Learn How to Pray

Jesus taught us how we should pray (Matthew 6:9-13). We should pray to God our Father, Your kingdom come. Your will be done. Prayer is not about our will being done. Prayer is asking God's will be done. We are asking for God's kingdom to come. And what is the kingdom of God? For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). The kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit bringing righteousness, peace, and joy into our lives.

Jesus taught us to focus our prayers upon God's will. That's our prayer for the Spirit of God to overcome evil in this life. We are asking for God's kingdom to come and God's will to be done. We are praying that the Spirit of God will work in our lives with righteousness, joy, and peace through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus taught his disciples the model prayer, also known as the Lord's prayer. They learned to focus on the kingdom of God, and that means to ask for God's will in our prayers. So, we should pray to our Father in heaven, Your kingdom come, Your will be done. When God's kingdom comes, the will of God is done. 

The kingdom of darkness is at work in this present evil age. Satan and the powers of darkness are defeated when God's kingdom comes in power. Light defeats darkness every time. That's when we pray to God our Father, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10). Learn to pray for God's will to be done in every situation.

What Is a Mediator?

A mediator brings two parties together who are in disagreement. God's disagreement with us is one issue alone. That is our sin. There is only one Mediator with God. Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the everlasting covenant."For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time" (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

Christ is the only Mediator of the everlasting covenant. He works in every believer to do what is pleasing to God (Hebrews 13:20-21). God the Father is well pleased in His only begotten Son. We can only please God when His Son Jesus works in us and through us to the praise of His glory. 

Jesus Christ is the only Mediator in the threefold offices of Prophet, Priest and King. As the Prophet, He represents God to us, declaring the Word of God. He is the Word made flesh (John 1:14). As the High Priest, Jesus represents us to God. He ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:23-25). As our Lord, Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are saved, knowing and confessing Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9).

God the Father gave His Son as the only Mediator to bring His mercy, grace and love to us (John 3:16; Acts 4:12). Those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ are rejecting God's mercy, grace and love. Jesus is the only Mediator with God, because He alone is the God-Man, fully God and fully man, incarnate deity.

Complete Salvation

Charles H. Spurgeon said, "Great care must be taken that this faith is exercised upon Christ for complete salvation, and for not just part of it. Numbers of people think that the Lord Jesus is available for the pardon of past sin, but they cannot trust Him for preservation in the future."

"Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). Your salvation is complete in Christ. Spurgeon put it this way, saying, "Genuine faith trusts a whole Christ for the whole of salvation." The Lord Jesus Christ completely saves, even to the uttermost.

"He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Therefore, Spurgeon was clear to maintain that believers in the Lord Jesus can "trust Him for preservation in the future." That means Jesus Christ not only begins our salvation, but He completely saves.

Spurgeon warned of Christians who could trust Christ to save them from past sins, but they did not trust Him for the future. Spurgeon said, "They trust Him for years past, but not for years to come." He was sure of complete salvation in Christ. He declared, "Salvation by grace is eternal salvation. Sinners must commit their souls into the keeping of Christ for all eternity." Complete salvation is in Christ alone.

The Revelation of Christ

God gives revelation in the Bible. Many may think that the book of Revelation is the most difficult book in the Bible to understand. However, see Jesus as the focal point in the book of Revelation. Read the title of the book: The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1). The Revelation is Christ.

The revelation of Messiah is prophesied in the Old Testament. The prophets spoke of the One who was coming. The New Testament declared He has come. His name is JESUS, who came as the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world, and He is coming again, "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).

The revelation of Christ is throughout the Bible. God spoke in times of old by the prophets who knew in part and prophesied in part (Hebrews 1:1-2). Today, we have the full revelation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus is the Word of God. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

The revelation of Christ is in the Gospel. He was crucified for our sins, and risen from the dead. There are literally hundreds of types pointing toward Christ in the Old Testament. For example, the Passover Lamb in Exodus points toward Christ our Passover. "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). Christ died for our sins. He is risen from the dead, as every believers Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9).

