Saved by grace, but whom are Jesus' warnings directed to? (And the other warnings)

[bozzy]

I think the key thing is to understand, salvation means that your current sin is forgiven. You are saved from the judgment that comes because of sin.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

Now, the forgiveness of sin gives person a new beginning for clean table. If you after that go back to sin, the forgiveness was not useful, similarly as it is not very useful to clean your car and right after that mess it with mud. That is the reason why Jesus taught that we should repent.


"Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Matt. 4:17


"Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more."
John 8:11

The eternal life is for righteous people. If one doesn’t become righteous after forgiveness, the forgiveness is not very useful.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

But even righteous person may make mistakes, and if so, because he is righteous, he regrets when he understands that he has done wrongly and it can be forgiven.

For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
Pro. 24:16

I think sin really means that person rejects God. If you don’t reject God, you are not in sin.


He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever is born of God doesn't commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can't sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn't do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn't love his brother.
1 John 3:7-10

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate you taking time to answer. Thank God that He is able to restore us, even if we fall seven times, like it says.

 

[bozzy]

Thanks for giving me your thoughts on the term Living in sin knowingly.. To me the term living in sin is associated with an attitude of rebellion against the standards of God.. So a person who is living in sin will be engaged for example in an adulterous affair over a long period and who defiantly rejects the standard of God on the issue and intends to continue on in that adultery for as long as they can..

We all sin and we Christians who know the standards of God know that we are transgressing against the standards of God when we sin. But temptation and weakness see's us on occasion giving into sin but at the same time there is no attempt at justifying our sin before God on the contrary there is a feeling of regret and fear of God and a desire to acknowledge our sin to god and a desire to resist that sin.. So a repentant sinner will sin lass and will be resisting sin as much as they can.. Again it is about a different attitude.. Not one of rebellion against Gods will but one of acknowledgement of the truth and goodness of Gods will and the admission of our sins as being transgressions against what is good..

Thank you for your answer. I appreciate you taking time to answer. God bless! I believe that assurance of salvation is for those who believe, and show that they have real faith through good works, as James is talking about. But definitely, we're not perfect all the time no. Thank you.

 

[Adstar]

Thank you for your answer. I appreciate you taking time to answer. God bless! I believe that assurance of salvation is for those who believe, and show that they have real faith through good works, as James is talking about. But definitely, we're not perfect all the time no. Thank you.

I believe those who are saved will be moved to do good works.. But that we are saved by believing and trusting in the Atonement secured by the LORD Jesus Christ.. Our good works are a kind of celebration of the truth of God.. They are not a part of the victory over death but they are a part of the celebration of a victory already won.

Thank you for the discussion..

 

[bozzy]

I have always wondered about those things as well , I find grace hard to understand I would love to have the peace or assurance of salvation but I find I cannot " just have faith " I know faith without works is dead , but then we cannot work our way to heaven , so how do I just relax and let God lead when i am not sure if it is his voice I hear and not my own inner voice ? The closest I can figure is if once saved always saved then the rewards we stand to loose must be vast and great ! I am referring to the scripture that talks about our works tested by fire to see what is left , but for me just having peace and assurance of salvation would be fantastic ! But I have fell in my walk and recently came back I am trying to find the proper way like you , when I first became a Christian I was legalistic and it was tough then I went far to liberal now I just want peace , love and acceptance. I hope and pray you find your answer

Thank you, I'm praying for you too =) Thanks for sharing your story friend!! =) There's one thing I'm glad I know, which helps me a lot, maybe it will help you too: The christian life is about a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ (John 17:3), and since it's a relationship, I guess we shouldn't be too caught up in just "works", although God does want us to live holy and walk in forgiveness and stuff- but number one is knowing Him, and His Son Jesus. And God really loves us ALL the time, but that doesn't mean we can do things which He hates. But still He doesn't hate us. He just wants us to turn away from the sin and ask for His forgiveness. I guess this is what we do in every healthy relationship. We ask for forgiveness if we know we hurt someone. I guess its possible to use grace as a licence to sin, but then we don't have a relationship, we just have an excuse to sin as much as we want. That's not a safe place to be in light of eternity. On the other hand, we can very occupied with works without having a relationship, and then its basically a religion- not a relationship. That's not a safe place to be when it comes to eternity either. I think it's important that we truly have received Jesus as our Saviour, and know that He was punished for ALL our sins on the cross, so that we could be forgiven. God is good. I think also it's important to remember that we can grieve and hurt God, and do things which He hates, and so we need to ask God to forgive us sometimes. And He does. I hope we both will find all the answers Jesus has for us!! God bless. Hugs

