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Sin and Grace

By Doug Post
June 20, 2004

We like to think that the sins we commit, or that are commonly committed by people we like, are not so very bad. But sin is not measured by our standards. God's judgment against sin is what matters. God's hatred for sin is seen in the horrible price that had to be paid because of our sins. Jesus Christ died because of our sins. Sin is always an affront to God.            But Christians do sin. We all need a Savior. Not only someone to make us right, but someone with the continual power to keep us right with God. And we have the perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Through the saving work of Christ our sins are forgiven. Through His death on the cross, Christ became our sin offering, the payment, which makes us right with God. Salvation is only in Christ, and is complete in Christ.
            If we understand who Jesus is and what Jesus came into the world to accomplish, we must be opposed to sin. Sin is in direct contradiction to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul uses baptism as an illustration of the transformation, which is to come (Romans 6:1ff). The death, burial and resurrection of Christ are mirrored in baptism. The victory which Jesus perfectly obtained over sin should likewise be reflected in the "newness of life" lived out daily by Christians. Christ died to overcome the power of sin. Baptism into Christ signifies our unity with the Savior in this victory.
            This new life in Christ, being born again of water and the Spirit, is a continual affirmation of the faith spoken in the good confession. The salvation we receive in Christ must be expressed in the loving obedience that God expects of all Christians. The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the substance of our confession, it gives saving power to our baptism, and it produces continual joy in the assurance of salvation. As God's children, we are enriched and empowered by the Lord's grace. The gospel initiates salvation, and keeps us in a right relationship with God. We must continually look to Jesus, our Savior and our Lord to keep our lives going in the right direction.

ALL DAY AT THE HOSPITAL
(A TALK WITH GOD)
Giuseppe Cardamone

To whom then shall I speak?

I will speak of You to those who cannot help,

I will look at faces that know not how to love

And I will think of You with profound admiration

And recognition.

I will speak of You to those who can give nothing.

I will cry out of Your promise to everyone!

When my days shall be full of fear,

I will think of Your smile,

Which for a long while has given to this heart in exile

Great hope and strength.

I will cry out to the whole world

Your faithfulness and my profound gratitude

For having brought me back to life.

My tears filled with hope

Will be the imprint of my destiny

Painted with the smile of Your face.

--missionary near Bologna, Italy, confined to

a wheelchair after nearly being killed in a traffic

accident as a member of the Carabinieri (elite police force).

He is capable of only slight movement of his arms and head.

VIA FAMILY NEWS, Searcy, AR

"Dear Dad: When I was young, you helped me grow and taught me

all I had to know Of love and trust and faith and hope, and everything it takes to cope. You may have thought I didn't hear, or maybe that you weren't clear; But all things you taught me were heeded very carefully. And now I want to thank you for--your love, your care, and so much more!"

What is the baptism of fire and should Christians pray for it?

By Doug Post

John the Baptist promised that Jesus would administer two baptisms - Holy Spirit baptism and the baptism of fire. "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree, which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier that I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:10,11). The apostles would receive the overwhelming measure of the Holy Spirit's power on Pentecost (Luke 24:48,49; Acts 1:4,5; Acts 2:1-4); the unrepentant Pharisees and Sadducees would receive the penalty of hell at the final judgment.
The baptism of fire is "hell fire". "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12). It is clear that John was referring to "hell fire" (i.e., eternal destruction) in this passage. H. Leo Boles observes: "Is it credible that 'fire' should have one meaning in the first and third verses, and an entirely different meaning in the second? We must conclude that 'fire' has the same meaning in verses ten, eleven and twelve. With this conclusion, we must believe that two baptisms are mentioned here, that two classes are to receive the baptisms; that one class is to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the other class the baptism of fire. 'Fire' as used here cannot be taken as a symbol of the Holy Spirit; this would be a confusion to say Christ would 'baptize in the Holy Spirit and in the Holy Spirit.' Where fire is used in a literal sense in the Bible, it invariably sets forth God's divine judgment upon sin; where it is used in a figurative sense it represents this process by which evil is removed, and destruction. No sound principle of interpretation admits of representing the same truth under a literal and figurative form in the same connection" [H. Leo Boles, "Holy Spirit and
Fire," The Holy Spirit — His Personality, Nature and Works, pp. 304-305.]
Jesus will administer the baptism of fire when He comes again. "And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from
heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the
wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:49; cf. Revelation 20:14, 15; 21:8).
No. Christians should not pray for the baptism of fire. Rather, they should endeavor to avoid it.