People of Faith

Followers of Jesus are often referred to as "people of faith".
Let's explore what is meant by this description.

Most Christians I have met believe that it is their faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins that saves them. Indeed, this is preached in many evangelical circles.

Some admit they were desperate enough or fearful enough to choose Jesus and thus become saved from what they had feared.
Some even boast they were smarter than others by using their free will to invite Jesus into their hearts and thus become saved.

Let's explore this faith thing (Biblically, of course).

1. Faith OF Christ
Firstly, a correctly translated Bible declares that it is the faith or faithfulness of Christ that has saved us.
Consider Galatians 2 : 16 as an example.

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
[KJV]

having perceived that a human is not being justified by law works, but through Christ Jesus's faith, we also believe in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by Christ's faith and not by law works, seeing that by law works no flesh at all shall be justified.
[CLV]

2. Faith IN Christ
On the other hand, my faith in Christ, my believing in what Christ has done for mankind by his faithfulness to the plan of his Father, allows me to experience and enjoy my salvation.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and *upon all them that believe*: for there is no difference.
[Romans 3 : 21 - 22  KJV]

Yet, now apart from law, God's righteousness is manifest (being attested by the law and the prophets), yet God's righteousness through Jesus Christ's faith for all, and *on all who are believing*, for their is no distinction.
[Romans 3 : 21 - 22  CLV]

The righteousness "condition", which is for all, is already being enjoyed by believers. Believers are beginning to experience life in God's kingdom.

My faith doesn't cause or enable me to be saved or to be righteous in God's sight. My belief is in something that has already been achieved - the salvation gained by Jesus on the cross, which I can enjoy once I am given the faith to believe it.

Let's use a familiar illustration like the force of gravity.
I believe in gravity.
But my believing in gravity doesn't create that gravitational force. I am believing in something that already exists.
My believing enables me to understand why objects fall when dropped, and to use it advantageously or to take steps to avoid it causing me distress.

Again, looking back to Israel and the Law, we see that the law was not going to make people sin more - but it did make them know what sin was.

In a similar way, faith is not going to make people saved (Jesus' death did that) - it lets us know what salvation is - our sins have been paid for and we have been saved (rescued) from the death that Adam gave us.

3. Faithfulness TO Christ
Is faith believing in God, or believing God?
Is faith trusting in God, or trusting God?
Is faith trusting in God's promises, or trusting God's promises?

For me, the second option in these sentences is more active, requires doing rather than just giving intellectual ascent; evokes obedience, rather than just agreement.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
[James 1 : 22  NIV]

Obedience in faith is a dynamic and essential aspect of the Christian life. It is through obedience that believers demonstrate their love for God, reflect the character of Christ, and participate in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. As such, obedience is not merely a duty but a joyful expression of faith and trust in the living God.

So faithfulness to Christ is an active expression of trust in God's promises and commands. It demonstrates the freedom (peace) we now enjoy in Christ and the willingness to obey God's call on our life.

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
[Ephesians 2 : 10  NIV]

And God himself, through his indwelling presence, is my enabler in this journey.

It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his grand purpose.
[Philippians 2 : 13  NIV]

And I live no longer, but the Anointed lives within me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faithfulness that is of God's Son, who loves me and delivered himself up on my behalf.
[Galatians 2 : 20  DBH]

Those of us who have already received the faith to believe the salvation God has given us in Christ Jesus become people of faith when we live this way, when we follow the "faith-obedience" model Jesus did in his life. (described in the previous post "The God of Faith").

You will remember how we dealt with each one of you personally, like a father with his own children, stimulating your faith and courage and giving you instruction. Our only object was to help you to live lives worthy of the God who has called you to share the splendour of his kingdom.
[1 Thessalonians 2 : 11 - 12  Phillips]

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
[Matthew 7 : 21  NIV]

Blessings, Barry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au
 

The God of Faith

We don't use this description of God very often; more frequently using terms like the God of Love, Almighty God, etc.
But let's explore this aspect of our Heavenly Father.

We shall begin by looking at the Greek word that we often translate as "faith" in English translations.
It is the word "pistin" or "pistis" - which can also be translated as "faithfulness", or even "fidelity", as well as "faith".

Often these alternatives can be very helpful in understanding what has been written for us in the Word of God.
Take for example Romans 3 : 2 - 4a, which is part of a discussion on God's promises to Israel.

... chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
God forbid.
[KJV]

What does the "faith of God" mean?
Several other translations will help us to answer that question.

In the first place, God trusted his message to the Jews.
But what if some of them were not faithful? Does this mean that God will not be faithful?
Certainly not!
[GNB]
First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.
What is some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God's faithfulness?
Not at all!
[NIV]
Firstly, indeed they were entrusted with God's oracles.
What then? If some were unfaithful, will their infidelity annul God's fidelity?
Let it not be so!
[DBH]

These help us see that it is the faithfulness of God that guarantees the promises to Israel will be kept.
So let's agree to use faith or faithfulness - whichever provides clarity for us English readers.

The conclusion from above is that God will remain faithful to Israel even though some of them are unfaithful.

So what about God's faithfulness to his creation as a whole?
What has he promised?

