From Foundation to Perfection
From Foundation to Perfection
Copyright ©2015 by Ayodele Ajileye
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be copied or
reprinted for commercial gain or profit.
The use of short quotations or occasional page
copying for personal use is permitted and encouraged.
Permission will be granted on request.
All correspondence to
Ayodele Ajileye
+2348069837333
Unless otherwise stated, all scriptural references are taken from the New Living Translation of the bible. Italics in scriptures are for emphasis only.
Dedication
To everyone who desires to grow in the new life in Christ that God calls us into.
Table of Content
Table of contents
Introduction
- Repentance
- Faith
- Baptism
- Laying on of hand
- Resurrection
- Eternal judgment
- The wilderness
- Perfection
- Establishment
- Strengthening
- Settlement
The simultaneous equation
Acknowledgement
About the Author
Introduction
Introduction
Many things go wrong when the basics are not in place. The foundation is very important in anything that will stand and fulfill purpose. You have probably wondered if the Christian life you now see is what Christ called us into. Perhaps, like me, you are also wondering what went wrong.
If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11:3 NKJV
Well, the foundations went wrong. The foundation of the lifestyle that God calls us into has been compromised and destroyed. And until we go back to the foundation and put things in order, the deviation of the Christian life from the life of Christ will continue to broaden.
Perhaps, you have heard some people trying to differentiate genuine Christians with the phrase “born again Christian”. The word Christian means a person who belongs to Christ. And you cannot belong to Christ if you are not born again. So, the phrase “born again Christian” does not exist. It is either a person belongs to Christ or he does not.
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19 NKJV
This means that the foundation laid down by God is not destroyed. And God know those whose lives are planted on His foundation because they depart from sin. So, if God’s foundation is still intact, then it means that people are not founded on God’s foundation. This is why there are so many inconsistencies in the lives of many Christians. The citizens of Antioch saw a common ground in the first church and that common ground was that, regardless of diversity, temperament, social class and race, the life of Christ could still be seen in every believer. It was so evident that they had to name them “Christians”.
May be you have also wondered why many children of God are not growing into sons of God yet they have been given the power to be called the sons of God (John 1:12). God has given the power for His Children to be called son, but it is up to a child to use the power and really become a son. So, why is there no growth? If the root of a plant is missing, then growth is impossible. Unless a plant develops roots, it will not grow and eventually, it dies. It will die because growth is one of the characteristics of living things. Many children of God are aging but are not growing and this is only possible because they are not drawing the necessary nutrients from the soil – the Rock – God who is the solid foundation.
What can the righteous do? The righteous can do what is right. When the righteous realizes that the foundations are destroyed, he should repair it if possible or else tear down the structure, lay the foundation and rebuild. My pastor, Jumoke Ajire, never stops to remind me that it is never too late to start over no matter how far you have gone wrong. How far you have gone does not right a wrong. And no matter what has been invested into a structure, if the foundation is bad, the whole structure is bad.
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “…and on this rock will I build My church…” Matthew 16:16&18 NKJV
Jesus said that there is a rock on which He will build His church. His church is His alone to build, but He builds it on a rock that serves as the foundation so that His church can draw all that is needed for strength, sustenance and increase in all wise.
Therefore, let’s get started, even if it is all over again, on the right foot.
So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. Hebrew 6:1-3
So, there sure are foundations that have to be put in place. These foundations according to Hebrews 6:1-3 are – the foundation of repentance from dead work, the foundation of faith toward God, the foundational teaching on baptism, the foundational teaching on laying on of hand, the foundational teaching on resurrection and the foundational teaching on eternal judgment. If anyone must get it right in his life in Christ, then these foundations must be understood and be in place.
My dear, I’d really love that you allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart through this book as you set the foundations of your life in Christ right. I’m not about to give you some theory, it is what God is still dealing with me on. I’m growing and it will be better if you also grow in Christ. Don’t just read, meditate and apply to your life.
God with you.
Repentance
Repentance
Repentance is a positive response to a conviction.
Repentance is a remorseful acknowledgement of a wrong deed or lifestyle and a turning away from the wrong deed or lifestyle. This is complete repentance – there must be a conviction and it must lead to a different – better – way of life. People are not repented when they do not admit their wrong. Stopping a wrong act is not enough because people can stop an act by giving excuses why they have do away with it; they give reasons why they turn a new leaf without calling the wrong what it really is. Complete repentance has to come through conviction.
Conviction is a strong believe that needs no further prove. When you are convicted of a thing, you know what you know with great certainty. Knowledge leads to acknowledgement and acknowledgement leads to actions with respect to what is acknowledged. So, repentance is knowing what needs to be repented from, acknowledging that it is wrong and deciding on a better way of life.
Before you go on presuming that I’m actually talking about named “sin” like lying, adultery, theft, and so on, whenever I refer to doing something wrong, let me explain what is wrong.
Good is not the same as right. Everything that God created is good, the use of it is what make right or wrong. David killed Goliath and he was celebrated, yet when he killed Uriah, he was crucified for doing that. What went wrong? What made one act of killing appropriate and the other unacceptable? David’s reason for killing was not good in the case of Uriah as oppose that of Goliath. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was part of what God looked at and remarked that everything was good. However, Adam and Eve eating from the tree when they have been instructed not to eat from the tree made it wrong. Conviction is when light beams on a thing to reveal its true nature and what is right to be done by it.
Repentance as a foundation in our walk with God is one that turns people away from sin (evil nature and deeds) – and all unrighteousness is sin. Righteousness is being in good terms with God – in right standing with God. This means that everything that does not put a person in right standing with God is sin and it has to be repented from.
He cuts every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. John 15:2
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12
Many will say, like the young rich man that came to Jesus in Matthew 19:16-22, that they have kept all the law and there is no fault in them, so there is no need for repentance. However, the fact that a thing is good does not make it right; it has to be at the right time, with the right person, at the right place and so on – a lot of things have to be right by God for a thing to be truly right. As good as eating is, it will be wrong at the wrong time. Remember, it is righteousness not goodness. So, when God prunes (convicts), we need to repent from what we have been convicted of. That a thing it is useful to another child of God does not make it useful for you; all that matters is if God approves or disapproves it at the moment or at all. This also means that the fact that God approved or disapproved something sometimes ago does not make it approved or disapproved for you now.
See, I used to think I was good. I was not practicing any of the ‘ceremonial evil’ that were mentioned; no lies, no fornication, no stealing and so on. But I was not right with God; I was not yoked to Him and so I lived just as I felt good or right as the case may be. This continued until God showed me the real me and what He wants from me. He brought these words to my heart – “I’ve journeyed in life aimlessly, thinking I know where I am going. But now I realize that You’re the one I need to know.” That day I saw how foolish I’ve been. There and then I repented. And this happens over and over again whenever He shows me how differently I’ve been operating outside His will. Remember, anything outside His will is unrighteousness.
But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. John 16:7-8
God relating with our spirits through His Holy Spirit will convict us of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.
Of sin, because they do not believe in Me; John 16:9 NKJV
But he who doubt is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. Romans 14:23 NKJV
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. John 3:16-18
The conviction of sin is a question of faith – of whether or not you believe Christ who is the Son of God and the word of God.
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Texte: Copyright ©2015 by Ayodele Ajileye
Cover: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal use is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted on request.
Satz: All correspondence to Ayodele Ajileye +2348069837333 ayodeleajileye4@gmail.com www.shakersandchangers.com
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 29.12.2019
ISBN: 978-3-7487-2477-3
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