Security of the Believer (Pt. 1)

Introduction to Peter’s Epistles:

Security of the Believer (Part 1)

1^st Peter 1:1-5

Introduction:

We never want to forget that the Author of any portion of Scripture is God, but I think it is important to remember the identity of the writers as well: The writer, in this case is the Apostle Peter, and it was written probably about A.D. 60. But let’s give some thought to Peter: This is Peter, the companion of Jesus, the commercial fisherman, the one who openly struggled with his humanity, and truly desired to overcome it and walk with Jesus. This is the Commercial fisherman who absolutely knew the danger of going overboard in a storm but was willing to deliberately step out of the boat, to “go for a walk on the water” with Jesus.

This is the same Peter who was sternly rebuked by Jesus for trying to prevent Jesus’s journey to the Cross; the same who swore he would be true to the death, but a few days later, denied he even knew the Lord. The same Peter who ran to the gravesite, and barged right into the empty tomb, seeing for himself the empty grave-clothes, and the folded face covering. This is the same Peter who loved Jesus with all his heart, as a human, and knew his own shortcoming: he couldn’t profess a greater love. The same Peter, who tradition holds was crucified upside down, by his own request, as he didn’t feel he was worthy to die just as Jesus did. We don’t know the manner of his death in detail, and I can’t prove the traditional tale true or false. But all the other notes are directly from scripture.

Remembering who Peter was, as a human, leaves me a little surprised at his understanding of “heavy doctrines,” which may explain why it astonished the Jews of the time as well. What you and I need to remember is that it was a supernaturally-supplied understanding. In the first place, his personal tutor was God the Son! In the second place, when he began his preaching ministry in the book of Acts, he was not only indwelt by, but also “full of” (under the influence of) God the Holy Spirit. The Jews were amazed (Acts 4:8-12), and said, “How could an uneducated man learn these things?” Let us not make the mistake of judging the authorship by what we know of the writer: Peter was just “the guy carrying the bucket!” The one who filled it was God. God is the Author of this epistle, just as He is the Author of the rest of the Bible.

This epistle was to a large group of scattered individuals, not to an individual, nor to a specific assembly in a given town. But the way he describes them in the first five verses allows us to realize that we are also included. Like the other epistles, this is to You.

Security of the Believer

Chapter One

¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Key Words and Ideas in the first five verses of this epistle:

I have underscored about 30 words or phrases in these first five verses. If we can grasp the significance of these few words and phrases, we will be well on our way to studying the whole epistle:

Peter (Greek ‘petros’): This is not just “the man’s name:” it is the new name given to Simon Bar-Jonas, by Jesus, and it means “a rock”…a stone, such as one might pick up and move, to be used for some purpose. This is not to be confused with ‘Petra’ which meant an unmovable bedrock: the kind a building is founded upon, not to be moved. Peter is not the “rock” upon which Jesus was to build His church. The Truth about Jesus is! (Matthew 16:18)

Apostle: The word simply means a “sent one.” There is a gift called “apostle,” and that gift is a person. Peter was one of those gifts to the Church (Ephesians 4:11-16). Are there others beside the original 12? Well, there at least were others: Paul was one, for sure. Some think he was the only other one, but in Acts 14:14 both Barnabas and Paul were identified as Apostles. There is some evidence that Apollos was recognized as an apostle. It is possible that the number even included Priscilla and Aquila, but all it says is that they were “of note among the apostles.” At any rate, that is what the word means, and as far as I can see, their primary task was to plant the churches. There are people who argue that they also had to write scriptures. The problem with that idea is that there are only eight writers of the New Testament, and only four of them were called apostles. Mark was not an apostle. Neither was Luke. The “James” who wrote the epistle of James is almost certainly not James the son of Zebedee, and brother of John, but rather one of the brothers of the Lord, who was not even a believer during the Lord’s earthly ministry. And Jude did not claim apostleship, but only said he was James’ brother. Just something to consider.

