“For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.” – 2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT
Back on 06/18/2024, I published the post, The God Who Desires/ Wishes/ Intends/ Designs/ Wills All Men to be Saved. In the post, I was challenged as to the focus of sharing the Gospel message. Is it for the purpose of escaping eternal damnation or for reconnecting with the living God for the here and now? Obviously, it is for all of that. But sometimes I believe we lean too heavily on the good news being about getting into heaven and avoiding hell while overlooking what God desires for us in this realm. Even as I wrote the piece, I wondered, “Am I the only one who believes this? Is this some form of heresy? Am I missing some clearly established Biblical principle? Is it really only about saving souls from hell?”
But I recently came across this message from Dan Mohler, a pastor whom I deeply respect. In his message, he said this,
“God made man with intention. God made man with a purpose. This isn’t about dying and going to heaven. I know we sell that all over the world, dying and going to heaven. No, it is about getting back to the Father and getting the Father back to you. It’s about becoming something, not going somewhere.”
Whew! If it is heresy, at least I’m not alone!
So, after hearing this, I was drawn to take another look at 2 Corinthians 6:2, which declares that today is the day of salvation. I had always thought of it as addressing the urgency of punching our ticket to heaven. But, if we step back a few verses before to 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (GW), Paul clarifies, “God has done all this. He has restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships. In other words, God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others. Therefore, we are Christ’s representatives, and through us God is calling you. We beg you on behalf of Christ to become reunited with God. God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him.”
Paul is begging the reader to be changed by what Jesus did into the intended relationship with God. Is that just for the future? No, it is for the here and now – and then throughout eternity.
When Jesus became a man, He did not give up His relationship with the Father. Jesus was our example of entering into a right relationship with God as a human. In addition to Jesus’ teaching of how to pray to the Father, there are so many instances in the Gospels of Jesus displaying an intimate relationship with His Abba. This is what He lived and taught, and the Apostle John continued that teaching in 1 John 1:3, “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” The Greek word here, translated as “Fellowship,” is koinōnian. It means to participate with, to share, to commune together and engage in relational intercourse. So the focus of the Good News is entering into a rich and intimate relationship with the living God.
Below, I am reposting the section on the primary emphasis for our salvation from my post, “The God Who Desires/Wishes/Intends/Designs/Wills All Men to be Saved.”
What Is The “Charge” From the Great Commission?
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20
So, I wonder: Isn’t the work of eternal salvation God’s work, and isn’t our charge to bring others to the knowledge and commitment to follow Jesus? We are yoked together with Jesus in this work, but ultimately, Jesus saves.
What is our “Charge” from the Great Commission? It is to make “Disciples of all Nations”. To make pupils/students/followers of Jesus Christ. I certainly wouldn’t want to diminish the tremendous value of escaping eternal torment. But, perhaps our greater motivation is to offer to a weary, confused and hopeless world what we know to be true – the fullness of the abundant life in Christ in this world. Even as this world spins out of control, we bring hope, peace, joy, purpose, and power to overcome.
I, for one, have felt the terrible burden to rescue the world from Hell’s fire. Are we relying on God’s power to act on His very own desire (will/ wish/ intention/design) that all will have a fair opportunity to gain eternal life?
Paul wrote the perfect description of our role in preaching the Gospel in Romans 10:15, “And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
The glad tidings and good things are described by Jesus in John 10:10 as the “Abundant Life” – being saved from the attack of the enemy in this life. Obviously, complete salvation extends to eternal life and with that, we have escaped the eternal torment as described by Jesus and the New Testament writers.
The Wonderful Gospel If you haven’t ever heard God’s Good News before, here it is: we can not only be certain of eternity now, but also experience God starting now. Though we were separated from a perfect God by our sin, God sent His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life, die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, rise from the dead to prove it all true and then ascend back to heaven to take his rightful place on the throne. All that is required is that we turn away from our selfish desires and believe in and embrace Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. It’s God’s perfect plan of salvation.
