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5.

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Redeemed and Restored

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When Adam and Eve succumbed to sin, the consequences rippled through all of humanity to follow.

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Every man, woman, and child has been affected and tainted by their disobedience.

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In that moment, it seemed all our fates were to be estranged from God.

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But no.

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God conceived and created us in love.

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His acts on our behalf are not afterthoughts.

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His love would not be defeated.

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Our Heavenly Father had a plan.

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It was a supernatural plan, one beyond the comprehension of any created being—a divine

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plan that not only reconciles us to God but elevates us to unimaginable heights, crowning

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each of His children in glory and granting them the adoption into His eternal family.

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Out of a love so deep that we can scarcely fathom it, the Son of God Himself would pay

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the price of sin for us.

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On our behalf, He would willingly endure death—separation from His Father—so that

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we might live, offering us the gift of salvation and adoption into the family of God.

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And this gift would be freely given to all who would accept it.

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God would not force it upon anyone.

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John 3, verses 17 and 18 tell us,

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For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world

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through Him.

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Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned

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already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

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1 Corinthians 15, verse 22 elaborates,

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For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

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Through Adam's disobedience all were corrupted by sin and separated from God.

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But through Christ's obedience and sacrifice, those who believe are restored to their Heavenly

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Father and granted eternal life.

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Only God could pay the price of sin for you, and only through Him could death be defeated.

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This was the glorious plan that had been prepared from the beginning, and it remains the foundation

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of our faith today.

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John 1, verses 12 and 13 say,

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Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to

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become children of God—children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision,

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nor of a husband's will, but born of God.

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When you receive Christ, you are not only saved, but also adopted into the family of

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God.

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Being a son or a daughter of God is not a perfunctory title, it is a profound and eternal

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reality.

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Through your faith in Christ, you become an adopted child of the Most High, a member of

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the royal heavenly family.

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This adoption carries with it both privilege and purpose.

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God chose you, not as an afterthought or by accident, but with intention and love.

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Long before you were born, He saw you, knew you, and planned for your redemption.

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And He did so for a far greater purpose than just saving you from sin.

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He has called you to be a living testament to His love and redemption, not only for mankind,

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but for all of creation.

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Worthiness Not Required

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When you accepted the gift of salvation through Christ, you were redeemed and reconciled to

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God.

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But this gift is just the beginning of your journey.

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Salvation is not the ultimate goal, it is the foundation upon which God will build the

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fullness of your destiny.

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It's not the finish line, it's the starting block.

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That's why the Lord doesn't care about where you've come from or what you've done.

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It doesn't matter.

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When you release sin to Him, it's forgiven and forgotten.

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The fact is, we have a much bigger time forgiving ourselves than God has forgiving us.

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For some, life has been a series of failures, bad decisions, and brokenness.

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You're shamed of your past, wrestling with your present, and feel unworthy.

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You're unsure of your place in His kingdom.

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But let me assure you, God's love for you is not dependent on your worthiness.

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Not one of us is worthy in and of ourselves.

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Our best efforts, even from those we might consider to be of great faith and accomplishment,

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when compared to God's righteousness, we all fall woefully short.

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As it is written in Isaiah 64 verse 6, All of us have become like one who is unclean,

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and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.

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We all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

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Every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

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Romans 3 verse 23, Yet, out of His abundant mercy and love, God extends His grace to us.

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We are not saved by our works, but by His grace through our faith in Christ.

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The good works we do are the result of God's work in us, not our own works or actions.

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We cannot take credit for any of it.

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of it, for it is all His doing.

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In Ephesians 2 verses 4-9 we read, But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich

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in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.

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It is by grace you have been saved.

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And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ

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Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His

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grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it

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is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

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More Than Restored Salvation is only the first step, it is the

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beginning of your restoration, the foundation of your divine destiny.

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God does not see you as you see yourself, flawed, broken, unworthy.

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He sees beyond that.

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He sees the reality of you as the person He created you to be, redeemed, restored and

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filled with His Spirit.

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Despite what you may have been taught, God does not ask you to clean up your life before

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coming to Him.

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He does not demand good works or acts as a prerequisite for salvation.

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He asks only for your belief and acceptance of what His Son did on your behalf.

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When you come to Him, then He begins the work of transforming you into the person He

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created you to be.

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And one of the most important things for you to understand is that your transformation

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is a process.

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He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ

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Jesus.

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Philippians 1 verse 6 God knew your weaknesses, infirmities, and

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natural proclivities long before you were born.

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But He chose you and adopted you out of love because you are more than that, and your value

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to Him is not the measure of your good deeds minus your bad ones.

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In Ephesians 1 verses 3-5, Paul writes Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord

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Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

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For He chose us in Him, before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in

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His sight.

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In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance

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with His pleasure and will.

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You cannot make yourself holy or blameless, and there is more to you than flesh and blood.

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You are Spirit, and it is the Spirit of God entwined with your spirit, working transformation

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within you that confirms you belong to Him.

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It is through that process, and again it is a process, that you become who you are

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created to be.

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For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

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The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again, rather

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the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.

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And by Him we cry, Abba, Father.

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The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

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Now, if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed

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we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

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Romans 8, verses 14-17.

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This speaks to the close, intimate relationship with God you're supposed to have, not the

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distant, casual, superficial affiliation that so many are content to settle for.

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Out of His incredible love, grace, and patience, God takes you as you are—fallen and broken,

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bruised and battered—to clean you, to heal you, and raise you up to the highest place

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of honor as His child.

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He provided for your salvation, adoption, and transformation long before you were even

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born.

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Through Christ you are redeemed, restored, and reconciled back to God.

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You are made perfect in Him and through Him.

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And this is just the beginning of the journey He has prepared for you, as we shall see in

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the next chapter.