Minds That Are Blind

The Bible teaches that Satan is the evil one. He is the ruler of this present evil age. When Satan tempted Jesus to worship him, he offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world, which is this present evil age. The Bible describes Satan's work in people, "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe" (2 Cor. 4:4). In Jesus our Lord, believers see the light defeating Satan's power of darkness.

Satan as "the god of this age" blinds the minds of those who believe not the gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). Works of the evil one are based upon spiritual darkness, which includes unbelief, temptation, sin and death. God's power unto salvation is your victory, through faith in the righteousness and resurrection of Christ (Romans 1:16-17).

Jesus Christ was born into this world as the light to destroy the works of spiritual darkness. He came to destroy the works of the evil one. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Jesus our Lord brings light to minds that are blind.

Jesus Christ was born to die for our sins according to the Scripture (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Jesus destroyed the power of death when He was raised from the grave. Jesus defeated the power of darkness through His death, resurrection, and ascension (1 Corinthians 15:20-21; Ephesians 4:8; Hebrews 2:14-15). The gospel of Christ gives light to minds that are blind.

How God Promised

When men entered into covenant during Bible days, they made promises sworn with an oath. Then, they offered an animal as a sacrifice. The slain animal was cut in half. Men entering into covenant walked between the two halves. Symbolically, they were saying, may I be cut off as this animal if I keep not my word of promise.

God promised with a covenant oath. No animal was sacrificed. Instead, God's only begotten Son was the sacrifice of the everlasting covenant. God's promises to every believer are sealed in the precious blood of Jesus, known in Scripture as the Lamb of God. God's covenant promises to us as believers are guaranteed and cannot be broken. Or, as the hymn says, "standing on the promises that cannot fail."

God promised with words that are forever the same (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 7:22; 8:7-13). Know God's covenant promises. (1) God will put His laws in our mind; (2) God will be our God and we are His people; (3) We will all know the LORD; (4) God will forgive our sins and remember them no more.

God promised through the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20-21). God's promises reveal His good will. He promises with a guarantee for His people. We know Him as the LORD of our lives. LORD is God's covenant name. He forgives our sins and will remember them no more. All our sins are taken away through the blood of the everlasting covenant, at the cross of Jesus.

God Manifest in Flesh

The Bible teaches that Jesus our Lord is God . "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). Jesus is the God-Man, fully God and fully man. Christ is the Word who became flesh (John 1:1, 14).

Jesus is God manifest in flesh. Thomas understood this when the risen Christ appeared unto him. He said to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Jesus is our Lord and our God. He is the God-Man.

Jesus is God manifest in "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person" (Hebrews 1:3). You may ask, "What is God like?" He is just like Jesus, because Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He is the exact likeness of God. God is revealed to you fully in Christ.

In the Bible, God is revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. At the baptism of Jesus, God the Father's voice spoke from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). God the Holy Spirit descended from heaven upon God the Son to anoint Him for ministry (Acts 10:38).

Jesus is God manifest in flesh as the express image of the Father, and the brightness of His glory. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). God is forever the same. Therefore, we read, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Worship Jesus Christ as our Lord and God manifest in flesh.

Jesus Our Immanuel

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 1:21). Jesus Christ is the virgin born Son of God. He is the God-Man, fully God and fully Man. Jesus is our Immanuel, as the full revelation of God with us. 

Jesus is God with us in "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person" (Hebrews 1:3). He is God the Son revealing God the Father. "The express image" means Jesus is the exact likeness of the Father in all his attributes. What is God like? Look to Jesus and find the perfect answer.

Jesus is God with us in grace and truth. "We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). The glory of God is revealed fully in Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, God revealed his manifest presence to us.

Jesus is God with us now through the Holy Spirit. Jesus says to us, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). He makes his presence known to us through faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). We are enabled to know God by faith in Christ. We have a living hope in God through Christ. The love of God in Christ fills our hearts. God's full revelation is in Jesus our Immanuel.

Jesus Saves His People

Jesus was born to save His people. He did not come into this world to try to save, hope to save, nor might save. Be sure to know that Jesus saves all who come to God through Him. The truth is this, we cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior, and there is only One. His name is Jesus.

"And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). 

When the Son of God was born of flesh to dwell among us, the name given Him was JESUS. That name means "Jehovah is salvation." Jehovah is the covenant name for God. The name tells the story, Jehovah God saves people through His Son. 

