December 26, 2012

We May Have Confidence at His Coming (12/26)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 John 1-5.

Can a Christian be confident of his salvation? Or should we live in constant fear of missing out on salvation when the Lord returns?

John wrote about how we can have confidence at the Lord’s return. As the apostle explained, this confidence was not just based upon our assurance of God’s promises, but also upon some action on our part.

“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:28-29).

Our confidence is not based upon the false notion that a child of God can never lose his salvation. Many in the religious world believe the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. But this does not harmonize with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 3:12). Though many believe that salvation is either unconditional or by faith alone, John made it clear that we must do something in order to be assured of salvation.
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December 20, 2012

As Obedient Children (12/20)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Peter 1-5.

Christians are the children of God. Just as an earthly father would, our heavenly Father expects certain behavior out of His children. We are not free to do as we please and expect God to be happy with whatever we do. We are expected to do His will.

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

What does God expect of His children? This passage mentions a few things:
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December 19, 2012

“By Their Deeds They Deny Him” (12/19)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Titus 1-3.

Many religious people will declare that they know God. They will affirm that they have faith in Him. They will profess to others that Jesus is their Lord. Yet words are meaningless if they are not confirmed by actions. Sadly, too many will speak as though they are disciples of Christ, yet prove otherwise by their actions.

“They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:16).

Declaring to know the Lord is useless. We must do what He has commanded. “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4).Continue Reading

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December 10, 2012

“If You Continue in His Kindness” (12/10)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Romans 11-13.

The “once saved, always saved” doctrine is very comforting for those who believe it – after one is saved, he does not need to worry about doing anything that would jeopardize his salvation. While this idea is appealing for obvious reasons, it is simply not true. Notice the following passage:

“You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off” (Romans 11:19-22).

Paul had just explained that after the Jews (in large part) rejected Christ, the gospel was then made available to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11). As a result, the Gentiles could be saved and “grafted in” to become part of God’s people.
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December 9, 2012

Zeal That is Not in Accordance with Knowledge (12/9)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Romans 8-10.

Even though Paul was sent specifically to preach to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13; Acts 22:21), he still had a strong desire that his Jewish brethren would come to Christ and be saved. Unfortunately, many did not. One of their major stumbling blocks that kept them from obeying Christ is mentioned in the following passage:

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3).

The reason why many of Paul’s Jewish brethren were going to be lost was because they did not obey God (“subject themselves to the righteousness of God“). Why did they not obey? It was because they were “seeking to establish their own” righteousness. But why did they do this?
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December 7, 2012

“Obedience of Faith” (12/7)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Acts 20:1-3; Romans 1-3.

The epistle of Romans is widely regarded as Paul’s explanation of how we are justified by faith. This is certainly discussed in this letter (Romans 5:1), but many misapply these teachings because they begin with a flawed definition of faith.

Generally, those among Protestant churches define faith in such a way that it is completely separate from works. They believe that salvation could only come by one of two ways: by faith or by works. Therefore, they believe that since salvation is by faith (Romans 5:1), then there are no works (obedience) required on our part to be saved. The problem with this is that it is not taught in the New Testament.

Notice what Paul had to say about faith in the beginning of this letter:

“Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake…” (Romans 1:5).

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December 4, 2012

A New Creature

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When Paul spoke of Christians (those “in Christ”) as being new creatures, he did not mean that we are no longer human as if we had become a new species. We remain human beings made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). But there are significant changes that come when one becomes a disciple of Christ. Let us notice a few of the “new things” that come when one becomes a “new creature” in Christ.
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