Feature Story / The Love of God Who Desires All Men to be Saved
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November 25, 2012 |
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God set a plan in place for human cultivation to gain true children who can share love with Him and has accomplished His providence. Through His men, God has taught people that He is alive and they need to live by the Word of God. Furthermore, He sent His only begotten Son to men to resolve the problem of sin and fulfilled the providence of the cross.
Also, God sent the Holy Spirit to men who are living in this sinful world so that they can achieve a victory with faith. By this, He demonstrates His love. And He knows very well what men need and provides them with it at the right time, which adds to fullness.
In the commemoration of the Feast of Thanksgiving, I hope you will engrave deeply on your hearts the great love of God who wants all men to be saved as written in 1 Timothy 2:4 and to glorify God as a believer like wheat.
God's touch of love leading His beloved children to the heavenly kingdom
"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:17-18)
Just because you profess your faith with your lips saying, "I believe," it doesn't necessarily mean you have been saved. If you truly believe, you need to show the proofs of your profession in your life. Dead faith, namely, faith with no works, doesn't lead to salvation (James 2:17). 'How well we act according to the Lord's Word' is the proof of faith which serves as the yardstick for salvation. Depending on it, there are wheat-like and chaff-like believers divided. So, God always guides His beloved children to discover themselves and be changed, and leads them to the truth by the Holy Spirit.
For them to cast off sins and to let their hearts resemble the Lord's, He sometimes allows for judgment through the flesh. We should be aware that the judgment through the Holy Spirit, the truth, and the flesh in our lives are all God's touch of love so that we will be sentenced not to Hell but to beautiful Heaven in the Great Judgment of White Throne.
What does it mean 'to be judged by the Holy Spirit'?
"Feeling wretched and distressed when men go outside of the truth"
John 16:8 reads, "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment." When we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we are given the Holy Spirit as a gift. The Spirit teaches us about sin, righteousness, and judgment while we are listening to the Word of God. Through the Word of God, who is the Light, He lets us discover evil in our hearts.
If we cast away evil that was discovered by the help of the Holy Spirit and dwell in the Word of God, we can always live in fullness of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, if we don't cast off the evil and we live in sin, though we know it is sin, we will feel wretched and distressed. We will have such feelings because in our hearts there is a war between the 'two desires'—the desire to follow the truth and the desire to follow the untruth.
In other words, the feeling of distress that comes when men live outside of the truth results from judgment of the Holy Spirit. Even though men feel that way, if they don't cast away the evil and they just continue to live in darkness, sin, and evil, the Spirit in them will be quenched in the end (Ref: 1 Thessalonians 5:19). Therefore, if we feel distressed by the judgment, we need to repent quickly and turn away from the sin and recover the fullness of the Spirit.
What is it to be judged by the truth?
"Things going well or going wrong, blessing or affliction, depending on whether men practice the truth"
John 14:6 reads, "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'" Not everyone acts in the truth even if he or she realizes the truth. Of course, there might be someone who practices the truth 100% from the beginning, but most people can't.
When we live within of the Word of God, which is the truth, we can be under the protection and guidance of God and enjoy the blessing of prosperity. Additionally, we can receive the blessings of good health and financial success. However, when we don't live in the truth, financial predicament, ailment, or troubles come to our family, workplace, or business due to Satan's accusation.
As explained, depending on how much we practice what we realized by listening to the truth, things go well or wrong, or blessing or hardship come. This is the judgment through the truth.
What is the judgment through the flesh?
"In the case where the judgment through the truth results in evident fruit"
When we don't live in the truth though we listen to and realize it, many problems may come such as a discord in family or physical diseases. Or, business may be faced with difficulties or damaged financially. In this way, the judgment by the truth results in an evident fruit, which is the judgment of the flesh.
If you don't repent and turn away when the Holy Spirit judges you, you can't help but be faced with the judgment through the truth. If you don't repent even amid the judgment, the next is the judgment of the flesh. Through all this procedure, each one's level of faith is revealed. And we can discern between 'wheat' and 'chaff'. In the Great Judgment of White Throne, the final judgment is sentenced between Heaven and Hell, namely, eternal life and eternal death.
If you despise the voice of the Holy Spirit, refuse to dwell in the truth, and follow the desire of the flesh continually, then you will have no other choice but to suffer from the last judgment of fire. That is the Seven-year Great Tribulation and the fire of Hell that is unquenched forever. Thus, if the Spirit in you laments, you should realize it quickly and repent and turn away. Even if you are under the judgment of the flesh, if you repent and turn away, you can avoid the judgment of everlasting fire.
The God of love helps us dwell in the truth through Jesus Christ and the Helper the Holy Spirit so that all men can reach salvation. With His long-cherished desire to gain His true children who can share love forever, God has believed, hoped, and endured all things.
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