God’s Gift to Us

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—  not from works, so that no one can boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8-9 HCSB)

 

Here’s what God is telling us in this verse of Scripture:

1. “For you are saved…” – This means that we are saved from God’s judgement and wrath because of our rebellion against Him.  God created us to glorify Him with our lives by living in immediate, radical, costly obedience to Him, but we have chosen to rebel against Him, bringing upon ourselves God’s wrath (Romans 6:23).
2. “by grace…” – Grace, in this case, is God’s unmerited favor upon us.  This means that God, despite our rebellion against Him, loved us (His creation) so much, that He chose to sacrifice His One and Only Son, Jesus, as payment for our sin so that our rebellion against Him might be forgiven.  Jesus willingly obeyed God and offered Himself up as a sacrifice to God for our atonement.  God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and raised Him from the dead in order to complete His redemptive work, and give us eternal life, saving us from His wrath (Romans 5:8).
3. “through faith… – To be saved from God’s wrath, all we have to do is believe with all our hearts in what God has done for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection, and live the rest of or lives confessing it to the world, beginning where we are (John 3:16; Romans 10:10).
4. “and this not of yourselves;…” – This means that we cannot save ourselves; that there is nothing we can do for God that He would accept as payment for our salvation because we are ruled by our sin nature (Rome 3:23). We are stained by our sin, but Jesus never sinned, therefore, His sacrifice was acceptable to God.
5. “it is God’s gift…” – A gift is a some one gives without expecting payment for it, otherwise, it is no longer a gift.  God’s plan for our salvation is paid for, in full, by Him, through what Jesus did on the cross for us.  Nothing is required of us, except faith, and faith is not a “work”, just a heartfelt belief.
6. “not from works…” – What Jesus did for us is completely sufficient for the salvation of our souls.  There is nothing else that needs to be done by God, by Jesus, or by us, contrary to what other religions say.  God said it, that settles it (Titus 3:5-7).
7. “so that no one can boast.” – Because we are pulled by sin, God knows that we are filled with pride.  Therefore, God took the responsibility of our salvation off of us, and put it squarely on Jesus’ shoulders, so that we could not ever take credit for something that only Jesus could do.

Here’s what Jesus said:

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God (John 3:16-18 HCSB).”

“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son^[a] will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36).”

So, knowing what you now know, are you willing to risk God’s wrath upon you, and spending eternity in complete separation from our loving God in eternal torment?  Would you consider putting the full measure of your faith in Christ, today?  If you choose to do so and need help, let me know below, or by private message.

Life and Death

“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36 HCSB)

There are those who read this verse and immediately think that God is cruel, and without love, or compassion for people as He claims to have.  Most people who believe this way do not understand God because they have very little, or no knowledge of God.  What’s most troubling is that there are many who call themselves Christians who have this same mindset and have no idea of the danger they are in.  So, let’s break down and understand this verse.

1.  “The one who believes in the Son…” – the word “believe”, here, means much more than a simple intellectual conviction that Jesus exists, and that He died on a cross, and rose from the dead.  God, in James 2:19, tells us that even the demons believe in Jesus, and even shudder in fear of Him.  This does not mean that demons are going to heaven.  The belief that this verse speaks of is a complete, unconditional surrender of our lives to the lordship of Christ in such a way that we strive to live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to His commands; not out of obligation, or as a “stay out of hell card”, but because we understand what He has done for us.
2. “has eternal life,” – eternal life in heaven with Him is our reward for surrendering our lives to Jesus, and submitting ourselves to His Lordship, in such a way that we strive to live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to His commands.
3. “but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life;” – the person who outright refuses to surrender his/her life to the lordship of Christ, and refuses to live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to His commands. this person will not see eternal life in heaven with Jesus.
4. “instead, the wrath of God remains on him.” – God’s wrath remains on us because we choose to live our lives in rebellion against Him, which is what’s in our nature to do.  We don’t want to surrender our lives to anyone, or anything, unless it satisfies our lusts, and desires for the things of this world – “the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17).”

Here is what we need to understand about God, folks.  God does not hate anyone.  On the contrary.  God loves us all enough to give us the choice to surrender to Him and live according to His will and purpose, or to live according to our will and desires.  But, He also loves us enough to warn us of the consequences of not living according to His will and purpose.

God sends no-one to hell.  We send ourselves to hell by the choice we make.  With every choice we make, we also choose the consequences we will suffer.

