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Daily Encouragement | Archive of Some Daily Encouragements


Free Ebook │ Living Faithfully in the Family of God │ Titus

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Building Strong Friendships in Christ │ 1 Thessalonians 1:1

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Concept of Time

June 10, 2010

Building Strong Friendships in Christ

Grace and Peace Today

  Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace

1 Thessalonians 1:1

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Eternal Life [303]

       Jesus Christ intends to forge the finest relationship with you that you have ever had.  Better than your best earthly friendship, better than you had with any of your children, your spouse, your parent, your uncle, your aunt or other relative.  He wants you to know Him as your best friend ever.  He wants you to know His love that shines deeper into your heart and life than you could ever imagine.  He will never fail you and will never leave you hanging.  Jesus emphasized what it means to be His disciple in these terms: “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).  Jesus claims first priority in our lives, and wants our relationships with everyone to be transformed so that we are His disciple before any other relationship in our lives.  Most of you understand what I am saying up to this point.  But now, imagine He wants you to have friends like that and you can be a friend like Jesus to other people.  All of us need to learn from Jesus every day how we forge those strong relationships.

       As we read through 1 Thessalonians together, day by day, we will see the kind of relationship that Paul, Timothy and Silvanus enjoyed with the believers of Thessalonica.  But most of all, we will see Jesus forging bonds of love among all of them.

       When is the last time you wrote an e-mail, text message, or put pen to paper for the purpose of encouraging another Christian, especially someone you love.  Well, Paul did that in verse one.   Paul wrote as part of a ministry team, and he also wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Peter 3:14-16).  God says every word of Scripture He inspired and those words will not pass away until all of them are fulfilled (Matthew 5:18).  We all need to take more time to write our friends in Christ, or pick up the phone to encourage them.

       Paul did not write just to pass the time of day.  He wrote to focus attention upon God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  He wrote to bid grace and peace to the Thessalonians.  Being more like Jesus means that you take the time to be involved in loving relationships with other Christians.  Being in Christ means being one part of Christ’s team of ministry in your home, at work, in your community, in your country, and in the world today.

 Application for Today

        Today I will look to Jesus and ask Him who should I talk to today, for His sake.  Who needs to hear about the grace and peace that only God the Father and God the Son offer to this world?  Who will I build a relationship with today in the name of Jesus?

 

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 │ Basic Christianity Series │ Christ Assembly

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BASIC CHRISTIANITY

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Thankful Paul: Grace, Gifts, Knowledge, and Faithfulness

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Eternal Life [303]

• Paul thanks God for the grace He has given in Christ Jesus, so that the Corinthians were enriched in all speech and knowledge.

1. Thankfulness. Thankfulness takes several distinct actions on your part. Each element will determine whether you give proper thanks to God.

(a) Your Outlook. You must see God’s grace before you will thank Him for your grace.
(b) Your Attitude. You must focus upon others, rather than upon yourself. Paul saw and then understood what God had done at Corinth.
(c) Your Decision. You must decide to be thankful for what God is doing in the lives of other believers. Instead of envying or detesting, you should be thanking God for His gracious activity.

2. Grace of God. The object of Paul’s thanksgiving was God’s Grace. Paul saw how God bestowed His unmerited favor upon the Corinthians. They never deserved all the blessings God gave, but Paul could certainly see it. What are you looking at?

3. Enriched. God enriched the Corinthians. The text indicates that God has bestowed completely and absolutely His greatest blessings upon the Corinthians. They were enriched in two distinct ways.

(a) First, the Corinthians were enriched in all speech. God had blessed these believers with speech from God.
(b) Second, God had enriched them with all knowledge.

• Paul focuses upon the testimony of Christ being confirmed in the Corinthians. He can see the operation of Christ and His work continuing at Corinth, in the saints there.

4. Testimony. The Corinthians had received the testimony concerning Christ, and it was confirmed in them. This word “confirmed” (“ἐβεβαιώθη”) means to be made sure, proved, and established as true.

• Paul thanks God for the gifts present at Corinth, and their attitude: we want to see Jesus, soon!

5. Gifts. The Corinthian church had every gift, coupled with the perfect attitude. The plethora of gifts described later in this epistle certainly caused problems, but it also presented great opportunities for growth and development. Furthermore, with their earnest expectation that Christ would return, they knew were waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Paul also knows of the Corinthians’ standing with Christ. In Him, they are blameless, and He will present them blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.

6. Blameless. Christ will confirm you to the end. As in verse 6, Christ confirms His word, and keeps believers blameless. Considering the balance of the letter, this statement refers to the spiritual position of the believers. Once Christ has forgiven you, you have nothing left to blame yourself over.

7. Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Corinthians had a strong belief that they would see the Lord Jesus Christ, at the time he would be revealed (verse 7) and at the time when they would be presented to him (verse 9).
• Paul returns here to one his favorite themes: God is faithful. Because ours salvation rests in God alone, His power and strength sustain us. Furthermore, God alone called us into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

8. God is faithful. The confidence of Paul rests upon the power of Jesus Christ, not the Corinthians. Paul knows that God will confirm them, not themselves. He called them into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ.

Applications:

1. Go back and look at some of the bold words above. These characteristics should be a part of every day Christian living. We should constantly see how God works in the lives of other Christians, and thank God for that activity.

