July 27, 2017
by Gary Smith
When you consider the struggles you face living for Jesus, and how easily you can stumble, the promise that "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." How can this promise be so certain? "For those whom he foreknew (loved in advance) he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son....
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July 27, 2017
by Gary Smith
How can we be sure that we won't ultimately be condemned, cut off from Jesus? Because God didn't spare his own Son but gave him up for us. So it is unthinkable that he will not also with him graciously give us all things. He has chosen us, not based on our own merit. He justifies us, which stands up to any condemnation, purchased by the death of his Son, who was raised, an...
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July 24, 2017
by Gary Smith
We need assurance that we are God's children, since we may question this when we face suffering. God's Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are his children and so are his heirs, sharing in the inheritance of Christ. This means that as we suffer in this life, we suffer with Christ - trusting in him, united to him who suffered for us, that we may be glorified with h...
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July 21, 2017
by Gary Smith
Apart from the work of the Spirit of Christ in us, we are only flesh - only fallen and corrupted humanity. This means that by nature we are hostile to God. We don't and can't submit to his law. We can't please God. No wonder that if we live according to the flesh, we die eternally. But if by the Spirit we put to death our sinful deeds, we will live eternally. It is good to...
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July 20, 2017
by Gary Smith
Do you live according to the flesh or according to the Spirit? Paul says if you live according to the flesh (our fallen humanness), you set your mind on the things of the flesh, but if you live according to the Spirit you set your mind on the things of the Spirit. If your mind is continually set on the things of the flesh, you are spiritually dead. But if your mind is set ...
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July 19, 2017
by Gary Smith
Our inability to keep God's law is not due to a defect in the law, but in us. "We know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin" (Romans 7:14). But the good news is that "God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the rig...
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August 13, 2014
by Gary Smith
Too often it is implied that as great a gift that salvation in Jesus is, not all the saved are necessarily sanctified (grow in holiness, become more like Jesus, set apart for God’s purposes). And if some do manage to get sanctified, still fewer are sent to advance the gospel in the world. ...
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August 29, 2013
by Gary Smith
| Tags: exhort, encourage, unbelieving heart, one another, Hebrews 3:12-13
We need to regularly exhort and encourage other so that our hearts don't harden into unbelief....
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August 28, 2013
by Gary Smith
Baptism is not just about making a new start, but having new life to start with....
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December 12, 2011
by Gary Smith
God gives to us everything we need for every good work by grace through Jesus Christ....
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