Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Let's ask two serious questions: (1) Does God merely offer us His friendship? Or (2) has He given it? No difference between the two ideas? Look again.
If (1) is true, then He is standing aloof from you, withholding His actual friendship until youtake the initiative and dosomething to activate it. Then when you dothe right thing, forever afterwards you congratulate yourself for what you have done. In other words, it's a faith plus works trip.
But if (2) is the truth, and you finally realize that God has been your Friend all along and you have been too stubborn and blind to believe it, then forever afterwards your heart is melted in spiritual humility. Number (1) inevitably leads to the "rich, and increased with goods" condition of the church of Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-21); and Number (2) leads to ultimate repentance and reconciliation with Christ.
As to which is true, does the Bible give an answer? Number (1) is what the Bible calls the "old covenant." And yes, you can quote old covenant ideas in the Bible! But Galatians 4:24 says they lead to "bondage." The old covenant "version" of the gospel produces the Laodicean spiritual condition. But the new covenant is Number (2). The truth is that "God so loved the world" (not offered to), "that He gaveHis only begotten Son" (not offered to do so), "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish" (John 3:16). Jesus said, "The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (not just offer to give, John 6:51).
The Samaritans got the point: Jesus was not merely offering to be "the Saviour of the world." They said He is (John 4:42). Paul got the point, for he said that "the living God ... is the Saviour of all men," not merely offering to be (1 Tim. 4:10). Isaiah saw the reason why this is true: "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). He has already died the second death "for every man" (Heb. 2:9). So, now it's time to humble your heart and believe, appreciate, what He has already done for you. That kind of faith will change your life!
--Robert J. Wieland
Note: Bible texts are from the King James Version.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 13, 1998.
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