Reconnecting with the Gospel – Romans Series

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 59 – Saving Belief is a Matter of the Heart

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Romans 10:8-13 – “But what does it say?“ The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

This passage is quoted often as a simple explanation of what it means to be saved as a Christian, namely believing in the gospel of Jesus.  The good news, that God, desiring to reconcile sinners to Himself, in love took on flesh and came down as a man, to die, to pay the penalty of man’s sin on the cross, and rise triumphantly 3 days later giving evidence of His victory over sin, death, and the separation between God and sinful man.  Salvation is truly that simple, but it isn’t easy.  Salvation isn’t a matter of the head alone – that is, it isn’t simply knowing the gospel of Jesus and saying you trust and love Him.  Believing is a matter of the heart.  Read again slowly the passage above, it says “with the heart one believes and is justified” (declared righteous before God).  Then is says “with the mouth on confesses and is saved”.  The words are an overflow of the heart, for someone who truly is saved.  
 
What does your heart say about God?  Your actions will give evidence to what your heart believes.  Many Christians, myself included will talk about how we struggle with sin, and that we are resting in the grace of God through the blood of Jesus.  Simply meaning, we trust that our righteousness is in Jesus.  That is 100% true – if your heart truly believes on Jesus.  Believing is not a matter of head knowledge, “knowing God”, or even being able to recite scripture or the gospel, saving belief is a declaration from your heart.  In my own life, I can mark periods of time when my heart was closest to God – and it was marked by two overarching emotions of my heart, love for God and a hatred of sin in my own life.  
 
My love for God overflowed in my heart to desiring to know more about him from the Bible, to love others in a way that I would see Jesus love others in scripture, to pray for my own heart and those around me, and to seek to push back darkness in the world around me in whatever small way I could by serving the poor, helping those where I could, and fighting for justice.  
 
My hatred of sin overflowed in my heart to a declaration of war on sin in my life.  Being careful to recognize the difference between mere behavior modification and real heart change, I would put up boundaries in my life.  Instead of waiting to see how close I could get to sinning without sinning, I would put up boundaries to make sure I couldn’t get close.  I would talk to my own soul, ask myself questions about why I was desiring the things I was desiring, what was it that I really wanted, and why was I pursuing those things outside of God?  I would then fight lies with Truth, whatever I was searching for – love, affection, affirmation, purpose, etc. through sin, I would surround myself with God and His Word to remind myself of how those things are met fully with God, and how things will go better for me following God and trusting Him vs. my own desires apart from God.  Thankfully or unfortunately, I have many examples to draw from to see how life goes bad when I pursue my desires apart from God.
 
I love the end of this passage, because God wants us to hear this clearly from Him.  There is no difference between a seemingly righteous person (Jew) or a seemingly unrighteous person (Greek) – every one of us has the same God and every one of us is in need of the same salvation.  The Lord is Lord of all, and loves all who come to Him. Every one who believes on God from the heart will be saved.  
 
I’ve enclosed a link below to a 7 minute message from John Piper on Declaring War on Sin.  I commend it to you.  Stay encouraged, God is with you, for you, loves you, and desires to grow a closer relationship with you today.  Let yesterday be yesterday, and don’t worry about tomorrow, press into God today.  
 
 
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 58 – The Heart of the Problem

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Romans 10:5-7 – “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.  But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
In the last message covering Romans 10:1-4 we saw that there is salvation is no one else apart from Jesus Christ.  No amount of morality will save you; the entire point of the law of Moses (10 commandments + other laws added in the Old Testament) was to point people to God, to His righteousness and our need for God as our Savior.  Today’s message continues that with a look at what Moses himself said in Deuteronomy 30.  In Deuteronomy 30:6 Moses writes – “the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” I could write an entire message on Deuteronomy 30, but sufficed to say that if you break down what Moses says in that chapter, it is clear that salvation and the outworkings of salvation are a work of God.  The first 10 verses of Deuteronomy 30 all speak of what God will do, climaxing in the verse above, that God will circumcise the hearts of His people, so that they will be free to love Him.  The latter 10 verses all speak to the outworking of that work of God, the obedience of man to the commandments of God.
Ultimately, unless God gives us hearts to love Him, our obedience to Him will be impossible.  The obedience of God is not a matter of works, but of the heart.  Jesus gives examples of this in Matthew 5:21-22,27-28 – “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
 
Being better people will get us no closer to God than jumping up in the air will get us closer to the Sun.  We as people have a massive problem called sin, just as some fool jumping in the air thinking they can reach the sun has a massive problem called gravity.  The Jews spoken of here in Romans 10 thought that by being “good people” according to the law, they would be able to reach God – it’s foolishness.  Does this mean we ignore God’s commandments – no, but we know that our hearts must be changed by God, rather than just cleaning up the outside.  We know that from beginning to end, our salvation, our righteousness, is a gift of God through the blood of Jesus, not a task to be completed by us.  
 
