This is an edition of Milton Vincent's Gospel Primer written at a 6th-grade level for those who would not be able to access it as written. Please use it as the Lord allows, with glory to God and credit given to Pastor Milton Vincent.
A Gospel Primer written by Milton Vincent helped me understand
the gospel and apply it to my life in a new way. Read one reminder of the
gospel each day of the month along with the poem at the end. Take it slowly,
read it over and over with the included Scripture. By God's grace you, too, will find
freedom from self and sin as you see God’s love in the death, burial and
resurrection of His precious Son, Jesus Christ.
1. The New Testament Gospel
The New Testament teaches
the gospel to both Christians and non-Christians. The Apostle Paul wrote to the
Romans, telling them he was anxious “to preach the gospel to you who are at
Rome.”[1] Of
course he planned to preach to non-Christians who lived there, but he was
writing to those who had already received the Lord Jesus as their Savior, the
Church at Rome.
Paul wrote to believers
in Corinth, “I make known to you the gospel, which you have believed,”[2] and
continued by telling the facts of Jesus’ death, resurrection and return to
heaven. After reviewing Jesus’ life and death, he showed them how that same
gospel is at work in their beliefs about eternal life, life with Christ for
eternity, and other situations and relationships they struggled with in the
first century.
Would you be surprised to
learn that Paul re-taught the gospel in his letters to other churches as well?
Ephesians 1-3 is all gospel, Colossians 1-2 is gospel, and Romans 1-11 is
gospel. After visiting Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, Paul writes the
rest of each letter showing how the gospel affects our everyday lives. Through Paul’s example of love and ministry
to the churches of his time, God gave us a pattern to follow as we minister to
ourselves and other believers.
2.
My
Daily Need
In my natural wisdom and
knowledge I believe that the gospel is foolish[3]. My
conscience tells me that if the gospel is true, if God died for my sin, I must
be “really bad,”[4]
so I avoid it. My heart refuses to believe that God would take on human form
and die for someone like me.[5] Every
day I struggle against my conscience, my heart, and the lies of the world and
the Devil.[6] The only
way to fight back against my natural way of thinking and feeling is with the
truth of the gospel, every day.
3.
The
Power of God
We see the power of God
in heaven—how mighty, awesome and wise He is through creation. We think of
erupting volcanoes, our massive sun and the incredible speed of shooting stars.
These are all beyond what we can control or comprehend, but even the wonders of
nature are not described as “the power of God.” The Bible says the gospel
itself is “the power of God”[7] not
once, but twice. This is the only place we find God directing us to His power other
than in the name of Jesus Christ.[8] What this
means is that the gospel is powerful. It
is through the gospel that God shows and works out the power of His might.
How powerful is the
gospel? And how great is His salvation? When I accept it by faith[9] and give
it a central place in my thoughts each day, I will experience change that comes
no other way than by the gospel!
4.
My
Daily Protection
As long as I remain in
the gospel, I have all the protection I need from the powers of evil that
threaten to harm me. God knows that. Because
He is able and wants to protect us, He tells us to “take up”[10] and
“put on”[11]
the whole armor of God. It is not our
armor, it is His—powerful, perfect, and eternal. The pieces of armor are all
different ways of applying the gospel to my life. In Greek, these words are,
“…the salvation…the justification…truth…the gospel of peace…the faith…[and
the]…word of God.”[12] Each one of these is another way of saying,
“the gospel.” So if I want to stand victorious in Jesus, I must do as the song
says and, “put on the gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer.”[13]
If God tells me to “take
up” and “put on” the gospel armor, it must mean that I do not automatically
start each day protected by the gospel. I am weak and open to defeat and injury
until I take it to heart and apply it to all of my life, from head to toe. What better way to do this than to preach the
gospel to myself and review it over and over each day?
5.
Changed
by Glory
The most powerful agent
of change, or transformation, in a person’s life is God’s glory. It is so
powerful that it changes those who do nothing more than look on it. That’s what
the Apostle Paul wrote from his own experience. “But we all,” he says,
“beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory.”[14] His
testimony teaches me that if I want to be all God wants me to be, I must look
and gaze on His glory every day.
But where do I find His
glory? How can I look at it? The Bible says “the heavens are telling the glory
of God,”[15]
and “the whole earth is full of His glory.”[16] But to
see Him directly, up close and personal, I must look for Him in the gospel.[17] As I gaze on the glory of the Lord in the
gospel, He will reflect His glory back onto my life, transforming and changing
me from my sinful self to the likeness of Jesus Christ.[18] The
change is deep and eternal and is seen by those I spend time with each day.[19]
6.
A
Cure for Distrust
Every time I purposefully
disobey God’s commands, it is because I doubt God’s goodness. Does He really
want what’s best for me? Or is He keeping me from having what is good? These
questions lie behind every act of disobedience.
The gospel changes that.
Thinking about God’s love for me, His willingness to sacrifice His Son’s life
for mine, reminds me that His commandments were given by the same love that
gave me His Son. When I realize how much He loves me, I will begin to see that
His commands are another way of directing my life toward good things, even better
things. He wants me to experience His fullness and joy forever.[20]
When I control my
thoughts with the gospel, I am not suspicious of God and His motives. I am able
to trust Him and live in joyful obedience.
7.
The
Gospel is Everything I Need
The gospel not only works
out change in my life, it also fills my life with grace and spiritual blessings.
God wants me to be blessed by His gifts (my spiritual inheritance) every day of
my Christian life.[21] It is through my knowledge of Him, through
the gospel, that God gives me everything I need “for life and godliness.”[22]
That is why God tells me
to remain, to stay constantly grounded, in the gospel, never allowing myself to
be moved away from it.[23] The
fact that He commands me to stay inside the gospel at all times must mean that
He will supply my needs out of His fullness and unending supply of glory and
goodness.[24]
8.
Freedom
from Sin’s Power
As long as I live with the guilt of my sin, it will keep me imprisoned.
Over and over, I will commit the same sin that makes me feel most guilty. The
Devil knows that. He knows that as long as I feel guilty, he can keep me under
sin’s power.
But the gospel cuts below the surface of guilt and takes away the power
of sin. The forgiveness of God, given to me through the gospel, sets me free
from the power of sin because it frees me from guilt.[25]
Preaching God’s forgiveness to myself is a very real way of killing the power
of sin in my life and setting me free.
9. Resting in Christ’s Righteousness
The gospel gives me the freedom to rest. Because Jesus is the One who
earned my righteousness and because He is able to keep it for me[26], I do
not have to work to be seen as righteous before God. [27] The
gospel reminds me that God has declared me “not guilty.” In His court of law, I
am legally without sin (justified) so I don’t have try and again and again to
become righteous or win His approval. I am already accepted and forgiven. Instead,
I can spend my time and energy enjoying God, learning to walk in holiness and
sharing His wonderful grace with others.
The gospel reminds me that I stand before God as someone who is
righteous—and that will never change, no matter what I do—because Jesus is the
one who gained it for me.[28] Even
when I fail, when I sin over and over, the gospel encourages me with grace.[29] Jesus
paid it all. That also means that on my best days of victory and usefulness,
the gospel keeps me in a right relationship with God because of Jesus’
righteousness, not my own.