[God] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[Ephesians 1 : 9 -10  NIV]

and

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
[Colossians 1 : 19 - 20  NIV]

What role was Jesus to play in the implementation of the Father's will?
Jesus made it clear in several conversations recorded in the Gospels.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
[John 6 : 38  NIV]

What about Jesus' commitment to this?

"When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.”
"I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. "
[John 12 : 32, 47b  GNB]

Jesus' faithfulness to the Father's plan to save the world was surely tested in the Garden of Gethsemane.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
[Luke 22 : 42  NIV]

Christ's humanity produced such agony that he perspired drops of blood, but his faithfulness to his Father, and submission to the Father's will, prevailed.
Indeed he said,

"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work".
[John 4 : 34  NIV]

And what did Jesus say on the cross just before he died?

Jesus said, "It is finished". With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
[John 19 : 30  NIV]

My appreciation of God's master plan, and his faithfulness to his promises, together with Christ's faithfulness to his Father, assure me that Christ Ultimately Rescues Everyone by the end of time, ensuring all will be reconciled to God and ready to step into eternity.

Blessings, Barry

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

Jesus is the CURE

One of the little habits I have developed over the years is the use of acronyms. I invent them to assist my memory, even for daily chores and brief shopping lists.

Readers will have noticed me use UR for Universal Reconciliation quite often, an acronym I have sprinkled down the margins of many pages in my Bibles (along with several others).

I have recently altered that to CURE, standing for Christ Ultimately Reconciles Everyone, to make it clear that it is only because of Christ that we have universal reconciliation or universal salvation.

Some people are universalists who believe that everyone gets "there" no matter what route they take, wherever "there" might be.
But that is not me.
To leave Jesus out of the equation is criminal, IMHO. 😀

As the great Karl Barth once said,
"I don’t believe in universalism, but I do believe in Jesus Christ, the reconciler of all."
And that is me.

I have even more recently re-defined CURE again to mean Christ Ultimately Rescues Everyone, to include a slightly more dramatic word, in the hope of sending the message that everyone needs to be rescued, saved, and that Jesus is the Saviour of the world.
As John the Baptist declared:

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world".
[John 1 : 29  NIV]
"And all people will see God's salvation".
[Luke 3 : 6  NIV]

So, when you begin to see CURE in future posts, you'll know what I am trying to convey.
Blessings, Barry

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

Job Description

Most of the objections I receive challenging the belief that God is the Saviour of the whole world through Jesus come from mainstream Christians who have been taught that the fate of unbelievers is eternal torment in hell.

Years ago, when I thought I was all alone in this Universal Reconciliation space, I was never eager to press the point, just gently mention it and let it fall and take root wherever and whenever it might.

But these days, I am much more confident (have even been asked to not attend two churches while holding such a belief in case I infected others) and have answered all challenges offered (so far) using the Biblical evidence with which readers of this BLOG have become familiar.

And I have written a structured essay answering these objections and published it in the Downloads section of my website https://www.ibtechservices.com.au.
 
I have also taken seriously Paul's admonition to become Christ's ambassador of this wonderful news:

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.
[2 Corinthians 5 : 19, 20  NLT]

Clearly, to be faithful to my calling, I am to be Christ's ambassador with this wonderful news of Jesus' success on the cross 2000 years ago.
That's an interesting job description, isn't it?
What a privilege ... and what a responsibility!
Blessings, Barry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

Is Christian Universalism New?

About thirty years ago, when I first began to see that Jesus really is the Saviour of the world, as first declared by John the Baptist, I felt as if I was all alone in this belief.
A few years later, as I began preaching and writing about God's plan to save the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the feedback I received included:

You are totally our of step with the traditional mainstream church,
You claim to be a Bible-believing Christian but you have now become one of those liberals,
Surely you can't believe that when you see the world heading downhill so rapidly,

even though I always backed my views and comments with Biblical references.

Indeed, a really dear friend of mine used to say, "I cannot fault your argument ... and I believe you are correct in your quoting of Scripture ... and I would like to believe what you are saying ... but I just can't".

Since those days, I have discovered many, many others who have written books or have BLOGs and websites that promote this belief that Christ ultimately reconciles everyone -  and this includes several highly-regarded theologians and academics.

More recently, I have been discovering the writings of some Church Fathers from centuries ago who have also believed and promoted this doctrine.

Allow me to show a potted history of some snippets of their writings, demonstrating that the eventual reconciliation of all is not a new or liberal fad, but a view held by many since the earliest days of the church.

Of course, the oldest Church Fathers are the Apostles of the first century AD, and their writings, recorded in our Bibles, I have been quoting for years.
So just a small sample of those again to get us started.

Paul the Apostle.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
[Romans 5 : 18  ESV]

Peter the Apostle.

Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
[Acts 3 : 21  NIV]

John the Apostle.

We [who were with Him in person] have seen and testify [as eye-witnesses] that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
[1 John 4 : 14  AMP]

Jesus himself.

When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.

[John 12 : 32 GNT]

Now a sample of quotes from Church Fathers of the first few centuries AD.

St Clement of Alexandria.

"For all things are ordered both universally and in particular by the Lord of the universe, with a view to the salvation of the universe."