2. Every true believer stand blameless before Christ. Can you see yourself that way? If not, take time to ponder that Christ made you blameless.

3. Notice that the true basis of fellowship with each other is fellowship first with Jesus Christ. The Father called us into fellowship, and confirms us in grace, so that we can have fellowship with each other.

Free Ebook │ Living in Freedom │ Philemon | Christ Assembly

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Free Ebook: Living in Freedom

Philemon Daily Devotional

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This devotional book will guide you through the Book of Philemon. Each day you learn more about freedom and slavery. Living free in the family of God will bring great benefits, especially as you help other people also live in freedom.

Free Ebook │ Living Joyfully Today │1 John Devotional | Christ Assembly

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Free Ebook  [305]

Living Joyfully Today 

1 John

This devotional book moves through 1 John one verse for each day. Start any time. You will learn more about the foundations of faith in Christ, the value of eyewitness testimony, walking in the light with Jesus, the confession of sin, and learning to live in joy each day.

 

Click Here for .PDF free download of Living Joyfully Today. [305]

 

Extol God │ Psalm 145:1 │ Christ Assembly

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May 19, 2010

Extolling God Today

  “I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever.”

Psalm 145:1

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Eternal Life [303]

     Within each of our hearts lies the desire to praise God.  Some days we do not feel that way, but deep down, we know that God deserves praise. The Psalmist wants to “extol” God. He emphasizes the intensity of his desire to exalt God and lift Him up. When Moses saw the people of Israel sinning with the golden calf, he slammed the tablets from God upon the ground in his anger. He did not just drop them, he slammed them according to the text. He shattered the tablets (Exodus 32:19). In this case, David did not just want to praise God, but he wanted to extol God intensely. 

     David also had a particular image of God in mind.  He called God “my God” and “King.”  I thank Jesus Christ that I know Him personally.  Jesus was God and is God (see John 1:1, 14).  Jesus is God the Word made flesh who dwelt among men (John 1:14). As God, Jesus maintains constant fellowship with His children.  When Jesus died on the cross, He did not die for His own sins, for He was sinless (Hebrews 4:15). He died for my sins. Jesus satisfied God’s demand to punish my sin by taking my sin upon Himself. I often tell people that I drove those nails into the hands of Jesus because I caused His death by my sin. Therefore, I believe He washed away my sins by cleansing me with His blood (Colossians 1:20; Ephesians 1:7). Jesus has forgiven me because I believe He paid all the debt I owed for sin.  Jesus urges me to take time to extol Him today.  David also called Him “King.” 

      God selected David to be the second King of Israel.  David knew King Saul, his predecessor.  King Saul treated David poorly and tried to kill him.  Yet, David would not kill Saul, because David knew that God made Saul king.  David respected King Saul because David had ultimate respect for God who made Saul king (see the story of God sparing Saul from David’s hand in 1 Samuel 24:1-22). We praise God as king because we respect God and understand that God reigns spiritually over the whole earth. As God, Jesus created all things (Colossians 1:16) and waits for God the Father to make all His enemies His footstool (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44). One day, Jesus will subject all things to Himself on the physical earth, but not all things have been subjected to His rule yet (Hebrews 2:8). Even so, Scripture describes Jesus as “crowned” with “glory and honor” (Hebrews 2:7). One day every knee will bow and “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). Why not confess and praise Him right now?

      I praise God because He is my personal God and because He is King of this world, and the universe.  We praise Him every day, because of His great love for us, and because we are the subjects of the King and transferred as believers into His glorious kingdom (Colossians 1:13).  We extol God and bless His name today, tomorrow and forever because we have grateful hearts that respond spiritually to His great kindness and love in our lives.

Application for Today

     I will take time today to praise God from the bottom of my heart to the top of my spirit.  I want to praise Him throughout today, tomorrow and the next day.  No matter how it goes today, I am sure that God will still be “my God” and “King” all day, and forever more.  He deserves all the praise I can give to Him for as long as I can extol Him.

Scripture Note

     When David wrote Psalm 145, he started each verse with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  So verse one starts with the Hebrew letter for “A” and verse two starts with “B” and so on.  God inspired poetry and makes our lives to shine as poetry for Him.

 

Free Ebook │ Seeing Jesus Today │The Book of Revelation | Christ Assembly

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Click here for Free Ebook: Seeing Jesus Today: The Book of Revelation. [306]

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Seeing Jesus Today: The Book of Revelation. If you have never taken the time to look through the Book of Revelation, you may use this devotional book to go through the Book of Revelation in eighty days. Each day brings a new verse, which represents a section of the Book of Revelation. Each day has a summary of the particular portion of the Book of Revelation for that day. Then, an application follows as a call to action for each day. This book cannot substitute for an open Bible turned to the individual passage. Please read the Bible each day, and you will see Jesus today as you read His word.

Free Ebook │Building Strong Friendships in Christ

Posted By sundouloi On In 1 Thessalonians,Daily Devotional,Daily Encouragement,Discipleship,Ebook,Free Ebook,Friendships in Christ,Manual | Comments Disabled
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FREE EBOOK: Building Strong Friendships in Christ. [308]

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A daily guide to making disciples in the name of Jesus Christ as you build strong friendships.