Just a reminder to my fellow Christ-followers: We, by the power of the Holy Spirit, lead people to Jesus – Jesus Saves! (Romans 6:23)
For those who don’t know Jesus: Today is the day of salvation! Not only is your eternity secure, but you can know God, your Father, as you become the “something” He created you to be. Commit to following Jesus today. You will be eternally grateful. (2 Corinthians 6:2)
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” – John 15:11
What About the Greater Joy? As mentioned in Part I, the common term for joy means cheerfulness and calm delight. But, if there is a greater joy than that, in addition to Chairete (happy), adjectives are added such as great, increasing, exceeding, or abundant. There are 13 verses reflecting this enhanced joy. It seems that those scriptures describing heightened joy are split among 3 reasons for experiencing the greater joy:
The realization of salvation/that our Savior is alive, or
The reward of seeing the fruit of our Jesus ministering through us – 3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”, or
When we have matured to the level of sharing in Christ’s suffering. 2 Corinthians 7:4, “Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.”
The Agalliaó 11 In addition, I found that the excitable, jumping-up-and-down joy comes from some form of the Greek word Agalliaó, meaning to exult, to be full of joy, to literally jump for joy. This appears 11 times in the New Testament.
We see Agalliaó used with Mary Jumping for joy at being used by God (Luke 1:47), the Jailer and family jumping for joy for their salvation (Acts 16:34). Jesus jumping for joy that all God promised in a redeemer was now being experienced by his Disciples – that they were blessed to see the day that prophets and kings only hoped for arrive (Luke 10:20-22).
However, all other records of Agalliaó (jumping for joy) involve enduring trials as sharing in Jesus’ sufferings for the prospect of realizing the heavenly inheritance in glory. In Matthew 5:12, Jesus says, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Reminder: These trials are not a consequence of our sin and bad actions. These are trials brought about because we are living lives that reflect Jesus and display His true character.
The Spiritual Maturity Process Of course, none of this process is all that linear. Maturity and growth in Christ occur at different speeds and at varying levels, depending on our desire and the purposes of the Holy Spirit. Christians in persecuted places may experience the power and reality of God to meet their specific and immediate needs. We should all rely upon and cling to our eternal hope, but perhaps some desperately need to more immediately than others. In our contemporary Western culture, we know very little about the tribulations of the first century or those of the church today in many other parts of the world. Recently, 49 Christians who were part of a night vigil praying for peace were hacked to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Islamist terrorists. (Many people refer to the terrible war in Gaza as a genocide, but what is going on in the DRC is by definition a true genocide by Muslims determined to wipe out Christians.) Was there joy in the midst of that particular night of terror? It is hard to imagine. But for those Christians, as they worshipped their God and prayed for peace, they knew the danger, were willing to take the risk, and saw beyond the pain to the glory that lay on the other side. Who knows how God will use this horror to answer their prayers for peace? Pastor Jamie Winship, in his book Living Fearless, describes a young Christian whom he worked with in a Muslim country who was imprisoned and tortured for his faith. With each pain inflicted upon him, he cried out in joyful glory at experiencing a closeness with Jesus. His captors were confused, and when faced with killing him, decided they would only be giving in to his desire to be with Jesus and let him go. Captain John Underhill, who led the civil defense of the Massachusetts Puritans in the mid-1600s, describes 2 Christian women who had been abducted and tortured by the Pequot Natives. I dramatized his account from the perspective of the young boy, James Sands, captivated by Underhill’s words in the following excerpt from my historical novel, 1661:
It was Captain Underhill. All quieted and turned their eyes to him. James looked over at Thomas, and both boys’ eyes widened as they smiled. James thought, Ahhh, this was what I had hoped for. Underhill spoke, “In this Indian war just concluded, I have seen great loss, great bravery, and brilliant heroics. But the story that is most stirring to my soul is that of two Maidens whom we rescued from the Natives. Once in safety, they shared their ordeal—the horrible offenses and torture.” James slid a confused look over at Thomas. A story of maidens? Really? Underhill thoughtfully circled the top of his tankard with his index finger as he continued. “Yet in these poor, captive children, God instilled a great measure of sweet comfort and consolation. These fair women joyfully testified that God’s loving kindness is better than life. Better, they said, to be in the lions’ den and still with Christ.” By now, the room was utterly still. James glanced around the table. Every eye was fixed on the Captain. “I recall that sweet, affectionate prince and soldier from the Bible, King David. He knew well the relish of God’s comforting presence in the midst of