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Salvation in Christ

Salvation Is Secure The Spirit Moved In—He’s Not Moving Out

Salvation Is Secure: The Spirit Moved In—He’s Not Moving Out

September 21, 2025 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Why Salvation Is Secure Even When Life Isn’t

Salvation is secure even while sin and suffering persist in this life. To be saved is to cross over from spiritual death to spiritual life. This is not a metaphor—it’s a spiritual reality. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24 ESV). Salvation is not a probationary state. It is a permanent transfer of citizenship—from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).

The Holy Spirit indwells every believer at the moment of salvation. His presence is not symbolic—it is transformative. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:9). The indwelling Spirit is the seal of our salvation, the guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13–14). He doesn’t come and go based on our performance. He abides. He makes us spiritually alive, and once alive in Christ, we cannot return to spiritual death.

God promises never to abandon His children. “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus Himself declared, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). The born-again Christian is already saved and guaranteed to be finally saved at the end of earthly life—not because of our grip on God, but because of His grip on us.

Salvation is Secure But this Life is Transitional

We are saved, but not yet glorified. Christians can still sin because of the flesh. Paul wrestled with this reality: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19). We have been permanently connected to Christ—“he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (1 Corinthians 6:17)—but we are not yet fully disconnected from sin. That disconnection will come when our bodies die and we are raised incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:42–44).

We “already” have eternal life (John 3:16), but we “not yet” have the inability to sin. This tension—the “already/not yet”—explains why suffering persists. Because we can sin and others can too, suffering remains. “We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8:22). We are free from suffering “not yet,” but the promise stands: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more” (Revelation 21:4).

Salvation is Like a House

Consider the house analogy. Jesus has already paid for the house in full—“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). The deed is signed, sealed, and delivered. But the house is in need of ongoing repair. Sanctification is the Spirit’s renovation project. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Jesus has also paid for the repairs in full—His blood covers every sin, past, present, and future. But not all the repair work has been done yet. That’s the “not yet.”

Some fear that cracks in the walls mean the house is condemned. But the foundation is Christ, and it cannot be shaken (1 Corinthians 3:11). The Spirit moved in—and He’s not moving out. He is the down payment, the pledge, the guarantee. Salvation is not a lease—it’s ownership. And God does not revoke what He has purchased.

So when life feels unstable, when sin still clings, when suffering clouds the view—remember: the house is secure. The Spirit is present. The repairs are underway. And the final restoration is guaranteed.

I expand on these ideas and more in my book Secure in Christ.

Learn more about the permanence of God’s covenant.
See my answer to a related question on Quora.
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ, Salvation in Christ

Trust Is Superior To Knowledge

Trust Is Superior To Knowledge

September 22, 2019 by Matt Pavlik 1 Comment

If we waited until we knew God completely before trusting Him, we’d wait forever. Even in heaven, we won’t exhaust the depths of who He is. Trust is not the reward for perfect understanding—it’s the posture of a person who knows he is loved.

This truth reshapes how we live today. We don’t need omniscience to walk in peace. We need confidence in the One who knows all things.

Knowing Everything Is Impossible

Sometimes I imagine life would be easier if I just knew everything. If I had all the answers, maybe I’d feel more secure. But the pursuit of exhaustive knowledge can become a trap—an endless loop of analysis that never leads to rest.

Explanations can be helpful, but they’re not always necessary. If you don’t need to know something to live a content, productive, and faithful life, then maybe it’s not yours to carry.

Wisdom begins with knowing God, but it doesn’t end with knowing all the answers. You can be wise and still be learning. In fact, it’s the fool who believes he’s finished learning (see Proverbs 10:14; 12:15).

To the one who thinks he has everything, what motive is there to act?
To the one who thinks he is well, what motive is there to seek a doctor?
To the one who thinks he knows everything, what motive is there to seek wisdom?

To be God is to have more to reveal.
To be human is to receive what He reveals—and respond with trust.

Consider these different translations of Proverbs 25:2:

It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.

God is praised for being mysterious; rulers are praised for explaining mysteries.

We honor God for what he conceals; we honor kings for what they explain.

Proverbs 25:2 ESV, NLT, CEV, GNT

God’s mystery isn’t a barrier—it’s an invitation. He conceals not to frustrate, but to draw us deeper. Our glory is not in mastering Him, but in seeking Him.

Faith Makes Trusting God Possible

Faith is not blind—it’s relational. It bridges the gap between knowing facts about God and knowing God as a person. It’s the shortcut to intimacy.

Knowledge is like a house, but trust makes it a home. Knowledge builds the framework; trust walks across the bridge. We don’t climb to God through facts—we’re carried by faith into His presence.

The framework alone is incomplete. Trust is the bridge that leads to communion—where we don’t just observe God’s truth, we abide in His love.

You can study theology for decades and still miss the heart of God. But one moment of living faith can lead to surrender and bring you into communion with Him. In that communion, Christian concepts are no longer just ideas; they become living, nourishing truths.

The road of factual knowledge alone doesn’t lead to love. Faith is the only way to experience the depth of God’s love.

Knowledge Puffs Up, But Love Builds Trust

There’s a tension here: we’re invited to seek God, to pursue wisdom, to ask questions. But we’re also called to rest in Him, even when the answers don’t come.

You can enjoy the pursuit of God and all His mysteries. But don’t let the unknowns rob you of joy in the present moment.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 ESV

Finding God doesn’t mean finding all the answers. It means finding His loving arms. When you’re secure in His love, many of the details lose their urgency.

When you trust God to guide you, you don’t have to obsess over the condition or direction of the road.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

What Is the Condition of Your Road?

Maybe your road feels uncertain. Maybe it’s steep, winding, or shrouded in fog. But that doesn’t mean you have to be afraid. Ask God for His touch, His love. Ask Him for wisdom. Then trust Him with whatever road lies before you—because faith and trust flourish not in worldly facts, but in the presence of God’s mystery and love.

What mystery are you facing today?
Don’t wait for perfect clarity. Ask for perfect love.
And let trust carry you forward.

What part of your journey feels foggy right now? Write down what you wish you understood—and then ask God what He’s inviting you to trust.

Learn more about trusting God.
Image by enriquelopezgarre from Pixabay
Last updated 20250914.

Filed Under: Core Longings, Salvation in Christ Tagged With: love, security, seeking, trust, wisdom

Hebrews 6: Two Fields, Two Hearts

Hebrews 6: Two Fields, Two Hearts

September 7, 2025 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Have you ever tasted the sweetness of God’s grace—felt its warmth, its promise—and wondered, “What if my heart is too hard to hold it?” Hebrews 6 confronts that fear head-on, warning against falling away after tasting the heavenly gift. It’s a passage that can freeze you with fear: Can believers really lose the very grace they’ve already received? Let’s look closely at how to rightly interpret Hebrews 6.

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

Hebrews 6:4-8 ESV

Two Fields: Soft or Hard

Picture two fields after a spring rain. One field is freshly tilled, its soil soft and receptive. Every drop of rain sinks in, awakening seeds into life. The other is compacted clay—dry, cracked, and barren. In the first field, seeds sprout; in the second, the earth remains unchanged. The same shower falls, but the hardened ground cannot absorb it. In Hebrews 6, grace is like rain—but only a heart prepared by God can receive it.

You might whisper, “I’ve confessed my sins. I’ve felt God’s power in my life. Am I still at risk of that clay-like heart?” That’s the honest ache of many readers of Hebrews 6—worried that a single misstep could undo what God has done. But that anxiety, while real, is unfounded when the author’s purpose is rightly understood.

Two Hearts: Belief or Unbelief

Hebrews 6 isn’t a door to eternal exile—it’s a call to spiritual maturity. The warning is not aimed at believers who stumble, but at those who never truly believed. God has cultivated a new heart within His people (Ezekiel 36:26)—a heart that is fertile by His design. When He indwells us, He transforms hard soil into soft, receptive ground. The warning stirs us to cooperate with that work—not to despair as though eternal life were fragile.

In Secure in Christ, I explore how this new heart is both a gift and a responsibility. Believers have already received the seed of truth and grace; rebirth invites us into a Spirit-led partnership to keep the soil fruitful. The believing heart, reborn in Christ, will never revert to clay. God’s Spirit keeps it richly fertile. You are secure.

Still, every farmer knows that even fertile land can crust over or grow weeds if neglected. Through prayer, Scripture, and fellowship, we tend the soil—not to preserve salvation, but to bear fruit from it.

Two Outcomes: Heaven or Hell

Apostasy in Hebrews 6 is not the fall of a struggling believer—it’s the hardened resistance of an unbelieving heart. A true believer may wrestle, wander, or weep, but they do not fall away. Pride can form a crust: we think we need no more rain. Disobedience lets weeds choke new shoots: we resist God’s commands. Isolation bakes the soil: we prioritize work over relationship. These are real threats—but they do not undo God’s initial work. They simply invite us back to the plow.

  1. Picture your heart as one of those two fields. Which one are you tending today?
  2. Journal where pride, neglect, or isolation might be weakening your connection with God.
  3. Plant fresh seeds of obedience—what step is God asking you to take?
  4. Reach out to a fellow believer for encouragement in this journey.

Two Lenses: Grace or Judgment

Hebrews 6 is not a trap—it’s a divine invitation. Believers have gone beyond merely tasting the heavenly gift; they consume it and bear fruit by it. You are called to cultivate the fertile heart God has given you. From a place of security in God’s unconditional love, you can grow into a mature, steadfast believer—one whose life yields a harvest that blesses others and glorifies God.

Learn more about the security of the true believer found in Hebrews 6.
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ, Salvation in Christ

Discernment Is Better Than Judgment

Discernment Is Better Than Judgment

February 21, 2021 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

When you use discernment instead of judgment, you give others and yourself a second chance.

Judgment can be condemning and therefore it can limit the opportunity to develop healthy relationships. Passing judgment has an uncomfortable finality to it–it’s a dead-end. Discernment is forgiving and graceful and, therefore, more like a two-way street. Using discernment allows you to filter out what is harmful, but stay in touch with what is good in others.

In Matthew 7, Jesus first speaks against judgment and then recommends using discernment:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Matthew 7:1-6 NIV

What do you consider to be some of the most difficult things to do? Would any of these make your list?

  • Public speaking
  • Saying “I’m sorry.” or “I was wrong.”
  • Skydiving
  • Running a marathon
  • Being rejected
  • Confronting a bully

Discernment Increases Your Self-Awareness

Looking in a mirror (both literally and figuratively) can be challenging. Most people try to avoid seeing themselves as they really are. No one likes bad news. Who wants to look in a mirror and notice a long list of defects? So, I say looking for the log in your eye is the hardest thing you’ll ever do.

Fortunately, it’s also the most rewarding. What would you rather do:

  1. Get up, go to church, come home.
  2. Get up, go to church, come home, look in the mirror, and make any adjustments.
  3. Get up, look in the mirror, make any adjustments, go to church, come home.

I think you’ll agree that #1 requires the least amount of effort (unless you plan to sleep in and skip church altogether). #2 and #3 are about the same amount of effort, but #3 is likely to produce the best results (if you don’t want to be laughed at because your hair is a mess).

Exploring what’s going on inside of you is called introspection. Too much of it and you can become caught in “analysis paralysis.” But with too little, you can be like a bull in a china shop.

Discernment Improves Your Relationships

If you can learn how you work, you’ll have a much better chance to know how to help someone else. Introspection is hard work, but it can prevent you from judging others.

So much conflict could be avoided if people could be humble enough to engage in frequent introspection. Luke has a good example of this:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

Luke 18:10-13 ESV

The first guy is focused only on his strengths and the other guy’s weaknesses. The second guy is focused on himself–he is trusting God will make him righteous. When you are feeling vulnerable or weak, which person would you rather have as a friend?

Read more about the meaning of Matthew 7.
Read more about using feelings to help you discern.
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Filed Under: Marriage in Christ, Conflict Resolution, God's Kingdom Tagged With: priorities

Worry Less Trust More

Worry Less Trust More

April 25, 2021 by Matt Pavlik 3 Comments

Worry and anxiety are pretty much the same. Spiritually speaking, they both are rooted in fear which is essentially an inability to trust God no matter what.

Life brings many situations that challenge our ability to trust God. What can you do to worry less and trust more?

Worry Less By Focusing On The Present Moment

When you worry, you are looking too far ahead into the future. All of us would like to know the future. But it can interfere with your faith. If you could only have one or the other, God would always prefer you maintain your faith (your trust) in Him instead of knowing anything about the future.

How far into the future is too far to be looking? For some people or in some situations looking 100 years might be too far. But others can stir up anxiety even by looking 100 seconds. Where you focus is more important than how far ahead you look. If you try to find security somewhere out into the future, you will never find it because you will miss that God is with you in the present.

If you want to worry less, then reduce how far you are looking ahead until you reclaim a sense of peace. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow (the future). Each day (the present) has enough to occupy you. If even the events of later in the day concern you, focus on the present moment. At this very second, there’s not a whole lot to be concerned about. Take one day (one moment, one second) at a time.

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:27,34 NIV

If you find yourself saying, “yes, but…” about something that’s going to be happening or needs to happen, then you’ve already shifted your focus away from the present and onto a future moment. If you want to experience peace instead of stress, stop and recenter yourself back to the present.

Worry Less By Surrendering All Outcomes to God

You might be having an awesome day and find it easy to trust God. You might be having a horrible day, month, or year but God would have you trust Him the same. Nothing should come between you and God. Bad luck? Nope. Evil? Nope. Disease? Nope. Your health? Nope. Your very life? Nope. See Romans 8:31-39 for more on this.

It’s easy to value your life more than God. If you suffer a serious illness, your very existence is threatened. Or is it? It really depends upon your perspective. As a believer, you’re going to live forever. Do you allow God to determine how long you will live in this life? Or are you wringing your hands trying to figure out how to squeeze another hour out of it?

It’s easy to care about what happens in this life because it’s all we know. Or is it? As a believer, you have the Holy Spirit. So you have a taste of heaven today. Right now you can sense the goodness of heavenly living.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

Do what is reasonable for each day to move your life forward. Leave the rest up to God (by praying and letting it go). If you find yourself panicking because of one thing or another, stop trying to be God: reduce what is on your plate. You weren’t meant to save the world. God sent Jesus for that!

