God's Unchanging Love: Assurance in Our Salvation

 

Summary

In Romans 5:6-11, we find a profound exposition of the love of God, which is the foundation of our assurance and security in salvation. The Apostle Paul emphasizes that our salvation is entirely of God, planned before the foundation of the world and executed in due time through the death of Christ. This divine love is not based on any merit or goodness in us, but rather on God's sovereign grace. We were without strength, ungodly, and sinners, yet Christ died for us. This demonstrates the depth of God's love, as He sent His only Son to die for those who were not only unworthy but actively opposed to Him.

The Apostle contrasts human love with divine love. While it is rare for someone to die for a righteous person and perhaps possible for a good person, God's love surpasses all human understanding by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. This act of love is the ultimate proof of God's love and serves as the foundation for our assurance. Our salvation does not depend on our ability to love God or keep His commandments, but solely on His unchanging love and grace. This realization should fill us with joy and confidence, knowing that our salvation is secure because it rests entirely on God's love.

The Apostle's argument is clear: there is nothing in us to recommend us to God. Our salvation is entirely gratuitous, arising from God's infinite grace. This understanding should lead us to a profound sense of assurance, knowing that our salvation is secure because it is based on God's unchanging love, not on our fluctuating faithfulness. As we grasp the depth of our sinfulness and the magnitude of God's love, we are moved to greater love and gratitude towards Him.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Foundation of Assurance: Our assurance of salvation is rooted in the love of God, which is demonstrated through the death of Christ for the ungodly. This love is not based on our merit but on God's sovereign grace, providing us with a secure foundation for our faith. [02:29]

2. The Nature of Divine Love: God's love is distinct from human love. While human love may lead someone to die for a good person, God's love is demonstrated in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners, highlighting the depth and selflessness of divine love. [18:55]

3. The Condition of Humanity: We are described as without strength, ungodly, and sinners, emphasizing our total inability to save ourselves. This highlights the necessity of God's intervention and the gratuitous nature of our salvation. [07:04]

4. The Gratuitous Nature of Salvation: Our salvation is entirely a gift of grace, not dependent on our works or righteousness. This understanding should lead us to humility and gratitude, recognizing that it is all of God and none of us. [31:38]

5. The Assurance of God's Unchanging Love: Since our salvation is based on God's unchanging love, we can have confidence and assurance in our eternal security. This realization should fill us with joy and lead us to a deeper appreciation of God's grace. [35:09]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:14] - Introduction to Romans 5:6-11
- [01:20] - The Security of the Believer
- [02:12] - The Love of God
- [03:03] - God's Plan of Salvation
- [05:03] - Proofs of God's Love
- [06:01] - The Condition of Humanity
- [07:24] - Understanding Ungodliness
- [10:47] - Enmity Against God
- [12:18] - The Universality of Sin
- [14:16] - Misconceptions About God
- [18:10] - The Argument of Human Love
- [22:11] - God's Love for Sinners
- [27:07] - The Depth of Sin and God's Love
- [31:19] - The Gratuitous Nature of Salvation
- [35:09] - Assurance in God's Unchanging Love

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Romans 5:6-11

Observation Questions:
1. According to Romans 5:6-11, what is the condition of humanity when Christ died for us? How does this emphasize the nature of God's love? [00:39]
2. What does the Apostle Paul mean when he says that Christ died for the "ungodly"? How does this term relate to our understanding of human nature? [07:24]
3. How does Paul contrast human love with divine love in Romans 5:7-8? What examples does he use to illustrate this difference? [18:31]
4. What is the significance of the phrase "while we were yet sinners" in understanding the timing and nature of Christ's sacrifice? [18:55]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the understanding that our salvation is entirely of God's grace, and not based on our merit, impact a believer's sense of security in their faith? [31:38]
2. In what ways does the realization of our own sinfulness enhance our appreciation of God's love and grace? How does this understanding affect our relationship with God? [27:42]
3. How does the Apostle Paul's argument about the gratuitous nature of salvation challenge common misconceptions about earning God's favor through good works? [30:54]
4. What does it mean for a believer to have assurance in God's unchanging love, and how can this assurance influence their daily life and spiritual journey? [35:09]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt unworthy of love or grace. How does understanding God's love for the ungodly change your perspective on your own worthiness? [22:52]
2. How can you cultivate a deeper sense of gratitude for God's grace in your daily life? What specific practices or habits can help you remember the gratuitous nature of your salvation? [31:38]
3. In what ways can you demonstrate the selfless love of God to others, especially those who may seem unworthy or opposed to you? How can this reflect the love God showed us while we were still sinners? [18:55]
4. Consider the areas in your life where you might be relying on your own strength or merit. How can you shift your focus to rely more on God's grace and love? [07:04]
5. How does the assurance of God's unchanging love provide comfort and confidence in times of doubt or struggle? Share a personal experience where this assurance has been significant for you. [35:09]
6. Identify one way you can remind yourself of God's love and grace throughout the week. Is there a specific scripture, prayer, or practice that can help reinforce this truth in your life? [32:40]
7. How can you share the message of God's gratuitous love and grace with someone who may not yet understand or believe it? What approach can you take to communicate this truth effectively? [30:54]

Devotional

Day 1: God's Love as the Foundation of Assurance
Our assurance of salvation is deeply rooted in the love of God, as demonstrated through the sacrificial death of Christ for the ungodly. This love is not contingent upon our merit or actions but is a manifestation of God's sovereign grace. The Apostle Paul emphasizes that our salvation was planned by God before the foundation of the world and executed through Christ's death at the appointed time. This divine love provides a secure foundation for our faith, assuring us that our salvation is not dependent on our ability to love God or adhere to His commandments but solely on His unchanging love and grace. This realization should fill us with joy and confidence, knowing that our salvation is secure because it rests entirely on God's love. [02:29]

Ephesians 1:4-5 (ESV): "Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will."

