Thursday; September 24

One of the most incredible passages of the Bible is found in I John 4:7-9: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.” What a wonderful reminder of how much God cares about us and was willing to do for us. Each Christian can find eternal hope in this passage. While this is wonderful, we must be cautious that we don’t misrepresent what this says – and doesn’t say. Yes, God is love and loved us enough to save us from our sins; however, this doesn’t mean that everyone will automatically receive forgiveness and salvation. You see, the same God of love is also the God of accountability and the God of vengeance. II Corinthians 4:10 reminds us, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” while II Thessalonians 1:8 says that Jesus will return to earth, “… dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

Let’s be thankful that we can have confidence in our salvation, but let’s not downplay a need to do His will. God loves us but expects obedience from us as well.

Think About It!

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