Jeremiah didn’t preach Grace

The prophesies of Jeremiah are some of the most wrath-filled in the Bible. He definitely wasn’t preaching a gospel of grace. For those who ignore or mis-understand Jesus in the New Testament, it’s easy to see why they might believe in “works righteousness.”

Praise God for Jesus! I don’t want “the judgement my actions deserve.” I want to confess my sins to Christ and have Him present me to the Father. My works are not and never will be good enough to earn a place in the Kingdom of heaven. As a sinner (which Jeremiah does point out clearly in the verse before this one) my only hope is Christ. I can’t work to earn God’s favor. I strive to do good works which God has called me to accomplish, but I don’t put my faith in those works to save me before the judgement of God.

Jeremiah 17:10 NLT

“But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.””

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Jer17.10.NLT

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Circumcision of the Heart

Paul was not the first Biblical writer to point out God is most interested in the condition of our hearts, much more than our success in following prescribed rituals.

Jeremiah 9:25-26 NLT

““A time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit— the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live in the desert in remote places, and yes, even the people of Judah. And like all these pagan nations, the people of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts.””

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Jer9.25.NLT

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Lovers of God Do Not Hate Brothers & Sisters

Whenever we hear someone use the word “hate” we should pay attention. We are called to hate sin but NOT hate other human beings. We operationalize our faith in and devotion to God through our love for Him and others.

1 John 4:20-21 NLT

“If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/1John4.20.NLT

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Faith is what counts

“It’s all about faith,” says the apostle Paul.

Philippians 3:7, 8 NLT

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Phil3.7.NLT

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