Shall Not Taste Death │ Matthew 16:28 │ Christ Assembly

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Angels

The Kingdom of God and the Taste of Death

Matthew 16:28

Mark 9:1

Luke 9:27

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        Jesus prophesied about the taste of death and the Kingdom of God. As the omniscient God and King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus always knows all things. Just before Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain to witness the transfiguration of Jesus, He prophesied that “some of those standing here shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” We shall now focus upon the prophesies of Jesus concerning the Kingdom of God and the taste of death.

The Matthew Prophecy of the Kingdom

       In Matthew 16:28, page 1530, Jesus made a very specific prophecy concerning the Son of Man. 1We know that the title Son of Man refers to Jesus because of Daniel 7:13-14, pages 1400-1401 where we read: “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” Therefore, we see the title Son of Man describing the One who will have an everlasting dominion so that all people might serve Him. Jesus frequently applied this Son of Man title to Himself as in Mark 9:1, page 1574. Speaking to His disciples, Jesus told them that some of them would not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

Matthew 16:28

In Matthew 16:28, Jesus was very specific about the time and event. The event would be the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Some of the disciples would live long enough to see that time. Although some teachers now emphasize that the Kingdom of God has already been realized upon earth, the Old Testament prophets spoke of a physical rule of Christ upon earth, with His throne in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1-19; Psalm 2:6-9; Isaiah 2:2-4; Joel 3:16-21). We have not seen that prophecy yet fulfilled. Jesus spoke of the future time when He would return to earth to reign (Matthew 24:29-51). Jesus made a very specific prophecy to His disciples and the very words are inspired. 2Compare Matthew 16:24, to see that Jesus was speaking to His disciples. Jesus told all His disciples that some of them would not 3The Greek here “οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου” contains very precise information. Matthew emphasized two terms for “not.” The first term for “not” (“οὐ“) means in the physical, existing world that they shall not taste death. The second term “not” (“μὴ“) means that, in the subjunctive world of possibilities, under no possible circumstances shall some of the disciples taste death. In both instances, Jesus spoke of them living long enough to see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Taken together, Jesus made the strongest possible claim that some of His disciples would not die before seeing the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom. taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom. Jesus expanded upon this prophecy in Mark and we should look at that verse next.

The Mark Prophecy of the Kingdom

        In Mark 9:1, Jesus had summoned the disciples and the crowd to Himself. Jesus then made a second prophecy before He went up to the mountain of transfiguration. Similar to the prophecy in Matthew 16:28, Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God. 

And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.

Mark 9:1

     In Mark 9:1, Jesus prophesied that some of His living disciples would “not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God after it has come with power.” Notice that here Jesus focused upon the time after the kingdom of God has come with power. 4The Greek word for “after” is part of the translation of the single word “has come” (“ἐληλυθυῖαν”) meaning that the disciples will see after the kingdom of God has come with power. The “has come” word is a perfect passive participle, accusative singular, and that participle depends upon the main verb for its meaning in this context. The main verb “they see” (“ἴδωσιν“) is a perfect subjunctive, third person plural. Some disciples will see the kingdom, but the participle further describes the kingdom of God as already having come with power. Therefore, the thrust then amounts to a claim that some of the disciples will live long enough to see the Kingdom of God after it has come with power. They will see the time after the initial coming of Jesus to establish His physical kingdom on earth. They will see the operation of the kingdom of God in divine power. The words of Scripture are inspired and every word is inspired. So, we must pay close attention to the words Jesus prophesied in both Matthew and Mark concerning the kingdom of God. The prophecies in Matthew and Mark are very similar, but have crucial distinctions.

The Two Prophecies Compared

       Now we may compare and contrast the two prophecies Jesus gave to His disciples and the crowd at large. One emphasized the Son of Man coming in His kingdom and the other prophecy emphasized the time after the kingdom of God has come with power. We may summarize the prophecies as follows.

Prophecy One. Some of the disciples will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom (Matthew 16:28).

Prophecy Two. Some of the disciples will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God after it has come with power (Mark 9:1).

The two prophecies focus upon two related events which are: (1) seeing the coming of the Son of Man in His kingdom; and (2) seeing the Kingdom of God after it has come in power. The prophecy in Mark 9:1 is not identical then to the Matthew 16:28 prophecy because of the different time frames involved. The Matthew prophecy only refers to the time of the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom, whereas the Mark prophecy looks farther ahead to a time after the Kingdom of God has come with power. 5At this point, we should begin to doubt that the traditional explanation of the prophecy being fulfilled with the disciples seeing Jesus transfigured on the mountain because of the dual nature of the prophecies. Now let us look to the fulfillment of these two prophecies in the New Testament.

The Luke Prophecy of the Kingdom

       Jesus offered the same prophecy concerning the taste of death and the Kingdom of God in Luke 9:27. Jesus prophesied: “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” In the context of this prophesy, consider the preceding verse, Luke 9:26. Jesus declared: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes 6The Greek word for “comes” (“ἴδωσιν“)  means to see with the eyes and to experience. In this text, Jesus emphasized that some of His disciples will see with their eyes, or mind, Jesus coming in the glory of His kingdom. This picture of glory may support the view that Jesus referred to the transfiguration here, but the transfiguration does not picture a time when Jesus comes in glory to confront men ashamed of Him. in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Therefore, we understand that Jesus in Luke 9:27, focused upon the time when Jesus would come “in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” and men would have their shame of Jesus returned to them by Jesus coming in glory. The time here links to Christ coming in His glory and confronting men ashamed of Him on earth. So, we may see that only when Jesus comes in His glory to confront unbelieving men will this prophesy be fulfilled. 

