We are taught that we must become upright people who, in God’s sight, are blameless and fully keep His commandments. “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” [(Modern Translation: “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth also came from the family of Aaron. They were righteous before God and faithfully kept all the Lord’s commandments and regulations without fault”)] (Luke 1:5–6). While meditating on this passage, I would like to draw out the lessons given to us: (1) The author of Luke’s Gospel, Luke, first wrote to Theophilus about John the Baptist’s parents. The father’s name was “Zechariah” (meaning, “The LORD remembers...
“If God is for us” (3) [Romans 8:31-34] Look at Romans 8:32 – “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Here, “He who did not spare” refers to God who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all. That God is a God who is for us (v. 31). And the God who is for us is the eternal God (Deut. 33:27; Isa. 40:28; Rom. 16:26), the omnipresent God (Isa. 57:15; Jere. 23:24), the Almighty God (Gen. 28:3; Josh. 22:22; Job 8:3, 5; Ps. 50:1; Isa. 9:6; Ezek. 10:5; Rev. 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19: 6, 15; 21:22), a God of love (1 Jn. 4:8, 16). The God of love who is for us, but did not spare His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation, and gave Him up to die on the cross for us. In Romans 8:32, “the Son” spoken of by the Apostle Paul refers to Jesus Christ, who is equal to God, the only begotten Son. God, who l...