Author Archives: Becky Pliego

About Becky Pliego

I am grateful because God, in His grace, called me out of darkness and into his admirable light. When I did not look for Him, He found me. When I was in a pit of sin, He rescued me. I am not walking this road alone, my family is always with me, and we love Him, because He loved us first.

>A Book Goes to the UK

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Dear friends, Diane at Theology for Girls, hosted a wonderful giveaway of the book The Attributes of God by A.W. Pink and it is our joy to announce the winner:

Thank you, Diana for participating. What a joy is to have you as our friend in this wonderful Kitchen!
And just in case you missed it, Diane Bucknell wrote a wonderful post on The Love of God, that you really don’t want to miss.
And Diana, who blogs at Waiting for Our Blessed Hope,  wrote another one that moved us to tears as she shared about the glorious doctrine of Christ (Christology) entitled, My Eyes Were Lifted Up.
Remember, ladies, that we still have more giveaways:
* Christina is giving away the wonderful book The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel, to enter the drawing, read her post entitled, Why I Love the Doctrines of Grace,  and leave a comment there. (click here)
* You can also enter the drawing of a Systematic Theology  (choose from either Horton’s or Grudem’s) that Monergism Books is hosting. To enter leave a comment here or follow us on Facebook.
*  On our resources page, you can enter the “big” giveaway that will be held at the end of the month. We are posting new resources each day that correspond to the daily posts. And at the end of the month we will randomly choose four winners who will be able to choose one resource from the list. If you wish to have your name thrown in the “mixing bowl” leave a comment on the page (click here).
Thank you for visiting us, we are grateful for you!
Under His sun and by His grace,

Seek God, Not Joy

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Thursday of Borrowed Words in the Kitchen is special when you can have a lady from the 19th century  sharing at the table. Today I am honored to introduce you to Mrs. Elizabeth Prentiss*. (via Grace Gems)

