We do not obey in order to enhance our assurance of God’s favor. We obey
because we have already received the ultimate, definitive verdict, pronounced in
the cross and resurrection, that we are perfectly, irrevocably righteous in
God’s sight and entitled to enter heaven on the basis of the perfect
righteousness and merit of Christ. The gavel has come down, the sentence has
rung out throughout the universe: You are mine! No one can snatch you out
of my hand! You are my blood-bought servant, a brand snatched from the burning!
No angel, no demon, no sin can take you out of the favor of being accepted in
the Beloved!
Blessings to you this Lord's day.
