Knowing God

by J.I. Packer

Third, he pays—pays his vows, that is, of faithfulnes...

The praising, praying, thankful, faithful person has on him the marks of...

God is for you; you see what that means; now reckon up who is against you, and ask yourself how the two sides compare.

Toplady, who is the poet of Christian assurance

A sovereign protector I have, Unseen, yet for ever at hand; Unchangeably faithful to save, Almighty to rule and command.

He smiles, and my comforts abound; His grace as the dew shall descend, And walls of salvation surround The soul He delights to defend.

The thought expressed by Paul’s second question is that no good thing will finally be withheld from us.

pointing to the adequacy of God as our sovereign benefactor

Note, first, what Paul implies about the costliness of our redemption.

In saving us, God went to the limit. What more could he have given for us?

if the measure of love is what it gives, then there never was such love as God showed to sinners at Calvary,

Note, second, what Paul implies about the effectiveness of our redemption.

this fact is itself the guarantee that “all things” will be given us, because they all come to us as the direct fruit of Christ’s

d...

At this point the New Testament view of the cross

involves more than is sometimes realized.

the apostolic writers present the death of Christ as the ground and warrant of God’s offer of forgiveness, and that we enter into forgiveness through repentance and faith in Christ, will not be disputed. But does this mean that, as a loaded gun is only potentially explosive, and an act of pulling the trigger is needed to make it go off, so Christ’s death achieved only a possibility of salvation, needing an exercise of faith on ou...

strictly speaking, we save ourselves ...

for all we know, Christ’s death might not hav...

But that is not how the New Testa...

The New Testament view is that the death of Christ has actually saved “us all”—all, that is to say, whom God foreknew, and has called and jus...

Psychologically, faith is our own act, but the theological truth about it is that it is God’s work in us:

the cross was not an isolated event; it was, rather, the focal point in God’s eternal plan to save his elect, and it ensured and guaranteed first the calling

and then the justification, and finally the glorification, of all for whom, specifically and personally, Christ died.

It is simply impossible for him not to do

this, for Christ and “all things” go together as ingredients in the single gift of eternal life and glory,

The saving purpose of God, from eternal election to final glory, is one,

Note, third, what Paul implies about the consequences of our redemption.

“all things” means all the good, not that we can think of, but that God can think of, as infinite

wisdom and power guide his generosity.

The wrong inference which he was countering

was that the Christian’s sins of infirmity may endanger God’s continued acceptance of him; the wrong inference that he is countering here is that following Christ will mean the loss of things worth having, uncompensated by any corresponding gain—which,

He puts it to Israel as an issue not of theology but of loyalty; a matter not of the mind simply, but of the heart.

in the first commandment God told Israel to serve him exclusively, not only because they owed it to him, but also because he was worthy of their entire and

exclusive trust.

They were to bow to his absolute authority over them on the basis of confidence in his c...

you must accept for yourself the position of such a person, in the sense that you renounce all future expectations from society and learn to take it as a matter of course if the people around you give you the cold shoulder

and view you with contempt and disgust,

You may often find yourself treated in this fashion if you are loyal to ...

you are called to be a meek person, not always standing up for your rights, nor concerned to get your own back, nor troubled in your hear...

but you are simply to commit your cause to God and leave it to him to vindicate you if and when he sees fit.

your heart must be ready to care for needy souls when you find them;

We know what kind of life Christ calls us to; we often preach and talk to each other about it. But do we live it?

look at the churches. Observe the shortage of ministers and

missionaries, especially men; the luxury goods in Christian homes; the fund-raising problems of Christian societies; the readiness of Christians in all walks of life to grumble about their salaries; the lack of concern for the old and lonely and for anyone outside the circle o...