“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 KJV). God does not expect from us, what He does not expect from Himself — Finish the job! How can we expect to enter into Heaven, if we do not persevere to the end (Matthew 24:13; Romans 2:7; Revelation 3:11)? Do you say, it will happen anyway? But, if it took your cooperation and agreement for Him to begin the good work in you, why wouldn’t it take that cooperation to the end? It was never that we loved Him, but “He first loved us” (1John 4:19). Finishing the job and making it home to Heaven — sure, you must persevere — but, all the credit will be placed at the feet of our Lord, when we come into His heavenly presence. LORD, You were our help in ages past, and are our hope for years to come. Your Spirit working in us caused us to will and to do of Your good pleasure. Magnify Your name for every right hearted action of Your children. And, may every child of Yours justify the wisdom of Your decision to require us to persevere to the end, when we cross the Finish Line into Heaven. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
Gift of Salvation
We Practice What We Believe
In other words, we all demonstrate what we actually believe by the way we act. “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew [shō] me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew [shō] thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18 KJV). There is no mystery about our beliefs, just look at how we act. If you wonder why you don’t have certain results from your beliefs, then you are confused about how you believe. Faith is not simply willing yourself to trust God, but “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Faith is not ‘pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’; but, faith is the “gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). And, no, God does not do our believing for us, but He makes our believing “effectual [Greek, energeia, Thayer, in the NT used only of superhuman power, whether of God or the devil]” (3:7), that is, He makes our faith valuable by empowering it. And, you can tell when He is cooperatively empowering us, when the results align with what He reveals in His Word. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). LORD, empower our believing. Make our simple act of intellectual faith powerful and spiritual. Cause us to evaluate our faith by what You represent in Your Word. Cause us to actively hunger for our faith to look like what we read in Your Word. Make it so that what we believe causes us to act like what we know from Your Word. Grant to us the essential working of Your Spirit that You may conform us to Your Word — not just in letter — but in Spirit and in power. Do all of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen and amen.
Baptism: The Icing on the Cake
Other than the Lord’s Supper (known also as Communion or the Eucharist), Baptism is the other significant ordinance commanded by Christ, and historically much debated by the Church. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations [‘make disciples of all nations,’ NIV], baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19 KJV). To clarify, we are to make disciples of all nations and baptize them. No single explanation on baptism will satisfy all religious traditions; but, for conscience sake, can anyone gain entry into the Body of Christ, while defying the command, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38)? To be clear, no one or no thing saves except Jesus. Even if baptism is considered as a condition of salvation, baptism is more than a personal decision, but the outward approval of those who do the baptizing that the recipient has indeed fulfilled the terms for salvation, i.e., we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit by (1) turning to Jesus and BELIEVING on Him to save us from our sins (Acts 16:31), (2) turning away from our sins by REPENTING of them entirely (Acts 2:38), (3) FORSAKING or be willing to forsake everything for Jesus (Luke 18:22), and (4) CONFESSING Jesus is now the Lord or boss of our life (Romans 10:9). LORD, may Your body of believing, practicing disciples find our agreement in Christ about baptism “that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11). Amen and amen.
Christ In You
“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27 KJV). What can be more balanced and sound of doctrine and practice than “in all things [Christ] might have the preeminence” (1:18)? ‘Fundamentalists’ stress soundness of doctrine about Christ. Getting people saved would be their primary goal. By comparison, the ‘other evangelicals’ stress developing a relationship with Christ. Discipling converts would be their emphasis. Both are essential. Christianity is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27) with soundness of doctrine about Christ’s saving and continually sanctifying grace. The Pharisees did get right the need for obedience to God’s law, but they strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel because they forgot Yahweh wanted a people, who knew Him. “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6). Automatons who obeyed without heart were not desirable. “And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). May our God receive for Himself a people walking in loving obedience with an ever increasing understanding of Him. Amen.
We Need A Miracle 