Dearly Beloved
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The Reason for Salvation
 
Dearly beloved of God, what did God have in mind when He saved us? What was the reason for our salvation?
 
Colossians 1:27
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
 
“Christ in you” is “the riches of the glory” “of the mystery of God concerning Christ among the Gentiles, “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
 
Consider the words God uses to convey the truth of the hope to us; glory, riches, treasures. God uses words with painstaking accuracy to convey His Will concerning His beloved children.
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The Gospel of God (Part 8 the New Covenant)
 
Dearly beloved of God, the book of Romans lays the foundation of the truths concerning the Church of God by revealing the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Romans 1:1-4
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
 
The gospel of God concerns that “which He had promised before by the prophets in the holy scriptures” of the Old Testament.
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Romans (Par 7 of the New Covenant)
 
Dearly beloved of God, in the new covenant, Jesus Christ was the final offering for sin. By his one offering there is complete remission of sins and iniquities, and God remembers them no longer. You have been justified.
 
Jesus Christ consecrated a new and living way through the veil that previously separated the holy place in the tabernacle from the Holy of Holies.
 
Only the high priest of Israel could enter through that veil once a year on the Day of Atonement.
 
Now every Christian, through Christ, has access by one spirit unto the Father. Christ provided us with a new and living way that gives us access to the throne of grace.
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Ephesians (Part Six of the New Covenant)
 
Dearly beloved of God, the book of Romans reveals that there is no difference between the Judean and the Gentile because Jesus Christ accomplished redemption and salvation for all people.
 
Whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus shall not be ashamed for there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
 
Ephesians clearly explains the redemption and salvation that is in Christ for the Judeans and the Gentiles.
 
Ephesians 2:11, 12 WTJ
11 Wherefore remember that you were formerly Gentiles in the flesh, who were called Uncircumcision by those who are called Circumcision made by hand in the flesh,
12 and that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and being without God in the world.
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II Corinthians 3: 7-18 (Part 5 of the New Covenant)
 
Dearly beloved of God, God made Paul, and the men who worked with him, able ministers of the new covenant of the spirit.
 
There was a controversy with the Judeans concerning the old covenant and new covenant throughout the Apostle Paul’s ministry.
 
The legalistic Judeans wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised and keep the law.
 
II Corinthians 3:7, 8
7 But if the ministration [ministry] of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
8 how shall not the ministration [ministry] of the spirit be rather glorious?
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II Corinthians 3: 2, 3 [Part 4 of the New Covenant]
 
Dearly beloved of God, God’s servant, the Lord Jesus Christ gave his life to make the new covenant.
 
God gave him, Jesus, for a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles to be God's salvation unto the ends of the earth.
 
Jesus gave his life as an offering for sin, and God remembers their sins no more.
 
The Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator of the new covenant.
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God’s Servant [Part 3]
 
Dearly beloved of God, the old covenant of the law has been replaced with a new covenant. This was the work of God’s servant.
 
Isaiah 42:6
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light to the Gentiles.
 
Christ was the servant spoken of in this verse. God would give the Christ “for a covenant of the people, and a light of the Gentiles.”
 
According to verse 7, God would give His servant, “To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”
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Galatians 4:21-31 (Part 2)
 
Dearly beloved of God, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant that God would make with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
The new covenant is recorded in Jeremiah 31:31-34.
 
This covenant is also quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12, with the explanation in the context of chapters 8, 9, and 10.
 
The book of Galatians speaks of the new covenant, also.
 
Galatians 4:21-31 WTJ
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law?
22 For example, it has been written that Abraham had two sons, one by the maid servant and one by the free woman.
 
These records are found in Genesis 16, 17, and 18.
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Israel Was First (Part I)
 
Dearly beloved of God, to have the right information from God is very important.
 
The right way of believing comes by hearing the Word of God [Romans 10:17]. If you do not think so, consider Israel according to the flesh.
 
Romans 9:5-8 WTJ
5 Of them [Israel] were the fathers, and from them was the Christ according to the flesh. The God Who is over all is blessed forevermore. Amen.
6 By no means has the Word of God failed. They are certainly not all Israel who are from Israel,
7 nor because they are Abraham’s seed are they all children, but [Genesis 21:12:] “In Isaac will your seed be called.”
8 In other words, these children of the flesh are not children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned for seed.
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The Right Information
 
Dearly beloved of God, the right way of believing comes by hearing, by hearing the Word of God.
 
