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Assurance of Salvation

Part 30

Love for God(#11) LOVE FOR GOD

The first proof of salvation

WHO GOD IS WHAT HE

HAS DONE FOR ME

WHAT

GLORIFIES HIM MOST

WRAPPING IT ALL UP

Jamie (CC-BY-2.0)

"The end"

of this topic has arrived!

This concludes our study on how

LOVE FOR GODproves the genuineness of one's salvation.

• But the APPLICATION of what we learned goes on FOREVER.

(Public Domain)

A look wa-a-a-a-y back,

to the original "nature" of things

Time for …

McKay Savage from London, UK (CC-BY-2.0)

Jrod2 (CC-BY-SA-2.0)

Humans were created with a

natural desire to love God.

• Before humans sinned, love for

God was their natural response.

– Nothing FAKE!

– We would have had nothing but

gratefulness and love for the One who created us.

Cream, Granulated Sugar,

Vanilla Extract

ALL NATURAL!!

Contrast the

illustration with the next page.

böhringer friedrich (CC-BY-SA-2.5)

Bradley Stemke (CC-BY-2.0)

In sin, we rebelled against God.

• Now we have sinful natures, and "naturally" choose the opposite of what we were created for.

– In this condition, our best attempt at love for God is "naturally"counterfeit.

Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated

Coconut Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil,

Carbohydrate Gum, Sugar, Polysorbate 60, Polyglycerol

Esters of Fatty Acids,

Salt, Sodium Alginate,

Soy Lecithin, Artificial

Flavor, Sodium Citrate,

Natural Flavor, Turmeric

and Annatto Extracts,

Natural and Artificial

Flavor.

NATURALLY FAKE!!

(Public Domain)

Bradley Stemke (CC-BY-2.0)

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• The "sovereignty" part:GOD will embed that love in your heart. – RESULT: You WILL be fully aware of your own

inability, and will choose to give God credit for the love you have.

• The "responsibility" part:YOU must strive toward loving God.– RESULT: You WILL exert actual effort to make this

love grow.

BUT THERE IS HOPE,because God's sovereignty and human

responsibility are interrelated.

• The "sovereignty" part:GOD will embed that love in your heart.– RESULT: You WILL be fully aware of your own

inability, and will choose to give God credit for the love you have.

• The "responsibility" part:YOU must strive toward loving God.– RESULT: You WILL exert actual effort to make this

love grow.

You just need to focus on YOUR part, and leave the rest to God.

(But don't ignore it, or you won't respond rightly to it!)

AWARE

OF THIS

DO THIS

If our love is genuine,

what should we expect?

Da

ve B

uchw

ald

(CC

-BY

-SA

-3.0

)

Sooner or later,

IT WILL BE OBVIOUS

• You will demonstrate love by what you do!

• Love will influence your values and conduct –

everything you do.

If our love for God is GENUINE:

Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is

by the kind of fruit that is produced.(Matthew 7:20 NLT)

You will experience

STRENGTH in WEAKNESS

• You will be filled with an awareness of your

inability to have this love without God's

power.

– So even as you are expressing love in your actions, you will also be continually relying on God for the power to do so!

If our love for God is GENUINE:YES!!! You can have the power

to love God…

but NEVER FORGET where

the power comes from!

But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—

is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies.

So everyone can see that our glorious power is from Godand is not our own. (2 Cor. 4:7 NLT)

YOU LOSE POWER THE INSTANT YOU PULL THE PLUG!

Public Domain & Michael N. Erickson (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

3

YOU MUST DECIDE

how you are going to respond.

This all means…

AND WHILE YOU ARE DECIDING…

YES,YOU!!

Use

r:M

atte

s (

CC

-BY

-SA

-3.0

)

(While you are deciding)

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER

(Actually, 2 things)

C.

G.

P.

Gre

y (

CC

-BY

-2.5

)

Thing #1:It isn't enough to simply "NOT HATE" God.

You must actively "LOVE" him.

• Active disobedience

– Hating God = This is sin.

• Passive disobedience

– Failure to actively love God = This is also sin.

There are two ways that people can disobeytheir moral obligation to love God:

God says it this way:(in plain, easy-to-understand language)

Remember, it is sinto know what you ought to do

and then not do it.James 4:17 (NLT)

Thing #2:

CLAIMING to love God is NOT the same as actually loving him!