If you find yourself today stuck in sin or frustrated by trying to please God through your works, take a moment and just thank God from freeing you from both the sin of immorality and the sin of self righteousness in Jesus.  Consider the greatest sin you’ve ever committed and know that Jesus bore the wrath of God for you sin.  Now consider your best righteous act, and know that Jesus bore the wrath of God for your sin in that act too.  The gospel is meant to be a gospel of peace and rest.  Are you resting in Jesus alone?  Instead of trying to clean yourself up on the outside, start with your heart.  Ask God for affections for Him, to incline your heart towards Him, to give you desires to see Him in His Word, to delight and find joy in all that He is for us in our Lord, Jesus Christ.  He loves you, it’s not a prayer He will say no to.  
 
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 57 – The End of the Law

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Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s message is an important one.  This is a section of scripture that if you do not take to heart, you will drift from the gospel of peace, into something else that is not the gospel at all.  If at the end of today’s message you do not feel pitiable, small, weak, and needy, I will not have done God’s word justice.  If at the end of today’s message you do not see Christ as all-sufficient, triumphant, massive, and mighty to save, I will not have done God’s word justice.  After laboring in Romans 9 to show that salvation is 100% of the Lord, and not a matter of birthright (by being born within the physical nation of Israel) or upholding of the old testament law (As given by Moses and the prophets) Paul is now directing his attention to his physical brothers of Israel who had believed both of these things.

Romans 10:1-4 – “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

From the section of scripture (Romans 9:31-33) immediately preceding the above we know that “them” that Paul’s heart and prayer is for is the physical people of Israel, his “kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3).  They are not saved, and Paul’s heart is burdened for their salvation overflowing into prayer for them to God.  They have a passion for God, but not according to knowledge.  I wonder how many inside and outside of the church today would fall into this same category.  They have a passion for God, but no true knowledge of Him.  How else do you explain that over 75% of the US considers themselves “Christian”, yet our country is so full of unrepentant, rampant, immorality?  Knowledge matters.  It is not enough to “believe” in God, if the God you believe in, is not grounded in the Truth, the revealed God of the Bible.  Here is a good measuring stick of whether you know God – if you are content in your knowledge of God, not wanting to pursue Him further, you may not know Him at all.  God will convict you, discipline you, push you, and guide you in a way your flesh and your own sinful desires would never lead you – but if you know Him, you know that His loves for you guides all that He does and you trust Him.

So what was the “knowledge of God” that was lacking for the people of Israel?  Verse 3 tells us.  They were ignorant of the righteousness of God.  Because they were ignorant of the righteousness of God, they attempted to pursue self-righteousness through adherence to rules and codes of morality.  To be sure, the pursuit of righteousness in your life is a good thing – until you believe that God will accept or love you based on “your righteousness”.  These holy men of Israel did not listen to their own great prophets, Isaiah and David; Isaiah when after being face to face with the righteousness of God had this to say (Isaiah 6:5) – “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” and later in Isaiah 64:6 – “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”  David said in Psalm 143:1-3 – “Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!  In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!  Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.”

The law was given to Israel not to produce in them a righteousness that would be accepted by God, but to show them their unrighteousness and need for a righteous Savior.  Why did Israel not see this?  Because they did not know how righteous God truly is, they did not know Him.  If I was trying to explain to a child what heat is, I might show them the warmth of the sun on a hot day (maybe 100˚F), a bowl of hot soup (200˚F), or a fire (1500˚F).  All of those things contain degrees of heat, but they do not compare to the heat of the sun (10,000˚F), and even our sun does not compare to the heat of other types of stars which can be over (350,000˚F).  For God, who created all things, has within himself not just a different understanding of “heat”, but the very essence of it.  In the same way, man was pointed to an understanding of God’s righteousness, but not to be able to attain it, but to know that God was the Righteous One.  The end, the whole point of the law of God was to lift up Jesus as the Righteous One, the essence of righteousness, who would reconcile a people to God – not because they had earned it somehow, but to demonstrate and magnify the love and mercy of God.

When man does not know the Righteousness of God, two things generally happen, which both were present in the people of Israel 1) a person will attempt to be accepted by God based on their own “righteousness” and “good works” and 2) they will not submit their lives to God.

Israel had a passion for God, but was not saved because they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  What does that mean?  It means two things 1) you recognize your total inability to have God accept you based on your own personal “righteousness” and 2) it means that you submit your life to pursue the righteousness of God in faith.  Faith that while you follow God, you are entrusting yourself to His mercy, not your ability or sacrifice. Submitting yourself to God’s righteousness means that in the fear of the Lord, you will reject sin in your life, reject comfort if need be, to pursue Him and His will in your life.  Knowing that as your grow in the knowledge of the Lord, you will see greater and greater depth to His righteousness, and as a counterpart to that knowledge, a greater and great understanding of your own sinfulness and need for God.  Jesus’s righteousness was not simply a better righteousness than ours; He is the essence of righteousness.  When the Lord in His mercy reaches us with faith to know Him, we are covered and clothed in the perfect essence of the righteousness of God.  The wrath of God poured out on our sin on Jesus was the essence of wrath, infinitely more powerful and horrible than we can fathom, but the life and righteousness of Jesus, by which we now stand in assured of our salvation, was infinitely more glorious than we can possibly fathom, as is the love of God for us in Jesus.