Jesus was born to save His people. That is certainly not talking about Jews only. Jesus was born a Jew, but Jesus saves people from every race and nation. He draws people from all nations to Himself (John 12:32). Jesus saves all who repent and come to Him by faith. He is calling people out of all nations (Revelation 5:9).

Jesus was born to save all who believe the gospel. And, what is the gospel? It is clearly defined in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." 

Faith Receives Christ

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "The hand of faith that receives Christ is similar to the children receiving an apple in their hands. You hold the apple out to the child and they must step toward you in order to receive it from you. This is a mixture of faith and receiving on the child's part. It is the same with someone who wants to receive salvation. What the child's hand is to the apple, your faith is to salvation."

"The child's hand does not make the apple, improve the apple, or deserve the apple; he simply takes it. Similarly, faith has been chosen and designed by God to be the hand with which you receive salvation. Your hand neither creates nor helps in salvation, but is content to receive it." 

Faith receives Christ as the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ is always and only received as the gift of God and never by your works. You receive the finished work of Christ at the cross for sinners, which is confirmed by God through the resurrection of Jesus our Lord (Romans 10:9).

Faith receives Christ through the Spirit of grace. The Holy Spirit convicts us of unbelief toward Christ, as well as the righteousness of Christ (John 16:7-11). The same Holy Spirit regenerates us, giving us new birth, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13).

Christ Revealed to You

Christ is revealed to you in the Bible by the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit opens our eyes of understanding to the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. He guides us into all truth (John 16:13). It is the truth of God in the Bible about Jesus Christ our Lord. He is God incarnate. "The Word became flesh" in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:14).

Christ is revealed in the Bible, that you may know God the Father (John 14:6). Christ is perfect and complete theology. No wonder Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Christ is the total and full revelation of God. He is the express image of God (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Christ is revealed to you in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, Christ as Messiah is revealed in prophecy and typology. The first prophecy of Christ coming is found in Genesis 3:15. He is the Seed of the woman. In typology Christ is revealed in signs and symbols, such as the Lamb of God. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is revealed as fulfilling the prophecy and typology of the Old Testament.

Christ is revealed to you as the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is the sacrifice for all your sins. Jesus is your risen Lord. Faith in Jesus Christ is the assurance of your salvation. He is the focus of your faith, the hope of your future, and the love of your life. Christ is your all and all, now and forever!

The Holy Spirit in You

Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, "We do not know Christ as our Savior until the Holy Spirit is put within us. Our Lord says, 'He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you' (John 16:14). You never personally know the Lord Jesus, until the Holy Spirit makes him known to you."

God says, "I will put my Spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:27). The Holy Spirit is in all who believe, that you may know the reality of the living Christ. God's Spirit does many things in the lives of believers, but first and foremost, he is in you to know Christ as your Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3).

The Holy Spirit is in you to know Christ as your Savior through the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The message of the gospel is meaningless to those who believe not (1 Corinthians 2:14). But, to all who are taught by the Holy Spirit, the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16; 1 Thess. 1:5).

The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead is the same Holy Spirit who quickens you to know new life in Christ (Romans 1:4; Ephesians 2:1). He must convict and convince you to believe in Christ as your Savior (John 16:7-11). 

God's Spirit is in you to know Christ as your Savior through the Scripture. That's the reason Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit, saying, "He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." He renews your heart and mind to know the truth of Christ, according to the Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

The Gift of God

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Believers are saved by receiving God's gift in Christ. That means we can never earn nor deserve it. Salvation is the gift of God, and not by our works.

You may hear some people saying, "We are all working to go to the same place." They imply that somehow, if we work enough for God, then we may be assured of heaven. Notice that the Bible clearly teaches the opposite. Salvation is God's gift to you, and not by your works. "It is the gift of God, not of works."

The gift of God is salvation received by faith alone in Christ. Faith can never be the meritorious cause of salvation. Faith is the means of receiving the gift of God in Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the fulness of God's grace incarnate (John 1:14). You are saved by grace, through faith in Christ.

