Charles Fowler Ministries
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The Nuts and Bolts of Romans Chapter 6
Recommended Reading: Romans 6
Romans 6: 8 - 14;
But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over him.
Romans 6: 8 - 14;
But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over him.
Let not sin therefore reign in your ...<< MORE >>
A little arrogance and a little ignorance can take a person a long way down the wrong road!!!
Are you in the ditch today?
Jesus said the blind lead the blind and everybody winds up in the ditch. The reason? Just plain old fashioned pride. We all have it and all must deal with it.
Psalms 25:9
Regarding the religious leaders of the day, Jesus told his disciples simply: "Leave them alone."
"Leave them alone" When the Son of God says "leave them alone" it is ultimately the worse thing that can happen to a person. You see "He knows the proud from a far off" in other words He is distant from the proud. The real trade mark of ...<< MORE >>
Jesus said the blind lead the blind and everybody winds up in the ditch. The reason? Just plain old fashioned pride. We all have it and all must deal with it.
Psalms 25:9
Regarding the religious leaders of the day, Jesus told his disciples simply: "Leave them alone."
"Leave them alone" When the Son of God says "leave them alone" it is ultimately the worse thing that can happen to a person. You see "He knows the proud from a far off" in other words He is distant from the proud. The real trade mark of ...<< MORE >>
Living Free
Living Free
Living free, living free, living free . . . is that not the heart cry of humanity. All over this planet, people want to be free. It doesn't matter if they are in Iran, Japan or America. It is a fact: People want to be free!!!
Jesus said that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. The ultimate freedom is spiritual freedom which only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and in his testimony Paul quotes Jesus, the Risen Lord, ...<< MORE >>
Criticism of others
38 John said unto him, Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followed not us.
39 But Jesus said,
Forbid him not: for there is no man who shall do a mighty work in my
name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is for us.
41 For whosoever
shall give you a cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ's, verily
I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. ...<< MORE >>
39 But Jesus said,
Forbid him not: for there is no man who shall do a mighty work in my
name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is for us.
41 For whosoever
shall give you a cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ's, verily
I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. ...<< MORE >>
The Word of their testimony
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony;
In its context the Greek text is saying that they overcame because of the atoning blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ and by the word of their testimony as to the blood of the Lamb. In other words, it is their affirmation, confession or testimony as to what the blood of Christ has done for us that causes us to overcome.
We overcome by the word of our testimony of what the blood of the Lamb ...<< MORE >>
Grace is not a doctrine, Grace is a Person!!!
We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through FAITH in His blood. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He took our place on the cross, He bore the penalty for our sins. He paid the full and complete price for our salvation.
Jesus saves. We do not save ourselves, religion does not save us, not even the church can save us. Only Jesus Christ can save us. When we turn to Him, looking to Him and Him alone. ...<< MORE >>
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through FAITH in His blood. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He took our place on the cross, He bore the penalty for our sins. He paid the full and complete price for our salvation.
Jesus saves. We do not save ourselves, religion does not save us, not even the church can save us. Only Jesus Christ can save us. When we turn to Him, looking to Him and Him alone. ...<< MORE >>
Daily Time
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need Hebrews 4:16
Be merciful to me, O Lord; for I cry to You daily. Psalms 86:3
Evening, morning and at noon, I will pray and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice. Psalms 55:17
One of the purposes of this blog is to encourage believers to spend time alone with the Lord in prayer and in the word. My experience is that it ...<< MORE >>
mercy and find grace to help in time of need Hebrews 4:16
Be merciful to me, O Lord; for I cry to You daily. Psalms 86:3
Evening, morning and at noon, I will pray and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice. Psalms 55:17
One of the purposes of this blog is to encourage believers to spend time alone with the Lord in prayer and in the word. My experience is that it ...<< MORE >>
Not I, but Christ
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139:23-24
What I believe to be the first step in becoming a disciple of Christ can be described as a total commitment or surrender of our lives to Christ. Various terms have been used down through the years to describe this vital step in the Christian's life. Terms like absolute surrender, consecration, dedication, submission, yielding and absolute surrender as I have said.
I was in ...<< MORE >>
Colossians 3:10 - "Put on the New Man"
Colossians 3:10
Colossians 3:10 "put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him"
Some practical steps to putting on the new mans:
Step 1 is understanding that the new man is being renewed in the knowledge of Christ.
Borrowing from the Navigators and their bible memory program there is the five finger illustration of grasping the Word of God.
And you can start with any finger you want, I start with the thumb. But it is a great memory add in remembering the five ...<< MORE >>
God Loves Jerks
"Jacob I loved." (Rom 9:13)
God loves jerks. That is an unusual thought and one that is difficult for us to accept. But there are many biblical examples of this. One of the most profound is the bible character named Jacob. And in regards to Jacob the term bible "character" can be taken quite literally. Jacob was quite the character. The fact is, Jacob was a real jerk.