 

[bozzy]

Hi...........
There are lots and lots and lots of points-of-view. The ultimate analysis, however, only the "POV" of the Holy Spirit applies. Here He is:

John 14:6, John 3:16-17, John 5:24, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8:1. There is so much more HE adds throughout scripture. You, obviously, have confessed Jesus as Savior. You, obviously, are walking in His Footsteps. There is NO way He is going to let you slip away into damnation. NO way! You are Spiritually-birthed, born again, safe and secure within His embrace now and forevermore. You and I will greet each other, shake hands, embrace, and thank God for where we are (Heaven) and Who He is (Our wondrous Savior), all because of His Amazing Grace and our confession in Romans 10:8-13. Let not your heart be troubled! HE is Lord, Savior, Master, Prince of Peace, and He loves you, now and forevermore!

I'm so grateful that you shared your post with us and that I have been alerted by HIM to respond.

Thank you so much, and thank you for writing in such a loving way. I feel loved. Yes, I have believed and confessed Jesus as Lord and Saviour. God is good. I also believe that it is important to ask God to forgive me if I sin. Thank God we can have assurance of being God's children because of Jesus' work. Also I choose to believe that walking in unforgiveness or living in sin is dangerous, and that such people should not feel that they are on their way to heaven. We believers are quick to repent I guess. We are born again, hallelujah =) Blessings

 

[bozzy]

I think you also have to take this verse into consideration:

Hebrews 12:
[6] For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
[7] If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
[8] But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

God WILL discipline His children. Regardless of whether you sin deliberately, out of ignorance or in omittance, God will chastise you. God will teach you.

I have fought with inappropriate content my entire adult life. I have tried to rationalize it every which way possible. Along the way, God has beat me over the head several times. In the end, God is always right and His way is the BEST way, today and forever. Sometimes I'm a very slow learner. Be comforted by the fact that you do feel guilty because that's an indication that God is working in you.

Thank you. Yes, as a good Father He defintely knows what's best for us, and sometimes He diciplines His children. I guess this is just something else we will all thank God for if we know the results of that dicipline. God bless

 

[bozzy]

I applaud your dedication to pray and eceive with an open heart. Kingdom has an underlying reward system. Ruling on Lord's throne with Lord, authority over cities (the Number seems to vary, and of course serve now and be served later or Be served now and serve later. There is mention of two KINGdoms One of Heaven (around the earth) and the KINGdom of God total creation (i am not clear on this I have seen it illustrated in beginning or my journey seeking intimacy. Salvation is eternal and in the present, Failure as mentioned may just affect the now not the eternal??? Grace be multiplied through our faith works of obedience.

Thank you very much. Its very exciting things we have to look forward too if we are born again. Praise God. God bless you =)

 

[bozzy]

The difference between a genuinely converted believer in Christ and a religious hypocrite is that a genuine believer is not afraid to show his or her sins to God. A religious hypocrite will hide them and give the appearance that he or she has "arrived" and is a saintly person. In fact, religious hypocrites can appear much more saintly than genuine believers, and this can be quite a deception for younger, less experienced believers who may be fooled into looking up to these people and allowing them to become mentors for them.

What makes religious hypocrisy an effective counterfeit is that you wouldn't know the difference between that and genuine faith in Christ by just observing their outward conduct. They would go to public services, say the right words, appear to be holy in their lives, even be involved in ministry, and be quite prominent and famous in it. We have seen some of the "big-name" ministries eventually exposed for their hypocrisy, with the result that many honest believers who have supported them, being hurt, wounded, and damaged by the deception.