Read more about trusting God.
Photo by Gabby K from Pexels

Filed Under: Salvation in Christ, Core Longings, Emotional Honesty, God's Kingdom, Identity in Christ, Self-Care Tagged With: faith, fear, hope, suffering

7 Kingdom Secrets Revealed By Jesus

7 Kingdom Secrets Revealed By Jesus

January 30, 2022 by Matt Pavlik 2 Comments

Matthew 13 contains 7 parables that Jesus admits are Kingdom secrets (13:11). When Jesus tells stories about God’s Kingdom, He is speaking about heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven can be best described as having growth, value, and exclusivity.

A dichotomy appears in every story that Jesus tells. Jesus teaches us about heaven by using strong contrasts. It seems like He doesn’t want there to be any room for ambiguity. The people who listen to His stories are without excuse because He speaks plainly enough. Yet, Jesus emphasizes that people can be divided into two groups: those who can understand Him (the Good) and those who listen to Him but can’t hear or understand Him (the Bad) (13:13).

Good and Bad have other relevant labels that Jesus uses throughout Chapter 13:

  • Good and Evil
  • Haves and Have Nots
  • Understanding and Confused
  • Seeing and Not Seeing (Blind)
  • Hearing and Not Hearing (Deaf)
  • Open Minds and Stubborn Minds
  • Turn to God and Turn Away from God
  • Fruitful and Barren
  • God-planted and Enemy-planted
  • Saved/Selected and Unsaved/Rejected
  • Preserved and Destroyed

Kingdom Growth Parables

Secret #1: Receptive Hearts Required

In the Parable of the Sower (13:3-9, 18-23), Jesus divides people into those who have “good soil” and those who have “bad soil.” Only those with receptive hearts (good soil) are in God’s Kingdom.

Secret #2: Jesus’s Good Seed Required

In the Parable of the Weeds (13: 24-30, 36-43), Jesus divides people into those who come from “good seed” and those who come from “bad seed.” There are actually two farmers planting seeds in the same garden (the world). The good farmer plants good seeds. The bad farmer plants bad seeds. Only those planted by Jesus will make it into heaven.

Secret #3: Humble Beginnings Lead to Powerful Endings

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed (13:31-32), Jesus contrasts the smallness of the seed with the largeness of the outcome. He is saying that size doesn’t matter and can even be misleading. Appearances can be deceiving. A lot can come from a little. That’s part of God’s design. Jesus is the perfect example of this, being born in a manger.

Secret #4: Reaches Everywhere

In the Parable of the Yeast (13:33), Jesus continues the theme of humble beginnings by describing His kingdom as starting in one place but with the ability to spread everywhere. There is no place that it cannot reach (Psalm 139:7-8).

Kingdom Value Parables

Secret #5: Source of Greatest Joy

In the Parable of the Hidden Treasure (13:44), Jesus emphasizes that His Kingdom provides the greatest personal fulfillment possible. It’s worth pursuing at all costs. It’s worth giving up everything to obtain it.

Secret #6: Worth More Than Anything You Own

In the Parable of the Pearl of Great Value (13:45-46), Jesus emphasizes that His Kingdom has a greater value than anything you can own. It’s worth going all in to obtain it. The value is in the quality and rarity of the item. Nothing else comes close to heaven. It is beneficial in every way.

Kingdom Exclusivity Parable

Secret #7: Some Will Inherit It and Some Won’t

In the Parable of the Fishing Net (13:47-50), Jesus returns to the theme of dichotomy to summarize His main teaching point. People will be sorted into two groups: the ones selected for the Kingdom and the ones rejected from the Kingdom.

What is the main message behind all these secrets? It’s in what Jesus says to His disciples after they are alone. If Jesus is speaking to you and you can understand what He is saying, then you are blessed!

I have explained the secrets about the kingdom of heaven to you, but not to others.
But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear! Many prophets and good people were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear.

Matthew 13:11,16,17 CEV

Rejoice that you can see, hear, and understand!

How to advance God’s Kingdom.
Photo from PxHere.

Filed Under: God's Kingdom, Salvation in Christ

Complete Character, Confidence, and Commitment

Complete Character, Confidence, and Commitment

June 7, 2020 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Journeying through life without character is like navigating a boat without a rudder. You are moving but direction and destination will be determined by the current. Character results from the convictions of the truth that you have learned. If you haven’t learned well you will lack wisdom. Wisdom provides the opportunity to steer. Wisdom provides sure footing.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” If you’re not aware of your heart motives, you likely feel lost and confused. Life is the journey of making discoveries about who God is and who you are. The more you know who you are, the more responsible you are for your actions.

Priorities Reveal Character

Taking a look at how you spend your time will reveal your commitments. But there is even more you can find if you look deeper. How do you feel about your priorities? Prideful? Fearful? Content? Do they align with your character?

Even more interesting than your feelings is contemplating why. Why are you focused on certain things over others? Your commitment reveals your values but your values reveal your deepest longings, the motivations of your heart.

For your heart will always pursue what you value as your treasure.

Matthew 6:21 TPT

What do you treasure the most based on your priorities? While there may be some changes you will want to make, you might also discover some positives. Your priorities likely align with your personality. God wants you to be able to enjoy life and pursue His priorities.

Building Character is God’s Work in You

God is working to bring you to completion. He created you and He’s working to consummate His work. To do this, He builds your character, which builds your confidence. Understanding who you are is a prerequisite to accomplishing His plan for your life.

God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.

Philippians 1:6 CEV

The more you know who you are, the more you can commit to accomplishing a great work for God. This means increased efficiency in reaching your destination. There will be fewer distractions and second-guessing.

Sowing Character Reaps Spiritual Progress

When you are locked onto a target and committed to seeing God’s priorities through to the end, that’s when you maximize your potential. Maximum potential leads to maximum results (eventually). Whatever you commit yourself to is the exact area in which you will increase, grow, and achieve.

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.

Galatians 6:7 NLT

God sending Jesus in human form to sacrifice Himself for our benefit is the ultimate expression of commitment. God proved He is willing to play by the same rules He’s given us. He didn’t take a “short-cut” path to victory. He proved He can walk the talk. He’s better than any of us and therefore makes the perfect example.

What things in life matter most to you? What are you truly committed to? If you don’t like what you discover, if you aren’t committed to the right things, then as you gain a greater understanding of who you are, rededicate your efforts to what matters most.

How are you feeling right now? If you find feelings of inadequacy or guilt because you aren’t doing enough of the right things for God, that’s the wrong direction. I want you to see the power of commitment. I want you to see the strength and peace when you stay focused on the truth. God means for corrections to your travels to be a hopeful experience.

The scenic route isn’t often the easiest route, but it is the most beautiful and it will be the one that will get you to where God wants you to be. Ask God to build your character, then your confidence, and then be prepared to commit to advancing God’s plans.

Learn more about personality and character.
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Last updated 2024/01/28

Filed Under: God's Kingdom, Core Longings, Salvation in Christ Tagged With: attitude, heart

Brokenness Is Beautiful

Brokenness Is Beautiful

February 7, 2021 by Matt Pavlik 1 Comment

When you can see your brokenness, you see yourself as you really are. It’s a wonderful moment of freedom from pretense. Seeing brokenness is simply another way to perceive what you are lacking.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18 NIV

Since God is the ultimate source of all we lack, we should welcome becoming aware of our brokenness. Why is it often so terrifying then? Believe it or not, it’s possible to fear something good. We crave consistency. After we start depending on something or someone, we don’t want it to go away.

If we lack something good we can fear both:

  • that we’ll never receive what we need.
  • that what we receive will inevitably be taken away.

Both fears are realistic, yet, painful. Both are ultimately rooted in doubting God is who He says He is. God gives good things to those who believe and ask.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Hebrews 11:6; Matthew 7:11 NIV

Fear Makes Brokenness Ugly

So you can see how when fear is present, needs and desires can become completely overwhelming. If you’ve lived with deprivation for a long time, you know what I mean.

If your needs go unmet, you lose touch with what it’s like to have them met. Often this means living with an awareness that you don’t know what it is like to have them met. The longer this continues, the more difficult it is to trust it will ever be different. And, if it does happen, it will be doubly painful to lose it.

Anyone who experiences the trauma of abuse or neglect usually lives with a sense of deprivation. Abuse and neglect break trust which is essential if you want to risk the vulnerability required to have your needs met. Deprivation can be so painful that it is often more intense than the original trauma.

Coping Forever Prevents Healing

Depriving yourself for any length of time usually requires numbing your desires. If you can’t feel your hunger (emotional needs), it’s nearly impossible to over-eat (be self-centered). Unfortunately though, it is possible to under-eat (be deprived).

Cutting off your cravings for love and acceptance is a coping mechanism called dissociation. I believe dissociation to be a necessary coping to manage intense trauma. However, all coping is meant to be temporary until genuine healing and transformation are available and the person is ready.

How much a person relies on coping depends on at least two factors:

  • The intensity of the pain experienced from trauma.
  • The availability of a safe-enough relationship that promotes healing.

The intensity of the pain is mostly subjective. Some people can tolerate more pain than others. But the more the event is severe enough and prolonged enough, and if the person doesn’t have access to a caring person, the more extreme coping is needed.

One of the most intense efforts to cope with trauma is dissociation. When it becomes a mental health disorder it’s called dissociative-identity-disorder (DID).

For a person with DID, their self-awareness becomes divided into multiple parts in order to survive trauma. Therapy involves integrating the parts so that all parts receive needed healing. The end result is a person with a sense of being one integrated person (no longer needing “multiple parts”).

Another word for dissociated is broken. Everyone is broken. On this side of heaven, the opposite of being broken is being in denial. Meaning: if I can’t see my brokenness, I must be denying it.

Embrace your brokenness because it is what will drive you to God. He can help you become free from the trauma and deprivation you’ve been through.

Push Through Fear And Find Hope
Image by Gerhard G. from Pixabay

Filed Under: Salvation in Christ, Abuse and Neglect, Core Longings, God's Kingdom, Healing in Christ, Identity in Christ, Self-Care Tagged With: brokenness, desire, suffering

Complete Your Training To Resist Evil

Complete Your Training To Resist Evil

September 25, 2021 by Matt Pavlik 5 Comments

In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda challenges Luke Skywalker, “you must complete the training.” Yoda knew that Luke wasn’t ready yet to face his ultimate trial in a fight against Darth Vader.

How are you doing in your battle against the evil spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12)? To reach a place of confidence in overcoming life problems, you must complete your training.

God’s school for persevering and winning against evil is called “life.” To complete the transformative journey, you must pass through four steps.

Step 1 Training: Overcome Resistance

Luke works for his Aunt and Uncle but isn’t happy as a farmer. He feels duty-bound to help them so he refuses to leave them. His hope to join the academy remains an unfulfilled dream. He is out of place. He isn’t pursuing his calling.

What is blocking you from attaining your dreams? In what ways are you resisting God’s call to adventure in your life? Step one’s purpose is to increase your level of frustration with your current life so much that you are willing to risk making a change. It is characterized by:

  • Pride that covers the pain of your life.
  • Believing lies such as “what others want for me is more important than what I want or what God wants for me.”
  • Resisting God’s call to spiritual growth.
  • Attempting to cope to remain self-sufficient.

Too much pride will destroy you.

Proverbs 16:18 CEV

By the time you finish step one, you are ready to seek the help of a counselor.

Step 2 Training: Commit To Recovery

Luke meets his mentor, Obi-Wan, and agrees to go with him to Alderaan. He learns he has other allies (Han, Chewbacca, Princess Leia) as well as enemies (Darth Vader and the empire). But he and his friends face a huge setback when Alderaan is destroyed.

What setbacks have brought further discouragement into your life, just when you decided to get help? Instead of turning back to your old ways, commit to your emotional recovery. Step two’s purpose is to solidify your reason why you want to pursue change. It is characterized by:

  • Being humbled enough to be willing to seek help.
  • Being willing to consider how the truth applies to your life.
  • Accepting God as good–that He has a plan worth following.
  • Acknowledging your problems and dysfunctional behaviors.

Too much pride can put you to shame.
It’s wiser to be humble.

Proverbs 11:2 CEV

By the time you finish step two, you have uncovered so much pain that you have no choice but to rely on God and other allies.

Step 3 Training: Learn To Trust

Luke fights his way out of the death star with Princess Leia but loses Obi-Wan. He struggles for his freedom only to experience greater suffering with the loss of his mentor.

I see Obi-Wan’s sacrifice and pronouncement that he will become even more powerful as similar to Christ being crucified and becoming more powerful as someone who has defeated death.

What painful memories continue to hold you back from pursuing your dreams? Instead of running from challenges, face them and be transformed by them. Find out what is most important to you. Step three’s purpose is to shift your focus onto how powerful God is and how positive your life is. It is characterized by:

  • Being vulnerable so you can receive the emotional healing you need.
  • Confronting the lies you believe with the truth so can freely move forward in life.
  • Accepting suffering as unavoidable at times and even beneficial.
  • Realizing that God is worthy of your trust.

The Lord’s people may suffer a lot,
but he will always bring them safely through.

Psalm 34:19 CEV

Even David went through years of training while defending his sheep from bears and other beasts (1 Samuel 17:34-37). By the time you finish step three, your training has prepared you to face the Goliath-sized problems.

Step 4 Training: Walk By Faith

Luke joins the rebels, trusts his mentor’s guidance, and destroys the death star. He is no longer self-sufficient. He is trusting in a power greater than himself. He becomes a hero that can inspire others.

What Goliath-sized problem is looming large over your life? How has God proven Himself faithful to you? Look for the opportunities to prove your training has accomplished its purpose. Step four’s purpose is to test your faith as you fulfill your God-planned destiny. It is characterized by:

  • Confidence in your ability to face problems with God’s help.
  • Embracing the truth to overcome doubts and other spiritual attacks.
  • Resisting evil by not giving it any room to thrive.
  • Faithful dependence on God for strength.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear.

