Motivated By Love

I defy anyone to find a solitary text of Scripture in the New Testament that uses the law to motivate, inspire, regulate, or even guide the believer. Believers are motivated by love, inspired by gratitude, regulated by grace, and guided by the Holy Spirit. The whole Word of God, the complete revelation of His will is our law. Our lives are governed by love, not by fear. We walk by faith, not by legislation. We walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh (Romans 8:9-14; Galatians 3:3).

Pastor Scott Richardson

Absolute Security

John 10:27-29is one of the strongest statements to be found in the Scriptures guaranteeing the security of every child of God!

1.) “My sheep.” They are His sheep and He died for them.

2.) “I know them.” He has always known and loved them.

3.) “They follow me.” and another shepherd they will not follow.

4.) “I give them eternal life.” It is His free gift to them.

5.) “They shall never perish.” How can one perish for whom Christ died?

6.) “No man has the power to take them out of my hand.”

7.) “My Father gave them” to me and me to them.

8.) “No man is able to take them out of my Father’s hand.”

The sheep of Christ have a double security. They are in His hand and in the hand of the Father. To suggest that any of His sheep could finally be lost is to blaspheme the Lord God Himself.

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1991)

THOSE who have been saved are those who are being saved (I Cor. 1:18: Philippians 1:6; 2:12, 13). Those who have learned of Christ are those who are learning of Him (John 6:45; Matthew 11:29). Those who know the Lord are those who desire to know Him (Philippians 3:7-10). Those who have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 4:6), are those who continue to cry, “Lord, I beseech thee, show me thy glory” Exodus 33:18). These are the people, who by the grace of God, can say, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Ps. 17:15).

Pastor Maurice Montgomery

OUR LORD’S PRAYER FOR US

“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou has given me; for they are Thine” (John 17:9).

The prayer of the believer’s High Priest is like all His redeeming work, effectual, particular and satisfying to God. The intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of His people is always according to the perfect will of God (John 4:34). Therefore, everything that He prays for shall be accomplished (Isa.46:9-12). Here are at least six things that He prays for every believer. This ought to encourage us greatly.

1). He prays for our preservation: “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are” (ver.11). There is absolutely no possibility that one of His elect will ever perish (John 6:37-39; John 10:27-30). His covenant (2 Sam.23:5), His word (Jas.1:18) and His atonement (Heb.9:12, 26) are certain guarantees to our complete and everlasting salvation (1 Pet 1:5).

2). He prays for our jubilation; “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves” (ver.13). Every believer has abundant reasons to always rejoice in the Lord (Phil.3:3). But mainly it is in this, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is made unto us all that we need to stand before God accepted (Eph.1:6; 1 Cor.1:30).

3) He prays for our emancipation: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (ver.15). Our Lord has set the believer free from the bondage of sin, the curse of the law, the grasp of the devil and the power of death (Gal.5:1). 4). He prays for our sanctification: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (ver.17, 19). Our Lord has set Himself apart in the covenant of grace to be the believer’s sanctification, through His sacrifices (Eph.5:25-27; Heb.10:14-17).

5). He prays for our unification: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (ver.21). No question that our sin has separated us from God (Isa.59:2). However, because of the substitutionary work the Lord did for His elect, we shall be reconciled unto God forever (2 Cor.5:17-21).