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Simply Grace

Posted 23 Jun 2011

Excerpt for the day – 16^th August 2011

Page 8

We remember Abraham saw the Lord, and then believed (Genesis 15)! It is Christ Jesus himself who enables us to believe! It is clear from Scripture God begins the good work in us and is the one who will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). This does not mean the Christian is a passive participant in all phases of salvation. On the contrary, we will show throughout the book that the Spirit enables Christians to responsibly keep in step with him – to stay in intimacy with God.

God’s added blessings are not automatic to those who walk with God. They can lose the blessing, but the blessing of their position in Christ is secure

About why I wrote Simply GRACE [+ daily Excerpts]:

It is my wish that this book will bless you, no matter who you are; where you have been, or what you have been through.

My own children have claimed that its message has changed  their lives, and I hope it will help you too.

The message of God’s grace was my show stopper.

[Available on Amazon.com both as an eBook, and as a paperback]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Two Prologues……….. vii

Foreword……….. xi

Preface……….. xiii

Part 1 - standard……….. 1

CHAPTER 1 ……….. 3

Are we “Under the Law”, and what is Legalism?……. 3

What is the meaning of the word ‘law’?… 4

What is the meaning of the word ‘legalism’?… 7

Some thoughts on legalistic thinking… 7

Can we please God by adherence to rules?… 9

What do those in God’s grace find out?… 11

How does the eternal Spirit replace the law?… 12

CHAPTER 2 ……….. 15

Grace and the Cross……. 15

The essence of the cross of Christ… 16

What is Paul’s understanding of the cross?… 18

What is the price Jesus paid at the cross?… 20

A few stories and testimonies… 22

CHAPTER 3  ……….. 25

Grace and God’s Love……. 25

What is a love that drives out all fear?… 27

How does God’s love take people as they are?… 29

What is a love that does not fail?… 29

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want… 34

CHAPTER 4 ……….. 37

Grace and the Holy Spirit……. 37

Who is the Holy Spirit?… 39

Can the Holy Spirit be displeased with us?… 42

What does it mean to say that God does not permit sin?… 44

How does an up and down testimony affect our walk with the Holy Spirit?… 44

How is someone saved?… 46

Once saved through the work of the Holy Spirit, can a Christian die spiritually?… 47

What does it mean to be alive in the Holy Spirit?… 47

CHAPTER 5 ……….. 51

Grace and Jesus……. 51

Who is Jesus Christ?… 52

Is Jesus enough for humankind?… 53

Why should we live in the authority of Jesus?… 55

How does mission in Jesus become undomesticated and radical?… 59

CHAPTER 6 ……….. 65

Grace and Wildernesses……. 65

What does it mean to be reinvented?… 68

What does it mean to grow in the wilderness?… 73

Some details of the last five years… 76

Struggle brings strength… 77

Nebuchadnezzar’s wilderness… 78

What do wildernesses produce?… 80

CHAPTER 7……….. 83

Grace and Obedience……. 83

Does God’s grace excuse us from the effort of obedience?… 84

What is obedience?… 86

Obedience brings about change and increase… 88

Grace gives the saints a delight that inspires responsibility… 91

What is the grace in giving?… 93

What is meant by lawlessness, or disobedience?… 95

CHAPTER 8……….. 99

Grace and Another Gospel……. 99

How was the Jerusalem Church twenty-five years later?… 100

Does preaching the true gospel bring opposition?… 101

What is the true Gospel?… 102

What does the gospel change?… 103

What is the result of the gospel’s work?… 106

A personal testimony… 109

CHAPTER 9……….. 111

Grace and the Scriptures and Commands……. 111

How should Christians approach Scripture?… 112

Looking at the ‘commands’ of Scripture from another viewpoint… 115

Some biblical examples of how God’s commands work… 116

A personal example of how God’s commands work… 117

How does God’s love explain God’s commands?… 120

PART 2 – SELECTIVE ……….. 123

CHAPTER 10……….. 125

Grace is Practical……. 125

It is not practical to be anti-law (antinomian)… 126

Some explanations of grace’s practicality… 126

Extending grace’s practicality to attentiveness… 128

The four practical elements to Abraham’s faith in Romans 4… 131

CHAPTER 11……….. 139

[Some Clarifications of the Gospel of Grace – part 1 – More on the old self and the flesh....... 139]

Is the old self the same as sin and the flesh?… 141

Is the ‘old self’ a ‘nature’?… 142

When (and where) is the influence of the flesh still present?… 143

A caution… 144

CHAPTER 12……….. 145

[Some Clarifications of the Gospel of Grace – part 2 – Not gratifying the flesh....... 145]

Flushing out the ‘flesh’… 146

God shapes his children to maturity… 147

The flesh and repentance… 149

Being reinvented by the Holy Spirit through turning… 150

Is sinless Christianity justifiable?… 151

CHAPTER 13……….. 153

[Some Clarifications of the Gospel of Grace – part 3 – Is the status of Christians the same as their state?....... 153]

Christ – the mediator of a new status and state… 154

Avoiding confusion between status and state… 155

CHAPTER 14……….. 159

[Some Clarifications of the Gospel of Grace – part 4 – The old and the new covenant & further theological questions....... 159]

Walking in the new; appreciating the old… 161

Living under the jurisdiction of God’s grace… 162

Further theological questions… 164

CHAPTER 15……….. 167

Grace and Justification……. 167

Loving mercy linked with the end of sacrifices… 168

The three stages of salvation… 169

Understanding the freedom of our position… 175

What it means to be ‘justified’, and comparisons between faith and works… 179

Christ should be the only motivator in our current situation… 183

CHAPTER 16……….. 185

Grace and Worship and Prayer……. 185

Worshipping and praying from the private to the public… 187

Thoughts on our prayer language and on praying like Hezekiah… 189

Helps and hindrances to worship and prayer… 193

Spirit and truth worship… 194

Jesus Christ – the leader of our prayer and worship… 197

Final comments and cautions… 200

CHAPTER 17……….. 203

Living Beyond, but not Without Luther……. 203

New leaders for a new day… 204

Appropriating God’s victory… 206

Living beyond Luther into a true covenant theology… 206

Three keys to living in increasing blessings today… 210

A personal testimony… 217

This moment is making the kind of people that the present and the future needs… 218

CHAPTER 18……….. 219

Grace and Friendship……. 219

A personal testimony and comments on friendship… 220

Two friends: John the Baptizer, and Isaiah… 223

Friendship with Jesus… 225

Us in unity… 228

APPENDIX A……….. 231

The importance of understanding what the “Law” means to a Believer in Christ……. 231

Questions asked of Michael Eaton… 231

Michael’s Answer… 232

APPENDIX B……….. 237

Confession……. 237

APPENDIX C……….. 241

Concluding Comments on Grace……. 241

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……….. 245