The gift of God is salvation received by trusting and relying upon Christ alone. He died for your sins and was raised for your justification (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 3:24). Understand that faith itself is a gift of God's saving grace. Faith is one of the three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The gift of God is salvation by grace alone and "not of works." God does something in you, that you could never do for yourself. Salvation is God's gift of grace that changes our hearts, enabling us to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ."It is the gift of God, not of works." 

If Your Faith Abides

If your faith abides, God working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 13:20-21). God who began the good work in you will complete it (Philippians 1:6). Give the glory to God that He is working in you according to His good pleasure.

If your faith abides, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three (1 Corinthians 13:13). We receive abiding faith from God the Father, through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It is faith in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead. The Spirit of grace enables you to believe the gospel of Christ with faith that abides.

If your faith abides, it is not just mental assent nor human effort. The Holy Spirit must bring you to a point of confidence, assurance, and trust in the living Christ. It's abiding faith that the world didn't give you, and the world can't take it away. Faith pleases God, because it is the very gift of faith that He works in you. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).  

If your faith abides, it is one of the three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit. The grace of God enables you to have faith that abides. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). The Spirit of God, through the word of God, gives you faith that abides (Romans 10:17).

When We Are Saved

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "The work of regeneration and the act of faith which brings justification to the penitent sinner are simultaneous and must, in the nature of the case, always be so." Spurgeon made it clear that regeneration and saving faith cannot be separated. 

Spurgeon maintained that regeneration and saving faith occur simultaneously. That is to say, we cannot be born again without believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise, we cannot truly have saving faith in Christ and not be born again (1 John 5:1). Spurgeon used an illustration to show the connection between new birth and believing in Christ. They are like two spokes on a wagon wheel. Both of them move together as the wheel turns.

We are saved, when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). We are saved when our hearts are changed by the grace of God to believe on Christ (Romans 10:10). Conversion is our response to the Gospel, through repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

Therefore, regeneration is new birth for all who believe on Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 10:9). Likewise, regeneration means we are born again believers in Christ (John 1:12-13). We are saved, when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). New birth and believing the gospel are inseparable.

Bondage of the Will

It may come as a surprise to some that John Wesley recognized the bondage of man's will in sin. He had no doubt about it. He wrote about anyone in the bondage of sin. "Though he strive with all his might, he cannot conquer, sin is mightier than he. He would fain escape; but he is so fast in prison, that he cannot get forth."

Wesley wrote further about the bondage of man's will in sin. "Such is the freedom of his will; free only to evil; free to drink iniquity like water; to wander farther and farther from the living God, and do more despite the Spirit of grace."

Statements like we have read from Wesley shows the influence of Reformation theology. Even more so, he followed the teaching of Scripture on the bondage of man's will in sin (Romans 3:10-18). He realized that man as a sinner is in a hopeless situation without the grace of God in Christ. He knew that the answer was found only through faith in Christ. "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). That is free will in Christ alone.

Wesley wrote from the background of Reformation theology, when he wrote of man's bondage in sin. He proved to be sound according to Scripture on this issue. No wonder that Charles Spurgeon said of Wesley, "if there were wanted two apostles to be added to the number of the twelve, I do not believe that there could be found two men more fit to be so added than George Whitefield and John Wesley."

How Christ Is for You

Charles Spurgeon wrote: "Jesus will never betray the confidence we place in Him. As you place your faith and trust in Him, remember that He is made unto us 'wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption' (1 Corinthians 1:30)." 

Christ is your redemption. The price paid to set you free from the curse of sin and condemnation is nothing but the blood of Jesus. As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are blood bought. "Jesus paid it all." Every believer's redemption from sin and condemnation is Christ crucified and risen from the dead. 

Christ is your righteousness. Our self-righteousness will never please God. By faith in Christ, every believer receives the only righteousness that can possibly please God. We become righteous by faith in Christ alone. His righteousness is accounted to us. Believers receive the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Christ is your sanctification. Trying to sanctify ourselves is nothing more than self-righteousness. Only the blood of Christ and the Spirit of Christ can surely sanctify you before God. Christ alone is every believer's sanctification.

