Keep Standing Firm from New Hope Family Online

7/27/2019 Keep Standing Firm from New Hope Family Online

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"To make a man a saint, grace is

absolutely necessary, and whoever

doubts it, does not know what a

saint is or what a man.”

- Pascal



Keep standing f irm in this…

Christ set us free

from the death curse of our sin,

to follow by faith His righteous way

of living in the power of the Holy

Spirit.



Keep Standing Firm!

Identify your best effortto validate or save

yourself asking if it was

done after a prayer of

faith and with a grateful

spirit.

The “works of the Law” are not identified by

WHAT is done, but WHY its done.



Keep Standing Firm!

Consciously,intentionally, and

perhaps even

materially (tosymbolize what’s in

your heart) say “NO”

to any effort that isnot done in step with

God’s Spirit.

Titus 2:11-14



Keep Standing Firm!

Ask God to cleanse your heart of any self-reliance and self-promotion -- but be

prepared to be broken in the process!

“Christians emphasize God’s grace in changing

people like Jacob and Joseph who were liars

and braggarts… These individuals had to

become aware of their own transgressions and

limitations. They had to be broken...”

Marvin Olansky (WORLD 9/10/11)



Keep Standing Firm!

Look to Christ and believe in Him!“Let all the world look to Me for

salvation! For I am God; there is no

other.”

Isaiah 45:22NLT



Keep Standing Firm!

Look to Christ and believe in Him!“I looked to Him, He looked on me,

And we were one forever.”



What prevents the unsaved from

coming to Christ and the savedfrom following Him in faith?

MISPLACED TRUST –

man

Vs.

GOD



The dangers to you in believing the false

gospel of righteousness by works…

V.2

You won’t value Christ as you should, and

therefore, can not receive the benefits

from Him that He gives ONLY to the

believing heart



Galatians 5:2-3 (MSG)

2-3I am emphatic about this. The moment anyone of you submits to circumcision or any other

rule-keeping system, at that same moment

Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is

squandered. I repeat my warning: The person

who accepts the ways of circumcision trades allthe advantages of the free life in Christ for the

obligations of the slave life of the law.





V. 3

In Christ’s Kingdom, you cannot

work to save part of your life, and

trust Christ with the rest.



Your best effort can never be enough to make up

for a fundamental deficiency of Christ in your

heart. Your relationship with HIM must become

the most precious possession of your heart.

And if you continue to look for His blessings basedon comparing yourself to others, or your claim on

His attentions is based on doing the best that you

can, then THAT literally and really is the standard

by which you’re living.

And it will NEVER be enough.





V.4

Severance from “Christ,” leading to a

falling away from “grace.”



How would you describe a person who has

been exposed to the gracious truth of the

gospel and then turned his back on living by

faith in Christ?



We must see this verse in the

context, or end up believing

that by any momentary

digression from living by

faith, you are once again

eternally damned.



As in earlier passages from Galatians, both the

title “Christ” and the word “Law” represent

two opposing ways of life…

The way of

life in Christ

is only by

gracethrough

faith.

The way of life

under the law is

slavery to its

impossible demandson human

performance.



“Fallen from grace” and “severed from

Christ” are about losing one’s grip on a

fundamental principle of life in Christ

(it can only be lived by faith), and then inexperience drifting further and further

away from knowing personally the depth

of His love for you and the freedom of

living your life His way by the Holy Spirit.



In repentance, we turn from...

“How well am I doing?”

to

“How thankful I am for whatChrist is doing in my life to fill me

with His love and help me to walk

His way of righteousness by

faith.”



“Lord, grant me a joyful heart and a

holy sense of humor. Please give me

the gift of faith to be renewed andshared with others each day.

Teach me to live this moment only,

looking neither to the past withregret, nor to the future with

apprehension.

Let love be my aimand my life a prayer.”

Roseann Alexander-Isham

Keep Standing Firm from New Hope Family Online

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