The Fulfillment in the Apostle John

     The Apostle John wrote from the Isle of Patmos about the revelation of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 11:15, John continued to describe the events in heaven and earth as God revealed them to him. John spoke as if he were a witness standing in the future while the events unfolded around him. In contrast, many Old Testament prophets looked at future events from their present perspective, whereas John was transported into the future and watched the events in real time. So, as we look at Revelation 11:15, we see John hearing about the kingdom of God as it comes to earth in the future.

Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”

Revelation 11:15

In Revelation 11:15,  we see the heavenly proclamation by the seventh angel that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. This event signals the worship of the twenty-four elders that declare that God has taken His great power and has begun to reign. His reign enrages the nations, but God meets human rage with divine wrath. 7The Greek word here for “enraged” (“ὠργίσθησαν“) emphasizes a total response of rage in the nations, caused by a force outside of themselves. God had responded to the evil nations with His own “wrath” (“ὀργή“). In contrast to the divine wrath poured out upon the nations, God takes this time to reward His bond-servants the prophets, the saints and all who fear God’s name. It will also be the time to destroy all who destroy the earth. 8The Greek term here for destroy (“διαφθεῖραι“) refers to work of a moth in Luke 12:33 which destroys garments by eating them away and in 2 Corinthians 4:16 to the decay of the outer man and in Acts 2:27 to describe the fact that Jesus will never undergo bodily decay.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called “the Word of God.” And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron, and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:11-16

   In Revelation 19:11-16,  we see the Lord Jesus, followed by the armies of heaven, coming to earth to strike down the nations. We may also recognize the fulfillment of the Matthew prophecy that the Apostle John would not taste death until he had seen the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, coming in His kingdom. As John witnessed the events of Revelation 19, he truly saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Now we can turn to the Mark 9:1 prophecy also fulfilled by the Apostle John.

Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:6

     In Revelation 20,  we see the millennial kingdom of Christ established upon the earth. He rules with power, and the saints reign with Christ 9In 2 Timothy 2:12, Paul taught that all believers will reign with Christ, if they endure. In Revelation 20:6,  we see a small preview of the saints fulfilling the promise from God for all believers to reign with Christ. as priests of God and of Christ. 10In 1 Peter 2:4, Peter described all believers as “living stones . . . being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Therefore, the saints on earth continue this same type of ministry as holy priests serving God in the millennium. Likewise, in 1 Peter 2:9, Peter again declared that all believers are part of the “royal priesthood” who “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Therefore, the millennial service of saints builds upon the priesthood of all believers which they enjoyed before the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we see that the Kingdom of God has come with power during the millennium, and the Apostle John has witnessed its power as a holy priest and royal priest reigning with Jesus. Therefore, the Matthew, Mark and Luke prophecies have been fulfilled by John in the Book of Revelation. Now we can turn to another disciple standing before Jesus who did not taste death until he saw both the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom, and after the Kingdom of God had come with power.

The Fulfillment in the Apostle Peter

        The Apostle Peter heard the prophecy from Jesus concerning some of the disciples not tasting death until they saw both the Son of Man coming in His kingdom and the Kingdom of God after it came in power. As we will observe below, Peter wrote about both prophecies and we can read about them in his epistles.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

2 Peter 3:10

     In 2 Peter 3:10, Peter revealed that the day of the Lord will come like a thief. Jesus had used similar language in Matthew 24:43, concerning a thief coming and catching the head of the house unprepared. 11Isaiah 66:15-16 also depicts God using fire to judge and destroy all the flesh of His enemies. Jesus continued in Matthew 24:43, to describe the coming of the Son of Man “at an hour when you do not think He will.” Peter, however, expanded upon the basic teaching of Jesus and added a brief chronology in 2 Peter 3:10. Peter added in 2 Peter 3:10 that during the day of the Lord, “the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.” Please recall that Jesus had described the coming of the Son of Man (referring to Himself) as the unexpected thief surprises the head of the household. Jesus specifically emphasized that the people did not think He would come when He did. Therefore, from 2 Peter 3:10,  we see that Peter also did not taste death until He saw the coming of the Son of Man. Furthermore, also in 2 Peter 3:10, we see the Kingdom of God after it has come with power, as prophesied in Mark 9:1.

