We love Him because He first loved Us (Part 5 of 5)

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to the final part of our series ““We love Him because He first loved Us.”

Let’s complete our study with the fifth lesson: THE PERFECTION OF HIS REDEMPTIVE PLAN…

We love Him because He first loved Us (Part 5 of 5)

Here’s our fifth and final doctrinal lesson from this simple verse. Our profound text is a clear statement about the sovereign power of God’s love: “We love Him, because He first loved us.” It is a lesson about the sovereignty of God’s saving purpose. It is a celebration of the glory of sovereign love. The verse, despite its brevity, also turns out to be incredibly rich with meaning.

It also reminds us of the perfection of His redemptive plan. 

Just consider the first two words of our verse: “We love.” Again, that speaks of a totally transformed heart. At first, we didn’t love:

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit – Titus 3:4-5

Here the Apostle Paul speaks once again of that regenerating work that turns our cold, unloving hearts of stone into hearts that are capable of true love for God.

And inherent in the same loving kindness that obtained our salvation is a guarantee that we will persevere in that love to the very end. We love Him. We’re completely free from that sinful enmity that once kept us hostile to Him. And He loves us. He will not permit anything or anyone to snatch us out of His hand. 

Notice these verses from the Apostle John:

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love – 1 John 4:17-18

That love is a fruit of God’s own Spirit, and therefore it is a permanent love. It “casts out fear”; it gives us boldness even in the day of judgment. It will not fade or diminish. Why? “Because as He is, so are we in this world.” This love conforms us to His image, and keeps conforming us to His image, until that goal is perfectly achieved. In other words, the same love that guaranteed our salvation from sin in the first place guarantees our perseverance in the faith.

In closing:

You might be a believer who doesn’t affirm these doctrines of grace. But the fact is, if you are a Christian, you do already affirm the fundamental principle in every one of these truths. You already know in your heart of hearts that you weren’t born again because you were morally superior to your unbelieving neighbors. You were worthy of God’s wrath just like them:

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others – Ephesians 2:1-3

Also, according to the Apostle Paul, it was God who quickened you and showed you a special mercy – and that is why you are a believer:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus – Ephesians 2:4-6

You already know that in your heart. You don’t really believe you summoned faith and came to Jesus Christ in your own power and by your own unaided free will. You don’t actually believe you are morally superior to people who don’t believe. You therefore must see, somewhere in your soul, that God has given you special grace that He has not necessarily shown everyone. 

You also believe God is absolutely sovereign over all things, because you lean on the promise from Romans:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose – Romans 8:28

And that promise would mean nothing if God were not in control of every detail of everything that happens. If He is not in control of all things, how could He work all things together for good?

Furthermore, you pray for the lost, which means in your heart, you believe God is sovereign over their salvation. If you didn’t really believe He was sovereign in saving sinners, you’d quit praying for the lost and start doing everything you could to buttonhole people into the kingdom by hook or by crook. But you know that would be folly. And you pray about other things, too, don’t you? You pray that God will change this person’s heart or alter the circumstances of that problem. When we go to God in prayer, we’re expressing faith in His sovereignty over the circumstances of our lives. 

You even believe God operates sovereignly in the administration of all His providence. You say things like:

If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that – James 4:15

Why? Because in your heart you believe that God works all things after the counsel of His own will and nothing happens apart from His will:

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will – Ephesians 1:11

Nothing is more Biblical than these doctrines that we have discussed and are the very essence of what Scripture teaches – throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. The very gist of these Biblical doctrines is nowhere more clearly stated than in the simple words of our study verse:

“We love Him, because He first loved us.”

Amen!

Thank you for reading! It is my hope that you now have a better understanding of these very important theological doctrines which are rooted in the Word of God.

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

 

Blessings!

Shane <><‏

The Harm in Doing More

16 Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. Esther 9

The narrator states in multiple places that the Jews did not plunder when the raid occurred.  Why is the narrator so emphatic about this point?  You need to go back to 1 Samuel to find the comparison.  God had told the Israelites to destroy the Amalekites.  They did that, and then they plundered.  God wasn't pleased with this, and Saul lost his kingship as a result.  He went beyond what God had instructed him to do.  He did something for the purpose of benefiting himself, not benefiting God.

We are all given direction and instruction from God.  We have specifics direct from God.  He has a narrow path for us to follow.  Yes, it is difficult and there are temptations along the way, but God only wants us to do EXACTLY what he wants us to do.  There are multiple passages in Numbers where the Israelites are passing through various territories and they request passage, stating, "We will not stray to the right or to the left."  It's the same concept.  They're doing exactly what God had told them to do.  They stayed focused on the path.

I see various ad campaigns now that focus on "Do More."  I argue that we shouldn't do more, as it may not be in God's will.  Instead, we should "Do God's Will."  That will suffice, and nothing more will be needed.

Gifts vs. Commitments

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  Philippians 2:1-4

Most people know that I spend a lot of my time focusing on the development of others’  strengths much like focusing on spiritual gifts spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12.  Listening to a pastor last week, he spoke of something that is often mistaken as being a spiritual gift; humility.  He made this statement; “Humility is not a gift.  It is a choice.”  This was truly revealing because I thought this was one thing others got a pass on because they were simply not capable of it.  The truth is we all are capable of this and other things that we can simply choose to do.

We must remember not to confuse our gifts from God with our commitments to God.  Many times, we look at our own abilities, and say we are not capable of doing certain things.  Everyone has an ‘I can’t _____’ statement.  Here’s the thing.  God gives us love, grace, and a rebirth.  All of us were unworthy of such, but He made a way for us through Jesus Christ.  What if God said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t forgive you,” or “You know?  Let someone else take care of you?”  How would that work?  There are things we do through the gifts God gave us, but there are also things that are non-negotiable.  We must be willing to dig through our own barriers and ugliness to say ‘I can’ to a worthy and awesome God.

Jesus Christ gives us clarity of our commitment to God.  He says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and, “Love your neighbor as  yourself.” (Matthew 22:37, 39)  These are not gifts we are blessed with.  These are choices that we must be willing to live by, and we must never accept that we are incapable of doing something God expects from us.  What will you commit to God that you have not before?  My prayer is that we are given wisdom enough to discern God’s gifts from our commitments to Him.  Amen.          

Tues Devo: Does it matter?

Psalm 119:1-2 “How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart.” (NASB)

Hello,

We like to have out choices! Restaurants tout their choices and customization, Coke has those crazy machines to mix flavors up. We can shop online and customize colors or patterns of clothing. We look for services like phone/cable where we don’t have to have a long term commitment. We like our way, but with the option to change what that way is at any point. Trouble is, God doesn’t work this way. He wants our obedience fully and for the long run. The commands of the Lord are not part of the Burger King menu – it is His way not our way. We don’t get to just pick the things that appeal to us, or our comfortable with our personal desires. We are also to be in it for the long haul, not just today and then when we feel different we step away.

So, does it matter? Yes it does! 

Will Hill