Do you know the righteousness of God?  Have you submitted to the righteousness of God?  What is stopping you today, from doing so?  Pursuing the Lord is seldom comfortable, but He is good and the only source of lasting joy.  Who would you entrust yourself to, today?  Yourself?  Someone else?  The world around you?  Why not a God whose love for you is indescribable in how great it is?  Why not a God who willingly died an excruciating death for you?  Why not a God who knows your days from the beginning to the end and has promised to walk with you every step of the way?  We come to God as sinners, empty handed, with nothing to offer.  We bring nothing to the table.  God doesn’t ask us to, He simply says “come”.  All who are weary and in need of rest, come.  Find your rest in Him.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 56 – The Stumbling Stone

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Romans 9:30-33 – “What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.  Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

The following was part of a message by Henry Mahan on what it means to be saved by grace alone – “Do you know what the most difficult thing for a Son of Adam, (a human being) to do? The most difficult thing, and I’m not talking about something foolish in the material or physical world, I’m talking about something that pertaineth to life, that which pertaineth to God, that which pertaineth to the spiritual life, that which is real life. The most difficult thing for any human being to do, that which an unbeliever cannot possibly do–and that which a believer finds most difficult? Do you know what it is? It is to believe in, completely trust and look only to, Jesus Christ for justification.  I will guarantee you that it is the hardest thing you will ever be called on to do. To believe only, to trust only, and to look only to Christ. – I didn’t say to look to Christ or believe in Christ – I said only – only so that nothing else enters in to the slightest degree. Nothing else affects your look, your trust, or your confidence only to Christ and Christ alone not only for your justification, but for sanctification and for a full acceptance with God. The Galatians couldn’t do it. The Colossians had trouble doing it. The Philippians were rebuked for not doing it.”

Last time we saw that it was God’s privilege to extend salvation to the world, and that His plan was for a Spiritual people, not a physical one, that would be saved by Jesus Christ alone.  The physical nation of Israel was a means of displaying the mercy and grace of God and His steadfast love.  If you look in the Old Testament, you will see picture after picture after picture of a disobedient people, enslaved, that God chooses to have mercy and grace to forgive and draw to Himself.  Instead of placing their faith in God alone, the people of Israel began to think that it was something within themselves, either by their nationality or by their works that merited their salvation.  The root of this of course is sin.  Man does want to submit themselves to God and His mercy.  That is the root of the gospel, we are not saved by anything in ourselves – even our faith to believe is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).  This is the stumbling stone Israel could not overcome, and it is why only a remnant of the physical nation of Israel were truly saved.

If someone comes to tell me that they have believed on Christ at some point in time, and do not struggle with trusting in Him alone today, they are the one most likely to have never trusted at all.  There is no greater struggle, than to accept the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  To trust completely on Christ, is a daily exercise – to look to Him alone as our righteousness is a daily pleading with the Lord.  The people of Israel were very religious, moral people, and their religious morality (and attempting to achieve a righteousness of their own, instead of trusting in God alone) was what kept them from coming to Christ.  We must all put to death every ounce within us that seeks to be self-justifying.  We are all sinners.  Not just kind of bad – to our core.  We don’t need to be cleaned up, we need to be a new Creation.  We can’t do it.  God doesn’t ask us to, He simply says to look to Jesus.  Set your mind on the finished work of Jesus (Col 3:2) and believe.

Jesus told this parable to illustrate in Luke 18:9-14  “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

Brothers and Sisters, if we ignore the daily battle to trust in Christ alone, we will soon find we have drifted away into the same religious morality that Israel had.  That pathway leads to death.  Instead, let us look to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, alone for our salvation.  Let us ascribe unto Him, all glory and honor for salvation and all things.  He alone is worthy, and all who humble themselves before Him will be exalted on the last day.  Our hope in Him is secure; for what is a stumbling stone for many, is the foundation of eternal life for us.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 55 – The Privilege of the Divine

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Romans 9:25-29 – “As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”  And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”  And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

Last time we saw that God has the right over His creation to do whatever He wills.  We, as part of God’s creation, do not get to question Him – since we owe to God our very being and He is not obligated to us in any way.  Some see this as harsh, but it is the very fact that God does not owe us anything that makes His love towards us so amazing.  God would have been right and just to condemn all of us as sinners to display His holiness, but God’s love and mercy are shown to those whom God has ordained to be “vessels of mercy”.  Many of us would read this and cry out against the justice of God, but God’s answer to us would be the same as His answer to Job when he pursued the same line of questioning in Job 38-40.  The problem with man is illustrated by their very desire to ask that question of “fairness” against God.  It stems from man’s desire to have the world center and revolve around them instead of the glory of our Creator.