all the distresses, trials, and temptations that fell upon him.” Underhill looked over at William Hutchinson and then at Simon Ray. “Brothers, the Lord deals with us in the same way. The harsher the captivity of His servants, the clearer God’s presence shines among His true saints. God plucks them out of the flood to bear them up, as he did the apostle Peter above the water, that they sink not.” The Captain slowly drew his dagger from its sheath. “And know that Christ cannot be had without a cross.” He jabbed the dagger into the thick, rough-hewn wood table; he gestured at the cross formed by the weapon’s grip and blade, intersected by the quillion. “They are inseparable: Christ cannot rule in your life without acceptance of His cross. “And therefore, why do you stand surprised at New England that there should be contentions and differences here for the truth of Christ? Have not troubles and contentions followed the purest churches since the beginning of the world to this day?” James saw Reverend Wheelwright nodding slowly. Mistress Hutchinson’s eyes were downcast, her face in an expression of deep study. “Our God ever brings light out of darkness, good out of evil,” Underhill said. “Surely, the greater the afflictions and troubles of God’s people, the more eminent is His grace in the souls of His servants.” A rumbling of “Amen!” rose up from around the table. Underhill smiled. “Would not more men venture to sea if they knew they would never meet a storm?” There was a smattering of laughter, and several men thumped the table with their tankards. Underhill tugged the dagger from the table. He held it in front of him and studied it as he said, “Yet, he is the most courageous soldier who sees the battle pitched, the drums beat an alarm, and trumpets sound a charge, and yet fearlessly joins in the battle.” The Captain sheathed the dagger and said, “Though afflictions for the present are grievous, as doubtless it was with those two captive maidens, yet God issues his sweet, comforting and joyful Spirit to his saints. They rejoiced, and so, we press on.”
What Afflictions? While the afflictions I have experienced over the years are truly of the light variety, many Saints know of serious pain and suffering and likely know all too well 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” I am challenged to truly believe this – that the exceeding, abundant, head-over-heels joy described in the Biblical record is often tied to having the spiritual depth of vision to see beyond the temporary pain and turmoil to glory forevermore. And that even the pain in suffering for His sake, is an experience we share with Christ, brings the reality of him to bear in this realm while it is producing for us a perpetual greater honor and glory. Sorry to say, but I wonder if this kind of joy may be reserved for those who are sacrificially all-in Followers of their Lord and Savior? Hebrews 12:2 says, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The Joy that is set before us is there because we know the victory at the end. Trials are for a moment, but joy is for eternity. Joy for the guaranteed future glory. While I have never been “called” as an Apostle or found myself in the position to suffer dramatically for Christ, I have felt rejection and endured negative consequences for being an open Follower of Jesus. There are endless opportunities to sacrificially love those in the world around us. Still, I am challenged to realize that one day I may very well be called out to follow Jesus into the fire. Am I a true Follower joyfully willing to go wherever He leads? Have I grown in my maturity to “count it all joy?” To be willing to share in His suffering and rejoice in the glory beyond the suffering?
What Am I Afraid Of? I have to admit that I actually find this study and its results a bit unsettling – fearful that I can’t answer the above questions with confidence. But, as I prayerfully lay that fear and anxiety before God, I rejoice as He reminds me with the truth in Psalm 118:6, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” and John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Reminded of the reality of God in my life – I can count it Joy! In the freedom of my initial salvation, in discovering the truth and power of God’s word, in experiencing the reality of God, His presence and being an active part of His Body, in discovering and living out my purpose being used by God, and being reminded of that which I have endured and stayed faithful through trials I grow in the certainty of the eternal glory that awaits. I rejoice! May we as Believers, Disciples and Followers mature to the level described in Ephesians 4:13, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” That we would count it all joy in all that we would be as a Follower who rejoices always!
Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”Notice that the gentleness, unanxiousness, thanksgiving, and peace all begin with joyfully rejoicing!
Is There Anything I Can Do To Acquire and Maintain This Perpetual Joy?
I’m not sure I know the answer. At least I have not experienced that constant overflow of joy in my life. I can guess why. It is likely because I continually revert to finding joy in temporal things (money, possessions, applause—even family). If my joy is in temporal things and the things that won’t last, then my joy will surely fade. The more I find my joy in Christ and that which is eternal, the greater and more permanent my joy will be.