10. A Slave to Christ’s Righteousness
Not only can I rest in Christ’s righteousness, I can count on the fact
that God sees and treats me as if I am righteous. Romans 6 says that when I
obeyed and answered the gospel, God called (or declared) me righteous. In that moment I became a “slave to
righteousness.”[30]
My owner changed. Now, instead of being
a slave to sin, God has called me to surrender to righteousness.[31] Each
part of me—mind, body, and soul—is a slave to being and doing what is right.
My new standing before God (righteous, justified, without guilt) means
that I have a new purpose: to live out
Christ’s righteousness. Because of Christ’s righteousness, I am called to be
holy. It is as I obey God’s Word that my life changes and I look more and more
like Jesus Christ, my Master.[32] The process of becoming like Christ doesn’t
happen immediately; it takes time and happens little by little, with one holy
choice after another. Each time I am faced with a choice, I am able to joyfully
surrender my sinful desires to the righteousness I have in Christ. God has
clothed me with righteousness. Now He wants it to master me.
The more I rejoice in my position before God in Christ, the more I am
able to fully experience the force of righteousness. The more I live and look
like Jesus, the more I experience the eternal life God has given me in Him.[33]
11. Loving My Brothers and Sisters
The more I live out the truth of the gospel, the more I grow in love for
other believers. As I see the gospel
affecting their lives, I can come alongside them, confident that God is working
out His purpose in their lives. I can see their spiritual growth and the glory
of God in and through them. In joy and
in sorrow it is my pleasure to encourage them and spur them on to keep living
out the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.[34]
Also, when I see the gospel working change in my own life and see the
power of God at work in me, I realize that the greatest gift I can give fellow
Christians is the gospel itself. I love them not only because of the gospel,
but I love them best when I love them with the gospel![35] I do
this by speaking gospel words to them as well as living it out in my own life,
giving and forgiving the way Christ did for me. As I share my life with them
through the gospel, they experience a deeper understanding of gospel power, the
Holy Spirit, and the absolute confidence we have in Christ[36].
By preaching the gospel to myself every day, I build the bond that unites
me with my brothers and sisters for whom Christ died.[37] Preaching the gospel to myself also keeps
fresh the ways I can actively love others in Christ.
12. My Inheritance in the Saints
The gospel not only gives me peace with God, it also creates peace
between all believers in Christ. Through the death of Christ, God removed the
hostility between us and has broken down racial, economic and social barriers
that once divided us.[38]
When God saved us, He made us members of His household,[39] and He
gave us as gifts to one another.[40] Each
brother and sister is part of my gospel inheritance from God. I am part of
their inheritance, too. Each of us is important to one another’s spiritual
growth, and as we live and work together we experience the fullness of God in
Christ.[41]
The more I understand and treasure the gospel, the more I treasure the Church
for which Christ died, and the more I treasure my part in the lives of other
believers and the part they must be allowed to play in mine.
13. Motivated to Love Others
When the gospel is in the
front of my mind, I am motivated to show God’s love to other people. I am
always willing to love others when I have been freshly reminded of God’s love
for me.[42] In
those moments I am sinned against, the gospel helps me forgive; all I have to
do is think of the sin God has forgiven me and the daily grace He pours into my
life.[43]
Doing good and showing
love to those who have wronged me is always the opposite of what my sinful
flesh wants me to do. It is only as I remember and meditate on the gospel that
my heart is changed and I am able to offer supernatural grace and forgiveness
to others.
14. A Heart for the Lost
The more I review and
take joy in gospel truth, the more burdened I become for non-Christians,
wanting them to share those same blessings. This is what happened when the
Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans. In Romans 5 Paul rejoices and praises
God because he has been given a righteousness he could never earn on his own.[44] Next, Paul writes about our freedom from sin
in Romans chapter 6. We can accept forgiveness and choose to live as those who
are free[45]
even if we don’t feel or experience complete freedom on this side of heaven. In Romans 7 Paul shares his struggle with sin
which helps us know we’re not alone.[46] The truth is, our fight against our human
nature could cause us to doubt the gospel, but the Bible says the opposite. In
Romans 8 Paul goes on to share the wonderful news of the cross—we are no longer
condemned,[47]
God’s love provides for all our needs in Christ,[48] there
is nothing here on earth or apart from it that can separate us from the love of
God.[49]
Nothing.
How does that make Paul
feel? Up to this point he has been joyful and grateful. What he says next is
surprising. “I have great sorrow,” he
says, “and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were
accursed, separated from Christ, for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh.”[50]
The wonderful heights of
the gospel message—its joy, peace and confidence—made Paul more aware of the
emptiness and blindness of his fellow Jews. The saving power of the gospel is
life or death. If I need a greater burden for non-Christians, I must remember
and celebrate the gospel in my own life the way Paul did in Romans 5-8. The joy
of God’s gift to me will create sadness for others. God will use that grief to
motivate me to passionately share the gospel with those who are lost.
15. Growing Humility
According to Scripture,
God planned the gospel to strip me of pride and remove every opportunity to
boast in myself. This is a wonderful, merciful gift of God, because pride is at
the root of all my sin. Pride was the source of sin in the Garden of Eden[51] and
pride goes before every sinful stumbling block in my life.[52] If I am
going to experience victory over sin, I must be delivered from the pride that
produces it. Thankfully, God created the gospel for that very purpose: to free
me from pride.
Preaching the gospel to
myself each day attacks my pride and replaces it with humility. Pride loses its
breath in the presence of God’s glory, the reality of my sin, and the death of
Jesus, who took my place. It is also humbling to think on the love God so generously
pours out on me daily, knowing I deserve nothing more than eternal punishment
in Hell.
Pride melts in the face
of the gospel, and as pride decreases, so do my sinful desires that create
division between me and God and me and others.[53] In its
place, humility grows, becoming fuller and richer in the presence of the
gospel. The more I grow in humility, the more I experience God’s grace[54] and the
strength He provides.[55]
Humility also gives me a greater love for God and His desires, and causes my
heart to cry out with praise when He is praised.[56]
16. Obedience Born of Love
The greatest commandment
of the Law is to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.[57] If I
could obey this one command, I would automatically keep the whole law.
But how can I actually
love God will all of my being?[58] The
Bible teaches that I can love sincerely as I live and dwell in God’s love for
me,[59] and His
love is most clearly revealed in the gospel.[60]
Therefore, preaching the
gospel to myself is a great way to keep God’s amazing love before my eyes. It allows
the power of the cross to create a passionate love for Him that is shown by
doing what He says. When my heart is captured by His love, I long to do His
will and get caught up in a God-inspired cycle of love and obedience.[61]
17. Freedom from Self-Love
Compared to what God has done
for me, loving myself is empty, tiring, and dull. The more I put selfishness
and loving myself aside, the more I can move from the ordinary, earth-bound
things of life to the heights of heavenly things that God has for me.
One of the reasons I love
myself more than anything else is fear. After all, if I don’t love and care for
myself, who will? I am also convinced that there is no one more worthy of my
love than me, so I deserve my own love. This kind of thinking and self-love is
simple pride and arrogance. I love myself the most because I believe I am
worthy of my love and that I can do a better job than anyone else. This
attitude makes me dangerous,[62] and
comes from the deepest part of my sinful self.
Thankfully, the gospel
sets me free from the prison of self-love because it removes those reasons for
self-love. First, the gospel tells me that the love of God is better, deeper
and freer than any love I could give myself. “Greater love has no on than this,
“says Jesus while speaking of His love. [63] And the
more I study and think on the gospel, the more I experience the truth of His
love, seeing it as greater and better than my own.[64] His
amazing love for me silences any excuse to focus on myself and it frees me to set
my heart on greater and more valuable things.[65]
Second, the gospel shows
me the breathtaking glory and loveliness of God,[66] and
pulls my gaze away from myself, refocusing my heart on Him. The more I look on
God’s glory in the gospel, the more lovely He appears. And the more lovely He
appears, the more I fade into the background like a forgotten boyfriend or
girlfriend who’s lost my interest.
