Remarkable Truths with Keith Hibbets

Have some manners!

www.youtube.com

https://youtu.be/CWmCuuUYROc

The Laws of the Harvest: What Will You Do with Your Seed? When the seed is watered and cultivated, harvests are predictable. They are predictable based upon four laws of the harvest. We are stewards of the harvest.

https://youtu.be/8zXZeN2DS3Y

When God Says No How do you react when you have a broken dream? When you thought you were headed in the right direction but God says, "No"? King David had a similar experience.

How do we experience Emmanuel?

Emmanuel--God With Us! One of the great themes of Christmas is the idea of Emmanuel, or "God With Us". What did that look like in the Bible and what does it mean for us today?

https://youtu.be/o8CxM2W8OjM

Satan's Big Lie: God Does Not Love Me Many, many people acknowledge that God exists but here they get stuck. But, if you don't believe that God loves you deeply and unconditionally, you will beli...

https://youtu.be/MYELA00htA0

Legacy--A Life of Influence and Impact Well, the first thing that I note about influence is that everybody has one! You may think that you are a nobody, but let me assure you that you are having ...

Welcome back to Part 2 of an episode that I have called "A Life Well-Lived!". Last time we spoke about Charlie Kirk and the remarkable example that he lived and the legacy that he has left behind. His life may seem so extraordinary that many of us may want to throw up our hands, and say that we could never have the impact that Charlie had.

This brings me to the second point that I would like to make in Part 2 of "A Life Well-Lived!" What about those of us whom seem to be limited in our capability to speak as clearly, as logically, intelligently and passionately as Charlie did? I want to convince you that God has an important calling for you to fulfill.

A Life Well Lived, Part 2 Welcome back to Part 2 of an episode that I have called "A Life Well-Lived!". Last time we spoke about Charlie Kirk and the remarkable example that he lived ...

The Three Tenses of Freedom From Sin in Salvation

(Past Tense) Justification: Freedom from Sin's PENALTY

While it may be true that justification and eternal life are very closely related, they are nevertheless distinct in biblical theology.

(Titus 3:4-7) "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

To be justified is to be “righteousified.” That is, justification is to be declared or considered righteous by God. It is not the same thing as being “made righteous.” Since Christ bore the penalty for our sins, we received freedom from that penalty for all sins past, present, and future. We were justified before God our judge because our penalty had been paid. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

It may be best to think of justification as being “in right standing” with God whereas eternal life is the actual reception of God’s life in us. The two are closely related and occur simultaneously when we believe in Jesus, but are still distinct.

Our justification is behind us. It is a past occurrence. We can look back to the time of our justification and know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1–2).

The critical point to remember is that neither the reception of eternal life, nor the declaration of righteousness actually makes one righteous in all their thoughts, actions, and behaviors. If it did, we would never sin again. But we do sin, which brings us to the topic of sanctification.

(Present Tense) Sanctification: Freedom from Sin's POWER

Now that the grace of God has been set upon us as a permanent seal (2 Corinthians 1:20–22), we are being made new. We are being set free from the power of sin by the power of the Spirit. This is the life-long process of progressive sanctification, that is, of becoming more holy.

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13)

God’s grace works in us to align our wills to His will. Before we were justified, our broken wills were utterly subject to the power of sin. We chose sin at every turn. Even when we made choices that appeared good from an external standpoint, because we had no higher internal purpose than to glorify self these choices were ultimately sinful as well. Now, the power of sin is broken. We have been given the deposit of the Holy Spirit. Though we once chose only to sin, now we have the power (and the growing desire) to choose righteousness. We who were once slaves to sin’s power are now free to serve God.

But we don’t always use our freedom. We still sin. However, over time we learn increasingly to choose holiness. Our entire lives from the day of our justification onward are devoted to “working out our salvation” (Philippians 2:12–13) as we learn to choose righteousness instead of sin, to walk in obedience to God’s commands.

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit."
(1 Thessalonians 4:3 - 8 )

/Traditionally, sanctification is also categorized into three aspects.

(1) POSITIONAL SANCTIFICATION is that state of holiness imputed to the Christian at the moment of their conversion to Christ. It denotes not so much one’s spiritual condition as his spiritual position. The Corinthian believers could thus be called ‘saints’ even though they were in a carnal state (1 Corinthians 1:2).

(2) PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION refers to the process in our daily lives by which we are being conformed to the image of Christ. It is the process of becoming what we are in Christ. This involves the putting off of the old habits of lying, stealing, backbiting, etc., and putting on the Christ-like qualities of honesty, mercy, and love. (Colossians 3:1-10)

(3) ULTIMATE SANCTIFICATION is that state of holiness that we will not attain to in this life, but will realize when we are finally in the presence of God: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). Sanctification, the putting off of the old man, and the putting on of the righteousness of Christ, is three dimensional: positional, progressive, and ultimate. The argument of the apostle Paul in Romans 6 is that we are obligated to experience progressive sanctification because of our positional sanctification accomplished on the cross of Calvary./
[From: "The Necessity of Sanctification"
https://bible.org/seriespage/8-necessity-sanctification-romans-6 ]

Sanctification is vitally important for the Christian life. Indeed, it is probably not an overstatement to say that the vast majority of the New Testament is concerned with Christian sanctification.

(Future Tense) Glorification: Freedom from Sin's PRESENCE

We will strive to grow in holiness our entire earthly lives. But when we have run the race and fought the good fight, we will enter into the presence of the Lord forever. We will be glorified. In his presence, we will at last be complete, as sin and its devastation will cease to assail us. There can be no evil in his presence. Though now we are surrounded on all sides by sinfulness, though now sin continues to cling to our hearts, on a day not too distant we will go to a place where sin is no more. In our glorification we will at last be granted freedom from the very presence of sin.

"Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Romans 8:30)

Glorification then, is the future event when we finally gain our perfect, glorified bodies. It is with these redeemed and sinless bodies that we will live forever with God and will serve Him and one another for all eternity.

Rest, Labor, Hope

The knowledge that sin is gradually overcome across a lifetime is good news to the believer who might fear that ongoing sin invalidates their profession. The knowledge that sanctification is an ongoing work also topples the myth of the effortless stock-photo Christian life. The knowledge that total freedom from sin is a future certainty gives the believer great hope. So we rest confidently in our justification, we labor diligently in our sanctification, and we hope expectantly in our glorification.

"Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

Be assured of your justification. It was. One day, you were freed fully from the penalty of sin.

Be patient with your sanctification. It is. Each day, you are being freed increasingly from the power of sin.

Be eager for your glorification. It is to come. One day, you will be freed finally from the presence of sin.

See also: "What is Progressive Sanctification?
http://www.gotquestions.org/progressive-sanctification.html

And also http://creation.com/why-christianity

God paints with an amazing paintbrush!

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth (Psalm 57:5, ESV)”

Watch this video to see my take on Charlie's passing. What was he about? What lessons can we learn?

A Life Well-Lived --A Tribute to Charlie Kirk and Lessons Learned Watch this video to see my take on Charlie's passing. What was he about? What lessons can we learn?

Heritage of our church, Greater Life Church: Our church was born out of the merger of Garr Memorial Church & Mint Hill Community Church. Garr has had a long, storied past. Our current pastor’s (Pastor Andrew) dad was one of the pastors at Garr. Thus, s rather historic sign (JESUS SAVES), now hangs in the main lobby of our church. And, yes, Jesus still saves! 108 saved so far this year at Greater Life Church!

We should remember those who have paved the road before. I am grateful for those in my ancestral family tree and church family tree who have paved the way before us!

1 Corinthians 3:13–14, ESV
13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

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