Chiangmai Christian Fellowship

Is God unjust because He only chooses some for salvation, and not all? By the standards of democratic society, perhaps it is unjust and unfair, but God does not operate by the ethics of modern society. God operates out of the very depth of His own being – based not on an external set of rules or codes, but based on His own character and nature. So then, all His choices and all His purposes are mov...

The preordained purpose of God stands firm and is certain – even in regard to Israel – because it is not dependent on us. God works it out by His own choosing and power, not based on the actions or decisions of people, but solely on the choice and action of God Himself. This is a hard reality for those of us who live in the democratic West – where our right to choose is ingrained in us from birth....

How do we feel about those who are lost? What is our heart toward those outside of our faith? All that Paul has said about the Gospel, raises many issues and questions about the place and future of Israel. Paul now turns to address those issues. But, it is not mere academics. He is deeply and personally troubled – grief stricken – over Israel’s rejection of the Gospel and of her Messiah. Everythin...

There is truly nothing that can or will stop God’s great love for us! By his love He has put us into right relationship and standing with Himself – that is by giving up His son. So no one can bring any charge to somehow disqualify us. Even suffering and hardship are in the end, no match for God’s love and serve to prove our love for God not diminish His love for us. But, we have become weak and sp...

This is the third word of encouragement to those who are suffering and facing hardships in life. It combines to some extent the first two – our great hope of glory, and the sense that God will accomplish His will for us. But, how can it be God’s will for us to suffer? If God is good how can His plans for us include hardship and even evil? The simple answer is that God, in His great Sovereign power...

Praying is one of those great mysteries of the Christian life we may never fully grasp. But, praise God he has sent a private coach to help us pray!

When things get tough and we suffer in this world, we can endure and have great hope, by living with great expectation - not about this life - but about the life we will live one day in our resurrected bodies in a restored universe where all creation fulfills it God ordained purpose to glorify Him.

Paul explains what the Gospel is in the book of Romans - that we have been made right with God through the work of Christ. A relationship with God has been made possible through the reconciling work of the Jesus. But, how are we now related to God? What are we to God, and what is He to us? This passage presents the astonishing truth that we are not merely subjects to a King, or slaves/servants to...

We are to put to death the deeds of the body, but not on our own – it is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. We do it, but by His power and enabling. So, what exactly does this look like? Paul explains further that this vital partnership with the Holy Spirit is one in which he leads us – like a commander leading His troops into the crucial battle we must win. The context of Romans 8 helps us see thre...

Apart from the Gospel we live life condemned by the law and sentenced to eternal death, and condemned by our own painful awareness of moral failure. The more determined we are to live up to our own expectations, the greater our sense of condemnation as we come to grips with the reality of our complete inability to be good. But, the Gospel changes all of that. There is no more condemnation – becaus...

What are we to expect of the Christian life? Is it supposed to be a continual struggle against sin, with seemingly little or no victory until Jesus finally returns and fixes everything? Or, has the work of Christ so changed us that we are to experience a new kind of life that is nothing like the old life we lived before. Some view this passage as a description of the normal Christian life – but wh...

The Gospel has made us slaves to obedience, but this a new kind of life – living by the new way of the Spirit not the old letter of the written law. The law cannot help us walk in obedience, or make us good people, for it stirs up our flesh to sinful desires. So, if we are not following laws and rules, what does obedience and right and holy living look like? How do we lead and govern ourselves and...

The law of Moses is a gift from God and it is a good gift. But, it did not bring out goodness in us. Instead it caused desire to spring to life and awaken a defiant and rebellious spirit. Therefore, the law cannot save, because sin will always use the law against us by the weakness of our own flesh. The flesh, sin, and law work to produce death in us – to kill us. But, it is still good, in that it...

In dying with Christ, we died to the old system of law – the system that obtained God’s blessing and approval by compliance with the written code. That system did not work, because of the weakness of our human nature. We are no longer obligation to the law, rather we belong to Christ – we now live by relationship with Him rather than rules.

One could argue that we can now sin because we are no longer under law, but under grace - all things are lawful . . . Paul argues against this logic on the grounds that we are in bondage to whatever we obey. We will be a slave to something - we vote by what serve through obedience. So, who do you want to serve?

Through the Cross and the resurrection of Jesus, we are not only dead to sin, but we are alive to God. To be set free from sin, we must both turn away from sin, and turn to God. Until we come to God and experience life with Him, it is difficult to let go of sin. We are hungry for something – for God and the living water, but we have sought to satisfy that hunger for so long through sin we are cert...

Living the new life, ruled by Grace, is a joint effort – God has done all that is necessary to overcome sin, through the cross. In that sense, it is not up to us to overcome sin on our own. Just like salvation, it is a work of Christ accomplished through His death and resurrection. But, we also have our part in it. We do not automatically give up on sin – there are steps we must take as well.

There are no guarantees that we will live to see tomorrow. How do we prepare for the day of our departure?

God’s grace is so extreme and abundant, that it completely removes from us all condemnation and guilt – So, sin doesn’t really matter then – right? This doesn’t seem right, and many Christians double the efforts to enforce a strict moral code with the fear that this idea of grace will open the door to a completely prodigal life!! But, we are no longer ruled by sin and death (or law), we are now ru...

The story of the Prodigal Son is one of the most important and significant parables of Jesus. This is an excellent reminder of Jesus most important teachings!

Adam’s one act of disobedience had an enormous impact on all of God’s creation, bringing sin and death upon all his descendants. How much greater is Jesus one act of obedience to overcome what Adam had done, because God’s grace is so much greater – super abounding, overflowing with generous abundance. This grace is available to any – to as many – as will receive it. Therefore, if we are truly thos...

The Basis of our hope is the extreme love of God. We exult on the hope of the Glory of God (vs 3). The basis for this confident expectation is God’s love, poured out in our hearts, and demonstrated in the most remarkable way – when we were His enemies and the objects of His wrath, he sent His son as a sacrifice for our sin, to make us right with Himself. If He would love us as enemies with such ex...

We are made right with God by faith – declared righteous and now have the right to stand before God and not be condemned. This changes everything – its implications are far reaching. In what ways has life changed for us as a result of our being justified by faith? It has dramatically changed our relationship with God, our outlook on the future, our attitude toward hardship, and our current experie...

Abraham gives us the first and foundational example of what it means to walk by faith. He is truly the father of all who follow in his footsteps.

It is important to measure things - to see how we are doing. But, we need to be sure we are measuring the right things, or we will end up with the wrong idea of how we are doing! How do you measure up?