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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.

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

The Christian Life - Part 4

Welcome back to my blog. We are in a series exploring Biblical concepts in the Christian life. We spoke initially about the three sanctifications (being set apart for holiness) which delineate our Christian experiences:

· Salvation - Our legal sanctification by the blood of Christ in faith (Romans 3:21-26)

· The Christian life - We seek to become sanctified in our actions and thoughts as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16)

· Heaven - Christ takes us to our eternal home when our bodies will be sanctified (1 Corinthians 15:50 ff)

Importantly, when one sanctification is complete and we progress to the next, we cannot return to the prior sanctified state. This helps us know that we have eternal security and confidence in our relationship with God; please review the last blog about this important lesson.

We then discussed scripturally based goals for Christian living and the tools God provides by which we can accomplish them.

· Be holy as God is holy - We should strive to develop godly characteristics in our life (1 Peter 1:16)

· Live a life of faith – God is pleased by our faith, not guilt and legalism (Romans 14:23; Colossians 2:6)

· Serve God with your entire life – In accomplishing this goal we have great freedom to live by faith within the broad bounds of the New Testament epistles’ commands (Romans 12:1-2)

Most recently we discussed the tools that God gives us to accomplish these goals which are the Bible and His power as manifested through His Holy Spirit.

Borders for the Christian life

Although we have great freedom to pursue God in faith, He does place wise borders on our lives to keep us on the scriptural playing field, so we do not run out of balance and take ourselves out of the action.

· Admonishments for the Christian life – These exist to fulfill two general purposes from a holy God:

o Maintain an orderly society – These are reflected in commands such as “do not murder” or “do not steal” and are often repeated from the Old Testament. God’s order commands are interspersed throughout the epistles. In general, His commands are few and protective to us and society, leaving us a broad path in life in which He wants us to live by faith to serve Him. Note: Old Testament and gospel commands – These commands reflect God’s holiness. Nonetheless, they are dictates for another time when God administered His people differently. We obey commands within the epistles because these are for the church time in which we now live.

o Live a wise and godly life – Like the commands related to orderliness, these injunctions also are interspersed throughout the epistles and provide wisdom about how to lead the Christian life. Interestingly, research in the medical literature has shown that when such admonishments are obeyed they increase wellbeing, such as producing hope, forgiveness, thankfulness, and joy (https://teleiosresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/CV-Teleios-Wellbeing-Review-JRH.pdf). Further, Teleios’ research has shown that Christians who study the Bible and practice what it says its precepts on average have better wellbeing than those who do not. God made us and He knows our psychological profile and what is healthy for us.

o Use your freedom wisely - Although God grants us wide freedom in our Christian walk, the Apostle Paul tells us not to misuse this freedom if we're causing other believers, who are following legalistic non-biblical commands out of faith, to stumble (Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 8; 1 Corinthians 10:23ff). An example of this might be drinking alcohol. Scripture tells us that we should not become drunk (Ephesians 5:18) but does not tell us not to drink alcohol. Therefore, we are free to partake of alcohol in a responsible way (1 Timothy 4:4-5) in which we remain sober. However, we should not drink if we are causing a Christian who believes that we should refrain from alcohol to become discouraged in their faith.

God has granted us great freedom to live in faith in accordance with broad scriptural commands. Our ability to know truth helps us navigate life in a productive and joyful way. We thank God for His provision and wise and truthful word.

We will discuss in the next blog the methods God graciously provides us to use to mature ourselves in Him.

William C. Stewart, MD

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Thursday, October 26, 2023

The Christian Life - Part 3

Tools

Welcome back to my blog. We are discussing the Christian life. God gives us so much that makes our lives abundant!

We discussed last time goals for the Christian life and started exploring the two primary tools to accomplish these goals. The first tool is God's word. Please review last week's blog below. Now let us explore the second tool, the Holy Spirit and His power to accomplish Christian living.

God’s power

God’s power in the New Testament for believers is manifested generally in two ways:

o The gospel (Romans 1:16-17) – This is the power of God to salvation! The Holy Spirit is active in the process by convicting unbelievers of their sin (John 16:10).

o In the Christian life (Ephesians 6:10-17) – The magnificent armor of God passage is critical to understanding our Christian life because it instructs us how to access God’s power by describing a Greek hoplite soldier and his armament. Often Christians wonder how they can know the power of God. These great verses describe it! However, it is also important in showing the role of the Spirit because His mighty actions are linked to each of the pieces of armor in other scripture.

§ Truth (our belt to prepare us V.14) – Living in truth is a fruit of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:9) and prepares our mind to make proper decisions and actions.

§ Righteousness (our breastplate V.14) – A fruit of the Spirit is a holy heart that is set apart to serve God and perceives and rejects sin (Ephesians 5:9).

