By John Foll, Written between 10/12/2016 to 10/13/2016.
© Copyright 2016 John Foll
Do you worry for your future? Are you weary from worrying whether you are good enough to be saved or not? Are you fearful? Maybe you are worried because of your past mistakes. But fear not! “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV. These are the conditions for salvation and eternal life! No matter how bad you are, or what you have done, eternal life with its love, joy, and happiness are within your reach! If you will just realize that Jesus and His Father love you and want to save you, and believe in their love, this promised eternal life will be yours! Is your eternal happiness and eternal life really that simple? Yes! But that sounds too easy, how can it be true? Surely there must be something else you must do besides believe in Jesus to be saved, isn’t there? But there is no mistake in this scripture, for it was told by Jesus Himself! He explicitly stated that the Father loves you and wants to save you, and that if you will just believe in Him, then salvation is yours! Let’s not make salvation any more complicated than this! Your salvation really is just this simple and easy to understand: whoever believes in Jesus the Son of God, will have eternal life!
But what does it mean to believe in Jesus? Here is where many make a mistake or are in error. Some think that they believe in Jesus, when they haven’t yielded their heart completely to Him. Brother Paul tells us that of the three: faith, hope and love, ‘that the greatest of these is love.’ 1 Corinthians 13:13. Paul also tells us: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 KJV. Now the Apostle John says about God that “We love Him, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 KJV. So our faith comes when we hear and learn that God loves us. John also says, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:15-16 KJV. So here we see the link between faith or belief in Jesus, God’s only begotten Son and God’s love. The belief that John 3:16 is talking about is the belief that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that those who believe in His Son and Him, should not perish but have everlasting life! There can be no belief in Jesus, where there is no love for Him and what His Father did for us. Therefore to believe in Jesus is to love Him, because love is greater than belief or faith, and because God so loved the world. God’s love for us is the first cause. Thus you cannot love Him, until you realize that He first loved you. When a child learns that its parents love them, then the child also learns to trust them, and believe in them. So faith is born when one learns that Jesus and the Father loves them, and can be trusted to take care of them, and looks out for their good.
To believe in Jesus, is to love Him and His Father with all of your heart, and all of your mind, and all of your soul, and give yourself to them because you love them. Matthew 22:37. It is impossible to fully believe in Jesus, until you love Him, and have yielded yourself to Him. God’s love for you takes care of the rest of your salvation! If you love and believe in Jesus, you will naturally believe in His sacrifice for your sins, and His desire to save and help you, and that God will send you just the help you need. And you will naturally confess your sins, and believe that God has forgiven you. 1 John 1:9. Then you will have great peace with God, and be filled with great joy when you believe in Jesus. Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18 NASB. Here Jesus promises all of His disciples, which will be you if you love Him, that He will ask the Father and the Father will give you another Helper, who will abide with you forever, if you want Him to! Jesus also said, that He will not leave you as an orphan, but He will come to you! Jesus also said, ‘And Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:20. But how do you know that the promise Jesus made to His disciples here applies to you? You are Jesus’ disciple if you love Him, which you show if you want to keep His commandments, which are to love one another. John 13:34. Jesus said, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.’ John 14:23 NASB. If you want to keep Jesus’ word, then you are His Disciple! You are His disciple if you do what He says. Jesus said, “And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46 NASB. Thus if you do what Jesus’ says, He is your Lord, and you are His disciple. See also John 13:34; 14:21; 15:10. Notice that all of this traces back to love for Jesus and His Father. You could have none of this if God did not first love you! But what has this to do with believing in Jesus? It has everything to do with it! Because if you do not believe in Jesus, that means that you do not love Him, and probably do not really know how much He loves you, for if you believed that He loved you, this would awaken love in your heart, and would make all of the difference to you. If you do not believe in Jesus, that means that you don’t really believe that He loves you, or you don’t want the salvation He is offering you. So believing in Jesus is based on knowing His love personally.
So how are we saved? We are saved when we see how much we are in need of help, then learn that Jesus loves us; this awakens faith in our heart! This takes away despair and gives us hope for a better life that He has promised us. Therefore, if you will just learn how much Jesus and His Father love you, this will give you all the faith you need, so that you can believe in Jesus, the Son of God, and thus have eternal life!