Facial Plethora
Plethora of Joy Jesus implores His Disciples in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” This speaks of a full joy or a joy that is crammed into every part of their life. The Greek word for full is Plērōthē – to make replete, to cram in, level up. This is where we get the word Plethora, meaning abundance or profusion. Plethoric was the original English word taken from the Greek to describe a bodily medical condition characterized by an excess of blood swelling up in the body. The body is so engorged with blood that the skin turns beet red.
So, what were the things Jesus had just spoken to His Apostles that would lead to this plethora of joy and abundance? Basically, in John 15, Jesus had just spoken to them about how critical it is for them to abide/remain in Him. Without that, their efforts would be so useless that they could just be thrown into a fiery trash pit. Abiding means that His very living words and love swell up in them as they follow what He has prescribed for them to do. “Abiding joy” refers to being in a state of persistent, deep-seated contentment that is not dependent on external circumstances but is rooted in our faith and purpose in Christ.
What About That Which “Steals” Our Joy?
The idea of our joy being stolen from us refers to things, attitudes, or people that take away our happiness. Certainly, the fallen world around us wants to steal anything good from God, particularly our joy. Jesus says in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy...” The challenge to me is the question of whether I am truly abiding in Him. How can the enemy steal my joy if I’m present with Jesus? Jesus continued in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” He came that I may possess a Perisson (superabundant, superior, excessive, preeminent, even explosive) life.
Okay, but what about the things from our past that continue to haunt us? Memories and painful wounds that make us cringe, which scream at us that we are unworthy? Is there anything tangible we can do to defeat this voice?
The One Thing
The ideal for every Christian and Christian Community is to grow to fully abide in Christ, and to be filled with a plethora of joy, no matter what the circumstances. The focus is on abiding in Christ to be filled to overflowing with the Fruit of the Spirit, and giving little credence to our past sinful state. The apostle Paul wrote that “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with” (Romans 6:6). He also talked about putting “to death your members which are on the earth” (Colossians 3:5). But, how does one go about facilitating this?
We may find a key to what we can do in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 3, where Paul writes of his rejoicing at suffering the loss of all things for the growing knowledge of Christ, even experiencing the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. How could Paul heal the wounds of his sin against God, including the persecution of God’s church? Paul writes what he does in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
I write more on this “One Thing” in my post of January 1st, 2021, Remember to Forget. Basically, what Paul writes is about two simultaneous motions: while he is reaching forward, he is forgetting what’s behind. They are part of the same thing, like the motions comprised of swimming. As you propel yourself forward, you are pushing things behind. Our focus is on the joy in gaining the prize of Jesus Christ while leaving our old cruddy selves behind.
Paul is saying that there comes a point where he doesn’t understand all the circumstances surrounding his life and how God is working, or why God would choose him. At that point, we propel ourselves forward while pushing our old selves behind to reach for the calling of God on our lives. We do not dwell on past sin but rejoice as we press forward as a new creation for the prize God has for us.
So shall we abide with Jesus, forgetting what is behind while pressing forward to what God has called us to, always and repeatedly rejoicing.
Join Me! Together, let’s enter and dwell in the fullness of the Joy of our Lord!
A Bit of Bible Trivia: When people ask what the shortest verse in the Bible is, most people know it to be John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” That is true in the English translation, but I believe the shortest verse in the original Greek is 1 Thessalonians 5:16, “Rejoice always.” – Commit that one to memory!
This Post is a Followup to my Post: The Strength is in His Grip from November 7, 2023. This material is also found in my book, The Wigglesworth Dilemma.There, I stated my firm opinion that nothing can pull us from God’s Saving Grip. Nothing! Done!
However, The Question Remains: Can We Choose to Depart from God’s Grasp?
There are several scriptures, particularly in the book of Hebrews, which seem unambiguous in their assertions that a person can depart from their salvation.
Hebrews 2:1-3 – “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,”
Hebrews 3:12 – “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall awayfrom the living God.”
Hebrews 4:1 – Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
Hebrews 6:4-6 – “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”
Hebrews 10:26 & 29 – “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, . . . 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?”
My humble opinion is that those scriptures are referring to followers who willingly commit the Unpardonable Sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, identified in Matthew 12:31-32, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” The sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is essentially the sin of rejecting Christ.