Karen Reyburn Photography
There is certainly enough in our Savior, if we only open our eyes that we may see it, to solve every doubt and satisfy every longing of the heart; and He is willing to give it in full measure. If a glimpse of our Savior here on earth can be so refreshing, so delightful, what will it be in Heaven?
When my mind strives to grasp this love of Christ, it seems to struggle in vain with its own littleness, and falls back weary and exhausted, to wonder again at the heights and depths which surpass its comprehension.
In proportion to your devotion to the Savior will be the blessedness of your life.
I am persuaded that real humility dwells deep within the heart, and that it is only to be gained by communion with our blessed Savior, who, when He was reviled, reviled not again.
The greatest saint on earth has got to reach Heaven on the same terms as the greatest sinner; unworthy, unfit, good-for-nothing; but saved through grace.
In proportion to our love to Christ, will be the agony of terror lest we should sin and fall, and so grieve and weary Him.
One minute of nearness to the Lord Jesus contains more delight than years spent in communion with any earthly friend.
If the loss of your earthly fortune gains Christ for you, it will be a beautiful loss.
The more we love Him, the more we see how sinful sin is, and the more sorry we are to have been guilty of it.
I entreat you to turn your eyes away from self, from man, and look to Christ.
Let us never allow anything to come between our hearts and our God.
It is sweet to be in the sunshine of the Master’s smile, but I believe our souls need winter as well as summer, night as well as day.
Let us take our lot in life just as it comes, courageously, patiently, and faithfully, never wondering at anything the Master does.
I have lived to see that God never was so good to me as when He seemed most severe.
God never places us in any position in which we cannot grow. We may imagine that He does. We may fear we are so impeded by fretting petty cares that we are gaining nothing; but when we are not sending any branches upward, we may be sending roots downward. Perhaps in the time of our humiliation, when everything seems a failure, we are making the best kind of progress. Look on and look up. Lay hold on Christ with both your poor, empty hands. Let Him do with you what seems good to Him. Though He slay you, still trust in Him, and I dare in His name to promise you a sweeter, better life than you could have ever known, had He left you to drink of the full dangerous cups of unmingled prosperity.
O if the unseen presence of Jesus can make the heart to sing for joy in the midst of its sorrow and sin here, what will it be to dwell with Him forever!
We never know, or begin to know, the great Heart that loves us best, until we throw ourselves upon it in the hour of our despair. Friends say and do all they can for us, but they do not know what we suffer or what we need; but Christ who formed, has penetrated the depths of the crushed heart. He pours in the oil that no human hand possesses, and “as one whom his mother comforts, so will He comfort you.”
Lay down this principle as a law– God does nothing arbitrary. If He takes away your health, for instance, it is because He has some reason for doing so. This is true of everything you value, and if you have real faith in Him, you will not insist on knowing this reason.
What are trials, but angels to beckon us nearer to Him.
What does it matter, after all, from what point of time or space, we go to our eternal home. O how we shall smile after we get there, that we ever gave it one moment’s thought.
All your tears will soon be wiped away. You will see the King in His beauty. You will see Christ your Redeemer, and realize all He is, and all He has done for you. As I think of these things my soul is in haste to be gone. I long to be set free from sin and self, and to go to the fellowship of those who are done with them forever, and are perfect and entire, lacking nothing.
She is at home; she is well, she is happy, she will never know a bereavement or a day’s illness, or the infirmities and trials of old age. She has the secret of perpetual youth! The only real comfort is that God never makes mistakes, and that He would not have snatched her from us if He had not had a reason that would satisfy us if we knew it. Next to dying and going home one’s self, it must be sweet to accompany a Christian friend down to the very banks of the river. Isn’t it strange that after such experiences we can ever again have a worldly thought, or ever lose the sense of the reality of divine things!
God delights to try our faith by the conditions in which He places us.
Dying grace is not usually given until it is needed. Death, to the disciple of Jesus, is only stepping from one room to another and far better room of our Father’s house. And how little all the sorrows of the way will seem to us, when we get to our home above.
You never will be really happy until Christ becomes your dearest and most intimate friend.
Seek God, not joy.
How transcendently good He is, when He brings me down to that low place, and there shows me that that self-renouncing, self-despairing spot is just the one where He will stoop to meet me.
Those words, “daily nearer God,” have an inexpressible charm for me. I long for such nearness to Him that all other objects shall fade into comparative insignificance; so that to have a thought, a wish, a pleasure apart from Him, shall be impossible.
I am not sure that it is best for us, once safe and secure on the Rock of Ages, to ask ourselves too closely, what this and that experience may signify. Is it not better to be thinking of the Rock, not of the feet that stand upon it? It seems to me that we ought to be unconscious of ourselves, and that the nearer we get to Christ the more we shall be taken up with Him. We shall be like a sick man who, after he gets well, forgets all the symptoms he used to think so much of, and stops feeling his pulse, and just enjoys his health, only pointing out his physician to all who are diseased.
REST! What an infinite, mournful sweetness in the word. How perfectly sure I feel that my soul can never rest in itself, nor in anything of earth. If I find peace, it must be in the bosom of God. I know myself to be perfectly helpless. I cannot promise to do, or to be, anything; but I do want to put everything else aside, and to devote myself entirely to the service of Christ.
The thorny path bears some of the sweetest flowers that adorn life. And when with naked, bleeding feet we walk upon a flinty soil, we often find diamonds.
A cup of cold water given in Christ’s name, if that is all one can give, is just as acceptable as the richest offering; and so is a teaspoonful, if one has no more to give. Christ loves to be loved, and the smallest testimony of real love is most pleasing to Him, and love shown to one of His suffering disciples, He regards as love to Himself. So a little child carrying a flower to some poor invalid, may thus do Christ honor and become more endeared to Him.
Let my life be an all-day looking to Jesus. Let my love to God be so deep, earnest, and all-pervading, that I cannot have even the passing emotion of rebellion to suppress. There is such a thing as an implicit faith in, and consequent submission to, Christ. Let me never rest until they are freely mine.
I believe that there is no happiness on earth, as there is none in heaven, to be compared with that of losing all things to possess Christ.
There may come a period when God says, virtually, to the soul, “You clung to Me when I smiled upon and caressed you. Let Me see how you will behave when I smile and speak comfortably no more.”
It matters very little on what paths we are walking, since we find Him in every one.
I have seen the time when I could hide myself in Him as a little child hides in its mother’s arms, and so have thousands of aching hearts.
Let us take our lot in life just as it comes, courageously, patiently, and faithfully, never wondering at anything the Master does.
We love God more than we are aware; when He slays us, we trust in Him; when He strikes us, we kiss His hand.
The longer I live the more conscious I am of human frailty, and of the constant, overwhelming need I have of God’s grace.

