Christian Author and Pastor Ron Craig
Since all of the benefits of the New Testament (God’s LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT) were invested in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, which has been SAFELY DEPOSITED in heaven (on the altar in the Holy of Holies—Hebrews 9:12), they cannot be altered in any way. No benefit can be added to the New Covenant, and no benefit can be deleted from the New Covenant. Moreover, God always backs whatever is included in the New Covenant 100% of the time until Jesus Christ returns. Thus, we must establish at least two things about that New Covenant (equivalent to the New Testament): What benefits are available to ALL who are under the New Covenant, and what we must do to obtain those benefits. Grocery items being lined up on grocery store shelves will not put them on our table.
We have to go get them. And, we have to get them legally and ethically or go to jail. You might temporarily get away with stealing in this realm, but that does not work with New Testament benefits. Remember, Jesus Christ said thieves cannot break into heaven (Matthew 6:20)! There is a RIGHT way to obtain the benefits which the Lord purchased for us by His sacrifice, and that right way is the ONLY way. Nothing else will work. Plus, we have both to know what those benefits are, and desire those benefits. Of course, I cannot believe anyone would not desire the benefits, once they know what the benefits are; and that they really are BENEFITS! So, that is where we will begin. We will have to be concise in these articles, but the Bible truths will be many, deep and thick.
Our primary benefit has to do with who we were and who we now are—BEING, yes, BEING! Being born again, we are NOT who we used to be. We are NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST. OLD THINGS (of OUR PAST life) HAVE PASSED AWAY. Which is why we BURY that old self (symbolically) by water baptism. AND ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW IN CHRIST. FINALLY, ALL OF THOSE NEW THINGS ARE OF GOD (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)! So according to Paul in that passage, there is NO room for the devil, sin, the curse, our old selfish lifestyle, or any other hateful thing. Will we believe what the Holy Scriptures say, or what the world, the devil or religion tells us? Jesus said we are not of this world (John 17:14-16), and Paul commanded us to give no place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). Sin used to be the very center of our lives (whether or not we believers realize that Bible truth, or are willing to admit it). But now, sin has NO dominion over us, for we are NOT under the law (Romans 6:14). Again, will we believe Scripture or some other source of information? Anything which contradicts God’s Word is from the devil. Religion has the tendency to attempt to adjust Bible truth to human experiences—Hence, interpretation of the Bible—which, you will remember, is forbidden by the Bible itself (2 Peter 2:20-21). The whole idea of Scripture is to believe God’s Word and act on it until our experiences are brought into line with the promises of the Bible. That is what Abraham did, and he is called the father of the faith (Romans 4:16). Jesus Christ miraculously changes us!
(If you are not a committed member of some other Christian fellowship, you are invited to visit Living Way Fellowship at 2041 County Road 73, in Killen area. From Killen, going north on US 43, turn right on County Road 73 and go 2 and 1/2 miles. We are on the right. You can’t miss the sign out front—Living Way Fellowship. Sunday 10:00 A.M., Wednesday 7:00 P.M. Ron Craig is the pastor, teacher and Christian book author. Contact us at ronwritercraig@gmail.com, or log onto our church website at www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged on our website, check out my books and audio podcasts. Wouldn’t hurt!)
