fisheyestudio
03-02-2004, 11:02 AM
For 25 years I have been a “Christian”. In that time I have grown in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. As I read what is written by people everywhere I see that there is a need to define exactly what Christianity is and what the ultimate Christian experience is. On the surface, there are a set of rituals, traditions, and doctrines that make up this “faith”, but at the heart of it, Christianity is a person, Jesus Christ, and the ultimate experience is to know Him intimately.
When I was born, I inherited the dead soul and spirit that entered into the world through Adam. I, and you, were in Adam’s gene pool when He ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and “died”. We were by nature children of wrath. We have all sinned but it is more than acts of sin that were/are our problem, it is the dead soul and spirit. Adam and Eve were driven from the garden of Eden before they could eat from the tree of Life and thereby be forever left with a dead soul and spirit.
Before Adam and Eve were driven out, God spoke a promise to them. He said that the woman’s seed and the serpent’s seed would be enemies, and that the woman’s seed would crush the serpent’s seed on the head, but in so doing, He would be bruised on the heel. This promise is the first revelation to mankind that God would provide a sacrifice for sins and the dead nature. Adam and Eve believed that God would send this seed one day as did many others in the Old testament times. Belief in the Seed that would come, is the source of old testament salvation. When people who believed in the seed died, they went to a place called Abrahams Bosom. They could not yet go to paradise/heaven since no sacrifice had yet been made to take away sin and change their nature.
At the right time, God became flesh and dwelt among us. He was born of a virgin(as was prophesied), since He could not have had a human father or He would have inherited a dead soul/spirit and could not have then been a perfect offering. Jesus fulfilled every prophecy that had been given to the Jewish nation concerning the messiah. He even fulfilled their oral traditions that were in addition to the written scripture(these were later written down as the mishna and talmud). Jesus lay down His life on the exact day in the exact year that was foretold.
While on the cross, He became sin, and the Father turned from Him. For three hours the sky became dark, so dark that one Egyptian writer records that the stars could be seen. After three hours of spiritual death Jesus was resurrected by the Father. Jesus then commends His spirit to God and Jesus’ body dies and every rock on earth cracked(even the moon rocks have cracks...).
On the third day the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty.(The Jewish day begins when three stars appear in the evening and goes until the next evening. Also, if something happens on any part of a day, it is considered to have been the whole day). Jesus spend 40 days teaching His followers and is then taken into Heaven. So how does that affect me.
One day, I realized that I could not keep Gods Law perfectly, I realized that I was a sinner and needed help. I cried out to Jesus to save me, and He did. Here is how...
When I through faith believed that Jesus could and would save me, God, through the Holy Spirit, place me INTO Christ. In doing that, God crucified me with Christ, buried me with Christ, resurrected me with Christ, and seated me with Christ. From the moment I believed and was placed into Christ, I was predestined to one day receive a new body like Christ’s and to receive the full adoption as a son and join heir with Christ. The blood of Jesus completely washed away my past present and future sins as far as God is concerned. Because I was crucified with Him, my dead soul and sprit were killed and I received a new soul and spirt that is alive to God. This is what it means to be born again.
So when God looks at me know, He sees me as having lived the Law perfectly because I am in Christ. He sees me in my person as perfect and now He is at work in me to change my behavior so that it lines up with the reality of who I now am.
Well, that IS Christianity. I, as a Christian, took about 20 years to see that. It is easier to get caught up in performance and legalism. It is about knowing and loving Jesus Christ and allowing Him to be my life. The scripture says that Jesus endured the cross, despised the shame, for the Joy set before Him. That joy was to bring many sons and daughters to God through their being born again. This gospel is good news. Don’t hesitate to email or PM me if you have questions.
Jesus blessings!
When I was born, I inherited the dead soul and spirit that entered into the world through Adam. I, and you, were in Adam’s gene pool when He ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and “died”. We were by nature children of wrath. We have all sinned but it is more than acts of sin that were/are our problem, it is the dead soul and spirit. Adam and Eve were driven from the garden of Eden before they could eat from the tree of Life and thereby be forever left with a dead soul and spirit.
Before Adam and Eve were driven out, God spoke a promise to them. He said that the woman’s seed and the serpent’s seed would be enemies, and that the woman’s seed would crush the serpent’s seed on the head, but in so doing, He would be bruised on the heel. This promise is the first revelation to mankind that God would provide a sacrifice for sins and the dead nature. Adam and Eve believed that God would send this seed one day as did many others in the Old testament times. Belief in the Seed that would come, is the source of old testament salvation. When people who believed in the seed died, they went to a place called Abrahams Bosom. They could not yet go to paradise/heaven since no sacrifice had yet been made to take away sin and change their nature.
At the right time, God became flesh and dwelt among us. He was born of a virgin(as was prophesied), since He could not have had a human father or He would have inherited a dead soul/spirit and could not have then been a perfect offering. Jesus fulfilled every prophecy that had been given to the Jewish nation concerning the messiah. He even fulfilled their oral traditions that were in addition to the written scripture(these were later written down as the mishna and talmud). Jesus lay down His life on the exact day in the exact year that was foretold.
While on the cross, He became sin, and the Father turned from Him. For three hours the sky became dark, so dark that one Egyptian writer records that the stars could be seen. After three hours of spiritual death Jesus was resurrected by the Father. Jesus then commends His spirit to God and Jesus’ body dies and every rock on earth cracked(even the moon rocks have cracks...).
On the third day the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty.(The Jewish day begins when three stars appear in the evening and goes until the next evening. Also, if something happens on any part of a day, it is considered to have been the whole day). Jesus spend 40 days teaching His followers and is then taken into Heaven. So how does that affect me.
One day, I realized that I could not keep Gods Law perfectly, I realized that I was a sinner and needed help. I cried out to Jesus to save me, and He did. Here is how...
When I through faith believed that Jesus could and would save me, God, through the Holy Spirit, place me INTO Christ. In doing that, God crucified me with Christ, buried me with Christ, resurrected me with Christ, and seated me with Christ. From the moment I believed and was placed into Christ, I was predestined to one day receive a new body like Christ’s and to receive the full adoption as a son and join heir with Christ. The blood of Jesus completely washed away my past present and future sins as far as God is concerned. Because I was crucified with Him, my dead soul and sprit were killed and I received a new soul and spirt that is alive to God. This is what it means to be born again.
So when God looks at me know, He sees me as having lived the Law perfectly because I am in Christ. He sees me in my person as perfect and now He is at work in me to change my behavior so that it lines up with the reality of who I now am.
Well, that IS Christianity. I, as a Christian, took about 20 years to see that. It is easier to get caught up in performance and legalism. It is about knowing and loving Jesus Christ and allowing Him to be my life. The scripture says that Jesus endured the cross, despised the shame, for the Joy set before Him. That joy was to bring many sons and daughters to God through their being born again. This gospel is good news. Don’t hesitate to email or PM me if you have questions.
Jesus blessings!