Now, we are moving from God’s privilege to have mercy on whom He has mercy (to save whom He will) to God’s privilege to save those from the whole world and not simply among the physical nation of Israel.  To understand this, you have to understand that the people of Israel were expecting a Messiah to come, remove Roman rule and restore Israel’s place as the ruling world power, and rule over the physical nation of Israel.  God’s plan was different.  Israel’s greatest need was not the removal of Roman rule, but the removal of the sin that ruled their hearts.  Further, that need was not limited to the physical nation of Israel, that need was universal, and God’s plan was to call a people to Himself from every tribe and language and people and nation from the Earth:

Revelation 5:8-10- “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

God’s plan was never about a physical people, it was always for a Spiritual people, who were God’s chosen not because they were physical descendants of Israel, or even by their own will, but by the will of God.

John 1:11-13 – “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Christian, I wonder if you feel the weight of God’s setting His love upon you.  Do you see that you are not owed anything by God, including salvation?  God’s holiness extends infinitely beyond our own understanding of the word “good”, “just”, moral”, and “righteous”.  If you are owed salvation for your own works or even your own “will”, it is no longer by mercy, grace, and love, that you receive salvation, it is your wage.  It would have been just for God to condemn all of the physical nation of Israel along with the rest of the world, but God has a plan for a remnant, to save a remnant from their sin and reconcile them fully to know and love our Creator God, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Brothers and Sisters, if you love God today, if you are looking to Him for salvation, trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection alone for salvation, you are the remnant of God.  You bring nothing to the table, but God draws you to Himself because He IS merciful, He IS full of grace, and He IS loving.  The glory of God shines brightest that His love is not contingent upon anything from us, but is given as a free gift.  As you think about where you are today, the things that occupy your mind and time, does the love of Christ frame your thoughts?  I hope it does.  Your contentment, peace, and ability to love and serve others is directly tied to your heart’s satisfaction in the finished work of Jesus.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

 

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 54 – The Rights of the Potter

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Today we’re going to continue our walk through Paul’s Letter to the Church of Rome.  Last time we discussed the supremacy of God’s glory above all things.  Specifically we noted that God chooses whom to set His love upon in a special way for salvation, and that in a way we cannot see now, this is the greatest good and for the greatest measure of God’s glory to be known.  Many people (myself included) the first time walking through Romans 9 will say, “this isn’t fair!  Everyone should be saved!”  God’s answer back is not going to satisfy most people asking that question.  God basically answers back and says that you don’t get to question Him.  Further, it is implied that the most just thing for God to do would be to instantly judge all those who are in their sins, who are not covered by the blood of Christ.  Romans 9 does not leave most people feeling warm and fuzzy, but it should give people a sense of awe before an omnipotent and holy God – to understand the depth of Christ’s atonement for sin, that God’s mercy is precious, the blood of Jesus is precious, and Jesus is a treasure far greater than anything the world could offer.
Romans 9:19-24 – “You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault?  For who can resist his will?”  But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?  Will what is molded say to its molder, “why have you made me like this?”  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make our of the same lump on vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?  What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?  

It always amazes me that so many people try to “get God off the hook” for certain things in the Bible.  God never asks for that.  He is clear, there are some things that are higher than we can understand and He makes no apologies for His actions, and neither should we.  Isaiah 55:9 -“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Man is born a sinner, and unless He is granted repentance from sin to embrace in faith the pardon of Christ through His atoning work on the cross, that man will die in his sins and bear the wrath of God eternally in hell.  Man will never come to God on his own, God in His mercy must come to the man – in Spirit and Truth, the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus being received and the Spirit of God granting faith to believe.
To wrap our heads around what is being said in Romans 9, we must first lay down our desire to be the center of everything in the universe.  We’re not.  God created us for His glory.  Colossians 1:16 – “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”  It’s not about us, it’s about Him.  It isn’t about making much of ourselves, but displaying the glory of our Creator.  That is the end for which man was created.
Most people will never submit to God, they will never feel the weight of their sin against a Holy God and be truly broken in repentance and they will never grasp on to trust in Jesus alone for salvation.  These people will still glorify God, but in a different way than those whom God saves.  These unrepentant people, who sin against God all the day long, never acknowledging their Creator, let alone worship Him, will glorify God when they are judged for their sin.  God’s justice, God’s wrath, God’s infinite holiness will be on display for eternity in the punishment of these people.  Some of these people we rejoice in their judgment, like Hitler, Stalin, child molesters, etc.  Some people we cannot fathom God judging, like gandhi or the person who volunteers their whole life for good causes.  These are “good” people, we say.  To this, we have to understand that as the universe is infinitely greater than we can measure or understand, so is the holiness of God.  Isaiah 64:6 – “our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” 
To be counted as righteous before God required God Himself to take on flesh, live a perfect life, and bear the eternal wrath of God for our sin.  It is the infinite love and mercy of God on display for eternity in the salvation of man.  Both the judgment of a people and the salvation of a people were necessary for the full glory of God to be displayed.  This is as much as we can see as finite beings, reaching into the purposes of our eternal God in creation, judgment, and salvation.  God does not give us every answer, but gives us every answer necessary for eternal life and living in Jesus Christ.  God has clearly shown that He has from the very beginning, purposed some unto salvation to display his glory as vessels of His love and mercy.  Therefore, if know know God, if we trust in our Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation, we should rest in the peace of that eternal salvation.  God never acts out of surprise, but out of a fullness of His perfect will, and even if we cannot understand fully why God does everything as He does, we can rest in the love and mercy of our God displayed in the gospel of Jesus.  He has demonstrated His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.  That is enough for us all.
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 53 – The Supremacy of the Will of God for His Glory

