Extending the Gospel with Passion & Sincerity
God’s sovereignty over salvation does not in any way mitigate our responsibility to passionately & persuasively present the gospel message to all types of people.
salvation
Exploring the Riches of Unearned Forgiveness
It is critically important to always keep God’s amazingly gracious character in view when we consider the nature of his decision to save undeserving sinners like us.
Perspectives on Fairness, Justice & Grace
We should humbly affirm God’s right to do as he chooses regarding the dispensing of his justice toward some sinners and the demonstration of his mercy toward others.
Grappling with God’s Choices
Because God is working to collect his chosen people we can be expectant & confident in our evangelism knowing that those he’s appointed to eternal life will be saved.
Getting Excited About Our New Destiny
The finished work of the cross and the ongoing defense of Christ as our mediator should instill us with a profound joy regarding our future eternal blessings.
Seeing Salvation as an Inheritance
We can learn to appreciate and value our salvation by seeing it through the biblical metaphor of inheritance
Reading Scripture in Light of Redemption
There is no room for prideful feelings that we in some way achieved our salvation because God’s salvation is freely and sovereignly bestowed through faith not works.
Scripture's Overarching Theme of Grace
An acute awareness of sin should drive us to embrace (then celebrate) the imputed righteousness of Christ that is freely granted through faith to all variety of sinners.
The Goal of Scripture's Many Rules
The rules & the assessments of the Bible are directed strongly and specifically toward each of us so that we might own our many sins and cry out for grace without excuse.
Why It's All Worth It
Following Christ is worth it because God rewards us with many advantages now and will one day give us the New Jerusalem along with tangible, generous compensation.
Getting Honest About Myself
The prerequisite to having eternal life is admitting we fail at keeping the rules God requires and the only way to be acceptable to God is to trust Christ who kept the rules for us!
Real Salvation
We cannot rightly understand or appropriate the benefits of Christ’s NT cross until we understand something of the OT altar.
Recalling Why This is So Important
Serious effort in our sanctification bears witness to the reality of our justification; we must understand this relationship and give this fight with sin our all.
Trusting God When Your Back's Against the Wall
When problems, pressures or people are pitted against you and they threaten to do you harm, make sure you’re right with God, focus on him and leave your opponents for him to deal with.
Believing All of God's Promises About the Future
We must boldly in trust God’s promises about the future seeking to be prepared and to prepare as many as possible to experience God’s grace instead of his judgment.
Cultivating the Core Ingredient of the Christian Life
Biblical faith is more than “wishing” or “believing” it is a sincere & reasonable confidence in truth that leads to action and ultimately to God’s reward.
Our Assurance & God's Truthfulness
We should seek to know that we are genuine Christians by examining our lives and by examining the Scriptures seeing that Jesus was who he said he was and God is always faithful to fulfill his promises!
Making Absolutely Sure We Don't Miss It
Assurance of salvation is bolstered by seeing God develop in you a servant’s heart that tenaciously works for the good of the body of Christ to the glory of God.
Taking a Closer Look at Spiritual Defection
We must understand and dread the fate of the apostate who after a serious interaction with truth seriously renounces his association with Christ – & make sure its not you.
Watching Out for the Pacifying Benefits of Dating Christ
Watch out. You can benefit greatly from Christ & his church without ever receiving the most important benefits of new birth, forgiveness & eternal life.
Making Sure we’re Not Fooled by Religious Ceremonies
Outward signs of our favored status with God mean nothing if we are not rightly related to God through a repentant faith in Christ.
Learning to Rest from Attempts to Earn a Place in God’s Family
The work of making us acceptable before God has been fully completed by Christ; we need to step into that benefit with total confidence that the work has been done!
Seeing My Salvation as the Fulfillment of the Sabbath
Jesus Christ has fulfilled the ceremonial requirements of the OT; we should rejoice that the reality is here and the shadowy ceremonies are gone! Rest in Christ’s finished work!
Avoiding THE Biggest Misunderstanding of All
While passages of Scripture sometimes appear to support “works salvation” it is essential to know that good works that accompany salvation come after real repentance & faith.
Being Rightly Concerned About Real Faith
We must seriously evaluate our relationship with Christ and his truth, so that we are sure we are not experiencing any false hope regarding our eternal destiny.
A Question of Perseverance, Salvation & Eternal Security
Our salvation is contingent on God, who, by his sovereign choice, works in us genuine repentance & faith, as well as a life of faithfulness & obedience.
Understanding the Primary Components of the Gospel
Feeling awkward or even scared when talking about the gospel is normal, even expected, but we have to power through the feelings to be obedient representatives of the most important message in the world.
Why the Son Became One of Us
Christ offers to God the Father what we cannot; And at great cost to himself, he sacrificially endows us with incredible, unearned and eternal benefits.
Taking Stock of What’s at Stake
A central lesson of the Old Testament is that we cannot disregard God’s truth and walk away unscathed – there are always consequences for transgressing God’s rules.
A Transformed Life
Paul was completely transformed; we should be, too. Christ in us changes everything, and we would do well to remember the differences daily.