Is God Good to All?

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. Common grace restrains evil, gives people time to repent, provides 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 is good to sustain the world in which we live.

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. To others, the goodness of God leads them to repentance. Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4).

God is temporally the Savior of all mankind in grace common to all. 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 goodness and grace in Christ. To the contrary, saving grace in Christ Jesus our Lord is everlasting.

What Is God's Oath?

Covenant is made with an oath that cannot be broken. In ancient times, a covenant oath was sealed in the death of a sacrificial animal. God's everlasting promises are sealed in the blood of His Son (Hebrews 13:20-21). God's promises in the Bible are for you and every believer in Christ.

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

God's covenant oath is our guarantee. His oath of covenant promises are for us as believers in Christ. Jesus is our surety or guarantee to the covenant oath that cannot be broken (Hebrews 7:22). The Bible declares God's word is forever settled in heaven. That's God's covenant oath of promise. 

God's promises are Yes and Amen for every believer in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Read the covenant promises in the Bible, which are 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 what God promises with an oath to us in Christ.

When Are We Saved?

We are saved, when we trust in Christ. It is not our works, but the work of God in us. Grace is not something that we deserve, but God freely gives us (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace takes away all our sins at the cross of Jesus (1 John 1:7). Grace gives us the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Grace gives us faith to trust in Christ (Philippians 1:29). Faith comes to us by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17).

We are saved, when we receive the gift of God in Christ. He is the fullness of grace (John 1:16). Believing on the Lord Jesus is receiving the gift of God. Preceding grace awakens us to our need to believe in Christ (John 16:7-11). Grace enables us to believe on Christ (Acts 15:9-11). Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

We are saved, when we believe the gospel of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-4). We receive the gift of salvation through the gospel of Christ. That gift can never be bought, earned, nor achieved through personal effort. The gift of God is bestowed through the gospel of Christ. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).

We are saved, when the Holy Spirit changes our hearts. The Spirit of grace operates directly on our hearts, to change us from the inside out. God's grace changes your mind to understand the things of God (Romans 12:2). Grace changes your will to desire God's good will (Philippians 2:13). Grace changes your emotions to give you a tender heart toward God (Ezekiel 36:26).

What Is Abiding Faith?

Abiding faith in Christ is in all who are saved, as a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13). Abiding faith is from God the Father, through the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart. It is anchored to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for your sins and was raised from the dead. The Spirit of grace enables you to believe the gospel of Christ.

Abiding faith is not just mental assent nor human effort. It is a result of the Holy Spirit bringing you to a point of confidence, assurance, and trust in the living Christ. It's faith that the world didn't give you, and the world can't take it away. Abiding faith pleases God, because He is working in you. "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). 

When you have abiding faith in Christ, be assured that God is working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, "the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). "But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).

God is the one who gives you abiding faith in Christ. It is by the grace of God that you are enabled to live by faith. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God"(Ephesians 2:8). It's all of grace as the gift of God in Christ.

Is Christ in the Psalms?

The apostles in the New Testament preached Christ from prophecy in the Old Testament Scripture, and that includes the book of Psalms. Before the New Testament was completed, they preached the gospel of Christ according to the Scripture, which meant the Old Testament Scripture (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

Prophecy reveals the gospel of Christ in the Psalms. We see Christ dying and rising again. We see Christ coming the second time and reigning over all. Verses in the Psalms are quoted in the New Testament. Psalms revealed Christ in prophecy.

The Psalms prophesied Christ suffering death at the cross (Psalm 22). Psalms also declared the resurrection of Christ (Psalm 16:8-11). That is the gospel of Jesus Christ foretold in the Psalms.

The book of Psalms prophesied the present day priestly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, as our Intercessor with God the Father (Psalm 110). Psalms also prophesied the second coming of Christ (Psalm 2).

The apostle Peter preached Christ and the resurrection on the Day of Pentecost from the book of Psalms (Psalm 16:8-11; Acts 2:25-28). That means the first gospel sermon in the Christian church was on Christ from prophecy in Psalms.

Who Has God Chosen?

God's chosen people are in Christ. He foreknew us as justified and glorified in Christ. God foreknew our salvation in Christ. In Romans 8:28-30, God foreknew us as glorified in Christ. God foreknew all who shall be in Christ (1 Peter 1:2).

God's chosen people believe the gospel of Christ. That includes everyone who repents and believes the gospel (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 16:31). Only those who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. As believers, we experience the gospel in power with assurance. That is the Holy Spirit working in our hearts (Romans 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).

God's chosen people are saved by grace through faith in Christ. We are justified through the death of Jesus Christ for your sins. Justification is by faith in the power of his resurrection. Justification means all your sins are taken away through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7). The righteousness of Christ is accounted to you (2 Corinthians 5:21). God declares you justified by faith in Christ. "It is God who justifies" (Romans 8:33).

God's chosen people shall be glorified into the image or likeness of Christ. Glorification is salvation complete. "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). What is future for us as believers in Christ is now in the foreknowledge of God. Therefore, God foreknew us as glorified in the very image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-30).

Who Experiences God?

The Bible was not written simply to give you academic information about God. It was written that you may know God today in a personal way. The Bible is the believer's guide to experience God. The Bible is like a menu in a restaurant. "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good" (Psalm 34:8). To taste and see is to experience God in a personal relationship.

Believers experience God in prayer. The Bible teaches you how to pray. It's important to understand that prayer is a personal conversation with God. It's more than speaking words from memory. Opening your heart to God is true prayer. Prayer is not a monologue. It's a dialogue with God. Talk and listen with your heart (Hebrews 3:15).

Believers experience God through worship (John 4:24). Understand that worship is your personal response to God's love and goodness in Christ. Worship God daily with your songs of praise and prayers of thanksgiving. Surrender your body, will, and emotions to God through worship (Romans 12:1-2).

Believers experience God with others in public worship, family prayer, and small groups. Hearing testimonies of how others have experienced God is helpful. Be encouraged in your faith. Trust God to work in your life, that you may experience Him in a daily relationship. Know that God is working in you for your good and His glory, "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).