Jesus: this is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name we pronounce “Joshua.” It means “The LORD (YHWH) Saves;” which is especially significant because the angel Gabriel announced that his name should be called Jesus because He would save his people from their sins. This is the name before which it is said “every knee shall bow, to the glory of God the Father.” This is the name of which it is said “…there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.” This is His personal name, as the Savior, and not just during his earthly ministry. It is his chosen name forever, regardless of into what languages it is translated. Not the pronunciation of it, but the name itself: the “content” of the name.

Christ: This is a Greek word, too, meaning, “the anointed one,” which is what the Hebrew term “Messiah” means. That is His “office”, as being “chosen and sent by God”…it is not his “last name.” When we refer to Jesus Christ, we are referring to Jesus as the “anointed one” from God, who was sent as our one and only Blood Sacrifice by which the sins of the entire Human race were to be washed away. It means, Jesus the Messiah: Jesus, the Anointed One. The world uses it as a curse, when, in fact, it is a point of worship. He is “The Anointed One!” There is no other!

Strangers: This epistle was especially addressed to the “dispersion:” the Jews who had been scattered among the nations, but specifically the Messianic Jews—the believers among the dispersion (perhaps specifically those who had been scattered after the persecution in Jerusalem)…not just any foreign-born Jew. Remember that the scattered tribes had been gathered in Jerusalem at the day of Pentecost, for the feast of tabernacles. Those who became believers in Jesus stayed in Jerusalem because of the Gospel. When persecution arose, they were scattered again (Acts 8:1) and possibly began drifting back to their homes among the nations. But we are told that wherever they went, the Gospel went. They shared their faith! These are the original recipients of this epistle. But we are to be that sort of person as well.

Elect: This word means “chosen.” A lot of controversy comes over the understanding of this word, so we will address it later, except to point out that it does not always have anything to do with salvation. Aaron’s rod was called “elect,” too, as were the vessels in the temple. It simply means “Chosen.” Rather than spending a lot of time on the subject right now, I would like to point out that the whole Gospel is addressed to “Whosoever Will.” (Revelation 22:17) We see the invitation on the outside of the “gate” or “door,” so to speak, saying, “Whosoever Will May Come! “ Then, by Grace, through faith, we step across that threshold, entering into a permanent relationship with the Creator, through Jesus’ Blood at the Cross. But later on, we begin to learn more, and we look around; finally turning to look back and ask “How did I get in here?” And, on the inside of that same door, we see the sign, “Chosen in Him before the foundation of the Earth!” God chose in Eternity Past, to save all those “In Christ.” Those who respond in faith are automatically part of that group. There is nothing in the scripture to indicate that God deliberately chose the majority of the Human Race to end up in eternal punishment. We choose that ourselves.

Foreknowledge: This goes right along with “election:” we have no doubt about the absolute foreknowledge of God. That’s the way He presents His “Credentials” in Isaiah 46:10. He “declares the end from the beginning.” We will address both of these ideas more thoroughly, later in this study. Yes, God knew from Eternity Past who would choose to believe Him, and who would not. But He also chose to go to the Cross and die for the sins of even those who rejected Him. You will never meet a person for whom Jesus didn’t die; a person whose sins were not under His Blood. 1^st John 2:2 specifies that Jesus did not die “…for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world.” God knows in advance who will come, but the offer and the promise is genuine.

God: The Greek word is “Theos.” It is His “office”…” it is what He is.” This is not His name. The name he offered to Moses, to give to Israel, was ‘I AM.” The name by which Abraham knew Him was what we call the “Tetragrammaton:” the “YHWH” four-letter “puzzle,” which no one seems to know how to pronounce. (I think Acts 4:12 is a good answer to that puzzle, by the way.) But this passage specifically refers to God the Father.

At this point we are beginning to touch upon the doctrine of the Trinity. In Isaiah 9:6, 7, we are told that “the Son”, the long-awaited Child, of whom we sing at Christmas, “…shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father!” So, at that point I gave up. Jesus confirmed that the Father is greater than He, but this scripture says Jesus is the Father. And, in Acts 5 and in Acts 13, we see the Holy Spirit identified as God, as well. So…I will drop it right there. I think the Trinity is a true “mystery,” and I seriously doubt that it is decipherable by human intellect.

