We Love God With All of Our Soul (TMF:442)

Tuesday, July 05, 2016
Peace to Live By: We Love God With All of Our Soul (TMF:442) - Daniel Litton
(tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       We also love God with all our soul. Paul said to the Thessalonians, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. ESV). Now, there is a sense in sanctification where we, as Christians, are already blameless before God in his sight, as the blood of Jesus has declared us righteous before God. But there is also a sense where we are to become sanctified in this life by following Jesus, by following what God says in his Word to us. So, Paul's prayer to the Thessalonians was that God would keep their souls—their ‘selves’—blameless before him. Now this will surely happen because of Jesus' sacrifice for us, but we should also be diligent in trying to be pleasing to God as best we can, to the best of our knowledge. This will involving denying ourselves—wanting to follow our own ways without God’s input. Jesus, on one occasion, said we must deny ourselves daily (Luke 9:23). This is loving God with our souls. Doing what is pleasing to him, with all our souls, makes him happy.