering all that the Lord had done for them and makes a covenant with God to serve Him and only Him. Joshua 24:13-14 13  I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ 14  “Now therefore, fear the Lord , serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt . Serve the Lord ! Here we are given yet another picture of the gospel of Christ and the mercy of God toward His people. Verse 13: God has blessed his people immensely. He has taken them out of Egypt were they were slaves and brought them into a land of great abundance. There, He delivered to them cities which they did not build and vineyards an...

Genesis 24 is a fine picture of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this chapter Abraham makes a covenant with his servant, that his servant will not take a daughter from Cannaan to become Isaac's wife, but will find one from Abraham's country. The servant with the help of the angel of the Lord (v.7) travels to Mesopotamia (Modern day Iraq) to find a wife for Isaac. Here we begin to recognise the picture. Abraham, as always, represents God the Father, whilst Isaac the son represents Jesus who is searching for a bride. Marriage is a picture of the relationship with God that we can enjoy through Christ. As believers we become spiritually married to Christ. Hosea 2:19-20 "And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord." John 3:29 "You yourself bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Chr...

Do you have an urge to evangelize but find yourself weak at the knees when it comes to speaking up for Christ? As Christians we should all know the joy of the Lord and seek to spread that joy with others, but it is easy to become frustrated or even complacent because on most occasions that desire, no matter how strong, will be thwarted by our fears.  “I do want to speak our but what do I say?” “I do want to speak out, but what difference could I possibly make?” “I do want to speak out, but I am scared those I speak with will react badly.” “I do want to speak out, but what if they ask me a question that I don’t know the answer to?”  All of these questions can usually be generalized into two thoughts. The first; “I am scared.” The second; “I don’t know what to say”. “I am scared” Too right you are and so you should be. We have a responsibility on this earth to spread the Gospel of Christ. This is a serious responsibility and certainly not one that should be taken ...