How Is God Good?

God is good in creation. He made all things good in the beginning. It was man who sinned, and brought evil into the world. All the goodness we know and experience comes from God, because God is good to us. "For the LORD is good" (Psalm 100:5). 

God is good in conversion. "The goodness of God leads you to repentance" (Romans 2:4). When we repent, our mind is changed. We know that we can really trust God, because we know that God is always working for good. We trust the goodness of God in life. "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him" (Psalm 34:8).

God is good to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. God's goodness is in us through the Holy Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is ... goodness" (Galatians 5:22). The Holy Spirit bears the fruit of goodness in every believer. We give Him all the glory, because God is working for good within us.

God is good in all things. God is working all things together for good. "And 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). That does not mean bad things can never happen to us. It does mean that we can trust God to work for our good in all things, according to God's purpose.

What Is Spirit Baptism?

John R. W. Stott wrote a classic book on the baptism and fullness of the Holy Spirit. He taught that "1 Corinthians 12:13 indicates that the baptism of the Spirit is identical with the gift of the Spirit, that it is one of the distinctive blessings of the new covenant, and because it is an initial blessing, is also a universal blessing for members of the covenant."

"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13).

Dr. Stott made it clear that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not found in the Old Testament, because it is distinctive in the New Testament. Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is baptized with the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, the church. It is our union with Christ, and our unity with the members of Christ. 

Jesus prayed that those who believe in him should all be one (John 17:11). His prayer is fulfilled with the baptism in the Spirit. This baptism is not for only some believers in Christ, but for all in one body. That's the reason Dr. Stott taught "the baptism of the Spirit is identical with the gift of the Spirit."

Dr. Stott made an important summary statement on the baptism of the Spirit. He wrote, "The fundamental truth that is involved is that by uniting us to Christ, God has given us everything." That is to say, we have already been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).

Who Opens Hearts?

"The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul" (Acts 16:14). Lydia heard the gospel and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Before her conversion, the Lord opened her heart to understand the gospel. God opened her heart, enabling her to believe the gospel. 

Pray for others who don't understand the gospel of Christ. Ask God to open their hearts to hear and respond to the gospel. Knowing that the Lord always gives us a choice to believe in Christ, we must first hear and understand the message. Our salvation is through faith in Christ, upon hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17).

God opens hearts to bring salvation. The Lord changes our hearts, that we may love Him and desire to obey His word. "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live" (Deuteronomy 30:6). Likewise, the New Testament teaches the same (Romans 2:28-29).

God opens the hearts of believers to understand more about the Bible. This enables us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18). The Holy Spirit guides believers into all truth (John 16:7-13). God opens our hearts to experience more of his grace.

What Is God's Word?

God word is based upon an oath that cannot be broken. In ancient times, covenant vows were sealed in the death of a sacrificial animal. God's everlasting covenant is sealed in the blood of His Son (Hebrews 13:20). God's covenant word in the Bible is for every believer in Christ.

Our faith in God, the forgiveness of our sins, our eternal destiny, and God's work in our lives is all guaranteed through God's covenant word. "Forever O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89). God's covenant promises are made with an oath forever.

God's covenant word is sure for every believer in Christ. Jesus is your surety or guarantee of the covenant promises that cannot be broken (Hebrews 7:22). The Bible declares God's word forever is settled in heaven. That's God's oath in the covenant word to you as a believer. 

God's covenant word for you in the Bible is forever the same. God has sworn with a covenant oath, and will not repent. He will not change His mind. "God, who cannot lie, promised before time began" (Titus 1:2). That's God's covenant promise for you in Christ.

Is Your Heart Pure?

Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Jesus is the One who makes your heart pure. He has been purifying hearts for centuries. The One who spoke about being pure in heart, is the only One who can make your heart pure. Be pure in heart through Christ our Lord.

"For with the heart one believes unto righteousness" (Romans 10:10). Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is trusting Him to do in you, what you cannot do for yourself. He is able to make you pure in heart. The righteousness of Christ is accounted to you by faith in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

God's Spirit purifies the believer's heart based upon the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the cross. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). There is no heart so sinful that Jesus cannot make pure. You may not be able to explain how Jesus purifies your heart, but the shed blood of Jesus cleanses believers from every sin.

The blood of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, continues to cleanse the hearts of believers. The goal is to sin not, but when a believer sins, fresh cleansing is available. Confession of sin to God in prayer brings cleansing. "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). Cleansed by the blood of Jesus, your heart is made pure.

What's Full Salvation?

Full salvation is in Christ our Lord. "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). In Christ you have been justified (Romans 5:1). In Christ you are being sanctified (1 Corinthians 1:2). In Christ you shall be glorified (1 John 3:2).

Full salvation is in three tenses: past, present, and future. That is to say, in Christ you have been saved; you are being saved; you shall be saved. Three terms describe the three tenses of your salvation in Christ. As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are justified, sanctified, and shall be glorified.

You have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ. You are being saved, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). That is sanctification. You shall be saved. That is glorification, when Christ returns. In essence, we shall be like Him (1 John 3:2).

Justification, sanctification, and glorification are by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ is your full salvation. In Christ you are justified and free from all condemnation. In Christ you are being sanctified until glorified. That's full salvation.

What's Common Grace?

"The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made" (Psalm 145:9). Many theologians refer to this as common grace. That's not because grace is common, but it is common to all mankind. The line is drawn between common grace and saving grace. God is good to restrain evil, give people time to repent, provide fruitful seasons and food, and many other benefits that are common to all mankind.

Bruce Demarest wrote, "In sum, God's common grace facilitates that sustains and enhances life on a fallen planet." This planet is morally fallen with the sin of all mankind. While judgment is coming, until then God's common grace sustains the world in which we live.

Abraham Kuyper recognized common grace as primarily restraining sin. He wrote, "By His common grace God bridles the evil of fallen human nature, restrains the ruin which sin has produced and spread, and enables even the unregenerated men to do good in the broad non-redemptive sense." God shows common grace even to those who reject God's goodness and compassion. They falsely believe there is no God who will judge them. 

God is temporally the Savior of all mankind in common grace. "God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe" (1 Timothy 4:10). However, the time of God's common grace will end for those who reject his saving grace in Christ. It will happen in the day when this present earth and sky will be aflame in God's justice and judgment on sin. To the contrary, saving grace in Christ Jesus our Lord is everlasting.