God sent Jesus down out of His LOVE, MERCY and GRACE.
To raise us up through FAITH, HOPE and LOVE.

The left side of the U represents the way God is toward us.  The first LOVE on the left represents God's love for us which is His reason why He gave Jesus in the first place to die for us.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..." (Jn 3:16).

MERCY is the basis of God having anything to do with us.  Mercy is for who God saves.  We start out His enemies (Rom 5:10) due to our sins.  God has "mercy on whomever He wills and hardens the heart of whomever He wills" (Rom 9:15)  If not for God's mercy we would die in our sins - His mercy is our best and only hope for salvation.   If God is merciful toward us it is because of His willing it so - His predestinating us to receive His mercy.

God's GRACE is how He saves.  Through Jesus Himself and His sacrifice we receive grace (Jn 1:16).   Grace is a sharing relationship - where God shares Himself with us by giving His Only Son on our behalf and we share in Him by responding out of  thankfulness for Jesus and His sacrifice.  (Eph 2:8, 9)   God gives His grace to those who realize the trouble they are in due to their pride and sin and who humble themselves.  (Jas 4:6)  We are justified in God's sight and made acceptable to Him through grace.   Jesus did for us that which we are unable to do for ourselves.  (Tit 3:5-7)

The bottom, middle part of the U is where God finds us - at the bottom - which is where we are automatically due to our sin and our corruption.

The right side of the U represents our participation in our salvation through faith, hope and love.

God arranges FAITH so we can please God and draw near to Him.  "Without faith it is impossible to please God..." (Heb 11:6)  He arranges faith so we can believe in Jesus and follow Him better than we know.  Through faith we realize there is something real to look forward to beyond this life here - which is very temporary and full of false hopes.

He gives us a living HOPE (1Pe 1:13) which does not disappoint us (Rom 5:2).  Through faith plus our desire to be with the One who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal 2:20), we seize this hope in Christ.  Anyone who is actually living this way; denying themselves and hoping completely in Christ, is not grasping for this life and "loving their life in this world" (Jn 12:25).  They are putting all their trust in Jesus completely where it belongs.

Those who actually are hoping in God are then able to obey Jesus' greatest command which is to LOVE God and love one another gladly as He loved them.  (Jn 13:34)   They are therefore fulfilling God's original plan for their salvation by obeying His will and so proving to be His disciples.  (Jn 15:8)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Church of Bible Understanding
1300 South 58th Street
Philadelphia, PA  19143
1-800-223-2360

churchofbibleunderstanding@worldnet.att.net
 

This is Mike Montoya. The message above sounds pretty good, pretty accurate. What COBU won't tell you about is the underlying message and life they are trying to enslave you to. On their Haiti web site and on their Olde Goode Things web page, you do not see pictures of Stewart Traill, their leader. You do not get the history of this church and the damage report of the more than 2000 former members who are struggling to warn people about the harm Traill has caused. He started this church in 1971. In 1989 he threw out all of his previous teaching but did not step down. The current members are in their late 40's early 50's and remain unmarried, one of the fruits of Traill's influence. Current members live in sub-standard housing while Traill and his second wife live in a Florida condo. The Church owns 4 planes but the only people who get to fly them are Stewart and Gayle Traill. If you call them up you will not talk to a real person. you will talk to someone who has learned words, sentences, and tactics to ensnare from Stewart Traill.  You might think COBU has good works in HAITI but remember that Jim Jones was famous for his good works up until the end. Traill's picture and history are not on any of the 3 web pages COBU currently runs. He is the man behind the curtain. Do not get entangled. COBU's pattern has not changed in 30 years. It's a slow sell and if you stick around long enough, you will start to believe in things any sane person wouldn't dream of believing in. Tell your friends and family. You can get the real gospel from a healthy brother or sister in Christ without having to fall for the slow-quciksand of COBU. Check the rest of the documents on this site. None of them have been altered. What Stewart Traill really is comes from his own mouth. Avoid Him!