Aren’t you thankful for the Bible and the good Word God provides for our learning? And for the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth? I am too. Without the Word of God and the Holy Spirit who gives each one an inner witness (1 John 5) and lives within each Believer, we could not know the promises that God has for his beloved children, or how he expects His children to live with love and faith in Him.
God has provided everything the Believer needs for life and godliness, (2 Peter 1) and to find out what those things are, it is vital for the Believer to begin to develop a working knowledge and understanding of what God says in his book, the Bible. The Holy Spirit will guide believers into all truth (John 16). One of the first things a new Believer should realize is that believing in Jesus as the Son of God who saves us from our sin, places us in agreement with God in the New Covenant that is witnessed by Jesus’ blood (1John 5). This new covenant is mainly spoken of in the New Testament portion of the Bible, but it is important to have knowledge of the Old Testament to grasp a firm understanding of what it means to you as a Believer.
Hebrews chapter 8 tells us that Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant with better promises.
As wonderful as the old covenant was, the Bible clearly teaches that the new covenant has better promises than the old.
In Hebrews, chapter 8 and 9, God promises to write his laws on our hearts, and to give believers an eternal inheritance. He promised to forgive believers of their sins and He will remember them no more. Halleluiah! There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Rom 8)
The Father’s son, the beloved Jesus, once and for all time, made an atonement for our sins-forever- “It is finished’, Jesus said as he hung on the cross.
The grace of God is applied through the faith of those who believe in the power of his blood, yet the wrath of God still abides on those who choose not to believe in Jesus (John 3). But friends, once you have made the decision to have faith in the son of God, the moment you believe, that very instant—the promises of the new covenant belong to you, even if you don’t know what they are!
Your sins are immediately forgotten by God, the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of God joins with your spirit to become one with your spirit (1Cor., chapter 6), your lifespan just extended into eternity with a God who adores you and all of the heavenly benefits that apply to a child of God are available to you.
Why does God provide such tremendous mercy and grace for humanity? God didn’t provide salvation after we believed, He provided for it before we chose to believe. His blessing and grace and mercy are there, and the choice is up to each person. God loves you! On the one hand He offers everything, love, fellowship, glory, honor, favor, provision, and on the other hand, if you reject the opportunity to join with God, the only thing waiting for you is wrath.
As a young Believer I did not understand why God would have wrath, but after I understand more about the price God paid and the love and benefits he offers freely to those who choose to believe, and since I have humbled myself in His love, I understand wrath on those who reject and trample on such a precious gift from a God who has gone to the ends of the earth to save those that He has created and loves. Even so, it just takes an instant, a moment in time to turn to the God who loves you and be accepted in the family of what the bible calls the ‘beloved”.
Lord willing, I will continue this direction next week, and will cover what the apostle Peter said about God providing everything the Believer needs for life and godliness.
Until next time, God bless you and your loved ones.