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We’re going to continue our trek through Romans 9 today by looking at Romans 9:10-18.  I’m intentionally overlapping some scripture we’ve already covered because it is needed for context.  It’s important to note that Romans 9 does not exist in isolation, but is built on Romans 1-8.  That is vitally important because what God says is Romans 9 would be very difficult to take in, unless man’s accountability and hopelessness in his depravity had already been established.  As it is we know that all have sinned in Adam (Rom 5:10-12, that everyone has known God through his Creation yet worshipped the Creation rather than the Creator (Rom 1:18-23), and that of our own volition, no one is righteous and no one seeks for God (Rom 3:10-11).  This is why salvation is of the LORD.  All talk of man coming to God on our own terms, or under the power of our own will is stopped by John 6:44 where Jesus proclaims – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day.”  

 
So with a spirit of humility we enter into Romans 9 today.  Romans 9:10-18 – “And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad-in order that God’s purpose in election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls-she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”  As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”  What shall we say then?  Is there injustice on God’s part?  By no means!  For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”
 
My task today is not the exposition of this text.   It’s been said that the difficulty with Roman 9 is not in understanding what it means, but rather accepting that it means exactly what it says.  Your salvation does not in any amount, in any way depend on your will or exertion.  Look at the words of Jesus in John 6 – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”  Do you come to Jesus for salvation – Yes, absolutely! But it is not your will, it is the Spirit of God drawing you to Christ.  Jesus says this another way in John 3:8 – “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sounds, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  
 
Can you take that in?  You bring nothing to the table except your sin.  You don’t even get credit for your “decision” to come to Christ, that credit belongs solely to God.   He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  All glory, in all things, in every way belongs solely to our God.  We must increase, and He must increase.  That is our sanctification.  Our treasure is that nothing is withheld from us in Jesus.  Romans 8:32 – “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”  Friends, God is not talking about worthless things like gold, silver, or material possessions in this life – we are given all things, a fullness of joy in the presence of our Lord Jesus for all eternity.  
 
Some will look at God’s sovereignty over salvation and accuse him of being unjust.  They will say – “This person never heard the gospel, it is not fair for God to judge him/her”.  They will say – “I was a good person, God has to accept me”.  Those were the objections Paul’s foresaw some in the Roman church raising.  His response was implied that they would have heard the answers in Romans 1-8 and simply said that God’s purpose for His glory is supreme.  Can a wretched sinner accuse God of injustice if God allows them to continue in their unbelief?  It would be as if 10 people were walking down the street past Jesus and all 10 of them mocked him and spat on him as they walked past.  To the first 9 Jesus allowed them to pass by and the 10th Jesus reaches out to and tells him that the penalty for his sin is death, but instead Jesus would bear the penalty in his place.  Further, Jesus works all things in that persons life to bring them to repentance and saving faith.  That is the mercy and love of God.  God has done no wrong to the first 9 by showing mercy to the one.  
 
The most just thing for God to do is to punish all 10 for this sin, but God’s love and mercy would not be known and proclaimed in the same way if He did that.  Instead, in order to magnify His name, God allows some to continue in their unbelief, and intervenes by the Spirit to draw some unto Him for salvation.  What are the implications of this?  The first fruit of this doctrine for a Christian should be humility.  There is nothing for us to boast about in ourselves; especially not our “decision” or our “works”.  We boast in Lord Jesus Christ crucified and Him alone.  What about evangelism?  If salvation is of the Lord, what’s the point in sharing the gospel?  Brothers and Sisters, you would think too little of yourself as redeemed sons and daughters of God if that is your question.  We are colaborers with Christ to extend love and mercy to a lost and dying world.  Ephesians 2:8-10 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Bolded by me for emphasis)  Again, we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:20 – “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us .”
 
My exhortation to you all as you work through the difficult message of Romans 9 is to be amazed not in what God has not done in saving all people, but stand amazed that God saves any.  There will come a day when each of us stands in front of our Lord and the love of God in Jesus Christ for those of us whom are saved will be fully known by us.  At that moment, we will be so overwhelmed that for all eternity we will sing the praise of the love and mercy of God in salvation.
 