Preaching the gospel to
myself every day reminds me of God’s incredible love for me and His unending worthiness
to be praised. These reminders send a one-two punch to my natural love for
myself. They leave me more and more in love with my Savior[67] and
God’s plan to gather all things in heaven and on earth—even me—to Himself.[68]
18. A New View of Trials
More than anything else
could do, the gospel helps me welcome trials so that I am able to get the most
out of them. With the gospel as my foundation—one that can’t be moved—I accept every
hardship in life as part of God’s purpose to work out the gospel in my life. As
I see each circumstance this way, knowing that God has allowed it, I understand
that the gospel is not just one piece of good news in the middle of all the
bad. Instead, the gospel makes every other part of life good news, too—even the
most difficult, painful trials.[69] The
good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow down to His plan
and purpose to do good to me. He is using them to make me more like His
precious Son, Jesus Christ.[70]
Preaching the gospel to
myself every day gives me a new way of looking at my trials. When I see them
the way God does, I am able to rejoice, to welcome them as friends and allow
them to do God’s good work in my life.
19. Uncovered by the Cross, Part 1
It was after he thought
long and deeply about the gospel in Romans 5-7 that the Apostle Paul became
more aware of his sin and cried out, “O wretched man that I am!”[71] At a
different time, while writing of God’s wonderful, saving grace, Paul admitted
that he was “the foremost” sinner of all.[72]
The same is true for me.
The deeper I go into the gospel, the more I understand and confess aloud my
great sinfulness. I am uncovered and exposed for who I really am. Christ’s
agonizing death would not have been necessary if I was less sinful or God was
less holy. But as I think about what the Son of God went through to pay the
penalty of my sin, I realize how sinful and wicked I really am. I see His
selfless love, all for me, and I am laid bare[73], discovered
as a sinner in desperate need of His grace.
Opposite of what I might
expect, the awareness of my sin does not drag me down but lifts me up as I
wonder and glory at God’s forgiveness in my life. And the more I appreciate the
greatness of His grace and forgiveness, the more I love Him and want to show
that love through worship and praise.[74]
20. Uncovered by the Cross, Part 2
The Cross not only
uncovers and exposes me before God, but also before other people, showing the
depth of my wickedness and sin. If I wanted them to think well of me, I would
hide the fact that the perfect Son of God was shamefully slaughtered to give me
life. But when others see me standing at the foot of the Cross and see the
death of my Savior hanging over me, I am uncomfortably revealed for who I
really am. No one could accuse me of anything worse. The fact that Jesus died
on Golgotha says it all,[75] and any
righteousness I claim for myself crumbles at the foot of the Cross. Knowing
that others see who I am, the worst of me revealed, I have nothing and nowhere
to hide.
Thankfully, the more I
see my own sin and shame against the backdrop of Christ’s love, the more I open
up to others about my ongoing struggle with sin. (Why would anyone be shocked
to hear of my struggles when the cross tells them how desperately wicked I am?)
Then, the more I share and confess my sin with fellow-Christians, the more I
enjoy the healing of the Lord in their grace-filled counsel and prayers.[76] As our
relationship grows in Christ’s love in fellowship[77], I
thank God for the gospel and the fact that it forces me to be honest and helpless
with others, bringing freedom and forgiveness.[78]
21. Chosen for Prayer
God chose me in Christ
before the foundation of the world to be “holy and blameless.” He also chose me
to be “before Him in love.”[79] Although
I am always in God’s presence on earth, I know that in heaven I will be
surrounded by His presence, falling before Him in adoration and worship. Until
then, I have the privilege of coming “before Him in love” in prayer and
worship.[80]
Since prayer is the way I
am able to come “before Him in love,” it is not just something I’m allowed to
do as a Christian, but it’s actually one of the great purposes for which God
chose to save me. Jesus said that very thing to His disciples: “I chose
you…that whatever you ask for the Father in My name He may give to you.”[81] As one
who is chosen by God, I was saved to pray; and whenever I come into God’s
presence to look upon Him and worship Him, or make a request of Him, I am just
that close to fulfilling God’s purpose for saving me.
God is committed to my
life of prayer. He willingly shed His Son’s blood so I might be cleansed and
made pure[82]
to stand before Him in love. He allowed His Son’s flesh to be torn just like
the curtain in the temple so that I might enter the Holy Place through Jesus
Himself.[83]
In Hebrews 4 and 10 He calls me to “draw near.”[84] He also
says to “pray without ceasing.”[85] How can
I brush off the call to prayer when I realize what it cost God for me to come
into His presence unashamed?
The gospel itself is the
sweetest of all invitations to pray. Preaching it to myself every day gives me
a growing desire to come “before [God] in love” and do the praying I was called
and chosen to do.
22. Saved for Good Works
Through the gospel I
learn that God’s work to save me was for the purpose putting me to work, too.
The Bible says that when
Christ bought me back, He did it so I would be “eager for good works.”[86] God
works in me day by day in order to give me the desire and power to “work for
His good pleasure.”[87] My
effort and works do not provide salvation, I am saved by grace, but I am God’s
“workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand so that [I] would walk in them.”[88]
I am naturally lazy, so I
do not take joy in the idea of work, but the more I take hold of the saving working
of God for me, the more ready I am to continue the work for which He saved me.
And as I “work hard” at doing what God has given me to do for others, I
experience the truth Jesus taught, “It is more blessed to give than to
receive.”[89]
I also find myself agreeing with Christ, “My food is to do the will of Him who
sent me and to accomplish His work.”[90] What He
meant is that gospel-motivated works feed my soul the way food strengthens my
body. Doing the work of God brings refreshment, enjoyment, blessing and
strengthening to the one who does it, even more than the one who receives it.
The fact that God has prepared these works for me becomes part of what makes
the gospel such wonderful news.
Preaching the gospel to
myself each day reminds me of God’s love for me and the love of God for the
works He’s prepared for me. How valuable they must be if Christ died so I might
do them! And how precious are the people I serve if Christ would die in order
for me to bless them!
23. A Heart for the Poor
Nothing else could put
love in my heart for the downcast, poor and physically challenged like the
gospel does, especially for those who belong to Christ.[91]
I can relate to those who
are poor in material goods because I remember what it is to be spiritually poor
and needy.[92]
Some people are in need because of sin, but so was I. They may even be unkind
when I try to help them; I was unkind to God and angry at Him when He first
reached out to me. They may be thankless or abuse my kindness, but how many
times have I been thankless and used what God has given me for my own selfish
reasons?
It’s possible that a
person in poverty will be blessed and changed because of some kindness I show
him. If that happens, may God receive the praise for giving them grace through
me. But if the person walks away unchanged by my kindness, I can still rejoice
that I had the chance to love as God loves.[93] Maybe
the person will repent at a later time. For now, my heart has been reminded of
my personal poverty and I am wiser because of the picture of what I have done
to God many times.
The gospel reminds me of
the spiritual poverty I am born into each day,[94] and of
the incredible, generous love Christ has poured out on me.[95] These
reminders build a connection with the poor and a desire to show them the same
generosity that was given to me.[96] When I
give to and help the poor because of the gospel, I am sharing it with them
through my words and deeds and acting it out for myself as well.
