God grants and credits salvation to his people. The gospel is only about what is done to us. It’s all on Christ and his work. And yet the gospel is also worked out in us. We have been redeemed by Christ, but now the Holy Spirit applies the benefits of our redemption to us. That means that we are sanctified. We are free in order to serve him, conforming to the image of Christ as we walk after him in holiness.

Families tend to stick together, especially where there are threats to a family’s reputation to the outside world. Those who believe in the Lord have been brought into the family of God. Though they don’t deserve it, God adopts them into his family. This is a glorious message of hope and assurance that God has adopted his children, even as Christ is our elder brother.

Our union with Christ shows that we have been crucified with him, and we also are being made holy with the resurrection life that he gives us. The law causes us to be captive, but we are justified by faith alone in order to receive the promised inheritance.

In the biblical concept of regeneration, we are shown how we are united to Christ in both his death and resurrection. This supernatural work is all of God, who makes dead hearts alive. When we are discouraged as a church about what seems to be lack of fruit or growth, we can be encouraged that it’s the Spirit who does the work. But that should also encourage us to live lives of holiness in response to his transforming power in us.

Today we begin a few sermons that focus on gospel basics from the book of Galatians. A revitalized church needs to get the gospel right. Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia because there were false teachers that were forcing them to go back under certain requirements of the law. Yet what we find from Paul’s own calling is that God calls his people by his grace.

God’s people are not only called to remember, but also to repent, to turn back to a godly gospel living. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church, he tells them about why he is rejoicing. Even though he had to write to them a difficult letter to correct them, he hears an encouraging report from Titus about how they received it. And he tells them of how they demonstrated a godly repentance. This is a repentance that that isn’t just about getting caught but which leads to turning back to Christ and salvation.

This week we begin a sermon series on church revitalization, the topics which are found in chapters from Harry Reeder’s book From Embers to Flame. God calls churches to look to the past to remember what God has done in order to move to a firm foundation for the future.

It can be hard for us to wait until God makes all things right, especially when there is a great deal of suffering. Yet today is a good reminder for us to pray that the Lord would indeed come. We need to be warned that this holy city is not for everyone, and that we are not to add or take away from God’s word. Yet we can be encouraged that we have his trustworthy revelation, that he is coming soon, and that our God is the Alpha and Omega. God invites his people chosen by grace to partake in this heavenly city where Christ is truly present with his people.

We know for certain that life will bring us joys as well as sorrows, highs as well as lows. Revelation 21 presents a great picture of joy. We see a new city, a place where God is present with his people and the curse of the garden of Eden is reversed. It’s a place that God has made that is beautiful and adorned as a bride. There is no need for a temple, for the Lord is the temple, and all those there have been washed by the blood of the Lamb.

Today’s passage presents to us a sobering picture of judgment. We don’t always want to think about the wages of sin and the ultimate punishment of hell. Yet here we have hope in Christ who has done away with death and has brought us into new life.You can subscribe to By Faith Alone on Apple podcasts or on Spotify.