Your Ministry Gift

Every Christian has one or more gifts for ministry to serve God through the church. All members of the body of Christ have a ministry gift. These gifts are used to serve others to the glory of God. Each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10).

Millard Erickson wrote, "The Holy Spirit dispenses his ministry gifts to the church wisely and sovereignly. Possession or lack of a particular gift is no cause for pride or regret. His gifts are not rewards to those who seek or qualify for them."

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). God decides your ministry gift. The Holy Spirit gives us our gifts. All believers have a ministry gift according to God's will. That includes you. Every believer has a ministry to serve others. 

How can you know your ministry gift? First, read the Bible to understand the ministry gifts (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11). Also, consider your ability to minister or serve others. Next, look at the opportunities that God has given you. Finally, remember how God has used you in the past. Every believer has a ministry. God will confirm your gift through prayer and experience.

Who God Will Save

God will save whoever believes in His only begotten Son (John 3:16). All who are saved experience the love of God in their hearts. The Holy Spirit makes God's love real to us (Romans 5:5). In Christ we know God's personal love for us at the cross of Jesus (Romans 5:8).

God will save every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). God is pleased to work in us through Christ (Hebrews 13:20-21). God will "make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen" (vs. 21). Therefore, every believer is saved because God is working in us. Our relationship with God in Christ is forever.

God will save all who receive grace in Christ. Jesus is the grace of God (John 1:14). Grace saves us through faith in Christ. Grace in Christ is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace is God's unmerited favor for sinners. Believers are saved by receiving God's gift in Christ (John 1:12).

God will save every believer to the praise of His glory in Christ (Ephesians 1:12-14). Believers are saved "to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). We are saved by trusting in God's Beloved Son. Believers are saved through Jesus Christ our risen Lord (Romans 10:9).

Walk in the Spirit

The Bible teaches believers to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Everyone either walks in the Spirit or the flesh. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer in Christ (Romans 8:9). The flesh refers to our old sinful nature. Those without the grace of God in Christ, live according to the flesh. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:8).

Victory in the Christian life is walking in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Lust includes any sinful desire. To walk in the Spirit is yielding to the Holy Spirit, who lives within every believer (Romans 8:9). Those who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ have died to the old life, to walk in newness of life. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).

Walk in the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22). Believers don't produce fruit, the Holy Spirit does within us. Jesus said, By their fruit you will know them (Matthew 7:20). 

The fruit of the Spirit describes who Christ is within the believer. The first word describes the fruit of love. The fruit of the Spirit is the love of Christ working in the believer. To walk in the Spirit is to walk in love. It is faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).

The Holy Spirit Received

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ receive the Holy Spirit. Several Bible passages teach that the Holy Spirit is given to all believers, rather than to a select few (John 7:37-39; Acts 11:16-17; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 5:5). The gift of the Holy Spirit is not a reward, and no merit is ever involved in receiving a gift.

All believers receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That means the Holy Spirit is not just working in some believers, but in all. You cannot be a Christian without the indwelling Holy Spirit, also known as the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit seals every believer (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit is within every believer now.

The indwelling Holy Spirit is Christ living in you as a believer. The Holy Spirit comes only and always as the gift of God to all believers. The Holy Spirit enables the believer to live the Christian life. No believer can merit nor earn the indwelling Spirit. 

"Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 3:2). Scripture makes it clear. The Holy Spirit is not earned by the works of the law. You receive the Holy Spirit as the gift of God, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:13-14).

The Worship of God

The angel of the Lord said to John the apostle, "Worship God" (Rev. 22:9). That's after John fell at the angel's feet to worship. The warning reminds us to worship anyone else but God is idolatry. When the book of Revelation was written, people were commanded to worship the Emperor of the Roman Empire. Christians were persecuted, because they refused to worship him.

The book of Revelation is about true worship of the living God. Heaven is revealed as the place of continuous worship of God (Rev. 4-5). Both angels and saints worship God Almighty. They worship bowing before Him with words such as these: "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created" (Rev. 4:11).