24. Crucifying All Things, Part 1
The story of the gospel,
“Christ, and Him crucified,”[97] is the
truth of Jesus, but it’s also the story of my own crucifixion[98] because
the Bible says that I, too, was killed there,[99] along
with my love for the world system and all it offers me.[100] The
cross is the place where I crucify my flesh and its sinful desires.[101]
Really, Christ’s death and my death are so much a part of each other that they
are woven together.
God is committed to my
dying every day, and He calls me to that same commitment.[102] He
commands that I live in this death each hour of the day; that death to myself
through the cross be the center of my life story as much as Christ’s death is
the center of the gospel story. “Let this same attitude be in you,” He says,
“which was also in Christ Jesus…who became obedient unto death, even death on a
cross.”[103]
Crucifixion hurts. It is
so painful that it numbs the senses; a gasping and bloody event. There is
nothing nice, pretty or easy about it. It is not simply death. It is
unbearable.
But God calls me to
determine myself, to set my face like a flint,[104] toward
the cross and embrace crucifixion in everything I do by the power of the Holy
Spirit. I should expect to run into
difficult circumstances every day that will show God’s commitment to my dying,
and I must take hold of every opportunity to become more like Jesus in death,
no matter how painful it is.
When my flesh wants something
and God’s Word says, “no,” I must die. When God’s Word tells me to do something
I don’t want to, I must die. When I feel like being selfish and serving no one,
I must die. When my life is shattered by trials and difficulties that I hate, I
must die. When I want to hold on to the ways others have hurt me, I must die.
When I am tempted by things of the world, I must die. When I want to continue
in secret sin, I must die. When I don’t get what I think I need, I must die.
When my dreams are pushed aside, even though I think they’re good, I must die.
“Not my will, but Yours
be done,” Jesus prayed the night before His crucifixion, trusting God, His
Father.[105]
Preaching Jesus’ death and resurrection to myself every day helps me trust God
and embrace the cross, willingly dying to myself.[106]
25. Crucifying All Things, Part 2
Praise God, the Bible
teaches that dying is not the end, but the beginning. After Jesus Christ took
up His cross and died, God raised Him from the dead,[107]
exalted Him to the highest,[108] and
drew Him close to His side.[109] The
facts of Jesus’ resurrection are proof that God will not leave me for dead, but
will raise me in the same way, if only I would allow myself to die. If only I
would accept my death, I would find that the experiences of a life lived with
and for God are richer, higher, and deeper than anything I would have known
without Him.[110]
In God’s way of living
and thinking, death is the way to life. “Whoever wishes to save his life will
lose it,” Jesus says, “but whoever loses His life for My sake, he shall find
it.”[111] In
that case, the more I take on the death of Christ, the more I will experience
freedom from sin[112] and
the resurrection power that raised Him from the dead.[113] The
way to this power is through dying many deaths. Each time I die to myself God
brings newness of life. With each stage of death, I grow in Christlikeness,
living the life of Christ.[114]
The more I think on the
gospel, the better I understand that this “word of the cross”[115] is a
blueprint for my life. The death Christ died is the death He has called me to.
Dying to myself and my sinful desires is the entrance to Christ Himself and
life at its best.[116]
Whatever happens, I will not give up dying because it’s the only way to true
life!
26. Hope of Heaven
The more I think about
and experience the wonderful riches of Jesus, the more I want to be with Him in
heaven—to see and experience Him as never before. In heaven there will be
nothing to separate the two of us; I will know and share His grace in ways I
can’t even imagine here on earth.[117] The life I live here and now in salvation
(both its promises and blessings), is just a “first fruit,” or a taste, of what
the Holy Spirit has in store for me in heaven.[118]
Thinking about what
Christ has done for me makes me hungry for more of Jesus, for more blessing,
more grace, and complete freedom from sin. That is exactly what the Apostle
Paul felt when he wrote Romans 5-8.[119] John,
who saw Jesus glorified while He was still here on Earth, encouraged us to
imagine what it will be like when we are united with our Father in our new
home, fully enjoying the glories of heaven as His children. We can’t see it
here and now, but someday the glories of heaven will be ours and we will finally
see Jesus for who He is.[120] Just
thinking about the gospel reminds me that there is more to come! Salvation is
but the beginning of incredible wonders I will enjoy for eternity.
Looking forward to heaven
is one way God blesses me here on earth. I have hope of seeing Jesus face to
face—that alone makes me want to be pure and separate myself from sin.[121] Not
only will I see Jesus, I will also spend eternity with fellow believers in
perfect love and fellowship. That helps me love them more deeply now, today.[122] I can
love others with the fullness God has given me in Christ now as well as with
the fullness He has promised for the future!
The hope that I will
spend eternity with Christ in heaven helps me push through and grow during even
the most difficult and long trials here on earth. To think of how wonderful, complete,
and amazing the glories of heaven are makes my troubles lighter. When I look at
how long eternity must be, my troubles seem shorter.[123] When I
consider the marvel of heaven, today’s troubles become less burdensome and
easier to bear. The promise of that kind of eternity is possible only because
of the gospel.[124]
Preaching the gospel to
myself every day is a great way to keep alive “the hope of the gospel,”[125] so I
can live out the blessings God planned for me as I wait here on earth.
27. Putting to Death the Flesh
Although I am saved, I
struggle against my flesh every day[126] and
keep desiring the things that are against the Spirit.[127] The
things I want are at war with God and even against the good of my soul.[128] Although
I know they are destructive, I want to believe they will give me what I’ve
always wanted. Fulfilling my fleshly desires seems so right, so good, so sweet,
and so full that I often give in as if they love me the way only Jesus does.
The bottom line is that I
desire contentment more than anything and these lusts, or desires, lie to me by
promising to fill this basic desire. They hunt and take advantage of the empty
places in my heart and seem to promise that they will fill it if only I will do
what they want. When I feel empty and
want something more they are extremely difficult to resist.
That means the answer to
putting my flesh and its desires to death is to fill the emptiness by feasting
on the gospel. When I am full of the gospel, God glorifies Himself by filling
me with Himself. He is the One, Paul says, “who fills all in all.”[129] He is
the One who “fill[s] all things” with the gifts He gives.[130] And He
pours out gospel blessings on me so that I may be filled up to all the fullness
of God.”[131]
This is the God of the gospel, a God who is content with nothing less than my
being filled with Him! The first command God gave in the Garden of Eden was,
“eat freely.”[132]
In the same way, He says to me now, “be filled.”[133]
What happens to my appetite
for sin when I am filled with the fullness of God in Christ? Jesus said this,
“He who continually comes to Me will never hunger or thirst again.”[134] It’s
true that as I take in and meditate on the many blessings found in the gospel
my hunger for sin becomes less and the lies of my flesh are less attractive. My
eyes do not wander and my fleshly lusts do not rule when my heart is fat with
the love of Jesus!
28. Thankfulness with Relief
The more I find myself
surrounded by the gospel, the more grateful I am whether my circumstances are
good or bad.
If I see life’s blessings
as water in a cup, I can focus on the empty or the full half—what I don’t or
what I do have. We’ve all heard that before and know life is better when we
focus on the full half. The gospel goes further than that.