Grace and Peace,
Adam 

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 52 – Sovereign Faithfulness

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It’s been a while, but I want to pick back up with our walk through Romans.  Romans 9-11 answer the question, “can we trust God”.  God made many promises to Israel through the prophets in the Old Testament, and now it would seem that God was not fulfilling those promises – that God was turning His back on Israel.  Paul is going to answer that charge by first rightly defining “Israel” and also laying out some pretty hard hitting doctrine on God’s sovereignty in salvation and all things in the process.  All we have in this life is our hope in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Can we trust God.  Is he faithful?  Hopefully Romans 9-11 will be challenging, but not a burden, as we remember that our Lord IS faithful, He never changes, never falters, and will surely bring to pass all that He has promised.
Romans 9:1-13 – “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.  They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.  To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.  But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”  And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”  As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Bolded by me for emphasis)
The metanarrative of the Bible is God’s glory manifested through the redemption of a people unto Himself.  God chose a people, Israel, in the Old Testament to be the object of His plan for redemption.  What Paul is expressing here, is that there is an inner and an outer Israel, but from the beginning, God’s chosen people have always been the inner Israel.  Outer Israel is the physical nation of Israel, the physical descendents of Abraham, but inner Israel has always been those who believed God and their faith has been counted to them as righteousness.  There are countless examples in the Old Testament about how the physical nation of Israel rejected God, but there was always a remnant within, the True Israel (inner Israel) that never lost faith in God.  Here are two examples to illustrate this from the Old Testament (there are many, many more):
Numbers 21:4-9 – “From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”  Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.  And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.  And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”  So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.”  Many people of the nation of Israel (outer Israel) died in their unbelief at this time, yet God kept a people of faith for Himself among those with Moses (inner Israel).
1 Kings 19:9-18 – “he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”  And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”  And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.  And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.  And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.  Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”  Elijah believed that He alone was left who believed God and followed Him, but God rebukes Elijah by telling him that he has kept 7,000 in Israel.  There was a remnant within Israel that believed God, and did not reject Him to worship idols.  God commands the destruction of everyone in Israel (outer Israel) except for the 7,000 (inner Israel).
So Paul answers the question as to God’s faithfulness to Israel by explaining that Israel is not the physical nation of Israel by itself, but the remnant of Israel that believes.  This remnant would include those in the physical nation of Israel, and all other nations whose faith rested in Jesus.  This does not mean that God is done with the physical nation of Israel – we’re going to see that more in Romans 11, but it does mean that His promises are to the children of faith, the children of promise according to God.  Paul is going to expand on this more in the upcoming verses.  What is key to understand here is that God’s choosing is not restrained by anything.  God does not save “the good people” and damn “the bad people”.  Paul makes that clear with the example of Jacob and Esau, say that before they had been born and before they had done anything wrong, God determined to love Jacob and hate Esau.  To explain what is meant by love and hate here, you must understand the value and worth of the mercy and salvation of God.  Esau provided for the family, whereas Jacob steals his brother’s birthright (a greater inheritance) and tricks his dying father, Isaac into giving him the blessing meant for Esau.  Certainly God should love Esau more than Jacob, right?  Both Jacob and Esau were sinners.  We know from Romans 1-8 that all have fallen short of the glory of God and deserve the judgment of God.  Jacob was chosen by God for mercy, however.    The mercy and salvation of God is so infinitely valuable, that to compare the mercy and salvation of God to the lack of the mercy and salvation of God, is to rightly say that God loved Jacob and hated Esau.  Over time you see the fruit of the salvation of Jacob by his pursuing God, whereas Esau rejects God.      
I’m not going to dance around this doctrine to appeal to the masses, I will say this clearly, because scripture makes it clear – Salvation is of the Lord, from beginning to the end.  The heart cry of a Christian is not to make much of their effort, but of the love and mercy of God extended to them.  We’ve walked through clearly in Romans 1-2 man’s guilt before God because He chooses sin instead of worshipping the Lord, we’ve seen in Romans 3, that no one is righteous, that no one seeks for God, we’ve seen in Romans 4-5 that all of us sinned in Adam, are born into the same sin, and have no hope in ourselves because we are sinners by both action and in our nature (the inclination of our heart and mind is always sin apart from God).  Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is Truth and good news indeed, because only when we are truly hopeless can we find hope in Jesus.  Only if we have NO hope in ourselves can we stop trying to pursue salvation through good works and truly find peace in the words of Jesus, “It is finished”.  We bring nothing to the table of salvation.  God ordained from before the world began those whom He chose unto salvation. (Eph 1:11-14)  We don’t like hearing that, we like to say that we choose God – it seems like we have to have some part of the equation in order for God’s choosing us to be “right”.  Brothers and sisters, if God required us to come to him, we would never come.  Let us boast therefore, in our hopelessness and the love and mercy of God.  Let us boast that if we have believed God, He is faithful to fulfill His promises.  He is faithful to complete the good work that He began in us. Philippians 1:6 – “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  I do not know why God chooses some and not others, that knowledge is hidden in the mind of God, but I know that He is good.  I also know that the call of Jesus is real, anyone who would repent and believe in Jesus alone for salvation will be saved.  It is the glory of God that even the person bringing the gospel to one to be saved is ordained by God.  It is the glory of God that He works in the heart of the person hearing the gospel to believe.  It is the glory of God that He is faithful to fulfill His promise to us through Jesus.
I’ve dug into some of the doctrine that God has for us in Romans 9, and more is to come.  I have spoken this Truth of God’s word here in Romans 9 before to some Christians, who respond by saying – “That’s not my God – that’s not the God I worship”.  Now in my younger years, I would usually respond in a short way by saying, “well then you’re not worshipping the God of the Bible, so you better think about that”.  Inevitably those disagreements escalated and were not helpful.  My age has tempered my response somewhat, because I want to edify and unite rather than hammer away at professing believers (except where a false gospel is preached).  So my encouragement to those that will be offended by this message and the messages to come in Romans 9-11 is this – let God’s Word persuade you and the Holy Spirit convict you.  Don’t believe me, but don’t believe yourself either – believe God from His Word.  I’ve been convinced by scripture over time that man makes choices, but those choices are guided by God.  God ordains everything… everything for His purpose for His glory.  At some point you have to really let go of your own understanding, and take God at His Word.  Instead of saying, well this doesn’t make sense to me – or this isn’t what I want it to be, so I’m not going to believe it, instead go to God with, well, I don’t understand this completely, but it’s clear in your Word, so help me find greater joy in you because of this Truth.  The decrease of self, the increase of God is joy for those whose treasure is Jesus.  For those who would forsake the world to gain Jesus, this doctrine will be peace and joy.
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 51 – Deconstructing “truth” for Everlasting Joy

