Soteriology: The Doctrine of Salvation - Part 1 - The Common Salvation

Temple Baptist Church - 9-21-2025

Jude 1-3

 

A.  The importance of the Doctrine of Soteriology?  Because there is so much confusion on the subject, as most major denominations view salvation in different ways, and if you do not get salvation right, nothing else matters!

 

1.  Religion is comfortable, as you can live a sinful life and be right with God.

 

2.  Look at the results of religion in the Bible Belt.  From godliness to “Sipping and

Strolling on the Square.”

 

3.  Nudity instead of Modesty. Witness to them, and they all profess to belong to a church.

 

4.  Unfaithfulness instead of Faithfulness to the Church on Sunday.

 

5.  The list could go on, but I think that we all get it.

 

B.  I chose a familiar text to begin the Doctrine of Salvation that gives us two words that tell us that everyone, in all dispensations, gets saved the same way!  Like it or not, the “common salvation” is a doctrinal truth that is well established in the Bible.  We are Biblicists!  The Bible is the FINAL AUTHORITY for both faith and practice.  Therefore, leave your denominational teachings on salvation outside and listen to what God says on the subject.

 

1 Corinthians 14:33  For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

 

C.  Our day is full of spiritual confusion.  I want to read a couple of verses and apply them to our lesson on Soteriology, the Doctrine of Salvation.

 

2 Corinthians 4:3-6  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  (4)  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.  (5)  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.  (6)  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 

James 3:16  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

 

D.  It is imperative that we understand that salvation is the same for all.  It is a “common salvation.” 

 

E. The Book of Jude is one of the epistles written concerning the apostasy both present then and prophetic of our day. 

 

1. Apostasy was already prevalent in Jude’s day – almost 2,000 years ago.  2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

 

2. The spirit of Antichrist was there, and disciples were being drawn away.  1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

 

F. The very foundation of our faith is now under satanic attack from both without and within.  Jude is all about infiltration! 

 

1.  Not everyone sitting on the pews of churches is saved. 

 

2.  Not everyone sitting on the pews of churches loves the Lord. 

 

3.  Not everyone sitting on the pews of churches loves the Word of God.

 

G. Look again at the description of the saved in these opening verses.  “When I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation.”

 

1. True Biblical salvation is indeed “common” to all of God’s children. 

 

a)  By “common,” the Bible is not referring to something cheap or inexpensive.  Salvation is free, not cheap.  It cost God His Son!  Romans 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

b)  By “common,” the Bible is not referring to something plenteous.  Supply and demand.  Too much supply is cheap while too much demand brings a rise in worth.  There is still a remnant according to the election of grace! 

 

Matthew 7:13-14  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  (14)  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 

c)  By “common,” the Bible means that salvation is the same for all of God’s children! 

 

2. If you listen to the voices of “Christendom,” you will be completely confused!  There are so many “voices” out there that are clamoring for people’s attention.  Radio, Television, the internet, etc., are full of false doctrine and have very little truth. 

 

3. Hidden Gospel.  In religion, the Gospel is there in most cases but hidden among the ritual.  Jesus Christ is hidden among the idols. Satan has blinded the minds of the religious to hide the “Glorious Gospel of Christ!”

 

2 Corinthians 4:1-6  Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;  (2)  But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.  (3)  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  (4)  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.  (5)  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.  (6)  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 

4. The result is churches full of lost members?  The answer is straightforward: people changed Biblical salvation to fit their own religion or personal experience instead of following God’s way, a plain path of salvation found in the Bible.  I have often said that we MUST conform our doctrine to the Bible, not make the Bible conform to our doctrine.  Now, we have many different ways to heaven instead of one way: God’s way that is found in the King James Bible.

 

5. The hiding of the Gospel produces a false salvation of works or personal merit; some say that salvation is a mixture of works or personal merit and faith; some say that salvation requires water baptism; some say that salvation requires you to be a member of their church; some say that salvation can be through Christ or Mary; some say that you must endure to the end to be saved; the few, who are correct, say that salvation is by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ alone.

 

H. They have the same characteristics because they are born into the same family.  They have the same genetics or spiritual DNA!

 

1.  All are called from Sin to Christ!

 

2.  All are called from Vanity to Purpose!

 

3.  All are called from Ungodliness to Holiness!

 

4.  All are called from Dishonor to Honor!

 

J.  How are we saved?  By a new, spiritual birth, which is by grace (UNDERSERVED) through faith alone!

 

John 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.  (Salvation is a birth!  And, there are no exceptions to the rule!)

 

John 3:16-18  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  (17)  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  (18)  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  (The birth is a faith in the finished work of Christ.)

