Mar 15
28
| God chose an elect people before the foundation of the world and gave them to Christ to redeem. Christ became what they were, yet without sin and lived perfectly and died in their place, being made sin for them. The Spirit of God called and caused them to hear the preaching of the Gospel. He saved them, He keeps them, and He will one day glorify them. Sounds to me like God should receive ALL THE GLORY. David Eddmenson |
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CHRIST CRUCIFIED
The preaching of Christ Jesus and Him crucified is hated by this religious world. But those who believe, and are saved, love it with a perfect love. It is our only hope, our Salvation. If we compromise on this to please the people of our day, we compromise the Gospel, and make the death of our Lord Jesus Christ of none effect. We have no Salvation. We have no hope. We will stand before a thrice Holy God with a hope only in what we can do to satisfy His justice. We will be obligated to pay our sin debt with the works of the flesh, while the Scriptures declare that, “By the works of the flesh shall no man be justified in His sight.” What hope is there in this? None whatsoever. – Unknown
THE SUBJECT OF THE FIRST BIBLE CONFERENCE
The closest thing we have to a Bible Conference in the New Testament is what took place in Acts 15. Some men from the church in Jerusalem came down to the churches in Galatia. Luke does not call them brethren, but “Certain men”. They came with this message to the Gentile believers, “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” Paul said of these same people, ‘There rose up a certain sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. And what was the matter they were considering? How much of salvation is by grace? How eloquently Peter answered the question when he said to those who would bring works in, “Why tempt ye God, to put a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they” (Acts 15:10-11). Notice, Peter does not say that the Gentiles will be saved the same way the Jews will be saved. He says the Jews will be saved in the precise same way the Gentiles will be saved. The only way a Gentile can be saved is by 100% grace, even the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Electing, justifying, redeeming, life giving, preserving, glorifying grace. How much of salvation is by grace? All of it! This is the theme of every Grace Bible Conference. Todd Nibert
For Me a Worm- Octavius Winslow.
“The Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins” Galatians 1:3-4
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins” 1 John 2:2
O what an astonishing truth is this! The Son of God offering Himself up a sacrifice for sin! He who knew no sin — who was holy, harmless, and undefiled — not one thought of evil in His heart — yet made sin, or a sin offering! O the magnitude of the thought! If God Himself had not declared it, we could not have believed it, though an angel’s trumpet had announced it.
O blessed and adorable Immanuel! Was this the end and design of Your intense and mysterious sufferings? Was it that You should obey, bear the sin, endure the curse, and bow Your head in death — that I might go free? Was it in my stead, and in my behalf?
O unexampled love! O infinite and free grace! That God should become incarnate — that the Holy One should so take upon Him sin, as to be dealt with by stern justice as though He were Himself the sinner — that He should drain the cup of wrath, give His back to the smiters, endure the shame and the spitting, and at last be suspended upon the cross, and pour out His last drop of most precious blood — and all this for me! For me a rebel! For me a worm! For me the chief of sinners! Be astonished, O heavens! and be amazed, O earth! Was ever love like this?
“The Son of God, who loved me — and gave Himself for me!” Galatians 2:20
DOCTRINES OF GRACE OR DOCTRINE OF GRACE?
If total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints make up what is called the doctrines of grace, they are just that: doctrines. It is not without significance that every time the word “doctrines” is used in Scripture, it always refers to false doctrine. Doctrines do not grip my soul. I may give assent to them and agree they are in the Bible. But, if I do not see them as necessary to my salvation, necessary to preach, and necessary to hear, this is a head knowledge of the Truth, without really believing it.
It is not the doctrines of grace but the Doctrine of grace. The only doctrine that excludes all others. The only doctrine that tells how a sinner can be saved. The only doctrine that gives God all the glory. It could just as easily be called the Doctrine of need. For me to be saved, I need what the Doctrine of grace declares, and I need to hear the Doctrine of grace preached. If I can be satisfied with anything else, I really do not understand the Doctrine of grace at all. Todd Nibert.
“It shall be well with the righteous” – Isaiah 3:10
In spiritual things – all your temptations, all your darkness, all your wanderings – God will overrule. It shall be well with you. There shall never be a night, but that morning shall come; there shall never be a day of trouble, but a day of prosperity shall follow; there shall never be an emptying, but there shall be a filling; there shall never be a bringing down, but that He will raise you up again. Let it be either darkness or light, sorrow or grief, night or day, life or death, time or eternity, “It shall be well with the righteous.”
– Pastor Scott Richardson
A wonderful text!
The following is from Spurgeon’s, “Christ’s
Incarnation, the Foundation of Christianity”
That is a wonderful text in Galatians 1:4,
did you ever meditate upon it?
“Who gave Himself for our SINS…”
Jesus never gave Himself for our RIGHTEOUSNESS,
but He did give Himself for our SINS!
Sin is a horrible evil, a deadly poison, yet
it is this which gives Jesus His title of Savior
when He overcomes it. What a wonder this is!