Psalm 46:1-2 NIV

By the time you finish step four, your journey is complete. You are ready to help others if they want help with their struggles. You can also identify new problems and start the journey again for yourself. Or, maybe you are like Luke and didn’t finish your training the first time around. That’s okay. With God, it’s never too late to start on a journey of transformation. Future posts will cover each of the four steps in greater detail.

Sometimes a mentor can be a person like a counselor. But a mentor can also be a process like the ones in any of my books. Try either of those if you feel unhappy with where you are in life and want some help to complete your training so you can overcome the big problem in your life.

Learn more about freedom as you experience positive change.
Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

Filed Under: Identity in Christ, God's Kingdom, Healing in Christ, Salvation in Christ, Self-Image Tagged With: hero's journey

When Joy Feels Elusive And Faith Feels Thin

When Joy Feels Elusive And Faith Feels Thin

July 18, 2020 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Joy can be elusive, especially when you look in the wrong place.

If you’re hungry for strawberries, where do you get them? Strawberries don’t grow on apple trees. So, there’s little point in looking up a tree.

Where does joy come from? It’s a fruit of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

The Gospel is the only true source of joy. Nothing inspires deeper joy than the Spirit revealing the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ in the hearts of the believer.

Joy is otherworldly. It’s spiritual. It can be difficult to grasp. It doesn’t always make sense when viewed from an isolated moment. It becomes elusive when you search for it in the narrow circumstances of your life, without the context of the Gospel.

But joy becomes logical when you look beyond the present moment. It flows from a truth greater than any fact of your current situation. Real joy is rooted in the reality of salvation. That’s the only way you can suffer and still be joyful at the same time.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

James 1:2-3 NIV

Faith Makes Joy Possible

Faith sees beyond the physical to the spiritual reality. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. And where the Spirit is, there is true freedom. Without the Spirit, joy would be impossible.

Joy results from trials because trials reveal the “too good to be true, even though it is true” reality of God’s kingdom. It is always possible because it’s based on the unchanging truth of God’s promises.

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:43 ESV

No matter what is happening to you today, if you are in Christ, then God has prepared a place for you in heaven. But He does not want you to rush there. He has you alive and present for a reason.

While you’re still here, God has a purpose for you. It’s okay to borrow joy from your heavenly future. In fact, that’s the only way to do it. The Spirit makes the heavenly reality known to you today.

Joy in the Middle of the Story

Joy isn’t just for the end of the story—it’s for the middle, too.

We often think joy will come after the resolution: when the diagnosis is reversed, the relationship is restored, the job is secured. But joy, as a fruit of the Spirit, grows in the soil of the present moment—even when that soil feels dry and cracked.

Joy doesn’t require the absence of sorrow. It coexists with it. It’s not a denial of pain but a defiant hope in the midst of it. That’s why Paul could write from prison about rejoicing always (Philippians 4:4). He wasn’t waiting for release to rejoice—he was already free in Christ.

Joy is not the reward for enduring the trial. It’s the companion that walks with you through it.

Enjoy!

Joy is not a reward for good behavior or a prize for spiritual maturity. It’s a gift of the Spirit, available to you now. You don’t have to manufacture it. You don’t have to fake it. You just have to receive it—by contemplating the wonderful Gospel message: Jesus saves people, not by their work, but by His work alone.

So go ahead—enjoy.
Not because life is easy, but because God is good.
Not because everything makes sense, but because His promises are true.
Not because you feel joyful, but because joy is yours in Christ.

Learn more about finding joy.
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Last updated 2025/07/06

Filed Under: God's Kingdom, Healing in Christ, Identity in Christ, Salvation in Christ Tagged With: faith, fear, joy

I Am Scared I Will Lose My Salvation

I Am Scared I Will Lose My Salvation

August 24, 2025 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

If salvation is secure, why do I still feel so insecure? If I’m in Christ, why do I still fear being cast out—not just by God, but by people? I try to love people well, but I fall short. I can’t always tell whether it’s my failure or theirs. And somewhere in the confusion, I start to wonder: Am I really saved?

Living with that question is like dwelling in a house built on sand. One day, the room feels safe and warm. The next, the ground shifts beneath you, the walls tremble, and you’re not sure the structure will hold. You try to brace it with good behavior, patch it with apologies, reinforce it with spiritual effort—but the anxiety remains.

Evil wants to sift and shake you (Luke 22:31). It discourages. It distorts. It whispers that you’re not enough, that you’ll be abandoned, that you’re one mistake away from collapse. It turns relationships into measuring sticks and failures into verdicts. It makes you question not just your salvation, but your worth.

But God builds differently.

His encouragement isn’t cosmetic—it’s foundational. He doesn’t patch up your insecurities; He replaces them with Himself. In Christ, you’re not living in a fragile structure. You’re anchored to a cornerstone that cannot be moved.

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
John 6:37 ESV

Salvation Is Not a Transaction—It’s a Transformation

The gospel isn’t a deal you strike with God. It’s a new birth, a new identity, a new life. When you trust in Christ, you’re not signing a contract—you’re united with Him. You’re not merely forgiven; you’re made new.

This is the heartbeat of my book Secure in Christ. Salvation isn’t a prize you earn or a status you maintain. It’s a gift rooted in the unshakable character of God. It’s not about your grip on Him—it’s about His grip on you.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
John 10:28 ESV

Jesus said no one will snatch them from His hand. That’s not poetic exaggeration—it’s a promise.

Why Assurance of Salvation Matters

Without assurance, the Christian life becomes exhausting. You’re always second-guessing, always striving, always fearing. But with assurance, you can rest. You can grow. You can love boldly, serve freely, and worship joyfully.

Assurance doesn’t lead to complacency—it leads to confidence. It’s not the enemy of holiness—it’s the fuel for it. When you know you’re secure, you stop performing and start accepting God’s transforming work.

How Secure in Christ Can Help

This book was born out of years of pastoral care in counseling and theological reflection. It’s for the believer who feels stuck between faith and fear. It’s for those who know the gospel but struggle to feel its weight in their soul—or its stability beneath their feet.

In Secure in Christ, you’ll discover:

  • Why salvation is anchored in God’s nature, not your performance
  • How identity in Christ reshapes your view of sin, failure, and growth
  • What it means to live in and from assurance, not longing for it from a distance
  • How to dismantle the lies that keep you spiritually anxious
  • The freedom that God gives and how it differs from worldly freedom

This isn’t just a book—it’s a blueprint for rebuilding your spiritual house. Not with sand beneath your feet, but with eternal foundations.

You’re Not Meant to Live in Fear

If you’ve been quietly asking, “Am I really saved?”—it’s time to stop living in spiritual limbo. You were never meant to walk on eggshells with God. You were meant to walk in freedom.

Salvation isn’t a tightrope—it’s a foundation. And once you’re in Christ, you’re secure. Not because you’re strong, but because He is. Is your salvation shaky—or solid?

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Matthew 7:24–27 NLT

Jesus teaches that He will never cast out those who belong to Him. So let’s move from confusion to clarity. From fear to faith. From striving to resting.

You are secure in Christ. And it’s time to live like it.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to explore Secure in Christ. It’s not just a book—it’s a place to realize who holds you, then rebuild and rest.

For Reflection

From sand to stone. From striving to resting. From fear to freedom. This is the journey of Secure in Christ.

🫂From Anxiety to Assurance

  • When you think about your salvation, do you feel more like you’re holding onto God—or that He’s holding onto you?
  • What voices in your life have shaped your view of being “enough”? Are they encouraging or discouraging?
  • Do you believe God’s love for you is conditional? What makes you feel that way?

💔From Rejection to Acceptance

  • Have you ever felt rejected by other Christians? How did that affect your view of God?
  • When someone fails to love you well, do you internalize it as your fault—or theirs?
  • How do you respond when you fall short in loving others? Do you spiral into shame or lean into grace?

🏚️ From Sand to Stone

  • What does your spiritual “house” feel like right now—stable or shaky?
  • What parts of your foundation feel built on truth, and what parts feel built on fear?
  • If you could rebuild your spiritual house from scratch, what would you want it to be anchored in?

🔍 From Confusion to Clarity

  • What lies have you believed about salvation that keep you anxious or uncertain?
  • What would change in your life if you truly believed you were secure in Christ?
  • What does “living from assurance” look like in your daily relationships, decisions, and worship?

Lord, help me see the places where I’ve built on sand. Replace my fear with Your foundation. Anchor me in the truth that You will never cast me out. Build me into Your house, secure and whole.

Secure in Christ is a blueprint. Not for patching up your spiritual life—but for rebuilding it on bedrock. You don’t have to live with spiritual anxiety. You can live with assurance. Let Secure in Christ guide you toward the foundation that never fails—and the Savior who never lets go.

Learn more about the security of salvation in Christ.
Secure in Christ is available starting August 29, 2025

Filed Under: Secure in Christ

Rescue Before Recognition

Rescue Before Recognition

August 17, 2025 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

A diver plunges deep into the ocean, chasing a glimmering object. The pressure mounts. Oxygen fades. Panic sets in. Just as the diver blacks out, a hand breaks through the water—pulling him upward. He awakens on the surface, gasping, surrounded by light and air.

This is not a story of self-rescue. It’s a story of divine intervention.

What was the glimmering object? Why was the diver risking so much to get it? In life, we often chase after things we do not need—things that distract us from pursuing what is good, or even harmful things. We’re drawn to illusions of clarity, success, or fulfillment, diving deeper into confusion while believing we’re getting closer to what we need.

We think we’re pursuing something valuable, but often we’re simply descending into pressure and panic. The deeper we go, the more disoriented we become. And yet, we rarely stop. We seldom ask whether the object we’re chasing is worth the cost.

But what we need most is freely available from God. It doesn’t require risky behavior or heroic effort. It requires connecting with God’s life, love, and truth. God rescues people from the depths of their trouble because they cannot find safety. He doesn’t wait for us to reach the surface because it would be too late. He meets us in the depths.

In Secure in Christ, I explore how assurance begins not with our grasp of God, but with His grip on us. The diver didn’t choose the rescue. He didn’t signal for help. He was unconscious—incapable of saving himself. And yet, he was saved. When God saves us by His strength, He also keeps us saved the same way. The rescue is not dependent on our awareness, our effort, or our ability to hold on. It’s rooted in His initiative and sustained by His power.

God’s Rescue Is Not Transactional

We often imagine salvation as a mutual agreement—our decision, our prayer, our moment of clarity. But Scripture paints a more radical picture:

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8 NLT

God doesn’t wait for permission. He intervenes at the brink. His rescue precedes our awareness. His love reaches into our darkness before we even understand we’re lost. And once awakened, we know the truth of it—we’ve been pulled from death to life.

This is the wonder of grace: that God acts first. He rescues not the strong, but the helpless. He doesn’t negotiate terms—He resurrects people from the dead. And once He gives life, He doesn’t revoke it. His rescue is not a temporary fix—it’s a permanent transformation.

God’s Rescue Is Robust

The diver awakens to light and air. He doesn’t need to be convinced that he was drowning. He knows. And he knows he’s been saved.

That’s the essence of assurance:

  • Not a feeling we conjure, but a reality we awaken to.
  • Not a fragile hope, but a firm foundation.
  • Not a transaction, but a transformation.

Assurance isn’t about maintaining a spiritual performance. It’s about recognizing the permanence of God’s work. It’s about breathing freely in the light of His grace, knowing that the rescue was real—and that it holds.

Connecting the Story to Your Journey

If you’ve ever felt like you’re sinking—chasing something that promised relief but delivered confusion—my book Secure in Christ is your invitation to stop striving and start breathing: to recognize that the hand of God has already reached into your chaos and pulled you into His light.

People cannot rescue themselves. As a believer, you don’t have to prove your worth. You don’t need to reach for rescue—you need only awaken to it.

Learn more about safety and God’s rescue.
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ

How To Make Trusting God Easier

How To Make Trusting God Easier

May 31, 2020 by Matt Pavlik 6 Comments

Are you trusting God more or less than you were yesterday? If you are trusting Him less than you used to, perhaps something has happened to cause you to give up on God. God promises you are not wasting your time when you seek Him, trust Him, and make your requests known to Him.

Trusting God throughout your day can be challenging because of distractions. Some distractions are positive and some are negative. Either way, consider how much you have increased your trust in God today. The best thing you can accomplish each day is to end it by trusting God a little more.

Strengthening your faith requires an intentional effort to cleanse negative memories with God’s truth. If you want to trust God more, you must apply biblical truth to infected memories. Infected memories cause you to doubt God’s character.

Trust God Because He Knows Everything

In Isaiah 46, God says much about who He is and what He likes to do. God promises He will act. He isn’t a worthless idol. God doesn’t forget about you. He knows your future, so of course, He knows your past. He’s been attending to you since even before you were born.

I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born.

Isaiah 46:3 NLT

Trust God Because He Keeps You Safe

But that’s not all. God proclaims that He will care for you and carry you throughout your future.

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

Isaiah 46:4 NLT

If you put your trust in something other than God, you will be disappointed. But God cares about you enough to rescue you from trouble.

[An idol] can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

Isaiah 46:7 NLT

God has already rescued you and is more than capable of keeping you safe.

Trust God Because He is in Control

God is in complete control of the past, present, and future. Only God can make such bold statements as these:

Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.

Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT

God can and will do whatever He wants. For those who are friends of God, this should provide increased comfort and trust. For those who are yet enemies of God, this is likely scary and irritating. I remember the emptiness I felt when I was unable to understand who God is.

Memories Can Help You Trust God

If you are a believer, then you must have some positive memories. At the very least, God has done a work in your life to cause you to cross over from death to life. Can you remember what that felt like? I remember how uplifting and hopeful I felt when I first believed.

Remembering what God has done in your life is a source of spiritual strength. When you recall the ways God has touched your life, it helps you trust Him with current life challenges. When God breaks into your life, that’s God building trust with you. Use it for all it’s worth to make your faith solid.

As you focus on the positive, be equally willing to revisit the negative memories. These significant life events desperately need to be considered in light of the truth you now know. Learn details of how to cleanse hurtful memories so you can trust God more.

God is real. Let’s pray with anticipation of the good things He will do. No matter what is happening around us, God is still good and in control.