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:11-12

     In 2 Peter 3:11-13, Peter elaborated upon the revelation and promise of God regarding the future, and particularly seeing the Kingdom of God after it has come with power. Peter portrayed not only the destruction of the heavens by burning, 12The Greek word for “burning” (“πυρούμενοι”) means, in this case, to be burned with intense heat, as in the refining fire hot enough to separate different metals. Likewise, the term “elements” (“στοιχεῖα”) refers to the elements or basic structures of creation, but Peter also stressed the total destruction of heaven and earth, even down to the most basic elements of sub-atomic particles. but Peter also clearly had revelation about the events after the Kingdom of God had come in power. So, we conclude that Peter, like John, fulfilled both of the prophecies of Jesus recorded in Matthew and Mark. 13Peter also recorded other less obvious references to future events related to the Kingdom of God. Consider 1 Peter 1:13 (Peter apparently saw the revelation of Jesus Christ, referring to the Son of Man coming in His kingdom); 1 Peter 2:12 (Peter described the day of visitation, where the Gentiles will glorify God because they observed the good deeds of believers–a reference to both the Mark and Matthew prophecies); 1 Peter 3:22 (Peter saw that Jesus had ascended into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him–a future view of the Kingdom of God); 1 Peter 4:5 (Peter knew that Jesus was ready to judge the living and the dead, events that will happen after the Kingdom of God has come in power); 1 Peter 4:7 (Peter understood that the end of all things was near–he anticipated the coming of the Son of Man in His kingdom); 1 Peter 4:13 (Peter foresaw the revelation of the glory of Christ–fulfilled when the Son of Man comes in His kingdom); 1 Peter 5:1 (Peter prophesied about the glory he and other believers would partake of when the glory of Christ will be revealed); 1 Peter 5:4 (Peter promised that when the Chief Shepherd appears, elders who have served well will receive the unfading crown of glory–fulfilled after the Kingdom of God has come in power); 1 Peter 5:10 (Peter proclaimed that the God of all grace would perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish believers because they had been called to the eternal glory of God in Christ–fulfilled after the Kingdom of God has come in power); 2 Peter 1:11 (Peter knew about the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ–fulfilling both the Mark and Matthew prophesies); 2 Peter 3:7 (Peter knew about the present reservation of the heavens and earth for destruction by fire in the future–fulfilled after the Kingdom of God had come in power).

Conclusion

       Jesus prophesied that some of His disciples would not taste death until they see: (1) the Son of Man come in His kingdom and (2) the Kingdom of God after it has come in power. From the passages we have looked at above, we can see how Peter and John fulfilled the prophecies based upon their writings in Scripture. Other disciples may also have had such visions of the future, but we do not have them recorded in Scripture (at least that I could find). May God get all glory from the wonderful ways that He reveals Himself and our Lord Jesus Christ to all generations through the Word of God. 14I was reading Psalm 111:2 lately: “Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them.” I enjoy studying the great works of the LORD, because I delight in them. Perhaps you enjoy the study of the great works of God in the same way, just as God proclaimed thousands of years ago.

Reference [+]

Forgive the Unrepentant? │ Luke 17:1-4 │ Christ Assembly

Posted By sundouloi On In Bible Studies,Daily Encouragement,Daily Encouragement Archive,Luke,Spiritual Help,Studies | Comments Disabled
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Forgive the Unrepentant Believer?

Luke 17:1-4

          People often ask me about forgiveness and repentance.  They have questions about what to do when a sinful brother receives a rebuke about sinful behavior, but completely ignores that rebuke and continues in sin. What do you do with that brother?

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Basic, Complete Forgiveness

       Let me start with the basics. We know that God will never ignore the guilt of sinners, but He remains full of compassion, grace and lovingkindness (Exodus 34:6-7; Romans 6:23). 1In Exodus 34:6-7, Moses has returned to Mount Sinai after the people of Israel sinfully worshiped a golden calf. The LORD passed by in front of Moses and declared that the LORD, the LORD God (“יְהוָה אֵל”) has wonderful qualities: “compassionate, and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” God declared Himself to be “jealous” (“אֵל קַנָּא הוּא”) and said His name is “Jealous” (“קַנָּא”) (Exodus 34:14). 

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

1 Peter 2:24

Jesus died upon the cross and “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness  . . . ” (1 Peter 2:24). 2In 1 Peter 2:24,  we read that Jesus Himself bore (“ἀνήνεγκεν”) our sins (“τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν”) in His body on the cross. Let me highlight the significance of the original text here. The word “bore” stands in the aorist tense, which emphasized the completeness and totality of the act. Jesus bore all of our sins: completed, total act. All our sins were laid upon Him, once and for all time. Therefore, our payment for sin was complete upon the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus did not redeem us on the installment plan. One payment, one time, for all sins of all people, no matter when they lived, past, present or future. As believers, we also know that all of our sins were laid upon Jesus, meaning that our past sins, our present sins, and our future sins were all covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:10