Why I Love the Doctrines of Grace by Christina Langella

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>If you have not met Christina Langella, you have missed the opportunity of meeting one of the most joyous persons I know. She is a wonderful friend, passionate for the Word of God, and always ready to share God’s love with those around her. It is my privilege to have her sharing with us today.

 

First of all, a very BIG “Thank you!” to Becky for her labor of love in coordinating this special series. I know that I am not alone when I say that I am so grateful to our sister for her sincere love and service to the saints.
In the first post of this series, sister Norma discussed the importance of studying doctrine. Doctrine, she explained, is not just for the seminarian, the professor, the pastor, or the missionary. It is rather, the responsibility of every person who wears the name of Christ.
The title of our series, “Doctrines in the Kitchen” reminds us of the very practical nature of the Word of God. It confirms that our faith encompasses the whole of our being and affects every sphere of our life – both public and private.
A.W. Pink, in his book, Practical Christianity explains it nicely. “Some of us are single, others married; some are children, others parents; some are masters, others servants. Scripture supplies definite precepts and rules, motives and encouragement for each alike. It not only teaches us how we are to behave in the church and in the home, but equally so in the workshop and in the kitchen…”
As someone who embraces Reformed/Calvinistic Theology, I point to the doctrines of grace, also known as the five points of Calvinism, as the system of theology that has put me on the most solid theological footing ever.
Calvinism, in and of itself, is not the Gospel, however when these doctrines come together they provide the theological framework for what is the gospel. In the gospel God saves totally depraved sinners, He chooses them unconditionally, He draws them irresistibly, and He preserves them until the end. If you remove one of these pillars then you will have succeeded in diminishing the gospel.
While the doctrines of grace are rightly associated with John Calvin, and the Reformers, the truth is that these doctrines are woven all throughout the pages of Scripture. We see them in the Psalms, they were taught by Jesus himself, and were further upheld by the apostle Paul in Romans and Ephesians, to name just a couple of books.
I find myself in good company when I concur with the sentiments of Charles Spurgeon who said, “There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer—I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it.”
So, what is a Calvinist? Once again, I will let the Prince of Preachers answer that: “He is one who says,’ Salvation is of the Lord’ ”
My primary purpose in this post is not so much to explain, or even make a defense (although I welcome the opportunity) for these doctrines. My purpose is to share briefly with you why I have come to cherish them so. It is my prayer that you, too, will come to treasure these precious doctrines that not only changed my life, but daily transform me into the image of my Savior.
Although I had been serving the Lord for many years before God opened my eyes to these doctrines I was, in many ways, like the “infant” that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 4:14 who is “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine”. Today that is no longer the case. My feet rest on level ground and I stand on the firm and solid rock of God’s Word.
As many of you are already aware, the doctrines of grace are most commonly associated with the acrostic TULIP. Let us briefly touch upon each of these doctrines that, when joined together, form the basic framework or structure for God’s great plan of salvation for sinners!
Total Depravity: I used to think that I was a good Christian with a few problems here and there. The scriptures tell a different story. In fact, not only do they confirm a few problems, they make clear I am the problem! The doctrine of total depravity teaches that as a consequence of “The Fall” every aspect of our being has been infected by sin. Even our seemingly good and honorable actions cannot be understood apart from the context of a will that is bondage to sin. Did you know that even the ability to even respond in faith to the gospel is a gift of grace? It was not until I began to understand my own depravity that I could start apprehending the grace and mercy of God. In this doctrine God has demolished and utterly obliterated any possibility of boasting. Salvation is of the Lord!
Unconditional Election: Many of us think that we found God because we were searching. As lovely as this may sound, this thinking doesn’t square with scripture. If any of us are ever searching for Truth, we can be sure that it is the power of God at work in us and certainly nothing of our own. John Newton, author of Amazing Grace said it best. “Ah! Sir,” he said, “The Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else He would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards.” The doctrine of unconditional election teaches that God elected us unto salvation before the foundation of the world. God chose us before we ever did anything good or bad. He did this because He is sovereign and He has declared, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy” (Romans 9:15). Why, in eternity past, He ordained that I should be an object of mercy and not wrath, I will never know. All I know is that it humbles me to the dust. Salvation is of the Lord!
