₦airaland Forum

Have you ever been confused by a Bible teaching that seemed contrary to something else in the Bible? Have you ever read a scripture that seemed to contradict another scripture?

Paul said that the entire Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). But he also said that we need to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). We divide the word whenever we emphasize one scripture over another. So how do we divide the word rightly?

In essence there are two questions we should ask when reading any scripture in the Bible: (i) What does this passage mean in light of the finished work of the cross? And (ii) who is the writer writing to or about?

The filter of the cross

To hear some people preach today you might conclude that the cross was of no significance. In truth, Jesus’ death on the cross is the single most important event in human history.

Before the cross the old law covenant reigned. But after the cross a new covenant based on grace made the old covenant obsolete (Heb 8:13). Under the old covenant you were blessed if you were good, but under the new covenant we are blessed because He is good. Consider these contrasts from scripture:

Before the cross we were blessed when we obeyed and cursed when we disobeyed (Deut 11:26-28). But after the cross we are blessed because we are forgiven (Rms 4: and we are redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13).

Before the cross we forgave in order to earn God’s forgiveness (Mt 6:14). But at the cross we were unconditionally forgiven and we now forgive because Christ has forgiven us (Eph 4:32; Col 3:13).

Before the cross loving your neighbor meant not coveting his wife or property (Deut 5:21). But after the cross we love and accept others because Christ loves and accepts us (1 Jn 4:19; Rms 15:7).

Before the cross God was distant and unapproachable (Ex 19:12). But because of the cross we have been brought near to God to receive mercy and find grace (Eph 2:13; Heb 4:16).

Before the cross God held us responsible for our sins and not even sacrifices could clear a guilty conscience (Lev 5:17; Heb 9:9). But because of the cross Jesus’ blood cleanses us from a guilty conscience (Heb 10:22) and He remembers our sins no more (Heb 8:12).

Before the cross God said “Thou shalt not” (Ex 20). But after the cross God says “I will” (Heb 8:8-12). Before the cross it’s “do, do, do”. After the cross it’s “done, done done”.

Before the cross righteousness was demanded of sinful man (Deut 6:25). But at the cross righteousness was freely given (Rms 5:17).

Before the cross Adam’s sin meant condemnation for all men (Rms 5:18). But there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rms 8:1).

When we read the Bible we should ask, is this scripture describing the old law covenant which condemns sinners or the new grace covenant which makes sinners righteous? If you are a Christian, you need not fear the condemnation of the law. Instead, rejoice that you are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor 5:21).

Consider the audience

When reading the Bible it’s also important to note who the words were written for, otherwise you might end up taking
someone else’s medicine . There are only two kinds of people – those who put their faith in Jesus and those who don’t. Consequently the Holy Spirit brings two different convictions (Jn 16:8-10):

(i) Jesus said the Holy Spirit would convict the world of guilt for the sin of unbelief (Jn 16:9). Many things in the New Testament are written for unbelievers. Paul, Peter, John, Jude and James all had things to say to those who did not see their need for a Savior (e.g., 1 Jn 1:5-10). The apostles also wrote to warn the church about sinners masquerading as prophets and preachers (e.g., 2 Pet 2). Strong words of judgment and condemnation given to sinners do not apply to those whom Christ has qualified.

(ii) Jesus also said the Holy Spirit would convict Christians of righteousness (Jn 16:10). We do not need to be reminded of our shortcomings, but we often need to be reminded of our right standing before God (2 Cor 5:21). Much of the New Testament was written to assure Christians that we belong to God and that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Rms 8:38-39). Not even our sin can separate us because God’s grace is greater than our sin (Rms 5:15).
When we fail the Holy Spirit does not condemn us – there is no condemnation to those in Christ. Rather He reminds us that we are righteous, that we are kept by Jesus (Ju 24), that we are the Father’s sons (Gal 4:6), and that our hope is firm and secure (Heb 6:19). When we make mistakes Jesus doesn’t condemn us, He defends us (1 Jn 2:1) and then He teaches us how to say no to ungodliness (Tit 2:12).

Rightly dividing the word means reading the Bible in the context of the finished work of the cross. It means we interpret scripture in light of what Jesus has done. The entire Bible reveals Jesus (Lk 24:27). Read the Bible to find Jesus.

https://escapetoreality.org/2010/03/10/rightly-dividing-the-word-how-to-read-your-bible-without-getting-confused/

shegzyvic:
ur question seems bored in d ear, anƴway to cut the long story short, narrow way seems hard cos its full of restrictions like dnt commit adultery, dnt steal, dnt lie, forgive those who hurt u, love ur enemies, judge not, dnt wear this dnt wear that which seems hard for many to follow. only few can do them. mat10 explains how disciples of christ will be hated persecuted and killed bt only those who are faithful to death and endure to d end will be saved, many churches hv left pursuit of heaven for money and prosperity, dats d reason why few enter d narrow gate,

you did not even read the article.... the poster explained everything through the lense of grace.....