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Last Updated 2024/09/22

Filed Under: Secure in Christ, Core Longings, Identity in Christ, Salvation in Christ Tagged With: faith, fear, hope, trust

Trusting God After Buying Deception

Trusting God After Buying Deception

September 22, 2018 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

How grace rebuilds your trust after a costly compromise. The road to recovery can be long, but it’s worth the effort.

Deception Erodes Trust

Recently, I missed a meeting—just a scheduling mistake. With time to spare, I wandered past a bookstore and felt the tug to step inside. I wasn’t looking for anything, just passing time. Ten minutes later, I walked out with three books I hadn’t planned to buy. They were on sale, and two were Christian titles. That makes it okay… right?

There was no pressure. No clever pitch. Just quiet curiosity. But later I realized: this is how deception often works.

If Satan were a salesman, he wouldn’t lead with blatant evil. He’d offer something good, cloaked in logic that feels reasonable. “Books are for learning. Surely God doesn’t want you to stay ignorant?”

The deceiver doesn’t shove. He suggests. He rebrands desire as wisdom, indulgence as growth. He offers reasons that feel noble while eroding trust. And it’s not really about books—it’s about how innocent decisions can quietly plant seeds of doubt.

Satan’s Whisper Erodes Trust

Satan doesn’t announce his lies—he murmurs them. He doesn’t need control—just enough permission to shift your gaze.

In Eden, he didn’t accuse—he suggested. He framed God as withholding, twisting truth just enough to create suspicion. That whisper hasn’t changed. It still echoes:

  • You deserve more.
  • God hasn’t been fair.
  • Why would a good God allow this?

Sometimes it hides behind self-doubt: I’m not enough. God must be disappointed.
Sometimes it rides on unhealed hunger: I need more success. More control. Just one more click, one more step to feel secure.

Every whisper shares one root: God is not perfectly good.

The All-or-Nothing Nature of Trust

God doesn’t ask us to trust Him halfway. Either He’s completely good, or He’s not trustworthy at all. A God with even a trace of darkness would no longer be safe. If He could change, lie, or withhold without purpose, then what hope remains?

The deceiver doesn’t need to unravel our theology in one stroke. He just has to convince us that God is slightly less than perfect—just enough for fear, suspicion, and control to creep in.

Once you entertain the idea that God may not be fully good, your foundations start to crumble. Doubt spreads. Security fades. You begin to search for goodness elsewhere—in performance, people, possessions.

This is why trusting God’s character is not abstract theology—it’s daily survival.

Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
    Psalm 9:10 NIV

Healing the Trust Deficit

If you’re struggling to believe that God is good, you may be experiencing a positive experience deficit—a soul-level hunger for reassurance that God hasn’t abandoned you. And that deficit can’t be ignored or stuffed down with more information. It needs healing.

Ask God to show you His goodness again—not in grand gestures, but in the small kindnesses you’re tempted to overlook. A timely word from a friend. A moment of peace in your day. A Scripture that pierces through your fog.

Even a glimpse of God’s goodness can rekindle your trust. Because if He’s good in one place, He must be good everywhere. His character is indivisible. And when that goodness begins to live in you—not just as doctrine, but as experience—it reshapes how you see pain, identity, and even failure.

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV

Leaning into Trust

How would your self-image change if you believed—fully and without reservation—that God is perfectly good? What decisions would you make differently? What fears could you lay down?

The deceiver wants you to second-guess God’s heart. But the Spirit invites you to rest in it. You don’t have to earn God’s goodness. You just have to taste it. Let it anchor you. Let it silence the hiss that says, God is holding out on you. He isn’t. He never has.

Overflowing Trust

Trust isn’t just a shelter—it’s a spring. When you’ve tasted God’s goodness in weakness, your confidence shifts from striving to resting. And when trust stops being conditional—based on outcomes, feelings, or performance—it becomes generative. It bears fruit even in drought.

The same Spirit who whispered comfort when you were compromised is now anchoring you in clarity. What once felt fractured is now fertile. What once felt shameful is now sacred—a testimony of grace rebuilding what deception tried to erode. This is the paradox of redemption:

  • The compromise becomes a classroom.
  • The whisper becomes a warning bell.
  • The deficit becomes overflow.

God doesn’t just restore your trust—He refines it. And when you trust His character fully, fear loses its voice.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NIV

Learn more about how to trust God.
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Last updated 20250803

Filed Under: Identity in Christ, Salvation in Christ Tagged With: God's goodness

Is God’s Love Uncontrolling?

Is God’s Love Uncontrolling?

July 20, 2025 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Recently, I read a blog post that thoughtfully explored the nature of God’s love, suggesting that divine love is “inherently uncontrolling.” The author, drawing from Thomas Oord’s theology, raised important questions about how we experience God’s power and whether control is compatible with love. While I appreciate the heart behind this reflection—especially the emphasis on God’s gentleness and compassion—I believe Scripture paints a fuller picture of a God whose love is not diminished by His sovereignty, but upheld by it.

God’s Sovereignty Is Not Domination

It’s true that God doesn’t override our humanity or force us into robotic obedience. But His control is not oppressive—it’s purposeful and redemptive. The Bible consistently reveals a God who actively governs all things according to His will. As Paul writes:

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.

Ephesians 1:11 ESV

God’s sovereignty is not passive. It’s the reason we can trust that history is moving toward His intended end. He doesn’t always act with immediate force, but nothing He wills ultimately fails.

Transformation, Not Coercion

Consider Saul’s dramatic conversion. One moment he was persecuting Christians; the next, he was proclaiming Christ. God didn’t violate Saul’s will—He revealed Himself so powerfully that Saul’s heart was changed. God gave him a new nature, one that desired Him. This is the essence of salvation: God initiates, transforms, and secures. Our response is awe and gratitude, not resistance.

If God’s will were contingent on human cooperation, salvation would be fragile. But Jesus assures us that those the Father gives Him will come to Him—and He will lose none (John 6, 10, 15). God’s love doesn’t compete with His control; it’s expressed through it.

Does 1 Corinthians 13 Deny Divine Control?

Oord’s interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13 suggests that love “does not force itself on others,” implying that God’s love must be non-controlling. But this reading stretches beyond the text. Paul’s description of love emphasizes humility and endurance—not a denial of divine authority.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful…

1 Corinthians 13:4–5 ESV

“Not insisting on its own way” speaks to selfishness, not sovereignty. God’s love is not self-serving, but that doesn’t mean He relinquishes control over creation, redemption, or judgment. In fact, His control is what ensures that love triumphs over evil.

Power That Secures Salvation

Paul declares:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…

Romans 1:16 ESV

God’s power is not a threat to love—it’s the very means by which salvation is accomplished. Without divine sovereignty, there would be no guarantee of redemption, no assurance of resurrection, no hope in suffering. But because God is both loving and in control, we can rest secure in Him.

📘 Secure in Christ

This theme is central to my upcoming book, Secure in Christ. In it, I explore how God’s sovereign love provides the foundation for lasting assurance. His attributes don’t compete—they harmonize. God would not be God if He were not in control. And because He is, we can trust that His love will never fail.

To suggest that divine love must be powerless to be pure is to misunderstand both power and purity. God’s love is not reckless or weak—it’s decisive, holy, and unfailing. Scripture does not invite us to imagine a God who merely hopes for our salvation, but to trust in a Savior who accomplishes it. Love isn’t the absence of power; it’s the redemptive use of it.

It’s like the hand of a skilled surgeon—precise, intentional, and filled with care. The scalpel may cut, but always toward healing. God’s sovereignty is not cold control; it is love that moves with clarity and purpose. Because He governs with goodness, we can rest not in probabilities but promises.

Learn more about the nature of God’s love.
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Filed Under: Salvation in Christ, Secure in Christ

Trust God When You Struggle To Understand Yourself

Trust God When You Struggle To Understand Yourself

June 15, 2025 by Matt Pavlik 1 Comment

Life’s unpredictability makes it challenging to trust God. Have you ever made a decision, only to wonder later why you chose that path? Have you ever felt uncertain about your emotions or actions, as if they were beyond your control? The truth is, no one fully understands themselves—not in the way God does. That’s why we must trust God to guide us through life’s uncertainties.

God created you for His purpose, and He knows everything about you, even the parts you haven’t discovered yet. When you trust God, you step into His greater plan, even when you don’t fully understand yourself. While you may struggle to make sense of your thoughts and choices, God’s wisdom remains unshaken. That is why trusting Him is far greater than trusting your own understanding.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

One reason we often feel uncertain is that human awareness operates on different levels. There are at least four levels of awareness:

  1. Active – What you consciously focus on in the moment.
  2. Accessible – Memories and knowledge you can retrieve easily.
  3. Subconscious – Thoughts and experiences that exist below the surface but can be triggered.
  4. Unknown – Aspects of yourself that only God knows, including the future.

When making choices, you are never completely aware of why you decide as you do. That’s why you must trust God—His wisdom surpasses human understanding. But God sees everything—the past, the present, and the future—so trusting Him brings peace.

Trust God with your Active Awareness

Active awareness includes the thoughts and emotions you are consciously focusing on in the immediate moment. This is where your attention is directed. Some people shift focus quickly, while others can remain fixed on a task or idea for a long time.

But active awareness is limited—it only includes what you are thinking right now. When making decisions, it may feel like you have all the information, but there are deeper influences at work.

Trust God with your Accessible Awareness

Accessible awareness consists of thoughts, experiences, and memories that you can retrieve easily, even if they are years or decades old. You may not always be thinking about them, but they are available when needed.

This layer shapes decisions in ways you may not always notice. Perhaps a childhood lesson surfaces when faced with a moral dilemma, or a long-forgotten memory influences how you respond to a situation. Still, accessible awareness is incomplete—you don’t always recall everything when you need to.

Trust God with your Subconscious Awareness

Subconscious awareness is even deeper. It holds thoughts and experiences that are not readily available unless something triggers them.

Triggers can come in many forms:

  • A familiar scent reminds you of a forgotten moment from childhood.
  • A song stirs emotions from a past relationship.
  • A significant life event causes deeper reflection on who you are.

Dreams often process subconscious material, sometimes bringing buried thoughts to the surface. Trauma also remains buried when it is too overwhelming to manage in the moment.

You may not always realize how much your subconscious affects your choices, but God does. Even when buried thoughts shape your actions, you can trust God to lead you in the right direction. He understands what is hidden, shaping His guidance in ways far beyond human awareness.

Trust God with your Unknown Awareness

The unknown represents the future. You may not know how you will grow, change, or develop, but God does.

Imagine a young child. She has no idea what her life will look like in thirty years. Fast forward to adulthood—now, she sees who she has become. Yet even then, her future remains a mystery.

This is why faith is essential. While human awareness is limited, God’s understanding is complete.

Life as a Melody—Trusting the Divine Composer

We are like music boxes, hearing the melody as it plays but never fully knowing why certain notes appear, or what comes next. Yet God, the Divine Composer, is creating something beautiful.

1. The Melody of Life

Each experience in life is like a musical note, carefully arranged by God:

  • Joyful Notes – Moments of love, victory, and peace.
  • Somber Notes – Seasons of grief, difficulty, and reflection.
  • Chaotic Sections – Times when life feels unpredictable, like dissonant music waiting to resolve.

While a single note may seem insignificant, God is composing something extraordinary. Trust that His arrangement is greater than you can perceive.

2. God as the Composer

God is not improvising—He knows every note in advance.

  • He crafts the theme – Just as composers have a vision for their symphony, God has a plan for your life.
  • He chooses the instrument – Just as each instrument has a unique sound, each person has unique talents designed for His purpose.
  • He knows when to pause – Silence in music builds anticipation. When life seems still, God is preparing something ahead.

Even when your life feels uncertain, trust God—He is orchestrating a masterpiece.

3. Unexpected Notes in Life’s Song

Some notes in life feel harsh or unexpected. But God is using them for something greater:

  • Dissonance resolves into beauty – Just as difficult chords lead to harmony, trials lead to growth.
  • The music shifts – Life can suddenly change, like moving from a minor key to a major one. God knows when and how to bring renewal.
  • Hidden layers emerge – Just as melodies are sometimes unnoticed until the song unfolds, God’s plan often reveals itself later.

Even when life feels unpredictable, trust God—He is composing a song of meaning, beauty, and purpose.

Trust the One Who Sees the Whole Picture

Since human awareness is limited, relying solely on personal understanding leads to confusion. But God sees beyond every level of awareness.

You don’t have to understand everything about yourself—you only need to trust God and rest in His wisdom.

Find hope when life is difficult.
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Filed Under: Identity in Christ, Salvation in Christ Tagged With: awareness, subconscious

Only God Has Free Will

Only God Has Free Will

May 11, 2025 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Many people assume that human will is free, but in reality, it is deeply bound—either enslaved to sin or surrendered to righteousness. Only God’s free will is independent of any external influence. He is accountable to no one, dependent on nothing, and remains entirely sovereign over creation. Yet even His choices are shaped by His perfect nature. This is not a limitation. After all, He cannot improve because He is already flawless.

Humans Do Not Have Free Will

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Romans 6:16 NIV

In contrast to God’s free will, the human will operates within limits. Though people make decisions, their choices are always informed by their nature, which is either corrupted by sin or renewed through righteousness. People function exactly as God created them to function.

The Human Will Depends on God

Human beings contribute nothing to their creation. They do not sustain themselves—God continues to uphold their existence. Likewise, they do nothing to prepare themselves for new life in Christ, nor do they contribute to their spiritual rebirth. Even perseverance in faith is not a human effort but the work of the Holy Spirit. Yet while God initiates and sustains salvation, He does not act without us—He works in and through believers to produce spiritual fruit that accomplishes His plans.

If God’s sovereignty is compromised in even the smallest way, the entire theological framework collapses. Once human effort is inserted into the Gospel, it distorts the truth, reducing salvation to something earned rather than given. A sovereign God must remain fully in control, or else truth itself is weakened.

God’s Free Will Reveals His Ultimate Justice

When we focus on individual suffering, we might perceive injustice and randomness. Pain feels unnecessary, hardships seem unfair, and chaos appears dominant. However, when we zoom out and step back to view the grand picture, God’s justice becomes clearer.

