God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
There are no men more careful of the use of means than those that are surest of a good issue and conclusion, for the one stirs up diligence in the other. Assurance of the end stirs up diligence in the means. For the soul of a believing Christian knows that God has decreed both.
The Word of God is clear, it is not that we have accepted God; rather He has accepted us… [Yet many Christians] actually think that they accepted God, and therefore it is only natural for them to think that they need to keep accepting God every hour of every day in order to make it as a Christian… In the cross of Christ, the bride of Christ has been made acceptable to God, and such acceptance is the foundation of our assurance.