But you may say that all of what we have said here is more than just believing in Jesus. But all of the things that the soul needs, develops from believing in Jesus, when the soul learns that He loves them and died to save them. Therefore the one who truly believes in Jesus has eternal life, because everything else that they need will be supplied by God, if they will just believe! And what is believing in Jesus? Again, it is learning that He loves you! Everything you need is supplied, if you will just learn how much Jesus and the Father love you! The soul that is lost, has never truly learned that Jesus or the Father loved them, or didn’t care, it is not because of their sins or mistakes, which can all be forgiven, if the soul will only believe in Jesus! The soul is lost because of unbelief in Jesus and the Father’s love for them, or because it doesn’t want this love or salvation. But how could anyone turn their back on such love? We believe that most people who turn their back on God, never really learned or wanted to learn how much He loves them, thus they didn’t believe!
Therefore John 3:16 is a promise that all who believe in Jesus will be saved, because the Father will forgive their sins, and send them the Holy Spirit, who will help them to be saved, and not leave them as orphans! And Jesus also promised that He would be with His people, until the end of the age! Matthew 28:20. Thus it is really true, that all who truly believe in Jesus will be saved! Do you believe in Jesus the Son of God? Do you believe that He and His Father greatly love you? Then salvation is yours! Go forth with peace, love and joy! May ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.’ 2 Corinthians 13:14 NASB.
Bible Texts For Reflection:
John 3:1-21; John 14:15, John 14:23-24; John 13:35; John 13:34-35; Luke 6:46; 1 John 4:19; 1 Corinthians 13:13; John 14:21; John 15:8-11.
It is our desire to help as many people as possible learn how to be happy, and have the assurance of their salvation. There is no reason for people to not be happy, have guilt, or not have the assurance of their salvation, if they want it, and are willing to learn what God wants from them and desire to please Him. It is our desire that everyone who wants it, would find ‘the Pearl of Great price’, and that they would have a well of water springing up in them, unto eternal life!
#Holy Spirit #happy #happiness #love #peace #victory #need #God #believe #Jesus #eternal life #Disciple #Son #worry #fear #conditions #confess #yield #give #hope
© Copyright 2016 John Foll
Do you worry for your future? Are you weary from worrying whether you are good enough to be saved or not? Are you fearful? Maybe you are worried because of your past mistakes. But fear not! “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV. These are the conditions for salvation and eternal life! No matter how bad you are, or what you have done, eternal life with its love, joy, and happiness are within your reach! If you will just realize that Jesus and His Father love you and want to save you, and believe in their love, this promised eternal life will be yours! Is your eternal happiness and eternal life really that simple? Yes! But that sounds too easy, how can it be true? Surely there must be something else you must do besides believe in Jesus to be saved, isn’t there? But there is no mistake in this scripture, for it was told by Jesus Himself! He explicitly stated that the Father loves you and wants to save you, and that if you will just believe in Him, then salvation is yours! Let’s not make salvation any more complicated than this! Your salvation really is just this simple and easy to understand: whoever believes in Jesus the Son of God, will have eternal life!
But what does it mean to believe in Jesus? Here is where many make a mistake or are in error. Some think that they believe in Jesus, when they haven’t yielded their heart completely to Him. Brother Paul tells us that of the three: faith, hope and love, ‘that the greatest of these is love.’ 1 Corinthians 13:13. Paul also tells us: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 KJV. Now the Apostle John says about God that “We love Him, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 KJV. So our faith comes when we hear and learn that God loves us. John also says, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:15-16 KJV. So here we see the link between faith or belief in Jesus, God’s only begotten Son and God’s love. The belief that John 3:16 is talking about is the belief that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that those who believe in His Son and Him, should not perish but have everlasting life! There can be no belief in Jesus, where there is no love for Him and what His Father did for us. Therefore to believe in Jesus is to love Him, because love is greater than belief or faith, and because God so loved the world. God’s love for us is the first cause. Thus you cannot love Him, until you realize that He first loved you. When a child learns that its parents love them, then the child also learns to trust them, and believe in them. So faith is born when one learns that Jesus and the Father loves them, and can be trusted to take care of them, and looks out for their good.