A genuine believer could be mistaken for a hypocrite if when observing the outward behaviour, they don't seem to be living up to the common standard of what a believer should be. But that can be deceptive in itself because we look on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. This is another major difference between an honest believer and a hypocrite. Although the hypocrite does all the outward things perfectly, he does not do any of the important things, like prayer, study of the Bible, confession of sin to God, mourning over his fault and failings, that a true believers does.

So, when we observe a professing believer being "super spiritual" and/or has a "holier than thou" attitude, the alarm bells should ring inside of us, because we may be in the presence of a religious hypocrite and not a genuine believer. A genuine believer is honest, sincere, and straightforward in his life and conduct, and his humble, kind, gentle, faithful, loving, joyful, and self controlled in his or her contact with others.

And yet, even that can be a deception, because a religious hypocrite can be all those things too. This is why we need the discernment of spirits and the inner guidance of the Holy Spirit to warn us to be wary of anyone who might look good, but something about them does not seem quite right. It can be just a little niggle, but just that little niggle can be a warning from the Holy Spirit to be careful and wary and not accept a person or what they say at face value.

Now when I talk of confession of sin and not hiding it from God, we need to be careful about that as well. Some sins should be confessed and discussed only with God in private. Religious hypocrites may confess chosen sins in public to impress others of their humility and that they are "sinners saved by grace", but this is to fool the unwary. I would be very careful about professing Christians confessing serious sins in public. Genuine believers are ashamed of their sins and are reluctant to confess them in public. They go to God's throne of grace and confess them there and then leave them there.

Also, you will be interested to know that genuine believers are more concerned about the sinfulness of sin than about the punishment of it. Religious hypocrites are more concerned about how the sin will affect their spiritual state and the punishment that will come for it. Genuine believers will be more concerned about the dishonouring of God and the disrepute to the Church through their sin.

When Jesus told the disciples that one of them was going to betray Him, they all asked, "Is it I?" But when Jesus talked about the punishment that was going to come to the person who betrayed Him, it was then that Judas asked, Is is me?" Judas was the guilty one, and he was not concerned at first and hid his intention to betray Jesus; but when the subject of punishment came up, this jolted Judas into asking the question, "Is it me?" The other disciples were genuine believers, but Judas was the religious hypocrite.

I haven't noticed what you said about Judas there before. Thanks for telling me that. Thanks for taking time to write. Thanks for mentining hypocrisy. Its a dangerous thing.

 

[bozzy]

I believe those who are saved will be moved to do good works.. But that we are saved by believing and trusting in the Atonement secured by the LORD Jesus Christ.. Our good works are a kind of celebration of the truth of God.. They are not a part of the victory over death but they are a part of the celebration of a victory already won.

Thank you for the discussion..

Thank you too!

 

[bozzy]

One thing is maybe clear to me though:

Some people say christians wouldn't live in sin all the time, and walk in unforgiveness all time time, and others may say that if you are a christian and do those things you lose your salvation. They take different positions, but basically they both end up with the same warning: If you live in sin all the time, and don't want to repent, or if you refuse to forgive someone, you are on the way to hell. The first believes that because the actions of this person shows that he is not saved, and the other thinks its because he did something that made the person lose his salvation. If none of these positions are true at least still these warnings will produce sanctification I hope. Well, maybe I wrote something wrong now, but think about it anyway.

 

[stuart lawrence]

One thing is maybe clear to me though:

Some people say christians wouldn't live in sin all the time, and walk in unforgiveness all time time, and others may say that if you are a christian and do those things you lose your salvation. They take different positions, but basically they both end up with the same warning: If you live in sin all the time, and don't want to repent, or if you refuse to forgive someone, you are on the way to hell. The first believes that because the actions of this person shows that he is not saved, and the other thinks its because he did something that made the person lose his salvation. If none of these positions are true at least still these warnings will produce sanctification I hope. Well, maybe I wrote something wrong now, but think about it anyway.

It's good in a discussion like this to remember the core foundation upon which the new covenant stands:

This is the covenant I will make with them after that time says the Lord
I will write my laws in their minds
And place them on their hearts
Then he adds
Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more
Heb10:16&17

 

[Historical Christianity]

Seems the OP has correctly recognized that different authors have, and express, different ideas. Portrayed as a sage of Second Temple Judaism, the gospels show him teaching Jewish ideas. Paul and his early students adopted the Jewish apocalyptic worldview. When the apocalypse comes (within a generation or two, on earth), the bad people will be taken away to somewhere else and punished, while the good people will be rewarded. But when Jesus and other Jews used the phrase kingdom of God, they always meant a politically independent Israel, free of Roman control. These ideas are easy to understand, as long as you don't try to force them into the same mold.

