| Christian Writings: Written by or Recommended by Christian Friends |
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| More Inspiration from Pastor Don Baron received from Bobby Chen |
----- Original Message -----
From: Donald Baron
To: bob chen
Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2007 1:13 PM
Subject: Re: My " next step " will be in September or October.
Dear Bob and Po-ming: Thanks for sharing with me a little bit of your correspondence!
Judging from the words of Po-ming (below), I have a major concern: Did you know that the Bible speaks of TWO kind of purifying? One kind is the kind that Po-ming
is speaking about. It is a lifelong process and never complete until we die (or Jesus comes again). We must not trust that purifying process for our standing with
God or for our entrance into heaven. Why? Because the more we grow spiritually, the more we see the sinfulness of our sinful nature! Even Saint Paul experienced
that: see Romans 7:14-25! (Note: this is not Paul's description of his PRE-Christian life because a) the pre-Christian doesn't have this conflict; he is satisfied with
his sinful life and b) these words are written in PRESENT tense, not PAST tense.) We will have our sinful nature with us to the end of our lives, though we can learn,
with the Holy Spirit's help, not to permit the sinful nature to constantly rule our behavior. That's why the Christian life is a battle (Galatians 16-17).
The second kind of purification is that which has ALREADY happened. It's the purification that Jesus won for us when He died as our substitute on the cross and
when HIS righteousness was "imputed" to us as a gift! When we put our trust in Christ, we are counted as totally pure in God's eyes. It is that purification - and ONLY
that purification - that makes us right with God, provides eternal life, and opens the doors of heaven to us. It is called Justification - Chinese is "ch'eng-yi" ("ch'eng"
as in "ming-ch'eng" or "ch'eng-hu" - meaning "to declare" - God "declares" us righteous in His sight only because of what Jesus has done for us). How do we
receive that gift of righteousness? Eph. 5:23-24 tells us that it is through the Word and through Baptism. Jesus says, "He who believes (in His Word) and is baptized
shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).
Do not put your focus or your trust in the first kind of purification; it will always be FAR from complete and it will be tainted with sin for the rest of your life! Trust only
in Christ's righteousness, purchased for you at great price and give you as a free gift of His love! It will be the Holy Spirit's business to work the other kind of purity
into your life; YOUR business is to rejoice only in the free gift of His righteousness.
Your friend always,
Don Baron
On 8/24/07, bob chen <bob28chen@yahoo.com> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: poming lin <pominglin@yahoo.com>
To: bob chen <bob28chen@yahoo.com >
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:28:50 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: my blind spot
Dear Bob:
Thank you for your letter, Re: my blind spot. You are truly a blessed guy. There are many people around you and care for you. The letters from both Frank Wang and
Don Baron are true and also touch me. God want to get rid of our sinful nature; therefore, He will work on us. Through this process, a life long process, we will be
purified and also know God better. By now you probably know what the next step you should do!? God bless you.
Po-Ming
From: Donald Baron
To: bob chen
Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2007 1:13 PM
Subject: Re: My " next step " will be in September or October.
Dear Bob and Po-ming: Thanks for sharing with me a little bit of your correspondence!
Judging from the words of Po-ming (below), I have a major concern: Did you know that the Bible speaks of TWO kind of purifying? One kind is the kind that Po-ming
is speaking about. It is a lifelong process and never complete until we die (or Jesus comes again). We must not trust that purifying process for our standing with
God or for our entrance into heaven. Why? Because the more we grow spiritually, the more we see the sinfulness of our sinful nature! Even Saint Paul experienced
that: see Romans 7:14-25! (Note: this is not Paul's description of his PRE-Christian life because a) the pre-Christian doesn't have this conflict; he is satisfied with
his sinful life and b) these words are written in PRESENT tense, not PAST tense.) We will have our sinful nature with us to the end of our lives, though we can learn,
with the Holy Spirit's help, not to permit the sinful nature to constantly rule our behavior. That's why the Christian life is a battle (Galatians 16-17).
The second kind of purification is that which has ALREADY happened. It's the purification that Jesus won for us when He died as our substitute on the cross and
when HIS righteousness was "imputed" to us as a gift! When we put our trust in Christ, we are counted as totally pure in God's eyes. It is that purification - and ONLY
that purification - that makes us right with God, provides eternal life, and opens the doors of heaven to us. It is called Justification - Chinese is "ch'eng-yi" ("ch'eng"
as in "ming-ch'eng" or "ch'eng-hu" - meaning "to declare" - God "declares" us righteous in His sight only because of what Jesus has done for us). How do we
receive that gift of righteousness? Eph. 5:23-24 tells us that it is through the Word and through Baptism. Jesus says, "He who believes (in His Word) and is baptized
shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).
Do not put your focus or your trust in the first kind of purification; it will always be FAR from complete and it will be tainted with sin for the rest of your life! Trust only
in Christ's righteousness, purchased for you at great price and give you as a free gift of His love! It will be the Holy Spirit's business to work the other kind of purity
into your life; YOUR business is to rejoice only in the free gift of His righteousness.
Your friend always,
Don Baron
On 8/24/07, bob chen <bob28chen@yahoo.com> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: poming lin <pominglin@yahoo.com>
To: bob chen <bob28chen@yahoo.com >
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:28:50 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: my blind spot
Dear Bob:
Thank you for your letter, Re: my blind spot. You are truly a blessed guy. There are many people around you and care for you. The letters from both Frank Wang and
Don Baron are true and also touch me. God want to get rid of our sinful nature; therefore, He will work on us. Through this process, a life long process, we will be
purified and also know God better. By now you probably know what the next step you should do!? God bless you.
Po-Ming
