Posted on 02/19/2017 5:01:22 AM PST by metmom
“‘The Lord, the Lord God, [is] compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth’” (Exodus 34:6).
God’s grace is His undeserved favor shown to sinners.
God’s grace has always been a focus of praise for believers. Today’s verse is quoted several times in the Psalms and elsewhere in Scripture (for example, Neh. 9:17, 31; Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 145:8). Paul is grateful for God’s abundant grace in 1 Timothy 1:14, and John writes, “For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Today some of our favorite hymns are “Amazing Grace,” “Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord,” and “Wonderful Grace of Jesus.”
What exactly is grace? It is simply God’s free, undeserved, and unearned favor. It is a gift given by God not because we are worthy of it, but only because God, out of His great love, wants to give it.
Grace is evident to Christians in two main ways. The first is electing, or saving, grace. God “has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim. 1:9). “By grace [we] have been saved through faith” (Eph. 2:8). This is God’s grace to sinners, for “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20).
Another grace in our lives is enabling, or sustaining, grace. We didn’t just receive grace to be saved; we now live in grace. It is the grace of God that enables us to live the Christian life. When Paul asked that some debilitating “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7) be removed, the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (v. 9). Paul elsewhere says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
Remember, we have earned neither saving nor sustaining grace. Nothing we can do can make us worthy of one more bit of grace. God says, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious” (Ex. 33:19). This truth should make us all more grateful because He saved us and sustains us despite our sin. It should also make us humble because we have no worthiness to boast about (Eph. 2:9).
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank God for His grace in saving and sustaining you.
For Further Study
Read Genesis 9:8-19.
How did God extend grace to Noah and his family? What was the visible sign or symbol?
Here is a prime example of your deceptive Catholic technique:
Yes he used wine (and the Catholic Church uses wine) and He miraculously changes it into the Cup of the New Covenant at the first Mass before He died on the Cross.
Now, have you just catholicized what Jesus did that night, asserting without ANY scripture support, that Jesus instituted the 'first Mass' with that broken bread and wine in the cup? HE instituted a New Covenant, which he symbolized with the Jewish wedding and we believers as the Bride of The Christ.
Did you just fabricate that Jesus performed a miracle on that wine? Yes, deceptive Catholic Priest, that is exactly what you did! Based upon you org's (rhymes with Borg) TRADITIONS, not upon any support from God's Word!
And you can stop with the patent LIE that dispensational perspective started with Darby ... or maybe your ignorance is the excuse? IF you studied the teaching of Paul, you would see the beginnings of revealing a dispensational perspective. Paul even used the term! ... But a spiritually dead person might find that TRUTH hard to see.
You Catholic mind is to twisted, you cannot even quote Jesus correctly; you cannot resist altering His words to fit your org's agenda:
JOHN 3:36 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
Try being truth occasionally!
You are consistent and wrong. You certainly haven’t provided any authority that your personal opinion is correct.
You can deny or lie to yourself, but not to God.
You can blame others, but you will be accountable (as all of us will) to God.
May you open yourself to the Truth, even if you believe you know the Truth. It seems like you may have limited knowledge of the early church where the Apostles celebrated the Mass and consecrated the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.
Believe or not, I am not against you, I just want you to really seek the Truth. Not my truth, but God’s Truth.
You are helplessly ensnared in your org’s TRADITIONS. The Apostles celebrated the Remembrance, but show me where the BIBLE tells me they were celebrating the Catholic Mass you insist was started on the night before the cross. Your traditions will be the reason you will be here AFTER the Rapture of HIS Bride.
I find it interesting that Jesus never commanded the bread to be offered, but rather taken or received; “Take, eat, this is My body.” He then commanded His disciples to do this in remembrance of Him; that is, to break bread in remembrance of Him and offer the sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving, not offer the bread as a sacrifice. The Catholic Mass, however, states that the bread and wine ARE offered as a sacrifice of the literal body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ back to God for the sins of the people. Yet Scripture repeatedly tells us Jesus offered himself ONCE for all and there remains no more sacrifice for sin. I wonder if our Catholic friends even realize this?
Some Catholics like to assert that their church alone can offer salvation through the Eucharist. That their priests alone are able to "confect" the change of bread and wine into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ and then dispense it to ONLY Catholics for an allotment of "grace" able to keep them in a "state of grace" - at least until the next time they sin. How I remember coming home from Saturday confession trying my best to be good until the next morning and Sunday mass! It is this corruption of the gospel that spurs some here to insist that we must all become Catholic in order to be saved. I praise God for opening my eyes to the truth of the gospel and I now know I have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ and not in some ritual unlike anything the Apostles ever taught. Jesus said he gives to us eternal life and we shall NEVER perish or be plucked from his hands. That truly IS the meaning of grace.
It’s weird that some people have turned grace from something God lavishes on us through Christ by faith, freely given, into something doled out in stingy parcels for the correct behavior, merited instead of bestowed.
It is a corruption of the whole idea of what grace is and does such a disservice to the character of God and how He deals with us.