By experience, it does not seem right that good people suffer while evil people prosper. The world appears unbalanced, rewarding corruption while punishing integrity. It isn’t easy to reconcile these realities with the idea of fairness.

Concerning grace, it does not seem right that God holds all people responsible for sin when they are powerless to overcome it on their own. If humanity is enslaved to sin, how can anyone be expected to live righteously without divine intervention? They cannot. Scripture teaches that salvation is purely a work of God, not something earned, but something freely given.

By glory, the tension between suffering and justice will finally be resolved. When God reveals His glory in eternity, everything will make sense. Believers’ brokenness will be fully redeemed, and true justice will be made known. The suffering of the righteous will not be wasted, and the prosperity of the wicked will be fleeting. In God’s presence, all things will be set right.

Living in Light of God’s Sovereign Free Will

This truth isn’t just theological—it affects how we approach daily decisions, big and small. If suffering appears unjust now, we trust that it serves a higher purpose in God’s plan. If human effort cannot produce salvation, we rest in the assurance that God alone secures it. If the world seems chaotic, we hold onto the certainty that justice will be fully revealed when God’s glory is known.

For example, rather than despairing when we witness evil flourishing, we remain steadfast in faith, knowing that no unrighteous act escapes God’s control. Rather than feeling helpless in our failures, we depend entirely on God’s committed love to calm our anxious hearts.

Human free will is impossible because only God’s will is free. Instead of autonomy, the pathway to peace is trust and dependence upon God. With this perspective, our lives are no longer defined by frustration or fear but by confident trust in the God who is fully sovereign, fully just, and fully faithful.

Imagine someone facing a major life decision—whether to take a job in another city or stay where they are. They weigh the pros and cons, feel anxious about the unknown, and struggle with the fear of making the wrong choice.

Instead of relying solely on logic or trying to control every outcome, they surrender the decision to God. They pray, asking Him to guide their steps. They seek wisdom in scripture, trust that He knows what is best, and wait for peace about the next step. Over time, they feel clarity, and even if the path is uncertain, they rest in the confidence that God is leading them where He wants them to be.

Surrendering acknowledges that human “free will” does not solve problems (because it is dependent on God). Even so, surrendering control doesn’t mean doing nothing—it means releasing the need to control what cannot be controlled and trusting God’s sovereignty instead.

Some of the ideas for this post came from Martin Luther’s work The Bondage of the Will.
Learn how to become free from shame.
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ

Living with Eternal Purpose

Living With Eternal Purpose: No Guts No Glory

October 4, 2019 by Matt Pavlik 1 Comment

Do you ever feel like just being yourself is too risky? The cost of authenticity might be rejection, but the rewards lead to a life full of purpose. When you embrace who God created you to be, challenges will come—but so will deep joy and meaning. When we live in alignment with God’s design, we experience a glimpse of heaven—a foretaste of the eternal—shaping our journey with divine purpose.

Yet, too often fear holds us back. We hesitate to be vulnerable, to speak honestly, to pursue what truly matters. Why? Because rejection and failure seem unbearable. But what if we could shift our focus, seeing beyond temporary discomfort to the eternal reality that awaits us? Living with this perspective changes everything.

In another post, I wrote about the benefits of imagining what heaven will be like. I asked, “How would seeing the most optimistic vision impact how you live today?” One person’s response perfectly captures the shift from despair to hope that I aimed for. He gave me permission to share his answer:

I enjoyed the post you wrote on Heaven. Thanks for posing the question. It gave me a chance to think about what the rest of my life could look like and how it could begin to move in that direction even now. Knowing what heaven is like and who I am as God’s finished product would change how I live the rest of my days on earth.

During a recent checkup, my doctor said, “You look pretty good for someone who almost died a year ago.” Coming face-to-face with death has me thinking more about how I want to be remembered.

If I knew what God plans for me in heaven, I could risk being that person more on earth, no matter what others thought of me, because I would know it pleased God. I should be doing that anyway, but I struggle to be the best version of me. I want to:

  • be more unselfish, putting others’ needs before my own.
  • be more transparent about my feelings and not be concerned about how that would look to others.
  • speak what is in my heart; I wouldn’t be unkind, but I would be free to disagree with others and risk being rejected and isolated from others.
  • be more vulnerable to love others and help them, no matter what it costs me emotionally or materially.
  • be more humble, living out my purpose of bringing glory to God and doing things that have eternal value, not just what has meaning for my time on earth.

Acting in this way would bring more meaning to my remaining time here, leave an eternal mark, and make something in my life worth remembering to those I leave behind.

Imagining heaven’s best helps me trust God more (I can see why He led me through what He did) and value what He values. I want to see with a better perspective what is important in this life, and what matters so little because it won’t be coming with me into heaven.

This perspective has the power to transform how we live. What if, instead of fearing failure or rejection, we boldly stepped into the identity God designed for us?

How to Step Boldly into Purpose—Without Regrets

It’s easy to get stuck in hesitation, waiting for the “right time” to start living boldly. But if you knew heaven was ahead, what would you risk today to embrace the person God designed you to be?

  • Maybe you need counseling to heal from past wounds that keep you from fully stepping into your purpose.
  • Maybe it’s time to invest in a book that guides you toward deeper faith and self-awareness.
  • Maybe you need to start small, choosing one area of your life to surrender fear and embrace authenticity.

The challenge is real, the risk feels great—but the reward is eternal.

How about you? What will your life look like if you live with no regrets? No guts, no glory. When you risk being who God made you to be, God is glorified.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Romans 8:17 NLT

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Last Updated 20250420

Filed Under: Identity in Christ, Emotional Honesty, God's Kingdom, Self-Image Tagged With: desire, purpose

Does Our All Powerful God Need Us?

Does Our All Powerful God Need Us?

November 18, 2018 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

God created us, so does that mean He needs us? If He doesn’t need us, why would He create us? To answer these questions fully, we must first clearly understand who God is.

God Does Not Need Us Absolutely

God does not need us in an absolute sense because He is God almighty—eternally self-sufficient. He isn’t deficient because He is lonely. All members of the Trinity provide perfect fellowship. His joy of existing — any aspect of His well-being — does not depend on us. Therefore, God doesn’t need anyone for any reason.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Acts 17:24-25 ESV

Jesus’s baptism highlights the love shared between Father, Son, and Spirit.

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17 ESV

God is eternal. He doesn’t need anything from what He has created including humans. He lives in perfect fellowship. While this is clearly stated in the Bible, evil powers are always at work to discredit God’s truth. The enemy can weaponize God’s self-sufficiency in an attempt to make us dull, despondent, and defeated. The devil might communicate: You don’t matter to God; you’re on your own. He doesn’t need you. He’d be better off without you. All of these misrepresent God and even move on to malign God’s character.

While God is able to carry on and enact His will without us, He chooses not to.

God Needs Us Relatively

God created us because He is love and wants to share Himself with others. He chooses to need us by partnering with us. He has taken our shame, self-pity, and self-deprecation away by making us His sons and daughters. He has given us His Holy Spirit to teach us all things and love us with the same love the Trinity shares.

Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:5 ESV

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 14:26 ESV

Until you see yourself as worthwhile, you’ll underestimate your significance and limit your contribution to God’s kingdom. You must throw off your worthlessness and fully embrace the reality and identity God has for you.

God has a specific purpose for your existence. You’re a unique creation, so your active participation is essential. He chose to make you a vital part of His plans, part of the body of Christ. In the reality that God has created, each of us is irreplaceable. He desires fellowship with us and wants to see us thrive. In this sense, God needs us. If none of us were to rise up to do His bidding, He could make the rocks cry out, but that’s not going to happen. God made us to praise Him and praise Him we will.

God has great plans for you, but you can’t accomplish anything apart from God. We need God’s strength and determination to work in and through us, just as Jesus relied on His Father throughout His life. When we participate by faith, God empowers us. Instead of passively waiting for God to topple the giants in your life, consider that He may be calling you to fight, as David did, with the strength of God’s Spirit within you.

Since God has committed to partnering with us to the very end, don’t hesitate to step out in faith to discover who you are and to seek to advance God’s kingdom.

Learn more about worshipping God with Joy.
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Last Updated 20250316

Filed Under: Salvation in Christ

Adjust Perspective For Peace And Joy

Adjust Perspective For Peace And Joy

March 9, 2025 by Matt Pavlik 1 Comment

I like the serenity prayer for many reasons. One is that it teaches us to adjust our expectations for this life — to align them with God’s perspective. Would you rather be only reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy for eternity, or extremely happy in this life and miserable for eternity? Those are the two options that Jesus offers.

Recognize a Temporal Perspective

Loving the world and all it offers more than loving God and all He offers is a sign of a short-sighted perspective. God created many things for our enjoyment, so it isn’t wrong to enjoy them. However, experiencing the connection to God through His Holy Spirit meets a need that nothing in the world can come close to. What satisfies you more? Have you found deeper enjoyment with God or do the things of the world satisfy you enough such that you are not hungry for God?

Looking at his disciples, he said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh… But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.’

Luke 6:20-21, 24-25 NIV

If the world fully satisfies, beware because this means that there is no room to enjoy heaven.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Matthew 16:24-26 NIV

Unhappiness with this life is a positive indicator for desiring all that exists beyond this life.

Pivot to an Eternal Perspective

The serenity prayer reminds us to adopt a posture of surrender to God’s sovereign plan. We should partner with God to bring the fulfillment of His plan — to change what He wants to be different. But when we cannot understand the suffering that God has ordained, God would have us accept what He does not want to be different.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

We don’t have to understand why we suffer to be at peace, but we do need to trust God to be at peace. The only way to accomplish this is by shifting from a temporary perspective to an eternal one. Suffering makes no sense if there is no end to it, but it has meaning and purpose when it achieves glory for us.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIV

Don’t give up on God in the midst of suffering. Ask Him what He is teaching you by it. Ask Him to allow you to see the glory that it is achieving.

Learn more about finding peace and happiness.
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Filed Under: Salvation in Christ, God's Kingdom

3 Reasons To Trust God Today

3 Reasons To Trust God Today

January 26, 2025 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Trust God today because of His faithful, unchanging love. God is not fickle; He does not change His mind but steadily works out what He has planned before the foundation of the world. Whatever He has planned will come to pass.

I know that you can do all things,
    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

Job 42:2 ESV

God accomplishes His plans but simultaneously cares about the details of your life.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV

God wants us to be successful, although, our ideas of what this means are often different than God’s ideas. God is more concerned about His long-term goals. We can’t see that far out, so we tend to be more concerned about what is happening right now. That’s where trust becomes essential. If we are to give up our immediate happiness and keep a sense of peace, then we must trust God will work out everything for good.

Trust God Because He is Faithful and Supportive

Joshua 1 highlights God’s unchanging presence as well as defines success from God’s perspective. No matter what is happening, God will not abandon you. Of course, this chapter must be understood in context. It doesn’t mean God will grant you whatever you want. However, whatever God wants for your life, which is many good things, He is working to make it happen.

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Joshua 1:5,8 NLT

God’s promises for success are conditional. We can’t do whatever we want and expect awesome results. We can’t choose sin and ongoing, willful disobedience and avoid God’s discipline and correction. “Will not abandon or fail” means God will work to conform you to His image.

God encourages us every step along the way during the fulfillment of His plans. This is true for His immediate plans in this life, and certainly for His plans for the next life.

Trust God Because He Died For You

If you are a believer, God has paid the price to save you from spiritual death. He demonstrated His commitment to you through His sacrificial death. God redeems His people, removing condemnation from their lives.

Calamity will surely destroy the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
    No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 34:21-22 NLT

If God was willing to die for you when you didn’t deserve it, He is beyond trustworthy. We owe Him our very lives. Given all that we gain from being His son or daughter, He expects relatively little from us.

Trust God Because He Has Room For You

God is not only faithful and sacrificial but also affectionate. He cares specifically about you. He doesn’t simply love you, He is in love with you. God doesn’t love from a distance; He loves up close. You are constantly in His awareness. People have limited awareness, but God can stay focused on as many things as He wants.

Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us;
    the Lord has forgotten us.”
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
    Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
    I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
    Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

Isaiah 49:14-16 NLT

What does all this mean? God has room for you in His heart. Trust God because you have your own place in His heart.

Learn more about trusting God:
– more reasons to trust
– trusting God in relationships
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Filed Under: Salvation in Christ, Core Longings

God Is Perfect

God Is Perfect

April 19, 2020 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Perfection is the highest quality of being which God has never needed to attain. He has always been perfect and always will be exceptional. How do you feel about God? Would you say your experiences lead you to conclude God is the standard of perfection? How much do you trust Him? Nothing is more important than your trust in God.

If there were one truth to rule them all it would be, “God is perfect.” The person who believes this has a strong, unstoppable faith. Try an experiment. Consider God as thoroughly perfect. Recognize how amazing He is. See Him for who He is. How much can you trust the God you envision? Has your hope increased?

When I think of God as perfect, it starts to correct my image of Him. I feel more positive toward Him and then I feel more hopeful. If you can’t believe He is perfect, you may feel discouraged because of difficult life events.

Is God Perfect?

Do you ever find yourself resisting the idea that God is perfect? It can be easy to doubt God is perfect. Globally, many difficult things have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen (in this life). It’s the “continue to happen” that makes it easy to doubt.

Can God be perfect if He allows bad things to continue to happen? This question causes many people to stumble in their faith. God has reasons for doing what He does that we might never completely understand.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT

If you seriously doubt God, you move into a place of judgment. Putting God on trial is the beginning of the end. Nothing good can come from distancing yourself from the only one who can help you. I discuss this and more in my book, To Identity and Beyond.

Until we are in heaven, life will continue to be a struggle. This life is all we know. What happens can have a profound effect on how you see God. Some evidence will support a loving God and others might not. We need to be able to consider God as perfect despite any negative evidence.

Regardless of how good or bad life seems, you have a powerful choice. Will you devote your allegiance to God or turn away from Him in discouragement or disgust? Will you align your spirit with His Spirit? If you refuse, you will experience some natural consequences. Consider what it would be like to be separated from God, your creator, who knows you from head to toe. It makes no sense to give up on God.

