10 January 2021
Two-Minute Features | 17 January 2021 | 03 January 2021

Our Legal Standing of Peace with God (TMF:1525)

Friday, January 15, 2021
Peace to Live By: Our Legal Standing of Peace with God (TMF:1525) - Daniel Litton
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       So, we as Christians have peace with God. What is this peace with God? What Paul is talking about here a legal standing with God, a position, how God sees us. It’s God’s perspective. We have peace with God in that we are not at war with him and on the opposing side. We are not enemies of God, as other Scriptures talk of unbelievers. Our father is not Satan, not the the devil any longer. Our Father is God. And with this legal standing, then, obviously comes a feeling of peace. There is not supposed to be anymore fear or dread of God in how we approach him. Usually the unbeliever can feel fear and dread when coming to God, and rightfully so because that person is not on good terms with him. We, as Christians, still retain our reverent fear of God, but in our relationships and in our dealings with God, we now have peace.

Using the Scripture-Reversal Method (TMF:1524)

Thursday, January 14, 2021
Peace to Live By: Using the Scripture-Reversal Method (TMF:1524) - Daniel Litton
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       One thing I like to do in order to understand Scriptures better, is do what I call a Scripture Reversal. We just saw how Paul stated the characteristics of the unbeliever and their consequences in Romans 2:8-9, but what I want to do is reverse this Scripture so that we can see how we ought to look as Christians. Let’s rephrase the verse: “for those who are God and others-seeking and do obey the truth, who obey righteousness, there will be peace. There will be peace for every human being who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek” (ESV). Ok, see how that worked? I took the verse and reversed it, and this can help us gain better understanding of where we stand and how God see us. This is a good practice for us to use to better understand Scripture. I think right now you are beginning to think of all kinds of ways this technique can help you understand Scripture better.

What Does It Mean to be Self-Seeking? (TMF:1523)

Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Peace to Live By: What Does It Mean to be Self-Seeking? (TMF:1523) - Daniel Litton
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       What does it mean to be self-seeking? Well, a person who is self-seeking is a person who fails to obey both the first and second greatest commandments. You know what they are. We are to love God first with our whole beings, and then what? We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we are self-seeking first, we don’t do either one of those things. And, and, the person is also one who does not obey God’s truth, the real truth of the world. What does this look like? Well, it is simply one who practices sin, one who follows their instinctive, fleshly impulses and selfish desires. It is one who lives in sin, doing things that are offensive to God, regularly practicing those things Paul outlined in Romans chapter 1. That’s why we like to see a difference in character, a difference in behaviors, in a person claiming to be a Christian. That’s how we have confidence a person is truly born-again.

What Does the Peace-less Person Look Like? (TMF:1522)

Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Peace to Live By: What Does the Peace-less Person Look Like? (TMF:1522) - Daniel Litton
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       Remember? He said, “for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek” (ESV). This is Paul’s picture, God’s picture, of the unbeliever—the one who still has yet to place his or her faith in Christ. This is what anybody is before Christ, indeed, what we were before we came into relationship with Christ. What are the characteristics of the one who doesn’t have peace with God? Notice, the person is self-seeking and does not obey the truth. That’s Paul’s definition of evil in verse 8 of Romans chapter 2: self-seeking and does not obey the truth. What does it mean to be self-seeking? Well, a person who is self-seeking is a person who fails to obey both the first and second greatest commandments. You know what they are.

Christians Have Received Peace with God (TMF:1521)

Monday, January 11, 2021
Peace to Live By: Christians Have Received Peace with God (TMF:1521) - Daniel Litton
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       So, go ahead and turn in your Bibles, or tap in your Bible apps to Romans chapter 5. Beginning in verse 1, we read: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV). We start here today with an incredible statement from the Apostle Paul. We, who believe in God, who have placed our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead, who have been justified in front of God by this faith, we now, Paul says, have received peace with the God of everything that exists, who made everything that is, the God of all time. That’s incredible. Let us recall what Paul said a few chapters back in Romans 2:8-9, and this contrasts severely with what we see here in chapter 5 for the Christian. Remember? He said, “for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (ESV).