To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Mon Nov 19, 2001 5:34 pm
Subject: HF047 - Secured in God's Love
Hebraics,
Many Christians have an unhealthy fear of losing their salvation. In
this study we are going to look at the security of the believer, and
how this security works from the love of God. There is nothing more
important than for believers to understand their love relationship to
God in Christ.
This is Bible Study HF047 - Secured in God's Love.
As a place of beginning, let's review one Scripture; "Now before the
Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that
He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His
own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." (John 13:1)
Jesus is in the upper room with His disciples. No crowds, no blind
men, no lame men, no woman at the well, no John the Baptist, no
debates with the Pharisees or Sadducees, only the Lord and a
small handful of men, who had been given to Him by the Father.
But the statement we need to hear is, "Having loved His own who
were in the world, He loved them to the end."
This statement is a summary of the gospel. It stands behind the
wonder of Christianity. The very foundation of our faith links to
God's love. Is it any wonder that we sing so many songs about
God's love. Here is a brief sampling -- "Love Lifted Me." "I
Don't
Know Why Jesus Loved Me." "Jesus Loves Me This I know."
"Jesus Loves the Little Children." "Love, Wonderful Love."
It is safe to say that we were saved because of God's love, that we
are being saved because of God's love, and that we will be saved
because of God's love. The apostle said it well enough; "For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans
8:38,39)
The mystery of God's love is past finding out. However, there is an
example that we can relate to. When mom and dad first looked at
their new born baby, did they love him. (Or, her.) Sure they did.
Why? They loved because this was their baby. They loved because
it is in their nature to love. Did the baby have to earn their love?
How could they love this child who had yet to prove its worth?
Let's take it a step further. How about if mom and dad had the
ability to see this newborn's entire life laid out before them,
including all the bad things that could happen. Would they love the
baby less because they knew bad things were going to happen?
They would not. Why? Because the love for this child is in their
nature. They love regardless.
One more scenario -- Let's say that mom and dad could be present
in this child's life throughout its lifetime, that is, without this little
person knowing it, and that this mom and dad could help their child
work through every problem in life, that is, again, without overriding
the child's will, but yet providing everything the child would need to
process life, would this change their love for the infant in the
hospital? No. Why? Because nothing can add to or take away from
their love. Their love is complete.
This is John's point, when he says, "In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10) But the truth of the matter is
that in the scenes I've given, God Himself can do what we could
never do. He remains present in the lives of all His children, helping
them to process every situation they may ever encounter. You see,
"He loved them to the end."
The story of redemption is the story of God's love. Not just that
God loved us. But God is loving us. And God's love is with us every
moment of the day.
I think David described this aspect of God's redemptive love in our
lives, yet without using the term love itself. David said, "O Lord,
You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down
and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar."
He went on to say, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is
too high, I cannot attain to it." And then, "If I ascend into heaven,
You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there."
And, "Even there Your hand will lead me."
Psalm 139 is a Psalm of God's redeeming love, and yet it never
uses the word 'love' not even one time. It doesn't have to. God
shows His redeeming love in how He helps us, in how He
surrounds our lives with goodness, and in how He makes of aware
of His presence, and especially in our moments of duress.
When David said that God's ways were too 'wonderful' for him. The
Hebrew word for wonderful, is 'pali.' Pali speaks of something that
is incomprehensible. The love of God is not something to be fully
understood. This is because we are dealing with something of
God's character and nature. Which, by the way, is the same nature
given to each person born again. We cannot help but love. Did not
the Lord say, "By this all men will know you are My disciples, if
you have love for one another." (John 13:35)
How much does God love us? Afraid this is beyond our
comprehension. But have you ever been so ashamed of something
you did, that you felt the Lord would surely turn His back on you?
Why didn't He? He cannot. He said through the prophet, "Can a
woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son
of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you."
(Isaiah 49:15)
Then there is this statement about Israel, which is simply a
description of God's eternal love. (God doesn't have two kinds of
love.) The Lord said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." (Jeremiah 31:3)
How about that struggle of the night where you were facing an
insurmountable problem, and no answer seemed in sight? What
happened the next morning when you stood before the mirror?
Without realizing it you began humming, and then singing. Where
did that song come from? Did you just decide to begin singing in
the midst of your depression? Hardly.
That was a love song. And Jesus is singing it in your heart. By the
time it reaches your lips, you and Jesus have your own thing going.
Is there Scripture for any such thing? Yes, there are several. The
Psalmist calls these songs, 'Songs of deliverance.' David said,
"You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You
surround me with songs of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7)
Now lets get back to God loving us. When did God began to love
us? Let me say it this way -- I've never met a Christian, who could
not look back on their childhood, and say, "Lord, You were there
then." God knew us before we were ever born. In Psalm 139, David
says, "In Your book were all written the days that were ordained for
me, when as yet there was not one of them." (Psalm 139:16)
Yes, we are redeemed because of God's love. Our problem is in
trying to explain the incomprehensible. The Lord's ways are past
finding out.
There is no religion on the earth that teaches a Father's love for His
children as does Christianity. (True Biblical Christianity.) There are
religions who have tried to adopt Christian terms, such as, 'born
again,' and so on. But no religion can produce God's love. God's
love can only be known in an effectual experience through Jesus
Christ. This is why Paul said, "The love of God has been poured
out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
(Romans 5:5)
The love of God is not something a person can pretend. It is the
very experience of God's nature, driving away our fears. It is this
love poured out in our hearts that causes us to know 'we belong.' In
fact the apostle John said that the believer who fears punishment,
has not yet been perfected in love. (God's love still has work to do.)
This brings us back to the issue of a believer's fear of losing his
salvation. We've already seen how that we cannot be separated
from God's love in Christ Jesus. The Bible says, "He loved them to
the end." In another place the Lord says, "I will never desert you,
nor will I ever forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
In closing this part of the study, I want to relate a personal story. I
was raised in a divorced home, and did not know my real dad until I
was older. But as a wee bit of a lad, I decided to run away from
home. I wanted to find my 'real' dad. The problem was that I
couldn't cross the street, so all I could do was travel around the
block. Well, I was too young.
A few years later, I was at my grandparents home. One of my
cousins came and said, "Buddy, your daddy is in the house." I
jumped up, and came running inside the house. Looking around, I
saw only one stranger. But that was all I needed. I climbed up in
his lap, and said, "This is my daddy."
This may seem sad, but I shared it to make a point. There is a cry
in the human heart for our 'real' dad. This cry can even extend to a
person who is born again. What happens is that we often
substitute our religion for a true relationship with God. Religion
itself can be a poor stepparent.
Think about it. You are secure in God's love. The study is open for
discussion.
Shalom in Christ,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)