Copyright 2015 J. Neely
Psalm 37:22
22 For such as be blessed [barak] of him shall inherit [yarash] the earth ['erets]; and they that be
cursed [qalal] of him shall be cut off [karath]. KJV-Interlinear
22 for those blessed by the LORD shall
inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. ESV
This verse is
intended to open up ones thinking regarding life. For life is a very serious matter, in that
what one thinks and how one conducts himself, ultimately determines ones life
now as well as ones eternal future.
You either have
Gods favor or you do not.
And it is the fool
who presumes that he has Gods favor, without checking or verifying what Gods
favor is, how one obtains Gods favor and then whether or not you have done that
which is necessary in order to have Gods favor.
Gods favor
determines your future.
You are the
recipient of Gods blessing or, you are the recipient of Gods cursing. And obviously it is important to know of
which, you are the recipient.
Blessed, ‘barak,’
means to invoke divine favor, positive disposition or action toward a
recipient.
Inherit, ‘yarash,’
to obtain ownership by means of a legal right, as an heir, from someone who has
died.
Cursed, ‘qalal,’
to have divine harm, judgment or discipline invoked toward a recipient.
There are three
levels of Gods favor, or grace as we often times refer to it.
Common grace
applies to all people, whether believer of unbeliever. We all receive the benefits of the laws of
divine establishment, we all receive the benefits of the resources of this
planet. We can all marry and have
children and families if we choose that for ourselves, and so forth.
Common grace provides
fundamental standards and applies to everyone, and is designed to sustain
humanity in history, in an environment that is separate and apart from the
jungle laws that exist when there is no standard by which to live.
Salvation grace is
the second level of grace or favor.
Salvation grace applies to believers in Christ only.
Everyone who has
believed in Christ, is saved and their destiny for eternity is heaven.
Every believer will
be resurrected one day, and will receive a resurrection body.
Every believer has
the privilege of prayer.
Every believer has
the option to live in fellowship.
Confession is required to do that.
Every believer has
the right and the opportunity to advance in their spiritual life, but that is only
the opportunity. Each believer has to
choose and make daily choices to study and thus advance in their spiritual
life.
And every believer
has the privilege of standing in front of the Lord for their evaluation and
reward, when that time comes.
Then there is the
last level of grace, which in the book of James is called greater grace.
This is the special
favor allotted to the mature believer.
When one is
obedient to Gods mandates and therefore studies daily, learns, understands,
uses doctrine and is productive in their daily life, and thus advances in their
spiritual life, then the door of blessings opens up wider and wider.
That does not mean
that life in this world will be better.
It is the devils world. But it
does mean that the individual will enter into a spiritual realm that is the
fulfillment of their life, the completion of their life, and ultimately the qualification
of them for phenomenal rewards when they stand before Christ in their
evaluation, known as the Judgment Seat of Christ. Which, by the way, is a good place to be.
The saved person will
receive infinitely greater blessing than the unbeliever. Heaven is infinitely greater than the Lake of
Fire.
The mature
believer will receive infinitely greater blessing than the immature
believer. Growing up is far better than
not growing up.
Now, the only
difference between all of these is your decision or decisions.
As far as salvation
goes there is only one decision to make, to believe in Christ.
As far as
spiritual maturity goes, there are many decisions to make throughout your
entire life. To confess, to study, to be
taught, to pray, to learn, to utilize productively, to be responsible and so
forth.
And what is at
stake?
Your eternal
future. Your inheritance or lack of
it. Your reward or lack of it.
But, in every
case, you have to genuinely want Gods favor, and then do according to Gods
will, in order to obtain it.
These
studies are a part of the massive daily study web site at DailyBibeStudy.Org,
and are written, so that you can come to Christ if you have not done so
already, and therefore not be lost forever.
And
if you have already believed in Christ, then these studies are written so you
can learn and understand and grow in your spiritual life, so that you can come
to the full knowledge of Christ, so that you can fulfill your meaning and
purpose in life as God intended for you, and so you can qualify for a
phenomenal eternal reward which you will have forever. To ignore this opportunity to pursue a daily
study means you will be incomplete, unfulfilled and you will lose out, big
time.
The
Daily Bible Study is online, making it possible as never before in all of human
history, to advance in ones relationship with God, through Christ, and to
complete yourself beyond your imagination.
But
you have to decide to make that commitment.
No one else can study for you.
You have to do that yourself.