Limited Atonement: Jesus did not die on the cross so that I would merely have the opportunity to one day be saved. He did not die on the cross to make my salvation merely possible. He did far more than that! As C. H. Spurgeon said, “The doctrine of Holy Scripture is this, that inasmuch as man could not keep God’s law, having fallen in Adam, Christ came and fulfilled the law on the behalf of his people; and that inasmuch as man had already broken the divine law and incurred the penalty of the wrath of God, Christ came and suffered in the room, place, and stead of his elect ones, that so by his enduring the full vials of wrath, they might be emptied out and not a drop might ever fall upon the heads of his blood-bought people.” (Sermon 310 – “Christ our Substitute – New Park Street, Southwark). What does that mean? It means that when Jesus said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), he meant exactly that. We can add nothing to his finished work. Salvation is of the Lord!
Irresistible Grace: I have heard it said somewhere that the only ones who don’t get what they want are Christians! Oh, how I bless God for that! The doctrine of irresistible grace teaches that all those who have been predestined for eternal life will come freely because they have been made willing by His grace. John Piper says it like this, “What the sovereignty of grace and the sovereignty of the Spirit mean is that when God chooses, he can overcome the rebellion and resistance of our wills. He can make Christ look so compelling that our resistance is broken and we freely come to him and receive him and believe him.” (Online Source). Because it is God’s almighty power at work, and not my own, I can be sure that the grace of God unto salvation in my life will not be without effect. Salvation is of the Lord!
Perseverance of the Saints: Of the five doctrines of grace, this one has proven to be the most stabilizing. This doctrine teaches that if God redeemed us then He will keep us! The great Puritan William Secker said it well, “Though Christians be not kept altogether from falling, yet they are kept from falling altogether.” Yes, various kinds of troubles and temptations will come but this our confidence: “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Our perseverance does not depend on our good works but on God who never changes and who is faithful! Isn’t that good news? Salvation is of the Lord!
Do you see how these doctrines teach that God is sovereign over our salvation? Do you see how they exalt Christ and dethrone man? Pastor John Samson of King’s Church, Phoenix, and writer at reformationtheology.com and of his own blog at effectualgrace.com, captures the simple and elegant glory of these great doctrines. He writes, “Grace at the start, grace to the end, grace in the middle, grace without fail, grace without mixture, grace without addition, grace that allows no boasting, grace that precludes all glorying but in the Lord.” Isn’t that beautiful? It is, in every sense of the word, at all time, in all places, all of grace.
There was a time when embedded deep within my theology, was the proud and lofty notion that there was something inherently good in me that merited salvation. Maybe He saw my “heart” or perhaps He saw me “searching.” Subsequent to salvation there was the sense that if I wanted to maintain His pleasure my efforts and my performance were what mattered most. If that’s not a terrifying thought, I don’t know what is! Not only does such thinking lend to an unstable and schizophrenic kind of Christian experience, but it is an absolute affront to the sovereignty and grace of an almighty God!
Today, I can look back, even upon my darkest days, and see the sovereign hand of God at work. The sovereignty of God encompasses everything that comes to pass — including sin. These precious doctrines assure me that there was never a time when I was outside of the perfect knowledge and will of God for my life. Even if my deliverance from error to truth took longer than I would have liked, I know that even that is of the Lord. If He kept my eyes closed for as long as He did, well, then it was for His sovereign and gracious purposes, and I can say that it is good.
The journey has not always been easy. He has taken every idol in my “Christian” world and smashed it to smithereens. What has been left in the aftermath – what has been left in the wake of all of this ripping and demolishing is nothing but the cross of my crucified Savior.
It is my prayer that you too, will come to know and fall in love with these beautiful doctrines that, when brought together, point to one gracious and glorious truth: Salvation is of the Lord!
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. 
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” 
Ephesians 2:8
Christina
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1.A.W. Pink, Practical Christianity, (Michigan: Baker House, 1974) 183.
2. C.H. Spurgeon, A Defense of Calvinism, (Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2008) 15.
3. C.H. Spurgeon, A Defense of Calvinism, (Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2008) 23-24.
4. William Secker, The Nonsuch Professor in His Meridian Spledor or, the Singular Actions of Sanctified Christians. (New York: Fleming Revell) 114.