Sanctification: the word means “being set apart for a special purpose.” Like the word “elect,” it can be used for inanimate objects, not just humans. But in the case of humans: saved individuals have become the Lord’s personal property, and are for His use and His honor only. We have been declared holy! Give that some thought, as to how it may apply to your own life. When the vessels from the temple, which were declared Holy, were defiled by enemies who stole them and used them in idolatrous feasts, did they lose their “holy” status? No! They had to be cleansed, and restored to proper use, but they were still God’s personal Property. So are we! So, when we have sinned, and are out of fellowship with God, we are no less holy, positionally, but we are defiled, in terms of condition. We need to be cleansed and restored! That is what 1^st John 1:9 is all about: the restoration of a sinning believer.

The Spirit: This is in reference to the Holy Spirit: there is not as much information about the third member of the Godhead as we might like there to be. There is enough, however. He chooses to not speak of Himself, but of Jesus. The bookstores are loaded with extrabiblical books about the third member of the Godhead which are largely false. But there is sufficient information in the scriptures for our use, and Jesus specifically said that the Holy Spirit would not glorify Himself, but only Jesus. We need to keep that in mind, when we are trying to gain “greater spiritual experiences.” Does it really glorify Jesus, or do we simply want a thrill?

Obedience: The Greek word here, is “hupakoe”, meaning to “hearken submissively” or, along with that idea, to “set in order below”…in other words, deliberately choosing for ourselves the “lower rank,” where Jesus is concerned, and taking His Word as authoritative. Interesting concept, isn’t it? Notice that both the word “Obedience” and the following phrase, “the sprinkling of Blood,” are both in reference to the Lord Jesus.

Sprinkling of Blood: This refers back to the Old Testament sacrificial system, under which an object was declared holy through the sprinkling of the blood of a holy sacrifice: a priest or other believer was declared holy (as well as cleansed) by the same sort of sprinkling. This was completely fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ, whose Blood did not just “cover” our sin (which is what happened at the day of Atonement, each year) but “takes away the sin of the World,” according to the statement made by John the Baptist, in John 1:29. These Jewish Christians were quite familiar with the Old Testament teachings regarding Blood. They had no trouble understanding what Peter meant. He stated it fully, though: “…Obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”…so this is not some generic requirement of obedience, nor of any “other” blood. Both are about Jesus. And all of these people had heard Jesus, and had “hearkened submissively.” This is the “obedience to the faith,” called out in Romans 1:5. Paul made it more clear a few verses later, in Romans 1:16, where he stated that the Gospel, being believed in, is the power of God to save those who believe. This is Obedience to the faith. Does it result in more “physical” obedience? Surely it does, yes, but the initial choice to place one’s dependence on the shed blood of Jesus at the Cross for salvation, is the “obedience of faith” that resulted in the “Sprinkling of Blood” upon that believer’s soul, and which cleanses him or her before God, forever!

Conclusion: (Yes it means You!)

If you have heard the Gospel, the “good news” that Jesus’s blood was the full payment for your sins: If you have believed that news, and placed your trust in His shed blood for your salvation, then according to Jesus’s personal promise in John 5:24, all of the things we have been talking about are true of you!

You have been “Chosen in Him before the foundation of the earth!” You have been declared Holy, by the “sprinkling of His blood” and You are His personal Property, forever!

Yes, you entered in because you saw or heard the invitation, “Whosoever Will may Come!” But you can now look back and see that you were chosen in Him, specifically because you were “one who would respond in faith.” So, now, when you read the first chapter of Ephesians, and see all the amazing “positional truths” laid out there, you can know for sure that all those things are true of You, not just some “theoretical person.”

Next week we will continue in 1^st Peter, and see the remaining concepts concerning our eternal position in Christ.

Lord Jesus, please secure our hearts against the fear that the Enemy sows in us. Let us rest in your Promise, not in our own wisdom or reasoning. Help us to obey out of Love and confidence, not fear, as we rest in your promise and your Love.

January 28, 2017January 28, 2017

Better than the Angels

Better than the Angels!

