Why Christ-Followers are Love Letters

As an introduction to this study, please read the 1-minute devotion: Are you Christ's Love Letter?

Since you are a "letter," why not get a pen and paper and jot down insights for each Scripture passage below.

Did you know that Christ-followers are letters?  Paul told the Corinthians:

“You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:3  

God wrote His laws on tablets of stone.

Exodus 31:18: "When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God."  

But He doesn't write on hearts of stone. Instead, He writes on repentant, converted hearts:

Jeremiah 31:33: "'This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.'"

Ezekiel 36:26: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

I encourage you to study what Scripture says about "hard hearts."
Start with this list on Bible Hub and write down insights from each passage.  

Christ-followers are:  

♥ Letters of recommendation... for those who brought us to the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:1-2: "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone."

Who helped lead you to the Lord? Did you realize you are a letter written on their heart? Why not take some time this week to thank them. 

♥ Letters of emancipation... from our slavery to sin. 
John 8:36: "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

I encourage you to study what Scripture says about "slavery to sin."
Start with this list on Bible Hub and write down insights from each passage.

♥ Letters of adoption... as sons and daughters of God. 
Romans 8:15: "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'"

We use the term "children of God" rather loosely. This 1-minute devotion explains that this term is reserved only for believers: Who Are Children of God? 

♥ Letters of clemency... from a death sentence we deserved.
Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

For additional insights on being set free from your death sentence, read this 1-minute devotion: What Kind of Dead Man are You?

♥ Letters of hope... to a lost and dying world. 
1 Corinthians 1:18-25: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate”...  23 we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God..."

You might say we are letters that are scented with perfume. This 1-minute devotion gives more insights about our effect on the world: Why Good Christians Stink and Smell Wonderful. 

♥ Love letters... from our Savior.
Ephesians 2:4-5: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

It's appropriate that we should be called letters since our Lord Jesus is the Word.
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 

Because Jesus is the Word, we should be offended by any book or teaching that changes His words. See 5 Ways the Shack Contradicts Biblical Salvation and see the 1-Minute Bible Love Notes archive Christian, Beware!

If you know Jesus, you are His letter.
1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 


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