God communicates with words, that same as we communicate with one another. The Word of God is God speaking. God’s written Word is as much God speaking today as the day He first spoke it to holy men of God, and He had them record it.
 
Had God not revealed His Word, we would not know what the right way is to believe.
 
We must have the right information before we have the right way to believe.
 
The right way of believing produces trust and confidence in God. God wants us to trust Him and have confidence in Him.
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Magnificence, Insignificance, and Significance
 
Dearly beloved of God, there is a simple truth that far too many people have overlooked. God is God, and we are but people.
 
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
 
Scientists have come to the realization that the heavens and the earth had a starting point. They did not always exist, therefore there had to be a power greater than the heavens and the earth to bring about its existence.
 
God is the all-powerful One that created the heaven and the earth.
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What Is the Will of God?
 
Dearly beloved of God, Jesus Christ our Lord was raised from the dead by God his Father. What does that mean to people? What did he accomplish?
 
What is the will of God concerning salvation?
 
I Timothy 2:4
Who [God] will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
 
The Word of God reveals the Will of God. All we have to do is read what His Word reveals and believe it. How does one get saved?
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What Do You Think?
 
Dearly beloved of God, there is no question about how God sees us because He has declared it in His Word. The only question is, how do you see yourself?
 
Too often God’s children think less of themselves than of the reality of who God created them to be in Christ.
 
We must never lose sight of the fact that the Word of God gives us God’s perspective concerning spiritual realities. God says what He means, and He means precisely what He says.
 
The question is not, did God say it, but do we believe what He said?
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Our Triumph is in His Triumph
 
Dearly beloved of God, God raised Jesus from the dead and He made him both Lord and Christ.
 
In his resurrection from the dead, he triumphed over all principalities and powers, and our triumph is in his triumph.
 
The Word of God is God speaking, and it declares that we are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power.
 
Could this really be true? Could this truly now be a reality?
 
You may say, “I don’t feel complete,” but God declares that you are!
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You Have Been Justified
 
Dearly beloved of God, since Jesus Christ died for us and God raised him from the dead, we have been justified from the sin and death that Adam brought upon mankind.
 
Romans 3:22-26 WTJ
22 Yes, the justice of God is by the believing of Jesus Christ to all {+ and upon all} those who believe, for there is no difference.
23 In fact, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set before Himself to be the place of expiation and conciliation in his blood through believing. This He did with a view to a demonstration of His justice by the passing over of the previously committed sins in the forbearance of God.
26 He also did this with a further view to a demonstration of His justice in the present time that He is just and the Justifier of the one who believes in Jesus.
 
This marvelous information is revelation from God given for our believing. There is even more good news.
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He is Risen!
 
On the Sabbath, our Saturday before sunset, the Lord Jesus arose from the dead!
 
The Judean day began at sunset, so the evening and night hours preceded the daylight hours.
 
Matthew 12:40 informs us that Jesus was in the grave for three days and three nights.
 
The Judeans numbered their days, first, second, third, etc., and the seventh was our Saturday, the Sabbath.
 
Since Jesus died and was buried before sunset the fourteenth of Nisan, Wednesday by our reckoning, he arose before sunset on the seventeenth, the weekly Sabbath, our Saturday.
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Freed From the Consequences
 
Dearly beloved of God, the Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life for us over 2000 years ago, but three days and three nights later God raised him from the dead!
 
The Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead sets him apart from all other people. His resurrection from the dead marks him out as the Son of God with power.
 
God did not leave anything that was not subjected unto him. He did not leave anything that was not put under his feet.
 
The Lord Jesus Christ is lord over the living and the dead. Every grave will come forth at his command, some to life and some to destruction.
 
All judgment was committed unto him by his Father.
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He is the Prototype
 
Dearly beloved of God, Jesus Christ was arrested, he was illegally arrested at night, he endured two unjust trials, and he endured the pain of torture and beatings until his death.
 
