Romans 8:32 - "He who did not spare His own Son..."

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32

This promise has been a favorite of mine for the past 13 years. It has carried me through many difficult seasons of life. I was recently reading Future Grace by John Piper who considers this verse "the most precious verse in the bible to me." He goes on to write, "There never has been and never will be a circumstance in my life where this promise is irrelevant."

So take a moment and consider your present circumstances....

What are you worried about?
What floods your heart with fear?
Where are you doubting God's goodness to give you the things that you need?

Now take a moment and consider that the same God who has already delivered up His son Jesus for you - which is as big as it gets - also promises to see you through life's dark days and bumpy roads. The question I ask myself as I consider this promise is, "Why isn't the gift of Jesus enough to convince me that God is working all things together for my good?" Ouch, it hurts me to even type that out!

Here is John Piper's take...

What a truth! Giving us all things is the easy thing! Think on that every time you fear being denied something that would be good for you. You think it is a hard thing. You see many obstacles. It looks impossible. At that discouraging moment think about this heavenly logic. Giving you what you need is the easy part. And the hard part is already done. Creating the world and running it for the good of his people is a relatively easy thing for God to do compared to handing over his Son to ridicule and torture. But he did it. And now all future grace is not only sure; it is easy.

Friends, God loves us and is working all things together for our good (8:28). The validation of that promise is the Cross where God did not spare His own Son so that He could spare you.

What Is the Gospel?

This month we (at Meadowview) have focused on the 3rd mark of a healthy church - The Gospel. Just last Sunday Jordan Chambers encouraged us to know the gospel so we can share this good news with others. So my question is, do you know the gospel? Are you equipped to share the good news with others?

We can summarize it in four words: God, Man, Christ, Response

God. God is the creator of all things. He is perfectly holy, worthy of all worship, and will punish sin.

Man. All people, though created good, have become sinful by nature. From birth, all people are alienated from God, hostile to God, and subject to the wrath of God.

Christ. Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to bear God's wrath in the place of all who would believe in him, and rose from the grave in order to give his people eternal life.

Response. God calls everyone everywhere to turn from their sins and trust in Christ in order to be saved.

*taken from God's Good News: The Gospel by Bobby Jamieson

Amen?

Have you ever wondered why Christians conclude their prayers with an Amen? Is it just a convenient way of letting everyone know that you are done? Or what about when someone in the middle of a song or sermon boldly shouts, "AMEN!" What does it mean to say Amen?

This week I was reading in John Piper's book Future Grace and I really appreciated his closing paragraphs in a chapter that focused on prayer.

...Amen is a full and precious word in times of prayer. It doesn't mean primarily, "Yes, I have now said all this prayer." It means primarily, "Yes, God has made all these promises." Amen means, "Yes, Lord, you can do it." It means, "Yes, Lord, you are powerful. Yes, Lord, you are wise. Yes, Lord you are merciful. Yes, Lord, all future grace comes from you and has been confirmed in Christ." "Amen" is an exclamation point of hope after a prayer for help.
When we come to the end of our prayers and say the simple words, "In Jesus' name, Amen," we are really saying two Amen's. When we say, "In Jesus' name," that is God's Amen to us. All his promises are Amen in Jesus; Jesus Christ is God's Yes and Amen at the end of our prayers. Then when we say, "Amen," this is our Yes and Amen back to God for his. Which means that our Amen, and the prayer it supports, is our Yes to God's Yes to us. It is a commitment from our hearts that we will now live by faith in the Yes of God's guaranteed future grace. (pgs 107-108)

All I can say is AMEN!