The Inseparable Love of God (1) [ Romans 8:38-39 ] Why can nothing separate us from the love of God? 1. Because God’s love is eternal. Romans 8:29a says: “For those whom He foreknew…” The word “foreknew” refers to before eternity began —before the creation of heaven and earth . The phrase “those whom He foreknew” does not simply mean knowing about someone intellectually, but rather loving them. In other words, it refers to “those whom God loved from eternity past.” Amos 3:2a says: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” If “known” merely meant intellectual knowledge, that would imply that God only knew Israel and did not know the other nations—which cannot be true, because the all-knowing God lacks knowledge of nothing. Therefore, “I have known you only” means “I have loved you only.” God loved Israel among all the nations of the earth. Hosea 13:5 says: “I knew you in the wilderness , in the land of great drought.” The “wilderness” was where the Israelite...
Day 3: Luke 14:29, 2 Corinthians 12:9
Pay the cost of discipleship!
While
salvation is received through God's grace, as recipients of salvation, in order
to live the life of a disciple, we must pay the cost. However, many Christians are unwilling to pay
the cost of discipleship. As a result,
they only build the foundation of faith and easily succumb to various
temptations of the devil, living a life that transgresses against God, or
becoming Christians who are ridiculed by worldly people (Lk. 14:29).
The
reason why so many Christians inevitably become objects of ridicule and mockery
by worldly people is because they have not paid the cost of discipleship. Therefore, as disciples of Jesus, we must pay
the cost of discipleship. Each of us
must take up our own cross and follow Jesus. Without the cross of the heart or the cross of
life, we cannot simply carry an ornamental cross and expect to pay the cost of
discipleship while going back and forth in the church. We must prostrate ourselves before Jesus, who
makes us disciples, and listen to His voice. And we must seek God's sufficient grace in
order to pay the cost of discipleship. In
other words, we must seek the power of God that is made perfect in our weakness
(2 Cor. 12:9). We must be willing to
sacrifice for the sake of the gospel, having a readiness to willingly give up
everything for the hope of the gospel.
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