You can read the entire life of Jacob starting at Genesis 25:21 and going to Genesis 50:26. The Bible narrative holds nothing back, his life is a tell all story of a completely self-centered, controlling, manipulative man who had little or no love for anybody but himself. Jacob was a complete jerk.
To make a long story short, he did not love his wife (actually two wives and he was a terrible husband to both), his children (he was a terrible father) and he swindled both his father and his brother. Being a manipulator to the very end. As far as I can tell he did not have a positive relationship with anybody.
Yet, God in His infinite grace continued to love, overrule and care for a selfish, manipulative, insensitive jerk. Unbelievable, but it is in the bible for a reason.
The lesson here is that God loves to specialize in difficult cases and overlooking our faults he continues to bless and use us despite all our failures. This is a lesson in the grace of God, the unmerited favor and unconditional love of God. A lesson both our flesh and our mind struggle with if we seriously take it to heart. Yes, a very difficult lesson for any of us. Especially when it comes to loving jerks ourselves.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us . . . " (2 Corinthians 4:7)
God was infinitely, at times unfairly, gracious to Jacob. "Jacob I have loved." (Romans 9:13) You have to say that God loved Jacob completely unconditionally.
Apparently Jacob was clueless as to his own deeply flawed character and yet God blessed him anyway. He never looked in the mirror. He saw no need for forgiveness, yet God forgave him anyway. He did not seek divine guidance, but God gave it to him anyway.
Jacob was a complete jerk who apparently felt no guilt for the way he treated people. He was afraid of his brother but apparently never really felt sorry for his actions. Jacob was a jerk! Or have I said that already. A jerk that God loved.
The point we must wrestle with here is how much God can love unworthy people. And if God pours out His love, His grace, His mercy and even His blessing on unworthy "jerks" . . . then we must learn to love them as well.
"That he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory." (Romans 9:23)
I am not promoting jerks or encouraging you to be a jerk. I am just telling you to love them and accept them as God does, despite their jerkiness.
You are either a jerk or you know someone who is. And if you happen to be a "real" jerk, you probably don't know it. There is a little bit of Jacob in all of us. And yes, we all know some Jacobs, don't we? The point here is simple. God is love and He chooses to love Jacobs. We also, must learn to love and accept others just as they are. God loves jerks!
God loves jerks. That is an unusual thought and one that is difficult for us to accept. But there are many biblical examples of this. One of the most profound is the bible character named Jacob. And in regards to Jacob the term bible "character" can be taken quite literally. Jacob was quite the character. The fact is, Jacob was a real jerk.
You can read the entire life of Jacob starting at Genesis 25:21 and going to Genesis 50:26. The Bible narrative holds nothing back, his life is a tell all story of a completely self-centered, controlling, manipulative man who had little or no love for anybody but himself. Jacob was a complete jerk.
To make a long story short, he did not love his wife (actually two wives and he was a terrible husband to both), his children (he was a terrible father) and he swindled both his father and his brother. Being a manipulator to the very end. As far as I can tell he did not have a positive relationship with anybody.
Yet, God in His infinite grace continued to love, overrule and care for a selfish, manipulative, insensitive jerk. Unbelievable, but it is in the bible for a reason.
The lesson here is that God loves to specialize in difficult cases and overlooking our faults he continues to bless and use us despite all our failures. This is a lesson in the grace of God, the unmerited favor and unconditional love of God. A lesson both our flesh and our mind struggle with if we seriously take it to heart. Yes, a very difficult lesson for any of us. Especially when it comes to loving jerks ourselves.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us . . . " (2 Corinthians 4:7)
God was infinitely, at times unfairly, gracious to Jacob. "Jacob I have loved." (Romans 9:13) You have to say that God loved Jacob completely unconditionally.
Apparently Jacob was clueless as to his own deeply flawed character and yet God blessed him anyway. He never looked in the mirror. He saw no need for forgiveness, yet God forgave him anyway. He did not seek divine guidance, but God gave it to him anyway.
Jacob was a complete jerk who apparently felt no guilt for the way he treated people. He was afraid of his brother but apparently never really felt sorry for his actions. Jacob was a jerk! Or have I said that already. A jerk that God loved.
The point we must wrestle with here is how much God can love unworthy people. And if God pours out His love, His grace, His mercy and even His blessing on unworthy "jerks" . . . then we must learn to love them as well.
"That he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory." (Romans 9:23)
I am not promoting jerks or encouraging you to be a jerk. I am just telling you to love them and accept them as God does, despite their jerkiness.
You are either a jerk or you know someone who is. And if you happen to be a "real" jerk, you probably don't know it. There is a little bit of Jacob in all of us. And yes, we all know some Jacobs, don't we? The point here is simple. God is love and He chooses to love Jacobs. We also, must learn to love and accept others just as they are. God loves jerks!
