Bible Reading for: March 22

Deuteronomy 7–9

If you truly submitted your life to the authority of Jesus Christ then you know you are saved, but why were you saved; to what purpose were you saved?

Why did God save you?  If you truly are a Christian, then God has saved you from the consequence of your sin.  Why did He do that?  There is a reason and I will share it toward the end of this post but first let’s look at why God gave the Promised Land to the descendants of Abraham.  Did the Israelites “earn” the Promised Land?  No, they did not.  Did God give this land to the Israelites just because He had a soft spot in His heart for them?  No, that is not the reason either.  God drove the inhabitants of Canaan out of their land because of their own depravity.  They were not innocent people groups whom God cast out to make way for His favorites.

Deuteronomy 9:4-5 ESV
“Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you.  Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

God cast the Canaanites out as a consequence of their sin.  He gave the land to the Israelites to glorify Himself.  You see He had decided to bless the world through the descendants of Abraham.  He decided to do this for His own glory.  We saw the continual rebellion of the Israelites from the moment God brought them from Egypt until this point.  Why did God put up with them?  He put up with them because all of humanity was just like them.  There wasn’t a “better” group of people God could use for His purpose, all were equally worthy of eternal death.  God chose to show His grace to the world through the descendants of Abraham.

So back to my original question, why did God save you?  He saved you to show His grace to the world, revealing His glory to all.  You didn’t earn forgivingness any more than Israel earned the Promised Land.  When you submitted to Christ, His Holy Spirit came to live in your heart.  You no longer belong to yourself but to God Himself.  You are now His vessel through which He reveals His grace to the world.  Can the world see His grace in you?  Brothers, when you are obedient to God, He reveals His glory in you and through you.  This is your ultimate purpose for being.  It is the reason you were created, and it is the very thing in which you will find your greatest contentment.  Let you light shine before men.  It is the reason you were saved!

Victorem Viver! (Live Victorious!)

Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Alternate Reading Plans
Bible Order: Judges 8-9
Chronological Order: Deuteronomy 28
New Testament Only: Luke 1:1–25