To believe in Jesus, is to love Him and His Father with all of your heart, and all of your mind, and all of your soul, and give yourself to them because you love them. Matthew 22:37. It is impossible to fully believe in Jesus, until you love Him, and have yielded yourself to Him. God’s love for you takes care of the rest of your salvation! If you love and believe in Jesus, you will naturally believe in His sacrifice for your sins, and His desire to save and help you, and that God will send you just the help you need. And you will naturally confess your sins, and believe that God has forgiven you. 1 John 1:9. Then you will have great peace with God, and be filled with great joy when you believe in Jesus. Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18 NASB. Here Jesus promises all of His disciples, which will be you if you love Him, that He will ask the Father and the Father will give you another Helper, who will abide with you forever, if you want Him to! Jesus also said, that He will not leave you as an orphan, but He will come to you! Jesus also said, ‘And Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:20. But how do you know that the promise Jesus made to His disciples here applies to you? You are Jesus’ disciple if you love Him, which you show if you want to keep His commandments, which are to love one another. John 13:34. Jesus said, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.’ John 14:23 NASB. If you want to keep Jesus’ word, then you are His Disciple! You are His disciple if you do what He says. Jesus said, “And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46 NASB. Thus if you do what Jesus’ says, He is your Lord, and you are His disciple. See also John 13:34; 14:21; 15:10. Notice that all of this traces back to love for Jesus and His Father. You could have none of this if God did not first love you! But what has this to do with believing in Jesus? It has everything to do with it! Because if you do not believe in Jesus, that means that you do not love Him, and probably do not really know how much He loves you, for if you believed that He loved you, this would awaken love in your heart, and would make all of the difference to you. If you do not believe in Jesus, that means that you don’t really believe that He loves you, or you don’t want the salvation He is offering you. So believing in Jesus is based on knowing His love personally.
So how are we saved? We are saved when we see how much we are in need of help, then learn that Jesus loves us; this awakens faith in our heart! This takes away despair and gives us hope for a better life that He has promised us. Therefore, if you will just learn how much Jesus and His Father love you, this will give you all the faith you need, so that you can believe in Jesus, the Son of God, and thus have eternal life!
But you may say that all of what we have said here is more than just believing in Jesus. But all of the things that the soul needs, develops from believing in Jesus, when the soul learns that He loves them and died to save them. Therefore the one who truly believes in Jesus has eternal life, because everything else that they need will be supplied by God, if they will just believe! And what is believing in Jesus? Again, it is learning that He loves you! Everything you need is supplied, if you will just learn how much Jesus and the Father love you! The soul that is lost, has never truly learned that Jesus or the Father loved them, or didn’t care, it is not because of their sins or mistakes, which can all be forgiven, if the soul will only believe in Jesus! The soul is lost because of unbelief in Jesus and the Father’s love for them, or because it doesn’t want this love or salvation. But how could anyone turn their back on such love? We believe that most people who turn their back on God, never really learned or wanted to learn how much He loves them, thus they didn’t believe!
Therefore John 3:16 is a promise that all who believe in Jesus will be saved, because the Father will forgive their sins, and send them the Holy Spirit, who will help them to be saved, and not leave them as orphans! And Jesus also promised that He would be with His people, until the end of the age! Matthew 28:20. Thus it is really true, that all who truly believe in Jesus will be saved! Do you believe in Jesus the Son of God? Do you believe that He and His Father greatly love you? Then salvation is yours! Go forth with peace, love and joy! May ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.’ 2 Corinthians 13:14 NASB.
Bible Texts For Reflection:
John 3:1-21; John 14:15, John 14:23-24; John 13:35; John 13:34-35; Luke 6:46; 1 John 4:19; 1 Corinthians 13:13; John 14:21; John 15:8-11.
White Raiment Evangelism Purpose:
It is our desire to help as many people as possible learn how to be happy, and have the assurance of their salvation. There is no reason for people to not be happy, have guilt, or not have the assurance of their salvation, if they want it, and are willing to learn what God wants from them and desire to please Him. It is our desire that everyone who wants it, would find ‘the Pearl of Great price’, and that they would have a well of water springing up in them, unto eternal life!
#Holy Spirit #happy #happiness #love #peace #victory #need #God #believe #Jesus #eternal life #Disciple #Son #worry #fear #conditions #confess #yield #give #hope
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