If you’ve ever wondered why God can feel distant right after you sin, you’re not alone and you’re not crazy. We talk candidly about the gap between intellectually believing “God loves me” and actually experiencing the love of Christ in a way that steadies your heart, softens your conscience, and restores joy. 

We start with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3, where the Holy Spirit strengthens the inner person so we can comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love, a love that “surpasses knowledge.” That line matters: it means biblical Christianity is more than information. It’s the Spirit applying gospel truth so deeply that your heart can hold what your mind cannot fully measure, especially as obedience replaces ongoing disobedience that quenches and grieves the Spirit. 

From there we move through Romans 5:6 to 11, where the gospel shines at full brightness: while we were still helpless, ungodly, and sinful, Christ died for us. We contrast natural human love with God’s redeeming love, then follow Paul’s “much more” argument for assurance of salvation: if God reconciled us through the death of His Son when we were enemies, how much more will He keep us saved by the life of the risen Savior. We close with the fruit this produces, rejoicing in God Himself rather than obsessing over His gifts, and measuring life by love for God. 

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Support the show

Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann is supported in part by:

Cat Care Clinic, located in Ormond Beach 

AMN Plumbing serving the Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Port Orange, New Smyrna and surrounding areas.

Luther Rice Seminary