Christ is your wisdom. He is every believer's Counselor, sharing with us the wisdom of God. His words in Scripture speak wisdom and counsel for your life situations. Read his words in the New Testament and apply them to your life.

Faith that Pleases God

"But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is" (Hebrews 11:6). The only way that you can please God is by faith, because it is the evidence that God is working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 13:20-21). 

Faith that pleases God is in the promises of God. Faith stands upon the word of God (Romans 10:17). God's word promises we are saved by grace through faith. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

Faith that pleases God is an abiding gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith is focused on the Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead. That's good news known as the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).

Faith that pleases God is more than mental assent or human effort. It is a result of the Holy Spirit bringing you to a point of confidence, assurance, and trust in the living God. It's faith that the world didn't give you, and the world can't take it away. The gift of faith comes from the Holy Spirit working in you. "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Who We Are In Christ

Christ not only died for us, but according to Scripture, all believers died in him and rose again from the dead in him. God sees all true believers as one body in Christ. Our corporate identity is who we are in Christ. The apostle Paul testified, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). 

John Murray wrote, "This also Paul states explicitly, 'But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more, death has no more dominion over him" (Romans 6:8-9). Just as Christ died and rose again, so all who died in him rose again  with him."

Adam was the representative of mankind in sin and death. Therefore, we are all born with a sin nature and appointed unto death. Christ is every believer's representative in his death and resurrection. We died in Christ. We are risen in Christ. Because he lives forever in a glorified body, we shall be glorified together in him with life eternal.

Baptism displays our corporate identity as believers in Christ. "Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). The apostle Paul concludes, "For you died, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).

How God Is Sovereign

Dr. J. I. Packer wrote,"God's knowledge is linked with his sovereignty; he knows each thing, both in itself and in relation to all other things, because he created it, sustains it, and now makes it function every moment according to his plan (Ephesians 1:11). The idea that God could know, and foreknow, everything without controlling everything seems not only unscriptural but nonsensical."

When we consider God's sovereignty without including his omniscience, we could come to errors in our theology. For example, we could see sovereignty as arbitrary or even fatalism. Dr. Packer wrote,"God's knowledge is linked with his sovereignty." Understand that God is not arbitrary in his sovereignty, nor is it fatalism.

Dr. Packer understood sovereignty includes God's knowledge. To isolate one of God's attributes without considering the context of others revealed in Scripture could lead to wrong conclusions. All believers should agree with the testimony of the Bible that God Almighty is our sovereign LORD. But, one attribute of God must be considered with others.

God is sovereign over all. Rejoice that God is sovereign, because he alone knows and foreknows all things. So, let us understand Dr. Packer's conclusion: "The idea that God could know, and foreknow, everything without controlling everything seems not only unscriptural but nonsensical."

Christ Our Sabbath

Jesus says to us, Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). The word Sabbath means rest. It was a day of rest under the Old Testament. It is fulfilled in Christ through the New Testament. Our Sabbath rest in Christ is completely depending upon Him.

Rest in Christ our Sabbath through God's grace. It's about what God has done for you in Christ alone. It's what God is doing in you and through you. That's called grace, and its fullness is found in Jesus Christ your Lord (John 1:16). 

Rest in Christ our Sabbath by faith alone. That means your confidence, trust, and reliance is in His ability to do in your life what you are unable to do by yourself. Only God in Christ can save You. That means you rest in Christ. You rest in God's love, mercy, and grace, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31).

Works may boast and say, "I can get you to heaven, if you try hard and work to do your best." Christ our Sabbath is the gift of God to be received. We don't work to earn a gift. It is freely received. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). It's not of works, but your faith resting in the finished work of Christ alone. Christ is our Sabbath.

The Blessed of God

The book of Revelation invites all to be blessed in Christ. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come" (Rev. 22:17). The Holy Spirit uses the Holy Scripture to invite all to come to Christ. The bride of Christ is the church. So, Christ commissioned the church to preach the gospel to all people in all nations. Come to Christ and be blessed.

