What are the steps
for
Reconciliation with God?
There needs to be a lowering and humbling if self
and desire to seek his righteousness
Repentance is necessary, and faith is necessary’s,
without faith in Christ that he is
fully gracious, merciful, reliable, trustworthy and loving,
and that his sacrifice is fully sufficient and fully worthy,
reconciliation isn’t possible
Healing Steps
knowledge, Awareness, consideration,
conviction, contemplation, repentance,
faith, trust, dependence,
mercy, grace, forgiveness,
redemption, deliverance, restoration,
reconciliation
God desires for us to seek his face,
and have a reconciling relationship with him.
This relationship can only come through
Faith in Christ For the sacrifices he has
made on our behalf,
and revealed to us in his word, and that he
is who he says he is
This requires True Faith and True repentance,
a humble disposition, and earnest desire to
amend any grievances that have risen
out of a disobedient spirit
In order to be filled with Christ, for him to increase,
we must decrease ourselves of pride or deceit,
anything in our
heart or mind that is wrong,
We need to search his ways, his truth,
and discover what his values
and standards are, so that we can know him better and grow
more unto him, more christlike in his ways and thoughts
It takes complete humility and
complete reliance on the authority
and righteousness of our creator
We see God the way we were taught
to see him, and shown through others
This is why we have his entire revealed will in
The
Word of God
The word of God is the only way to have a
relationship with Christ, and
grow in confidence in our Identity in him
It will not come through just praying or
through other relationships,
It can only come through seeking the mind of God
through scripture and applying
the meaning of scripture in your life
This is the exact reason why False Doctrine is Dangerous,
It s an offense and opposition to everything that is Life in Jesus Christ
and kills future life in Christ for lost and broken people
The Gospel message needs to be presented in
Truth
Not taking Gods Word in serious reverence defeats
its true purpose and continues the generational patterns
of fallible human traditions and
perceptions of a greater power, which is no power
God is long suffering, loving, merciful, gracious, and righteous
He is eager to forgive and heal all those who call up his name
in sincere repentance
In 2 Peter 2, the apostle Peter
deals with the problem of
false prophets and teachers in the church.
He draws a detailed picture of how these
pretend believers operate
so true Christians can discern their methods and messages
and avoid falling victim to their destructive heresies.
Peter emphasizes the severity of the situation:
“For it would have been better for them not to
have known the way of righteousness, than having known it,
to turn from
the holy commandment delivered to them.
But it has happened to them according to the true proverb:
‘A dog returns to his own vomit’”
(2 Peter 2:21–22, NKJV).
These false teachers were acquainted with
Jesus Christ’s work in the church enough
to understand
the basic principles of discipleship,
but they had
resisted coming to
true faith and repentance
(2 Peter 2:17–20).
Like many religious people, they had intellectual knowledge
about Jesus but not
heart-level, experiential knowledge that would cause them
to fully surrender their lives in obedience
to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
(see Romans 10:1–4).
They refused to obey Christ’s command:
“If anyone wants to follow after me,
let him deny himself,
take up his cross daily, and follow me”
(Luke 9:23, CSB).
Instead, they had gone back to their old sinful ways.
To illustrate, Peter cites Proverbs 26:11:
“As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool
repeats his folly”
Peter explains that these false prophets had
turned their backs on
“the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Peter 2:21, ESV),
which, in New Testament times, was
shorthand for the entire message of Scripture.
They had rejected the whole truth in God’s Word
from Old Testament to New,
including the
gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.
They had resumed their sin-filled way of life,
returning to what was
disgusting like a dog revisiting its vomit.
In today’s culture, dogs are beloved pets to most, but they were despised in the ancient world. Dogs roamed in packs, foraged food from rotting flesh and garbage, and were not regarded as pets. In the Old Testament, dogs were considered unclean, revolting, evil-doing scavengers
(Exodus 22:31; 1 Kings 14:11; 21:19, 23; Jeremiah 15:3; Psalm 22:16).
Jesus used dogs and pigs
as metaphors for
unholy people
who would
mock, reject, and blaspheme
The gospel
when presented to them
(Matthew 7:6; 15:26–27).
Paul also compared false prophets
who had infiltrated
the church to dogs, warning Christians
to “watch out for those dogs, those evildoers,
those mutilators of the flesh”
(Philippians 3:2)
Peter
seemed certain that
any attempt at reforming
these
false teachers
would be
a waste of time
He used disturbingly graphic language
to portray the
absolute depravity
of those
who reject
Jesus Christ
and then spend their lives
Trying to lead
the
Faithful Astray
These men
were like filthy pigs
wallowing
in the
mud or repulsive
dogs
eating their own vomit--
returning to what
is
disgusting and vile
(2 Peter 2:22).
This final comparison
is an
appropriate elaboration of
Peter’s earlier reference
to
false teachers
as
“brute beasts
made to be caught and destroyed”
who
“speak evil of the things
they
do not understand”
(2 Peter 2:12, NKJV).
The apostle’s final verdict was that they would
“utterly perish in their own corruption”
(2 Peter 2:12, NKJV).
These heretics were doomed for destruction.
In 2 Peter 1:5–11, the apostle teaches that
perseverance is essential
to the
Christian life
and a
mark of genuine faith
There will always be false prophets and false teachers
infiltrating Christ’s true body,
attempting to trip up
and deceive as many as possible
(Matthew 24:11, 24; Acts 20:29– 30; Galatians 1:6– 9; 1 Timothy 1:3–7; 1 John 2:18–19).
