"And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, 'The way of holiness.' The unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for the [redeemed]: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." Isaiah 35:8
There is a reality to the truth of Paul's saying, "We are more than conqueror," that Christians do not live in. To be "more than a conqueror" means to be past the ability of a conqueror to conquer, viz., to be unconquerable. Through God in Christ ("through Him that loved us," Romans 8:37), there is no foe that can beat us, there is no way for us to lose. "If God be for us, who can be against us," carries the weight of this truth. Victory is not something we are striving to obtain; it is forever ours in Christ. At all times, we are victors.
"The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." Even without a sharp mind, or with a disposition given to foolish behavior, once you are set upon the way of holiness, there is no going astray. You are forever the redeemed (vs. 9). The true power of the grace of God is that He brings you into the way of holiness and He keeps you there. You can never lose in the spiritual realm, for the condemnation of Sin is gone. That is freedom.
It is true that, though we are free, we should not behave foolishly because we are free, because Sin has no meaning for us anymore (Roman 6:1, 2). However, get the freedom in your mind first: though you be a fool (a poor, broken fool), God's grace guarantees that you can never go astray on the way of holiness.
The Road goes ever on and on,
Dow from the door where it began,
And never shall I leave that Way,
For I am kept by Grace alone...
(adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien)
-Jon Vowell
There is a reality to the truth of Paul's saying, "We are more than conqueror," that Christians do not live in. To be "more than a conqueror" means to be past the ability of a conqueror to conquer, viz., to be unconquerable. Through God in Christ ("through Him that loved us," Romans 8:37), there is no foe that can beat us, there is no way for us to lose. "If God be for us, who can be against us," carries the weight of this truth. Victory is not something we are striving to obtain; it is forever ours in Christ. At all times, we are victors.
"The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." Even without a sharp mind, or with a disposition given to foolish behavior, once you are set upon the way of holiness, there is no going astray. You are forever the redeemed (vs. 9). The true power of the grace of God is that He brings you into the way of holiness and He keeps you there. You can never lose in the spiritual realm, for the condemnation of Sin is gone. That is freedom.
It is true that, though we are free, we should not behave foolishly because we are free, because Sin has no meaning for us anymore (Roman 6:1, 2). However, get the freedom in your mind first: though you be a fool (a poor, broken fool), God's grace guarantees that you can never go astray on the way of holiness.
The Road goes ever on and on,
Dow from the door where it began,
And never shall I leave that Way,
For I am kept by Grace alone...
(adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien)
-Jon Vowell
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