The Amazing Gospel of God’s Grace!
Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human." Henri Nouwen
There is no one righteous but Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God. If we could become righteous by our good works and following doctrine God would not have sent His only begotten to die for our sins in our place.
Blessed be the Lamb of God who took on the sins of the world that through Him we could be saved!! There is no other way to the Father except through the precious blood shed for you by Jesus. ( John 3:16-17)
Mark 2:17
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” The New King James Version
Paul and the Gentiles
Acts 8:1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
The Jews of Christ that had embraced Jesus as their Messiah suffered persecution. Stephen was martyred and Saul (Paul) was consenting to his death. The Jews were persecuting the way and Paul as a Jewish Pharisee was making havoc of the Church.
Acts 11:19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.
Those believing Jews that were scattered abroad by the death of Stephen were spreading the Good news to the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth was their crucified King and Messiah.
Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
After Paul’s conversion on the road to damascus and his discourse with Jesus he was sent to Ananias. The Lord told Ananias a devout believer not to fear Saul and his past but that he was chosen by the Lord to go to the Gentiles and to the children of Israel. At this point the Gentiles were openly brought in as the Body of Christ.
Acts 15:13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: 14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.’
The culmination of Paul's meeting with the Apostles was the decision that they would confine their ministry to the Jewish believers and Paul to the Gentiles. James was the first one to acknowledge that God was now saving the Gentiles. He concluded that this was always God’s plan (the Gospel of Grace) for salvation. After this Christ would return and fulfill everything promised to Abraham and David.
Today there is one plan of salvation it is the Gospel of Grace.
2 Peter 3:15 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
This was written at the end of Peter’s life and it spoke of the fact that he knew that he would not live to see the return of Christ. He recognized that only the long suffering of God prolonged the end of times. He also spoke of Paul and his ministry to the Gentiles and their salvation in which there were many things hard to understand. He warned that many would not understand and it would be to their destruction. Many still do not.
In this instance Jesus was speaking tongue-in-cheek when He used the word righteous. None are righteous, though some, such as the Pharisees, fancied themselves as such. Instead, Christ came to call sinners to repentance. Jesus did not condone the activities of sinners, but required repentance—a change of mind that recognizes the need of a Savior and recognizes Jesus Christ as the only Savior. The NKJV Study Bible
If the world had been righteous, there had been no occasion for his coming, either to preach repentance, or to purchase forgiveness. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Luke 5:31–32 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Matthew 9:12–13 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
No one is like God. He knows the future perfectly, down to every detail. Knowing God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) gives us a solid rock on which we can build confidence in Him. First5
Somehow, we've swallowed the notion that real life happens after there is tidiness, or after the cleanup, or after the enlightenment, or after the script is edited. And when I live by that script, it chips away at my reserve of hope. Here’s my question for us this week. What do we do with life’s script edits (whether personal or national)?
It is true (and not surprising) that chaos (messes, disarray) unnerves some people more than others. (My OCD kicks in. Some of you can relate, those like me who are just plain wonderfully wired funny.)
Our need for tidiness as a condition of well-being comes in many forms:
--if there are questions, we want answers
--if there are struggles, we make resolutions
--if we experience unsightly emotions, we apologize ("I'm sorry," we will tell others, wiping away the tears.)
--if there are impediments, we want no loose ends
--if there is a blunder or muddle, we are given to a compulsion to explain. Or blame. Sometimes even in a ballistic way.
This is important: Crises can undo us, that is true, but if we attach a crisis to something we can attack (for example, “the little girl broke the eggs on purpose”), we live defensive and reactive.
What if caring and kindness draw from a different reservoir? “The more alert we become to the blessing that flows into us through everything we touch, the more our own touch will bring blessing,” Sabbath Moments
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