Grace and peace today Dear Hearts ❤ This morning I was reminded of three basic tenents of our faith. So…someone may ask, “what is the meaning of Tenent?”
- tenet • \TEN-ut\ • noun. : a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true; especially : one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession.
Another often asked question, “what are 3 tenets of Christianity?”
- The divine Godhead consists of three parts: the father (God himself), the son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. The essence of Christianity revolves around the life, death and the Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe God sent his son Jesus, the messiah, to save the world.
In today’s post I want to look at three more tenets (or principles) Christians simply cannot overlook. They are forgive, forget and focus.
I believe first Jesus and then Apostle Paul clearly laid these out for us in the Word. I also believe, under the influence of today’s religious teaching, we’ve missed some of them.
Before anything else, we must FORGIVE. As Jesus taught us to pray, we are told forgive, as we have been forgiven.
“Give us today the food we need,
Matthew 6:11-13 New Living Translation
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
That’s pretty clear and very straightforward — forgive AS you are forgiven.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
Psalm 103:2-5 Revised Standard Version
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live[a]
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
All means ALL, and Jesus says AS we are forgiven.
Secondly, following my line of reasoning, we are to FORGET what lies behind.
As a prisoner, the Apostle Paul wrote to his beloved Philippian community, offering warnings and encouragement. He tells them of his personal testimony both before and after meeting Christ decades before, and he clearly states his goal going forward.
“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:8-11 Revised Standard Version
Then this great man of God, the author of much of what we now know as the “new covenant”, lays out his own point of view concerning the way we Christians must go forward.
I honestly believe these few words, found in Philippians 3:13-14 are intended as Tenents, or principles, of what it means to BE Christians.
one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 New International Version
Now it’s easy enough to start thinking, “but you don’t understand what’ happened. You don’t know what they did to me.”
I suggest going back and re-reading verses 4-7 of Philippians 3. If you think you can’t forget and move forward check out Paul’s earlier letter to the community in Corinth:
Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes( minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.
2 Corinthians 11:21-26 New International Version
And yet, he tells us to forget what lies behind, and press on. In the Message Bible I found the third Tenent for today’s thoughts.
So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.
Philippians 3:15-16 The Message Bible
Let’s keep our FOCUS.
Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.
Contentment Cottage 