Hebrews 1:4-14

Introduction:

Last time, we began a study through the book of Hebrews: In our introduction to the epistle, we saw that the book is specifically addressed to the professing Hebrew Christians, most of whom are genuine, but among whom there is at least a definite tendency to think that “Well…if this doesn’t work out, I can always revert to Judaism….” The writer gives seven warnings throughout the book, some of them definitely addressing that thought: he says, “No, you can’t! It will no longer be effective!” Next time, we will read the first of those seven warnings.

But, also listed through the epistle, there are seven comparisons between Jesus the Messiah, and seven of the key ingredients to the historical Judaism as known by these believers. In every case, the reader is drawn to the conclusion that “Jesus is better.” Judaism is/was a prediction of the Messiah. Every factor of the temple services was, in some way, a pre-figuring of Christ. The sacrifices for sin all looked forward to His one sacrifice at the Cross. The entire priesthood looked forward to His ministry as our Eternal High Priest. The list goes on, as the book progresses.

Better than the Prophets: Last time we addressed the comparison between Jesus and all the prophets. The conclusion was that Jesus is better in every regard. But, someone may argue, the prophets were (sometimes) given their instructions by Angels! Angels are fearsome creatures who, though they looked like men, were so overwhelming in their mere presence that, in some cases, the prophets literally nearly died of fright. Surely they must be far superior…aren’t they? Well…no, actually.

Jesus is Better than the Angels; He is God the Son!

The writer pulls no punches, here—he immediately confirms that (yep!) Jesus exceeds the angels in every way, as well…and in some ways even more, as he hints in verse 14.

⁴Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

⁵For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

So, if Jesus is the Son, and the angels are not…then, what is the nature of the relationship between the Eternal Son and the angelic hosts? Read verse six:

⁶And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

They Worship Him!

The writer says that when Jesus entered the world as a human baby, at Bethlehem (though he had eternally pre-existed the angels whom he created), God the Father commanded the entire, mighty, angelic army (the old English word “host” means “army”) to worship that newborn king.

(And we thought there were just a few little “lady angels” hanging around with halos, singing Christmas carols while animals and shepherds and wise men did the worshipping. Well—no, not really! Only those of us who didn’t read the text may have thought such nonsense.) This is not intended as a criticism against any of the hymns. It is simply a reminder that, whenever we talk about the things of God, the only dependable source of information is the Word of God…not tradition, not consensus, not conventional wisdom, nor even human logic. Go back to God’s Word and see what it actually says!

⁷And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

God further describes the Angelic hosts (armies) as spirit-beings, and as His servants: They are in no way to be considered his peers, as though He were just the Head Angel, or that they are demigods of some sort.

By the way, the angels themselves, because they are awe-inspiring, have sometimes been the unwilling recipients of worship. In every case, they instantly rejected the worship, sternly warning off the wrong-headed humans involved, and redirected all worship to God. That is a good thing to remember: the angels confirm the commandment that only God is to receive worship. And they are commanded to worship Jesus! What does that tell us about Jesus?

Jesus, God the Son: the Creator

So…the angels are created beings, and a servant-class, as well: that is what “minister” means. (By the way, if you ever feel that you don’t want to do “menial” work, remember that the root word for “menial” is exactly the same as that of “minister”…if you don’t want to do menial work, you don’t want ministry: you don’t want to serve God.)

But, who created the angels? Jesus did. See John 1:3: “all things were made by Him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” …and then compare it to the following verses:

⁸But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

Yes! Jesus is the Creator! And the Father addresses him as “Lord”, just as The Son addresses the Father as Lord! These three verses, as well as the following three, are all the voice of God the Father addressing God the Son. He calls Jesus “God”, and declares that he is Eternally God. He also declares that he has proven himself once for all in the “arena” of Earth, and that because of His proven character, he has been awarded Joy above all other humans (remember, He is fully God and fully Man.) But he is clearly declared to be the Creator, as well.

To me, all the doctrine concerning the full deity and authority and power of Jesus as the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, is beyond mind-boggling. It is beyond imagination. It is simply beyond human comprehension and beyond adequate description.