What is the narrow gate? You probably know the answer to this question – the narrow gate is Jesus – but what does it mean to find the narrow gate, and why did Jesus say many would try to enter and fail?

Make every effort to enter through the narrow gate, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. (Luke 13:24)

As kids in Sunday School, we learned about the broad and narrow roads. We understood that there was a freeway to hell and nearly everybody was on it. There was also a narrow way to life, a secret passage that few would find. But Jesus said the narrow gate isn’t just hard to find, it’s hard to enter : “Many will try to enter and will not be able to.”
That’s the first puzzle: why is Jesus hard to enter? And here’s the second:

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matt 7:13-14)
Why there are two gates? Shouldn’t there be only one gate? Aren’t we all born on a highway to hell? Aren’t we all lost unless we stumble onto the secret turn-off?

Behind door number 1…

Apparently that Sunday School picture is not quite right. Religion says you were born hellbound but Jesus says you get to choose : You can choose the broad or narrow gate. One leads to death, the other leads to life. A narrow gate, such as you might find in a city wall, is basically a door. Jesus is the door to life:

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9, NKJV)
Jesus said many will try to enter the door and not be able to. The picture is of multitudes coming to the door of Jesus – they’ve heard about him – and they’re wanting to enter, but they can’t get in. The reason they can’t enter is because outside the door there is a bouncer called Religion. This bouncer is a bully and a thug and he speaks the devil’s lies
:
“You can’t come in here looking like that! You need to get cleaned up before you can approach the Lord.”

“Are you sure you want to do this because the way is narrow and hard and only the best make it. You don’t look good enough.”

“Entering is not easy. You have to strive to the point of agony and work hard every day to stay the course. We’re looking for marathon runners and you look like you can barely stand. Come back when you’re stronger.”

These are damnable lies but they are effective. Just look at all the people turning away with sorrow. “It’s true, I am a failure. I’m not good enough for God. I need to work before he will accept me.” Instead of entering through the door of Jesus they choose the door of self-trust. Like Adam they believe the lie and choose the way of death.

The narrow gate is not hard to enter because God has high standards. (He does have high standards, but Jesus has met them all on your behalf!) The narrow gate is hard to enter because people are slow of heart to believe the good news and quick to believe the lies of self-made religion. “I am a mess. How could I approach a holy God in this sorry state? I need fig leaves.”

Instead of coming into the House of Grace and getting all their needs met by Jesus, they’re stuck outside trying to clean themselves. Instead of beholding the Lamb, they are beholding themselves. Instead of focusing on Christ and his sublime perfections, they are distracted by themselves and their imperfections.

Strive to enter

Why did Jesus say only a few find the narrow door (in Matt 7:14)? Because in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus was preaching to those under the law, and when you live under the law, especially a watered-down version of the law that makes you believe you can qualify on your own merits, you will have trouble finding the door of grace. Exhibit A: The Pharisees. They didn’t find the door because they weren’t even looking for it.

And why did Jesus exhort us to strive to enter the narrow gate (in Luke 13:24)? He is not saying we must strive in the flesh to overcome sin and pass the test. We strive to enter the narrow gate for the same reason we strive to enter his rest (Heb 4:11). It takes effort because walking by faith doesn’t come naturally to us. It’s the nature of the flesh to take control and make things right. (Fig leaves, again.) It takes effort to resist the flesh and allow our hearts to be established in God’s word.

There are two doors, two gates, and two voices. One speaks truth and the other speaks lies. One says, “Come to me all and I will give you rest,” and the other says, “Did God really say…?” One speaks the words of eternal life and the other speaks the words of death.

The narrow gate is hard to enter because our flesh (our sight and understanding) has trouble receiving grace. Our flesh wants to follow Adam. “Don’t worry God, I got this. I can take care of myself.” And the result is death.

We can only enter the narrow gate by faith. “Lord, I don’t got this. I need your help.” And as we receive his grace and abide in the restful persuasion that Jesus has got this , the result is life.

https://escapetoreality.org/2016/06/23/narrow-gate-hard-to-enter/

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I discovered his website recently and i am loving it since!!! You guys will love all his teachings there and they are many!!! Happy reading.....