The gospel reminds me
that what I actually deserve from God is a cup full of His intense anger and
wrath, an eternity of torment and despair.[135] This
is mine to drink if I get what I deserve each day. With this in mind, I see that
even a completely empty cup would be a gift from God and give me a reason to
praise Him forever. If, in the bottom, there was the smallest drop of blessing
in that cup that was empty of wrath, I would be blown away by the unbelievable
kindness of God toward me. But the truth is that God has actually given me a
cup[136] full
of “every spiritual blessing in Christ.”[137] He has
filled my cup to overflowing with blessings, without the smallest amount of
wrath! That leaves me with a heart so full of joy I can hardly contain it!
Whether I have plenty or have want, my circumstances are better and more
generous than the hell I deserve.
I can look at my circumstances,
whatever the Lord allows, and be grateful for the wrath I am not receiving in that moment (the empty
half of the cup never looked so good!). Then, on top of that, I am grateful for
the blessings He has given me besides. (Life’s blessings, however small, are
incredibly precious when I compare them to the wrath I deserve.) Being grateful for both what God has not given
me and what He has given me allows me to give thanks in all things[138] with a
sincere and full heart. Gratitude that comes from a true understanding of the
gospel glorifies God, adds to my peace of mind,[139] and
keeps me from walking a path of foolishness and ruin.[140]
29. The Highest Prize
In the New Testament, the
gospel is referred to as “the gospel of God” several times.[141] We
know the gospel came from God—it was His plan, His idea. We also know God is
the One who accomplished it or brought it about. The gospel is “the gospel of
God” because no one else can take credit for making it happen. But more than
that, it leads me to God. He Himself is our greatest Prize. He is the reason
the gospel is such great news. Through the gospel He brings me to Himself[142] and then
gives Himself to me freely through Jesus Christ.[143]
Eternal life is not just
the fact that my sins are forgiven or that I will have a mansion in heaven or
walk on streets of gold forever. The definition of eternal life is a perfect,
complete, uninterrupted relationship with God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.[144]
Everything else God gives me in the gospel is meant to bring me to Himself and complete
His plan and purpose. Christ died for the forgiveness of my sins so that I
might be brought “to God.”[145] Even
now, Jesus is preparing a place for me in heaven to receive me “to [Him]self”
and keep me with Him, where He is, forever. [146] Of
course there’s a great street of gold in heaven! But have you ever stopped to
wonder where it leads? To the throne of God Himself[147] no
doubt, like all the other gifts and blessings God has given me in the gospel.
As I think and meditate
on the gospel each day, I find myself focusing more on the Giver than the
gifts. And the more I focus on God, the Giver, the more I experience the very heart
of eternal life. The “gospel of God” is from God, comes through God, and leads
me to God;[148]
and it is in Him that my soul finds its truest joy and rest. [149]
30. My Confidence
Living the gospel means
being bold. If I never step out in boldness, I will live a life of regret. I
will always look over my shoulder and wonder what would have happened if I had
only done more, prayed differently, said those difficult words, or pushed
through hard circumstances. I don’t need to take risks or be bold if I’m content
with just a fraction of God’s blessings. I can simply live each day in comfort and
ease. But if I want my life to bloom and grow into one that pleases and
glorifies God, I must be willing to take risks—and nothing gives me courage
like the gospel!
The gospel gives me
courage by first getting rid of my greatest fear, the fear of God’s eternal
wrath. Because Christ bore God’s wrath in His body on the cross, I have not
only escaped that wrath in the future, on Judgment Day, I am also free of the
fear of God’s wrath today. That fear would keep me from doing the work God has
for me,[150]
but God, in His loving grace, keeps removing it with reminders of His love and a
growing excitement to see Him with confidence on Judgment Day.[151] When I
am free from fear day after day and confident of His love, I continue to grow
in perfection. When fear of His wrath is gone, every other fear—even the fear
of others—loses its power.[152]
As my life is changed and
I step out in faith and boldness, carried by the gospel, I become more and more
confident to share it with others, both the saved and the lost.[153] I know
what the gospel can do in people’s lives if they would believe the fullness of
it, because I see what it is doing in me and in others. I want this same
boldness, the same change and spiritual growth for others, so I talk more and
more about the gospel[154] even
when it results in persecution.[155]
The more I understand and
take hold of what God has done for me through Christ, the more confident I am
in prayer,[156]
speaking to God at times when I would have avoided Him and making requests that
I would have been too nervous to ask before(either because of the size of the
request or my own sinful unworthiness). With greater boldness in prayer comes
greater enjoyment of God and His generosity—and much of it is simply because I
was daring enough to ask for what was needed. [157]
Preaching the gospel to
myself each day supplies a holy courage to believe what God says, enjoy what He
offers, and do what He commands. I know I don’t deserve to be a child of God
and I don’t deserve to be free of sin’s guilt and power. I don’t deserve the
shocking privilege of knowing God personally, or receiving any other blessing
Christ purchased for me with His blood. I don’t even deserve to be useful to
God. But by the grace of God I am what I am and I have what I have, and I
commit not to let any part of His grace go to waste in me![158] I will
do my best to live boldly with His help, but when I fail, I will gladly accept
God’s forgiveness and continue to walk in His grace. This is my pledge, and may
God be glorified by the confidence I place in Him.
31. To God be the Glory
“To the praise of the
glory of His grace…to the praise of His glory…to the praise of His glory.”[159] These
words sound over and over in the first chapter of Ephesians in and around the
message of the gospel. They reveal God’s true motive in every act of the gospel
toward those He saved. “To the praise of His glory”—these words announce the
effect the gospel has on those who experience it in its fullness. It comes as
no surprise, then, that after proclaiming the gospel, he closes chapter 3 of
Ephesians with “Unto Him be the glory.”[160] And
again, in Romans he repeats, “To…Him be the glory.”[161] When
he considers God’s saving mercy in his own life, he cries out, “To the King…be
glory.”[162]
It’s obvious that the gospel moved Paul to focus on God’s glory, and the gospel
does the same in me as I make it the center of my thoughts and focus each day.
Understanding that I am
not the final end of the gospel, God’s glory is, helps me take hold of
salvation with boldness. When my shrinking heart asks why God would want to
love someone as sinful as I, I can answer, “to the praise of the glory of His
grace.” I can reason that my unworthiness must be useful to God because it
magnifies His grace as He lovingly pours out grace and kindness without
measure. When I know and understand the gospel message this makes perfect
sense, convincing me to live out my love and devotion with freedom so God’s
glory might be seen in and through me, an unworthy sinner.
It is as I cling to and
live out the gospel that I delight in worshipping God. And it is in true, free
worship that He fills me with joy and my desire to glorify Him becomes my
priority and purpose.[163]
A Gospel Poem
edited and shortened
Beholding the heavens
I now understand
God measured them all
with the breadth of His hand.
He fashioned the trillions
of stars in the sky;
The sun and the moon
He established on high.
I now understand
God measured them all
with the breadth of His hand.
He fashioned the trillions
of stars in the sky;
The sun and the moon
He established on high.
So wondrously caring
is God ev'ry day;
is God ev'ry day;
Creating, supporting
my life ev'ry way.
Indeed, for such blessings
He should be adored
And honored supremely
as Only Great Lord.
my life ev'ry way.
Indeed, for such blessings
He should be adored
And honored supremely
as Only Great Lord.
In fact, for this purpose
He brought me to be,
That I might His glory
and kindliness see
And treasure Him fully
in all of my days,
Obeying with pleasure
whatever He says.