In Hebrews, a later author warned Christians in his assembly that if they left Christianity (for another religion, because of persecution), they could never come back.

 

[Lily01]

Hi there,
I don't normally post here but I saw this post and couldn't leave it without quickly sharing something. I only have a few mins so am going to be brief but hopefully you will prayerfully consider it further.

I spent 15 years after coming to faith in a complete mess. I was always questioning whether I was really saved as there are indeed many verses which seem to contradict the 'once saved always saved' doctrine. I messed up so much and was anxious, angry and went through severe depression twice.

My dear Abba is the one who let me go down into that deep dark pit. It was so so dark there I cannot explain and I was in torment. My faith was shattered but HE WAS FAITHFUL!! He never let me go even when I couldn't hold on and trust Him any more. He lifted me out of the pit twice. Why twice? Because the first time was not enough and I got caught up in the world again and was disobedient. He warned me not to do something and I ignored it as it would cause too much upheaval in my relationships with those close to me. I didn't put Him first and I was chastised. He did it because He loves me and He knows my heart. If we say to God that we believe in Yeshua/Jesus as our Saviour and want to follow Him and be in His kingdom and really mean it...that means putting Him above everything...it will involve us losing friends or family at some point. We will be persecuted and mocked. Speaking and doing His truth will always separate us from the world and the world will not receive us.

Anyway, to get to the point! I have spent the last 2 years on my knees before God asking Him to just give me His truth and also that I would not lead others astray by preaching vain doctrines. He has been faithful in this and my world has been somewhat rocked as I have had to lay down certain beliefs and doctrines that were handed on to me. All that He has shown me is there in His Word. I can now read the Bible (taking account of certain translation issues in places) and not be confounded by seeming contradictions. I just see His love, grace and truth everywhere.

I have to go but I would really recommend that you listen to some teachings on youtube by Kenny Russell. There's one called Do We Really Know The Gospel which I think lays it out quite simply. If you have a hunger for truth and to be pleasing to God then pray that He will give it to you and not let you be deceived. I do this before I listen to any teachings out there as there are so many, and all saying so many different things! We need wisdom and discernment from Him or we can get eaten alive by the prowling wolves.

Shalom!

 

[D2wing]

Thanks sdowney 717, I get your position- that Jesus' warnings are given to make true believers distinct from false believers. I agree with you that this is a possible solution, but the problem for me is, how can I know it is the right one? What if it is possible to die spiritually by living in sin for example? I'm just asking by the way, not saying I believe it is like that. I'm so scared of being wrong, since this has to do with the most important of the most important of the most important, if you know what I mean.

Romans 8:13: "For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

Many people believe they are a Christian just by saying they are or going to a Christian church. However Jesus says you must repent and be born again of the Spirit. This means that you forsake your sins confess them, and make Jesus lord of your life. No to be lived by your desires but in service to him. It is evident what the works of the Spirit are and works of the flesh as stated in Galatians Chap. 5. By this we can determine for ourselves if we are following the Spirit or our flesh. Our one time decision makes us Christian, but how we lead our lives tell if we are followers of Christ or not. Of course we are all sinful by nature and often fail. But God knows our intentions and effort and sends his Spirit to help us. Also we have trials to learn how to make right decisions. How much can we willfully do what is wrong? How far can we go? These are dangerous questions. Signs that we probably should be repenting of something.
I have no answer for that. Jesus said at harvest he will separate the grain from the tares.

 

[D2wing]

Another thing is that Jesus said, the works of the Lord are to believe on him whom he sent. I think the great danger is losing faith.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Another thing is that Jesus said, the works of the Lord are to believe on him whom he sent. I think the great danger is losing faith.