Jesus, God the Son: the Eternal One

And his eternality is underscored, saying that he will outlast the physical universe, as a man outlasts his clothing. God emphasizes the eternality of the Son, compared to the longevity of the physical creation, saying,

¹¹They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

¹²And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

About thirty-eight years ago, I recall a man challenging my view of Eternal life, saying that the Greek word for “Eternal” didn’t really mean “eternal”, but only “a very long time”; that the Greek word was “aeoneon” (he was right) which only meant “to the ages of the ages” (He was right about that, too!)

I listened to him, and finally said, “Well, I can go look up that word, and see if what you are saying is true: but, right off the top of my head, I am going to guess that the word describing the ‘eternality’ of God is exactly the same as the word describing the ‘eternality’ of the eternal life He has promised us. So…if the reality turns out to be that I only last as long as God lasts, that is OK with me!” He didn’t have much to say after that, and I never saw him again. But I went home and looked up the Greek words to see if he had even been correct, and if so, whether I was also correct in my guess. Both were true. He meant it to diminish the concept of “eternal life”. What it resulted in was an expansion of the idea:

As it turned out, aeoneon is simply how the Greeks say “eternal”: the exact same words are used to describe the eternality of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and our spirits, as well as the spirits of the angelic hosts. We will last as long as He lasts. Oddly, the human believers are the only living things from this world that will outlast the physical universe as we know it. (I say this cautiously, because I am not sure just how much of the physical universe will be destroyed at the end of the age, as described in 2^nd Peter 3:10, 11. It could just be the world we live in and the solar system it is part of. The description leaves open the possibility that it is a complete erasure or disintegration of the entire creation as we know it, and then a fresh start, but I can’t say for sure.)

Jesus, God the Son: Heir of all things!

But, the most telling point showing the innate superiority of the Son, is that… He is the Son! He is superior by relationship: by inheritance! The writer made that clear in verses 4 and 5. There are no promises in the scriptures made “to the Angels”. There are a number of promises made to us, and regarding them, but none made to them.

Very few rich people’s wills include their servants in any significant sense. Unless a servant has, in the lifetime of his or her employer, achieved something like “family status”, the inheritance all goes to the spouse and children, or perhaps grandchildren. There have certainly been exceptions, but that is the norm. In this case, verse 4 makes it clear that Jesus, by inheritance, has obtained a more excellent name than that of the angels. He earned His honor and glory in the arena of human existence, as well as it being his right as God. But the Name was his by inheritance. Even the demons knew him, and trembled at His presence!

So, Who are the Angels?

The Angels are a servant class, created for the specific purposes laid out in scripture. They are highly intelligent (far more so than any human), and they have a free will, as we do. But, unlike us, they were created to be consciously in the presence of God from the beginning, so, in the case of the one third of the angelic hosts that rebelled, no Grace was offered. Every one of them knew God face to face; and they knowingly, willingly chose rebellion.

No human has ever seen God the Father: possibly that is the reason Grace is offered to us, through Faith. We are said to have “sinned ignorantly,” and, to varying degrees, that is always the case. So, to any human who chooses to believe God, rather than the clamoring voice of the World, God offers eternal life. But he never offered such a gift to the angels who sinned.

In like manner, the promise is made to the Son, not to the Angels: He is told to take his place at the right hand of God the Father, until all His enemies are completely cast down. The writer poses this rhetorical question:

¹³But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

The answer, of course, is “None!” No such promise was ever made to them. The writer goes on to explain why:

¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

The writer reminds the readers that the angelic hosts, as impressive as they are, are still the servants of God, and nothing more.

So, Where Do We Fit In?

Many similar promises are made to human believers. Why? Because we are now His sons, too! We have become literally His offspring. This is why Jesus said “Ye must be born again!” We have become the offspring of God through the new birth. The Greek word is “teknon”, which literally means “born-ones.”

The new birth is not some religious doubletalk or trendy buzzword: it was not coined by humans: Jesus is the one who stated the reality of the second birth, and made clear the absolute necessity that a human be “born again” in order to relate to God at all.