God’s Truth is in Scripture, not in any one church.
Your comment: “God’s Truth is in Scripture, not in any one church.”
That is not true. Jesus established one church - the Catholic Church. He did not establish 30,000 man-made churches. The baptized members of His church are the Body of Christ - saints and sinners.
As was stated in the Bible, Christ delegated authority to His Apostles and successors. There are significant direct quotes from Jesus and the practices of the early christian fathers and members of the Body of Christ - the church.
Since you are a baptized Catholic who no longer practices the Catholic Faith, I sense that you have made a lifestyle decision that is contrary to the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Church and you found a heretical church. Now you are anti-Catholic and associate with other anti-Catholics.
Your denial of God’s Truth will not help your soul.
Spend some time in Eucharistic adoration. “Adorers find greater peace and serenity to face life, and the wounds of their hearts find healing by going to see Jesus.” Change happens slowly but surely, for the presence of Our Lord works marvels.
Peace be with you.
You need to study history so that you may know Jesus and learn to accept His teachings.
Being anti-Catholic does not help you understand God’s Truth.
Peace be with you.
You further opined, "Being anti-Catholic does not help you understand God’s Truth." Priest, being a decades long student of the BIBLE and the teaching of JESUS my Savior helps me be anti-Catholicism.
Do you deny that JESUS used symbolism and metaphor to teach, AND to obscure HIS TRUTH from those of stiff neck, filled with pride for their 'works'? ... The Bible, quoting JESUS says He did just that. And your obstinacy is an illustration of why. Sadly, you are responsible for leading so many astray without a clue to your lost state.
No, we need to study SCRIPTURE, God's personal revelation to us, the TRUTH with a capital *T*.
Being Catholic has NO advantage to understand God's truth. it can't be done without the enlightening of the Holy Spirit and that is not the sole domain of Catholics or Catholicism.
On the contrary, there are plenty of Catholics who demonstrate they have ZERO spiritual insight into God's word.
Thank you for your many responses.
I still haven’t found any non-Catholic able to explain any errors of the teachings of Jesus in the Catholic Church.
You may have your personal opinions that are contrary to the teachings of Jesus and His Catholic Church, but you haven’t provided any logical reasoning for your personal opinions. You may have many quotes from the Bible, but obviously no authority to back up your personal and sometimes contorted opinions.
Your postings seem to lack insight into History of Christ’s Church and you just seem to deny what you do not like. I hope that you would open your mind and try to understand things from a different viewpoint so that you can find the real Truth, I sense that you think you know the Truth, but from your postings I don’t think that you truly understand.
I did not deny that Jesus used symbolism and metaphor to teach in various parts of the Bible. When Jesus uses “Amen, Amen” (Latin for So be it)the statement is being emphasized as being very important and Jesus did not use metaphor or symbolism to tell us about and give us the gift of HIS BODY AND BLOOD in the Eucharist. He repeated it.
Why are you any different from the Jews at Capernaum? “But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.” As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. John 6
Tell me what is “magic thinking”? If you have faith in Jesus, you have to accept all of Jesus. You can’t pick and chose what you believe. It is difficult to follow Jesus and do God’s will and many are persecuted for their beliefs. You profess loudly, but do your actions reflect your beliefs.
As Jesus said many times: “Peace be with you.”
History helps you understand scripture.
Not all of God’s teaching is in scripture, and no where is sola scripture Biblical. You can thank the early Catholic fathers who wrote the Bible with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You should acknowledge that Jesus taught by oral tradition and it was carried on by His followers.
The Catholic Church has endured many heresies including Circumcisers, Gnosticism, Montanism, Sabellianism, Arianism, Nestorianism, Protestantism among others. Saints and sinners are welcome in the Catholic Church.
Yes I agree, many Catholics (and Non Catholics) do not fully understand God’s word or follow Jesus. Some Catholics have followed the heresies noted above and others have just left the Catholic Church to follow their own path. Even with all the personal issues and personalities of people of the Catholic Church, we are still family and members of the Body of Christ, even the lost sheep.
Jesus formed His Catholic Church and delegated to His Apostles and their successors the Command to Go Forth Baptize and Spread the Good News. The mission of the church is to help us attain eternal life with God. A difficult task.
It would help us to understand and accept the words of Jesus and not just pick and chose what we like.
The carnal gets hungry and thirsty. Spiritual need is not carnally solved ... eating the flesh and blood of Jesus would not address the spiritual need. BELIEF in Jesus ends Spiritual hunger, cures the poison of sin ... let's look at JESUS teaching this lesson to one of the Sanhedrin members:
When Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again, Nicodemus chose to leap for a carnal explanation because he did not have a spiritual focus, and asked The Lord From Heaven, (John 3:4) "How can a man be born when he is old? ... “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”Jesus turned Nicodemus's focus to the spiritual, but still Nicodemus was confused: (John 3:5) Jesus answered “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." 9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. Jesus used wind as a metaphor or did Jesus call the Holy Spirit just wind?