The trials were sham trials. The outcome was determined before they even started.
 
While endeavoring to give the appearance of Judean justice, they broke every law of jurisprudence in order to convict Jesus and sentence him to death.
 
Jesus hung on the tree from around nine in the morning till about three in the afternoon before he gave up his life for our salvation.
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He is Our God, God our Father
 
Dearly beloved of God, God made a covenant with Abraham to be a God unto him. God said to Abraham and to His seed, “I will be your God.”
Later, God made a covenant with Israel. God said, “I will take you to Me for a people and I will be your God.”
 
When God says that He would be their God, and they would be His people, this relationship is not to be taken lightly. We must not overlook its importance. He is not everyone’s God, but He made a commitment to be their God.
 
Just think of what God did to deliver His people from their bondage in Egypt. Out of over two and a half million people that partook of the first Passover there was not one feeble knee among them when they left Egypt the next morning.
 
God held off the Egyptian army for them with an angel and He parted the Red Sea, and his people went through the sea on dry ground.
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Remember Who He Is
 
Dearly beloved of God, we must never forget Who our God is.
 
God is Spirit. He is One God. He is the One True and Living God.
 
God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He is the God of the heavens and of all the earth. He is our Creator, our Maker.
 
God is the God of Abraham, Issaac, and Jacob. He is the God of Israel. God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
God is the God of love, and He is the God of light; there is no darkness in Him, not even a shadow of turning.
 
He is the God of the truth, He is the God of all grace, the God that heals us, the God of peace, He is the father of mercies and the God of all comfort, the God of deliverance and salvation, the God of the hope, the God of glory. He is the all-powerful God.
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The Last Days
 
Dearly beloved of God, we should be so thankful that God saved us by the Lord Jesus Christ and his accomplishments. He has given us the hope of salvation.
 
I Thessalonians 5:8-11
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
 
Isn't that wonderful? We have been delivered from the wrath of God, and we will obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to comfort ourselves with these words.
 
At times I see articles about the “last days.” What does the Word of God teach us about this subject?
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Who Will Deliver Us?
 
Dearly beloved of God, when we confessed the Lord Jesus and believed in our hearts that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead we are saved by the grace of God.
 
At that moment we receive the gift of holy spirit. As Jesus Christ foretold, we are begotten from again by the spirit from God.
 
In Christ we are sealed with the holy spirit as the earnest of our inheritance until the day of redemption.
 
In the new birth we have been delivered from the guilt and condemnation of sin and the death that Adam brought upon mankind, which was the loss of spirit life.
 
We were delivered from the guilt and condemnation of the sin of Adam by Jesus Christ’s accomplishments for us.
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Just, and the Justifier
 
Dearly beloved of God, God is just, and He is the Justifier of those who believe in Jesus.
 
God is the One that set the standard for justice by which He justifies people, not man. What is the standard that He established for justice?
 
Romans 3:22 WTJ
22 Yes, the justice of God is by the believing of Jesus Christ to all {+ and upon all} those who believe, for there is no difference.
 
Jesus Christ was the author and the finisher of the faith, THE [right way] of believing. He began and he finished the job. He believed God to accomplish what was necessary for our redemption and salvation.
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You Have Glory in Your Future!
 
Dearly beloved of God, there is glory in your future! “How much glory?” I am glad you asked.
 
As a Christian, you now have “Christ in you, the hope of glory!” We live day by day in anticipation of our hope of coming glory.
 
Romans 5:1, 2 WTJ
1 Therefore, being justified by believing, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through him we also /by the [right way of] believing {-} have had the access into this grace in which we have stood, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
 
We boast in hope of the glory of God. We have this hope because of God’s sovereign love for us. There was no other reason that God did all that He did for us in Christ other than His great love for us.
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Where Do We Find the Truth?
 
Dearly beloved of God, we must have a reference for truth outside of ourselves from which to learn.
 
For Christians that reference for truth must be the Word of God, not history or philosophy or tradition. Our reference for truth must be God’s Word.
 
I recently heard someone say that the truth varies, and that it was not the most important thing we need to know. I cannot believe how much our generation has intellectually deteriorated.
 
The truth is the truth; it does not vary from one person to the next.
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