The Writer concludes the passage by reiterating that not only are the Angels not participants in God’s glory (though they have witnessed it constantly), nor are they the objects of His joy, love and attention; they are not only simply a servant-class, but they are specifically sent for the care of the elect humans. They are our “Celestial Babysitters,” if you can accept it.

That is also a mind-boggling fact. I can believe it, because God says it is true; but I have a hard time “wrapping my head around the idea” that there are many angels, invisible to us, but within arm’s reach, perhaps, and “rooting for us” to win the prize of God’s praise, so that we may hear “Well done, thou good and faithful Servant!”

You see…we are a servant class, too, as created beings; but we are created to be part of God’s Family, which the angels were not. Remember verse 5? They were never even called his sons, except in the generic sense, in the book of Job (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7)…in those passages they are called that name, but never in the same sense as Jesus, who is the “Only Begotten Son”—the crown prince—nor even in the same sense as we are called sons. By the way, this information should serve to dispel the myth that “humans become angels when they die.” They are two separate creations, never to be mingled.

We are actually called his offspring…“born ones”…little children; but specifically His personal offspring. He says that he has become our literal Father, and that we are his literal Children, appointed to be His heirs. (Compare John 1:12; 1^st John 3:9, etc.)

Am I a Child of God?

There are those who teach the universal Fatherhood of God. Jesus sharply refuted that notion, saying “Ye are of your father, the Devil!” in John 8:44. So, how does one become a child of God? How can we be born again, into His family?

John 1:12, 13 states that “to as many as received Him, to them gave He power (Greek “exousia” authority) to become (the Greek word is “genesthe”—to be born) the children (Greek “teknon:” born-ones) of God, even to those who believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

John 5:24 says “Verily, verily I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.” Jesus promised that the moment you believe, you have eternal life, and you will never face judgement for your sins: you have crossed over from being spiritually dead into eternal life

All God asks is that you place your trust in the person of Christ and His finished work at the Cross. The moment a person believes in Jesus’s blood as the full price of his or her salvation, that person is born again, into the family of God, whether they are aware of it or not. I cannot even tell you the day I was born again, because at the time I had been told such a variety of things, and was so confused about what it took to be saved. It was only later, when I learned this truth, that I could look back, and know for sure that I was saved—that I had been born again, and that all the other things people had told me were extraneous to that fact.

The Promises and Invitation of God

All the promises in the New Testament epistles that are directed “to the children of God”, or to “the Sons of God”, are to you, if you have been born again. They are virtually all spiritual promises, made to a spiritual people. We are not promised a piece of land, nor monetary wealth, nor physical health, nor even physical comfort. We are promised a permanent relationship with God, and an abiding purpose within that relationship.

We are given the opportunity to serve with God, and then to be rewarded as if we had done the work, when in fact, He did it through us. We are armed with His Word, and indwelt by His Spirit. In fact, in the person of the Holy Spirit, we are told that the entire Godhead has taken up residence in our bodies. What an overwhelming thought!

We are given the right to look into the face of God, by faith, and call him Father, knowing that we are not being presumptuous, nor pretentious. We are simply calling Him what He is. Our Father, through the new birth.

We are given access to the throne of God, and told to come there boldly! Not fearfully tiptoeing into the presence of God, wondering what sort of mood He might be in today. Unlike a human father (myself for example), God never changes. His “mood” never changes. He always hates sin, and he always loves the sinner, in spite of the sin. But his Grace is extended by way of the Cross. We approach the throne boldly because of Jesus’s blood at the Cross.

Consider carefully your relationship with God. If you have been born again, you are already permanently His offspring, and you are invited to draw closer to the Father, through Bible-study, through Prayer, and obedience. If you have not been born again, the invitation is different: He invites you to come to Him and experience His Grace and Love, by placing your faith in Jesus Christ, and His shed Blood.

If you do not understand this message, I would encourage you to talk to me or any of the other leaders in our church, and get your questions answered.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the vital importance of the Gospel, the good news of salvation through your Grace. Help us to draw near to you and be blessed daily as we feast upon your Word, and bask in your Joy.