 

1 Peter 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.  (The birth and faith are Bible based!)

 

Acts 16:30-31  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  (31)  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

 

Romans 10:9-10  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10)  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 

Hebrews 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,  (Repentance from dead works and faith are necessary for salvation.  “Dead works” is man’s effort to obtain salvation through personal merit.  Works that cannot save are dead works.  Faith that does not work is dead faith!  We do not work to be saved, but our salvation creates within us a desire to serve and live for Christ.)

 

K. All is changed from the old man and conformed to the new man.  We are all being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.  Not to be changed and conformed is not to be saved.  I understand that there are varying degrees of obedience among God’s children, but all have the Holy Spirit and all have desire.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

1 Corinthians 6:9-11  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  (10)  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  (11)  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

 

L. Our Common Salvation is a finished work!  Since it is God who begins a good work in us, it is He who carries it out. This is what makes us similar despite our differences. It is also what sets us apart from “Christendom.”

 

Philippians 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

 

Romans 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.  (The mercy and grace of God are both the spring and fountain of everything that we have or ever hope for.)

 

M.  We all share the same salvation, the same Spirit, the same witness, and the same testimony. Notice with me the reversal of order in verses 1 and 2.

 

1.  In Our Common Salvation We Find Sanctification – The means of sanctification is Multiplied Mercy (to separate from and to consecrate to) – vs. 1 (Sympathy)

 

a. We Are Sanctified Through His Will - John 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

 

b. We Are Sanctified Through His Word - John 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

 

2.  In Our Common Salvation We Find Security – The fruit of our security is Multiplied Peace (to attend to and to take care of) – vs. 1  (Serenity)

 

a. We Are Powerfully Kept - 1 Peter 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

b. We Are Permanently Kept - John 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

 

c. We Are Perfectly Kept - Jude 1:24  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

 

d.  We Are Peacefully Kept - 1 John 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

 

3.  In Our Common Salvation We Find Seeking – The basis of our calling is Multiplied Love – vs. 1  (Sovereignty)

 

a. There Was A Sovereign Call (Do not let the word “sovereignty alarm you. God is completely sovereign, but in His sovereignty, He extended His call to salvation through grace alone. By sovereign call, the Bible says that God chose to save us through His marvelous grace, not by our works.)

 

1) The Call Came Through Grace Alone - 2 Timothy 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

 

2) The Call Came Through the Gospel Alone - Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

 

b. There Was A Sovereign Choice – Matthew 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.  (My Bible says that, though the many are called, few are saved!  The difference is the choice! God’s sovereign choice was to save those who came to Him by faith!)

 

Proverbs 1:24  Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;  (Man has the choice to come to God or to reject Him!)

 

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14  But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (God’s choosing came through our “belief of the truth.”)

 

c. There Was A Sovereign Conversion - Proverbs 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

 

Matthew 7:13-14  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.  (It is God’s way or the “highway” to hell!  Our salvation is a “common” salvation because it is inclusive to only those who come to God His way.)

Thy Way Is in the Sea

 Temple Baptist Church - 3-2-2025

Psalm 77

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Why the seas; why the hard paths of life; why the unknown future of our travels that bring about much peril?    There is an old saying,  “When you cannot track God, you can trust God!”

 

B.  As a general rule, when seas are mentioned in the Bible, they are places of hardship or difficulty.  They are places that test our faith!  In this particular Psalm, we find “hindsight’s 20/20” in operation.  The Psalmist looks at the trial from start to finish. 

 

1.  Faith’s Confidence – vs. 1  “God Will!”

 

2.  Faith’s Confusion – vs. 2  “God Hasn’t!”

 

3.  Faith’s Complaining – vs. 3  “God Won’t!”

 

4.  Faith’s Contemplation – vs. 4-9  “God has turned His back on me”

 

5.  We Find Consideration – vs. 10-18  “God has been here and done it before”

 

6.  Faith’s Continuation – vs. 19-20   “God will do it once more”

 

C.  Why was the Psalmist overwhelmed? 

 

1.  Often, in the midst of our storms, we see as Christ’s disciples saw.  The wind and waves are now in our boat and the Lord is nowhere to be seen!  Because we are human, we lose sight of the Lord and the knowledge of what He has done in the past and concentrate on “bailing the water out of our boat” in the present. 

 

2.  We never seem to learn that, when we come to the end of our strength, it is only then that we find His!

 

2 Corinthians 12:7-10  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.  (8)  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  (9)  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  (10)  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

 

D.  Seas speak of the trials and troubles of this life.  They constantly remain in motion with underwater currents and external waves subject to great winds.  Seas in general are immense!  The Red Sea to Israel, which had no boats or planes, was just such a sea.  Life is hard at best. 

