Recently, a friend visited a church where the Lord’s renewal work has been done for five years. He described his weekend with the members of this church: “One notable thing was this: every time he walked past a group of men, they talked about things about God. There came a time when I asked them what was the secret of this blessing they had known, I had an answer for me, but I wanted to hear what they were going to say, they gave the right answer, which was a sovereign work of God. They said it wasn’t always like this and they were aware that God was working among them. It was very encouraging. It wasn’t an alarm clock, but when I imagine waking up, it’s one of the things that it was exciting to see what was really going on, and did it give me a new hope of the possibility of a revival?
Every time one wakes up, there is a new fascination with the Bible: “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to each other?(Ml 3:16). Of course, even when men wake up, they end up straying and obsessing over the details of theology or the doctrines that divide true Christians. However, a sign of God’s blessing in a congregation is the desire to talk to each other about the various, and even seemingly contradictory, forms of God. We like to go to churches where people discuss teaching the same arrangement with which others talk about their interests and jobs. Understanding the Word of God is one of our greatest joys.
- A test of maturity is the experimental understanding of these truths that seem to be in conflict with others.
- But which are actually like the arms of the Father that envelop his children.
- And to the extent that they remain grounded in both.
- They must be believed.
- Your own independent biblical testimony.
- There is a wide range of such truths in the scriptures; five examples are shown below.
The scriptures clearly show man’s total inability to transform his character, by his own strength and will, thus becomes like Christ. Is it beyond man’s ability?Can Ethiopians change their skin or leopards their spots?So could you do good by being used to doing evil?(Jr 13:23). ” No one can come to me if the Father who sent me does not bring it,” said the Lord Jesus (Jn 6:44) . Is the true and simple act of faith in the Lord impossible without him?And without the funny gift of Father Jesus tells us again that unless a man is born again, he cannot see or enter the kingdom of God. God (John 3: 5. 5).
However, there are commandments to which God confronts every human being. Do you want to be born again? (Jo 3. 7); ? God?Do you inform men that everyone, everywhere, regrets it?(At 5:30 p. m. ); and “Will you love the Lord your God with all your heart?”Are these commandments sincere? Surely all creatures are accountable to their Creator. Don’t such commandments presuppose a minimum of capacity? No, since the fall of our father Adam.
God treats people according to the standards of responsibility and obligation, not according to the measure of capacity. John Murray said, “If the obligation presupposes capacity, we must all go all the way and preach the full capacity of man. “Were we given the commandments? They are a revelation of the will of Almighty God, and they will also make men realize their total incapacity. One of the results of preaching man’s incapacity is that people are forced to stop trusting one another, forcing them to depend only on God’s grace. It is not the conviction of incapacity that takes men away from Christ; it is the exact opposite: “I cannot approach Him, but I need to approach Him. What a terrible incapacity!I thank God for Jesus Christ, the empowering Savior. “
Everything that God has decided to do will certainly be fulfilled: “From the beginning, I announce what will happen and from ancient times, things that have not yet happened; I say: my advice will stand, will I do all my will?God’s plan is immutable, because he is faithful and true (Job 23:13-14). God’s plan is unconditional, that is, its execution does not depend on any human action, but gives it certainty (Acts 2. 23; Ephesians 2. 8 Moreover, God’s plan is completely complete, involving the good and evil deeds of men (Ephesians 2. 10; Acts 2. 23), uncertain events (Genesis 50. 20), the length of a man’s life (Job 14. 5), and where he will live. (Acts 17. 26) God’s plan ensures the salvation of a large number of favored sinners.
However, the certainty that God’s secret will is being fulfilled does not negate man’s need to obey everything God has commanded in the Bible. When the Lord told Paul that he had a lot of people in Corinth, he did not sit in a chair on his porch, waiting for the Corinthians to come and bring him their decision cards. For 18 months, the apostle taught God’s Word to all who heard it in Corinth (Acts 18:11). He did it by praying for them to grow, reaching out to them and begging them to repent. Paul wept for them; He prayed and asked others to pray for them. The apostle visited them in private, debated publicly with his opponents, and apologized if he had offended them with harsh words. He sought to live a Christian life in front of them, so that the message would not be clouded by sin in any way. Paul knew that God’s chosen people in Corinth would certainly confess Christ, but this knowledge in no way negated the need to live a God-fearing life imbued with evangelical fervor.