"And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever" (Rev. 5:14). The elders represent all the redeemed of the Lord in heaven. They fell down in submission to the sovereign Lord God and worshiped Him. Their number twenty-four represents the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of the Lamb. That is the redeemed of Israel and the church.

True worship is in heaven. That worship was words of praise and adoration to the Lord our God. He testified, "After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!" (Rev. 19:1). That's true worship giving glory and honor to God. His people worship Him now and forever!

God Will Forgive You

God will forgive you through the gospel of Christ. Our sin debt is paid in full, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7). The gospel of grace is Christ crucified for our sins and risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Grace is what Christ alone did for believers on the cross. His resurrection is assurance that our sins are taken away.

God will forgive you at the cross of Christ. You are not forgiven for 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, you receive the forgiveness of all your sins. 

God will forgive you upon confession of your sins. Christians are not perfect, just forgiven (1 John 1:8-10). When you sin, confess your 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, look at the cross of Jesus. "Mercy there was great and grace was free." Because of God's mercy and grace in Christ, your sins are forgiven. 

Christ Our Only Hope

Charles Spurgeon testified, "My sole hope for heaven lies in the full atonement that Jesus made for the ungodly on Calvary's cross. I firmly rely on this truth. I do not see even the shadow of hope in anything else, anyone else, or anywhere else." 

Spurgeon faithfully preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. He preached Christ crucified as the full atonement. God the Father forever affirmed the atonement in the resurrection of Christ. It is the gospel of your salvation (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Your only hope is not found in anything else, anyone else, or anywhere else (Acts 4:12). Your only hope is relying completely upon Jesus Christ crucified and risen for our salvation.

The sacrifice of Jesus at the cross is your only hope for complete, total, and final salvation. Old Testament sacrifices were continuously repeated and never took away sin (Hebrews 10:1-4). They pointed toward the only one who would make the full atonement, even Christ Jesus our Lord. Rely only upon the atonement of Christ crucified to take away all your sins.

The blood of Jesus takes away all your sina as a believer (1 John 1:7). The truth of Christ in the gospel justifies any sinner and every sinner who is trusting in Christ alone for full salvation. The sacrifice of Jesus at the cross is your only hope for complete, total, and final salvation.

Grace Offered to All

John Calvin wrote, "Paul makes grace common to all men, not because it in fact extends to all, but because it is offered to all. Although Christ suffered for the sins of the world, and is offered by the goodness of God without distinction to all men, yet not all receive Him" (Comments on Romans 5:18).

No one can say, I'm not saved because God has not offered grace to me. John Calvin made this clear when he stated that grace "it is offered to all." The reason so many are lost is not on God's part, but man's rejection of the grace offered. Unbelief says no to the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ (John 3:36).

Salvation comes as people receive the grace of God in Christ (John 1:12). Condemnation comes to people who do not receive the offer. Unbelief puts the responsibility on those who receive not the grace of God. It is the goodness of God who offers grace to all (John 3:17).

Notice that Calvin clearly declared that "Christ suffered for the sins of the world." Yes, the sacrifice of Christ at the cross is sufficient in value and worth to save each one and all. Yet, it shall save one and all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31). However, those who reject the love of God in Christ Jesus will perish (John 3:16). God's grace is sufficient for all; God's grace saves all who believe.

Understand the Bible

J.I. Packer wrote, "Illumination is thus the applying of God's revealed truth to our hearts, so that we grasp as reality for ourselves what the sacred text sets forth." Dr. Packer went on to say, "Illumination, which is a lifelong ministry of the Holy Spirit to Christians, starts before conversion with a growing grasp of the truth about Jesus."

"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). 

Illumination of the Holy Spirit enables believers to understand the Bible. Until that happens, the Scripture is not understood. As a believer, you continue to receive more illumination to understand the Bible. That's your growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

Without illumination of the Holy Spirit, spiritual things are foolishness to those who don't believe. This is especially true of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Only when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes of understanding to Christ crucified do we see "the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).

