Romans 2:

Paul talks about God’s judgment being revealed and that God will pour out His anger upon those that are profoundly wicked and he will give eternal life to those that are doing good. However, there is trouble that’ll come for those who do evil and that the Gentiles (those who are not Jews and refuse to acknowledge God) who sin will be destroyed. The laws of God are written upon our hearts. Paul proclaims the second coming of Christ who will judge every person’s secret sins. We cannot hide from God! We learn that we should not to rely on God’s law for salvation but trust in Jesus. Although, God’s law gives us both knowledge and truth, we cannot be justified by obeying it (revealed in Chapter 3; Romans 3:20,28). Paul uses Romans 2:29 to tell us that obedience to the Jewish law of circumcision is useless and that it is our hearts that matter! We know that by faith we have become children of Abraham. We must have a change of heart through God’s Holy Spirit, seeking praise of God not from people.

We need to all count on the Lord every day for renewed strength.  For God is powerful, and if our hearts are receptive to His message He will strengthen and guide us.  God is even faithful when we are not, when we are faithful and put our trust in God, He is even more faithful.  We should always trust in God so that He can give us the desires of our hearts.  In the midst of the world’s darkness I can feel God’s power working throughout all the Earth.  I have began to realize that God is pouring out His spirit upon the Earth and that these are the last days.  Still I trust in God and have run from the evil knowing that Satan will be utterly destroyed.  Why would I not run from death?  Let alone should you accept death and darkness when you can accept life everlasting?  To every one of my friends and workers in Christ Jesus I warn you not to depart from the faith.  We need to wait just a short time for Christ and then our joys will last forever.  A famous person once said, “Great things come to those who wait.”  I have began to realize this and that we as watchmen for Jesus should always be patient.  God is also waiting to save more souls and give more opportunities for people to get into His Kingdom.

Many people know John 3:16 and a lot of us could quote it, and the fact God sent His son to allow us through faith in Him to have eternal life. However, many of us forget the next few verses the fact is Jesus Christ came to save us from condemnation and give us eternal life. If, we do not believe we are under God’s, judgement but through faith God’s grace will rest upon us. Jesus is good He is God, God is light (John 3:19). Our deeds, works, actions are often evil (John 3:19) but God has promised that the dark stain from our sins will be purified and made as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Jesus, died and rose from the dead. The great fact of this is while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). The invitation is open as John 3:16 states that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9”.

We often have heard it said that God is responsible for evil. However, that is not the case. God has created us with the moral capacity to do both good and evil. If, God forced us to do all good then he would not be a good God. God loves us and allows us to make our own choices. That being said God does have a “perfect will” however, you should not conclude that he has an “imperfect will” too. God does not doom us to live out a life of misery and failure and frustration. God wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). He wants to fulfill his purpose in us (Jeremiah 29:11). God is omniscient, and knows exactly what he can and will do in and through us. God desires the best for us. The heart of God is for him to fulfill his purpose in us and make us more like Jesus. God’s permissive will is what God allows to happen. Since, God does not ordain the evil of this world when someone dies God has allowed it to happen which is where permissive will comes into the picture. God knows all things and the end from the beginning. God desires for Christians to do there part to create Heaven on earth by living out his teachings (Philippians 1:27). Just as God created this earth and heaven he will one day come back and create a new heaven and new earth where mankind will once again be in 100% fellowship with him (Revelation 21:1).

Verses: Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. – Philippians 1:27.

Mark chapter 16 was a very good chapter it is amazing because the disciples seem to have no idea of the Jesus would rise from the dead. Although in the Gospels it appears He told that many times it would happen. How many times has God spoken to us and maybe we just didn’t take the time to listen? I’m thankful that God speaks to me through his word and through his Holy Spirit it is also interesting that no one believed the people when they reported they had seen Jesus, because the Gospel clearly mentions this was destined to happen. It makes me wonder how many times in my life has God been saying something would happen and maybe I just didn’t believe or hear him? I know that God is faithful I’m thankful for that and know He will continue to shape me and mold me. The passage about being a disciple of all nations, is wonderful because I believe ever since the beginning of creation God has always desired for us to have that kind of discipleship with Him.