A Way Out of Sin

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back view of a person carrying a backpack looking into the ocean

Photo by Kristina Nor on Pexels.com

There is a vast ocean before us. Each of the doctrines taught in the Scriptures, is like a drop of water in the ocean. Each one is precious. Each one is a gem. Each one has brought life to me.

Today, however, I want to give thanks to my God for one specific doctrine, one that gives God’s children a way out of sin. I am grateful because God has given his children the possibility to mortify sin every day.

This is a doctrine that reaches down into my heart and pierces my soul, and enables me to walk in holiness in my home, in my kitchen, in the city, in the farm, in the office, in the school, wherever I go.

We are saved by grace, our justification is a decree from God. He makes us righteous without any merit on our part. He saves us by grace through faith. I didn’t choose God; I couldn’t have chosen Him simply because I was dead in my sins. But when He came and by His infinite grace He called my name, and gave me life, He set me free from the terrible and cruel hands of the Devil, the father of all sinners. Now I am free.Free, free indeed. Free from sin

Isn’t this wonderful news? Isn’t this something that sets your feet on dancing and makes you raise your hands toward God, the great Deliverer of His people? I am so grateful, grateful for this wondrous miracle!

God has set the feet of His own people free from bondage and has set them on a new path. A path which is not always smooth. During this journey, Satan will try to make us fall, he will try to deceive us, he will promise us the world, all the satisfactions and power, if only we would bow before him and what he has to offer. But now, we are free… now we can truly say no to his schemes.

Now, because God has called us out of darkness into His admirable light, now we can by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body, so that we may live.

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:12-13

Octavius Winslow said it well,”To the flesh we owe nothing but uncompromising hatred; to Jehovah we owe undivided and supreme affection.”

It is concerning this doctrine, the Mortification of our flesh, our sinful desires (Sanctification) that we are called to action.

It is here where we have no other option but to do something, to be “doers”, to act. It is here where God expects us to obey, to die to self, and carry our cross

But I am grateful, yes, I am grateful because even though this is not easy, the Lord is on our side; it is He who enables us to walk in holiness, it is He who strengthens our weary souls, and renews our strength and gives us the victory! We are indeed more than over-comers in Him who has called us! A.W. Pink reminds us that “mortification is not optional but imperative.” He continues to say:

“The imperative necessity for this work of mortification arises from the continued presence of the evil nature in the Christian. Upon his believing in Christ unto salvation he was at once delivered from the condemnation of the Divine law, and freed from the reigning power of sin; but “the flesh” was not eradicated from his being, nor were its vile propensities purged or even modified…”

“Mortification is a task to which every Christian must apply himself with prayerful diligence and resolute earnestness. The regenerate have a spiritual nature within that fits them for holy action, otherwise there would be no difference between them and the unregenerate.”

I am forever grateful that God works in me day after day, He who began the good work in me will bring it to completion at the Day of Jesus Christ. I am grateful that I am in the process of becoming more like Christ every day, and that it is because of Him, because of His grace that I can press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. How glorious is this truth!

Soli Deo Gloria!

