When Paul prayed for the salvation his fellow Jews, in the group for which he prayed were those who had sought to kill him. He also spoke of them as having a zeal for God, but a wrongly informed zeal. So it is today with many who get worked up over issues that are external and unfortunately seek to establish their own brand of righteousness.

The gospel is the cure for all forms of division and disunity. Only it can work from the inside out, instead of all man's systems that try to change the inside from the outside.

John's statement -behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world- is explained here and shown to be a great Epiphany text.

The eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ.

An ungrateful heart is an unholy heart,-they did not remember the multitude of your mercies.- Past mercies were forgotten, present mercies unconsidered. If people wish to speak ill of us, let them do so, but don't let it be said of us that we were an ungrateful people.

This is a great time to be a Christian, old veneers of traditionalism are peeling away, and the true from the false is getting clearer.

Can we ask questions of God- Yes. Are we in the position to question God- No.

As we Started with Scripture alone, since all the other doctrines spring forth from it, we finish our series with Scriptures Author and Preserver.In salvation, particularly, if anyone takes even the slightest credit to themselves, they are giving glory to something besides God, which in turn is the essence of idolatry.

The very heart of the Bible's message is Jesus Christ. From the very first announcement in Genesis 3, to the very first announcement of His incarnation -He will save His people from their sins- to the very first sermon of the New Testament Church -There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved-, it is Christ and Christ alone.

It is not faith that justifies, it is God who justifies. Faith is not the substance of justification, the substance is the righteousness of Christ. We are only justified by faith as it relates to and has as its object Jesus Christ and His righteousness.