Can you or I lose our salvation? Many people believe if you have walked an aisle, prayed a prayer, were baptized, or fulfilled some other requirement, that’s it. You’re in! Others say we can lose our salvation through sin or neglect. But is there another consideration?
What about you personally? Do you have doubts about your relationship with God? If you died tonight, do you know beyond a doubt where you would spend eternity? Or do you lack assurance of your salvation?
Do you know the voice of God? Would you know if it was the enemy speaking to you or even your own heart? Jesus said that one of the benefits of belonging to Him is that we know His voice. But that doesn’t just happen. So, how do we grow in our ability to hear His voice?
What does God have to say about stay-at-home moms and God’s blessings? What does He have to say about mothering, in general? Is it possible we are all mothers whether we have biological children or not? And is there a calling on women that is bigger than we might know? #motherhood #mothers #God #soulsurvival
Does God use tests and trials, including those caused by others, for our good? That can be a challenging thought for many of us.
How do you respond when someone sins against you? Do you get angry? Defensive? Do you allow it to justify sinning in return? If God allows us to be sinned against at times, what do we need to understand about our responses and how we should respond so we can benefit from our trials?
Abortion is one of those topics that can hardly be discussed anymore. Those who are against it are passionately so. And those who are in favor of it are almost religious about it.
As believers, how should we view the subject? Is it always a sin? What about in cases of rape and incest? And if it’s a sin, is it an unforgivable sin? If it’s forgivable, why not terminate an inconvenient pregnancy and ask for forgiveness later?
What about women who have had an abortion or men who have encouraged their wives or girlfriends to have one? How does God view them? How should we? These are important questions. How would you answer them?
Once we were slaves to sin, but now we have not only been forgiven for our sins but set free from the bondage of sin. Yet many of us live as if we are still slaves to it. What about you? Are you living in the power of the Holy Spirit with the resources God has provided or are you still living as if you are a slave to sin?
Also:
Why is a dry crust of bread better than the abundance that many enjoy? And why is the Old Testament still important to us today?
During His earthly ministry, there were many different reactions to Christ and His claims. Some were convinced, some contrary, some confused, and others hostile. Not much has changed today.
Where are you and what is your attitude toward Him? Do you say you believe without trusting Him personally or without putting “feet” to your faith? Do questions about other religions or science confuse you? Or are you convinced He is who He said He was and live your life accordingly?
Even as professing believers, we can fall into some of these attitudes. We can trust in Christ for our salvation, but be contrary about obedience in certain areas or refuse to trust the Bible wholeheartedly. Or we can be confused because He isn’t working in our lives the way we want. We can believe He isn’t answering our prayers. Could it be that we have a wrong understanding of God and how He works in our lives? I hope you’ll read today’s post and evaluate where you are.
Where is God when you’re mistreated or attacked unfairly? Why would He allow one of His children to be treated that way? What can we learn from David’s response to unfair attacks and His understanding of the sovereignty of God that can help us when we face those situations?
Do you have genuine saving faith? Do you have confidence that if you should die tonight, you would spend eternity with God? Jesus and the Apostles warned us that there are those who may come to church, listen to the Word preached, and even make some moral changes in their lives, but who do not have saving faith and have not had the kind of internal heart change that we call conversion. They have not been born-again by the Spirit of God.
Also, as David’s story continues to unfold in 2 Samuel, we see the foolishness of thinking we can sin in secret and that our sins won’t affect anyone but us. David had set in motion laws of sowing and reaping and the sad results were happening before his eyes in the lives of his own children. This should drive us to our knees to pray for God’s wisdom in our own parenting.
God’s restraining grace is something we often take for granted. It’s even present to some degree in the lives of unbelievers. The Puritans called it common grace. It’s seen in the work of the conscience and in society’s acceptance of certain basics of right and wrong. But is it possible to lose God’s restraining grace?
There is no sin in our lives that is too big or for which God won’t forgive us if we are truly repentant. But knowing that doesn’t mean we can sin with impunity like children with our fingers crossed behind our backs. The person who thinks he or she can do whatever and ask for forgiveness later is in rebellion against God.
One of the consequences of willful sin can be the removal of God’s restraining grace where He steps back and allows us to do what our sinful heart desires. Without that restraining grace, we find that the sin we thought we could control is now controlling us. As someone once said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