St Origen, Clement's student and successor.

"our belief is that the Word [Christ] shall prevail over the entire rational creation, and change every soul into his own perfection. … For stronger than all the evils in the soul is the Word, and the healing power that dwells in him; and this healing he applies, according to the will of God, to every man.“

St Macrina the Younger, a famous Nun in the Eastern Church.

She taught that God’s judgements were a “process of healing [that] shall be proportioned to the measure of evil in each of us, and when the evil is purged and blotted out, there shall come in each place to each immortality and life and honor.”
She also taught that the resurrection is “the restoration of human nature to its pristine condition.”

St Gregory of Nyssa, St Macrina's brother, an Easter Church Bishop.

“the annihilation of evil, the restitution of all things, and the final restoration of evil men and evil spirits to the blessedness of union with God, so that He may be ‘all in all,’ embracing all things endowed with sense and reason.”

Bishop Theodore of Mopsuestia.

“The wicked who have committed evil the whole period of their lives shall be punished till they learn that, by continuing in sin, they only continue in misery. And when, by this means, they shall have been brought to fear God, and to regard Him with good will, they shall obtain the enjoyment of His grace."

Actually, there are many more quotes from these "Fathers" that could have been included in this post, together with quotes from other Church Fathers. Indeed, that there were many others is revealed by St Augustine, an opponent of the universal reconciliation of all and arguably the starting point for the Western Church's doctrine of eternal torment in hell for unbelievers.

St Augustine commented, "There are very many who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments."

So my discovery, of the universal salvation of all through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, was hardly a discovery of anything new. Many of the ancients in the Church, particularly the Eastern Church, taught it also.

Blessings, Barry

PS. I haven't done any original research on the writings of the ancient Church Fathers, but have used more recent writings of others from which to choose these samples:
"The Lost Message of Paul" by Steve Chalke, Chapter 20
"Christ Triumphant by Tomas Allin", Chapters IV and V
"If Grace Is True" by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland, Appendix 2
Website: https://christianuniversalist.org/articles/history-of-universalism/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

I'm Not Religious But

I am not a fan of religion - not religion of any kind, including Christianity as it is most frequently promoted and practised.
Religions operate under formulas like:

Do this list of things and don't do this list of things and you will be happy here and rewarded in the future.
But if you don't follow those lists, you will .....

Clearly such religious formulas offer benefits and bliss, but actually produce control and fear, often breaking people.

I remember shifting into a new neighbourhood several years ago and meeting my next door neighbours. In our discussion, after discovering that I attended church, my neighbour quickly retorted with "I'm not religious" hoping to create a safe distance between us.
My response was "Neither am I; but I have a great relationship with God", which led to several interesting conversations over the following years.

My great relationship with God is the result of Jesus Christ freeing the whole creation from its slavery to sin through his death and resurrection about 2000 years ago.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
[2 Cor 5: 19  NIV]
God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him.
[2 Corinthians 5 : 21  GW]

As I have become aware of my relationship with God, I am able to be free from religious formulas and enjoy Christ's leading and provision in my life and be assured of my future, not matter what.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
[Galatians 5 : 1  NIV]

This was St Paul's advice to those who discovered their new relationship with God and encouraged them not to go back to their previous Jewish religion, calling it a yoke of slavery.

Although this new relationship with God is a universal truth for all of God's creation due to the achievement of Jesus, not too many currently know about it. But we all will, eventually, as Jesus fufils his promise to bring us all into intimate relationship with him, and therefore to know him and to appreciate what he has achieved for all of us.

When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.
[John 12 : 32  GNT]
God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.
[Ephesians 1 : 9 - 10  GNT]

Yes, one day, we're all going to know and experience the freedom that Christ has given us, and to enjoy that relationship face-to-face - and there won't be a religion anywhere in sight.

Blessings, Barry

The Lost Still Belong

Luke 15 records Jesus' teaching on the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Two things stand out that are not often mentioned when discussing these parables.

Firstly, the lost sheep and lost coin are searched for until they are found. Their owners do not give up the search until the sheep and coin are found and returned to their rightful place in the flock or in the owner's purse.

The case for the lost son is a little different, since he had a decision-making ability. The father was waiting and watching for his son's return, and ready to welcome him in true fatherly fashion, knowing that eventually he would make a comparison between his pig sty living conditions and those in his well-to-do family estate.

In each case the story doesn't end until the lost are returned and restored.

Secondly, each lost one was still of the same value as before it was lost.
The coin still had its original currency value, and the image of the emperor still engraved on it.
The lost sheep was still a sheep; it had not become something else, and comfortably fitted back into the flock (maybe after some cleaning up).
The lost son was still a son, as the father declared most emphatically - "this son of mine was dead and is alive again".

Since God is the Saviour of the world,

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
[1 Timothy 4 : 10  NIV]

and Jesus the reconciler of all,

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
[Colossians 1 : 19 -20  NIV]

and Jesus promises to draw everyone to himself,

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
[John 12 : 32  NIV]

I can't imagine God being less successful than the humans (shepherd, woman and father) in Jesus' parables.

Blessings, Barry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au