DIVINE TRANSFORMATION
KNOWING THE LORD
What does it mean to know the Lord?
Man was created to have fellowship with God, but because of his sin, he is prevented from that fellowship .Sin is anything that is against the righteousness revealed in God's Law. This includes anything less than perfect obedience to God's commands.
You may be asking yourself: "How can I know God?" Man is able to know the true and living God through His Word, that is, the Bible. The Bible reveals God's character and His plan for mankind. It is through reading His Word that we come to the knowledge of the righteousness of God and that which He requires of us.
What is it that prevents us from personally knowing God?
Our sin has separated us from God — our corruption is to such a degree that we cannot know Him personally and cannot experience His love. God's Word says,"...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," — (Romans 3:23)
"For the wages of sin is death..." — (Romans 6:23a, NKJV).
The ultimate result of this death is an eternity in Hell. (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). This
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Knowing God guarantees eternal life, victory and ithelps us to be imparted with a righteous and a holy life style. The knowledge of God is the only way for having and enjoying abundance of grace and peace – 2Pet. 1:2-4; Phil. 3:8-11 – Paul having renounced his own righteousness is clamouring for intimate knowledge of God through Jesus Christ and the transforming power of His resurrection. He did not seek for a once and for all kind of power in His resurrection but an on-going power; that is, day to day experience of being in Christ. In Gal. 2:20 he stated that “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave Himself for
“What is sin?”(1), Dr. Hoenikker asks in the book “Cat’s Cradle.”(2) The Christian Bible describes sin as, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (3) Sin has become the creator of fear throughout history. The fear that God will punish those who sin but, that fear is a false threat to control people. Sin creates the illusion that the universe is based on morals, when in fact it is completely amoral.
consequences of sin. Paul confirms this in Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous, no not one.”
NLT). We are not to walk away from sin we are to run! God makes it clear. Sin is not a bargaining tool that we allow certain sins to be more deadly than others are. Sin is sin.
Louis Cabezas Dr. Crerand ENG 375.01 27 March 2024 The Barracks Thief Close Reading At the end of Tobias Wolff’s novella, The Barrack Thief, Phillip is recalling the lives of his friends Lewis and Hubbard. He is reminiscing on “how it felt to be a reckless man with reckless friends” (101). What at first appears to be a conclusion paragraph to the novella includes subtle commentary on the corruption of man. Wolff's use of parallelism and imagery emphasizes a story highlighting the moral ambiguity and complex nature of humans.
God is a word sent forth without the support of God’s will; hence, revealing the individuals position; a place outside of God’s government. This is important to understand because it is by the Word of God being spoken and properly exercised in your life that will prepare you for the great things the Lord has in store for you. Not one ounce, portion, or part of the Word of God can be omitted if the individual is to walk in harmony with the Lord.
“He said not:Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be afflicted Thou shalt not be overcome” (144). Although as St. Julian reported, “As long as we be meddling with any part of sin we shall never see clearly the Blissful Countenance of our Lord” (149). It is important to stay clear of any sin and to flee from it when we find it creeping into our lives. “Though we be highly lifted up into contemplation by the special gift of our Lord, yet it is needful to us to have knowledge and sight of our sin and our feebleness”
The result of sin, then, would be considered a blurring of the image of God and a barrier between God and man. In addition, salvation is a process not of justification, but of reestablishing man's communion with God (Ware 155-161).
All are tormented and tortured, in isolation from God, without any hope of mercy or relief (Robinson). Many Christians believe that when a person dies, they enter into complete oblivion – a state of non-existence. They remain in dormancy. At the time of the second coming of Jesus, the dead are resurrected and judged. Those who have been saved while on earth will be given special bodies and go to Heaven, unlike the unsaved who will go to Hell for eternal punishment (Robinson).
Faith is all we have to go off of. God is everywhere around us in everything we do. We will never understand His mysteries no matter how many arguments and counter arguments we come up with, in the end it will come down to our faith and beliefs. We have been saved by Jesus’ incarnation. Before His death and victorious resurrection, we were confused and somewhat lost. Life after death was nothing. We were stuck and not prepared to meet our maker. But now, life has been made new again. As long as we keep our faith, nothing will phantom us. There is always hope in God.
Why would one want to even try to “gain” favor or salvation from God if Paul has so beautifully explained that you can have it all and then some with belief in Jesus Christ? In Galatians Chapter two verse twenty, Paul declares, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me”. (footnote). Many people in their lives if they have gone to church in any capacity may have heard a preacher give a sermon on that verse, however, what if you were to present that verse to the average person who hasn’t attended church? What does Paul mean by that saying and are they any parallel Scriptures which teach the same truth? Paul is speaking in a sense that he actually died; which is pretty strange because he would have to be alive to have penned this epistle. What Paul is saying however is that he has died to the law when Jesus Christ died on the
Anderson, Gary A. "What Is A Sin?" Sin A History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. 3-14. Print.
Sin has been defined as many things by many groups throughout the ages. In the Old Testament it was defined as a failure to hit a mark or an attitude of rebellion. In the New Testament it is defined as failing to conform to a standard or as a condition. However, we must decide for ourselves what it means in our own lives. The Holy Spirit will guide us in our definition. Without being taught right and wrong we still are able to decipher between the two.
Levine, Amy –Jill and Douglas Knight. The Meaning of the Bible: What Jewish and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us. New York: HarperOne, 2011.
God wrote the Bible. Who can give a better explanation of who God is than God