In Christ’s love,

Phil

What Will You Do?

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 HCSB)

God loves us enough to warn us of the consequences of living a life apart from Him, and in His Sovereignty, He allows us to chose whether or not we will believe Him, or not.  With every choice we make we also choose the consequences that comes with that choice. So, what will you do?  It’s your choice…

 

Eternal Destiny

“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 HCSB)

Wow! What a great lesson God has in store for us, today.  Jesus spoke a truth that we all need to hear and understand.  So lets look at the context in which He said what he said in today’s verse.

A wealthy young man, whose name is not mentioned, came up to Jesus and asked Him what He had to do to get to heaven.  Jesus told the young man to keep all the commandments.  The young man asked, “Which ones”, to which Jesus replied, “Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself (all the moral law).”  Arrogantly, the young man told Jesus that he kept all those commandments and asked what else he had to do to get into heaven.  Then Jesus told the young man,

“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me (Matthew 19:21 HCSB).”

When the rich young man heard Jesus’ command he turned and walked away sad because he was very rich and did not want to give his riches up to follow Jesus.  To him, money was his god.  His faith and confidence was in his martial wealth, not in Jesus.

Then Jesus turns and says to His disciples:

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:23-24 HCSB).”

Let me explain what this means.  It’s not because someone is rich that they cannot enter into heaven.  It is because they believe that money is the answer to all their problems and they hoard it.  Money has become their God, it’s what they live for every day.  When the disciples heard what Jesus said, they were astonished and confused, so they asked Jesus who, then, could be saved.  Jesus responded with today’s verse,

“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26 HCSB).””

There are many thing that are out of our control, but there is nothing that’s out of God’s control.  The salvation of our souls is one of those things.  Money may be able to solve all kinds of problems, but our eternal destiny is one only God can solve, and He already did.

Our eternal destiny cannot be bought by any amount of money.   Our lives, our souls, are much more valuable to God than mere money.  There is no amount of money that can be printed by all the countries tries of the world that can equal the value of one life, one soul.

The salvation of our souls and destiny in heaven has already been bought and paid for in full.  God loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die on a cross as full payment for our sins, thus forgiving our sins.  Jesus was then buried and three days later, He rose again from the dead in order to assure us eternal life in heaven.

Do you want to secure your place in heaven?  Here’s how God says it can be done:

1. Recognize that you’re a sinner and thank Him for sending Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross in order to pay the ultimate price for your sin (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8) and raising Him from the dead in order to give you eternal life (John 3:16-18; John 11:25).
2. Tell Him that, at this moment, you willfully and intentionally choose to stop living your life in rebellion against Him and choose to start living your life as His disciple; that you commit to seeking Him, every day; following Him, every day; and that you will strive live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to Him and only Him, no matter the cost – even if it costs you your life (2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 10:9-10). Then, do it.
This is the only way you can become God’s child (John 1:12) and experience the fullness of His love, goodness, joy, peace and perfect care. Do this right now!

If you didi this, please let me know in a comment below so that I can pray for you.

In Christ’s love,

Phil Covone

No Rejection!

“Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37 HCSB)

There are those who misunderstand and misuse today’s verse.  Contrary to the beliefs of some, God does not force His will on us.  In His Sovereignty, God has chosen to give us free will to choose to believe in Him and trust Him, or not.  He does not create some people with the purpose of going to hell, and others to be saved from hell.  That would make Him and unjust God, which he is not.  God would never create anyone for the sole purpose of sending them to hell without giving them a chance to be saved from hell.  That’s why he speaks to all of us and draws us to Himself.  He wants us to be with Him and leads us to the One who can get us to Him, Jesus.

Here’s what Jesus is really teaching us in today’s verse:

1. “Everyone the Father gives to Me will come to Me…” – this is the drawing of the Father, the hearing and learning from the Father about Jesus.  God’s opening of our eyes to the reality of our spiritual condition, which causes us to seek and call upon Jesus for Salvation.
2. “and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.” – the one who seek Jesus with all their heart will find Jesus, will be saved by Jesus, and will never be rejected by Jesus – their salvation can never be lost.

God, through the Apostle Paul said:

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13 HCSB).”

