Theology

What is atonement and justification...


Atonement...

“We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” – Romans 5:11

The doctrine of the atonement is very simple. Christ is treated as if he were the sinner, and the sinner is treated as if he were the righteous one.

It is a change of persons — Christ becomes the sinner; he stands in the sinner’s place; he was numbered with the transgressors; the sinner becomes righteous; he stands in Christ’s place, and is numbered with the righteous ones. Christ has no sin of his own, but he takes human guilt, and is punished for human folly.

We have no righteousness of our own but we take the divine righteousness; we are rewarded for it, and stand accepted before God as though that righteousness had been earned by ourselves. “In due time Christ died for the ungodly,” (Romans 5:6) that he might take away their sins.

- Charles Spurgeon

Justification...

What Justification Means

To be justified means to be declared not guilty of all sin and penalty of God’s Law. God treats those who are justified as righteous and treats them as if they have kept all of His law.
How We’re Justified

We cannot justify ourselves by any work we do because our works fall short of God’s standard:

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom 3:23)

Justification is a gift from God:

“…and are justified by his grace as a gift…” (Rom 3:24)

The gift of justification is Christ taking our place in judgment by paying for our sins on the cross.

“…through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation [payment] by his blood, (Rom 3:24-25)

At the cross we gave Christ our sin and He gave us His righteousness:

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21)

This gift is received by faith alone. This means trusting completely in Christ to pay the penalty of our sin:

“…to be received by faith.” (Rom 3:25)

“Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom 5:6) so that he might take away their sins. Christ has no sin of his own, but is punished for human sin. We have no righteousness of our own, but we take the divine righteousness when we come to Christ in faith, and now stand accepted before God.

http://biblestudyplanet.com/christianity-101-justification/

Psalm 40

~King David

Pity Parties

Psalm 139:16

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Nothing in our lives is accidental. Everything has a reason. It serves some purpose and was already preplanned long before we were ever born. That's God's sovereignity. He controls everything and micro manages even the smallest details of His creation

I use to have a lot of pity parties. I was the queen of feeling sorry for myself. Until recently I thought because I felt sorry for myself God must feel sorry for me too. I guess I wanted to be babied. Then I was shocked to learn God actually hates pity parties. Not because He's unfeeling or doesn't care. He just knows better and He knows when we feel sorry for ourselves it hinders progression and we're not trusting and depending on Him. He has plans for us and when we get stuck in a rut with self pity we can't move forward to what He's got ready for us

Some things are really scary. Some things are really confusing. Some things don't make sense and the weak creatures we are we're like deer in the headlights. We just freeze and shut down. When Moses was leaving Egypt with over 3 million Israelite slaves he had witnessed some of the greatest miracles mankind had ever saw in Egypt. After everything he and the 3 million people saw they get to the Red Sea. No one thought to try to get across the sea some how. No one thought to say "hey Moses why don't you go ask God what we should do now? We're kind of at a dead end if you haven't noticed." They just settled down on the shore started cooking and getting comfy

Suddenly the Egyptians are coming and they seem trapped between the sea and an army. The people start to freak and soon everyone's in a panic. After all the plagues they saw God send on Egypt for them, after the miracles and the massive provisions they witnessed and received...they're in absolute meltdown. They're screaming at each other and they're screaming at Moses and Aaron. It's total chaos. They accuse God and Moses of bringing them out from Egypt just to get them killed and they instantly throw the biggest pity party mankind had ever saw at that time minus the DJ

Moses starts yelling trying to encourage the people to be calm and not be afraid. To trust God because He would deliver them as He had been doing up until that moment. He had led them all that way and wasn't going to desert them now. After this stirring speech Moses turned away from the people and toward the sea and starts crying to God begging Him to do something. I love what God says "The LORD said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.' " Exodus 14:15

I can't judge the Israelites though. I would have done the same thing. It wasn't until the people started heading toward the sea that God parted it. He could have easily done it while they were freaking out to calm them down a little but He didn't. He wanted them trusting Him and believing Him up until the very last second
despite their fear and how bad things looked because "The just shall live by faith." Habukkuk 2:4 and "without faith it is impossible to please God." Hebrews 11:6. Like I hear all the time from Sharbel "God gives us everything we need to live a life in obedience to Him but we must put forth the effort"

God doesn't bring any of us into a terrible situation to dump us off and watch the slaughter while He eats popcorn. He does it to teach us about Him and to strengthen our faith when we do see Him act. Once in a while I start throwing a pity party but then I'm reminded that as long as I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself nothing is getting done and most importantly nothing is happening

Good grief!! Talk about hearing the truth! I can definitely relate to what he's saying especially about the center and citadel of your life and how it gets shattered....totally annihilated. Perfect illustration! Whenever I would try to explain it to someone everything just got confusing

Matthew 5:29-30
"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."




tnx for fixing the vid Sharb :)

When the Lord finds a saint whom He loves -loves much- He may spare other men trials and troubles, but He will certainly not His well beloved one. The more beloved you are the more of the rod you shall have... It is an awful thing to be a favorite of heaven. It is a thing to be sought after and to be rejoiced in, but remember, to be one of the King's council-chamber is a painful blessing...Sometimes when we plead for our adverse circumstances to change, God simply makes us content where we are. Many saints have found riches in poverty, ease in labor, rest in pain, and delight in affliction. Our Lord can so adapt our minds to our circumstances, that the bitter is sweet, and the burden light.

