Self Denial, Faith's Warranty

A disciple’s practice of self-denial is essential in caring for, and maintaining his relationship with the Lord.

The self-denial God commanded by Christ is not the asceticism found in medieval piety, for that severe treatment of the body was driven by insecurity; by an absence of assurance of salvation. By contrast, true self-denial is logically the outworking of one’s communion with Christ, and one’s sonship and union with Christ. The believer enjoys belonging; he possesses the Spirit of Sonship (Rom 8:15).

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The Blood of Christ on the Believer’s Conscience

Propitiation through Christ’s death is the quenching of God's wrath. Christ’s atoning sacrifice upholds and satisfies God’s righteous justice (Rom 3:24-26). Our Lord’s work of propitiation is the capstone of redemption. And as J. I. Packer states, propitiation is the mountain peak from which we scan the entire landscape of Holy Scripture. The satisfaction of divine justice on Calvary yields a love relationship to the God of the universe (2 Cor 5:18-21). This is the theme and message which permeates the Lord's table. Thus, the believer's meditation as he partakes of the elements symbolizing Christ's flesh and blood ought to turn to the reality of the propitiation Christ has wrought. Here is how one may reflect.

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The Kingdom Consciousness of a True Disciple (Part Three)

Our Lord during His earthly ministry spoke frequently of the gospel of the kingdom. (Mt 9:35).  He often would speak of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 3:2; 4:17). After He was blasphemed, recorded in Matthew 12:24-31 (His miracles attributed to Satan), He spoke to His disciples privately in Matthew 13 about the mysteries of the kingdom. “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God...” (Mk 4:11).

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The Kingdom Consciousness of a True Disciple (Part Two)

The cross is at the center of God’s plan of glory, rescue, and restoration. It is at the cross that the triumph of God’s Kingdom is accomplished. At the cross He battles the power of evil and gains the decisive victory (Col 2:11-15). His resurrection is the dawning of the first day of the new creation. The end of universal history that Jesus announced will finally arrive in fulness. The gospel of the Kingdom is an announcement about where God is moving the history of the whole world. Jesus employs a popular Old Testament image to drive this home: one day the world will be the Kingdom of God.

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