Have you been rejecting God’s call upon you to come to Him?  Are you hearing Him calling you now?  Would you like to call upon Him and know that you are saved and have your place in heaven with Him for all eternity?  Here’s how God says you can do it:

1. Recognize that you’re a sinner and thank Him for sending Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross in order to pay the ultimate price for your sin (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8), and raising Him from the dead in order to give you eternal life (John 3:16-18; John 11:25).
2. Tell Him that, at this moment, you willfully, willingly, and intentionally choose to stop living your life in rebellion against Him and choose to start living your life as His disciple; that you commit to seeking Him, every day; following Him, every day; and that you will strive, every day, to live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to Him and only Him, no matter the cost – even if it costs you your life (2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 10:9-10). Then, do it.
This is the only way you can become God’s child (John 1:12) and experience the fullness of His love, goodness, joy, peace and perfect care. Do this right now!

If you did this, God is so happy with you and wants to start working in your life and through your life. Please send me a message letting me know that you did it so that I can pray for you as you begin a new life in Christ.

In Christ’s love,

Phil Covone

How Well Do We Know Ourselves?

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.” (Psalms 139:23-24)

Because of our sin nature, every one of us has a skewed view of our selves.  Sin is what is familiar to us, which blurs what’s important.  Because of our sin nature, we excuse the wrong we do and lessen our guilt for doing it.  This is what is normal to us.  The result of this is that we see ourselves very differently than others do, and even how God does.  There could be, in each one of us, an evil habit, or a strong pull to do what is wrong in God’s eyes, which, if not dealt with, can overpower and destroy us.  Not only that, there could also be something in our hearts or lives, that causes us to think less of ourselves, nullifying our ability to be an influence for good.  Here’s the thing, we may not even be aware of all this.  Look at what God tells us about ourselves, through the Prophet Jeremiah:

“The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9).”

The very next verse (verse 10) aught to cause us to tremble, and to be grateful at the same time:

“I, Yahweh, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve Jeremiah 17:10).”

1. “Tremble” because He is going to judge us and punish us according to whether we live our lives according to His will, or our will.
2. “Grateful” because He loves us enough to warn us and give us the opportunity to drop our own way of living and live according to His ways.

The reality is that we do not know ourselves as well as we portray ourselves to.  Therefore, the wise thing to do on our part, is to ask our Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent God to do for us what King David begged Him to do for him in today’s passage of Scripture.  King David asks God to do four very important things for Him:

1. “Search me, God, and know my heart;” – He asks God to search the very depths of his heart – that God would search every part of his being, leaving nothing about him unstarched.
2. “test me and know my concerns.” – He asks God to test and see that he is not representing himself as a God loving, God fearing man, when he is not.
3. “See if there is any offensive way in me;” – He asks God to make sure there is nothing in himself that is offensive to God.  He does not want to offend God in any way.
4. “lead me in the everlasting way.” –  King David asks God to put him on the path to, and lead him on the way to eternal life. In others words, He wants to live according to God’s will, which will lead him to an eternal life in heaven with God.

King David was afraid of breaking God’s heart again, and becoming useless to Him. How well do you know yourself?  Is there anything hidden in your life that is hindering you from being an instrument of God for good?

Will we all have the courage to ask God for what King David asked Him?

In Christ’s love,

Phil Covone

Forgiven and Covered

“How joyful are those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered!” (Romans 4:7)

Though the Apostle Paul is quoting King David, from the Book of Psalms, this verse is applicable for us, today.  The context of Romans chapter four is faith.  Abraham was justified, or found not guilty of sin, by believing and trusting God.  When God told Abraham to get up and move to a land far away from his own, Abraham did not argue with God. He got up and went, no questions asked.  Faith drove Abraham to immediate, radical, costly obedience to what God had ordered him to do.  God blessed Abraham for his immediate, radical, costly obedience.

 

Today’s verse is one of those that aught to make us jump for joy because it speaks of God’s amazing grace and love.  Let’s take a look.

1. “How joyful…” – this is a type of joy that cannot be extinguished by any difficult circumstance we might find ourselves in.  It is a joy that comes from knowing God.
2. “are those…” – these are the people who by faith:
   – believe and accept the fact that they are sinners in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23).
   – believed and accept the fact that Jesus was sent by God die on a cross for the forgiveness of their sins (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8).
   – believe and accept the fact that Jesus was buried and rose again from the dead to give them eternal life (John 11:25).
   – believe and accept the fact that this is a free gift from God, something that cannot be earned, nor bought (Ephesians 2:8-9).
   – made a commitment with Christ to seek Him every day, follow Him no matter where He leads them, and strive to live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to His commands (Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46).
3. “whose lawless acts are forgiven…” – those who, by their faith (above), and God’s unmerited favor, have been forgiven for their willful disobedience to Him.
4. “and whose sins are covered.” – and also who by faith have had their offenses towards God covered by the blood of Christ.

