by Stuart Briscoe, Assistant International Director of Torchbearers Fellowship, Capernwray Hall, England
THE RECONCILED LIFE
through the activity of a mediator, someone who came in between, it was possible for the two of them to be brought back together or to be reconciled. The Bible teaches us that God and man are intended to live in commun ion with each other. Their relation ship is to be so close and intimate that God enjoys man and man enjoys God. But man has wandered away from and rebelled against God. Be cause of sin, man has been con demned. As a result, there is a great gulf fixed. The good news is simply that it is possible for people who have been willfully rebellious and sin ful to be brought back into that per fect relationship with God which they were created to enjoy. The only way this spiritual reconciliation can take place is through a Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only begot ten Son.
I T has been A thrill for me in re cent days to spend time studying the wonderful epistle of Romans. Martin Luther referred to it as “the chief book of the New Testament.” Of course, it was through reading these chapters that the Spirit of God revealed the victorious message to him, “the just shall live by faith” alone. One of the church fathers in sisted that the epistle be read to him in its entirety every week of his life. No wonder it has been called “the profoundest book in existence.” Most of the great revivals down through the years to some degree found their center in an expositional ministry of this important portion of God’s Word. Anyone will find great inspiration and challenge for his own life as he takes time to study the chapters and verses. While there are many wonderful truths given here, the one I want to emphasize is the application of truth to the Christian life. First of all, an absolutely basic fact is delineated for us in Romans 5:10, 11, “For if, when we were enemies, we were re conciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (reconciliation). Previ ous chapters reveal the universality of sin and the judgment of God. All the world stands guilty before Him. Yet the Lord, in sovereign grace, reaches out towards those who are sinners to bring them back, through divine love, to Himself. Reconciliation is a term we fre quently hear when estranged married couples try to come together again. Two people who really belonged to gether, drifted apart. Generally,
Mr. D. Stuart Briscoe(center), associate gen eral director of the Torchbearer's Missionary Fellowship, Lancashire, England, hasthe oppor tunity for fellowship with Dr. NicholasKur- taneck (right), member of the Biola Colege faculty, and Mr. Rick Miller, new adition to the staff comingas supervisor of the Data Processing Division. Mr. Briscoewas not only featured at the Biola conferences this year, but also broughtthe Spiritual Emphasis Week challenge to the students of Biola College.
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