He brought me to be,
That I might His glory
and kindliness see
And treasure Him fully
in all of my days,
Obeying with pleasure
whatever He says.
Yet I could not fail God
much worse than I've done.
Ignoring His glory
for mine I have run.
A prideful and self-driven
path I have trod
Breaking each of the ten great
Commandments of God.
much worse than I've done.
Ignoring His glory
for mine I have run.
A prideful and self-driven
path I have trod
Breaking each of the ten great
Commandments of God.
My foolish rebellion
gives God ev'ry right
To damn me right now
to dark tortures of night.
With wickedest sinners
I truly should know
The worst of Hell's forces
for failing God so.
gives God ev'ry right
To damn me right now
to dark tortures of night.
With wickedest sinners
I truly should know
The worst of Hell's forces
for failing God so.
So this is my standing
and these are my flaws
Apart from Christ Jesus
and His saving cause:
I carry sin's guilt
and am gripped by sin's pow'r,
Held fast to its
many, strong wants ev'ry hour.
and these are my flaws
Apart from Christ Jesus
and His saving cause:
I carry sin's guilt
and am gripped by sin's pow'r,
Held fast to its
many, strong wants ev'ry hour.
Too full of sin even
to play a small part
In clearing my record
or changing my heart,
Completely condemned by
God's Law in its whole,
I've nothing to offer
to pay for my soul.
to play a small part
In clearing my record
or changing my heart,
Completely condemned by
God's Law in its whole,
I've nothing to offer
to pay for my soul.
But wonder of wonders
so great to behold,
My God chose to save me
with His love so bold.
What I could not afford
God fully has done,
And doing, He paid for it
all through His Son.
so great to behold,
My God chose to save me
with His love so bold.
What I could not afford
God fully has done,
And doing, He paid for it
all through His Son.
Amazing it is, when I
stop and reflect
That God would allow
His Son’s body be wrecked.
stop and reflect
That God would allow
His Son’s body be wrecked.
He gave up His Son
to violence and death,
Jesus labored and struggled
'til His final breath.
to violence and death,
Jesus labored and struggled
'til His final breath.
That Jesus was willing
To lay His life down;
Be beaten, insulted
and wear thorny crown.
No greater a lover
is any than He
Who laid down His life
for a sinner like me.
To lay His life down;
Be beaten, insulted
and wear thorny crown.
No greater a lover
is any than He
Who laid down His life
for a sinner like me.
They took Jesus down;
“It is finished,” He’d said,
Then was raised the third day,
Sin and death lost instead.
“It is finished,” He’d said,
Then was raised the third day,
Sin and death lost instead.
As the Firstborn from death,
He shows us His power
To save and restore us
From hour to hour.
At God's own right hand
Christ now rules from on high,
A Friend who alone helps
each sinner who cries
To Him for forgiveness,
their evil confessed.
He gives them forgiveness
and then makes them blessed.
Christ now rules from on high,
A Friend who alone helps
each sinner who cries
To Him for forgiveness,
their evil confessed.
He gives them forgiveness
and then makes them blessed.
When I saw my need
and to Jesus I came,
He gave me forgiveness.
He took all my blame.
He cleansed me completely
from wrongs I had done,
Released me from bondage
to sins, ev'ry one.
and to Jesus I came,
He gave me forgiveness.
He took all my blame.
He cleansed me completely
from wrongs I had done,
Released me from bondage
to sins, ev'ry one.
A child of the Father
He made me to be
And gave me the Spirit
as His guarantee.
He made me to be
And gave me the Spirit
as His guarantee.
While in me, the Spirit
gives power and love
And fresh, precious glimpses
of glory above.
gives power and love
And fresh, precious glimpses
of glory above.
In saving, God also
did justify me,
did justify me,
Accounting me righteous
by His own decree,
Declaring me guiltless
of all of my sin,
by His own decree,
Declaring me guiltless
of all of my sin,
And bringing His wrath
against me to an end.
against me to an end.
So now God relates
to me only with grace.
The wrath I earned vanished
without any trace!
And each day I'm made
a bit more as I should;
His grace using all things
to work for my good.
to me only with grace.
The wrath I earned vanished
without any trace!
And each day I'm made
a bit more as I should;
His grace using all things
to work for my good.
And when I am sinning
God's grace overflows,
His love and forgiveness
to me He makes known.
God's grace overflows,
His love and forgiveness
to me He makes known.
No wrath is awakened
in God at my sin
Because Christ absorbed it
(to say so again).
in God at my sin
Because Christ absorbed it
(to say so again).
Forgiveness has been
in His heart all along;
And when I approach Him
to make right my wrong,
He runs up to greet me,
With love draws me near,
Embracing and loving
and ready to clear.
in His heart all along;
And when I approach Him
to make right my wrong,
He runs up to greet me,
With love draws me near,
Embracing and loving
and ready to clear.
God does see my sins
and He grieves at them so,
For when I am sinning,
His love I don't know.
He even will send me
some heart-rending pain
and He grieves at them so,
For when I am sinning,
His love I don't know.
He even will send me
some heart-rending pain
So I'll learn His right ways
and His holiness gain.
and His holiness gain.
A gift that keeps giving,
the gospel speaks forth
The wonders of heaven
each time I rehearse.
Deserve it? I don't
on my holiest day;
But this is salvation,
and herein I'll stay.
the gospel speaks forth
The wonders of heaven
each time I rehearse.
Deserve it? I don't
on my holiest day;
But this is salvation,
and herein I'll stay.
[1]
Romans 1:15 “That is why I am so eager to preach the
gospel [lit.“evangelize”] also to you who are in Rome.
[2]
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I
preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I
preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I
passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that
he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...”
[3]
1 Corinthians 1:21 “For since in the wisdom of God the
world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the
foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. … but we preach Christ crucified: … foolishness to Gentiles….”
[4]
1 Corinthians 1:23 “…we preach Christ crucified,… a stumbling block
[literally: scandal/scandalous].”
[5]
1 John 3:19-20 “This is how we know that we belong to
the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our
hearts, and he knows everything.’
[6]
2 Corinthians 4:4 “…The god of this age has blinded the
minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that
displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God….”
[7]
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes….“
1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God.”
[8]
1 Corinthians 1:24 “…Christ the power of God….”
[9]
Hebrews 4:2 “For indeed we have had good news preached
to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because
it was not united by faith in those who heard.” Ephesians 1:18-19 “I pray
that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know… what
is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
[10]
Ephesians 6:13“ Therefore put on the
full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand
your ground….”
[11]
Ephesians 6 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you
can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
[12]
Ephesians 6 “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth
buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from
the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up
the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of
the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
[13]
“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus,” written by George Duffield, Jr., (1818-1888)
[14]
2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces
contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
[15]
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God….”
[16]
Isaiah 6:3 “…the whole earth is full of his glory.”
[17]
2 Corinthians 4:4 “…the light of the gospel that
displays the glory of Christ” 1 Timothy 1:11. “…the gospel of the
glory of the blessed God…” (literal translation)
[18]
2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces
contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
[19]
2 Corinthians 3:13 “We are not like Moses, who would
put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what
was passing away.”
[20]
Deuteronomy 5:29 “Oh, that their hearts would be
inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well
with them and their children forever!”
[21]
Acts 20:32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of
his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those
who are sanctified.”
[22]
2 Peter 1:3. “His divine power has given us everything
we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own
glory and goodness.”