Put your Catholic Priest mind in the place of Nicodemus for a moment: John3:10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” Jesus replied, “and do you not understand these things? ... 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life..."
Jesus directed Nicodemus's educated mind to a scene int he Desert after Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt. The camp had settled in a place where thousands of snakes dwelt. These were poisonous vipers and they were biting people and the people were dying from the poison. Not until Jesus points to this scene is there any explanation for the lesson throughout the entire Bible! The lesson is so clear even a Catholic Priest can see it: it is the act of human will to turn to the Promise of God that activates The Grace of God. It is not eating snakes or drinking poison of the snakes, it is the willful act of turning and believing in The Promise of God to heal from the poison!
Sin is poison to the soul of man. Sin oozes from the spirit of man, unregenerate man, UNTIL the will of man believes the Promise of God and lifts the eyes to JESUS the author and finisher of our FAITH. It is not eating The Son of Man or drinking His blood. IT IS THE SPIRITUAL that is in focus, with Nicodemus and with us in these final days.
meant to include you in the ping ...
Because you conflate your org with the Ekklesia of Jesus The Christ, you fail. It is clear that you do not know The Gospel of The Grace of God In Christ. Even JESUS refutes your effort, for HE said it is a light burden and HIS path is easy. Strive all you can and you will NEVER attain that which ONLY God can give, by His Grace, to HIS Glory. You will never earn salvation. You CAN turn your pride aside, stop striving, and accept The Promise of God and be born from above.
You still don’t get it and may never be willing to accept the meaning that Jesus intended.
I do understand Nicodemus interpretation, but that wasn’t was Jesus meant. I understand what Jesus meant but apparently you assume every one understands this passage in the same way as Nicodemus. That is faulty logic. I have not tried to address every false assumption or statement that you made.
Anyway, the Nicodemus story is not the same as Jesus said “Whoever eats* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. Jesus did not correct the followers who did not believe and left. Jesus did not say He was speaking in metaphor. Just the opposite, he repeated it several times.
Perhaps you forget Our Lord’s prayer: “Give us our daily bread”.
I have not said that we should not have complete Faith in Jesus and to follow His great commandments; Love God with your all and Love your neighbor as yourself. You should not imply otherwise. You should listen carefully to all the words of Jesus. They are important. Don’t change them to fit your needs. You may be rejecting Jesus if you do. Don’t be self-righteous. Be humble and listen to what God tells you.
You divert to other things instead of answering questions or addressing the situation at hand. You have denied the words of Jesus.
Have you ever thought seriously that Jesus meant exactly what He said about “His Body and Blood” being necessary for eternal life? Why wouldn’t you want to receive HIS BODY AND BLOOD with His special graces?
If you were with Jesus and he told you to do something for your eternal life, would you actually do it or would you question Him as many Jews did? And then tell Jesus that it is against the law and is repugnant.
****54Whoever eats* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
I don’t anticipate that you will answer the questions, and I have given you enough to reflect on that you keep repeating the same things. I truly hope that you find God’s peace and His Truth.
The Words, the non-physical, not the skin and sinews, blood and muscle ... you cannot carnally satisfy (eating with your alimentary tract) what is a spiritual starvation. You are METAPHORICALLY stuffing Jesus in your mouth and down your throat, yet really starving to literal death of your spirit.
The wise man listens to instruction and strives to base his life upon it. The wise humbly accept that they do not know all things and must be taught by God.
But fools, those who hate wisdom, prattle on and on about their own opinions. They believe anything is true simply because they think it.
It is difficult to reason with them, because although they scoff at religious truth as mere “religion,” it is really they who exhibit a far more extreme version of “blind faith” than any Christian believer who sees faith and reason as compatible.
For instance, He used the model of a sower broadcasting seed to show the analogy of a herald of the gospel preaching the Bible truths to various kinds of human hearts.
What we have here, and you summarized, is that the situation required Jesus to use figurative-literal language to communicate His terms of the process by which vile sinning humans could be saved and restored. But as He pointed out to His disciples in Matthew 13, the ability to understand the meaning of the symbolism had to be through the undeserved gift of spiritual perception That only He, in graciousness, could impart.
And even though a natural man might realize that such a gracious gift exists, that knowledge does not give him the ability to exercise it. If he chooses to think that he can acquire that ability through his own efforts, I believe God will withhold that unearned and unearnable favor until the loser finally gives up and cries out for mercy (which is God's kindness in withholding the wages of sin which one richly does deserve).
Your insightful discussion bears the fruit of energizing even greater appreciation of God's grace from His Own children.
This is John 6.
What he told the unbelieving crowd was essentially a parable.
What he told the disciples was the unvarnished truth.
So He explained to the unbelieving crowd something they didn't get and after telling them to eat His flesh and drink His blood, they turned away instead of seeking the real truth.
What He told the disciples who stayed around for the real truth, it that.....
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
So He was in effect saying that it ISN'T eating flesh that makes the difference. He Himself said it was no help at all. Therefore it CANNOT give life because, He goes on to say, it's the SPIRIT who gives life, not eating bread or flesh or any other such thing.
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