Jesus died once for all so that we are sanctified through the offering of His body (Hebrews 10:10). 3In Hebrews 10:10,  we note first that we have been sanctified (“ἡγιασμένοι”). As believers, by the will of God (“ἐν ᾧ θελήματι”), we are and remain forever as the people who have been sanctified. The term sanctified means generally to be made holy, consecrated, and set apart for God’s own use. In this verse, the term means that we have been sanctified in the past, by completed action, with the result continuing into the present. God used a participle here to relate our sanctification to the main verb “we are” (“ἐσμὲν”). Therefore, in the past, we have been consecrated and made holy, set apart for God’s use, and now we live always as set apart for God’s use. In fact, Jesus has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). 4Jesus taught us in Hebrews 10:14, that by means of one (“μιᾷ” the first word in the Greek sentence) and only one offering He has perfected (“τετελείωκεν”) believers. Jesus again emphasized that one offering has perfected all believers, for all time, so that they are all the ones sanctified (“τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους”). With this participle, Jesus highlighted that we are, right now, the sanctified ones. We will never need another sacrifice for sins, even the sins we commit after our initial salvation. The single offering of Jesus Christ has made us perfect from the standpoint of payment for sin and perfection of believers. From these passages we can now see that all the condemnation we deserved for our sins was laid upon Jesus Christ, so that now the believer has no condemnation from God (Romans 8:1). Every believer has peace with God, having been justified by faith alone (Romans 5:1).  Jesus suffered the death penalty of sin for us, and also propitiated the anger of God, meaning that Jesus appeased the wrath of God directed at our sins. 5We can learn about the doctrine of propitiation in 1 John 2:1-2. The word propitiation (“ἱλασμός”) there means to take away anger, to appease wrath. Jesus died to be the propitiation not for the sins of believers only, but for the sins of the entire world. But that propitiation only becomes effective for me by faith alone. So, I may be very confident that the wrath of God that once weighed on me (John 3:36) has now been placed upon Jesus because I believe that He died for me, in my place, and He suffered the wrath of God directed toward my personal sins. Therefore, I will never face the wrath of God, because Jesus has appeased God’s righteous anger toward my sin. We can be very precise about propitiation. In Romans 3:25,  we learn that God publicly displayed Christ Jesus as a propitiation (“ἱλαστήριον”) in His blood through faith. Notice here that the blood of Jesus Christ was and remains essential in appeasing the wrath of God. Only the sinless, perfect blood of Jesus shed for us would satisfy the wrath of God. That blood only becomes effective for us by faith alone. We must believe to be saved. Therefore, my salvation rests totally upon my faith that Jesus died for all of my sins, and God has already forgiven me of all my sins. Every believer has eternal life as a free gift from Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23), and every sin past, present and future has already been forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. 

and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Ephesians 4:24

Jesus commands every believer to stand before Him clothed with “the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:24). In His eyes, every believer wears those clothes daily. He commands us to excel still more. In Christ, we have been sanctified once and for all, which means we have been made holy, called saints, and set apart for God’s own use (Hebrews 10:10). Therefore, we may happily conclude that every believer has been forgiven by God for all sins. From the standpoint of salvation, all of the believer’s sins remain forever under the atoning blood of Christ. 6As we saw in verses from Hebrews 10, all of our sin was laid upon Christ when He died. In fact, the entire sins of the entire world from creation forward were placed upon Jesus at the cross. He truly died for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:1-2). Christ has forever taken away the anger of God over sins, by offering Himself as the propitiation for our sins. God has forgiven every sinner who turns to Jesus by faith alone, believing that Christ died for my sins, once and for all. Now let us consider a few verses that speak to the question of sinful behavior after salvation.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

Every believer should recall that they sin. Indeed, sin may deceive believers: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). 7Compare 1 John 1:10, that shows we have sinned in the past also. This verse emphasizes that sin exists in the life of every believer, even those who walk in the light mentioned in 1 John 1:5-7. When we sin as believers, we must confess our sins: “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). 8In 1 John 1:9, the Holy Spirit used the term “confess” (“ὁμολογῶμεν”). This single word contains two important points: (1) the same and (2) speak. The Holy Spirit means that we must say the same words that God speaks about our actions, thoughts, and desires. When we speak the same words that God speaks about our behavior, we confess our sins. We know that God knows everything we have thought and done before we speak, but we join God in His attitude toward our sin. We no longer ignore it or hide it, but seek God to forgive it and cleanse us from sin. Please recall that all our sins were laid upon Jesus at the cross, and salvation does not rest upon our continuous confession of sin. Instead, we must remember that as we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Walking in the light of Jesus does not mean we have no sin, but rather that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, so that we may have fellowship with other believers and have a close walk with God in the light. Our confession of sin does not bring us back to salvation, because we do not lose eternal life by sinning. We lose our sense of walking in the light and our sin interferes with our fellowship with other believers. I often illustrate this principle with a pair of dirty hands. When I work on my car, I often cover my hands in very black grease from the car. Of course, I am always the child of my earthly father, no matter how black my hands get. The dirt on my hands remains an entirely separate matter from my permanent relationship to my father. Likewise, I will always be the spiritual child of my heavenly Father, because Jesus died for my sins, and I have been adopted into the family of Jesus Christ (1 John 3:1; Galatians 4:6). My hands may get dirty with sin, but God will always be my heavenly Father. With all these concepts in mind, now let us turn to the sins of others around us.