Believing God Has Faults Harms You

If God is perfect then failing to believe and act accordingly is harmful. All of us may experience a deterioration in our health to the degree we live like God is imperfect. That’s eye-opening!

Believing God is imperfect and then failing to trust Him carries with it consequences like:

  • Increased fear, anxiety, and worry
  • Increased need for control
  • Increased desire to be self-sufficient
  • Increased isolation and loneliness
  • Increased despair
  • Increased frustration and anger

Can it be any other way? If God had faults, how could we trust Him to keep His word 100% of the time? Perfection deserves our full trust.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 NLT

Meditate on God’s Perfection

Try an experiment this week. Remind yourself of God’s perfection. Whenever you set your mind on God, think about how perfect He is. Notice how you feel. If you feel negative, that’s probably an indicator of some spiritual work you need to do. If you feel more positive, notice how that changed for you. What changed? Trust God despite what happens and you will be blessed.

After you try this for a week, check on what insights you gained about God and yourself. Do you feel more peaceful and hopeful?

Learn more about the consequences of bad theology.
Last updated 2025/01/19

Filed Under: Salvation in Christ, Core Longings Tagged With: faith, fear

Faith Is Assurance

Faith Is Assurance

December 8, 2024 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Faith is an indicator of spiritual life. The person with faith is certain about God’s promises. Assurance, therefore, is like the heartbeat, breathing, and blood flow. The Christian without assurance is like a body without a heartbeat.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him

Hebrews 11:1,6 ESV

Is Absolute Assurance Possible?

Christians can have complete assurance, but our feelings and worldly experiences will interfere. We know there is no condemnation for those in Jesus (Romans 8:1). Therefore, absolute assurance is possible, but the subjective side of it–human emotions–can be volatile.

Assurance based on fact is different than assurance based on feeling or experience. One is objective, the other subjective. One stands for all time, the other is circumstantial but necessary and helpful. One is constant, and the other ebbs and flows some.

Assurance of salvation is based on fact, faith, and feeling to varying degrees:

  1. Fact: the words, and ideas of what has objectively happened as the Gospel is described in the Bible. The fact of salvation is either True or False (mathematically 1 or 0).
  2. Faith: the Spirit enabled spiritual sight. If the Fact of salvation is True, then the Faith of salvation must be some positive quantity (mathematically > 0). The person can have faith as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).
  3. Feeling: the human emotion based on subjective body chemistry. The Feelings of salvation can be negative or positive (mathematically any value).

For a person to be saved, they must know it as a Fact: “I am saved because Jesus lived a perfect life and died for me,” and have Faith as small as a mustard seed or greater: “I know I am saved.” Feelings are not required; however, they are expected to be more positive the greater the person’s Faith.

Faith is neither objective (physical) fact nor subjective (sensual) feeling. It is objective spiritual knowledge relative to God’s kingdom and subjective spiritual knowledge relative to a new creation’s spiritual senses. Faith sees God with certainty (Hebrews 11:1) but the world is spiritually blind.

Confidence is viewed as a subjective conviction. But in Hebrews 11:1, it is not that at all, but ‘the reality of the goods hoped for.’ From our perspective on earth we say that what is visible or tangible is solid, but in the estimate of the writer to the Hebrews, what is visible is what is shadowy, shaky, and subject to destruction. But what is invisible is sure, solid, and to be counted on.

Sure Enough by Dr. John Gilmore, Page 95

Therefore, all of the following are essentially the same:

  • confidence
  • reality
  • assurance
  • faith

Faith is confidence in the spiritual reality. It is hoped for as nothing less than a certain future. There is no “blind faith” because faith is spiritual sight.

How to Increase Assurance

If assurance is faith, then lack of assurance is doubt. Everyone struggles with doubt at some point. Doubt thrives because of weak faith, like gravity can overpower weak muscles. Low faith is under the oppressive weight of doubt–like darkness is the absence of light. The light shines but the darkness cannot overcome it.

Training can strengthen assurance. What causes low assurance?

  • guilt or condemnation
  • negative experiences
  • lack of support
  • lack of theological understanding
  • lack of seeing God clearly
  • lack of correct application

Doubt will thrive in people who shift their focus from Christ to self. Whether they believe they are too unworthy or too worthy, their focus is off-target. Doubt grows when we value our negative experiences more than we value our God experiences. Assurance grows the more we know God for who the Bible says He is.

Deviation from the truth is possible when we sin, take our eyes off Jesus, and put our trust in worldly philosophies or treasures. When we are in the flesh, we are once again expressing our distaste for God.

The only fatal doubt is complete unbelief that rejects God as real and loving (which is impossible for a believer). The best way to overcome doubt is to refocus on the Gospel message to stir up the power of faith which will eventually produce the fruit of good works.

Learn more about full assurance of hope.
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ Tagged With: faith, heart

Claim Full Assurance Of Hope

Claim Full Assurance Of Hope

January 21, 2019 by Matt Pavlik 4 Comments

You can know with certainty that you have eternal life. God desires that you earnestly claim full assurance of hope.

What does eternal life have in common with being pregnant? Just like you can’t be a little bit pregnant, you can’t possess a fraction of eternal life. They are both all-or-nothing. You are either alive or you are dead.

Many life disappointments can stir up insecurity and doubt. You might think, “Maybe I’m not saved. Maybe Jesus doesn’t care about me. Maybe I’m beyond God’s love. Yes, I’ve fallen away and my situation is hopeless.” But God provides so much for us believers so that we do not have to doubt our salvation.

The Holy Spirit Provides Full Assurance of Hope

God wants you to feel secure in His love. If your heart has impurities like anxiety, doubt, and fear, He will want to work out the impurities. As this happens, your faith and confidence will grow. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians should convince you that it’s okay to have a goal to become more confident in your faith.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

Jesus Provides Full Assurance of Hope

Being confident in your faith requires humility as you trust God more. But being confident in yourself, in what you can do without God, is only pride. In this context, I present to you a difficult passage for many Bible readers.

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 6:4-6

Is this saying it’s possible to fall away from a believing faith with no return path possible? No. Here’s why.

Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians (read more about this). They were raised under the old way, the law. They converted to the new way, faith in Christ. However, they were tempted to return to their old, familiar ways. They doubted the simplicity of the Gospel. In a moment of weakness, in their insecurity, they considered turning back to the OT (or falling away from the NT).

In Hebrews 6, Paul reiterates that there is no turning back. The only way is the way forward by faith in Christ. Returning to Egypt is futile. “If you come this close to the truth, but reject it and choose to keep looking elsewhere, you won’t find another way.” Paul is emphasizing an all-or-nothing truth. You’re either all-in or all-out. There is no in-between.

Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. If you find that one way, then you gain access to everything that comes with it. You have truth and eternal life.

You must choose which way you’ll tip. The purpose of such scriptures is exactly to sort out the issue. You must know whether you are saved or not. So which is it? State it loud. State it boldly. State it confidently.

God Provides Full Assurance of Hope

Any doubt or concern is proof you’re not one of the ones who fall away. The following verses apply to you (more on this):

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:9-12

God bless you with, “full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish.” Have unhindered energy to pursue the things of God. Amen.

Read more about Eternal Security.
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Filed Under: Salvation in Christ, Secure in Christ

escape a chained reality

Find God’s Beautiful Reality

August 31, 2019 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

How much of your life do you spend in reality? How much do you spend in a fantasy world whether that is of your making or another’s creative fiction?

Taking a break from reality is healthy up to a point. But what starts as innocent can become harmful. Taking a break can eventually become escaping reality. Then what if you reach the point where you begin to prefer to escape more than you like to be present? You could then become chained (addicted) to a false reality that you find difficult to escape.

Don’t Deny Reality

We are only aware of a fraction of who we are at any given time. Sometimes this denial of who we are is normal and healthy. But at other times, we become stuck denying important information.

If you’re in denial, you could be:

  1. Believing you are better than you are (you are pridefully protecting your ego).
  2. Believing you are worse than you are (you are making a negative experience more important than it is).

Try to become more aware right now. Think through the past couple of weeks. What has been the focus of your thoughts? Is there anything resting just below the surface? What are you half-aware of? What could be buried deep? What is nagging at you in the back of your mind, but you haven’t admitted or verbalized it?

Denying the truth is usually not good. But you must escape what you can’t fully handle in the moment. On the other hand, denying something false is usually good. God wants us to die to (deny) sin and be alive to Him.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:11 ESV

Focus on God’s Reality

Is there such a place as heaven on earth? How hard should Christians be trying to manufacture a utopia?

We can make the effort to embrace the reality of God’s truth. But this includes the truth that this life, in its present form, is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31). We can make our lives somewhat better, but we might lose everything if we focus more on present reality over future reality. What is coming next is far greater than what we have today. Jesus said if we focus on keeping our (present) life we might lose our (future) life, but if we focus away from our present life, we will keep our future life (Matthew 16:25).

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Philippians 1:21-24

The only true reality is the one God says is real. You might lean into other less-than-true realities when the pain is too much and you think you have no other options. But as soon as you’re ready, you should run toward God and His reality.

In what ways are you in denial? Consider how aware you are of your emotions and memories. Put together these determine the worldview you carry around in your heart. Are you avoiding these significant experience by being stuck in a rut of unchanging routine? Ask God for the strength to endure the harshness of reality, but also for the spiritual insight to behold the beauty of His reality.

God is merciful; He allows and even provides for a healthy escape. He provides moments that transcend the difficulties of life (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). When God provides the opportunity for you to enjoy life, be sure to take full advantage.

Learn more about identity and reality.
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Last updated 2024/11/24

Filed Under: Identity in Christ, Salvation in Christ, Self-Care Tagged With: faith, fear, reality

Field with many possible directions. Choose the spiritual path, not the sinful path.

Follow The Spirit Not The Flesh

October 20, 2024 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

We Christians know that God wants us to follow His Holy Spirit, not our flesh. But what exactly is the flesh and how do we discern what is flesh and what is Spirit?

Don’t Follow Your Sinful Nature

Those who follow the nature they were born with, are following their flesh, or sinful nature. The sinful nature and God’s nature are opposed to each other. Those who are born again with God’s nature, gain the ability to follow the Spirit.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 5:16-18 ESV

The NLT version uses “sinful nature” instead of “flesh”:

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

Galatians 5:16-18 NLT

Follow the Holy Spirit

The passage continues, emphasizing that true believers can consider themselves dead to their sinful nature. Being dead to sin doesn’t mean that we will never sin again. Rather, it means that we no longer live in condemnation.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 5:24-26 ESV

For comparison again, here is the NLT:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Galatians 5:24-26 NLT

For those of us who have been born again as a new creation, we have spiritual life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We can reckon our sinful nature as dead, crucified (Romans 6:11). Because we have Christ, we have eternal life. There is no life without Christ because Jesus is eternal life. It isn’t possible to have eternal life apart from Jesus. Eternal life is not some resource that is separable from Jesus. The person and the life are one and the same.

Having a relationship with Jesus Christ by definition includes having eternal life. In this sense, the relationship comes first. It’s not as if someone finds eternal life that then leads them to Christ. Jesus in the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). People find and know Jesus and therefore they have eternal life.

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

1 John 5:12, 20 NLT

Follow Spiritual Desires Not Fleshly Desires

If you are a believer, take a moment to sense your spiritual desires as separate from your fleshly desires. Depending on how you are doing spiritually and perhaps how long you’ve known God, this could be easy or difficult. If you sense confusion within you, this doesn’t mean you don’t have Christ, but it might indicate that you need more training (practice) in sensing the difference.

The Spirit desires what God desires. The Bible tells us to focus on the heavenly reality, not the world. We are to focus on what is pure and true, not what is destructive and false. The desires we have to harm others or ourselves by violating God’s holy law come from our sinful natures. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:19-23).

The more we can identify what is evil and what is good within us, the easier it will be to walk in the Spirit. Most people can understand the difference intellectually, but we who have Christ can sense the difference in our hearts.

Learn more about desire.
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Filed Under: Salvation in Christ

Bad Theology Leads To Poor Mental Health

Bad Theology Leads To Poor Mental Health

September 15, 2024 by Matt Pavlik 1 Comment

Bad theology can lead to poor mental and emotional health. Bad theology results from not understanding what the Bible says. This can happen by blindly trusting other people, communities, or institutions to interpret the Bible for you, instead of allowing Holy Spirit to teach the correct meaning. For the church’s health, all Christians must seek to develop their convictions.

Having Bad Theology Means You Are Deceived

Many beliefs are implicit. This means it is possible to believe something strongly but, at the same time, not be fully aware of what you believe. You might think you know what you believe, but your actions reveal what you actually believe.

This is why it is important to make your beliefs explicit. This is done by externalizing them through writing, speaking, or other form of expression. When you put your beliefs into words, you become more aware of what you believe, so you can compare it to what the Bible says.

When seeking to understand the Bible, it’s important to see the big picture message. This is done by observing how the Bible speaks to foundational truths, like the Gospel message, across many verses, chapters, and books. The Bible does not contradict itself, so passages that seem to present opposing ideas must be studied in context and reconciled to a coherent teaching.

Imagine believing that it’s possible that God can change His mind, break His promise to never abandon us, and revoke His love. The consequences on a person’s mental and emotional health would be devastating. If this were true, it would be normal to live in constant apprehension.

Fortunately for the true believer, the Bible teaches that perfect love eliminates fear. Everything God is doing in your life, because He is love, is to reduce your anxieties and increase your faith and trust in Him.

Good Theology Sees the Gospel Correctly

Good theology starts with an accurate understanding of the Gospel. The Gospel is the foundation of biblical teaching. Once an understanding of the Gospel is established, it can interpret other, less central, passages. Everything in the Bible depends on understanding the Gospel correctly. If the understanding of the Gospel is wrong, everything else will be wrong. If the Gospel has been interpreted correctly, it will be difficult to misinterpret less central passages.

The Gospel is the foundation for mental and emotional health. An accurate understanding of who God is leads to healthy thinking, feeling, and actions. An inaccurate understanding leads to unhealthy thinking, feeling, and actions. For example, believing God’s acceptance is conditional upon performance, will encourage a fear-based relationship with God. This “bad theology” leads to fear which leads to a need to continually ask, “Have I performed sufficiently today to remain in good standing with God?”