There will be individuals
who appear to be
true believers but are not
(Matthew 7:21–23; Jude 1:3–4). As a dog returns to his own vomit, there will be people in the church who “get tangled up and enslaved by sin again” (2 Peter 2:22, NLT).
But born-again believers
will not
return to the vomit of the past.
They will,
by the grace of God
and the power of the
Holy Spirit,
pursue a life of godliness
and are
guaranteed the reward of
eternal life
(Matthew 10:22; 24:12–13; John 15:4–10; Hebrews 3:14; 10:36–38; 2 Peter 3:11–18; 2 Timothy 4:7–8; James 1:12).
It has been said that longsuffering means
“suffering long.”
That is a good answer, but a better definition is needed. The word longsuffering in the Bible is made up of two Greek words meaning “long” and “temper”; literally, “long-tempered.” To be longsuffering, then, is to have self-restraint when one is stirred to anger. A longsuffering person does not immediately retaliate or punish; rather, he has a “long fuse” and patiently forbears. Longsuffering is associated with mercy (1 Peter 3:20) and hope (1 Thessalonians 1:3). It does not surrender to circumstances or succumb to trial.
God is the source of
long-suffering
because it is part of
His character
(Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18–20;
Psalm 86:15; Romans 2:4; 1 Peter 3:9; 2 Peter 3:15).
He is patient with sinners.
At the same time,
God’s long-suffering can come to an end,
as seen in the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis 18—19)
and the sending of Israel into captivity
(2 Kings 17:1–23; 24:17—25:30).
The believer
in
Jesus Christ receives
the
very life of God,
His divine nature
(2 Peter 1:4).
That life
produces certain characteristics
(fruit)
that
are displayed in the believer
as he obeys the
Holy Spirit
who
lives within him
One of those godly characteristics from Galatians 5:22–23
is “longsuffering.”
The word is
“patience”
in the New American Standard Bible.
Long-suffering is to be exhibited by all believers
(Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 1:11; 3:12).
Think how our lives would be affected if longsuffering were exhibited in individual relationships, family relationships, church relationships, and workplace relationships. The old nature can be very short-fused at times, and we tend to strike back against offenses with unkind words and unforgiving spirits. By obeying the Holy Spirit, the believer in Christ can say “no” to retaliation and exhibit a forgiving and longsuffering attitude.
As God is long suffering with us,
we can and must
be long-suffering with others
(Ephesians 4:30–32).
The ultimate example of God’s
long-suffering
is
His waiting for individuals
to
respond in faith
to
Jesus Christ
God is not willing that any should perish but that
all should come to repentance
(2 Peter 3:9).
Have you made that decision to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and that He rose again to provide forgiveness and eternal life?
If not, read Romans 10:9–13.
It is always important to study Bible verses in context, and it is especially true with 2 Peter 3:9, which reads, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (KJV). The second half of the verse, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” is frequently used to argue against the doctrine of election.
The context of 2 Peter 3:9
is a description of scoffers
who doubt that
Jesus
is going to return to judge the world
with
fire
(2 Peter 3:3–7).
The scoffers mock,
“Where is this coming?”
In verses 5–6, Peter reminds his readers that God previously destroyed the world with the flood in Noah’s time. In verse 7, Peter informs his readers that the present heavens and earth will be destroyed with fire. Peter then responds to a question he knew was on his readers’ minds, namely, “what is taking God so long?” In verse 8,
Peter tells his readers
that God is above and beyond the concept of time.
It may seem like we have been waiting a long time,
but, to God, it has been a blink of an eye.
Then, in verse 9, Peter explains why God has waited so long
(in our view of time).
It is God’s mercy that delays His judgment.
God is waiting to give more people the opportunity to repent.
Then, in the verses following verse 9,
Peter encourages his readers to live holy lives
in anticipation of the
fact that Jesus will one day return.
In context, 2 Peter 3:9
says that God is
delaying
His coming in judgment
in order to
give people further
opportunities to repent.
Some of the confusion regarding the meaning of 2 Peter 3:9
is the wording of the KJV translation:
“not willing that any should perish.”
Not willing
makes it sound as if God does
not allow any to perish.
However, in 17th-century English,
willing carried more
of an
idea of desire than of volition
The modern English translations of 2 Peter 3:9 render the same phrase
“not wanting”
“not wishing”
and
“does not want”
In no sense does 2 Peter 3:9 contradict the idea that God elects certain people to salvation. First, in context, election is not at all what the verse is talking about. Second, to interpret “not willing that any should perish” as “does not allow any to perish” results in the false doctrine of universalism.
But God can “not desire” anyone to perish
and still only elect some to salvation.
There is nothing incongruous about that.
God did not desire for sin to enter the world through the
fall of Adam and Eve, yet He allowed it.
In fact, it was part of His sovereign plan.
God did not desire His only begotten Son
to be betrayed,
brutally tortured, and murdered,
yet He allowed it.
This, too,
was part of God’s sovereign plan.
In the same way,
God does not desire anyone to perish. He desires all to come to repentance. At the same time, God recognizes that not everyone will come to repentance. It is undeniable that many will perish
(Matthew 7:13–14).
Rather than being a contradiction to 2 Peter 3:9, God’s electing and drawing of some to salvation is evidence that He truly does not desire people to perish. Were it not for election and the effectual calling of God, everyone would perish (John 6:44; Romans 8:29–30).
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