God's Sovereign Grace in Conversion

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. (Act 13:48 ESV)

Schreiner comments:

Luke does not write that those who believed were appointed to eternal life, but rather that those who were appointed by God to experience eternal life subsequently believed.  He thereby underlines God's grace that secures the response of belief in the hearts of Gentiles.  New Testament Theology, p. 140; italics mine.

The Daily Tension Between the Already and Not Yet

Here is another quote from Schreiner's New Testament Theology which further explains the tension of the age we live in that I quoted earlier in the blog on New Creation:

Christians live in, so to speak, the "twilight zone," for they have  experienced the saving power of the age to come, and yet they still reside in the present evil age.  Even now Jesus reigns, but the consummation of his rule and the destruction of every enemy have not yet occurred (Eph. 1:21; 1 Cor 15:26-28).  Because of the cross of Christ believers are a new creation (Gal 1:4; 2 Cor 5:17), and yet the redemption that they enjoy (Rom. 3:24) is not yet completed, for they endure the anguish of death and await the redemption of the body (Rom 8:23); cf. Eph. 1:14).  In the meantime, as believers inhabit the interval between the inauguration and consummation, they must resist the blandishments of this world (Rom 12:2).  The world allures and captivates even those who have the first fruits of the Spirit, but those in whom the Spirit dwells must surmount fleshly desires and live in the realm of the Spirit (Rom 8:13).  p. 98-99.

Why the Pharisees Kept the Law Meticulously

This passage in Schreiner gave me an insight into the reason why the Jews pursued meticulous adherence to the law that I had not considered before.
"The Qumran community and the Pharisees believed that if the Torah were kept more faithfully, God would fulfill his promises.  Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord because it repeatedly sinned and violated his law.  Hence, they urged rigorous and meticulous observance of the ways of the Lord.  By way of contrast, Jesus called on the people to repent and to recognize that God had sent him.  The focus is not on the Torah but on Jesus himself and a right relation with him.  What Jesus call for was, in one sense, stunningly simple, but it was also remarkably different from the views of his contemporaries, and so opposition arose.    Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology, p. 52, Italics mine. 

The Struggle we Still Face as a New Creation in Christ.

The present world is still corrupted and awaits its full transformation (Rom 8:18-25).  Believers, then are a new creation in an old world.  But the reality is even more complex, for even though believers are new persons in Christ, in that the old person - the old Adam - was crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6; Col 3:9-10), they still put off the old person and put on the new (Eph. 4:22-24).  As Rom. 13:14 says, they must "put on the Lord Jesus Christ."  Believers await not only a transformed world but also their own final transformation." - Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology, p. 32.

Foundational Truths Necessary for Sharing the Gospel

Found this at Multiply here. 

Foundational Truth 1: The gospel is not popular. “…but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles…”(1 Cor. 1:23). We need to recover a Christian world-view that understands that, in some way, the gospel will be rejected as offensive, foolish, or both to everyone who has either not been born again by the Spirit of God, or who does not have the Spirit already beginning the miracle of the new birth within them. We shouldn’t be surprised by the fact that we could share this good news in the most perfect way possible and still be rejected apart from the Spirit’s work in our sharing and in their hearts.

Foundational Truth 2: We must be dependent through prayer. “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people…This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Pray. This is the next logical step that flows from the last truth. We are dependent upon our Father to change the hearts of those around us, through the work of his Spirit, from hearts that see the gospel as foolish and offensive to hearts that see the gospel as wise and precious. What might happen if we joined the Father in what he is already doing by being a people desperate in prayer everyday for those around us who desperately need Jesus?

Foundational Truth 3: We must be walking in love. “...walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…” (Eph. 5:2). We must love the people we are engaging. This may seem obvious, but loving sacrificially is essential. If the person in front of you doesn’t feel like you care enough for them to sacrifice time, money, pride, etc., then how do you expect them to believe that Jesus cared enough to have sacrificed his own life so they could live? We are the living witnesses to the life of Christ. We model the suffering servant who sacrificially loved us, by sacrificially loving others so that our lives would affirm our mouths in sharing the gospel. Otherwise, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-2, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” Without love for the person in front of you, your words are about as good a noisy gong that no one wants to listen to.

Foundational Truth 4: We must be listening. “…be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…” (Jas. 1:19). Because the gospel is rejected as either foolish or offensive, we sometimes get into situations where we become frustrated, which can then lead to an argument. James offers this needed admonition in our day. Listen! Listen! Listen! Did you hear that? If not, then listen some more! Speaking is obviously an essential part of sharing the gospel, but before we speak, let us first humbly listen. Ask questions that will allow the other person to do most of the talking. Being genuinely interested in someone else’s life not only shows them that you love and care for them, but it also maps out where all of the land mines are in the field of their life so that you can navigate around them to get to their heavily guarded heart with the good news. We don’t want any unnecessary casualties on the battlefield of evangelism. Remember that the gospel of Jesus is always relevant, but never relative. Knowing your audience enables you to see how the unchanging truth of the gospel is relevant to them personally.

Again, this list is not exhaustive when it comes to sharing the gospel. No one formula is going to fit every person in every situation, but these foundational truths should inform any approach to discipleship as we seek to be both loving and faithful as we share the message of the gospel.

The Nature of Sin

Most conceive of sin in terms of failing to do what is mandated, and Paul certainly agrees.  Fundamentally, however, sin exists when people fail to thank and glorify God (Rom. 1:21).  The root sin consists in worshipping and serving the creature rather than the creator (Rom. 1:25).  All the discrete acts of sin, are a consequence of failing to honor and give thanks to God (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28).  Paul indicts his fellow Jews as sinners because their actions have caused unbelievers to revile God's name (Rom. 2:24).  The behavior of the Jews is heinous because it casts a stain upon God's name.  The sins recorded in Rom 3:10-18 culminate with the rationale behind them all: the failure to fear God (Rom. 3:18).   Schreiner, New Testament Theology, p. 144-145.

The Already and Not Yet Dimensions of Salvation.

All of God's saving works of God in Christ are eschatological (ie future) gifts.  The declaration that people are righteous during the present time indicates that God's end-time verdict has now been pronounced ahead of the last day, and it will be declared to the whole world on the day of judgement (cf. Rom. 5:1; 8:33-34; Gal 5:5).  Salvation is fundamentally eschatological because it represents deliverance from God's wrath on the final day (Tom 5:9; 1 Thes. 1:10; 5:9).  And yet that salvation belongs now to those who believe in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9), so that the gift of the end time belongs to believers during the present evil age.  Now is the time of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2), so that God's eschatological promises have penetrated a world that has not been transformed.  So too redemption will be the portion of believers when their bodies are redeemed and made whole (Rom 8:23; Eph. 1:14).  And yet are now redeemed and forgiven through the blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14).  - Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology, p. 30-31.