[23]
Colossians 1:23 “…continue in your faith, established
and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.”
[24] Colossians 2:8-9 “See to it that no
one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on
human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on
Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in
bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to
fullness.” 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need
for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory
and goodness.”
[25]
Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are… under
grace.”
[26]
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our
introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope
of the glory of God.” 1 John 2:1-2 “… And is anyone sins, we have an
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the
propitiation for our sin….”
[27]
Romans 4:5 “But to the one who does not work but believes in Him who
justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,” Hebrews 4:3
“For we who have believed enter that rest….” Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me
all who are weary and heavy-lade, and I will give you rest.”
[28]
Romans 5:18-19 “So then as through one transgression there resulted
condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted
justification of life to all men…. through the obedience of the One the many
will be made righteous.”
[29]
Romans 5:20-6:1 “… where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more so that, as sin reigned in death, even
so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace might
increase?” 1 John 2:1-2 “ … And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for
our sins….”
[30]
Romans 6:17-18 “But thanks be to God that…you became obedient from the
heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been
freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” (literal translation=”slaves
of the righteousness”)
[31]
Romans 6:19 “…For just as you presented your members as slaves to
impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present
your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.’
[32]
Romans 6:19 “…so now present your members as slaves to righteousness,
resulting in sanctification.”
[33]
Romans 6:19, 22 “…so now present your members as slaves to
righteousness, resulting in sanctification…. But now having been freed from sin
and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and
the outcome, eternal life.”
[34]
Philippians 1:3-7 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always
offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your
participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 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. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you
all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the
defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with
me.”
[35]
1 Thessalonians 2:8 “Having so fond an affection for you, we were
well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives,
because you had become very dear to us.”
[36]
1 Thessalonians 1:5 “For our gospel did not come to you in word only,
but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know
what kind of men we were among you for your sake.” (NJKV)
[37]
Ephesians 5:25 “…Christ…loved the church and gave Himself up for her,”
[38]
Ephesians 2:14-16 “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups
into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His
flesh the enmity…so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man,
through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.” Colossians 3:11
“a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised
and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all,
and in all.” Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all
one in Christ Jesus.” Revelation 5:9 “…You [Jesus] were slain and purchased for
God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”
[39]
Ephesians 2:19 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you
are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.”
[40]
Ephesians 1:18 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
so that you will know… what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints….”
[41]
Ephesians 3:17-19 “…you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able
to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and
depth, and to know the love of Christ…that you may be filled up to all the
fullness of Go.” 2 Timothy 2:22 “”…pursue righteousness, faith, love and
peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” 1 Peter 4:10
“As each one has received a special gift, employ I in serving one another as
good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Ephesians 1:22-23 “…the church,
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
[42]
Titus 3:1-8 “Remind them… to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle,
showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish
ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures,
spending our life in malice and envy, hating one another. But when the kindness
of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved up, not on the
basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy,
by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured
out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by
His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is
a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak
confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in
good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men.”
[43]
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each
other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Colossians 3:12-13
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one
another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just
as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”
[44]
Romans 5:1-2, 3, 11 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,…and we exult…we…exult…we exult….”
[45]
Romans 6:1-2, 6 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so
that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still
live in it? …knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order
that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be
slaves to sin.”
[46]
Romans 7:19 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the
very evil I do not want.”
[47]
Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus.”
[48]
Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for
us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
[49] Romans 8:35-39 “Who will separate us from the love
of Christ? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day
long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 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.”
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 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.”
[50]
Romans 9:1-4 “I am telling the truth in Christ… that
I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For
I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the
sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites….”
[51]
Genesis 3:4-6 “The serpent said, ‘… God knows that in the day you eat
from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree…was desirable to make one wise, she
took from its fruit and ate.
[52]
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before
stumbling.”
[53]
Proverbs 13:10 “By pride comes nothing but strife….” (NKJV)
[54]
James 4:6 “…God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
[55]
Hebrews 13:9 “…it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace….”
[56]
Psalm 34:2 “My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall
hear it and rejoice.”
[57]
Mark 12:28, 30 “…What commandment is the foremost of all? ....you shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your mind, and with all your strength.”
[58]
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments;
and His commandments are not burdensome.”
[59]
1 John 4:9 “We love, because He first loved us.”
[60]
Romans 5:7-8 “For one will hardly die for a righteous
man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.” John 15:13” Greater
love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” Ephesians
2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His
great love with which He loved us, even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ….”
[61]
John 14:31 “so that the world may know that I love the
Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me…” John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the
will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” Psalm 40:8 “I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”
Your Law is within my heart.”
[62]
2 Timothy 3:1-2 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times
will come; for men will be lovers of themselves…..”
[63]
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his
life for his friends.”
[64]
Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over
for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
[65]
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 “For the love of Christ controls
us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for
themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”
[66]
2 Corinthians 4:4 “…the gospel of the glory of Christ…” 1 Timothy
1:11 “…the gospel of the glory of the blessed God…” (literal translation)
[67]
Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me,
those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the
surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
[68]
Ephesians 1:9-10 He made known to us the mystery of His
will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the
fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ,
things in the heavens and things on the earth. 1 Corinthians 15:28 “When
all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to
the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”
[69]
Romans 5:1-5 “…having been justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… and we
exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this,
but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about
perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven
character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because
the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit
who was given to us.
[70]
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things
to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called
according to His purpose. For those whom He
foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His
Son…” James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith
produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect
result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” 2
Corinthians 12:7-10 “…there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger
of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning
this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And
He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for
power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly,
therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ
may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with
weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with
difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
[71]
Romans 7:19, 23-24 “For the good that I want, I do not
do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want….I see a different law in
the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a
prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched
man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”
[72]
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement,
deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”
[73]
Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His
sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we
have to do.”
[74]
Luke 7:37-47 “And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and
when she learned that [Jesus] was reclining at the table in the
Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind
Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and
kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing
them with the perfume…. And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have
something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had
two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were
unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love
him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Turning toward the woman, He
said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? …she has wet My feet with her tears and
wiped them with her hair….since the time I came in, [she] has not ceased to
kiss My feet…. she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you,
her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is
forgiven little, loves little.”
[75]
Golgotha is the name of the place where Jesus was crucified. John 19:17-18
“and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called
the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him….”
[76]
James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another,
and pray for one another so that you may be healed….”
[77]
Ephesians 3:14, 17-19 “For this reason I bow my knees
before the Father… that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, and to know
the love of Christ….”
[78]
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 “Two are better than one
because they have a good return for their labor. For if
either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one
who falls when there is not another to lift him up…. And if one can overpower
him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not
quickly torn apart.”
[79]
Ephesians 1:4 “…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,” (NKJV)
[80]
Psalm 100:2 “Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful
singing.” Psalm 68:4 “Sing to God, sing praises to His name…and exult
before Him.” 1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence which we have before
Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
[81]
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you
that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that
whatever you ask for the Father in My name He may give to you.”
[82]
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.” Romans 5:9
“[we have] been justified by His blood.”
[83]
Hebrews 10:19-20 “…we have boldness to enter the
sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way He has opened for
us through the curtain (that is, His flesh).” (Holman Christian Standard
Bible)
[84]
Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us
draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 10:19-20, 22. “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the
blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated
for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh... let us
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith….” NKJV
[85]
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray
without ceasing.”