By shaking their fist at God with the self-righteous conviction that they are more perfect than God, those who depart have decided to reject God’s free gift of salvation in Jesus. A sinner sears their conscience and resists the voice of the Holy Spirit to stiffen their neck. Eventually, they get to the place where genuine repentance is no longer possible. This stubborn and unrepentant attitude and persistent self-hardening are the chief marks of true blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
How Do I Reconcile These 2 Teachings?
My opinion is this: We cannot lose our salvation. Just as our gracious God is the eternal gentleman who gives us free will and does not force us into a relationship with Him, He also allows us the freedom to depart from His love.
The key words in the book of Hebrews scriptures are to those who “drift away”, “depart”, “come short of it”, “fall away/apostatize/abandon beliefs”, and “deliberately sin”. These indicate to me that if anyone makes a deliberate choice to walk away from God, God graciously allows us to go our own way. True love does not force one to stay. If we choose to depart from God, He lets us go.
2 Timothy 2:11-13 gives us a window into this seeming dichotomy of thought, “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
If we stridently deny him, he will deny us. He lets us go our own way. Yet, if we are true to our commitment to follow Jesus, but our faith wavers, he is the one who remains faithful. God does not relent in his absolute commitment to save those who desire to be saved.
The difference between the two concepts is “we can’t lose something we desire to keep” versus “we can walk away from something we desire to depart from.”
These scriptures also give some indication that those who depart may have never given their whole-hearted belief in and commitment to following Jesus.
In Luke 8, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, saying, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
For those who have heard the Good News but let it wither away or be choked out, they may depart from His love. But, I frankly don’t believe that there are any for whom the Gospel has fallen on good soil, and it answered the desire of their heart to then fully believe in Jesus, who will ever fall away.
To reiterate, “departing” does not include continued sin as Christ-followers. As we strive to grow to be more like Jesus, even in our failures, we cannot be pulled from His grip. Our salvation is not earned, and it cannot be lost. Romans 8:39 says, “nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God still loves us even if we were to walk away from His love.
How can you know you have not committed the unpardonable sin? You can’t possibly be guilty of this sin if you’re concerned that you may have offended God without realizing it, your heart is in the right place, and you’re securely in His grip.
Can We Judge Another’s Salvation?
How do we know about another’s salvation? We know them by the fruit they bear (Matt 7:20). Other than that, we don’t know what only God can know – the true desires of a person’s heart.
Yet, even when someone walks away from their faith, our God continues to pursue them to draw them back into a loving relationship. Even in our faithlessness, God still calls out to us. It is a call to turn back to Him.
Acts 8:22 – “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.”
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 – “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
Hebrews 3:13-15 – “but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Revelation 3:19-20 – “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
The Spirit Continues Faithfully Calling You to the Father
John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3 – “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Does God Give Some Over to Their Depravity?
Romans 1:28 – “Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.”
2 Timothy 3:8 – “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.”
Our Charge is to Pursue and Restore
We are tasked with restoring fellow believers from ongoing sin that does not change their eternal salvation but damages their lives and those around them. And, we are also called to be used by God to bring those who have walked away back into a loving relationship with God. Galatians 6:1 – “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
Jesus highlights the relentless pursuit of God in Matthew 12:11, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?” and in Matthew 18:12, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?”
What About Jesus Declaring, “I Never Knew You”
The challenging words of Matthew 7:21-23 speak to His people abiding in a relationship with God. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
You can do great works using God’s name, but those works are of no eternal value to you if you have never entered into a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Build Your House on The Rock
The scriptures above are followed by Matthew 7:24: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” This speaks of a trusting relationship with God as the solid foundation for our security in Him.
If you have never put your faith in Jesus to know the peace and comfort of His eternal security, you can do that at any moment – even right now!
Romans 10:9-10 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Jesus is calling to you, “Follow me.” From there it starts with a simple prayer where you call out to God and invite Him into your life…
Pray:
“Jesus, come into my life. I want to know you, I want a relationship with you. I know I have fallen short of your glory. Today I repent and turn from my old ways and desire to follow you. I believe Jesus died and was raised from the dead to cleanse me of my sin. Thank you, God, for forgiving me and making me brand new. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen”
If you prayed that prayer, you have been saved by God’s grace and entered into an amazing journey of knowing God. I’d love to hear from you and help you on your great journey.
Tucked In and Lamps Burning 