Your New Birth

Your new birth is a creative act of the Holy Spirit. It is referred to as being born from above. To be born from below is to be born on earth of the flesh; to be born from above is to be born of the Spirit who comes from above. Through new birth, you enter the kingdom of God. Jesus said, "You must be born again"(John 3:7).

Your new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit, by God's grace through faith in Christ. It is something that God does in you that you cannot do for yourself. You are born again through a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. It simply cannot be accomplished by human effort. Therefore, you must be born of the Spirit (John 3:8).

Your new birth is confirmed by confessing Jesus Christ as your Lord (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3). Personal faith in Christ is evidence of your new birth. (John 1:12-13; 1 John 5:1). New birth and faith in Christ occur at the same time. Your new birth is evident by truly believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is trusting or relying upon Him to save and keep you (Acts 16:30-31).

Your first birth was physical and natural. Your new birth is spiritual and supernatural. Your first birth was through the flesh. Your new birth is through the Spirit. Your first birth was in Adam. Your new birth is in Christ, as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God Leads Us to Repent

The goodness of God leads us to repent (Romans 2:4). Left to yourself, we have no desire to turn from the old life of sin and unbelief. We have pleasure in our sin and depravity. We see no reason to trust in Christ. Only when the Holy Spirit convicts and convinces us of your need for Christ are we awakened to our lost condition. The Spirit of grace awakens to our condemnation in sin (John 16:8-11). 

When awakened to our true condition before God, we are enabled to repent and trust Christ. The Spirit of grace awakens us and enables our repentance. We turn from the old life to become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God grants repentance (2 Timothy 2:25). The Holy Spirit enables us to have faith in Christ (Galatians 5:5). By the grace of God, we repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

God leads us to repent, which is a change of mind. We are transformed and renewed by the Holy Spirit. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2). 

God leads us to repent, as we turn by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is when we turn from the sin of unbelief to faith in God through Christ. That is "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). That's how we repent.

Conversion to Christ

John MacArthur wrote, "There can be no repentance or faith until the heart has been re-created. But in the moment of regeneration the Holy Spirit imparts the gift of repentant faith to sinners, bringing them to saving faith in Christ, and enabling them to turn away from sin. The result is a dramatic conversion."

The Holy Spirit enables our conversion to Christ. Conversion is through "the gift of repentant faith to sinners." Conversion includes repentance and saving faith together. Repentance means we turn to God by saving faith in Christ.

The Holy Spirit transforms our hearts, which is the mind, will and emotions. The result is conversion, turning away from the old life to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Conversion means you are free from the old life of bondage to sin, through the power of God in Christ.

The Spirit of God works through the word of God to bring new birth (1 Peter 1:23) MacArthur stated, "The result is a dramatic conversion." Conversion to Christ by the word of God and the Spirit of God. The gospel of Christ comes to you through the power of the Holy Spirit, with much assurance (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

Conversion is through God's workmanship in us as a new creation in Christ (Ephesians 2:10). "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

Who God Loves

God loves all nations and races. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). God has so loved every nation, all races, and every ethnic group. The Bible has been described as God's love letter to the world. 

God loves sinners. Yet, you may doubt God's love at times, because you think you're not good enough for God to love. The truth is that none of us earn nor deserve God's love. God does not love us because we are good enough. We have all sinned, but God's love is revealed for sinners (Romans 3:23; 5:8). When God's love is received through believing in Christ, we are saved from the condemnation of sin (John 3:17).

God loves sinners at the cross of Jesus. God sent His Son to die for our sins (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2). He died for your sins at the cross. God loves you through Christ crucified. This is the greatest love story the world has ever known. God so loves you at the cross of Jesus.

God loves believers in Christ, through the Holy Spirit. His love is poured out into our hearts (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit makes God's love real to us. Upon confessing Jesus as our Lord, the Holy Spirit does something beyond our ability to completely understand. He fills our hearts with God's love. 

