October 28: Justification by Faith
Here is a mega-comtemporary version of a scripture passage that goes along with today's lesson:
Ephesians 2 - He Tore Down the Wall
1It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. 2You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. 3We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. 4Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, 5he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! 6Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
7Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. 8Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! 9We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! 10No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
Dear Jesus, please get it through our heads once and for all that we can't claim any credit at all for belonging to You and having the privilege of going to heaven one day. Nothing good we have ever done or ever will do contributes to this, it is SOLELY because You took away our sins by Your death on the cross. Help us stop rationalizing away our faults by comparing ourselves with other people who are worse than we are. Lord, once we can fully grasp the immensity of what You did for us, just how great Your sacrifice actually was, perhaps then we will be like Paul, considering everything that was to our profit to be rubbish and dung compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing You, Jesus Christ our Lord!!! Lord, create in us an all-consuming hunger to know Christ, and the power of Your resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in Your sufferings. Let us remain focused on You, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in You, Jesus. (Philippians 3:7-14)
Ephesians 2 - He Tore Down the Wall
1It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. 2You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. 3We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. 4Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, 5he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! 6Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
7Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. 8Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! 9We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! 10No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
Dear Jesus, please get it through our heads once and for all that we can't claim any credit at all for belonging to You and having the privilege of going to heaven one day. Nothing good we have ever done or ever will do contributes to this, it is SOLELY because You took away our sins by Your death on the cross. Help us stop rationalizing away our faults by comparing ourselves with other people who are worse than we are. Lord, once we can fully grasp the immensity of what You did for us, just how great Your sacrifice actually was, perhaps then we will be like Paul, considering everything that was to our profit to be rubbish and dung compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing You, Jesus Christ our Lord!!! Lord, create in us an all-consuming hunger to know Christ, and the power of Your resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in Your sufferings. Let us remain focused on You, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in You, Jesus. (Philippians 3:7-14)
posted by Jane at 5:36 AM
1 Comments:
Awesome post..
May Heavenly Father use you mightily for His glory.
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