 

E.  Life is hard at best.  When I think of the great sea, I think of the Pacific Ocean.

 

1.  Great Depths - The Mariana Trench is 36,201 feet deep (Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world, stands only 29,029 ft. tall).

 

2.  Immense Size - The Pacific Ocean is the largest in the world. It covers 69,375,000 square miles.

 

3.  Incredible Power – Currents, great 100 foot waves at times, and tsunamis that cannot be contained.

 

4.  Sudden tempests – Storms of great magnitude.

 

5.  Long Crossings – Thousands of miles over major oceans.

 

6.  Physical Impossibilities – I can neither wade through nor can I swim across them.  I often go to the Atlantic and the possibility of swimming across it never even crosses my mind.  There are fish there that would love to make a meal off of this fat preacher!

 

F.  The Psalmist said, “Thy way is in the sea and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.”  God often allows His children to come to hard places in their lives.  Not paths chosen by us, but paths that are allowed by Him.  This verse tells me three things:

 

1.  God’s Path Is Not Always Easy!  We seek the easy way but often the hard way is the best.

 

2.  God’s Path Is Always Ahead Of Us!  As God told Moses and the children to “Go forward,” He expects the same of us.  “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is an old saying. 

 

3.  God’s Path Is Not Always Visible!  God often does not show us the path that we are to tread.  We had much rather know where we are going but we are to follow God so as to know where He is going.

 

1.  God’s Sea is a Prepared Place – His Property!   God created the seas and knew every part of them like the “back of His hand!”  He made every mountain and every valley we will come to.  I believe that God knows every trial that we will face in our lives.  It is not that God creates sinfulness, nor does He condone it, but I believe that God still controls it!  It Is Not The Way Of Our Comprehending!

 

2.  God’s Sea is a Providential Place – His Permission!  God knew before He ever created the world that Israel would one day stand at that precise place, because the “hand of God” led them there.  It was a place of God’s choosing.  Every good General picks his place and time of battle.  God chose the place of Israel’s crossing.  So does God allow us to be brought to hard places in His providence!    

 

a.  It Is Not The Way Of Our Comfort! 

 

b.  It Is Often The Harder Way! 

 

c.  It Is Often The Longer Way! 

 

d.  It Is Not The Way Of Our Choosing! 

 

e.  It Is Often The Only Way!  When you have no choice, you can make no wrong decision!

 

3.  God’s Sea is a Powerful Place – His Parting!  When I see the ocean, it never ceases to amaze me with its magnitude and its power!  It goes beyond the horizon; it goes for thousands of miles; no power on earth can either tame it or stop it.  It is controlled only by God!  When we come to our sea—Seas Of Disappointment, Seas Of Discouragement, Seas Of Dire Circumstances, Seas Of Duration, Seas Of Doubt—they are seas where God can show His might power!

 

4.  God’s Sea Is A Protected Place – His Pillar! 

 

a.  When Israel came to the impossible, impassable Red Sea and the enemy drew near to destroy, God placed Himself between the enemies of God’s people and the people of God.  No matter how they hated Israel and Israel’s God, they could do nothing to draw any nearer than God would allow. 

 

b.  God has put Satan and the enemies of God’s children on a leash!  The most protected place is not always the easiest one.  The most protected place is in the midst of the fire in the will of God.

 

5.  God’s Sea Is A Purposed Place – His Plan! 

 

a.  His purpose is to deliver the children of God!  God does not propose that we be destroyed, and He will show up on time to deliver.  When we get to the end of life and look back, we will see the hand of God in our lives. 

 

b.  His purpose is to destroy the enemies of God!  As God destroyed Israel; as God destroyed Haman; God will destroy those who oppose Him and refuse to get right.  Egypt could have been spared if, at any time, they had turned around, but God hardened their hearts, and they continued until they perished. 

 

c.  His purpose is to purify the saint and bring praise and glory to God!  In the sea, God is still God!  Just let God be God, trust Him with all you have, and He will be glorified.

Faith’s Reward

 Temple Baptist Church - 1-19-2025

Psalm 125

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  Another of the Songs of Degrees to be sung by God’s people as they approached Jerusalem on the feast days when all males were required to appear.  As they got closer to Jerusalem, they knew that Mt. Zion would still be there.   Their trust and confidence fed their faith which led to their stability.

 

1.  We go back to Kentucky often and, after all these years, not much is the same as when we lived there.  Buildings and houses are gone, schools and ball fields are gone, the places that I worked and earned my living are no longer there. 

 

2.  It is always a disappointment to see the changes to the place where we grew up, were married, and had our children.  Loved ones are now leaving through death or just moving to other places.   We go back and something is now missing or has changed.

