Sunday, October 21, 2018

Truly His

Truly His


For a Christian, salvation is both an instantaneous reality and an ongoing process. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are immediately and permanently reconciled to God, forgiven of all sins, made righteous in His sight, indwelled with His Holy Spirt, adopted into His family, and so much more. Yet, from the time of our salvation on, we also look forward to the ultimate fulfillment of our salvation: receiving our eternal bodies and being in heaven for all eternity with God, His holy angels, and the saints from all time.

If you are His, you are truly His. And if you are truly His, there are five distinct aspects of salvation that have been, are being, and will be revealed in your life. These truths are taught throughout God’s Holy Word, but I have chosen five specific verses from the writings of the Apostle John that clearly communicate these truths.

Salvation is revealed in the life of a Christian as:

Believing
  • John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
    • In a gracious act of love, God the Father gives a person the faith to believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Christians know the truth about Jesus.
Receiving
  • 1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
    • Once God reveals the truth about Jesus to a person, that person must choose to surrender to that truth. Christians accept the precious gift of saving faith in Jesus.
Remaining
  • 2 John 1:9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.
    • Every Christian falls short of God’s standards, gets discouraged, has doubts, experiences frustrations, etc. But a child of God will never permanently/definitively walk away from their Heavenly Father. Christians are in an enduring relationship with Jesus.
Emulating
  • 3 John 1:11 Beloved do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.
    • The Word of God instructs a Christian about how and why they should become more and more like Jesus. The indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit enables them to do so. Christians obey Jesus – they obey the Word of God.
Inheriting
  • Revelation 21:27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
    • A born again believer in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with God. Christians are joint heirs with Jesus.

These five distinct truths blend perfectly into
one absolute truth in the life of a Christian.


Prayer

Loving Father, gracious King, I pray that the truth of Your Word presented in this devotion will encourage those who know you and draw to You anyone who does not. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.