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Followers

Thursday 6 July 2023

As for the Jew as for the Christian

Rom 2:28
For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.

No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Have you been baptized in water? Have you been circumcised? Do you read your bible? Attend church every Sunday? Do you preach or have a public ministry?

Why do you do those things? Let me be honest I got baptized in water to please a family member not because I had any understanding of its meaning. I went through the preparation with the pastor and when asked to confess my faith I simply said what would be acceptable. I even came out of the water completely dry. How did THAT happen? Yes, I have a certificate of baptism but it means nothing, it's completely useless to save me.

Now over time, I have understood the true meaning of water baptism I have grown in wisdom and understanding. And developed a deep personal faith. Does my experience invalidate my baptism? No, because mere ritual means nothing. So, from personal experience, I can tell you that following along or playing lip service to the traditions and rituals and belief in the doctrines of men and of the church will not save you.

True spirituality has nothing to do with ritual or external signs: what you wear or what you do or what has been done in the flesh (to your body) circumcision, baptism, and such, 

For me, membership in a church, being the missionary president ( a previous church), and the outward ritual of baptism came long before the inner work of Christ. Romans chapter 6 particularly verse 3 has a lot to say about baptism I will cover that another time. 

I'm not saying traditions are bad in and of themselves I welcome some traditions but they should not replace a lifestyle of obedience to God's Word and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Indeed the Lord and the Spirit are one and the same. This is the triune God in action.

2Co 3:17
For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  

What matters is the state of the heart! By that, I mean the inner work of Christ for God's kindness leads men to repentance 

Whilst fellowship, bible reading, and singing and such are necessary for growth and social cohesion that alone will not save you.  The church (Body of Christ) is not a social club. You may indeed be well-balanced in the life you lead. Even the ungodly have a form of fellowship, a shared and common worldview, and social cohesion and are well-balanced but they will not inherit eternal life or share in the truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 

Be sure to lean on Him. 

Ask yourself what religious things you do now or have done, out of mere habit that are of no use? I don't mean disciplines: those things that you have cultivated that are of genuine spiritual benefit to you or those around you. But those things that you do just because of mere tradition and ritual or because that's the way it has always been done. Or in my case, you had no understanding of what the ritual or ceremony meant and were simply performing for the benefit of men 

Amen 

 

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