"If your sons will keep My covenant and My testimony which I shall teach them, their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore." (Psalm 132:12)
They didn't and they haven't. If we could just remove the "ifs" of the Bible, everyone in all generations would be walking in all the promises of God. But it is those confounded "ifs" which mess up the whole operation. And the Old Testament is not the only "place" of, "If." In John's Gospel, the most "popular" among Christians, we read, "....If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever...." What happens if I don't, "eat of this bread"? I guess I won't, "live forever." Again, "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed." So I suppose if I don't, "continue in [His] word," I am not a disciple. In Matthew we read, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, you heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
There are theological movements in recent generations which have eliminated the "ifs." They proclaim a "cheap grace," or as Mumford called it, "sloppy agape." Neither love nor grace, however, is the issue. That was settled by our Lord's command to love all; I simply can do no other. Yet we can love people all we can, but people are not accepted by God because of my love or tolerance of them and their life style. If so, they would "run the race, looking" to me rather than, "Looking unto Jesus." They are accepted by God only in Jesus Christ, by coming to Him and walking in obedience to Him. The same, "If," which applies to you and me, applies to all.
The promises of the Blessed Trinity are beyond comprehension. I can only receive them and stand in awe of Him. And if I do, everything Jesus, "finished," at the cross is mine. I do not doubt any promise of the Bible. "It is finished," sealed them for us. The only thing left for us is to be on the "right side" of the, "If."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for grace and strength to heed Your, "If." Amen.
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They didn't and they haven't. If we could just remove the "ifs" of the Bible, everyone in all generations would be walking in all the promises of God. But it is those confounded "ifs" which mess up the whole operation. And the Old Testament is not the only "place" of, "If." In John's Gospel, the most "popular" among Christians, we read, "....If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever...." What happens if I don't, "eat of this bread"? I guess I won't, "live forever." Again, "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed." So I suppose if I don't, "continue in [His] word," I am not a disciple. In Matthew we read, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, you heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
There are theological movements in recent generations which have eliminated the "ifs." They proclaim a "cheap grace," or as Mumford called it, "sloppy agape." Neither love nor grace, however, is the issue. That was settled by our Lord's command to love all; I simply can do no other. Yet we can love people all we can, but people are not accepted by God because of my love or tolerance of them and their life style. If so, they would "run the race, looking" to me rather than, "Looking unto Jesus." They are accepted by God only in Jesus Christ, by coming to Him and walking in obedience to Him. The same, "If," which applies to you and me, applies to all.
The promises of the Blessed Trinity are beyond comprehension. I can only receive them and stand in awe of Him. And if I do, everything Jesus, "finished," at the cross is mine. I do not doubt any promise of the Bible. "It is finished," sealed them for us. The only thing left for us is to be on the "right side" of the, "If."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for grace and strength to heed Your, "If." Amen.
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