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Some of you have noted my lack of writing of late.  These messages press on me, as I hope they do you.  I’ve taught long enough to know what is coming – Romans 9 will be a cause for some to unveil the glory of God and result in exceeding joy in praise to His sovereignty in all things.  Romans 9 will be a cause for some to reject truth and perhaps walk away from their faith altogether.  So as I’m working through the upcoming message, I want to plead for God’s grace to us all that the messages to come in Romans 9, 10, and 11 would result not in some shrinking back from God, but finding peace and joy in His sovereignty over all things.

There are many ways to find joy in life, not all of them are good or lasting.  There are many ways to manufacture emotion towards God, not all of them are good or lasting.  Lasting joy is only found in Truth.  My hope is that the wellspring for our joy in God would be infinite, unleashed and grounded in the never-changing Truth from the Word of God.  I say this because everything in our culture tells us that we are the center of the universe.  It is the “truth” that has been pressed into us from as long as we can remember.  It is the root of sin to believe that we are greater than God and should be regarded as such, yet many Christians harbor one last piece of pride against God, that God is contingent upon them, instead of their being contingent upon God.  No one has to be “taught” to believe that their will, their “free will”, is ultimately self-determining.  They believe that because it appeals to their nature.  Mind you, this kind of “free will” that is autonomous and ultimately self-determining is found nowhere in the Bible, not a single verse.  We have a will, that is without dispute, but why we will, what we will is governed by an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God who will not submit His good purpose for His glory for anything, let alone the whims of sinful man.
That message was once extremely offending to me personally.  I was confronted with this doctrine by a teacher about 10 years ago.  At the time, I was discouraged because this was a man I had looked up to, I trusted, and now he was telling me things about God that disturbed me a great deal.  I thought he was crazy.  I spent the next months reading my Bible searching for ways to prove that what he was saying about God was wrong, and in the end I was undone by Romans 9.  It was the nail in the coffin to my desire for “free will” as most define it, but it was also the beginning of a love of God for who He is, and His supremacy in all things.  Why do I share all this?  2 reasons.  First is that for those of you who have an initial negative reaction to what I’m going to share, I want you to know that’s ok – but don’t allow your personal views to be the arbiter of Truth – trust the Word of God as Truth and search the scriptures as I did to settle the matter for yourself.  Second, because I want you to know that doctrine by itself is pointless.  We do not press new truths of God into our heart and mind just so we can be “right” in an intellectual debate amongst Christians – the very thought of that disgusts me and churns my stomach to think of it.  We know and hold fast to our doctrine because it is the root of true, everlasting joy in God.  We endeavor to know God for the joy that comes with Him.  We hold doctrine because it dictates how we live our lives – your peace in life, how you engage a fallen world day to day will be governed by your view of God, and specifically the joy that you find in Him.
So before I go into Romans 9, which will last a number of weeks, followed by Romans 10, and 11, which will last a number of more weeks, I want to share three passages that helped guide my understanding of what is written in Romans 9.  The first is Proverbs 16 (the entire chapter, but spefically 16:9) – “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” This is about as clear as you can be, that a man wills, but the Lord is sovereign over what happens in a way that what comes about is the will of God.  The second was the exchange between Joseph who had been sold into slavery by his brothers, and those same brothers who feared Joseph and God’s wrath for their wrongdoing.  Genesis 50:19-20 – “But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?  As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”  This one was difficult for me at first – it is saying that God desired sin on the part of Joseph’s brothers, brought it about, but yet God was good, because His purpose in everything was for good.  In the story, for the provision of food (life) for Israel, but metaphorical as a picture of God’s purpose for salvation for His people.  So the brothers willed something, selling Joseph into slavery because of their jealousy, but they willed that something because God desired it to be for His purpose.  Finally, as a  good baptist kid growing up, I was familiar with Philippians 2:12 – which says “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”  No problem there, it’s telling me I should seek obedience to God.. the problem is the next verse which says “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work according to His good pleasure.”  I didn’t remember hearing many sermons on that part… My willing was God at work in me to will and work, according to His good pleasure.
So all of these and other verses weighed in my mind as I came into Romans 9.  These verses have now been commended to you as well.  The rest of my time in Romans 9, 10, and 11, I will not make any concessions on the Truth of God to make it more “palatable”.  Each of us must wrestle with the Truth that comes, knowing that God is greater, that in all things He is good, and the joy to be found is infinite, eternal joy.  I will cover a great many questions that accompany God’s sovereignty and faithfulness over the coming weeks, but we would never reach Romans 12 if I sought to answer them all.  My prayer is that God gives us all soft hearts, ready for the Molder to grow us in the knowledge of the Truth, and that He would continue to do so for years to come.  My exhortation and expectation is the same as the author of Hebrews 10:37-39 which says, “For in just a little while, he who is coming (Jesus) will come and will not delay; but my righteous one will live by faith.  And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”  But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”  We will not shrink back, but will press forward together in the coming weeks and months, entrusting ourselves to our God and the Holy Spirit that will guide us into all Truth.
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 50 – Secure in Jesus