 

The Flame of My Life is to Worship You

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Katie Lloyd Photography

 

GLORIOUS GOD
It is the flame of my life to worship thee,
the crown and glory of my soul to adore thee,
heavenly pleasure to approach thee.
Give me power by thy Spirit to help me worship now,
that I may forget the world,
be brought into fullness of life,
be refreshed, comforted, blessed.
Give me knowledge of thy goodness
that I might not be over-awed by thy greatness;
Give me Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,
that I might not be terrified,
but be drawn near with filial love,
with holy boldness;
He is my mediator, brother, interpreter,
branch, daysman, Lamb;
him I glorify,
in Him I am set on high.
Crowns to give I have none,
but what thou hast given I return,
content to feel that everything is mine when it is thine,
and the more fully mine when I have yielded it to thee.
Let me live wholly to my Saviour,
free from distractions,
from carking care,
from hindrances to the pursuit of the narrow way.
I am pardoned through the blood of Jesus-
give me a new sense of it,
continue to pardon me by it,
may I come every day to the fountain,
and everyday be washed anew,
that I may worship thee always in spirit and in truth.
The Valley of Vision
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The Love of God by Diane

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Our host today is Diane Bucknell- I am so grateful for her life and her passion for God’s Word. She has a wonderful laugh and a sweet voice (yes, I have heard her many times now!). She is a wise woman and I encourage you to read and follow her blog. You will be blessed indeed!

Shiloh Photography. Thank you, Rachel!

 

 

Thank you Becky for inviting me to join you and our sisters here for your “Doctrines In The Kitchen”. What a joy and privilege it is to share together some of the great truths God has been impressing upon us.
The Love of God is a doctrine that is so deep, so wide and so measureless, that attempting to consider it in such a tiny space seems will be a real challenge. Therefore, I’d like to express just a few of the thoughts that I shared recently with the women in our congregation.
“The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.”
 