There is a people that God the Father has given God the Son (John 17:2, etc. ). Do these people have titles such as ‘the church’, ‘God’s people’, ‘children of God’?Or the sheep? Jesus, the New Testament constantly informs us that Christ’s death has focused on achieving the salvation of these people: “Will you save your people from their sins?(Mt 1:21);” Christ loved the church and was pleased in it?(Ephesians 5:25). ); “Jesus was about to die for the nation and not only for the nation, but also to unite in one body the children of God, who are scattered?(Jn 11. 51-52); But you don’t believe, because you’re not my sheep; my sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me; I give them eternal life; will they never perish, and no one will take them out of my hand?(Jn 10, 26-28). The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s plan by saving all who are His people.
However, for every person in the world, without exception, the Christian can honestly say: “I have good news for you. I have Christ crucified for you to believe in him. Do I have the Savior who is a prophet, a priest, and a king to receive and serve? The Christian should invite his listeners to believe his message, demand that they do so, and even exhort them, in the name of Christ, not to continue in unbelief. The Christian does this for everyone without distinction or discrimination. Announce to all men the words of God: “Look at me and be saved, ends of the earth; because I am God and there is no other? (Est 45. 22). And yet I live, says the Lord God, that I take pleasure not in the death of the wicked, but in the wicked who strays from his path and lives. Become, become your bad ways; for why should you die, house of Israel? (Ezra 33. 11). The Savior presents himself to lost men as the one who has achieved complete and perfect redemption, the one who sincerely wants to save them from their sins and who is not satisfied with his death.
Every true Christian experiences the continuous activity of the Holy Spirit, through which the work of divine grace that began in him continues and will reach the fullest; this doctrine is clearly taught in the scriptures (Jn 10:28-29; Rom 11. 29 ; Fil 1. 6; 2 Ts 3. 3; 2 Tim 1. 12; 4,18) Every believer is preserved by the power of God for salvation (1 Peter 1. 5).
At the same time, the Bible teaches that every Christian must persevere in his individual pilgrimage. This protects us against any idea or suggestion that the Christian is sure, that is, sure of his eternal salvation, however much he falls into sin and apathies for faith and holiness. While the Christian is subject to sin and, indeed, commits sins, he cannot surrender to sin or remain under the dominion of sin; you cannot commit and become guilty of certain types of infidelity (e. g. , “sin to death”). Therefore, although the believer is preserved, he is not completely sure, regardless of his subsequent life of sin and infidelity. He will persevere in believing Dios. No it means he will be saved apart from his perseverance, but he will continue to work to achieve it. Its preservation is inseparable from his perseverance.
Christian love is the greatest of all. Is this the mark of Christian life? (John Blanchard), “The sign of Christ’s disciples?(Matthew Henry) ,? The main affection of the soul? (Matthew Henry),?The queen of all Christian graces? (Arthur Pink), “The silver thread that goes through all the behavior of the Christian?”(JCRyle). Without love, a church is nothing (1:13). The new commandment given by Christ to his people is that they love each other, just as He loved them. Through this pure and fervent feeling, the world will know that we are God’s people. Love is the grace most like God.
However, Paul said, “The law is holy; and the commandment, holy, just and good?(Rom. 7,12). Of course it must be; comes from God and demonstrates his own nature. Paul said, “For when it comes to the inner man, do I enjoy the law of God?(Rom. 7,22). He loved the law because he demonstrated the perfections of the saint. The Christian is free from the curse and condemnation of the law, thanks to the saving work done by Christ. For the believer, the law is no longer that terrifying voice that accuses and condemns him. Christ turned off the flame of Mount Sinai; the believer is free from sin and the law. Now, however, he has become a slave to Jesus Christ, his great deliverer, and he does?(Gal 6. 2). ” If you love me, I will keep my commandments,” the Savior said (Jn 14:15). Love is the inner motivation of the believer; but the law of Christ is his guide. As someone said, “The law is the eyes of love. Without law, is love blind?
These two themes, the result of the revelation of God’s sovereignty, taught so clearly in the scriptures, are the elements that make up holy conversation and fruitful meditation.