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The greatest lie Satan will try to convince Christians of is that their salvation rests in themselves.  This lie must be confronted with the truth of the gospel of Jesus daily if we are to continue in our faith with joy.  Every other religion will speak about what you must do to become right with God, how you must earn His favor, but as Christians we trust not in ourselves, but that our God secured salvation for us.  We do nothing to save ourselves, Jesus is our Savior.  He bore the wrath of God for our sins, He died, He conquered death and rose to sit at the right hand of God.  We are secure in Him and His love for us will never change.  That is the great message from Romans 8:31-39 today:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.  Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Psalm 44:22) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Our Heavenly Father, in a fullness of love sent forth Jesus to ransom a people.  They were held in bondage to sin, and Jesus came to pay a price to bring them to God.  Here is what I want you to know – no matter how you feel that you have sinned, you have sinned infinitely worse than you can imagine.  None of us fully understands the weight and gravity of our sin against our Creator, a perfectly holy God who loves us.  Things get worse… Satan, the ruler of this world, who knows God better than you do, is constantly accusing you in front of God day and night.  (Rev 12:10)  Worse still, every accusation about your sinfulness is true.  The great news of the gospel though is that you have already been judged.  All of your sin past, present, and future was placed on Christ on the cross.  He absorbed the infinite wrath of God, the penalty your sin deserved, in your place.  So now, the accusations against you are true, but every time an accusation against you is made, literally Jesus stops the accuser and says – I paid for that.  He/She is not-guilty, the penalty has been paid, I paid it in full.  The accuser has been stopped – there is nothing left to accuse anyone of who trusts in Jesus. 

The resurrection of Jesus was evidence of the victory of Christ over sin and death.  The justice of God was vindicated by the blood of Jesus.  A price had to be paid for God to be holy and just, and Jesus paid it all.  Dueteronomy 21:22-23 – “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”  Galatians 3:13 – “ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”  Our Lord and Savior Jesus, became a curse for us, that we might inherit Him, to have fellowship with Him now and forever. 

What else is there to say?  Time would fail us if we sought to understand and recount the depths of the love of God towards us in Jesus.  The work of redemption is finished.  Our accuser’s mouth is shut by the lamb of God.  Friends, you are free in Christ.  If God loves you as He does, what else matters?  The weight of such a salvation should move us to great acts of love and service to others as we share the gospel with a world in need of Jesus.  I hope that is the result of the gospel message in your heart.  I hope that it does not become stale or tired, but that you continue to fan into flame your faith by reminding yourself of the height and depth of God’s love towards us in Jesus and putting your belief into action.  The love of God has no end.  All of the power of God in creation of all of the universe pales compared to God’s love towards us in Jesus.  Find your hope and peace in Him and you will never want for anything in this life or the next.  Jesus has secured our salvation, and He has secured our inheritance for eternity.  We have Jesus, now, today, and forever, and He is more than enough. 

Grace and Peace,
Adam