How God Will Provide

All of us have needs. Fear says,"No one is going to provide for your needs. You are a needy person with no one who can help." Faith says, My God shall supply all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

Our greatest need is not physical nor financial. Our greatest need is spiritual. We need God. We need faith in God who provides. God's covenant name among others is Jehovah-jireh. It means the Lord will provide. His name reveals His character. It's who He is and what He does.

God is Jehovah-jireh for His people. He is the Lord who provides for all who believe in His name. That means faith can trust in who God is. It's not just who we want Him to be. He reveals His name to you and all believers. We can trust in His name, receiving from Him according to our need.

God provides as your heavenly Father. He knows your needs before we ask. Prayer is not designed for us to inform God. He knows all things. Our prayers receive from God our Father. Jesus said to pray, Our Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9). He taught us to make requests based upon our needs. Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). God will provide as your Father in heaven.

God Working in Us

God works in us as believers through covenant. What God says, God will do. God's covenant with us is a binding contract. What God promises, God will fulfill. Our faith stands upon the covenant promises of God through Jesus Christ. It is based upon God's covenant word. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you, what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:20-21).

God works in us as believers through the Lord Jesus Christ. You believe the gospel, that Christ died for your sins, and Christ is risen from the dead. You have entered the everlasting covenant with God by faith in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Shepherd of all God's covenant people.

God's everlasting covenant cannot be changed, because God has sworn with an oath of promise. The everlasting covenant through Jesus Christ is forever and ever. Amen. Our faith is based upon what God has promised to do in us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's covenant promises are working in believers in such a way to please Himself. Our lives please God not because we are trying real hard. To the contrary, God is working in us what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13). God's everlasting covenant is working in us through Christ. 

How to Trust God

Trust God by trusting His word. God speaks to us through Holy Scripture. God speaks to you through Jesus Christ our Lord and the Gospel. You trust God by relying upon what He has said through Scripture, Christ, and the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4). 

Trust God even when you don't understand. We cannot understand all the ways of God. Trusting God is confidently believing in His ability to help us and direct us. A child is more limited in knowledge than the parents. Yet, that child can trust what the parents say to him. Likewise, our knowledge and understanding of God is limited, but we may confidently trust His word in the Bible.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Lord is God's personal and covenant name. Trust God as your Lord by trusting His many wonderful covenant promises in the Bible (e.g., Jeremiah 32:40; Hebrews 13:20-21).

All relationships are built on trust. Our relationship with God is trusting Him, because He is trustworthy. His word is your bond of trust. You trust God in all your circumstances, then you can say, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust (Psalm 91:2).

Salvation Not by Chance

W. T. Conner wrote, "Our salvation is not a matter of chance nor accident. We are saved because God meant for us to be saved. He saves us and he does so on purpose. He works through the unceasing ages to carry out his purpose."

I have heard people ask, Does everyone have a chance to be saved? Understand that no one is saved by chance. Dr. Conner made what is taught in Scripture very clear. God saves no one by chance nor accident. God foreknows his people in Christ. He saves us on purpose, even his eternal purpose in Christ (Romans 8:28-30). God's providence works in all things to accomplish his purpose (Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:11).

God shuts no one out. His salvation is offered freely in the gospel to all people everywhere (Mark 16:15). He commands all people everywhere to repent and believe in Christ (Acts 16:30-31; 17:30). However, God who knows all things, the end from the beginning, foreknows his people in Christ. Not one of them is saved by chance nor accident.

God foreknows his people in a loving covenant relationship. God foreknows his people, and we shall all know him (Hebrews 8:10-11). We know God through our great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20-21). In the day of judgement, the Lord says to all who are lost, "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23).

Be Justified In Christ

Justification is a legal term. In court, one accused of a crime is either condemned or justified. Based upon the merits of Christ, God justifies sinners. The sinless life and substitutionary death of Jesus at the cross for believers is the basis for our justification from all sin (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Be justified by faith alone in Christ alone. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Faith is trust and confidence, relying upon Christ alone. By faith in Christ, you are justified with God.

Be justified by grace through faith in Christ. Faith receives the grace of God in Christ. Faith is the evidence that we are justified before God. It is our assurance of faith. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed (Romans 4:16).