What comes to mind when you hear the word “football”? Your answer to that question says a lot about where you come from. If you’re a fan of football and you travel the world you’ll often have conversations like this:
“So you like footy. Who’s your favorite team?”
“Collingwood.”
“Never heard of them. Do they play in the Bundesliga?”
“The Bundes-what-now?”

It’s a bit like that with the word “repentance.” Here on E2R there has been a lot of discussion lately regarding the purpose of repentance. Much of that discussion is like the conversation above. We’re all fans of repentance but we seem to be talking about completely different things.
So what is repentance? Like football, your answer to that question says a lot about where you’re coming from. If you’ve been raised under performance-based religion, repentance is something we must do to be saved. If you don’t repent, you’re not saved. What is the something we must we do? Turn from sin of course. But as I will explain, this is a limited and misleading interpretation of repentance.

What is repentance?

The Greek word commonly translated repentance (metanoia ) literally means to change your mind. (You can check this out for yourself by looking up a Greek lexicon such as Thayer’s and Smith’s Bible Dictionary or Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.) The Greek word for repent (metanoeo) is similar and both words are derived from the Greek word for mind (nous ). So to repent is to change your mind. Nothing more, nothing less. Let’s look at an example from scripture:

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mar 1:15)

This is where the football confusion starts to kick in. The religious mind interprets Jesus’ words as “turn from sin and believe the good news.” But that is not what Jesus is saying. Jesus is addressing unbelievers. He is saying “change your unbelieving mind and believe the good news.” Repentance is not primarily a sin issue, it’s a faith issue. We are born walking by sight and trusting in the flesh. Jesus says, change the way you think and believe the good news.
Now that we know what repentance is (a change of mind), I want to address three common myths or misconceptions.

Myth 1: Repentance brings forgiveness

… repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Lk 24:47)

The religious mind reads this and thinks “I need to repent in order to be forgiven.” In other words, God will not forgive me unless I do something. This is pure hubris. It’s straight out of the old covenant. God is God and He has already forgiven in accordance with the riches of His grace (Eph 1:7). As I explain elsewhere, God does not need your permission to forgive you. We don’t repent to get forgiven; we repent because we are forgiven. Forgiveness is part of the good news: repent and believe it.

Myth 2: Repentance is turning from sin

Since repentance means changing your mind, it’s certainly possible that one can repent by turning from sin and there are plenty of people in the Bible who did so. But that’s only one kind of repentance and it is not the kind that leads to salvation. In the New Testament, repentance typically means turning to God .

I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Act 20:21)

Turning from versus turning to may seem like splitting hairs, but it’s the difference between life and death! Someone who turns to God automatically turns from sin and from their dead religious works, but someone who turns from sin does not automatically turn to God. This is why it is misleading and dangerous to preach repentance as “turning from sin.” Paul never did. “I preached that they should repent and turn to God ” (Act 26:20). As usual, Paul took his lead from Jesus:

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Luk 5:32)

Again, the religious mind interprets this as a call to turn from sin but turning from sin doesn’t make you righteous. An unbeliever who turns from sin remains an unbeliever. Consider the Pharisees. They ran away anytime sin appeared. If anyone knew how to turn from sin they did yet Jesus called them sons of hell (Mt 23:15). Turning from sin will make you a moral person, but it won’t make you righteous. Righteousness comes to us through faith in Christ alone.

I appreciate that what I am saying about repentance contradicts reputable commentaries. So let’s take a look at one. To the right is a screenshot taken from
BibleStudyTools.com showing Thayer’s and Smith’s definition of the word “repent.” (Click on the image to see a larger version.) You will see that they provide two definitions: (1) to change one’s mind and (2) to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins. Abhorrence is a strong word. It sounds like the experts are defining repentance as turning from sin .

But do you see the problem? It is logically impossible for both of these definitions to be fully true. If the second definition is true, and repentance does indeed mean turning from sin, then we should reject the first definition as misleading. It needs qualification. But if the first definition is true, then the second is incomplete. It is as if we had looked up the word “turn” in the dictionary and found that it simultaneously means (1) to change direction and (2) to change direction by always going left.

To sum up, repentance can mean turning from sin, but since turning from sin will not save you this is exactly the wrong sort of repentance to preach. I’ll discuss this point further in my next post.

