Majesty

Majesty

Martin Smith, Stu Garrard

Majesty, Majesty

Your grace has found me just as I am

Empty handed but alive in Your hands

Singing Majesty, Majesty

Forever I am changed by Your love

In the presence of Your Majesty

Majesty

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Yet I Sin

Eternal Father,

T hou art good beyond all thought,

         But I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;

My lips are ready to confess,

   but my heart is slow to feel,

   and my ways reluctant to amend.

I bring my soul to thee;

   break it, wound it, bend it, mould it.

Unmask to me sin’s deformity,

   that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.

My faculties have been a weapon of revolt

     against thee;

   as a rebel I have misused my strength,

   and served the foul adversary of thy kingdom.

Give me grace to bewail my insensate folly,

Grant me to know that the way of transgressors

     is hard,

   that evil paths are wretched paths,

   that to depart from thee is to lose all good.

I have seen the purity and beauty of thy perfect law,

   the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns,

   the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls,

     yet I daily violate and contemn its precepts.

Thy loving Spirit strives within me,

   brings me Scripture warnings,

   speaks in startling providences,

   allures by secret whispers,

     yet I choose devices and desires to my own hurt,

   impiously resent, grieve,

   and provoke him to abandon me.

All these sins I mourn, lament, and for them

   cry pardon.

Work in me more profound and abiding repentance;

Give me the fullness of a godly grief

   that trembles and fears,

   yet ever trusts and loves,

   which is ever powerful, and ever confident;

Grant that through the tears of repentance

   I may see more clearly the brightness

   and glories of the saving cross.

from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, page 70

Prayer for Guidance (Wisdom & Discernment)

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.


Phil 1:9-11 (ESV)


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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

The Kingdom

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matt 6:33 (ESV)

The Baptist Faith & Message 2000


IX. The Kingdom

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Matthew 3:2; 4:8-10,23; 12:25-28; 13:1-52; 25:31-46; 26:29; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2; 12:31-32; 17:20-21; 23:42; John 3:3; 18:36; Acts 1:6-7; 17:22-31; Romans 5:17; 8:19; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 11:10,16; 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:13; Revelation 1:6,9; 5:10; 11:15; 21-22.

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The true and living God is King, and His kingdom represents His rule and His power.

Scripture presents us with an understanding of the kingdom that is deeply rooted in biblical history, very relevant to the present, but ultimately focused on the future.

God rules His kingdom with absolutely unlimited sovereignty, completely unconstrained power, and absolute justice that reflects His holiness.

Although God's rule extends to all people in all places and at all times the kingdom of God is identified with and understood by those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

Christians have experienced the arrival of the kingdom of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, the revelation of the kingdom of God awaits the return of Jesus Christ.



taken from The Baptist Faith and Message

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Courageous

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Josh 1:8-9 (ESV)

Casting Crown's new song & video:

Courageous

(movie in theaters September 30, 2011)

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8 (ESV)

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20  Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Eph 3:14-21 (ESV)

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

The Lord's Day

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!" Psalms 122:1 (ESV)

The Baptist Faith & Message 2000

VIII. The Lord's Day
The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord's Day should be commensurate with the Christian's conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12; 28:1ff.; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3,33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1,19-28; Acts 20:7; Romans 14:5-10; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Colossians 2:16; 3:16; Revelation 1:10.
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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

When Father Reads the Book

Happy Father's Day!
Father's Day Checkup:  Are you protecting your family?  Are you providing for your family? Are you leading your family spirtually?  Are you standing on the Word of God?  Fathers Day can be a good time to evaluate and make adjustments in how you are leading your family. Stay Strong & Stay in the Word!

When Father Reads the Book
by G. E. Foster

In these days of rush and bustle
When we hurry off to work,
I’m reminded of those early times
When father read the Book.
When father read the Book.
As we each our places took
Round the dear old family altar
When father read the Book.

O those dear old Bible stories,
Psalms that flowed like rippling brook;
Warnings, promises, and precepts
Lived, as father read that Book.
As father read the Book.
Satan’s kingdom round us shook,
And our Savior early claimed us
Because father read the Book.

O they say it was old-fashioned,
And what waste of time ‘twould look
To now take half-an-hour
To let father read the Book.
But as father read the Book,
Blessed thought in our minds stuck;
And the day went so much better
Just ‘cause father read the Book.