I agree. The way we deal with the battle that we have between the flesh and the Spirit is that we don't try and deal with it at the lower point of our weaknesses and failures. We start at the high point of faith in Christ. Once we establish our faith in Christ and what He did on the cross for us, and become very secure in that faith for our justification; then we can deal with our sinfulness, shortcomings and failures from that high point. If we try and deal with them at the low point and then try to come up to Christ, we will be so busy trying to keep the Law concerning those sins that we will never get up there to a strong faith in Christ alone for our justification. This will leave us in condemnation and sin-consciousness, instead of peace and joy in Christ.

 

[bozzy]

Hmm. Well, I'll just have to see if the Lord reveals to me the things I'm confused over. I'm not trying to check where the border is, so that I can live in sin as much as possible and still get to heaven. I just want to know from which foundation I should build my life basically. And also I would like to serve the Lord and make diciples, but at the moment I don't know exactly what to teach them... Well, I know many things, but... Anyway...

 

[Late Apex]

Thank you. Yes, as a good Father He defintely knows what's best for us, and sometimes He diciplines His children. I guess this is just something else we will all thank God for if we know the results of that dicipline. God bless

God does not just "sometimes" discipline His children. If you are a child of God, He WILL discipline you. God WILL get you where you need to be.

Hebrews 12:
[6] For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
[7] If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
[8] But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

The thing about getting impressions and scriptures that come to mind is that when a positive one comes you can be uplifted and encouraged; then a negative impression or scripture came come to mind and you are back down in discouragement and confusion. Getting scriptures that way is unreliable and only makes the mind unstable, going from a high to a low, back to a high, and then again to a low, depending on what comes to mind.

But studying through the Bible brings more reliable guidance and a greater stability to your mind and heart in Christ. Then you are reading verses in their proper context and seeing the thread of teaching through the Bible about the ways of God and how they affect you. One well-known writer warned that nine out of ten impressions can come from the world, flesh, or the devil, so one should not rely on them, but check them with the general teaching of scripture. The late Lester Sumrall said that if we want to know the will of God, read the Bible; if we want to do the will of God, do the Bible.

Along with the Bible, so as not to re-invent the wheel, I have a large library of good Christian literature on a range of subjects. The men and women who wrote these books have sought God and then wrote comprehensively on their chosen topic. I have books ranging from the 17th Century through to the present. I also have a full set of Charles Spurgeon's Expository Encylopedia, and these have been a strength to me from time to time.

At one stage I wanted to know about divine healing and spiritual warfare, so I went to my favourite Christian second hand bookshop and bought up all the books I could on those topics. I read all the principal authors, from the late 19th Century to the present time, and it was like going to Bible College, and I learned heaps of the different ideas and methods of divine healing and deliverance. Why re-invent the wheel by trying to plough through the Bible and maybe get the wrong interpretation, when I can consult through their literature the proven ministries in these fields?

I am not saying that this literature replaces the Bible, but it supplements and complements the scripture through these authors' faithful study of it. Of all these books, I found only one author who was a bit off the wall in her ideas, but all the rest were very instructive in my quest for what was right and appropriate for me in these fields.

These are what has made me stable in my faith, and so I recommend this approach to you.

 

[Serving Zion]

Hi everyone! Shalom to you.

So I've been studying the bible a lot lately. I've been praying so much also, that God really would show me the whole truth (and I'm open in my heart for whatever God wants to show me, whether I feel it's easy or "legalistic" in my eyes).

I know verses like Ephesians 2:8-9 which says: "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast."

For many christians this settles the case, they think "OK. We're saved by grace, then of course it makes no sense that we can lose our salvation by our works, or else, how can be be saved by grace?"

This isn't right though. Hebrews 10:29 says so in very strong language.

If you look at the context of that passage in Ephesians, St. Paul is describing how under the Old Covenant (BCE), fellowship with God was only promised to those who lived according to the Jewish law (Ephesians 2:12, Deuteronomy 32:45-47, Deuteronomy 30:20), and how this has created enmity between the Jews and Gentiles because of the separation that The Law brought between them (Ephesians 2:14).

What St. Paul is labouring to explain (to a culture who was still of that mindset and grappling to understand how Gentiles now are children of the promise alongside Jews), is stated in Ephesians 2:14-16: that ever since the cross, there is not a single Jew who can claim that the promise applies to them while rejecting Jesus Christ. Because "All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God". This is what the cross has achieved: judgement (John 12:31, Deuteronomy 31:16-18, 20, Luke 13:34-35, Matthew 21:42-44).

