Our confession of faith in Jesus’ resurrection is how we are saved from death in our sins into eternal life in the presence of God. But if our profession of faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is genuine, His Spirit dwelling in us will bring about a change in us. He will draw us into sacrificial service for others – making our faith alive through the works we do by His power in obedience to His call.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time riding on a donkey, the crowd awaiting His arrival called for Him to save them, shouting Hosanna. Almost every one of them recognized that Jesus’ arrival fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 about a coming King who would come riding on a donkey to bring them salvation. But the hope that Jesus came to fulfill wasn’t political salvation for Israel from the oppression of their Roman occupiers as most of His greeters expected, but spiritual salvation for all mankind out of death in our sins and into eternal life in the glory of God’s presence.
All of us encounter difficulties in life. Some suddenly severely impact the course of our lives and may even shake the foundation of our faith. Sometimes the hits just keep coming one after another and wear our faith down slowly until we simply give up. But God gives us many promises in His Word to secure our faith and strongly anchor our hope. Speaking of the divine hope we have through faith in Jesus’ Gospel, the writer of Hebrews succinctly affirms the surety of God’s promises – “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf…” (Hebrews 6:19-20a [ESV]).
Life is difficult in our fallen world – so much so that all creation groans. In his letter to the Roman church, the apostle Paul compared this groaning to the pain of childbirth. Yet Christian believers do not despair as if we had no hope. Instead, we eagerly await the fulfillment of the hope that is founded on the promises of God. God’s Spirit dwelling in the hearts of His children nurtures and strengthens the hope within us even through our inevitable seasons of difficulty and desperation. Therefore we know as Paul wrote to the Romans that God is working all things together for good for those who love God and are called in accordance with His purpose.
The hope we carry as Christian believers isn’t some kind of wishful thinking. Our hope rests on the firm promises of God who in now, always was, and will always be faithful to keep His promises. The promises of God upon which we place our hope are found in His Holy Word – the Bible which has proven time and again throughout history to be trustworthy and true.
In this series of messages, we have examined God’s love. We found that God is love by His very nature. God manifested His love in the world when Jesus – God the Son – was embodied in the flesh of the man Jesus of Nazareth. God’s Spirit fills the heart of every believer with His love in the hour we first believe. On the evening He was betrayed to be crucified, Jesus demonstrated the sacrificial love we are to offer people when He washed His disciples feet, then He gave them (and us) a “new” commandment, that we are to love one another just as He has loved us, saying that all people would recognize by our love that we are His disciples.
We have seen that God defines love because as the apostle John wrote, “God is love.” We also learned that Jesus embodies the love of God in human flesh. Now we look at the work of The Holy Spirit – the third person of the trinity to manifest the love of God in and through the hearts of Christian believers.
We have seen that God Himself is the very definition of love. Love is not an aspect of God’s character. Nor is love one of God’s creations. Love is the very essence of God. Logically then, since God is love, Jesus who is God in human flesh is God’s essence of love embodied. But the love of Jesus is much more than a state of being. Jesus clearly demonstrates His love through action. The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus demonstrates His love for us in giving His own life for sinful mankind. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is indeed the ultimate demonstration of God’s loving nature. But Jesus also demonstrated God’s love throughout His earthly ministry by acts of selfless service to His children. Jesus used the example of washing His disciples’ feet on the night He was betrayed – including His betrayer Judas Iscariot! Afterward He commanded them (and us) to serve those around us sacrificially just as He had demonstrated.
This message is the first in a series entitled “God Is Love.” These messages will explore the nature of God’s love and our proper response to Him.
John the apostle gave us succinct definition of God’s nature when he wrote in 1 John 4:8. “…God is love.” Love is not just an aspect of God’s character. Love is the very essence of His being. Nor is God’s love an emotion, an attraction, or a response to a loved one being “lovable” in the way people ordinarily think of love. God’s love is all encompassing, unconditional, and eternally unchanging. God revealed to Moses the characteristics of His love in Exodus 34:6 – “…“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”
Genesis 1:26-28 tells us that God created people male and female in His own image. Therefore our lives are sacred, and we should respect and honor all human beings simply because we are all the image bearers of God. We must stand up for human life wherever it is threatened or devalued.
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2026
Mt. Freedom Baptist Church