The book of Revelation declares seven blessings upon the people of God in Christ. These are described as the seven beatitudes in Revelation (Rev. 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7; 22:14). Those blessings are in this life and the life to come. All the blessings of God are in Christ. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

The blessed of God enter a new world. "And 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). Everyone is either blessed or cursed. The blessed of God are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, at the cross of Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

The blessed of God "have the right to the tree of life" (Rev. 22:14). We drink from the water of life freely. Both the tree of life and the water of life are symbols of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Eternal life is the gift of God received by all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of God is the grace of God in Christ. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all" (Rev. 22:21).

What Is Redemption?

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). Redemption is being justified freely by God's grace. It can never be bought, earned, nor achieved through personal effort. We are justified freely, because Jesus paid it all at the cross. We are justified freely through his shed blood, confirmed by his glorious resurrection. That is our redemption in Christ.

Redemption is new life in Christ. Being justified freely gives us abundant life, and life eternal in Christ alone. Believers may truly say, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). All we are, or ever hope to be, is by God's grace in Christ. 

Nothing else in all the world can change us, but grace through faith in Christ. God's Spirit of grace operates directly on our hearts, to change us from the inside out. Grace changes our mind to understand the things of God. Grace is freely given to change our will to seek God. Grace changes our emotions to have a tender heart for God.

Redemption is by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not by our works. It's all of grace, the gift of God (Titus 3:5-7). God's grace is received by faith in Christ. He alone is the One who changes us from glory into glory. Christ in us is the fullness of God's grace. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace (John 1:16). Redemption is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Be Justified by God

Charles Spurgeon explained, "Understand that the only people who can be justified by God are those who do not attempt to justify themselves. Realize that you need God to make you just; He is the One who will enable you to stand before His judgement seat in the righteousness that only Christ can provide for you."

Be justified by God's grace through faith in Christ. Grace is the gift of God. Let us be clear, faith itself does not merit the gift but only receives it. Faith is trusting or relying upon the righteousness of Christ, and Christ alone.

Be justified by God at the cross of Jesus. All our sins are taken away. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Believers receive the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). The gospel exchanges our sins for the righteousness of Christ.

Be justified by God through faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. God raised Jesus from the dead to justify every believer (Romans 4:24-25; 10:9). Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves the gospel, that God justifies believers at the cross. 

Be justified by God through faith in Christ alone (Galatians 2:21). Christ is the believer's justification. Grace is defined as the unmerited favor of God. It is unmerited on our part, because it is based upon the merits of Christ alone.

The Gifts of the Spirit

"And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). These gifts of the Holy Spirit are real in the lives of those who have a personal relationship with God in Christ. That's how you know that God's Spirit is in you. 

These abiding gifts are evidence that the Holy Spirit is in you. The Holy Spirit enables your faith in Christ. He gives you hope in Christ for the future. He fills you with the love of Christ. His love works in your heart, that is your mind, will, and emotions.

Faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ is sure evidence that the Holy Spirit is in your life. Abiding faith is your bond with Christ. Hope in Christ is your assurance of eternal life. The love of Christ in you is the greatest evidence of all, because "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16). 

If God's Spirit is in you, then you can know now, and you can know for sure. Three simple questions will tell you the truth. First, do you have faith in God through our Lord Jesus Christ? Secondly, do you have the hope of eternal life in Christ? Most importantly, do you know the love of God in your heart, causing you to love the Lord and others?

Know God's Will

The mystery of God's will is revealed, "having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself" (Ephesians 1:9). God's will is revealed in the Bible (Romans 12:2). The word of God is the will of God for you.

Know God's will is good. As a believer you can say, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6). Believe in God's goodness. Because God's revealed will is good, "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). God's will for you is His good purpose.

Know God's will in Christ. God's will is love, mercy, grace, and truth in Christ. Jesus came into this world to do God the Father's will in word and deed. "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38). God's will for us is good in Christ.

Know God's will through the Holy Spirit. God's will is in the fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). That's God's revealed will working in you by the Holy Spirit, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

God's Grace in You

God's grace is his good work in you (Philippians 1:6). God continues to work in you to do his good will (Philippians 2:13). Grace is sufficient for your every need. Law can tell you what you ought to be; only grace can make you what you need to be.

God's grace is in you through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). That faith is in the power of God saving you through the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Grace is the workmanship of God in your life through the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:10). God will continue working in you by faith in Christ.

