The knowledge of God's sovereignty in salvation shouldn’t steer us away from evangelizing but should drive, motivate, and compel our evangelism because God uses means to save people. Said this way, in salvation, God intends to use His word and people to sow the seed of the gospel to draw sinners to Himself.

It has been said that understanding our union with Christ is crucial to the Christian life. The Bible teaches that union with Christ is a spiritual union between Jesus and the redeemed, where He is their supreme source in this life. This is best pictured when Jesus says that He is the vine and we, as Christians, are the branches. 

The Bible teaches that every Christian is in union with Christ. This great theological reality has many applications for the Christian life. Our union with Christ encourages and promotes sanctification, which is a slow and steady increase in holiness and Christlikeness.

The New Testament describes Jesus Christ as the rightful owner of every Christian, which means not only that He created us but that He also redeemed us by His blood. He also sustains us and is our ultimate and highest authority in our lives. 

Obeying Jesus as Lord is a necessary consequence of salvation. This simply means that the person who confesses Jesus Christ as Lord will walk in obedience to His commands. Of course, this does not mean that he will do so perfectly, but the pattern of his life must be one that loves to obey his Lord and Savior.

: How can a man be made right before God? Friend, do you know the answer to that question? And not just the answer, but the biblical answer? Theologians call the answer to this question the doctrine of justification.

The doctrine of justification is a magnificent exchange where the Lord Jesus Christ gets the blame for my sin and I get the credit for His obedience. He gets my declaration of guilt, and I get His declaration of righteousness. On the cross, He suffered the punishment for my sin and I received the reward for His obedience. 

The Parable of the Soils, also known as the Parable of the Sower, is a vitally important parable that describes four responses that people give after hearing about the good news of Jesus Christ. But according to Jesus, this parable is also key because it is the foundation on which all His other parables rest.

Jesus’ parable of the soils is a unique parable that describes four responses to the gospel message. But it is interesting that three of the four responses are favorable to the gospel and two of those responses appear to be genuine salvation but, over time, prove not to be. The question is: is your profession of Christ merely in appearance or do you have true salvation in Jesus Christ?