TSP DAILY DEVOTIONAL
ACCEPTED & SAVED FOR GOOD WORKS
18th May 2020
Dr. Phil Ransom-Bello
KEY SCRIPTURE/MEMORY VERSE: Ephesians 1:6-7(NKJV)
to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
If the character of the gospel qualifies everyone to receive salvation but we go around preaching that people need repentance before receiving eternal life, then our message is biased. It means that we have taken on the role of determining who is qualified or not and that’s not a place to be.
John didn’t even let the Pharisees get baptized in Matthew 3:8.
And you know that’s the conversation of many pastors or believers today. They say- “You don’t qualify.”
To God’s people? That they don’t qualify?
How can that be the spirit of your message?
No sir, no ma, He has made us accepted in the beloved.
You’ve been accepted already!
So you accept Him, His love in return. That’s what believing means.
So our approach should not be sins. Let people receive the love of God. Once they do, they will begin to drop their old ways in no time.
Because salvation happens in three phases based on the tripartite nature of man; body, soul and spirit.
When you believe in Jesus, your spirit is saved but your mind is being saved, i.e it undergoes a present continuous salvation(Romans 12:2) and we don’t confuse this with the fact that your spirit has been saved.
That’s the reason why many of us would go out to accept the altar call over ten times in our lives.
Do you know why you kept going out for the altar call? You kept going because of what you did and what you perceived as the consequence of those actions. So it had to do with John’s baptism approach that you had to do to gain forgiveness or have everlasting life.
Hear me, it has nothing to do with what you do.
Now, this is not to say you can go ahead to do as you like. We must come to a balanced understanding of our works. There’s a difference between dead works and good works. Dead works is what you do to become or attain salvation. Its what you do to be accepted by God. Alas, nobody can do anything to be accepted by God. You can’t. Otherwise, Jesus had no business coming.
That’s why He is called our saviour(Matthew 1:21)
Good works on the other hand, is what you do because you are saved. Its what you do because your nature has changed.
Friends, what gets you saved is believing.
What gives you a reward is what you do.
Therefore, we are saved to do good works(Ephesians 2:10)
And we must all understand this.
If you become a lion, you must roar so if you get saved, it’s only natural to do good works.
You could not do good works without being saved and you could not get saved by good works. Only by believing(Romans 10:9,10)
The equation must not be mixed up both in our lives and as we declare the gospel to others.
REFLECTION
Are my actions a way to gain God’s acceptance or do I really know I’ve been accepted?
DECLARATION
-I believe only Jesus saves.
-My understanding and declaration of the gospel is not defined by old mindsets or biases.
-In witnessing for the gospel, I declare the love of God not the sin of the sinner that Jesus already took away.
-I declare the gospel accurately. No additions. No subtractions. I am eloquent in the gospel.
-I believe that forgiveness of sins is a product of the sacrifice and not a function of us or change in behaviour.
-I am an ambassador of the gospel that qualifies everyone and condemns no one.
-I have been accepted in the beloved.
-Daily, I am faithful in the business of soul-winning and I make profit of souls in millions for the Kingdom.
-Daily, I enjoy the advantage and dividends of the gospel.
Hallelujah!
HEARING BY THE WORD
(Recommended Listening)
Listen to What Do I Preach?>> Dr. Phil by The StandPoint Church on #SoundCloud
