When God Becomes 100% for Us

. . . among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:3)

All of God’s wrath, all of the condemnation we deserve, was poured out on Jesus. All of God’s demands for perfect righteousness were fulfilled by Christ. The moment we see (by grace!) this Treasure, and receive him in this way, his death counts as our death and his condemnation as our condemnation and his righteousness as our righteousness, and God becomes 100% irrevocably for us forever in that instant.

The question this leaves unanswered is, “Doesn’t the Bible teach that in eternity God set his favor on us in election?”

In other words, thoughtful people ask, “Did God only become 100% for us in the moment of faith and union with Christ and justification? Did he not become 100% for us in the act of election before the foundation of the world?” Paul says in Ephesians 1:4–5, “[God] chose us in [Jesus] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.”

Is God then not 100% for the elect from eternity? The answer hangs on the meaning of “100%.”

With the term “100%” I am trying to preserve a biblical truth found in several passages of Scripture. For example, in Ephesians 2:3, Paul says that Christians were “children of wrath” before they were made alive in Christ Jesus: “We all once lived [among the sons of disobedience] in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Paul is saying that, before our new birth — before we were made alive together with Christ — God’s wrath was on us. The elect were under wrath. This changed when God made us alive in Christ Jesus and awakened us to see the truth and beauty of Christ so that we received him as the one who died for us and as the one whose righteousness is counted as ours because of our union with Jesus. Before this happened to us, we were under God’s wrath. Then, because of faith in Christ and union with him, all God’s wrath was removed and he then became, in that sense, 100% for us.

Therefore, exult in the truth that God will keep you. He will get you to the end because in Christ he is 100% for you. And therefore, getting to the end does not make God to be 100% for you. It is the effect of the fact that he is already 100% for you.

John Piper 

Like Father, Like Son?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I am a Rogers. My father’s name is Arden Duncan Rogers. I have become a partaker of his nature, and you would expect to find his characteristics in me because in the physical realm, he has fathered me.

Among all the reasons I can imagine for living a holy life, one of the most important is for us to identify with God. He is the thrice-holy God of Israel. Holy is the Father, holy is the Son, and holy is the Spirit.

What does it mean to be identified with God’s character of holiness? Have you ever heard the expression “like father, like son”? That’s what it means to be identified with God.

Because we are God’s children, there ought to be His likeness in our lives. And His likeness is holiness. May our hearts be so in tune with our Father’s that we rejoice in what He rejoices over and may our hearts be broken by what breaks His heart.

ACTION POINT:

In prayer today, ask the Lord to point out to you any area in your life that violates His holiness or is holding you back from reflecting His likeness.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You Are Greatly Loved

We all once lived among [the sons of disobedience] in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:3–5)

Would you not love to hear the angel Gabriel say to you, “You are greatly loved”?

Three times this happened to Daniel.

“At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.” (Daniel 9:23)

“O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” (Daniel 10:11)

And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” (Daniel 10:19)

I admit that each year when I read through the Bible and come to these verses, I want to take them and apply them to myself. I want to hear God saying to me, “You are greatly loved.”

In fact, I do hear this. And you can hear it too. If you have faith in Jesus, God himself says to you in his word — which is more sure than an angel of God speaking — “You are greatly loved.”

There it stands in Ephesians 2:3–5, 8: We “were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith.”

This is the only place where Paul uses this wonderful phrase “great love.” And it is better than an angel’s voice. If you have seen Jesus as true and received him as your supreme treasure, that is, if you are “alive,” you are greatly loved. Greatly loved by the Creator of the universe. Just think of it! Greatly loved!

John Piper 

Is Trusting God a Challenge for You?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Psalm 37:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

This word “trust” is an interesting word. Its root is from the word that means “to lie face down on the ground.”

The idea is that a person is totally helpless. He has been cast down and has nothing to stand upon. The pins have been pulled from underneath him. He has no visible means of support.

That’s the place God wants to bring us to—where we have no visible means of support, and all we have is God.

In fact, did you know God will sometimes knock your feet out from under you so you might learn to trust Him? At that point, faith is no longer an option or a luxury; it’s a necessity. To the world your situation looks hopeless, but that’s right where God wants to show Himself powerful in your life.

ACTION POINT:

Is there an area in your life today for which you must trust God completely? Perhaps you need some “face time”. . .face down on the ground before the Lord. Bring that issue before Him in total surrender.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God Loves You Because of His Mercy

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved- - Ephesians 2:1-5

God wants to bless you even while you are a sinner.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10

Faith

We are justified by faith in Christ.

Wisdom 

Ask in faith for God to teach you.

Desire for God

He alone placed that in You.

It is finished through faith by Christ alone.

It was finished on the cross by Christ who died and has risen to pour out mercy on you. 

There is no good in man.

Baptism is symbolic of sin bondage removed by Christ.

Unbelief 

18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?

19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. - Hebrews 3:18-19

Christ Alone

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. - 1 John 1:7-10

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. - 1 John 2:1-2

Satan has no power over you, flee!

He's a liar!

3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 

4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works." - Hebrews 4:3-4

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.

9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,

10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. - Hebrews 4:8-11

Jesus is Lord over the sabbath.

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. - Hebrews 11:1-10

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  - Psalm 127:1

Wait on the Lord!

Your faith in Christ will set you free!

Your testimony is worthy of sharing!

Thank you JK!

God Opens the Heart

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. (Acts 16:14)

Everywhere Paul preached some believed and some did not. How are we to understand why some of those who are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1, 5) believed and some did not?

The answer why some did not believe is that they “thrust it aside” (Acts 13:46) because the message of the gospel was “folly to [them], and [they were] not able to understand” (1 Corinthians 2:14). The mind of the flesh “is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot” (Romans 8:7).

Everyone who hears and rejects the gospel “hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:20). They remain “darkened in their understanding . . . because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” (Ephesians 4:18). It is a guilty ignorance. The truth is available. But “by their unrighteousness [they] suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18).

But why then do some believe, since all are in this condition of rebellious hardness of heart, dead in their trespasses? The book of Acts gives the answer in at least three different ways. One is that they are appointed to believe. When Paul preached in Antioch of Pisidia, the Gentiles rejoiced and “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).

Another way of answering why some believe is that God granted repentance. When the saints in Jerusalem heard that Gentiles, and not just Jews, were responding to the gospel, they said, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18).

But the clearest answer in Acts to the question why a person believes the gospel is that God opens the heart. Lydia is the best example. Why did she believe? Acts 16:14 says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”

If you are a believer in Jesus, all of these happened to you: You were appointed to believe; you were granted to repent; and the Lord opened your heart. The rest of your life you should be overflowing with amazed thankfulness at the miracle that you are a believer.

John Piper 

Are you taking it seriously?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. 1 Peter 1:13-14

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

“Gird up your loins” is a figure of speech found in the Bible several times. The phrase we use today is: roll up your sleeves. It means “Get serious about what you’re doing.”

We need to get serious about being a Christian and living for God. One aspect of that is to have “a single mind.” God values singlemindedness when you are single-minded about Him. You need a laser-like focus in your desire to live for Him—to have your life bring Him glory.

You’ve heard people say, “Don't put all your eggs in one basket.” But I believe Peter would tell us to do just that. He’d label that basket, “Jesus is coming back!”

We need to be single-minded, living with a passionate, burning focus upon His return.

ACTION POINT:

What are you doing today in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? Are you living with the understanding that Christ could return at any moment?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers