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The Implications of Jesus’ Humanity, Revisited

April 24, 2022 2 Comments

Jesus came as a man–fully human–and lived under the control (“filling”) and power of the Holy Spirit, in exactly the same way we can, if we will permit him to do it. In this respect, the only difference between Jesus, as a human, and us, is that Jesus was never anything but fully under the Spirit’s control. Jesus invites us to live as He did, obeying the Spirit’s direction and living by the Spirit’s power.

A God who Speaks, God Acts by Speaking, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, His Children, His Friends, Holy Spirit, Jesus the Son, Promises, Show us the Way of Truth, Son of Man, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, The Kingdom of the Heavens, Through Jesus, To be in his image, Trinity, Ultimate reality, What is God's Word

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Related Keys to Psalm 37:4-5 and Psalm 51:3-4

April 17, 2022 1 Comment

God’s intention is that, as we take delight in him, he will put his desires within us. This will make us progressively more able to trust God, do good, and avoid sin. It will also make us increasingly able to discern when our guilt doesn’t come from God.

A God who Speaks, Confession and Repentance, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, God's Voice, His Children, missing the mark, On speaking terms again, Reconciliation, Refusing to hear, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Sin, Sins versus sin, Through Jesus, To be in his image, What is sin?

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Objective of teaching: Repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth, 2 Timothy 2:24-26

April 10, 2022 3 Comments

The main purpose of Christian teaching is to give all those who follow the words and example of the teacher rescue out of the snare of the devil through repentance–a complete change of life direction–leading to a full knowledge of the truth–Jesus himself.

A God who Speaks, God Speaks to Us, God was never our enemy, Reconciliation, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Through teachers

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Paul’s Mourning over those who have Not Repented, 2 Corinthians 12:21

April 3, 2022 2 Comments

When Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians, he feared he would later come to them and find that they had not repented of their underlying mixed motives and attitudes of self-centered worship and sensual focus. The result would be the same strife and disorder he had reproved in his first letter.

Desire to have our own way, Desire to have our own way, Divisions in the Church, Forgetting God, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, God's Other Attributes, Greed, Pride in accomplishments as our own, refusal to repent, Repentance, Salvation, self-serving worship, What is sin?

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Godly sorrow and repentance which leads to salvation, 2 Corinthians 7:8-10

March 27, 2022 2 Comments

In Corinth, Godly sorrow over a letter Paul regretted writing led the members of the church to a zeal to put away their sins which is the definition of repentance. After that repentance, they were told to accept back among themselves even those who had lapsed into the “worst” sins, but had repented.

A God who Speaks, Changed treatment of each other, Consequences, forgiveness and mercy, God is Love, God Speaks to Us, God's Existence and Nature, judgment, Repentance, Repentance in community, Repentance versus Remorse, Restoration of God's Image, Sin, Through the church, Victory

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Self-righteousness, idolatry of self, repentance and an unrepentant heart in Romans 2

March 20, 2022 2 Comments

Romans 2:4-5 is a warning aimed not at the wicked world, but at the self-righteous–even believers–who harshly judge others while forgetting that it was the kindness of God that led them to repentance.

A God who Speaks, Consequences, Forgetting God, forgiveness and mercy, God is Love, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's Existence and Nature, God's Other Attributes, idolatry, judgment, patience, refusal to repent, Refusing to hear, Rejecting God, Repentance, reprobation, Sin, through his creation, Truth and Falsehood, What is sin?

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Works worthy of repentance in Acts 26:20

March 13, 2022 0 Comments

In his trial before King Herod Agrippa in Acts 26, Paul went out of his way to emphasize that “works worthy of repentance” flow from turning to God and not from our own determination to prove our repentance.

Merit, Pride in accomplishments as our own, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Sin, What is sin?

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An ambiguous instance of “repentance” before the Ephesian elders, Acts 20:21

March 6, 2022 1 Comment

Paul’s farewell message to the Ephesian elders reminded them of his former preaching in their church, in which “repentance toward God” was linked with “the things concerning God’s Kingdom,” a realm in which God is obeyed.

Repentance, The Kingdom of the Heavens

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The Ephesian believers in Acts 19 and John’s baptism to repentance

February 27, 2022 1 Comment

When Paul spoke to some disciples of John the Baptist in Acts 19, he pointed out to them that John’s baptism was a baptism to repentance–a changed way of life–not as an end in itself, but leading to Jesus and a life transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Repentance

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Burning Cultural Bridges? Repentance and Paul in Athens, Acts 17:22-31

February 20, 2022 1 Comment

Paul’s speech to the rulers of Athens in the Areopagus was a long exercise in deliberate irony, first building and then promptly burning cultural bridges. Paul did this to show them the folly of their deliberate ignorance of the true God.

A God who Speaks, Desire to have our own way, Eternity, Forgetting God, God Acts by Speaking, God is Love, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's Existence and Nature, idolatry, Immanence, Refusing to hear, Rejecting God, Repentance, Sin, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, Truth and Falsehood, What is sin?

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