God also gives us assurance of our salvation, through faith when He says:

“I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13 HCSB).”

Jesus also says:

“My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one (John 10:27-30 HCSB).”

Friends, true joy comes from having the assurance that when the day comes for your life to end, you will pass from an eternal life in hell, to an eternal life in heaven, with Christ.

Would you like the same assurance of eternal life?  Here’s how God says you can have it:

1. Recognize that you’re a sinner and thank Him for sending Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross in order to pay the ultimate price for your sin (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8) and raising Him from the dead in order to give you eternal life (John 3:16-18; John 11:25).
2. Tell Him, in your own words, that at this moment, you willfully and intentionally choose to stop living your life in rebellion against Him and choose to start living your life as His disciple; that you commit to seeking Him, every day; following Him, every day; and that you will strive to live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to Him and only Him, no matter the cost – even if it costs you your life (2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 10:9-10). Then, do it.
This is the only way you can become God’s child (John 1:12) and experience the fullness of His love, goodness, joy, peace and perfect care. Do this right now! You will not regret it.

***Please, let me know if you have any questions***

In Christ’s love,

Phil Covone

A child of God

“But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name,” (‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ HCSB)

As I share Jesus with people, there is one quote that many unbelievers like to use to justify not surrendering their lives to the Lordship of Christ, “I don’t need to do that because I believe we are all God’s children, and God would not punish His children.” So, when I ask them to share with me how they became “God’s children”, they reply, “We are all born children of God”.

There are so many people out there who believe this and are living in a false sense of security. They think that because they believe that they were born into this world being a child of God already, they will be spending eternity in heaven with God. However, this is not what the God they say they believe in, says.

In today’s Scripture, God, through the Apostle John, tells us the only way we can become true children of His:

1.  “But to all who did receive Him,” – this portion of the verse tells us two things, 1) “But to all” means that every single person in the world is included. Jesus reiterates this in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…”. God excludes no one from His abounding love – NO ONE (2 Peter 3:9)! 2) “who did receive Him” means those who receive and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives – those who surrender their lives to the Lordship of Christ. We must surrender our lordship over our lives, to Jesus’ Lordship over our lives. In Romans 10: 9, God says, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
2. “He gave them the right to be children of God,” – only those who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior are given the right to become real children of God. We are not born with that right. God gives it to those who receive Jesus’ gift of salvation through faith in what He did on the cross for all of us.
3.  “to those who believe in His name,” – it’s not just about the name, it’s about the person behind the name – Jesus, the Christ, God’s Anointed One who He sent to this world to suffer the consequences for the world’s rebellion and sin against Him so that the world may be saved through faith in Him, and Him alone.

Jesus said,

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God (John‬ ‭3:16-18‬ ‭HCSB‬‬).”

God says,

“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭HCSB‬‬).”

Sin has caused us to rebel against God. Jesus paid the consequences for our rebellion so that we can be reconciled with God:

“Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him (Romans‬ ‭5:9-11‬ ‭HCSB‬‬).”

It is only when we place all our faith in confidence in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross in such a way that we surrender our lives to His will, that we can become God’s children and inherit God’s kingdom, along with Jesus:

“All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “ Abba, Father! ” The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs — heirs of God and coheirs with Christ — seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans‬ ‭8:14-17‬ ‭HCSB‬‬).”

Are you sure you’re God’s child? If not, would you like to be certain of it? Here’s how He says you can make certain of it:

1. Recognize that you’re a sinner and thank Him for sending Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross in order to pay the ultimate price for your sin (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8) and raising Him from the dead in order to give you eternal life (John 3:16-18; Ephesians 1:13-14).
2. Tell Him that, at this moment, you willfully and intentionally choose to stop living your life in rebellion against Him and choose to start living your life as His disciple; that you commit to seeking Him, every day; following Him, every day; and that you will strive live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to Him and only Him, no matter the cost – even if it costs you your life (2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 10:9-10). Then, do it.
   This is the only way you can become God’s child (John 1:12) and experience the fullness of His love, goodness, joy, peace and perfect care. Do this right now!

If you have any question, message me and let’s talk about it.

In Christ’s love,

Phil