The discussion was good, yet I was especially intrigued by these two questions: How do I know that God is real; and, how do I know God loves me? What intrigued me about these particular questions was the fact that I had already contemplated these things the day before, as I was showering. God's providence was made obvious for me, I guess.
How do I know God is real?
The most basic answer is this: there is something rather than nothing. The only reasonable explanation for existence is God. The universe (i.e., matter) can't be eternal, because the universe would have died a heat-loss death an eternity ago. The universe isn't an illusion because, well, pain and death still grip our consciences. I still check my blind spot whenever I drive. And since something cannot come from nothing - nothing produces nothing - this "something" must have come from somewhere, or someone, and that someone is God. God exists, and I know he's real because there is existence (aside from the fact that I can even use 'reason' in the first place!). Of course, the next logical question is: how do I know it's the Christian God, of the Bible, that exists? Well, we'll leave that answer for another time ;-)
How do I know God loves me?
I know God loves me because he saved me. My life, up until the point God regenerated my dead spirit, was filled with religious hypocrisy. The more I studied Scripture and gained knowledge of God and theology, the more I became enslaved to sin. It's actually quite simple: I was a slave of sin, and I couldn't escape. God broke me and shattered my spirit in order to show me the precipice of sorrow and death. My spiritual eyes and hears were opened to see the gospel for what it really was: freedom! During that time, I saw just how evil I really was, and I was amazed (same as I am today) that God rescued me. How do I know God loves me? Because he saved me from my sin. He loved me by sending Jesus to bear the weight of my sin on his shoulders, so I wouldn't have to. He loved me even before he created me! Now, I'm not talking about the kindness God shows to all people, but I'm talking about God's particular love - the love he only shows toward his Elect.
There are a million and a half Bible verses that could be given to show the proof of the things I'm talking about, but here's one that is fairly succinct and powerful:
(Pay attention here: a sinner is chosen in Christ to no longer be a sinner; and this whole business of being made clean is done by means of Jesus, by the Father determining that certain individuals become children of God. Jesus is pretty important in someone being saved! No wonder the Bible says elsewhere that there is no other name under heaven by which men might be saved. Or even Jesus when he said that no one can come to the Father except through him.)
And why did he do this for me? "According to the pleasure of his will." It pleased God to save me from my sins in Christ. It pleased God to adopt me as his child through Christ. It pleased God to transform me from a wretched sinner into a godly saint. It pleased God to rain his heavenly blessings on me in Christ. Jesus is God's "dearly loved Son", and since it pleased God to predestine me as a son through Christ, I am dearly loved too. Jesus is the conduit by which the Father pours out his love to his adopted children.
The simple answer to "How do I know God loves me?" is this - he saved me from the due penalty of my sins.
The simple answer to "Why does God love me?" is this - it pleases him to love me through Jesus.
Without Jesus, God the Father could not love sinners. He would be unjust in doing so. Yet through Christ's sacrifice for God's Elect, we can receive the love of the Father and enjoy him forever! Amen.
How do I know God is real?
The most basic answer is this: there is something rather than nothing. The only reasonable explanation for existence is God. The universe (i.e., matter) can't be eternal, because the universe would have died a heat-loss death an eternity ago. The universe isn't an illusion because, well, pain and death still grip our consciences. I still check my blind spot whenever I drive. And since something cannot come from nothing - nothing produces nothing - this "something" must have come from somewhere, or someone, and that someone is God. God exists, and I know he's real because there is existence (aside from the fact that I can even use 'reason' in the first place!). Of course, the next logical question is: how do I know it's the Christian God, of the Bible, that exists? Well, we'll leave that answer for another time ;-)
How do I know God loves me?
I know God loves me because he saved me. My life, up until the point God regenerated my dead spirit, was filled with religious hypocrisy. The more I studied Scripture and gained knowledge of God and theology, the more I became enslaved to sin. It's actually quite simple: I was a slave of sin, and I couldn't escape. God broke me and shattered my spirit in order to show me the precipice of sorrow and death. My spiritual eyes and hears were opened to see the gospel for what it really was: freedom! During that time, I saw just how evil I really was, and I was amazed (same as I am today) that God rescued me. How do I know God loves me? Because he saved me from my sin. He loved me by sending Jesus to bear the weight of my sin on his shoulders, so I wouldn't have to. He loved me even before he created me! Now, I'm not talking about the kindness God shows to all people, but I'm talking about God's particular love - the love he only shows toward his Elect.
There are a million and a half Bible verses that could be given to show the proof of the things I'm talking about, but here's one that is fairly succinct and powerful:
"Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will - to the praise of the glory of his grace that he freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son." - Ephesians 1:3-6God has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (all the blessings of heaven?!) by choosing me - a sinner - in Jesus before God created anything, so that I might not be a sinner (holy and unblemished) anymore. Simply amazing! I could have burned forever in hell, and God would have not done anything unjust. Instead, God adopted me, an orphan child who hated him, into his family through Jesus the Messiah.
(Pay attention here: a sinner is chosen in Christ to no longer be a sinner; and this whole business of being made clean is done by means of Jesus, by the Father determining that certain individuals become children of God. Jesus is pretty important in someone being saved! No wonder the Bible says elsewhere that there is no other name under heaven by which men might be saved. Or even Jesus when he said that no one can come to the Father except through him.)
And why did he do this for me? "According to the pleasure of his will." It pleased God to save me from my sins in Christ. It pleased God to adopt me as his child through Christ. It pleased God to transform me from a wretched sinner into a godly saint. It pleased God to rain his heavenly blessings on me in Christ. Jesus is God's "dearly loved Son", and since it pleased God to predestine me as a son through Christ, I am dearly loved too. Jesus is the conduit by which the Father pours out his love to his adopted children.
The simple answer to "How do I know God loves me?" is this - he saved me from the due penalty of my sins.
The simple answer to "Why does God love me?" is this - it pleases him to love me through Jesus.
Without Jesus, God the Father could not love sinners. He would be unjust in doing so. Yet through Christ's sacrifice for God's Elect, we can receive the love of the Father and enjoy him forever! Amen.
Thank You Michael. I found this posting to be very well written and on a firm foundation. Keep up the good work.
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