How this is bad theology becomes clear when we consider the consequences of not performing. What happens if performance is not good enough? The Bible says that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient to cover all sins and imperfections. But bad theology would say that God might remove a believer’s salvation so that she is no longer a child of God.

Such a consequence would be traumatizing because it would mean being abandoned by God. The Gospel is only effective if, by faith, a person relies 100% on Christ’s effort and 0% on self-effort. Because a person cannot gain salvation through self-effort, any amount of self-effort (whether large or small) cannot disqualify someone as God’s child. Salvation is God’s gift that He does not take back.

Any amount of faith in Christ less than 100% would indicate a similarly sized doubt in Christ’s sacrifice. The question becomes, is Christ’s sacrifice sufficient or lacking in some way? If people conclude it is lacking, then how can they put faith in it?

It is certainly possible to be permanently saved by Christ’s efforts, and simultaneously consider it essential to continue to cooperate with Christ to work out one’s salvation. Suppose God purchased a multi-million dollar house for you. You can enjoy the house and work to maintain it without the danger of God seizing it and kicking you out. God is committed to teaching stewardship, not setting a time limit for His children to get their act together.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call].

Romans 11:29 AMP

God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. But during the remainder of this life, we constantly need renovation. The born-again person is a new creation who is spiritually aligned with God. The animosity resulting from being God’s enemy has been crucified, leaving only a spirit that desires fellowship with God. Therefore, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38). He can continue to remodel us for the rest of our lives. God finishes what He starts (Philippians 1:6).

Learn more about correct theology.
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ

Trust God To Save You

Trust God To Save You

September 8, 2024 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

God will not save everyone, but that doesn’t mean you need to be insecure about your salvation, if you are a born-again believer. Place your full trust in God’s power to save you and you will enter into God’s rest.

The Bible does not teach universal salvation – that everyone will be saved. So then, what does 1 Timothy 2:4 mean? “God … wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4 NIV). Doesn’t this verse teach that God wants to save all people, and if He wants it then it will happen? Here are some possible meanings of “wants” and “all people”:

  • A: “Wants” is a general statement of compassion, different from “wills”. “Wants” says more about the nature of God than it does about what will happen. What God wants may or may not happen. What God wills, will happen; it cannot be stopped or thwarted.
  • B: “Wants” is the same as “wills.” What God wants will happen.
  • C: “All people” means “all kinds of people”, not every single person that has ever existed.
  • D: “All people” means literally every single person that has ever existed.

Given these two possible interpretations for the two phrases, we can consider four (2×2) overall meanings:

  1. Universal Salvation: God wills (B) that every single person (D) that has ever existed will be saved.
  2. Universal Inclusion: God wills (B) that all kinds of people (C) will be saved.
  3. God Frustrated: God wants (A) every single person (D) to be saved (but it won’t happen).
  4. God Satisfied: God wants (A) all kinds of people (C) to be saved (and it will likely happen – there is no reason to say it won’t happen because the statement is reasonable – it is essentially the same meaning as #2 Universal Inclusion).

God does not save everyone, but He will not let everyone perish. God wants all kinds of people to be saved, but He does not intend everyone to be saved.

God Saves All Kinds of People

The overall point of 1 Timothy 2 is focused on believers avoiding discrimination as in James 2:1-7. God wants His people to not favor one kind of people over another, but realize that the Gospel is not exclusive to one race, income level, or sex.

The context of 1 Timothy 2:4 speaks of various kinds of people:

  • Kings and those in authority contrasted with regular, everyday people
  • Gentiles contrasted with Jews

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 NIV

The point is that the Gospel is for all kinds of people. It is not only for Jews. It is not only for the poor. It is not only for men. The Gospel levels the playing field. No one should judge whether a person is fit for salvation by their outward appearance (James 2:1-7).

How Do We Know that God Doesn’t Save Everyone?

The reason we know that everyone won’t be saved is the power to save is fully with God and not in the least with man. God chooses who will be saved (John 6:44), who will repent (2 Timothy 2:25–26), who is appointed for salvation (Acts 13:48). John Piper links this 2 Timothy passage with the 1 Timothy passage by the phrase “knowledge of the truth”, counting it as evidence that God must grant repentance before a person is saved.

Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:25-26 NIV

God must grant repentance to people. God is the gatekeeper, deciding who will come into His kingdom (John 10:3-16). God will eventually sort everyone by their relationship to Him. He knows His sheep and He will move them to eternal life; He also knows the goats and He will move them to depart to eternal punishment (Matthew 25:31-46).

We know that at least one person (such as Abraham, Moses, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) will be in heaven. We also know that at least one person (such as Judas) will not be in heaven. The only way to guarantee this is if the power of choice is in God’s hands, not in man’s. Otherwise, Jesus’s sacrifice would have failed to save even one person.

We don’t know who God wants to save. So, we preach the Gospel to everyone, indiscriminately. The power of the Gospel and the Spirit working is what saves a person.

How is this relevant to a person’s mental health? We know that because God chooses to draw His people to Him and because He will never abandon His people, that truly saved people are secure in their salvation. God is responsible for authoring and perfecting their faith (Hebrews 12:2). Stand on the truth of the Gospel to dispel all anxiety. Rest in God.

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength…

Isaiah 30:15 NIV

Learn more about being secure in God’s love.
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ

Holy Spirit Makes The Heart Right With God

Holy Spirit Makes The Heart Right With God

August 18, 2024 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

Salvation happens in the heart. The spiritual heart (not the physical one) is the key to understanding salvation. Circumcision, similar to baptism, is a picture of what happens to a saved person.

Physical Circumcision and Baptism do not Save a Person

The spiritual heart is invisible, internal to a person, and therefore only accessible by God. During physical circumcision, physical flesh is removed from the body. During Old Testament times, God used this sign to mark His people. Circumcision was simply a way to differentiate God’s people from other nations (though this does not mean that circumcision saves a person).

There are two Israels. There is the physical nation, which is God’s people of the Old Testament. And there is the spiritual nation, which is the true believers in Christ. Circumcision was a sign of faith, given to the physical nation, chosen by God over all other nations. Likewise, baptism is a sign of faith, given to the spiritual nation, those chosen by God out of all people.

Both circumcision and baptism take place after people become true believers. Their purpose is to publicly identify with Christ, not to save a person from sin. They are a sign of what has happened; they offer no value toward saving a person. They are a physical (external) sign of a spiritual (internal) reality.

Abraham was circumcised after his faith. Non-believing infants were circumcised and non-believers today can be baptized, but there is no reason to do this. NT believers are baptized only after the testimony of their faith. This is why Paul can argue that circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing (Galatians 5:6).

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Romans 2:28-29 NLT

Circumcision of the Heart Permanently Identifies a Person With Christ

To become a believer, Christ must perform a spiritual circumcision on the heart. He must cut away the sinful nature, causing the spiritual heart to come to life. Once done, the person’s union with Christ is complete and irreversible.

For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Collosians 2:9-14 NLT

Just like it is impossible for a man to become uncircumcised, it is impossible for a true believer in Christ, who has been spiritually circumcised in the heart, to return to spiritual death. The Christian who has been circumcised has had his physical nature cut away. It cannot be “glued back on.” The person who has become alive in Christ is fully identified with Christ. Just as Christ lives forever, so will the person whose record of charges has been crucified.

God resurrects His people to spiritual life. He will never then kill them, returning them to spiritual death. The Christian is a new creation in the sense that his heart is spiritually different than the non-believer’s. If you are saved, recognize your circumcised heart and rejoice in what God has done for you. God’s saving is a profound alteration that brings a person to such fullness of life that it can never die.

For further reading:
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/circumcision-heart
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/how-do-circumcision-and-baptism-correspond
https://christianconcepts.com/guard-your-heart-or-you-will-become-lost
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ

Is Love A Choice

Is Love a Choice?

November 17, 2019 by Matt Pavlik 3 Comments

God loves you. But what does this mean? God is love (1 John 4:16). So, God has to love. He can’t not love. Does He love out of obligation? Is His love involuntary?

We know God cares enough to die for us (John 3:16). He paid the price to redeem us. He is patient with us. He did what He had to do to keep us alive (spiritually).

To say love is a choice is to say that it is objective. You and I can show love despite how we feel about another person. If we only loved when we felt like it, our actions would only be motivated by how others treat us. But here I am talking about human love which can be fickle.

God’s agape is different. It always does right. It flows out of who God is. In that sense, it could be described as involuntary.

Love makes it impossible to harm another, so love fulfills all that the law requires.

Romans 13:10 TPT

Much of life is starkly unpredictable, so it’s nice that God doesn’t change His mind about loving us.

Is Love More Than a Choice?

When love is a choice, it’s a rational, steady, and dependable love. But there is more to it than that. Love as only a choice is incomplete. Love includes compassion, affection, and favor. Agape is motivated by feeling. But keep in mind that God’s feelings are pure, undefiled by any sin.

The Lord your God is in your midst,
    a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
    he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

Subjective, irrational love is at the center of agape. God is not cold, loving only out of obligation. He is passionate and unrelenting. God’s favor, from the core of His being, drives Him to save us no matter the cost.

God’s Love is Irrational

God goes “all in” with His love toward us. This makes it an extravagant love. God’s loving favor doesn’t make sense, but that’s what makes it wonderful.

God doesn’t only do the minimum decent thing to do. He doesn’t save us in compassion and then tell us to go on our way. He adopts us into His family (1 John 3:1; Romans 8:14-30).

God’s family is forever. In Isaiah 49, God’s people felt like Yahweh had abandoned them.

Yahweh responds, “But how could a loving mother forget her nursing child and not deeply love the one she bore? Even if a there is a mother who forgets her child, I could never, no never, forget you.

Isaiah 49:15 TPT

God’s affection for you is greater than any imperfect parent.

If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him?”

Matthew 7:11 TPT

God has a strong bond of love with you. He withholds nothing good from you. What can you do today to believe, trust, and feel God’s affection for you?

For God has proved his love by giving us his greatest treasure, the gift of his Son. And since God freely offered him up as the sacrifice for us all, he certainly won’t withhold from us anything else he has to give.

Romans 8:32 TPT

So, God loves you. He values you. He saves you. He rejoices because of you. He makes you a co-heir with Christ.

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

God has many good things in store for you, things too wonderful to fully comprehend today, but things that allow you to experience the fullness of hope as you are filled with God (Ephesians 3:20).

Read more about God’s love.
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Last updated 2023/04/30

Filed Under: Marriage in Christ, Core Longings, Identity in Christ, Salvation in Christ Tagged With: desire, love

Scriptural Warnings Support Eternal Security

Scriptural Warnings Support Eternal Security

July 28, 2024 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

The scriptures abound with warnings about the necessity of enduring to the end. Some say that if there is no possibility of apostasy, what is the purpose of all of these warnings? But these warnings support God’s people, encouraging them to not doubt the security of their faith.

God Uses His People To Accomplish His Plans

God’s goal is the certain salvation of all His people (those who belong to Him). But many circumstances come together to bring about that end; for instance:

  • the death of Christ
  • the operation of the Spirit and application of the atonement
  • the various gifts in the church (1 Corinthians 12:8, Ephesians 4:11-13)

The spiritual gifts and offices are filled and exercised in the church. The gospel is to be preached in the whole world; God’s people are to be encouraged with promises; the riches and beauties of Heaven portrayed; the sufferings of Christ remembered. God employs these means to stimulate the saints to fulfill His will.

We Christians do our part while acknowledging that God is the supreme power that makes it work.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 ESV

All this sowing, planting, and watering is simply God’s method of accomplishing His plans. There is no evidence that He will fail in any way because He uses His people. Furthermore, we don’t know everything that God knows. So we must continue to do good in as many ways as possible because we don’t know which efforts God will bless more than others.

 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 ESV

Encourage Secure Christians With Warnings

Warnings are encouraging because they differentiate between those who have fake faith and those who have genuine faith.

It is right to present to the believer the awful doom of the wicked; that he may see the fearful consequences of sin; that he may fear God, and also see from what he has been taken and saved; that he may love God. Neither is it inconsistent with truth to encourage saints with such passages as:

  • But the one who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13 ESV).
  •  Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death (John 8:51 ESV).
  • If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned (John 15:6 ESV).

These warnings point out the awful end of a hypocrite, and always keeping it indelibly stamped upon their minds that it is by faithfulness that they are to have the continued evidence of their acceptance with God; that by diligence alone they shall make their calling and election sure to themselves, and have the testimony that they are secure in the covenant of grace. Even so, God is the one who works in us, enabling us to endure.

Also, teach them that faith without works is dead; that real and saving faith is as surely known by good works as a tree is known by its fruit; remind them of how many have made a fair start, to all appearance, and finally staggered and fell from their profession, and now seem to be more deeply involved in sin than ever.

Paul exhorted Timothy to “War a good warfare; holding faith and a good conscience, which some having put away, concerning faith have made shipwreck, of whom is Hymenseus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” He also tells the Corinthians to deliver such to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Paul does not here intimate that these were eternally lost. Yet, like poor Job, they are delivered into the hands of Satan, that they may be chastised and sorely rebuked, till they “learn not to blaspheme.”

What Christian has not had some experience in the chastenings of the Lord? If any be without chastisement they are bastards and not sons. When you neglect duty, yield to the vanities of time, and are engrossed in worldly things, you find yourself cold, barren, and unfruitful (but not beyond God’s reach, and not without salvation if God is working in you through His Holy Spirit).

In Hebrews 10, after the apostle has shown that once cleansed from sin we shall be clean eternally and that we are forever perfected by the one offering, he goes on to exhort believers:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:23-25 ESV

Why all this exhortation if there is no danger of apostasy? First, notice that all the enduring and positive focus is valid because “He who promised is faithful.” When we focus on God’s faithfulness, we no longer need doubt or fear. Second, the enjoyment of the presence and approval of the Spirit are worth ten thousand times the pains and labor it requires to maintain them. Third, the chastisements of God for our disobedience are terrible to a Christian. When He hides His face and leaves us in midnight darkness, we might pitifully cry, “Why art thou cast down, oh, my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me?”