The first link between my soul and Christ is-
not my goodness, but my badness;
not my merit, but my misery;
not my standing, but my falling;
not my riches, but my need.
He comes to visit His people, yet not to admire
their beauties, but to remove their deformities;
not to reward their virtues, but to forgive their sins.
Fully, Entirely and Perfectly!
“You Shall Call His Name Jesus: For He WILL SAVE
His People From Their Sins.” Matthew 1:21
JESUS is nothing at all if He is not a SAVIOR.
He is anointed to this very end. His very Name is a
sham if He does not SAVE His people from their sins.
This Jesus of Nazareth, the King of kings, and Lord of
Lords, is the one and only Savior. He, and none but He,
shall save His people. He, and not another, shall save
them by His own act and deed. Singly and unaided, He
shall save His people. Personally, and not by another,
in His own Name, and on His own behalf, He shall, by
Himself, purge away His people’s sins.
He shall do ALL the work, and leave none of it undone;
He shall begin it, carry it on, and complete it; and
therefore is His Name called Jesus, Savior, because He
Shall Fully, Entirely, and Perfectly, Save His People
from Their Sins!
Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save those who were
lost. If He does not save, He was born in vain, for the object
of His birth was the salvation of sinners. If He shall not
be a Savior, then His mission in coming to this earth has
missed its end, for its design was that lost sinners might
be saved.
Lost one, lost one, if there were news that ‘an angel’ had
come to save you, there might be some good cheer in it;
but there are better tidings still. God Himself has come!
The Infinite, the Almighty, has stooped from the highest
heaven that He may pick you up, a poor undone and
worthless worm!
| Paul an Apostle
I remember the first job I was ever sent to oversee as a foreman. I was the new guy and the crew had been with the company quite awhile. When they arrived I gave them their directions as I was instructed by the owner. Of course, they challenged my directions. My answer to their challenge was this: You will have to take it up with the owner. That immediately settled the dispute. Paul opens his letter with a statement of his office, a statement of who sent him, and of whose will he represented in the writing of this letter. Knowing that many will take issue with the contents of the letter he basically states these things as if to say to any who challenge his doctrine: You’ll have to take it up with the owner |
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TWO FALSE REFUGES
Perhaps the two greatest false refuges that men tend to hide in are yesterday and tomorrow. We look to something we did, felt, or experienced in the past to give us some assurance that it is well with our souls today. That is a false refuge! That is looking to self instead of looking to Christ only. Faith in Christ is always in the present! The other false refuge is tomorrow. I will _____________ tomorrow. Tomorrow has to do with our intentions. Yesterday and tomorrow are about what I have done or intend to do. Both are contrary to resting in Christ. Both are false refuges!
EARNESTLY CONTEND FOR THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED
Jude tells us, “It was needful for me to write to you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints.” The reason it is needful is that Jude knows that our flesh will find 1001 reasons not to. We don’t want to be perceived as argumentative or contentious. We grow weary of conflict. We do not want to appear to always be negative. Need I go on? These thoughts have crossed all of our minds. That is why Jude knew we needed to be encouraged in this. He knew that Satan would not grow weary in this battle. Satan will continually seek to chip away at “The faith once delivered.” The faith was delivered to the Saints, as a mailman delivers a letter. The content of the faith is in all the pages of the Bible. None of it can be left out! It was “Once delivered.” That means there is a perpetual validity to this message. No additions, subtractions, or modifications are needed. And we are commanded to earnestly content for it. If you love somebody, you will speak in their defense if they are slandered. We love the object of “The Faith”, the Lord Jesus Christ, and cannot bear when people say that which is derogatory to Him! Todd Nibert.
Sovereign grace is God’s grace. And God’s grace is Sovereign grace. If it is not Sovereign grace, it is not saving grace.
Sovereign grace is the truth. Sovereign grace is the message that declares the electing love of the Father, the redeeming love of the Son, and the invincible love of the Holy Spirit.
Sovereign grace is the Gospel! Any message that does not declare the Sovereign grace of God in Christ Jesus is “another gospel”!
Sovereign grace is saving grace! Even those who are supposed to know something about salvation by grace have to remind themselves again and again that salvation is not by the works of the flesh, not at all, in any way!
Salvation is not by reformation; salvation does not come by decision; salvation does not come through church ordinances; salvation is not ours by church membership; salvation is in Christ the Lord.
That’s where salvation is – not in man’s purpose, not in man’s plan – it is in a person. It is not in a proposition, it is not in walking an aisle, it is not in a church ordinance. It is in Christ!
It is not in a law; it is not in the deeds of the flesh; salvation is in Christ! A man does not have salvation until he comes by the power of God’s Spirit through faith to a living, personal, vital, intimate union with Christ as Lord.
A man is not a Christian until he has a vital union with Christ. A man is not a Christian until he is inseparably joined – personally joined to Jesus Christ.
A man is not a Christian until Christ becomes his life. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Henry Mahan.