How to Be Blessed

Everyone is either blessed or cursed, according to the Bible. To be cursed is to be cut off from the blessing of God. He wants to bless all nations (Galatians 3:8). The Bible makes it clear how God blesses people. The blessing comes through covenant. God makes promises with an oath to bless all who are in a covenant relationship with him.

Be blessed in our Lord Jesus Christ. He took the curse of our sin at the cross, that we may receive the covenant blessing. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus proves that God the Father accepted his sacrifice for our sins. "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). On the cross Jesus took the curse of our sins.

Be blessed by faith in Christ. We receive the covenant blessing the same way Abraham did, by faith alone (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:1-4). God blessed Abraham in all things (Genesis 24:1). "So then those of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham" (Galatians 3:9). God made covenant with Abraham to bless all nations through his Seed. The promised Seed is our Lord Jesus Christ (Genesis 12:1-3). 

Be blessed in Christ to "receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14). The Holy Spirit seals all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit confirms our covenant relationship with God, through the abiding gifts of faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

God Will Forgive You

God will forgive you by faith in Christ. You are not forgiven of some sins. It's far better than that. You are forgiven of all sin. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). When you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God has forgiven you of all sin. 

God will forgive you at the cross of Jesus. Your sin debt was paid in full,"through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"(Ephesians 1:7). God is rich in grace. That is God's unmerited favor for you in Christ. God's forgiveness is received by grace alone in Christ. Nothing good have we done to deserve God's Son. Grace abounds toward you in Christ. It is received by faith alone in Christ.

God will forgive you as a believer in Christ. We certainly know that Christians are not perfect, just forgiven. When believers sin, we should confess our sins to God. Fresh cleansing is available. The promise of God is sure."If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"(1 John 1:9).

God will forgive you "to the praise of the glory of His grace"(Ephesians 1:6). If you have any doubt about God's willingness to forgive you, look at the cross of Jesus. "Mercy there was great and grace was free." Because of God's amazing grace in Christ, your sins are forgiven. Praise God that your sins are forgiven by God's grace and for His glory!

Two Sides of God's Will

Millard Erickson wrote, "We must distinguish between two different senses of God’s will, which we will refer to as God’s "wish" (will-1) and God’s "will" (will-2). The former is God’s general intention, the values with which He is pleased. The latter is God’s specific intention in a given situation, what He decides will actually occur."

Erickson understood two sides of God's revealed will expressed in the Bible. First, he mentioned God's will in the sense of a wish. Also, he mentioned God's will as his intention. We could say that the Bible speaks of God's will of command and God's will of decree.

God's will of command is what he wants us to do. It's God's revealed will for our lives. We have all disobeyed God's revealed will in one way or the other. That is sin, and we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). Also, there is God's will of decree. It shall be done. 

God's will of command is seen in Acts 17:30. God commands all people to repent. That side of God's will is his desire for all to repent. However, God's will of decree is seen in Acts 17:31. He has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. It shall be according to God's decree.

Election Is Not Fatalism

Wayne Grudem wrote,"By fatalism is meant a system in which human choices and human decisions really do not make any difference. In fatalism, no matter what we do, things are going to turn out as they have been previously ordained. As a result, our humanity is destroyed and the motivation for moral accountability is removed."

Some hear of the Bible doctrine of election and they immediately conclude that it's fatalism. Wayne Grudem gets to the heart of the matter. In fatalism, moral accountability is removed. Not so with the Bible doctrine of election. In election, God changes man in Christ because of his moral accountability."So then each of us shall give account of himself to God"(Romans 14:10).

In election God chooses His people through love divine in Christ; in fatalism there is neither love nor Christ. In election, God works through human choices; in fatalism there is no human choice. In election God works through means to achieve His purpose; in fatalism there is no purpose. In election God changes man's motivation in Christ; in fatalism motivation is removed.

The contrast between election and fatalism is clear. Election confirms accountability; fatalism removes accountability. Election changes man in Christ; fatalism changes no man. Election is God's purpose; fatalism has no purpose. Election is life in Christ; fatalism is life in vain.

Abiding Faith In Christ

We are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. "You have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus"(2 Timothy 3:15). The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Holy Scripture, uses the message of the gospel to bring abiding faith into our lives. It is faith that abides in Christ.

Those who are born again have three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love"(1 Corinthians 13:13). Now we have faith in Christ. We have hope in Christ for the future. We have the love of God in Christ forever (Romans 8:38-39).

Those who are born again abide in Christ through the gifts of faith, hope and love. All who are born of the Spirit, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, experience these three gifts. These gifts of the Spirit are irrevocable (Romans 11:29).

Abiding faith is time tested and proven. It will be mocked by the scoffer. It will be threatened by life situations. Nevertheless, faith that abides in Christ will not change with the times, break under pressure, nor fall into unbelief. 

Abiding faith stands upon the truth of God. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Faith that abides is based upon Holy Scripture. The Bible is the testimony of the apostles and the prophets to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How God Cleanses Us

Martyn Lloyd-Jones explained from First John 1:6-10, how God cleanses us from sin. He taught, "It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from the guilt of sin; God has made the provision and He applies it. We are called upon to walk in the light and to confess our sins."

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin (First John 1:7). Our continued fellowship with God is based upon the blood of Jesus, as we walk in the light of Christ, confessing our sins. To confess our sins is to agree with God that we have done wrong. Cleansing comes from the blood of Jesus when we confess our sins.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones insisted that God is the one who applies the blood, as we confess our sins. He stated, "God has made the provision and he applies it." We are not dependent upon a priest, pastor, or anyone else to apply the blood of Jesus. It is God alone who applies the blood of Jesus, based upon our confession.

When we confess our sins, the blood of Jesus cleanses us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:9). Faith in the word of God's promise receives forgiveness and cleansing. Then, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones taught,"It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from the guilt of sin."