Guilt

 

What is the cure for guilt?

 

Welcome again to my blog. I am delighted you have taken the time to visit. 

 

Our research has shown that Christians generally have better wellbeing and less depression than non-Christians. Why then are Christians known for feeling guilty? Let's discuss some potential cures.

 

The world screams that Christians surely have guilt because of all the restrictions of scripture that must induce this emotion. Guess what? Teleios’ research indicates quite the opposite! We have shown if you know scripture, the great freedom of salvation, and live as a Christian by faith, you won’t feel guilty!

 

In a survey at a large secular state university, Teleios found about 70% of both evangelical and social Christians noted they felt mild guilt while still reporting high levels of wellbeing. Interestingly, those who reported to be both evangelical and born-again (as opposed to just one or the other) had greater wellbeing. Further, those who reported they were evangelical, born-again and adhered to their faith, none had bad wellbeing and similar guilt levels as other groups. 

 

Further, we found in a survey in a well taught evangelical church that those with greater knowledge about the Christian faith and who practiced the faith (fellowship, praise, prayer, outreach and Bible study) noted less guilt than those who did not. 

 

We don't know exactly all the treatments for Christian guilt, but here are a few clues that might help:

·       A good relationship with God, NOT! - Understand what your relationship with God is not. It is not based on being saved by Christ and then adding a works oriented system that gives us access to God only if we feel we deserve it. Teleios research indicates this lingering doubt of God’s acceptance and having to work for His approval is the most common cause of Christian guilt. This is not scriptural.

·       A true Bible based relationship - Realize on what a relationship with God is really based. Scripture describes a secure position before God by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, assure yourself that you have trusted by faith, once for all time, your forgiveness of sins to God to salvation (2 Peter 1:10). This belief in God’s forgiveness allows us to have unrestricted access to God by prayer, without fear of rejection (Hebrews 10:20-23). 

·       Eternally secure - Be confident in your eternal security. As we have recently covered not only does the Bible tell us we are secure (John 10:28-29; 1 Peter 1:4-6; Romans 8:29ff), but we hold positions that cannot be morphologically or legally undone (please see recent blogs). Indeed God causes us to persevere (2 Timothy 1:12).

·       Un-chargeable - No one can bring a charge against us as we are declared just; only Christ can judge (Romans 8:33)!

·       Practice your faith - Studying scripture, teaching it to others, good fellowship, praise to God, and prayer allow us to have the knowledge and the right mindset of our standing before God through Christ. When you first know what you should be knowing, and do what you should be doing, the confident knowledge of our salvation follows (Colossians 1:9-14).

 

Even if you have sinned as a Christian (as we all have), and even if the sin is chronic, the biblical answer is not to feel guilty but to be obedient. We are already forgiven! Otherwise, do what you should be doing and most likely you will not feel guilty.

 

In summary, base your relationship with God on biblical facts, not your emotions. This is a great concept!

 

Thanks for joining me. Visit again next week as we start a series on the Christian life and the wonderful promises of scripture and their benefits to us.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com

Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

 

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

God's Treasured Possession

 

God’s treasured possession

 

Welcome again to my blog. I am grateful you have taken the time to visit. 

 

We’ve been discussing the results of personal salvation in Christ and why it might be associated with enhanced wellbeing. We have covered what happens at the time of salvation, as taught in the Bible, resulting in a steadfast new and wonderful position of a believer. This week let us discuss the great promise of our eternal possession by God. 

 

The wonderful story of our being the possession of God starts in Exodus 19:5-6 when God told the Israelites that He intended them to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation and His peculiar possession. They failed in their commitment to God and sinned against Him. Therefore, they did not become a kingdom of priests or a holy nation. However, God will keep His promise to Israel that the nation would be His eternal possession (Psalm 89; Psalm 132:11-17; Romans 11:26-29).

 

As we know, the sin of Israel under the law was to show us our need for Christ (Galatians 3:24). He has come and died for our sins, that through Him, those who believe on his death on the cross by faith will have eternal life. As believers, God has enabled us to become a kingdom of priests, a holy nation and His peculiar possession (1 Peter 2:9).

 

How can Christians do this when the Israelis could not? It is because we have the Holy Spirit given to us as a seal to our redemption and to mark us as His eternal possession (Ephesians 1:13-14).

 

Christ noted that as His chosen, we are in His hands and cannot be removed. We are also in God’s hands and cannot be removed (John 10:28-30). Several other scriptures also note that we are God’s possession (1 Thessalonians 5:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Hebrews 10:39).

 

We have in general, God’s promise that He will secure us in His power unto salvation (2 Timothy 1:12; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). 

 

We have covered many marvelous promises of our position as a believer that cannot be overturned, either because of legal, morphological reasons or through the direct power of God. These promises include: spiritual baptism, membership in the universal church, sealing by the Holy Spirit, adoption, justification, and now being made God's possession. 