Oft I’m troubled as I journey
On toward heav’n with upward look,
To see families all about me
Grow up without father’s Book.
Let father read the Book,
Kneel and pray and read the Book;
Your home will be so different
If your father reads the Book.

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Thankful that my Daddy was a man who read the Book! Thankful that God and family were priorities for him. Thankful for his example, for his sacrifice, for his love for his wife and his children. I could go on and on for he was a great father. He went home to heaven in 2005 and I still miss him. Looking forward to seeing him again some sweet day! 

Soli Deo Gloria
ah


Psalm 119 - All 176 verses in Psalm 119 stress the written Word of God.  The Holy Scriptures are profitable in every way and able to meet every need in time and eternity.


All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Tim 3:16-17 (ESV)

One Day

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24 (ESV)

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, a Presbyterian pastor and evangelist, was born on June 17, 1859 and died on Christmas Day 1918.  He was led to Christ by D.L. Moody using John 5:24. He later wrote One Day.

One Day
J. Wilbur Chapman

One day when heaven was filled with His praises,
  One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin—
  Dwelt among men, my example is He!

chorus:

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
  Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever:
    One day He's coming—O glorious day!

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain,

  One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected;
  Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He.

One day they left Him alone in the garden,
  One day He rested, from suffering free;
Angels came down o'er His tomb to keep vigil;
  Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He.

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
  One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
  Now is ascended, my Lord evermore.

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,
  One day the skies with His glory will shine;
Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;
  Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!


Recorded by Casting Crowns with additional lyrics and new music as Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) on their Until the Whole World Hears CD.

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Short Comings

O Living God,

I  bless thee

      that I see the worst of my heart as well as

     the best of it,

   that I can sorrow for those sins that carry me

     from thee,

   that it is thy deep and dear mercy to threaten

     punishment so that I may return, pray, live.

My sin is to look on my faults and be discouraged,

   or to look on my good and be puffed up.

I fall short of thy glory every day by spending

     hours unprofitably,

   by thinking that the things I do are good,

     when they are not done to thy end,

     nor spring from the rules of thy Word.

My sin is to fear what never will be;

I forget to submit to thy will, and fail to be

   quiet there.

But Scripture teaches me that thy active will

   reveals a steadfast purpose on my behalf,

   and this quietens my soul,

   and makes me love thee.

Keep me always in the understanding

   that saints mourn more for sin than other men,

   for when they see how great is thy wrath

     against sin,

   and how Christ’s death alone pacifies that wrath,

   that makes them mourn the more.

Help me to see that although I am in the wilderness

   it is not all briars and barrenness.

I have bread from heaven, streams from the rock,

   light by day, fire by night,

   thy dwelling place and thy mercy seat.

I am sometimes discouraged by the way,

   but though winding and trying it is safe

     and short;

Death dismays me, but my great high priest

   stands in its waters,

   and will open me a passage,

   and beyond is a better country.

While I live let my life be exemplary,

When I die may my end be peace.

from The Valley of Vision, page 85

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Baptism and the Lord's Supper

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Cor 5:17 (ESV)


The Baptist Faith & Message 2000

VII. Baptism and the Lord's Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.
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Ordinance - a decree or command

Baptists believe the Church has two ordinances - baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Other denominations view these acts as sacraments. The word sacrament implies that the act itself conveys grace to the believer.  Baptists believe that Christ gave baptism and the Lord's Supper to His church not as sacraments but as pictures and affirmations of grace.

Baptize - Submerge, plunge or immerse

Baptism pictures the dealth, burial and resurrection of Christ, providing a beautiful picture of our salvation and reminding us of His saving work (Romans 6:4).

Baptism uniquely pictures Paul's description of a believer as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Being dead to self and alive to Christ is nowhere more perfectly pictured that in the ordinace of baptism, when the believer symbolically dies and is them raised to life in the newness of Christ's grace and His call to obedience.

Scripture reserves baptism for persons who a conscience believers in Christ.

The Lord's Supper, instituted by Christ Himself, points back to the Last Supper, which Christ shared with His disciples just before His crucifixion. The bread, Christ said symbolizes His body, broken for believers.  The fruit of the vine, Jesus said, represents His blood.

The scriptural command that believers examine their lives before participating in the Lord's Supper alerts believers to be on guard against persistent personal sin.

When the local church celebrates the Lord's Supper, we proclaim the death, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ even as we anticipate His return, when the church will celebrate the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7).

from The Baptist Faith and Message 


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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom & Revelation

15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23  which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all

Eph 1:15-23 (ESV)

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

The Church

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  Colossians 1:18  ESV

The Baptist Faith & Message 2000

VI. The Church

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3.

