Brother Allen, where do you come up with all these articles on Grace? You are a breath of fresh air when it comes to brotherhood material. I have been an advocate of God's Grace ever since I became a Christian in 1980, but it was not embraced. Not a lot of brotherhood material is written, Not a lot of lectures I listen to deal with it. Why? Because with out it we would be lost as lost can be. keep up the awesome work. God bless
Thank you, brother. I do a lot of writing on this because I love it. My perspective growing up looks pretty similar to yours. Thanks for being such an encouragement to me!
As you are too many. The problem with this is there are "some" who think we are going off the wrong track because we speak so much about Grace. But from the very beginning Grace was an attribute of our Lord. Can't mention it enough cant thank Him enough. God Bless.
Good morning, Larry, as you know, I’ve been preaching the gospel for over 30 years, and anyone who’s listened for long knows I believe repentance, faith, and obedience are all essential to salvation. It's very easy to find on this blog, by the way, and all of my teaching at Cornerstone. You should take some time and check it out at cornerstone-coc.com.
But this article was about grace, and you can’t talk about everything in one lesson.
You don’t minimize repentance by preaching grace. You actually magnify it, because grace is what makes repentance possible. Thanks for writing ... and I hope you enjoy listening and reading my material.
Good to hear from you Matt! I have know you for many years and have enjoyed our past visits. I did not ask the question as questioning your past teaching but to clarify the language used in this post. If I had the other concerns I would have called you.
I very much appreciate the limits of how much one could say in writing an article or preaching a sermon! I am often humbled by what I wished could be clarified but time and space would not allow for me to do that. That's why questions can help.
Here is one thing you wrote that brought my question:
"The message was unmistakable: this covenant did not depend on Abraham’s faithfulness; it depended on God’s. Grace has always worked that way. Salvation isn’t our pledge to keep up our end of a bargain; it’s God’s unbreakable promise to redeem those who trust Him."
The covenant (seed promise) was an unconditional covenant that did not depend upon the actions of men. We certainly see that God fulfilled the seed promise through unfaithful Israel. We can also see this through the covenant displayed through the rainbow (no future flood). God was going to keep His promises regardless of what man may do.
When speaking of you and me and our personal salvation then that is a different type of covenant. It is not a covenant of just "rules" but one of relationship and at the core of that relationship is God's holiness. "'And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." Leviticus 20:26 This is where forgiveness and a life of repentance is found.
My intention in these questions was to clarify a distinction that was needed in the article. You do have a condition "to redeem those who trust Him" which in my understanding involves repentance and holiness. That condition is a requirement of faithfulness! We keep on trusting God! The covenant regarding our personal salvation does involve "rules" or better stated "holiness." Because I know the character of God (Jn 17:3) and His love and grace, it is a joyful life of repentance full of assurance.
I have enjoyed our past personal visits and hope to speak with you again soon!
I think your thoughts in the last paragraph are spot on. "Trusting" God certainly involves ongoing faithfulness and repentance. The surrender that happens on the day of our salvation must continue throughout life.
I do appreciate you .... and hope we can talk soon.
Brother Allen, where do you come up with all these articles on Grace? You are a breath of fresh air when it comes to brotherhood material. I have been an advocate of God's Grace ever since I became a Christian in 1980, but it was not embraced. Not a lot of brotherhood material is written, Not a lot of lectures I listen to deal with it. Why? Because with out it we would be lost as lost can be. keep up the awesome work. God bless
Thank you, brother. I do a lot of writing on this because I love it. My perspective growing up looks pretty similar to yours. Thanks for being such an encouragement to me!
As you are too many. The problem with this is there are "some" who think we are going off the wrong track because we speak so much about Grace. But from the very beginning Grace was an attribute of our Lord. Can't mention it enough cant thank Him enough. God Bless.
Where is repentance found in this covenant? Is there such a thing as a conditional promise relating to grace?
Good morning, Larry, as you know, I’ve been preaching the gospel for over 30 years, and anyone who’s listened for long knows I believe repentance, faith, and obedience are all essential to salvation. It's very easy to find on this blog, by the way, and all of my teaching at Cornerstone. You should take some time and check it out at cornerstone-coc.com.
But this article was about grace, and you can’t talk about everything in one lesson.
You don’t minimize repentance by preaching grace. You actually magnify it, because grace is what makes repentance possible. Thanks for writing ... and I hope you enjoy listening and reading my material.
Good to hear from you Matt! I have know you for many years and have enjoyed our past visits. I did not ask the question as questioning your past teaching but to clarify the language used in this post. If I had the other concerns I would have called you.
I very much appreciate the limits of how much one could say in writing an article or preaching a sermon! I am often humbled by what I wished could be clarified but time and space would not allow for me to do that. That's why questions can help.
Here is one thing you wrote that brought my question:
"The message was unmistakable: this covenant did not depend on Abraham’s faithfulness; it depended on God’s. Grace has always worked that way. Salvation isn’t our pledge to keep up our end of a bargain; it’s God’s unbreakable promise to redeem those who trust Him."
The covenant (seed promise) was an unconditional covenant that did not depend upon the actions of men. We certainly see that God fulfilled the seed promise through unfaithful Israel. We can also see this through the covenant displayed through the rainbow (no future flood). God was going to keep His promises regardless of what man may do.
When speaking of you and me and our personal salvation then that is a different type of covenant. It is not a covenant of just "rules" but one of relationship and at the core of that relationship is God's holiness. "'And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." Leviticus 20:26 This is where forgiveness and a life of repentance is found.
My intention in these questions was to clarify a distinction that was needed in the article. You do have a condition "to redeem those who trust Him" which in my understanding involves repentance and holiness. That condition is a requirement of faithfulness! We keep on trusting God! The covenant regarding our personal salvation does involve "rules" or better stated "holiness." Because I know the character of God (Jn 17:3) and His love and grace, it is a joyful life of repentance full of assurance.
I have enjoyed our past personal visits and hope to speak with you again soon!
Thank you Larry.
I think your thoughts in the last paragraph are spot on. "Trusting" God certainly involves ongoing faithfulness and repentance. The surrender that happens on the day of our salvation must continue throughout life.
I do appreciate you .... and hope we can talk soon.