Be justified by faith in Christ unto righteousness. The only way a sinner can become righteous before God is by faith alone. Righteousness is the gift of God to you in Christ alone. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness (Romans 4:5). Self-righteousness can never be good enough to justify you. Be justified by faith in the perfect obedience and righteousness of Christ alone. He is every believer's justification.

The Lamb of God

Four times in Revelation 21:22-22:5 we see God the Father and the Son mentioned together. The Son of God is referred to as the Lamb of God. In New Jerusalem, believers from all the ages of history see the Father and Son enthroned together. It is an answer to the prayer of Jesus our Lord in John 17:24. "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved me before the foundation of the world."

The Lamb is the light of New Jerusalem. "The city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is the light" (Rev. 21:23). There is no night there in God's one eternal day. In the New Jerusalem, "its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there)." (Rev. 21:25).

Who will live forever in New Jerusalem? The Bible clearly states, "only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" (Rev. 21:27). They are the redeemed of the Lord by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus our Lord is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of every believer (Rev. 12:10-11).

In that eternal day, "there shall be no more curse, but the throne of  God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him" (Rev. 22:3). The curse of sin is forever removed, by the Lamb of God. He was slain at the cross and redeemed us to God by His blood, out of every nation (Rev. 5:9).

Rapture of the Church

John MacArthur saw a difference between the rapture of the church and the second coming of Christ. He wrote, "The second coming must be distinguished from the rapture of the church prior to the seven year tribulation. At the rapture Christ comes for His saints. At the second coming He comes with them. At the rapture Christ meets His saints in the air to take them to heaven. At the second coming  He descends with them to the earth."

MacArthur further identified a major difference between the rapture and the second coming. He wrote, "There is not a hint of judgment in passages describing the rapture (John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18), but judgment plays a prominent role in the second coming (Rev. 19:11, 15, 17-21).

John MacArthur observed even more obvious differences between the rapture and the second coming of Christ. He states, "The dramatic signs accompanying the second coming such as the darkening of the sun and the moon and the disruptions of the 'powers of the heavens' (Matthew 24:29-30) are not mentioned in the passages describing the rapture."

MacArthur noticed that Revelation 19, which describes the second coming of Christ, "does not mention either a rapture of living believers (1 Cor. 15:51-52), or a resurrection of dead believers (1 Thess. 4:16)." In all these observations, he points out the differences between the rapture of the church before the tribulation and the second coming of Christ after the tribulation.

Be Saved In Christ

Be saved by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. God's salvation is simple, plain, and clear. Believe and confess your faith in God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

God gives us the assurance of our salvation (2 Peter 1:10). In the Bible it is made sure and clear. The Holy Spirit will give you the assurance of salvation, as you confess, Jesus is Lord. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16). Confess your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can only believe in your heart when the Holy Spirit does something within you. No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit leads you to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is Lord, which means Jesus is risen from the dead.

With your mouth, confess what is in your heart. The word confess means to speak the same thing. You speak the same thing that is in God's word, that which the Holy Spirit has worked in your heart. Your confession that Jesus is Lord agrees with the Spirit of God and the word of God. Confess your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be saved by faith in Christ.

Hell Is a Choice

Millard Erickson wrote, "We should also observe that God does not send anyone to hell. He desires that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9). It is the choice of humans to experience the agony of hell. Their sin sends them there, and their rejection of the benefits of Christ's death prevents their escaping." 

If anyone takes the Bible seriously, as well as the teaching of Jesus, the agony of hell cannot be ignored nor denied. The same Bible that teaches about heaven likewise warns of hell. The same Savior who taught the love of God likewise taught about the wrath of God (John 3:16, 36).

God's love for sinners is found in Christ at the cross. God proves His love for sinners through the death of His Son (Romans 5:8). Millard Erickson said, "Rejection of the benefits of Christ's death prevents their escaping." God's love provides the escape from the judgment of our sins. Erickson concludes, "It is the choice of humans to experience the agony of hell."

"Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture" (1 Corinthians 15:3). God's love invites everyone to trust the full atonement of Christ to take away all of our sins (John 3:16). Through the cross of Jesus, God is both just and the justifier of all who believe. However, the agony of hell is a choice for those who reject Christ. 

What God Foreordained

What God foreordained works in the details of life. God's eternal purpose was foreordained before time began. What God foreordained works in time and history. What God foreordained in your life does not exclude personal choices and actions. What  God foreordained in your life works concurrently with your choices and actions.

What God foreordained was before time began (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-6; 2:10). All that God has foreordained works concurrently with your choices (Philippians 2:12-13). What God foreordained works together for good to those who love Him and for His glory. Those good things are experienced in the lives of God's people.

What God foreordained in life does not take away your choice. God allows us to make choices, even bad choices. He neither condones nor approves sin. Yet, God works to bring good out of evil and glory to God's justice, love, and mercy. Be assured as a believer that God is at work in all the details of our lives. What God foreordained is for your good and God's glory (Genesis 50:20-21; Romans 11:36).

God's work is foreordained in our Lord Jesus Christ. His death on the cross for every believer's sin was determined before time began (1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8). The determinate counsel of God was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, as the Savior for all who believe (Acts 2:23). God foreknows His people in Christ, yet the gospel is offered freely to all (Romans 8:29; 10:13). 

How God Is Love

Andrew Murray wrote, "God is love, and speaking with all reverence, he can't help loving. We see his goodness toward the ungodly and his compassion on the erring. His fatherly love is manifested toward all his children." 

God is love in his only begotten Son. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (John 3:16). God's love is received as we believe his Son Jesus. His love for us as believers is everlasting. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39).

God is love as our heavenly Father. The heart of God is the heart of our loving Father. God's children are delivered from fear, receiving the fullness of his love. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. But he who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18). God the Father's perfect love gives us freedom from fear.

God is love is through the Holy Spirit. Every believer in our Lord Jesus Christ experiences the love of God our Father, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). The greatest abiding gift of the Holy Spirit is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). That is God's love is forever.

Holy Spirit Conviction

Conviction by the Holy Spirit comes before conversion. Many have been under conviction who have resisted the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). They have spurned the Spirit of grace to their own just condemnation (Hebrews 10:29). Conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit is grace common to all mankind. Yet, conviction without regeneration brings no conversion. 

Those who are under Holy Spirit conviction may come to conversion. There is no conversion without conviction. God's Spirit alone brings conviction to the person who is lost without Christ. When we pray for those who are lost, we should pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them.

The Holy Spirit convicts of the sin known as unbelief. It is the sin that separates us from the grace and love of God in Christ Jesus (John 16:7-11). Only by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ are we saved from condemnation and eternal judgment (John 3:36; Acts 16:30-31).

The Holy Spirit likewise convicts of righteousness (John 16:8). He convinces us of the righteousness of Christ. This is conclusive evidence that our self-righteousness can never save us. Only the righteousness of Christ, accounted to us by faith alone, can please God (Romans 4:5). 

The Holy Spirit convicts you before regeneration and conversion. Your conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ gives all the glory to God, knowing that the Spirit of grace brings conviction and regeneration.

All to God's Glory

The reason for all things is God's glory. For of him and through him and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:36). We are to do all things to God's glory. Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). 

Creation is to God's glory. All things were created to the praise of God's glory. You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created (Revelation 4:11). We were created to the glory of God. The Bible defines sin as falling short of God's glory (Romans 3:23).

Our salvation is to God's glory. We who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:12). Believers give all the glory to God for our salvation. God is working in you what is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:21).

Prayer is to God's glory. We pray, For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:13). Prayer should always be focused upon God's glory in all things. God's kingdom and power work to the praise of his glory. We pray in Jesus name to the glory of God in all things.

God's Wrath Satisfied

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world (1 John 2:2). Two words describe the propitiation of Christ for believers at the cross. Those words are substitution and satisfaction. Christ died as our substitute for our sins. Also, the sacrifice of Christ satisfied the wrath of God against our sins.