Reflection: In what ways can you remind yourself daily that your salvation is secure in God's love, not in your own efforts or merits?


Day 2: The Depth and Selflessness of Divine Love
God's love is distinct from human love, as it surpasses all human understanding. While it is rare for someone to die for a righteous person and perhaps possible for a good person, God's love is demonstrated in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This act of love highlights the depth and selflessness of divine love, showing that God's love is not based on our worthiness but on His grace. This understanding should lead us to a profound sense of gratitude and awe, recognizing the magnitude of God's love for us. [18:55]

1 John 4:9-10 (ESV): "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Reflection: How can you demonstrate selfless love to someone in your life today, reflecting the love God has shown you?


Day 3: Humanity's Inability and God's Intervention
The condition of humanity is described as being without strength, ungodly, and sinners, emphasizing our total inability to save ourselves. This highlights the necessity of God's intervention and the gratuitous nature of our salvation. We were not only unworthy but actively opposed to God, yet He chose to save us through the death of His Son. This understanding should lead us to humility and gratitude, recognizing that our salvation is entirely a gift of grace, not dependent on our works or righteousness. [07:04]

Titus 3:4-5 (ESV): "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need to acknowledge your inability and invite God's intervention and grace?


Day 4: The Gratuitous Gift of Salvation
Our salvation is entirely a gift of grace, not dependent on our works or righteousness. This understanding should lead us to humility and gratitude, recognizing that it is all of God and none of us. The Apostle Paul emphasizes that there is nothing in us to recommend us to God, and our salvation is entirely gratuitous, arising from God's infinite grace. As we grasp the depth of our sinfulness and the magnitude of God's love, we are moved to greater love and gratitude towards Him. [31:38]

2 Timothy 1:9 (ESV): "Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began."

Reflection: How can you express gratitude to God today for the gift of salvation that is entirely by His grace?


Day 5: Assurance in God's Unchanging Love
Since our salvation is based on God's unchanging love, we can have confidence and assurance in our eternal security. This realization should fill us with joy and lead us to a deeper appreciation of God's grace. The Apostle Paul assures us that our salvation is secure because it is based on God's unchanging love, not on our fluctuating faithfulness. As we understand the depth of God's love and the security it provides, we are encouraged to live with confidence and joy, knowing that our salvation is secure in Him. [35:09]

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV): "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Reflection: What steps can you take to deepen your appreciation of God's unchanging love and live with greater confidence in your eternal security?

Quotes

Our salvation is entirely of God, something that God planned before the foundation of the world and then brought to pass actually at a given point in time. Do you tie that very phrase "due time" suggests the whole plan and scheme of salvation even before the very foundation of the will God love initiated. [00:03:09]

The first thing he finds out is that our salvation is entirely of God, something that God planned before the foundation of the world and then brought to pass actually at a given point in time. Do you tie that very phrase "due time" suggests the whole plan and scheme of salvation. [00:03:09]

Christ the only begotten Son of God, the one was in the bosom of Christ came and died. There's nothing beyond that, nothing greater than death. Christ died, gave himself unto death, humbled himself even unto the death of the cross and was buried in a grave and rose again. [00:05:22]

The character of the people for whom all this has been gone and this of course serves to emphasize it still more. You can look at the love of God always in those two wails what has been done the people for whom it has been done. There you see is the height. [00:05:55]

We are now considering the depths he had to come down so low in order to raise us up. We're considering the depths out of which he has brought us the condition of those who are saved and for whom Christ died, and his argument is that nothing but the love of God can possibly account to this. [00:06:22]

The second thing he tells us about ourselves as we were by nature is that we were ungodly for when we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly. What does this mean? Well, it means two main things. It means first of all that we are unlike God. [00:07:24]

The Apostle goes further in this self-same epistle as in other epistles not only is men without love to God, men is actually an enemy of God. He says that explicitly in verse 10 if while we were enemies, that's it without love to God indeed actively opposed to God. [00:10:57]

The mere fact that people think they believe in God and that they're pleasing God doesn't tell us anything at all except that they're doing the test of whether a man is godly is does he believe in this revelation, does he submit himself to it, does he see himself as lost and demmed. [00:15:48]

Christ died for the ungodly. He didn't die for that Pharisee you see who stood up in the temple and said I thank thee that I am not as other men are even as this Pharisee. He doesn't he didn't die for people like that that men saw no need of Christ. [00:16:23]

The Apostle's argument is you see that there is nothing in us whatsoever to recommend us, nothing at all. Why did Christ come into the world? Was it an answer to some plea that came from mankind? Not at all. Was it in response to some good in men? [00:29:54]

We must realize that our salvation is entirely gratuitous and that rises only and all together from the love of God in His infinite grace. That's the apostles argument and you heard it you see again in the second of Ephesians but God who is rich in mercy for his great love. [00:31:04]

Our salvation in no respect at all depends upon us it is entirely dependent upon the love of God and because my salvation depends upon the love of God and on that alone and on nothing in me I am sure of it I am subtle of it why well because God doesn't change. [00:34:43]

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