 

Thank you for joining me this week and please come again next week as we continue to discuss the amazing power of God's word in our lives.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com

Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

 

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

Innocent

 

Justification - we are legally without sin!

 

Welcome again to my blog. I am grateful you have taken the time to visit. 

 

We recently began a series regarding the results of personal salvation in Christ and why it might be associated with enhanced wellbeing as found through our research. We have been describing what happens at the time of salvation, as taught in the Bible, resulting in a new and wonderful position for a believer. 

 

This week let us discuss justification! There is no other more important result of Christ’s work on the cross than our justification by faith. Let's examine in some detail the meaning of this great promise.

 

·       Meaning of the New Testament word - This word is vital because the complete meaning in Greek of the word, “justification” (δικαιος, dikaios) is not fully conveyed by the English. As you know, Greek is the original language of the New Testament. The word dikaios carried a legal meaning that still exists today in modern Greek. The word reflected then someone who was found innocent in a court of law of all charges against them. Just like now, in ancient times in the Greek and Roman world there was no double jeopardy. This important legal concept means once you have been found innocent you cannot be charged again for the same crime.

·       Christ’s work in justification - The Bible indicates that each of us has sinned and “fallen short” of what God requires of us (Romans 3:23). Because God is just, He demands punishment for our misdeeds. However, because He is loving, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment in our place (Romans 3:24-26). 

 

It's as though Christ acted as a courtroom judge and found us guilty of our sins and gave us the death sentence but afterwards, stood up, removed His judicial robe, came around in front of the judge’s bench and took the punishment for us. This satisfied God's demand for righteousness but also showed His great and gracious love for us.

 

Importantly, Christ is a sufficient sacrifice for our sins as He is perfect, holy and without sin (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 7:26; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  Therefore, Christ was a sufficient sacrifice to satisfy God's judgment. Accordingly, He died once for all sin, for all time, and He does not need to do this again as did the Old Testament priests (Hebrews 6:1-14; Hebrews 10:10-18).

 

Our legal position before God was pronounced “innocent” when we trusted Christ for forgiveness of our sins.  We do this only once and our sins are forgiven for all time. Since Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all our sins for all time, nobody can charge us again. There is no double jeopardy!

 

WOW! We are secure in our position before God. We can come to him boldly because there are no limits on our access after we believe and become a Christian (Hebrews 10:20-23). What a great promise we have in our justification!

 

Indeed, God has given us, as Christian believers, a marvelous salvation and a wonderful secure eternity with Him (Romans 10:9-10; 2 Peter 1:4-5). Come back again next week and we'll complete this exciting overview of the results of our salvation.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com

Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

 

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

We Are Adopted Children

 

We are adopted children

 

Welcome again to my blog. Thank you for visiting. 

 

We have been discussing the results of personal salvation in Christ and why it might be associated with enhanced wellbeing. The current blog series is describing what happens, as taught in the Bible, at the time of salvation which results in wonderful changes for a believer. We have already discussed several fantastic promises associated with salvation. This week let us consider adoption, another marvelous biblical promise.

 

Adoption is important in our society because when a family legally adopts a child the new family member gains all the rights and privileges of a natural child. In other words, their new status in the family is permanent and cannot be overturned. What a great promise of security to the child!

 

Likewise, in the ancient Greek and Roman world, as in our own society (with some differences), adoption provided permanent legal status for a child that could not be overturned. The Apostle Paul states our status as adopted children into God’s family in four separate places in his epistles, indicating the importance of our new position as a believer following accepting Christ as Savior through faith (Romans 8:15 and 23; Ephesians 1:5; Galatians 4:5). Consequently, we are children of God, adopted into His family with legal protection and a permanent status. What a great promise!

 

How interesting that Paul describes adoption as one of our positions before God as New Testament Christians. It was not an image used of Old Testament believers. Adoption apparently was not common in the Hebrew world and is noted only in the Old Testament three times, all occurring outside of Israel. God appeared to handle the issue of orphaned children in Israel by the use of a kinsman redeemer as provided in the Hebrew law. 

 

Israel also is not noted to be adopted until Paul mentions it retroactively to the mixed audience of Greeks and the Jews in Rome (the Jews were probably Hellenized and so would relate to the image) to explain God's relationship to Israel in the Old Testament (Romans 9:4).

 

Adoption is the fourth of the great promises of our position as a believer because of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, resulting in either legal or morphological irreversible changes. These changes indicate our eternal security including: spiritual baptism, membership in the universal church, sealing by the Spirit and now adoption as children of God.

 

Indeed, God has given us a marvelous salvation and the promise of a wonderful secure eternity with Him (Romans 10:9-10). Come back again next week and we'll talk about justification, a supposition from Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. As always, thank you for visiting.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com

Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

 

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.