- Charles Spurgeon

Surely, you came to my mind, Ariel.

The Details

Why would a God who paid so much attention to even the tiniest details in creation not be involved in the tiniest details in my life, in every circumstance, in every situation?

Every snow flake is different. Ever look at a snow flake closely? The details of the designs are so intricate that it's shocking and there are no 2 a like. Look at the all the snow on the ground...billions and trillions of snow flakes all gathered together and piled on top of each other and not one single flake is like another

Look at the grass in a field and the wild flowers produced there in spring. Each one is different, each blade and leaf is intricately colored, shaped, and positioned

That God is just as involved in every detail of my life. That God who said that He sees us in the womb and knits us together...that He sees our unformed bodies and calls us by name even then...nothing escapes His knowledge, His approval or His involvement. He's constantly working and constantly involved. He doesn't sit back and let certain laws of nature operate while he goes on vacation or something. That's man's wisdom that thinks that. That's man trying to work God into their understanding. God is above and beyond our understanding. He's the Creator and Sustainer. He sustains all of creation. He keeps it all running and operating right down to the smallest cell.

In Colossians it says Y'Shua holds everything together. That He not only created all things but holds them together.

I can do nothing, say nothing, think nothing without His involvement and knowledge. There's no where I can go to escape Him. There's nothing I can do He's not aware of. That's not a God far away. That's a God that's in my face constantly. That's a little unnerving lol

Y'Shua is the glue that keeps everything together...literally. Wanna see something interesting? It's the glue that holds our bodies together...



Laminin... a protein. A tiny little molecule in our extracellular matrix that acts as a kind of glue that literally holds our bodies together.

I know...amazing huh?

I had a moment lol. Ever have one with God where He does something for you that is unmistakeably Him doing it and all the while you thought He was too busy to even know you exist but He shows up in a big way and you just fall on your knees look up and say "I can't believe You would do that for me? Who am I among billions? Why would You take notice of me? But He does! He not only notices...He's all involved! Sometimes He has to use circumstances and situations, people, everything around us and in us to do one thing...drive us right to Him

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close. Psalm 27:10

Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Isaiah 49:5

Reading your postings brought these to my mind. I am looking in at you and it's a beautiful sight. God will veil us from progress and growth to keep us from pride. You don't see it, but I have an expanded view.

You are beautiful and I am blessed that he made you a part of me. I love you x 1000000000.

Abraham didn’t stagger in his faith. Rather, he was “fully persuaded that, what God had promised, he was able to perform” (Romans 4:21). He recognized that God is able to work with nothing. Indeed, our Lord creates out of a void. Consider the Genesis account: out of nothing, God created the world. With just a single word, he creates. And he can create miracles for us, out of nothing.

When all else fails—when your every plan and scheme has been exhausted—that is the time for you to cast everything on God. It is time for you to give up all confidence in finding deliverance anywhere else. Then, once you are ready to believe, you are to see God not as a potter who needs clay, but as a Creator who works from nothing. And, out of nothing that is of this world or its materials, God will work in ways and means you could never have conceived.

How serious is the Lord about our believing him in the face of impossibilities? We find the answer to this question in the story of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. Zacharias was visited by an angel who told him that his wife, Elisabeth, would give birth to a special child. But Zacharias—who was advanced in years, like Abraham—refused to believe it. God’s promise alone was not enough for him.

Zacharias answered the angel, “Whereby (how) shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years” (Luke 1:18). Simply put, Zacharias considered the impossibilities. He was saying, “This isn’t possible. You’ve got to prove to me how it will happen.” It didn’t sound reasonable.

Zacharias’ doubts displeased the Lord. The angel told him, “Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season” (1:20).

The message is clear: God expects us to believe him when he speaks. Likewise, Peter writes: “Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).

Free Download

http://www.heartcrymissionary.com/resources/online_books

"The One True God" is a Biblical study on the Attributes of God by Paul Washer. It can be downloaded at the link in pdf file for free and printed out or purchased in hard copy. I have not completed it yet, but what I have done is invaluable.

"If we add to our Churches by becoming worldly, by taking in persons who have never been born again; if we add to our Churches by accommodating the life of the Christian to the life of the worldling, our increase is worth nothing at all; it is a loss rather than a gain! If we add to our Churches by excitement, by making appeals to the passions rather than by explaining the truth of God to the understanding. If we add to our Churches otherwise than by the power of the Spirit of God making men new creatures in Christ Jesus, the increase is of no worth whatever!" —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)