The certainty of faith is utter assurance because it depends upon nothing of your own. It is entirely trusting that God is a propitious, pardoning God—the God who justifies sinners by forgiving them.
Sinners get faith as a gift when Christ takes their captivity captive.

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We at 1517 are utterly committed to keeping the main thing, the main thing.
Mark makes no effort to impress listeners or win votes. His voice aims only to prepare those who hear it for the coming of the Lord.
In a year where things are unclear, tensions are heartbreaking, and uncertainty is rampant, what can we be thankful for?
God’s love does not have an off switch. You cannot earn it or deserve it. And your thankfulness for it will not determine if you get it or not.
Like Luther and like Hannah, we also receive God’s promise.
Jesus desires for us to watch. The question, however, is, “How do we watch for the return of Jesus?”
Life will not go as planned nor as we would hope, but "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
God is coloring over your sin and making you fragrant; he is making you righteous in his sight. The old is gone, forever covered over by this new work.
Jesus overcame sin, death, and Satan on the cross. His bloody suffering and death marked this sinful world's defeat.
In this context where death looms large, Jesus reveals a kingdom where life looms even larger.
Although theirs is an impressive show of faith, the display of God’s faithfulness to them is far greater. After all, faith is only as strong as the object in which it is placed.
The tragedy of this parable is not the failure to serve. It is the failure to truly know your Savior.