• LOVE is not merely a matter of words, but of actions!

For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God's power.

(1 Cor. 4:20 NLT)

4

If you have a growing love for God…(as GOD defines it)

• You have life in you – eternal life.

• That growing love exists because there is life in you.

[Public domain]

If your "love" is stagnant,

you have reason to be concerned,

• You must remind yourself that a willingness to change and to grow is evidence of God working in you!

• If you aren't willing to grow, it is because there is no life in you. Face the fact and turn to God while you have a chance to do so!

but opportunity

to change!

Robin Stott (CC-BY-SA-2.0)

If there is no love, we offer you

HOPE!

• You are DEAD. You are NOT saved (in spite of

what you may claim).

BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAY THIS WAY!

Repent and trust God for salvation and life!

[Public domain]

YOUR MISSION – "TO KNOW"

We have learned what GENUINE love for God is.

• If you have this love for God, – You are saved!

• If you DON'T have this love for God, – You have NO legitimate reason to claim you are

saved.

– You have the opportunity to change!

YOUR MISSION – "TO DO"

Having dealt with ourselves, we must encourage each other in this matter.

• When love for God is evident in people's lives

– Encourage them to grow in love!

• When love for God is NOT evident in their lives

– Warn them, because you love them.

– Encourage them to grow in love!

WOW!!! DID YOU NOTICE?

• Part of your duty is the SAME for ALL people, whether or not they seem to be

saved!

– To ALL: Encourage them to grow in love.

– As necessary: Warn them about the absence

of growth.

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YOUR MISSION – "TO OBEY"

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do,

but encourage and warn* each other,

especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.

(Hebrews 10:25 NLT)

* (This command applies to all aspects of what it means to "follow Jesus.")

Credits (1)SCRIPTURE

• Scripture quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. (www.newlivingtranslation.com)

PICTURES

• "Cake pops" - By Jamie (Flickr: Final Cake Pops wrapped) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via WikimediaCommonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Final_cake_pops_wrapped,_May_2009.jpg (modified)

• Mouse with sign - By Dorothy Sherrill (Internet Archive) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little_Gray_Mouse_-_The_End_%2867%29.png

• Rays extending from near center of picture (background) - By McKay Savage from London, UK [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peru_-_Cusco_189_-_Cuscos_place_in_the_Empire_%288114983805%29.jpg (modified)

• Boy with binoculars – By Jrod2 [CC BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)] via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boy-with-binoculars.png

• Cow - By böhringer friedrich (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Holstein_Rind_1.JPG

• Pumpkin pie + whipped cream - By Bradley Stemke (originally posted to Flickr as Pumpkin Pie) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pumpkin_pie_with_lots_of_whipped_cream,_November_2009.jpg

• Factory – Public Domain; http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_.pollution_1.jpg (cropped)

• Yellow star – By MG, [Public Domain]; http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Icone-Etoile.svg

Credits (2)PICTURES

• Girl with sunglasses - By Dave Buchwald (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via WikimediaCommonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Young_girl_peering_over_sunglasses.jpg

• Bible – Public domain; By Aaron Johnson; http://openclipart.org/detail/23574/closed-bible-by-anonymous-23574 (modified)

• Plug & outlet – By Michael N. Erickson (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plug3.gif (modified)

• Boy pointing - By User:Mattes (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thai_boy_pointing_to_the_viewer.JPG (modified)

• "Thing" - By C. G. P. Grey [CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2006-08-20_-_United_States_-_New_Mexico_-_The_Thing.jpg

• Text (background) - By photo by Tomasz Sienicki [user: tsca, mail: tomasz.sienicki at gmail.com] (Own work) [Public domain], viaWikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Focus_ubt.jpeg

• Marshland with growing plants - By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pristine_marshland.jpg

• Water with scum – Robin Stott [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scum,_River_Leam,_Edmondscote_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1217345.jpg

• Water with dead fish - By French, WL, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commonshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Water_pollution_fish_kill.jpg

• Presentation and any backgrounds not listed above (and not a solid shade) – Dennis Hinks © 2013.

• DISCLAIMER: The use of a picture does not imply that the author of that picture agrees with the views of this presentation. Some might agree; some might not.