CARM Newsletter 05-13-05

May 13, 2005

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Welcome to the May 13th newsletter.

Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13th. A lot of people are afraid of this day, but some of the research I have read concerning its origin is very interesting. Briefly, the Jewish day changes at sunset. Non-Jewish days change at midnight. When Israel was in bondage in Egypt, and when God sent the angel of death to kill the firstborn, that occurred on the 14th of Nissan, just after sunset. This means for the Egyptians it was the 13th, a Friday. Hence, it was a bad day for Egypt. Now, I am not absolutely sure of this information but I have heard it from more than one source. At the very least, it is interesting.

Austin Conference

The Austin "Faith and Reason" conference was a success. I spoke on the topic of "Theology in Sneakers." It is a class where I leave Christian theology into everyday relevance. In the process, I try and convict and encourage the listeners to study their theology. It is very important for Christians to know why they believe what they do. Unfortunately, far too few Christians know the doctrines of their faith very well. Anyway, it was a great conference and I had the privilege of meeting several great speakers. I'm already looking forward to the next conference in Austin, Texas. Oh, one last thing, I hope to have the recording of my class available on CARM in the next few weeks.

Full Time is Approaching

It looks like July will be the month that I quit my job and trust the Lord to provide via the CARM Ministry so that I can devote full time to developing the CARM web site, books, teaching lessons, audio lessons, and discipleship courses. I have a great many ideas that I hope the Lord will bless. Please keep me in prayer as I approach this transition date. The Lord has provided most of the income that we need and, as many people have told me, I will need to trust him to provide the rest.

Email Feedback

  • "Wow! What a wealth of information I was able to view on your web site. To have the JW's arguments and the corresponding Biblical truth displayed in a cogent fashion was invaluable. Thank you ever so much," Gil.
  • "Thank you so much for your site - I spend a lot of my free time on it. There are many sites on the net that are NOT true Christian, so finding your site was a breath of fresh air," Marica.
  • "Man, you have done a wonderful job proclaiming and defending many truths of the gospel and God's word...So THANK YOU for providing another sound source that encourages and grows many's walk. Praying for your ministry and those who come across it!" Laura
  • "I found your website to be very informative. I knew that Mormons were not Christians, but I really didn’t have the support to back that up until I read some of your articles. This is certainly different than the “feel good” commercials they run on TV. Thanks." Lee
  • "Hey there! Just wanted to take a little time to thank you for all the dedicated information you've made available on your site. It's a wonderful site and I've been spending quite a lot of time on it lately. Keep up the wonderful work!" Teben.

Shall we continue in sin?

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (Rom. 6:1-2).

The sanctification of our souls before God is a very serious thing. This is true because our sanctification is ultimately insured by the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, for those of us who are redeemed, for those of us who have trusted in Christ, for those of us who claim to follow Jesus, we are not to continue in the ways of the world because we have been bought with a very costly life.

In the text, Paul had just got through mentioning that where sin increases, the grace of God abounds all the more. But Paul is quick to clarify that we are not to be careless in our walk with God. We are not to sin more so that more grace is received. This is not the point of our salvation. Rather, Paul is telling us that even though there are small sins and greater sins, God's grace is sufficient to cover the greatest of sin. He's not giving us a license to sin. On the contrary, through Paul, God says "May it never be." We are not to abide in sin. These words should speak to our hearts because we need to be careful that we are not becoming complacent in our habits. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins so that we might turn from them and bring honor and glory to God through repentance.

Look at what Paul says in verse two above. He says "How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" Have you died? Have you died to sin? If you are a Christian, then you have. But you might ask, "If I have died to sin, then why do I still struggle with it?" The answer is simple. In God's eyes, because you are in Christ, and because Christ so perfectly represented you, that when Christ died, God sees you as having died with Him. God certainly knows that you struggle with your sin, but because you are so perfectly represented in Christ, it can be said of you that you have died to sin.  Victory is already realized!
Therefore, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ and do not let sin reign in your bodies that you should obey its lusts, (Rom. 6:11-12).
Finally, take comfort in knowing that all of your sins are already paid for and that nothing you can do will separate you from the love of God. You belong to Him through Christ Jesus who has paid a holy price for your soul. He loves you more than you can realize and He will never let you go (John 10:28).  So, take comfort in knowing you are His and seek repentance.

 

Memorization Verse
Col. 3:5,
“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."

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In Him,

Rev. Matt Slick, your missionary to the  Internet. Equipping the church to defend the faith in a secular society.

 

 

 

 

 
 
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