He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Luke 17:1-4

In Luke 17:1-4, Jesus taught His disciples about repentance and forgiveness. He described the enormous evil of causing little ones to stumble (Luke 17:1-2). In this context, Jesus indicated that even a person making little ones stumble must be rebuked, and upon repentance, forgiven. 9In Luke 17:1-2, Jesus began by saying it was inevitable that stumbling blocks would come, but woe to him through whom they come. Jesus meant that causing one of these little ones to stumble would bring woe upon the sinner. In fact, Jesus described the woe as more severe than having a millstone hung around your neck and you being cast into the sea. Jesus meant that while stumbling blocks are a fact of life, Jesus does not tolerate them. As we will see, Jesus calls upon the brother to forgive the one who causes stumbling blocks to little ones when they repent, even if they repent seven times a day for sin so profound it brings the woe of God upon them. Jesus then turned to the problem of brothers sinning against brothers. When a brother sins against me, I must rebuke 10In Luke 17:3, Jesus commanded us to rebuke our brother who sins. The word for “rebuke” (“ἐπιτίμησον”) means to confront sharply and to admonish. Notice the command. Jesus commanded us to rebuke the sinful. Jesus described the sin as “ἁμάρτῃ” which means to miss the mark, or wander from the path or law of righteousness. In contrast, the word “trespass” (“παραπτώματι”) means a false step, resulting in unsure footing and describes general sin, a violation of a moral standard, or an offense against God; see Galatians 6:1ff., below. my brother. Jesus does not allow me to ignore the sinful behavior of my brother, and if he repents, 11The word “repents” (“μετανοήσῃ”) means literally to move to a different mind. It carries the idea of leaving the old, sinful mind behind and changing to a new mind. In this verse, Jesus posed a conditional sentence (third class), linking the concepts of rebuke, repent, and forgive. Jesus described a hypothetical situation to remind every believer to rebuke the sinful, look for repentance, and forgive the repentant sinner every time the sinner seeks forgiveness. This hypothetical should remind us that Jesus Himself forgives us more than seventy times seven. forgive him (Luke 17:3). Jesus commanded me to forgive my brother when he seeks repentance as a result of the rebuke I delivered to him. Please keep two things in mind here. First, as we have seen above, my brother who sins will always go to heaven, because God has already forgiven a believer for all sins–even if they do not listen to my rebuke and repent. Salvation never rests upon daily repentance. Salvation rests upon saving repentance producing saving faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, all according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Once saved, always saved. Second, in Luke 17:1-4, repentance by my brother has nothing to do with salvation, but everything to do with my forgiveness directed to my brother. It also has to do with my interest in helping my brother escape from persistent sin by rebuking him repeatedly for sin. Each time he sins before me, I have a duty to rebuke him, even if he says “I repent” seven times in a day (Luke 17:4). Jesus teaches us that each of us has a duty to help our brothers to seek repentance resulting from brotherly rebukes. We should not lose patience with our brothers. We must always be ready to forgive them each time they repent and seek to restore the relationship with us. Let me mention two other matters here. Jesus tells the disciples that they must have faith to implement this complete forgiveness (Luke 17:5-6). 12In Luke 17:5, the apostles pose a very pertinent request to the Lord: “Increase our faith.” Implicitly, the apostles recognized that faith alone in forgiveness for sins would allow them to walk by faith when it comes to forgiving the brother who seeks forgiveness after being rebuked. Every part of the process of rebuke, repent, and forgive requires faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the disciples should not expect a special reward for forgiving people who repent, because they are only performing the commandments of God to forgive just as God has forgiven them (Luke 17:7-10). 13In Luke 17:7-10, Jesus explained that servants should not expect thanks for doing the things commanded by their master. Instead, they should say: “We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.” In this context, we learn that Jesus commands us to rebuke and forgive according to His command, and we should not expect some special thanks for doing basic Christianity.  Well, what about the sinful brother who refuses to repent after being rebuked?

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Matthew 6:14-15

Jesus taught that we must all forgive others for their transgressions (Matthew 6:14, page 1509).  If we fail to forgive others, then our heavenly Father will not forgive us. 14In Matthew 6:15, Jesus issued a sweeping statement about forgiveness. Some believers read that statement and conclude they must not be saved if they have not forgiven everyone. Before leaping to that conclusion, consider James teaching us about works and faith. In James 2:14-17, the Holy Spirit informs us that faith without works is dead. Notice, however, the precise language in James 2:17:  “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” A complete absence of works shows no faith. In the same sense, a complete absence of forgiveness towards others indicates that you have not been forgiven by your heavenly Father, because you are not truly saved. But, if your life as a believer generally testifies to your forgiveness of others, even if you have notable exceptions of no forgiveness (like the prophet Jonah failed to forgive the people of Nineveh, even when God forgave them because of the preaching of Jonah), then you are disobedient, but saved because you have shown a predominant pattern of forgiveness. These blunt words remind us that we must forgive everyone who transgresses against us, even if they do not repent and seek forgiveness from us.  As believers, we have been forgiven by God. If we do not extend that same kind of forgiveness to other people, then we sin against God, and our salvation is not real.  Without forgiveness flowing out of our hearts, we must realize that God has not forgiven us (Matthew 6:15).  The true believer knows that God’s forgiveness lives within the believer, and flows out to everyone, whether or not they ask for our forgiveness.  Please recall the words of Jesus upon the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). Jesus perfectly modeled this forgiveness that God demands in us. 

       If we must forgive everyone, then why did Jesus talk about forgiving seven times a day, and then only after they repent and seek forgiveness (Luke 17:1-4)?  Please recall that Jesus commanded us to forgive under all circumstances, even if the repentance does not seem real because they sin all day long and apparently repeat the sin.  Jesus never said in that passage that we do not forgive if they do not repent. We know from Matthew 6:14-15 that we have no option but to forgive everyone whether they repent or not.

        So, if I must forgive with or without their repentance, then why do I rebuke them at all? Here we move on to a very important issue.  We rebuke brothers so that they may repent and turn away from sin.  We do not condition our forgiveness upon their repentance.  We are going to forgive them under all circumstances, because we know that God has already forgiven them of all their sins.  The point here centers upon repentance that restores our fellowship with them. We do not ignore their sin, and just forgive them without a word. Let us consider a passage about how we restore a sinner.