"The church, like individual Christians, is the salt of the earth; is the light of the world; is a city that is set on a hill and cannot be hid; and has the glorious priviledge of letting its light so shine before men that they may see the good works and glorify God." - J. M. Frost
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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

"Let Our Hearts Be Stout" (F.D.R.'s D-Day Prayer)

This is the prayer written by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as Allied troops were invading German-occupied Europe during World War II. This prayer was a National Radio Address delivered on the evening of D-Day, June 6, 1944, while American, British and Canadian troops were fighting on the coast of Normandy in northern France.
My Fellow Americans:

Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest -- until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them -- help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keeness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment -- let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace -- a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.

Amen.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt - June 6, 1944

Jesus Paid It All

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (ESV) knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,  but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.   1 Peter 1:18-19 (ESV) Jesus Paid It All Elvina M. Hall  (born June 4, 1820) Bridge written by Alex Nifong I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small; Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.” Chorus: Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. For nothing good have I Whereby Thy grace to claim; I’ll wash my garments white In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb. And now complete in Him, My robe, His righteousness, Close sheltered ’neath His side, I am divinely blest. Lord, now indeed I find Thy pow’r, and Thine alone, Can change the leper’s spots And melt the heart of stone. And when before the throne I stand in Him complete, "Jesus died my soul to save," My lips shall still repeat.

Bridge
Oh praise the One who paid my debt
and raised this life up from the dead!

Oh praise the One who paid my debt
and raised this life up from the dead!

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah



Click here to find out more about Jesus and the price He paid!

Don't Be Selfish...Share Christ

If you believe how can you not share?

Video from professed atheist Penn Jillette.

Don't Be Selfish ... Share Christ

Let us not only think of ourselves. Let us also think of others. There are millions in the world who have no spiritual light at all. They are without God, without Christ, and without hope. (Eph. 2:12) Can we do nothing for them? There are thousands around us who are unconverted and dead in sins, seeing nothing and knowing nothing right. Can we do nothing for them? These are questions to which every true Christian ought to find an answer. We should strive, in every way, to spread our religion. The highest form of selfishness is that of the person who is content to go to heaven alone. The truest charity is to endeavor to share with others every spark of religious light we possess ourselves, and so to hold up our own candle that it may give light to every one around us. Happy is that soul, which, as soon as it receives light from heaven, begins to think of others as well as itself! No candle which God lights was ever meant to burn alone.

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 257. {Luke 8:16-21}

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CHRIST

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Privileges

O Lord God,

Teach me to know that grace precedes,

         accompanies, and follows my salvation,

   that it sustains the redeemed soul,

   that not one link of its chain can ever break.

From Calvary’s cross wave upon wave of grace

   reaches me,

   deals with my sin,

   washes me clean,

   renews my heart,

   strengthens my will,

   draws out my affection,

   kindles a flame in my soul,

   rules throughout my inner man,

   consecrates my every thought, word, work,

   teaches me thy immeasurable love.

How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus!

Without him I stand far off, a stranger, an outcast;

   in him I draw near and touch his kingly sceptre.

Without him I dare not lift up my guilty eyes;

   in him I gaze upon my Father-God and Friend.

Without him I hide my lips in trembling shame;

   in him I open my mouth in petition and praise.

Without him all is wrath and consuming fire;

   in him is all love, and the repose of my soul.

Without him is gaping hell below me, and eternal

     anguish;

   in him its gates are barred to me by his precious

     blood.

Without him darkness spreads its horrors in front;

   in him an eternity of glory is my boundless

     horizon.

Without him all within me is terror and dismay,

   in him every accusation is charmed into joy and

     peace.

Without him all things external call for my

     condemnation;

   in him they minister to my comfort,

   and are to be enjoyed with thanksgiving.

Praise be to thee for grace,

   and for the unspeakable gift of Jesus.

from The Valley of Vision - A Collection of Puritan Prayers Page 158

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

God's Purpose of Grace

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
John 6:37 (ESV)

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:44 (ESV)

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
John 10:27-29 (ESV)


The Baptist Faith & Message 2000


V. God's Purpose of Grace


Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31ff.; Matthew 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Romans 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7,26-36; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Colossians 1:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:10,19; Hebrews 11:39–12:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2.