The bottom line in the gospel is this: that He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet, to all who did receive Him (whether Jew or Gentile), He gave power to be called children of God.

So, it is proper to keep this context in mind, that St. Paul is not writing to the Ephesians to say that we are saved without obligation. Rather, He is writing to say that we are saved by accepting the Word of Truth: that Jesus offered up His life on our behalf, to spare the world from the impending calamity of it's obstinence (Malachi 4:5-6, Amos 5:18-24, - and concerning justice in Amos 5:24, see Psalms 94:20-24 & Matthew 23:31-36). This is a gracious gift to us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Salvation is not reckoned to us because we have worked and earned it, as a worker earns his wages, because it is impossible for a man who is born in corruption, to keep the entire law.

Keep in mind, that if the rulers of this world had known the secrets of God's mystery, they would not have crucified The Lord of Glory (1 Corinthians 2:8 - Consider also John 19:10-11 and Isaiah 53:7 as they apply).

And it seems right to me as well. But what if something else is meant by it? I'm not trying to remove your assurance of salvation, just checking if we got it right. What if he's saying that everyone can be saved by believing in Jesus, but if they don't work out their salvation by walking in forgiveness towards others, by not living in sin and etc, they will spiritually die?

How can I really know that Jesus' warnings about not forgiving (as in Matthew 18) is directed towards christians for example? Or His warning about servants that started drinking and beating the other servants of Christ (Matthew 24)? Or Paul in Galatians 5, 1 Corinthians 6 and Ephesians 5 warning that those who do "this, this, this" will not inherit God's kingdom.

This is right

What happens, is that children are corrupted as they grow in the sinful world, and before they know it, they become enslaved by their sinful passions. Then when (and if) they have the opportunity to receive conviction through the knowledge of The Gospel, they have an opportunity to repent and to thereby have New Life restored by way of baptism. Then, when a person coming under baptismal covenant begins their new life, they have no record of sin. They also have a renewed relationship with God, and because of this, they must walk out the remainder of their days in obedience and repentance, to ensure that they do not slip into The Second Death, where the fire is never quenched and their worm never dies (eg Hebrews 6:4-8, Matthew 24:48-51).

I'm confused, and have read SO MUCH. Not only the bible either. Calvinists, arminians, pentecostal beliefs, baptist beliefs, OSAS and so much more.

May the Lord reveal His truth to us! And may our hearts receive that truth.

Amen.

Dear Lord God, here we have brother bozzy on a diligent and sincere search of your truth. Lord God, we recognise that he has a natural conviction of the truth as Your Holy Spirit convicts, and yet he is confused by the garbage doctrines that have originated by those who have misused your name over all the years. Lord God, we know garbage doctrines are unavoidable for a person in the world today, so we thank you for having been with us to insist the truth to us against the lure of lies, and for your patience as we have struggled and often chosen to believe the lie instead of what Your Holy Spirit is saying. Lord God, it is only because of your patience and supreme wisdom that we are able to take this position against the lies in the world, and it is only because you are true to your words of Matthew 28:20, that you have been with us until even the end of the age, this is why we can speak so openly together about the convictions you bring on our hearts. So we thank and acknowledge too, all the saints that have come before us, who have faithfully spoken the words of truth that You have laid upon their hearts, and because we recognise that it is only through the service of those who are loyal to you that Your truth is represented into the world through our words and actions - Lord, for this reason we thank you for the honour of having been called by your name to speak on your behalf, and we ask that as you continue to shape us as a potter shapes the clay, and as a vine dresser prunes the vine for fruit, that even during stages of severe reconstruction for your purposes, we will not lose sight of your love for us and the confidence we ought to have, that you have chosen us to be your instruments in the world. Please, Father, if it is possible that your plan can accommodate this request, grant both of us ever-increasing strength, courage, wisdom, grace and love, so that we might never be tempted to look upon ourselves as being failures, but as being sanctified, justified, and continually upheld by your hand as we grow to resemble less and less of the ways of the world, and more and more the likeness of your Only-Begotten son, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.