God's grace to you is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Grace is far more than a theological term or a religious song. Grace is about God Himself. He is the God of all grace. His grace is undeserved favor that you can never earn nor merit. We all fall short of God's glory, but God will work in you to the glory of God (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 1:12-14).

God's grace delivers you from unbelief unto faith in Christ. Grace finds you helpless and gives you hope. Grace brings you to Christ. God's grace in Christ cannot be bought, earned, nor deserved. Grace is unmerited favor from God through Jesus Christ. "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace" (John 1:16). Jesus our Lord is the fullness of God's grace working in you. 

How Your Faith Grows

Dwight L. Moody wrote, "I prayed for faith, and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, 'Now faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God'. I had closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since." 

Faith comes to you as a gift from God. It is one of the three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13). Dwight Moody knew how the gift of faith comes to us. "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). 

The Holy Spirit inspired the Word of God. The same Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to bring faith to you in our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us preach and share the Word of God, that others may come to faith in Christ. We pray for those who are not believers, but we must do more. They must hear the Word of God. 

Moody discovered that faith grows stronger as he studied the Word of God. He testified, "I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since." If you want to grow in faith, the Bible tells you what to do. To pray for stronger faith and neglect Bible study will not work. Through the Holy Spirit, your faith grows in the Word of God.

Does God Love You?

Unbelief says, How can anyone believe in love, when we see so much hatred in this world? Faith says, I believe in love, because I believe in God. The Bible says, God is love (1 John 4:8). How does God love you? He loves you through the words of truth in your Bible.

God loves you through His Son. But, you may say, How could God love me? I'm not worthy of His love. God loves sinners, and He proves it at the cross of Jesus. God loves you, because God is love. It's not about who you are. It's about who God is. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

God loves you through the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can make the love of God a real experience in your heart. People may hear about the love of God, read about it in the Bible, and hear songs about it, without ever experiencing God's love. God's great love for you only becomes real when you experience it in your heart. The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5).

God loves you through others. That includes parents and family, friends and church. It is also God's will to love others through you. Jesus said, By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another (John 13:35). We may experience God loves you through others, and others may experience God's love through you.

Believers Are Righteous

Righteousness is God's gift in Christ to believers. Upon trusting in Christ,  believers are accounted righteous through our Savior and Lord. It's known as imputed righteousness. Through faith in Christ, you are accounted righteous before God. It is never self-righteousness, but the righteousness of God in Christ.

Believers are righteous by faith in the gospel of Christ. The apostle Paul speaks of the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Martin Luther called it the great exchange. Christ takes away our sin and gives us His righteousness.

Believers are righteous by faith in Christ alone. The Christian life can never be based upon our self-righteousness, which is as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). To the contrary, you give up your self-righteousness, and become righteous before God in Christ alone. Christ gives us perfect righteousness from God. Simply stated, believers are righteous in Christ alone.

Believers are accounted righteous in Christ alone. Our sins are imputed to Christ as our sacrifice for sin at the cross. His righteousness is credited to us by faith alone. There is only one way we can be righteous with God. We are the righteousness of God by faith in Christ alone.

The Fullness of Grace

Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, "It is grace at the beginning, and grace at the end. So that when you and I come to lie upon our deathbeds, the one thing that should comfort and help and strengthen us there is the thing that helped us in the beginning. Not what we have been, not what we have done, but the Grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord."

God's grace is unmerited favor for every believer. That's the grace of God in Christ alone. It is the gift of God that can only be received by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace is not what we have done, but what God has done for us in Jesus Christ our Lord. 

God's grace is salvation in Christ. "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace" (John 1:16). God's grace is in Christ dying for our sins (Hebrews 2:9). God's grace is at the empty tomb. He is risen for our justification (Romans 4:25). He lives as our sanctification (1 Peter 1:2). He is coming again for our glorification (Romans 8:30). The fullness of grace is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Lloyd-Jones was saying that the Christian life is the fullness of grace in Christ. It is grace in three tenses, past, present and future. He said, "The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace." Salvation is the fullness of God's grace in Christ, from the beginning unto the end..