Living in Liberty

A Ministry of Bryce Lowance

Elder Bryce Lowrance

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The Salvation of Belief

27 March 2015

"Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:1-4)

We have been discussing the fact that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. What Jesus meant by this is that our personal obedience is not sufficient to merit a place in eternal glory. It is Christ's righteousness counted to us that justifies us for heaven.

This passage from the Roman letter shows the proper emphasis and importance of belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul is praying for children of God among his natural Israelite brethren. Remember, he told us in Romans 9:6 that he uses the term "Israel" in reference to God's elect not natural Israelites. Paul is not referring to Scribes and Pharisees in this passage.

These people have a zeal to serve God but they have embraced a false doctrine that teaches they must work to gain merit for heaven. Paul prays for their salvation from this ignorance. They have placed themselves in a bondage of works that can never be satisfied. This is very similar to many of the works/ceremony based systems in modern Chrisitanity as well as the perseverance systems that require men to maintain righteousness.

Those that truly trust Jesus as their sovereign Savior do not cause their own personal eternal salvation to become effective but they are saved in a gospel sense. They are made free from a system of doing works to get or maintain the favor of God. For these, Christ has become the "end of the law for righteousness." They are now at Liberty to do,good works out of thankfulness because of sovereign grace.

Believers in the sovereign Savior feel the freedom Paul teaches us in Romans 8:

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:2, 15)

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Tags: harmony_of_the_gospels, jusitification, righteousness, romans

Welcome

Brentwood Hills Primitive Baptist Church is a community of believers working together to transform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ. We believe it is our duty and privilege to live the gospel of the doctrines of grace in such a way as to edify the families within our church and other children of God in our community. Through regular worship based on strong Biblical principles, fellowship, admonishment, and outreach, we glory in the grace of the sovereign God working in our lives thereby showing the Spirit of God in the world.

Brentwood Hills was organized in 1906 in Fort Worth, Texas as Laodicea Primitive Baptist Church. You can find much of the history of the church, as well as other churches here: Primitive Baptist History Database

We identify ourselves as an old-line Primitive Baptist church. If you read our Articles of Faith, you’ll see that we hold to such doctrines as the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. We recognize the King James Version (KJV) as the only English translation worthy of being called the Bible. We believe in salvation solely by the grace of a sovereign God. We believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to the earth to do the will of His Father, which was to deliver from the sentence of death all those the Father gave Him before the world began. We believe that Jesus fully satisfied the Father by atoning for all the sins of all His people. In time, we believe the Holy Spirit comes to each person that belongs to Jesus and regenerates them. Then (and only then) can anyone have faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit, by which you are able to believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not you ever hear the gospel, or believe it if you did hear it, or obey it if you did believe it, rest assured that Jesus will remain forever faithful to you because, if He died for you, He will never deny that you belong to Him.

We believe that everyone for whom Christ died will without fail be raised again from the dead to a glorified life. Even if we are alive when He returns to raise the dead, we shall be changed to a glorified life. All the Redeemed will meet the Lord in the air. Then He will take us to Heaven and there we shall forever be with the Lord. The wicked will be raised at the same time as the righteous, but the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment along with Satan and his angels. Until that glorious day when Christ returns to raise the dead, He has provided a place for His people to find rest for their souls. This place is the Church. Jesus Christ set-up His church on this earth before His death on the Cross. The church is there for those of His people who have come to believe that God saved them by His Son, Jesus Christ. To believe that Christ “paid it all” gives believers the strongest motivation to serve Him. Once enlightened to this glorious truth, then the child of God should feel an obligation to become and remain an active member of the His church. To serve the Lord in His church makes for one of the great blessings to experience this side of Heaven. It fulfills you to serve in His church and it gives your life purpose and meaning.