Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":
We read in 1 Timothy 2 that God “desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (vs. 4). We believe it.
But how seriously does He “desire” that?
(a) He gave (did not merely lend) His Son to be our Savior (vs. 6).
But for anyone to be “saved” truly, he must learn to be happy in heaven, to be “pure in heart” (Matt. 5:8). That means a change of heart, a “renewed mind”(Rom. 12:2), a total change of character. But what is God doing to make that possible for sinners? Has He piled up roadblocks to make it difficult?
(b) He gives us the Holy Spirit whose first work is to “convict [convince] the world of sin” (John 16:7, 8). He cannot employ force. But the Holy Spirit does more than merely convict us of sin; He does all for us that Christ did 2000 years ago for the people of His day, for He convicts “of righteousness, because [Christ has gone] to the Father, and we see Him no more” (vs. 10). So the Spirit does all that Christ did long ago!
(c) The third work the Spirit does for us to convict us of “judgment, because the prince of this world [Satan] is cast out” (vs. 11). The Holy Spirit assures us that His power is stronger than the power of Satan; and that is the reason why Jesus says, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light,” because as it was with Saul of Tarsus, “it is hard for [us] to kick against the goads” (Matt. 11:30; Acts 26:14).
(d) So much does the Lord “desire” us to be saved, that Jesus says the Holy Spirit actually makes it hard for anyone to be lost! We can resist and reject all that He does for us; but a wise writer has said that “all along the road that leads to [eternal] death there are pains and penalties, there are sorrows and disappointments, there are warnings not to go on. God’s love has made it hard for the heedless and headstrong to destroy themselves.”
(e) Jesus says His “yoke is easy” and it is “hard” for us to resist Him. The Father “desires all men to be saved,” and He cannot do more to save those “all men” than He is doing!
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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