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load.

Galatians 6:1-5

In Galatians 6:1-5, Jesus talks with us about restoring 15The Holy Spirit used the word “restore” (“καταρτίζετε”), a command directed to people. The term “restore” means to make whole, repair, set right. The spiritual people restore the person “caught” (“προλημφθῇ”) in any trespass (“παραπτώματι”). Notice that Jesus commanded the spiritual people to restore the brother caught in trespass, using a similar command for a brother to rebuke the brother in Luke 17:1-4 people caught in a trespass.  This passage requires that you first master walking in the Holy Spirit and bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life (Galatians 5:16-24). 16In Galatians 5:16, Jesus commanded believers to walk in the Holy Spirit. This term “walk” (“περιπατεῖτε”) means to carry out all of life’s activities in the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice it is a command. Furthermore, you must also walk 17In Galatians 5:25, the Holy Spirit used a different word for “walk” (“στοιχῶμεν”) which refers to marching in rank or order, as part of a unified group. Think marching with the band and making every turn correctly, keeping in step with the other band members. As you can see in Galatians 5:26, walking in rank keeps us from boasting, challenging one another, and envying one another. These sins relate to others, and occur when we do not walk in order with them, by the power of the Holy Spirit controlling our lives. in the Spirit to avoid being boastful, challenging one another, and envying one another (Galatians 5:26). Only the spiritual believers, walking in the Holy Spirit, will be in a position to restore another believer caught in any trespass (Galatians 6:1).  This restoration must be done in gentleness, with the spiritual believer looking to himself so that he will not be tempted. Well, how do we do this restoration?

        First, the spiritual man will start by bearing the burden 18In Galatians 6:2, the Holy Spirit used the term “bear” (“βαστάζετε”) as a command for all spiritual people. As we have seen, Jesus commanded believers to rebuke and forgive, and also to confront. of the other believer (Galatians 6:2). If you thought you would administer a quick rebuke and then exit, think again. Jesus demands that we bear the burden weighing down the transgressor. People often sin because the burdens weigh them down. They do not find rest in Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30). You must make a sincere effort to help the sinful brother bear the burden and strain. Notice the verse does not specify what you must do to bear the burden, because it will vary by the burden and the person.  We do know that Jesus will provide rest, and His burden is light.

      Second, we must not think we are something for helping the transgressor, and so deceive ourselves when we are actually nothing (Galatians 6:3).  If we puff up with pride and arrogance, we will be of no value in restoring the transgressor.  Puffed up remarks include words like: “I am the spiritual man here to relieve your transgressions.” Instead, we come along side the transgressor and seek to bear the burden with them, and never draw glory to ourselves. 

      Third, we must each examine 19In Galatians 6:4, the Holy Spirit chose the word “examine” (“δοκιμαζέτω”) in reference to our own work. This term for “examine” means that we examine our works for purity, as in metals; it can also mean that we scrutinize our works to determine the true character and motivations underlying our works. our own work (Galatians 6:4). I help to restore the transgressor by encouraging him to examine his own work. As believers, we will always find something that God has done in our lives that we should boast about. This self examination also requires us to focus upon the positive and wonderful works that God has done in the transgressor’s life. I will not examine his work, but my own. I will not live in boasting about how great I am. That will achieve nothing when it comes to restoring my brother caught in transgression. It will only make it worse. Examination of our works leads to restoration and repentance, and also praise and worship to God for His work in all our lives, even if we transgress. During this process of restoration, we should never compare ourselves as spiritual to the transgressor who is sinful. Keep in mind the temptation that caused my brother to sin may also cause me to transgress.  A focus upon my own works (not emotions) will promote restoration. Let me highlight here a common problem. If you become consumed with wringing repentance from your sinful brother, then you have violated this “examine your own works” principle. When we become obsessed with our sinful brother’s transgression, we violate this command to look first and foremost to our own examination of our own works. Rebukes come only from the Word of God, and never from our own personal opinions. We promote proper application of the Word of God by examining our works in light of the Word of God (Psalm 119:11). God performs the rebuke of the arrogant and cursed (Psalm 119:21). He uses believers to encourage, confront and rebuke other believers, with a view toward winning the brother (Matthew 18:15).

       Fourth, each one of us will bear his own load (Galatians 6:5).  While the spiritual brother helps bear the burden, we must each accept full spiritual responsibility for bearing our load before God. Ultimately, we stand before God, and we must learn to bear the load He places upon us. This sense of personal responsibility ultimately leads us to the proper understanding and action of what it means to carry our own load. No one else can do that for us.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

So, in summary, spiritual brothers restore transgressors in gentleness, bearing the load, with a humble attitude, encouraging examination of our own works, and accepting personal spiritual responsibility for our own works. We cannot ignore our duty to be spiritual and restore our sinful brothers. Yet, even if our sinful brother spurns our rebukes and the restoration by spiritual men, our brother will always be our brother, and God commands us to forgive him. Because the end is near, we must keep fervent in prayer.  As we pray, love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), and love prompts us to act always according the will of God, for no one can love except those who have been born of God and know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8).

   

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