“Forsake me not, O Lord.” –Psalm 38:21

And now… I am sharing with you another devotional by a man of God – Charles Spurgeon — who wrote this devotional over 115 years ago in England …but his illumination of the Scriptures are still so relevant even today…as God’s word never changes…and this only shows again that His Holy Spirit…who has illuminated His word to saints preceding us…is also faithful to do so for us…if we will but search His word diligently…

Frequently we pray that God would not forsake us in the hour of trial and temptation, but we too much forget that we have need to use this prayer at all times.
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Does God’s ‘grace to us’ in Christ…

by our ‘receiving salvation in and through Christ’…

then give us a ‘license to sin’…

This is so detailed… and thus… so long… it is ‘only for those very serious about their Bible study’… and who may also encounter those with this same concern… (How is that for me to put in a ‘psychological hook’… to try to get you to read my stuff)… ;>)

This one you may want to print off and save to study at your leisure…

Seriously… I hear so much discussion… even argument… even division on this… and I am NOT saying I am right… but I am saying… this is my perspective of this from my own study of God’s word… and how it speaks to me…and… I have ‘used this flamboyant question’ to ‘gain your attention’ … and then… in this study… I’ll use it for illustration too…

And the one thing I always try to keep in perspective… is which makes ‘God’ a ‘Bigger God’… (not that me or anyone could)… but which ‘makes God bigger’… which makes Him a ‘more loving God’… which makes the greater demonstration of His love…

His merciful grace towards us in Christ… Or His judgment of us for our sin…

And since as God… He must have judgment of all sin and rebellion against Himself… then… how does He provide our salvation ‘after we sin against Him’… without demanding our personal payment for the eternal penalty for our sins… without compromising His holiness and righteousness… which He also cannot do… He cannot compromise Himself…

Thus… His grace towards us in Christ… wherein He took our place on the cross through His Son… and He paid our price… and then… gave it to us as a ‘free gift’… and the fact that there is “NO SIN” His grace cannot overcome or forgive… makes Him a ‘bigger God’…

And yes… He has placed ‘a condition upon that gift’… and that is each recipient must acknowledge their sin… and lost condition… and their need for a Savior… and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord… and even a child can understand that…

Thus…this may be very controversial to some… but is not my intent… my intent is to encourage and to stimulate… because the content I feel is of such importance…our ‘assurance of our salvation’… versus our works… our service… our conduct… or yes… our sins…we need to know ‘beyond a shadow of doubt’… and have a ‘basis for understanding that no one can shake or threaten’…and for that… I hope I have provided some answers that give you peace and comfort…and assurance…

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This one is long… but it is so ‘on my heart’… that I wanted to share it with you…because ‘of myself’… I cannot grasp ‘why God loves me’… and … if I do NOT cling to this understanding of what I read in His Word… about His merciful grace… then… by my own performance and conduct in life…I would be lost…
Grace… Merciful Grace… God’s Grace to Us in Christ!

Why Grace? Why am I always writing about God’s merciful grace to us in Christ? (And so much less about ‘works’)… and a ‘simplified definition’ of God’s grace is ‘unmerited favor’…

***Note: I AM NOT ‘discounting’ works… or ‘good deeds’… I AM NOT making them ‘unimportant’… rather, to me they are ‘the results of’… our receiving God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ… works are outward manifestations of our faith in Him…stimulated from within by His love of us… expressed outwards…

But it is ‘by Grace’ that we are saved… NOT BY WORKS… so God’s grace to us in Christ is ‘our salvation’…

Also… keep in mind… I cannot ‘reduce God to the box of my finite understanding’… no matter how hard I try…

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