Short Version on my blog:
This is interesting that pilot seemed to know Jesus was Messiah but still let Him be crucified because of the chief priest getting the people to shout out “kill him”. Rather, than do what is right pilot let Jesus be crucified to appease the people and Jewish authorities. But how does Jesus suffering in Mark 15 apply to us apply to us? Well, doing the right thing regardless of how we are treated which is why 1 John 3:10 speaks of loving our brother or to see Mark 16:15 – We are commanded to basically be a disciple of Christ, and I think that means loving not just God but our Christian and Non-Christian brothers and sisters. How can we do this? In my opinion the best way to do this is to run the race of life faithfully (Mark 13:13) with endurance which to me means being obedience to Christ and following His teachings as best as possible because that is part of being a disciple of Christ!
Long Version:
This is interesting that pilot seemed to know Jesus was Messiah but still let Him be crucified because of the chief priest getting the people to shout out “kill him”. Rather, than do what is right pilot let Jesus be crucified to appease the people and Jewish authorities. It seems like we sometimes, we let our sins get in the way of having a genuine relationship with our Savior. Jesus was on the cross not just because of their sins but for ours also. We in a sense also crucified Christ because of our sins (Hebrews 6:6). One thing I took from this chapter is that it is more important to follow God than enjoy the pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25). Which means doing the right thing regardless of how we are treated which is why 1 John 3:10 speaks of loving our brother see Mark 16:15. Jesus in the strictest sense had every right to save Himself from the cross, He suffered for us so we should be willing to suffer for His sake (Philippians 1:29). However, I am thankful that the Christ life is not all about suffering. In fact I am thankful that Jesus died to free me from the eternal consequences of sin. We are commanded to basically be a disciple of Christ, and I think that means loving not just God but our Christian and Non-Christian brothers and sisters. How can we do this? In my opinion the best way to do this is to run the race of life faithfully (Mark 13:13) with endurance which to me means being obedience to Christ and following His teachings as best as possible because that is part of being a disciple of Christ! The context of the verse is that we should love one another just as Christ has loved us. If we are in Christ the Holy Spirit leads us, and as we allow the spirit to lead us we can overcome much of our weaknesses and God will help us to remain in Him (John 15:4).

Jesus never ceased to be God. The “Hypostatic union”, is the individual nature of Jesus as God. The First Council of Ephesus in 431 AD recognized this doctrine and affirmed its importance. The Council professed that in Christ there are two natures; each retaining its own properties, and together united in one subsistence and in one single person. The hypostatic union was crucial to an abiding faith in the Christian God. He was the Son of God but He surrendered using His divine attributes. When Jesus stated no one has seen God, it is because the flesh of Christ was human but through His action of living among us Jesus being God, humbled Himself.

Phillipans 2:6 tells us, Jesus came to the earth in the very “form of God”.

Jesus even took the title of God for Himself John 8:58, He is the “…I Am” Christ is the “I Am” of Exodus 3:14.

Yahweh means: “I Am who I Am.” God told Moses His name during the burning bush encounter when God commissioned Moses to free Israel from Egyptian bondage encounter (Exodus 3:13-15). God’s Name, the “I Am”, gives a sense of the true and eternal nature of God (Revelation 1:8).

Three absolute and eternal persons belong to this Godhead called Yahweh: (1) the Father, (2) the Son, Jesus Christ, and (3) the Holy Spirit. These three persons are one (1 John 5:7) united in unity of power and purpose forming the Trinity. Yahweh is one God made up of three persons yet one Eternal God by whom all things existed and the Father, Son, Holy Spirit through whom all was created. (John 1:3).

From the scriptures various passages we learn that Jesus was humble he did not “cling (Philippians 2:6)” to his deity as something to boast about. Although, Jesus was 100% and God in the flesh when asked he stated in Mark 10:17-22, “…No one is good but God alone.” Why did he make this statement you might ask? Jesus is not saying that He himself is not good, he is expressing the concept goodness and the and that the man he is speaking to is not perfect. That is why the man went away sad (Mark 10:22), although the man he was speaking to had done much good by keeping fight hard to keep the commandments the ruler had forgot to obey the most important commandment! To love, God with all his heart, soul and mind. This was a man of great wealth who valued riches over God. Jesus is teaching us and the ruler here that goodness flows not from a man’s deeds, but instead from God Himself. ABC he responsibility we have to follow Christ is the proclaims that Christ’s goodness is given to us through faith. Jesus is good. And it necessarily follows that if Jesus is indeed good by this standard, Jesus is proclaiming His deity.

We know the nature and essence of Christ is God (Philippians 2:6), however He didn’t take this for granted and use to further His own gain. Instead, He was humble and obedient even though it meant dying on the cross (Philippians 2:8). The fact that Jesus was willing to die for us and that He came as both fully man and fully God is the greatest gift we can imagine. Through, faith in Christ the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts (1 Corin. 6:19). We are sealed with salvation and saved by the grace of God.

How does this apply?

Well, since we are part of the family of God we should walk with Jesus daily and be thankful for his undeserved kindness and that while we are sinners Christ is Holy, loves and saves us anyways.

Colossians 1:19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself.

Philippians 2:6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.  Ephesians 1:13

Ephesians 2:8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.