[86]
Titus 2:14 “He gave Himself for us to redeem us from
all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession,
eager to do good works.” (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
[87]
Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always
obeyed…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at
work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
[88]
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
[89]
Acts 20:34-35 “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own
needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by
working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of
the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to
receive.’”
[90]
John 4:32-34 “But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not
know about.’ So the disciples were saying to one another, ‘No one brought Him
anything to eat, did he?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him
who sent Me and to accomplish His work.’”
[91]
Galatians 6:10 “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to
all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”
[92]
Revelation 3:17, 20 “…you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind
and naked…. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
[93]
Matthew 5:44-45 “But I say to you, love your enemies…so that you may be
sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of
the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the
kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
[94]
Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother
conceived me.”
[95]
2 Corinthians 8:7, 9 “…see that you abound in this gracious work [of
giving]…. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thought He was
rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might
become rich.” Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all
things?”
[96]
Ephesians 1:7b-8a “…the riches of His grace which He lavished on us….”
[97]
1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except
Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
[98]
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ….”
[99]
Romans 6:6 “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in
order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer
be slaves to sin.”
[100] Galatians
6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to
the world.
[101] Galatians
5:24 “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with
its passions and desires.”
[102] Luke
9:23 “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he
must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’”
[103] Philippians
4:5, 7-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also
in Christ Jesus, who…emptied Himself, taking the form
of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
[104] Isaiah
50:6-7 “I gave My back to those who strike Me, And
My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from
humiliation and spitting. For the Lord God helps Me,
Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.”
And I know that I will not be ashamed.”
[105] Luke
22:42 “…Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from
Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 1 Peter 2:23 “…He… kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.”
[106] 1
Peter 2:21-24 “For you have been called for this purpose,
since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in
His steps, who committed
no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;
and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while
suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who
judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His
body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness….” 1
Corinthians 15:31 “…I die daily.” Romans 8:36 “…we are being put to
death all day long….”
[107] Ephesians
1:20 “…He raised Him from the dead….”
[108] Philippians
2:8-9 “…He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason
also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every
name….”
[109] John
1:18 “No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son—the
One who is at the Father’s side—He has revealed Him.” (Holman Christian
Standard Bible)
[110] Romans
6:4 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism
into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
[111] Luke
9:24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”
[112] Romans
6:6-7 “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him,
in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no
longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed
from sin.”
[113] Philippians
3:8, 10 “…I count all things to be loss in view of the
surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ… that
I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being conformed to His death;”
[114] Romans
6:11 “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but
alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
[115] 1
Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of
God.”
[116] Romans
6:5.“For if we have become united with Him in the
likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His
resurrection….”
[117] Philippians
1:23 “But I… [have] the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is
very much better;” 1 Peter 1:13. “…fix your hope completely on the grace to be
brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
[118] Romans
8:23 “…we ourselves, having the
first fruits of the Spirit.”
[119] Romans
8:18-19, 23 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are
not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the
anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of
God…we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our body.”
[120] 1
John 3:1-2 “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we
would be called children of God; and such we are… Beloved, now we are children
of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He
appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
[121] 1
John 3:3 “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself,
just as He is pure.”
[122] Colossians
1:4-5 “…we heard of…the love which
you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of
which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel….”
[123] 2
Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but
though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by
day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for
us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while
we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen;
for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen
are eternal.
[124] Colossians
1:5 “…the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in
the word of truth, the gospel….”
[125] Colossians
1:23 “…continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not
moved away from the hope of the gospel….”
[126] Galatians
5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which
are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry,
sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions,
factions, 21 envying, drunkenness,
carousing, and things like these….””
[127] Galatians
5:17 “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another…”
[128] 1
Peter 2:11 “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from
fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”
[129] Ephesians
1:22-23 “…the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all
in all.”
[130] Ephesians 4:7-10 “But to each one of us grace was
given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, ‘When He
ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to
men.’… He ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.”
[131]Ephesians
4:14, 16, 19 “For this reason I bow my knees before the
Father…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory… that you
may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”
[132] Genesis
2:16 “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden
you may eat freely.’”
[133] Ephesians
5:18 “…be being filled [present tense]
by the Spirit.” (literal translation)
[134] John
6:35 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the
bread of life; he who is coming [present
tense] to Me will not hunger, and he who is believing [present tense] in Me will never thirst.’” (literal translation)
[135] Revelation
14:10 “he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed
in full strength in the cup of His anger,” Psalm 75:8 “For a cup is in
the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams; it is well mixed, and He pours out of
this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.”
[136] Psalm
116:12-13 “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
I shall lift the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.” Psalm
23:5 “…My cup overflows.”
[137] Ephesians
1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
[138] 1
Thessalonians 5:18 “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for
you in Christ Jesus.”
[139] Philippians
4:6-7 “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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.”
[140] Romans
1:21-22, 28-29 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as
God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their
foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…. And just
as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all
unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
malice….”
[141] Romans
1:1; Romans 15:16; 2 Corinthians 11:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:2,8,9; 1 Peter 4:17
[142] Ephesians
1:4-5 “… He chose us in Him…that we should be…before Him….He predestined us
to adoption as sons…to Himself…”
[143] Romans
5:5 “…the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the
Holy Spirit who was given to us.” John
14:21 “…he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and
will disclose Myself to him.”
[144] John
17:3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
[145] 1
Peter 3:18 “For Christ also died for sins once for all…so that He might
bring us to God….”
[146] John
14:2-3 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places…. I go to prepare a
place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you o Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
[147] Revelation
21:21; 22:1-2 “…And the street of the city was pure gold…. Then he showed
me a river of the water of life…coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
in the middle of its street….”
[148] Romans
11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be
the glory forever. Amen.”
[149] Psalm
16:11 “…in Your presence is fullness of joy, in your right hand there are
pleasures forever.” Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He
will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 73:25, 26,28 “…besides
You, I desire nothing on earth…. God is …my portion forever…. The nearness of
God is my good….”
[150] Hebrews
9:14 “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God?”
[151] 1
John 4:17-18 “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have
confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this
world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear
involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”
[152] Matthew
10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul;
but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
[153] Romans
1:15-16 “So, for my part I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who
are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the
gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes….” 1
Corinthians 1:18 “…to us who are being saved it [the word of the cross] is
the power of God.”
[154] Acts
20:26-27 “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the
blood of all me. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose
of God.”
[155] Acts
4:29, 31 “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your
bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence….. And when they had
prayed…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of
God with boldness.”
[156] Hebrews
4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews
10:19-22 “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter
the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated
for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest
over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith,….” (NKJV)
[157] James
4:2 “…. You do not have because you do not ask.”
[158] 1
Corinthians 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be
called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of
God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored
even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”
[159] Ephesians
1:5,6, 10, 11, 12,13,14 “He predestined us to adoption as sons…to the
praise of the glory of His grace…. In Him also we have obtained an
inheritance…to the end that we… would be to the praise of His glory. In Him you
also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy
Spirit….who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the
redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
[160] Ephesians
3:14, 20-21 “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…. Now to Him
who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
[161] Romans
11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His
ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who
became His counselor? Or who has first given to
Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are
all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
[162] 1
Timothy 1:15-17 “Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet
for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ
might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would
believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever
and ever. Amen.”
[163] 1
Peter 1:6, 8-9 “In this [salvation] you greatly
rejoice.... you rejoice with joy
inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation
of your souls.” (NKJV) 1
Corinthians 10:31 “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do do
all to the glory of God.”
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