Insightful Musings on theScriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good evening, dear ones.

It started raining when I was out running the grass trimmer. It’s coming down fairly serious now. I’m sure thankful it didn’t kick in sooner today.

I had an early call from a guy asking for help right away with my boom truck. It involved removing a back-lit sign cabinet from an over-the-entrance wall. I figured it to be an easy job, so I obliged him right away. It turned out to be no small project. That cabinet that I thought was maybe 4’x8’ turned out to be 4’x20’. I did it…but it called for some teamwork with another guy in a man-lift machine.

Becki and I got in our walk/jog early, followed by a customer coming to pick up a lumber order. The little boys were here this evening. We set them up to do some zip-line gliding, followed by hamburgers. They’re already back home.

The bed is already sounding good to me. I think I’ll start heading that way.

Good night.

Love, Dad/Ray.

If these two verses are to be accepted as valid theological TRUTH, I don’t understand why there needs to be so much debate over the doctrine concerning the security of the believer within the ranks of believers—or why there is so much confusion over the unconditional love of God. It seems to me that the questions are addressed so clearly and concisely here so as to offer simple settlement of the matters.

The premise of the promise is “the LORD’S love.” That’s consistent with “the Gospel in a nutshell”—John 3:16. “For God so loved the world (human worldlings)…” The duration of His love is without end—eternal—“from everlasting to everlasting.” That’s huge! But it’s not directed to everyone forever—meaning that it’s quite conditional—only toward “those who fear him…keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.” Our New Testament understanding of the Biblical Gospel is that Jesus Christ IS His covenant—Jesus IS the redeeming focal point of His precepts. Therefore, “whosoever believeth (i.e., believing in Him enough to obey Him) in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life”—life “from everlasting to everlasting” surrounded by God’s love. This is beyond-understanding WONDERFUL! For good reason, someone has called it AMAZING GRACE!

In view of all this, is there any reason why the author should not commence this psalm with a challenge to his own soul to praise the LORD with fanatical passionate abandon?—with every organ of his body?—“all my inmost being” (v. 1). The KJV renders it, “and all that is within me.” My blood pump, my lungs, my spleen, my gall bladder, my liver, my stomach, my intestines—come on you guys!—let’s join in this song of praise to the LORD our Maker, Sustainer, and Redeemer!

“Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…” (v. 2). Herein lies common deserved guilt. It’s one thing to know how dependent we are on God’s love, grace, and intervention, and then forget—but it’s quite a serious matter to never make any effort to know these truths in the first place. So, although Jesus “did not come into the world to condemn the world” (John 3:17), condemnation is still upon unregenerate worldlings because they choose to forget what they would know if they would only carefully examine the evidence provided, and seek the One Who made them. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4). And everyone said, “Wow!”