§ Share the gospel (the shoes to carry us to battle V.15) – By telling others the message of salvation we see the power of God to change others and positively affect our society, which is assisted by the Spirit (Romans 1:16-17; 2 Timothy 1:7; John 16:8-11).

§ Faith (our shield V.16) – Another fruit or evidence of the Spirit is faith by which we make our decisions and do what God desires from us (Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 14:23).

§ Eternal security (our helmet V.17) – The sound knowledge of our security of salvation protects our heads as we face troubles in this world and its function comes from the Spirit (Romans 15:13, Romans 8:16).

§ The Bible (our sword V.17) – The power of God we experience in our Christian life is through the action of the Spirit in accordance to the Bible (Hebrews 4:12).

What great truths! What a privilege to know God through His word and live a holy life which pleases Him.

Thank you for joining me today. Please return next time as we continue the exciting discussion of the Christian walk that's associated benefits in life.

William C. Stewart, MD

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Thursday, October 19, 2023

The Christian Life - Part 2

Welcome back to my blog. We are in a series covering the Christian life. We spoke last time about the three sanctifications which delineate our Christian experiences:

· Salvation - Our legal sanctification by the blood of Christ by faith (Romans 3:21-26)

· The Christian life - We seek to become sanctified in our actions and thoughts as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16)

· Heaven - Christ takes us to our eternal home when our bodies will be sanctified (1 Corinthians 15:50 ff)

Importantly, when one sanctification is complete and we progress to the next, we cannot return to the prior sanctified state. This helps us know that we have eternal security and confidence in our relationship with God (please see the last blog for a review of this important lesson).

Goals

For this current blog then let us talk about scriptural based goals for Christian living and the tools God provides by which we can accomplish them.

· Be holy as God is holy - We should strive to develop godly characteristics in our life (1 Peter 1:16)

· Live a life of faith – God is pleased by our faith, not guilt and legalism (Romans 14:23; Colossians 2:6)

· Serve God with your entire life – In accomplishing this goal we have great freedom to live by faith within the broad bounds of the New Testament epistles’ commands (Romans 12:1-2)

Tools for leading the Christian life

What has God given us to accomplish these goals?

The Bible – We are to accept God’s word as a true guide for our lives (1 Thessalonians 1:6). In Paul’s informative prayer in Colossians 1:9-14, he indicates the importance of approaching our Christian life in a knowledgeable way (verse 9). Accordingly, to act correctly (verse 10) we first must know how to think. We do this first by knowing God’s Word, especially the epistles in the New Testament (Romans to Revelation 3). This is the section meant specifically to provide directions for the church age. How do we know the importance of the New Testament epistles in our lives? There is a process by which it developed:

· God the Father - All truth began with God and was given to His Son to give to man (John 14:24; John 17:14).

Jesus Christ – He came and spoke to us, as recorded in the gospels, so people would believe in Him as Messiah. Upon the rejection of His message (Matthew 12), He taught the disciples about the coming age (Matthew 13-18; Matthew 24-25; John 14-17), later confirmed by the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2-4; Colossians 1:25; Ephesians 3:3).
The Apostles – Christ tasked the apostles to teach God’s truth to the church (Matthew 28:19-20, sometimes called “apostolic authority”. It was the listener’s duty to obey what they heard from the apostles, not yet having the written scriptures. Importantly, the authority of the Bible itself is established not just by direct statements that claim it is scripture (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Peter 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:16) but also by verses which indicate the authority of the apostles (2 Thessalonians 3:4-6; Colossians 1:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:14). To them God gave the charge to teach His truth and later to write the epistles, because they were taught by Christ Himself.
Second generation Christians – These believers received the word from the apostles and taught new believers under their authority (e.g., 1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 2:24).
The biblical canon – The true Word of God was written down as epistles with guidance by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). These letters were circulated probably in the early church period when apparently an informal canon of scriptures was formed. A generally accepted canon existed in the 2nd century (1). The New Testament in its current form was finalized at the Synod of Hippo in 393 AD. The late date of finalization occurred probably due to Christians could not openly meet until Constantine legalized Christianity after he became the Roman emperor in 313 AD.
Biblical authority for the Christian life – The Bible speaks of accepting God’s word and using it as a basis for our lives (2 Timothy 3:16; Ephesians 6:17; 2 Peter 3:16). Consequently, through scripture, we gain not only the knowledge of the will of God and the benefits of the Spirit but also a healthy mind (1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:7).

Far from being restrictive, the Bible liberates us by teaching us wisdom and truth … with very few commands! It allows us to live a life of faith without being deceived by damaging practices in the world (1 Timothy 4:4-5). The Bible is our guidebook for life. As we live it in faith we prove God’s working within us with the accompanying joy of seeing Him bring fruit into our lives (Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:9).

What great truths! What a privilege to know God through His word and to live a life that is holy and pleasing to Him.

Please join us again next time as we continue to examine the tools we have for the Christian life. We will discuss God’s power!

William C. Stewart, MD

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