Reader, have you not been thus cast down, grieved, and conscious-stricken, for some sin you have committed? God tries us in the fire as gold, so that the dross and tin are taken away. God does not intend to destroy His children; instead, He aims to irradicate sin, pride, envy, revenge, and malice; all these enemies to God’s purpose must be destroyed. Therefore, the sore chastisements of God are for our good, and as fire purifies the gold and takes away the dross, so these chastisements shall purge His people from their sins. God brings us through trials to purge away the evil, to abate the flesh, and above all else, to save the person.

Paul suffered greatly as a servant of God. Listen to his letter to the Corinthians:

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

2 Corinthians 11:23-27 ESV

Heaven is a rich reward, to be sure, but the road to it is a thorny one.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

Hebrews 10:32-34 ESV

Pauls speaks of the enlightened one knowing they have a better inheritance that remains (does not perish, is eternal). How could they know this, and believe in apostasy? He concludes with:

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Hebrews 10:39 ESV

Here, after all his exhortation and warning, he tells them that we are of them that believe until the saving of the soul.

The best ground upon which to plant an exhortation is that of encouragement. Washington encouraged his men by telling them God would certainly give their arms victory in the end; that this great country of ours was destined to be a free one; that the oppression of England would be overturned.

Yet, he exhorted his men by telling them of the sad state our country would be in if we were defeated. He pointed them to their children and children’s children, and in this way he led them over many hard marches; sometimes barefooted, hungry, half-clad and half-armed; with an enemy twice as numerous, well armed and equipped; often his men stained the earth with the blood from their bare, lacerated feet. They bore all this and endured to the end. Why? Because their souls were in a blaze with the doctrine of predestination. It was this that emboldened them in every battlefield.

So we see that certainty of victory is the greatest stimulus that can be given. They believed that God had predestined this country to be free. When David went to meet Goliath, he preached the doctrine of predestination as he went, and yet he did not become lazy but was full of energy. Make a man feel sure that God will give him success, and it will make him strong.

The fact that the bible abounds with warnings and exhortations is no evidence that apostasy is possible. If a parent warns his children every morning and evening of some danger, describes it to them, takes them where they can see it, shows it to them, and is so watchful over them that he never sleeps nor slumbers, builds a wall of salvation around them, never leaves nor forsakes them, dwells in the midst of them, and makes them as secure as himself, would you go off and tell that this man’s children would be very likely to be killed? Certainly not.

God Almighty takes better care of His children than any earthly parent can of his. Nothing makes God so desirable as the thought that it is a treasure that cannot be burned or stolen; moth or rust cannot corrupt it. Though our earthly goods may be stolen, or the reverses of providence may leave us penniless — we may suffer and die with hunger — God provides us an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that cannot fade; reserved in Heaven, where no evil influence can come, and kept there for us, and we are kept by the power of God. Oh, glorious thought!

God keeps his children; they are not left to themselves, but he keeps them unto salvation, and keeps them ever ready to be revealed in the last day. Look up to the starry sky, and tell her host if you can; cast your eye over the earth, and think of the hand that made it, with its fullness, and then say, He keeps me; poor, sinful, unworthy me, and keeps me as the apple of His eye. If it is said He keeps you through faith, no difference; it is the power of God, no difference how exerted, and the power of God is all we want — it is all we need to keep us.

This is post 25, the final one in a series; you can read the previous post. This post started as the public domain works of J. H. Oliphant. While sections are the same in many ways, I modernized the language and added my thoughts to provide greater clarity for my readers.
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Filed Under: Secure in Christ

Salvation Is Always By Faith Alone

Salvation Is Always By Faith Alone

July 21, 2024 by Matt Pavlik 1 Comment

Salvation is by faith alone both before and after God causes a person to become born again. There is nothing within a person that God counts as righteousness before being saved. After a person is saved, there is only the work of Jesus Christ that keeps the person saved.

J.H. Oliphant, in Chapter 16 of his book, shows that although Methodists, as a people, do teach the possibility of apostasy, their published confession of faith denies the doctrine of apostasy. He contrasts Articles 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 of their formal theology with their everyday practical theology.

Article 7 – Original Sin

Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually.

Article 7

Look closely at these words. “His very nature is involved in sin, and because of the corruption of his nature, he is inclined to sin continually. Here is total depravity, undeniably. He is not partially inclined to sin, but he is continually so; no intermission. As the water is continually rushing down the channel of the Ohio, so his nature is unceasingly rushing him headlong in sin, and if left to himself he is certain of destruction. Outside influence must interpose; grace must arrest him; unconditional election by grace only will reach his case.

Article 8 – Totally Depraved

The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.

Article 8

Who ever heard the utter helplessness of man more fully set forth than it is here? “Cannot turn and prepare himself by his own strength and good works?” If he cannot turn himself, and he is ever turned, what will turn him? Is it true that God must turn him, and yet cannot keep him turned? How does this article say he is turned? “The grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will.” Then he cannot have a good will only as grace gives it to him.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Phillipians 2:13 NLT

But Article 8 not only tells us that God must work in the sinner a good will, but “work with him when he has that good will.” How can one fall from grace when God works in him a good will, and works with him while he has that good will?

Surely, if he ever should lose that good will, it would be while God was working with him. Paul was persuaded that where God had begun a good work he would perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. This was Paul’s opinion — reader, is it yours?

No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me makes them want to come. But if they do come, I will raise them to life on the last day.

John 6:44 CEV

Therefore, man cannot have this will, unless it is produced in him of God. He never will be inclined to God; never truly repent of sin; never love God, nor his cause; never hate sin and long for holiness, unless God Almighty works in him the will. I ask in all candor, how can someone lose his salvation if God works in him while he has the will? If the working of God gave the will, cannot the working of God keep the will? If I take the city, can I not keep it? Can the man become worse than he was before he received the will? God gave him the will without any merit or good works, and now will God forsake, desert, and leave him because he still sees no merit in him? This article, fairly examined, proclaims the biblical, Calvinistic theology.

Article 9 – By Faith Alone

We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith, only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.

Article 9

This article cannot harmonize with conditional salvation, or apostasy either. It says we are counted righteous, “only for the merit of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If this is the only ground of justification, where is the room for conditions of losing salvation? This article sets forth the only hope of poor sinners — the righteousness of Jesus. It points every sin-ruined, sin-condemned sinner to Jesus and tells him that though sin has ruined him, and all his works are evil, and though there is not one good trait in or about him, yet there is hope for him.

It discards all good works and bad works as a ground of salvation and lifts the eyes of every forlorn sinner to Jesus, who constitutes the whole and sole ground of hope for any or all of Adam’s race. It declares that God accounts us righteous for the merit of Christ, and I am sure that if God accounts us righteous for the merits of Christ, he will not account us unrighteous, because there is still no merit in us. He will not first clothe us in Christ’s merit, and then unclothe us; but once clothed, there is no reason why we shall ever be unclothed.

I heartily join in the thought that we “are justified by faith only” — faith in Jesus as the only sure, eternal ground of hope. We have sinned, to be sure, but he has paid all our debt. We are daily going into debt, but He is our husband, and our growing debt is constantly met by Him.

Article 10 – Works Follow Faith but Never Precede Them

Although good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God’s judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree is discerned by its fruit.

Article 10

This article lays the sure foundation for the final perseverance of every Christian. According to this article, good works are not the cause of faith. They have no more to do in procuring either faith or justification than the fruit has to do in producing the tree that bears it. Neither do good works continue one in faith, any more than the fruit continues the life of the tree that bears it. How astonishing that one will profess to believe this article, and live in a church that publishes it as a part of their faith, and yet believe it is possible to lose salvation.

John Calvin never uttered a sentiment more foreign to apostasy than this article. Faith is the only root from which works grow; and works, therefore, have no more to do in procuring faith or justification, than the fruit has in producing the twig that bears it, or the sap that gives it its growth, or the root of the tree.

Who made the tree, and who alone can make trees? It was God, and He also gives us faith and justifies us for the merits of Christ alone, and not for any works or merit found in us. This is biblical truth, and true according to this article, yet it doesn’t seem to be taught in a modern Methodist church (proof forthcoming). Can a tree bear good fruit this year, and bad next? Only God can change its nature; and so with his people, all their good works have nothing to do with changing their nature. Works follow after being born again and, therefore do not, in the least measure, procure that birth.

Where is the good sense in saying that men are justified, not for any merit or works of their own, but for the sake of Christ alone, and yet advocate the doctrine of apostasy? All these articles make salvation to be as wholly of the Lord as the resurrection of the body, and our obedience as a consequence of salvation. This is sound and wholesome. It is a rock as firm as the everlasting hills on which we may put our feet with security.

Some claim that anyone who faithfully preaches against apostasy and the sentiments of these articles tends to licentiousness. The particular point here is, that if you preach to saints that they are infallibly secure, it will cause them to become careless and neglectful.

This argument is founded on simple ignorance and has been referred to in several places in the New Testament. It was to this very class of persons that Peter referred when he said:

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

1 Peter 2:15-16 ESV

These ignorant and foolish men are those who think it dangerous to preach the final perseverance of saints; they think that the saints must be scared into obedience. It was in reply to this very doctrine that Paul spoke, when he said, “What, then, shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace?” In another place, he answers, “How can we, that are dead to sin, live in it any longer?”

Paul here shows that the motives to obedience are from quite a different source than the fear of apostasy. “How can we, who are dead to sin, still live in sin?” If there were no hell or devil, we would still be inclined to serve God. It is from choice we serve him, and our greatest grief is that we cannot serve and love him better.

Why are genuine Christians so intent, both day and night, in serving God; why are they continually lifting His name on high? Surely they are not afraid of losing their salvation. If the advocates of the God-dishonoring doctrine have impressed it upon the minds of saints below, certainly it has never been advocated in Heaven. If you were to tell the guests of Heaven that they are secure and cannot fall, and therefore they need not concern themselves about the praise of God, they would doubtless tell you that if they had a million times the capacity to praise him, all should be employed; and the more you cry to them that they are secure, the louder would they praise him for that security.

Saints on earth should and do praise God for the immutable security He has thrown around them. Have not the saints on earth tasted Heaven’s blessing? If God has loved me and gave his Son up to death for me, and loved me and cared for me all the days of my wicked life; forgiven all my sins, and gave me a standing in Christ; adopted me into his own family, and sealed me unto the day of redemption with the Holy Spirit of promise, will all this tend to make me neglectful? No, never.

If you are a Christian it would stir you up to serve him who has done so much for you. Look over the country, and ask why our best citizens do not steal. Is it because there is a law to punish them? No. If there were no law they would not steal; and if you know of one who thinks that he would steal if there were no law, you had better not give him too good a chance, law or no law.

Likewise, if you know of one professed Christian who thinks it would be unsafe to tell him that he cannot lose his salvation because he would “tend to licentiousness,” consider whether his heart is right in the sight of God.

Parents reward their children with kind words of approval when they obey them; but when they disobey, they do not kill nor disinherit them. It is utterly unnatural to disinherit a child for any cause. So good works are pleasing to God, understanding they cannot make up for sin, nor endure the severity of God’s judgment; and he that obeys God will be rewarded even here; his cup will often run over with joy; while the disobedient one will be cast down, become barren and unfruitful, and even be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Article 12 – Once Saved, Sin Does Not Disqualify Anyone

Not every sin willingly committed after justification is the sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after justification. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of God, rise again and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live here; or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.

Article 12

This article declares that we all sin after justification, yet these sins are not unpardonable. I grant that we all sin, and therefore have reason to be a praying people as long as we live, and also need to repent daily; every Christian realizes that this is not a perfect state. It also says, that if we depart from grace and fall into sin, we may, by God’s grace, arise and amend our lives. This does not say a man can fall beyond the grace of God, but virtually denies it, for it teaches that by God’s grace, they may arise, amend their lives, etc.

A different section of the Book of Discipline (Of Sanctification?) teaches that God by His grace, gives the ability to love God, and in this, the plain teaching is that the grace of God may reinstate whoever departs from the right way. All these articles put together, crush the doctrine of apostasy, and are an eternal veto against it and salvation by works of any kind, good or bad.

Methodist Practical Faith Contradicts Their Declaration of Their Faith

As we have seen, the traditional Methodist doctrine says much to support salvation being by faith only and not by works. However, as J.H. Oliphant has uncovered, the actual beliefs of the Methodist church have drifted into nonsensical contradictions. The following is a perfect example of double-speak that attempts to count two contradictory statements as both true:

In our Wesleyan-Arminian theology, as in all mainstream Christian theology, salvation still isn’t ours to possess. It is always and only God who saves. In that sense we cannot “lose” salvation. But we can “fall away” from it. Or to use another metaphor, we can move so far from the saving streams of God’s love and power that we parch and spiritually die.

Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards

We are born into this world spiritually dead. God saves us, making us spiritually alive in Jesus Christ. Having been made spiritually alive, there is nothing with the power to cause us to die once again.

Rev. Taylor also seems to think a significant number of protestants teach that everyone who professes to be a Christian will be saved. Calvinists do not believe that by saying “magic words” someone is saved for all eternity. The time on earth will prove whether a person is truly saved. Ultimately, God knows those who are His. But Calvinists do teach that if people are genuinely born of God, they will be preserved by God for eternity.

We’re not reducing salvation to a propositional transaction, as some forms of American Protestant proclamation have done, so that once we believe and say certain things, no matter what else happens, we “have” salvation and can never “lose” it.

Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards

Not All Who Profess Christ Have Genuine Faith

All of this reinforces to me that there are many people out there who lack understanding of what the Bible teaches. They have given in to worldly, humanistic wisdom that denies God’s sovereignty, and places man’s so-called “free will” (man’s sovereignty) above God’s. For those who have a genuine faith in Christ, never lose heart or doubt the day of your salvation. God is mighty to save you!

This is post 24 in a series; you can read the previous post. This post started as the public domain works of J. H. Oliphant. While sections are the same in many ways, I modernized the language and added my thoughts to provide greater clarity for my readers.
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