Propitiation is God's wrath against our sins satisfied at the cross of Jesus. Propitiation (Greek: hilasmos) is a New Testament word which means satisfaction. Christ crucified satisfied the holiness and justice of God to save guilty sinners. 

Propitiation is God's wrath satisfied at the cross, through the love of God in Christ. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Christ crucified is love's crowning deed, satisfying God's justice. 

Propitiation is God's wrath satisfied on our behalf as believers in Christ. Justice paid the price for believers in the sacrifice of Christ at the cross. Therefore, God is both just and the justifier of all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:26).

Believers in Christ our Lord receive God's love revealed at the cross. We are justified by faith in Christ alone. Those who reject the propitiation of Christ at the cross face God's justice and wrath abiding upon them (John 3: 36).

Christ with You Always

A new Christian said to a friend, "When I received Christ, I felt the love and joy of His presence, but I don't have that feeling now. It bothers me. Have I done something wrong?" His friend said, "He's still with you always. Feelings come and go, but He has promised never to leave you. Simply take Him at His word."

You may get excited through special times with the Lord, when you know He is moving in your life. However, remember the Lord is with you today and always. Jesus promised to be with you always. Feelings say, "Sometime I know He is with me. Other times, I'm not sure." Faith says, "He is with me always, whether I feel His presence or not." Faith is not a feeling, and feeling is not faith. Only faith can know the Lord is with you today and always.

As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, remember that He is with you today and always. He will never leave you, because He loves you. That's a good reminder to all believers everywhere. Take the Lord at His word. Jesus said, I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20).

Every believer is indwelt by the Spirit of the living Christ (Romans 8:9). He comes to live in you. The Spirit of Christ is your constant companion. As an expectant mother may feel the unborn baby move within her from time to time, nevertheless, most of the time she does not feel the baby move. So it is with the Spirit of Christ within you as a believer. He can move within ways you recognize. However, He lives in you today and always.

Predestined In Christ

The word predestination (proorizo) means to mark off beforehand. The death of Christ was predestined by God (Acts 4:28). Believers are predestined in Christ to adoption (Ephesians 1:5), to an inheritance (v. 11), and to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8:28-29).

The root word for predestination pictures the horizon of the sky and earth. At a distance, you may see where the landscape of the earth ends and the sky begins. That's a line drawn by God Himself. Your destiny in Christ draws the line between those who are saved and those who are not. God has "marked off beforehand" to save all who believe in Christ (Acts 16:31). Believers are predestined in Christ to an eternal inheritance, which is to be conformed to the likeness of Christ.

Predestination in Christ means all believers shall be glorified into His likeness (Romans 8:29-30). We shall be glorified in a body like unto that of our risen Lord. "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). That's your destiny foreordained, as a believer in Christ.

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a destiny foreordained by God. That is our security as believers. Yes, we are predestined in Christ. God's plan for us is certain. We are predestined as God's adopted children, by faith in Christ, unto an eternal inheritance to be glorified in Christ. We are predestined in Christ to an inheritance.

God's Effectual Call

F. F. Bruce wrote that the "effectual calling which is the work of God's Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel."

God's effectual call is to Christ by the Holy Spirit through the gospel. It is the Holy Spirit's work to convince us to believe and receive Christ. Jesus said, "And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin because they do not believe in me" (John 16:8-9).

Bruce noted from Scripture that the called of God belong to Jesus Christ (Romans 1:6); called to be saints (Romans 1:7), because of his call (Romans 9:11). The Holy Spirit calls us to Christ through the gospel.

Dr. Bruce recognized that the call to Christ is offered freely to all. However, he focused upon those who respond to the gospel of Christ in the effectual call. The convincing work of the Holy Spirit makes the difference in those who come to Jesus Christ our Lord by faith.

God's call to Christ is not received by those who refuse in unbelief. Therefore, they must be responsible for their own just condemnation. Dr. Bruce explained "that the gates of God's mercy stand wide open for their entrance, that his free pardon is assured in Christ to all who claim it by faith."