 

3.  The word “trust” is found 134 times in the Bible.  Trust – Faith, belief, confidence.  A firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.  To confide in, so as to be secure and without fear. To seek refuge in something.

 

4.  One of the more notable references for trust is found in Proverbs.

 

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

 

5.  It is in this verse that we find the totality of trust in the ways of God.

 

B.  What confidence, what joy, what stability this afforded to the travelers as they knew that their journey would never be in vain. 

 

Isaiah 51:11  Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

 

1.  Mt. Zion would always be there because it could never be removed or moved.  The Temple would be there where they would worship and bring their offerings. 

 

2.  Today, we still find Jews who are called Zionists such as Benjamin Netanyahu.  Jerusalem and specifically Mt. Zion is their stability and joy.

 

C.  Mt. Zion is one of the most important places on earth! 

 

1.  Important to the Jews.  Mentioned 153 times in the Bible with every mention in the Old Testament.  Also called the “City of David”, “my holy hill”, “the city of the great king”. 

 

2.  Not to the Jews only but to all of us who are saved!  Verse 1 speaks not only of God’s people, Israel, it is prophetic of God’s Church and its people. 

 

D.  In Psalm 125, we find an analogy.  “They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.”

 

1.  Mt. Zion: A place of Choosing.  To trust or not to trust is an individual choice.

 

2.  Mt. Zion: A place of Stability.  We may not be able to track God but we can trust God.

 

3.  Mt. Zion:  A place of great Joy.

 

4.  Mt. Zion: A place of Permanence.

 

E.  We shall be as Mt. Zion!  There are plenty of mountains surrounding Mt. Zion but the greatness of Mt. Zion is that it is the place the God has always chosen. 

 

1.  The Place where the Garden of Eden was.  I believe that I can show you biblically that Israel was Eden and Jerusalem was the Garden.  Where God began everything, He will eternally end things in the same place. 

 

2.  The Place where Melchizedek was the King of Salem and Abraham paid his tithes. 

 

3.  The Place called Moriah where Abraham was told to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. 

 

4.  The Place where King David placed the Tabernacle. 

 

5.  The Place where Solomon built the Temple. 

 

6.  The Place where our LORD was crucified, buried, and rose again.

 

7.  The Place where Christ will return and ascend to the throne of his father, David, during the Millennium. 

 

8.  The  place where the New Jerusalem will ascend and remain for eternity.

 

F.  Now, let us look at the Psalm in its entirety.

 

1.  Verse 1.  We Find A Position.  “They that trust in the LORD”

 

a.  A Faith.  Our anchor in Christ Jesus is Faith Based. 

 

Hebrews 11:1-3  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  (2)  For by it the elders obtained a good report.  (3)  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

 

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

b.  A Trust.  “Cannot be removed … abideth for ever.”  A position (unremovable) and the promise “abideth for ever.” 

 

Jeremiah 17:7-8  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.  (8)  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

 

3.  Verse 2.  A Promise.  “the LORD is round about His people”

 

a.  “As” The Analogy.  You have to go through and over the mountains in every direction to get to Mt. Zion.  “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem”  Mt. Zion is a surrounded place because of these great mountains.

 

b.  “So”  In Psalm 23, we saw that the LORD is with and for His people from the moment of Salvation until eternity.  In life, in death, and in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

Hebrews 13:5-6  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  (6)  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

 

4.  Verse 3.  A Protection.  “For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.”

 

Romans 6:20-23  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.  (21)  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.  (22)  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.  (23)  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

a.  “shall not rest”  This does not mean that there will not be times when the world and Satan do not assail the child of God.  The word “rest” means to remain positionally.  God will ultimately deliver His people from the persecution of the wicked.  He always prevails.

 

b.  “lest the righteous”  If wickedness profits and perseveres, then the godly would possibly choose to follow its ways!  In wickedness, God allows us to see the end results of death and destruction.  The wicked may prosper for a while but the wages of sin are still defilement, disappointment, destruction, death, and hell!

 

c.  God, in His wisdom and works, protects the child of God both temporally and eternally!  Praise the LORD!

 

5.  Verses 4-5.  A Peace. 

 

a.  A Pleasant life.  A life of goodness.  “Do Good, O LORD!”  God will be good to unto those who do good and are upright in heart.  There is an old saying that we would call a Proverb: “What goes around comes around.”  It is ALWAYS right to do good and ALWAYS wrong to do wickedly.  God will reward both!  I want to testify that God has been good to us!  When asked how I am doing, I normally respond, “Better than I deserved.  God has been better to me than I have been to Him.”

 

b.  A Peaceful life.  “Peace shall be upon Israel!”  Peace cannot be bought but peace can be attained.  Peace with God in salvation and peace of God in righteousness. 

 

Colossians 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.