Frederick M. Lehman
Love’s Circumscription 
The love of God is not only one of His many attributes but it’s also the very essence of His nature! God not only loves us and is a loving God, but his very nature IS love! There are three things Scripture reveals to us about God’s nature. I John 4:24 declares that God is Spirit. God is not “a” spirit but He IS Spirit which means that He exists equally everywhere in Heaven and earth and in even in Hell (Ps 139:7-8), and as R. A. Finlayson put it, “Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator.”
God is Light (I Jn 1:5). “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” He is the total of all excellence and beauty and in Him there is nothing that is evil or sinful. And finally I John 4:8 reveals to us that God is Love!
When we speak of God’s love we are describing a type of love that is unlike any kind of love that the world expresses. This is a new kind of love that cannot be conjured up and can only be manifested through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence in the heart of the believer.
“and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5
The Scriptures uses three Greek words that are all translated as the word love. The first is Agape love which is Divine love that comes from God and indwells the Christian. Unbelievers are not capable of expressing agape love because they do not have the Holy Spirit residing in them. Then there is Phileo or brotherly love which is the kind of love that people have for one another, whether it be the love between a husband and wife, parents and children, or friends and neighbors. Philadelphia, known as the city of brotherly love derives its name from this Greek word. And finally, the word Eros that is used to describe erotic love.
God’s love for us in not dependent upon us and it is a complete miracle that God should love us when there was nothing lovely in us! We had plenty within us to provoke His anger and His judgment and yet He chose to love us!!
“We love because he first loved us.” I John 4:19
“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray,
slaves to various passions and pleasures,
passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness,
but according to his own mercy” Titus 3:4-5
God’s love is everlasting! The Lord said to His people in Jeremiah 31:3 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” And in Psalm 136:3 we read, “Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;” The Christian CANNOT be separated from His love even by our own doing! What comfort and refuge we can take in the magnificent promises in Romans 8!
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
But in all these things we overwhelmingly
conquer through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other created thing,
will be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. “
Love’s Purpose
When considering the magnitude of God’s love towards sinful beings we can’t help but ponder His reasons for loving us. Romans 9 explains that God has set His love upon us in order to display His mercy and to manifest His glory.
“What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power,
has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy,
which he has prepared beforehand for glory”. Romans 9:22-23
And in Ephesians we find that God also chose to love us in order to provide a Bride for His Son . John MacArthur made one of the most mind boggling statements I’ve ever heard when he said:
“The Great goal of creation was for God to provide a Bride for His Son”
“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy,
cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
and to present her to himself as a radiant church,
without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,
but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5: 25-27
Love’s Manifestation 
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” I Jn 4:9-10
God manifested His love towards us through the sacrifice of His Son, the atonement for our sin and by the adoption into His family. Prior to our adoption as sons and daughters we were children of wrath.
Because of Adam’s sin were all spiritually stillborn when we arrived on this earth and contrary to Western thinking; we are not the free agents we might like to imagine ourselves as being. Rather, we are all in servitude either to God or to Satan. There is simply no third alternative!
Jesus denounced the Pharisees saying: “If God were your Father, you would love me…You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires” John 8:42-44. And John proclaimed, “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. I Jn 3:10
Observe what great love the Father has manifested towards us as Paul states two of the most blessed words in all of Scripture — “But God…” !
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” Ephesians 2:1-5
Love’s Expression
Dr. Martyn-Lloyd Jones wrote in his commentary on 1st John,
“It is possible for a person to be absolutely correct and yet not be a Christian. …it is possible for them to be interested in theology and to say that one theology is superior to another… and yet to be utterly devoid of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the love of God in their hearts ..”
An intellectual knowledge of the truth, no matter how accurate, is not sufficient in itself for salvation. The devils believe and tremble! Only by an outpouring of God’s love through His Spirit can one be truly converted. So then, how can we have a full assurance that we are genuine believers and how might we correctly express that love towards God? First and foremost we express our love for Christ by loving Him and by loving His people. We also express our love to Him by loving His Word and by obeying His commandments.
“Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38
“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” . Ps. 119:97
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” I John 5:3-5
The great English preacher Abraham Booth (1734-1806) wrote in his work on the subject of divine grace, “The Reign of Grace, from Its Rise to Its Consummation”,
“The essence of true holiness consists in LOVE to God. This heavenly affection is the fruitful source of ALL OBEDIENCE to Him and of all delight in Him, both here and hereafter….because all acceptable duties naturally flow from love to God.”
Another way we can express our love towards Christ is by not loving the world, or feeding our flesh and our pride. Where do our deepest affections lie? Do our greatest sources of joy come from our homes, our appearances, or bank accounts? Are we worshipping the idea of having godly marriages and families, rather than the God who gives us these gifts? Or perhaps our delights are a little more devious when we find ourselves desiring recognition and praise. We all struggle with this and we must continually guard ourselves from this subtle form of idolatry.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—
the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—
is not from the Father but is from the world.
I John 2:15-16
We also express our love to Christ by loving the Brethren because this is the ultimate display of our faith to the world. God has forgiven our sins while we were still dead in them and how much more should we be patient with one another. How easily offended we can be and how prone we are to obsess about what others may or may not be thinking about us. There’s no getting around the fact that consistently loving one another takes effort and often means saying no to our pride.
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another.”  John 13:35
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
It also means handling our differences Biblically. For the most part, we just need to pray about it and let it go when someone offends us. If a problem arises that just can’t be overlooked without causing bitterness, then we need to go to that brother or sister privately and talk to them in gentleness and humility rather than talking to our friends about it.
I Corinthians 13 provides us with a beautiful list behaviors that will solve most of our relationship problems before we even get to the point of being confrontational. Love is patient and kind, it isn’t envious or boastful and it is not arrogant or rude. It doesn’t insist on its own way and is not irritable or resentful. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. These are all very practical applications for everyday living. And after all is said,
“Love is the most abiding grace.
This will stay with us when other graces take their farewell.
In heaven we shall need no repentance, because we shall have no sin.
In heaven we shall not need patience, because there will be no affliction.
In heaven we shall need no faith because faith looks at things unseen (Heb. 11:1).
But then we shall see God face to face; and where there is vision, there is no need of faith.
But when the other graces are out of date, love continues…”
~ Thomas Watson