[Faith-talk] weekly bible study - the difference between understanding the bible, and arrogance

[Melody Wartenbee]

George:

 

Thank you for sharing.  Yesterday and today I was reading Leviticas and as I
was and sometimes after reading it too, that I'm so thankful I live now and
not back then.  I like Romans chapters 5 through 8 a lot.   There is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk in the Spirit and
not after the flesh.  I agree that we are not perfect.  That's why we need
God.  I read in Lev. 19:1 that we are to be holy as God is holy.  While we
were sinners Christ died for us as Romans 5:8 says.    I'd rather believe
Jesus' report about me than anyone else's because he knows the whole truth
about me.  He doesn't tell partial truths and try to dupe us with the rest.

 

Melody

 

Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:52:49 -0400

From: Jorge Paez <computertechjorgepaez at gmail.com>

To: for the discussion of faith and religion Faith-talk

      <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>

Subject: [Faith-talk] weekly bible study - the difference between

      understanding the bible, and arrogance

Message-ID: <1923F484-E32E-4E15-B811-21879370FB81 at gmail.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

 

Hi guys:

 

I thought I would start writing a weekly bible reflection for you,

and see what you all think.

Just to provide some more food for thought,

and my own input on what the bible says.

 

 

 

This week's verse:

 

I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)

 

 

This is an interesting verse,

because it could be taken many different ways.

But this is how I take it.

 

It doesn't mean that we are perfect, it doesn't mean that we do not commit
sins--just because it is written that way does not mean we are all the
sudden angels.

 

No, what it means is this: we WILL commit sins, in some form or other, but
this is the crucial part.

 

We have to understand that we may sin, but as long as we have faith and turn
to God in repentance he will accept us. This doesn't mean commit sins on
purpose--for that is the deed of an evil one, but to understand that we are
merely humans.

 

As a famous theologian put it,

the believer "commits small sins and imagines them as a mountain" while the
hypocrites commit large sins and consider them like "flies they can just
swipe away."

 

Who would commit more sins?

 

Yet it is not our sins, but who we sin against that is important here, and
we have to understand that as long as we are willing to admit that we sin,
as long as we turn to God he will forgive us.

 

 

 

And this may be the same conflict as when people tell you you're
wrong--knowing you're wrong, or made a mistake is the worse thing because
its the hardest thing to accept sometimes,

yet its crucial for your wisdom to flourish.

Could you imagine how tiring it would be if we never committed a single
mistake? We'd never learn anything!!!

 

So just remember, to always turn to God, and as long as we turn to him who
created us in honest repentance we are forgiven as believers.

 

 

Until next week,

 

 

 

Jorge

 

 

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