Dead in our sins

Even though these are somewhat brief, I hope they are still an encouragement to you. Here is the next letter:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” ~Rom. 3:23

Now for the next letter in “TULIP.” Since I talked about God’s calling us last letter, I thought I might supply the reason we need it next. Even though I said we have no part in the calling, I didn’t explain why. Rom. 6:15-23 says that we are either slaves of sin or slaves of God. The slaves do not make the Master’s decisions, but instead make their own. Slaves of sin will always serve themselves, slaves of God will always serve God. The only difference is the master. Throughout history states under subjection have rebelled against their rulers. In sin we rebel against God but we have no hope of winning. We are like inexperienced children with sticks against an immeasurable army of trained warriors in full armor. Actually, we’re like dead men with sticks. WE also are the created. God, as the Creator, has rule over His creation. He is the Potter and we are the clay. He chooses whether to save or destroy. We cannot help ourselves because we are dead in sin. We are “totally depraved” (the “T” in “TULIP”). WE are like bodies without muscles and bones. We think, but cannot move. God has given us the knowledge of a life with Him. He has healed our broken bodies. We become His children and sheep. God is the Father and Shepherd and has rule over His own. Praise Him for His infinite mercy, for though we were dead in our sins, He saved us and raised us to new life! Rejoice that you have the best Master! He is better than anything you can imagine! Glory be to God in the Highest! God bless!

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

A new theme and a new beginning

As you can see, I have completely redone my blog. I have decided to change the focus, though. I am now posting letters. Last year at our church, some of the boys started writing letters to each other that gave some simple encouragement to live a life that glorifies God. I have about a hundred letters that I have written and received. I am hoping to add these letters over time, but I am beginning with a mini series of 5 letters I started abut 3 weeks ago. So, without further ado, the first of, I hope, many letters.

“Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” ~John Newton

Grace is truly amazing! God, in His mercy, calls us to Himself. R. C. Sproul Jr. in his book The Holiness of God says that 5 of the main points of the Christian faith can be represented by the word “TULIP.” What I will be doing is sharing some of his points and adding some of my own comments. I am sort of flip-flopping the word though. As you can see by John Newton’s song, I am starting with “I”, which stands for “Irresistible Grace.” Grace is a point pounded out in Scripture through direct and indirect statements. Here are two such statements:

“…to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…” ~1 Cor. 1:2

And

“…He who called you is holy…” ~1 Peter 1:15

God’s grace is most often described as His calling us. One of the most complete summaries is found in Rom. 8:30. But, lucky for us, His grace is irresistible. We are either called or not called, nothing we do helps decide one way or the other. God decides for us before we are born and He decided even further back than that, “before the foundation of the earth.” (Eph. 1:4) Praise the Lord for His infinite kindness in calling us to be with Him! God bless!

Your brother in Christ,

Corey