11/20/23 KEEPING THE FAITH

11/20/23 KEEPING THE FAITH 

The Bible is not simply a report card or a history lesson. It is the revelation of God concerning man's lost condition and God's provision of salvation for anyone who wills to do His will.

John 7:16-18
16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

God knows the end from the beginning and God rules over all, but that is not the same as saying God causes sin, or God tempts man with sin, or God leads man into sin, or God leaves sinners with no possibility of deliverance from sin, or God takes pleasure in sin, or God takes pleasure in the death of the sinner, or that God is glorified by sin and sinning. God is glorified by justice and mercy and righteousness and faith and obedience.

God provides everything necessary for life and godliness, but God requires human trust, submission, obedience; God requires the human will to will the will of God.

Even when He was facing the apparent possibility of dying in the Garden (though His whole purpose from all eternity and throughout His earthly life and ministry was to die on the cross), Jesus prayed for the will of the Father. Jesus wanted to die on the cross, Jesus was determined to die on the cross, but His physical status was so compromised in the Garden, as He battled Satan, that He thought He might not make it to the cross, and therefore He submitted to the will of the Father, if the Father willed for Him to die in the Garden. As it turned out, the Father heard and answered Jesus' prayer by saving Him from death in the Garden. But notice, in His weakened condition, Jesus willed that the will of the Father be done.

The same principle is true in the Christian life. We must be willing and we must will the will of God in our own lives. It is the rebellious will that separates from God and it is the submitted will that draws us closer to God.

You can either will to do that which God requires or you can will not to do that which God requires. To not choose, is to choose not do the will of God, and that is sin. Salvation is salvation from sin, not salvation in sin.

Don't believe the devil when he tells you that you have no choice. God calls you but you decide whether to accept the call of God or reject the call of God in your life. Many are called, but few are chosen. Make your calling and election sure by believing, receiving and following Jesus.