Myth 3: Repentance means feeling sorry for sin

Let’s look at another reputable source. To the right is a screenshot taken from the Blue Letter Bible showing F.F. Bruce’s definition of repentance: “Repentance… involves a turning with contrition from sin to God.” My problem here is with the qualifier contrition . Apparently it is not enough that you turn to God, you must turn with remorse, regret, and feelings of guilt. If you don’t have these feelings then you’ve not really repented and therefore you’re not saved. So go away, ponder your sins, and come back when you’re ready to have a good cry about them.

This is pure emotionalism. This is old covenant sackcloth and ashes. This is Judas killing himself with grief. The good news is supposed to release great joy, not great sorrow. When you’ve heard that God loves you and has forgiven you and carried all your infirmities and has provided everything you need for life and godliness, why would you be sad? It’s truly bizarre.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Cor 7:10)

Religious people read this scripture backwards:

“Repentance brings godly sorrow.” Or they say “repentance
is godly sorrow.” But Paul says no such thing. In KJVese he says godly sorrow worketh repentance. In other words, godly sorrow and repentance are different things. And if you read the context you will see that Paul was not referring to the repentance that leads salvation but the relational strain between him and his beloved Corinthians. They had given him the cold shoulder, he rebuked them, they felt bad about it and repented.

Godly sorrow can and does lead to repentance but it’s unlikely that you will cry every time you change your mind about the Lord. In truth, it doesn’t really matter how your emotions respond when you learn about the good news of God’s grace. It only matters that you believe it.

Repentance, like football, means different things to different people. But only one code of the game is played in heaven (rugby!). Similarly, there’s only one kind of repentance that matters to God and that’s the kind that leads you to Him. His heart’s desire is for you to come to Him. You can come happy or come sad but the main thing is that you come.



https://escapetoreality.org/2011/11/20/why-repentance-is-like-football/

promise10:
1000000000000% PERFECTLY CORRECT!

Posts like this are posts that always make up my day.

@op @jiggaz do you know that at a time I discover that the grace of God is REALLY HYPER in nature?

In fact the grace of God on it's own is HYPER, that's why it passes all understanding and human imagination.

That's why it makes them to think "huh, Holy God overlooking sin?? No no no that cannot be true" because it passes ones understanding. And this was a question one asked, see response to him.

My response:
When we say that God doesn't imput our sins on us
any longer, it doesn't mean that God is overlooking
sin. Rather he doesn't imput it on us BECAUSE he
imputed it on christ, that is the only option God has
for man's redemption. If God should judge us, then
it will be a CRIME OF DOUBLE JEOPARDY and as well
shows that christ's death was not a sacrifice for sin,
but a MURDER!

You are 100% correct bro!!!!

Very nice post uvalued click on my profile to read all my Christian articles, you will love them..... Its all about Christ and His finished work on the cross, His super abundance of grace etc.....

christinnah:
Im doing well... and ok you can go church...sorry for interrupt... just remember to pray for me...hahahah...have a good Sunday mah frn

alright dear and you too.

christinnah:
MORNING!!!

how are u doing Christinnah? Lemme run .. i want to go to church.

morning.....

morning..

morning

morning

morning

Glaxx:
So so sad. Wait, wait, wait, you mean to tell me that these 87 people and organizations could only raise 1.2 million naira. That is an average of about 14,000 is what each contributed. You'll expect 20 or 30 of his colleagues to raise the 1.2 mill. #Smh

my broda i tire oo....

5solas:
Nice one! Rather than encouraging us to indulge in sin, the message of grace ( gospel) frees us to serve God in gratitude and without fear!

exactly

Lynuche:
Just started with the almond oil St Ives today. Let's see how that works out...Use Eva soap too.. I got tired of changing soaps and creams to get a bright skin. Gonna stick with this for a while

alright thats nice.... yes it will work for you ... From what I googled online, Almond Oil is a very effective ingredient used in brightening the skin and its a natural oil.... It is very rich in Vitamin E & A, also rich in antioxidants... It protects the skin from the harmful rays of the sun and fights free radicals that causes skin damage...

Almond oil coupled with Soybean Oil in St Ives lotion acts as a natural sunscreen for your skin... From what i noticed, the St Ives 24 Hr Deep Restoring Moisture Body Lotion is the most favorite among Nigerians..... at the supermarket, its the first to get finished.

christinnah:
hi!

hello dear.... click on my profile name and go through all my Christian articles, you will love them ...

christinnah:
thnx!! its nice!!

you welcome!!

christinnah:
wow!! thats a great message...

yes it is my dear...

jiggaz:
morning

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jiggaz:
morning

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jiggaz:
morning

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jiggaz:
morning

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