“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Rom. 8:17)

His beneficiaries

The term heirs of God emphasizes our relationship to God the Father. As His children, we have “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade . . . kept in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4). The Greek term translated “heirs” in Rom. 8:17 refers to “those who receive their allotted possession by right of sonship.” In other words, because God has made us His children (see John 1:12), we have full rights to receive His inheritance. We are His beneficiaries (see Matt. 25:34; Gal. 3:29; Col. 1:12; 3:24).

That means

·      You are a treasured possession   

“Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.” (Exo. 19:5 NLT)

·      You will be a holy people to the Lord your God 

“He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.” (Deut. 26:19 NIV)

·      You are eternal, like an angel

“And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.” (Luke 20:36 NLT) 

·      You have a crown that will last forever

“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” (1 Cor. 9:25 ESV)

·      You were chosen before the creation of the world

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” (Eph. 1:4 NIV)

“The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” (Psalm 37:23-24)

Like quicksand

How many times have you watched a movie where the hero is sucked down into a pit of quicksand? The harder they struggle the faster they sink. It’s a powerful picture of what it looks (and feels like) to be sinking (or caught) in a difficult situation or in some kind of sinful trap.

What to do

The ultimate answer is to immediately cry out to Jesus for help as Peter did when he found himself sinking.  

“But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matt. 14:30)

A despairing cry

In the old church hymn “Love Lifted Me”, written by James Rowe, he wrote:  “I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me - Now safe am I — Love lifted me, Love lifted me, When nothing else could help, Love lifted me.”

Therefore  

“In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” (Psalm 18:6 ESV)

“Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink; May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters.” (Psalm 69:14)

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

Billy Graham once said, “Planning and worrying are two different things. When we worry, we are not trusting God for our futures, but the Bible does teach the importance of preparation. … Only God knows the future; no matter how hard we try, even our best efforts will only be guesses. But this ought to encourage you—because if God knows the future, then you can trust your future into His hands! Wouldn’t it be better to face the future with Him than without Him?”

Take heart in these twelve promises from God’s Word

1)    Everlasting life

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” —John 6:47 

2)    Mercy 

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” —Psalm 86:5 

3)    Love

“I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.” —Proverbs 8:17

4)    Joy

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” —Romans 15:13

5)    Peace

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” —Isaiah 26:3 

6)    Fellowship

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” —Isaiah 41:10 

7)    Endurance

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” —Hebrews 12:1

8)    Companionship

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'” —Hebrews 13:5

9)    Kindness

“For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,’ Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.” —Isaiah 54:10

10) Courage

“Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” —Psalm 27:14 

11) Help

“I will lift my eyes unto the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” —Psalm 121:1-2

12) Restoration

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” —Revelation 21:4

“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 ESV)

God cares for you

·      You are valuable to Him

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matt. 10:29-31 ESV)

·      He will give you rest

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28 ESV)

·      He will sustain you

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

·      He will clothe you

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matt 6:30)

·      Nothing can separate you from His love

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39 ESV) 

·      You are an heir of God and co-heir with Christ 

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Rom. 8:17 NIV)

·      You are eternal, like an angel

“And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.” (Luke 20:36 NLT)

·      You have a crown that will last forever

“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” (1 Cor. 9:25 ESV)

·      You are a treasured possession 

“Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.” (Exo. 19:5 NLT)

·      You were chosen before the creation of the world

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” (Eph. 1:4 NIV)

·      You will be a holy people to the Lord your God 

“He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.” (Deut. 26:19 NIV)

Therefore

Because God cares so much for you…

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8 ESV)

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15:9 ESV) 

Everything we do and say is done in his name (Col. 3:17).

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17 NIV)

The Bible calls us ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20)

An ambassador is defined as an authorized messenger or representative. It is much the same as the legal arrangement known as the power of attorney. In such matters one person may represent another in his absence. They act in their behalf. Jesus has given every believer unlimited and general power of attorney in all matters and with the right to use his name in every situation. We are representing Him and His interests here on earth.

It’s an awesome and fearful responsibility!

“Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:11-21 NLT)

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:17-18 NIV)

The devils are powerless because of the Name of Jesus

Demonic activity is real, but the Christian should not be afraid. God is greater than any demon or any thing that they can do. Believers have the authority to stand firm against the devil’s tactics. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” 

“Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” (Matt. 10:1)

“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” (Luke 10:17 NIV)

We have authority over the devil because Jesus is in us

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

Therefore

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.” (Luke 10:19 NIV)

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Eph. 6:11)

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:9-11 NIV)

What is justified?

Answer Simply put, to justify is to declare righteous. Justification is an act of God whereby He pronounces a sinner to be righteous because of that sinner's faith in Christ.

In the passage above is a list of those who will not inherit the kingdom of God because of their sinfulness, which separates them from God. But that passage goes on to proclaim something truly remarkable, that some of them who placed their faith in the Name of Jesus Christ were justified (made righteous).

Salvation is often viewed in legal terms

Justification is a legal term with a meaning like “acquittal”; in religion it points to the process whereby a person is declared to be right before God. That person should be an upright and good person, but justification does not point to qualities like these. That is rather the content of sanctification. Justification points to the acquittal of one who is tried before God. In both the Old Testament and the New the question receives a good deal of attention and in both it is clear that people cannot bring about their justification by their own efforts. The legal force of the terminology is clear when Job exclaims, “Now that I have prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated.” (Job 13:18 )

Believers are justified freely by faith in Jesus

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (Rom. 3:21-26 NIV)

Therefore

“Just-as-if-I’d never sinned” is one way the word justified has been explained. God not only forgives us, but He sees us as if we had never sinned. He removes our sin, and in its position He places the perfect righteousness of Christ.

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21)

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV),

A gift from God the Father 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” (Eph. 2:8 ESV) 

Therefore

“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Rom. 10:13 ESV). 

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9 ESV)

“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)

“But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” (Acts 3:6 NLT)

Jesus’ Name with Faith

“By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know has been made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through Him that has given him this complete healing in your presence.” (Acts 3:16)

Jesus' plan was that all Christians would continue doing and speaking as He did

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (John 14:12)

In the book of Acts we read that this is exactly what they did

“The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.” (Acts 5:16)

Therefore

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:17-18 NIV)