Jan 16
7
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the
words of eternal life. (John 6:68)
As it was with Peter and the rest of the disciples, so it is with all
sensible sinners, and true believers, who see there is no other to go to
for life and salvation, but Christ; not to the law of Moses, which
accuses, curses, and condemns, and by which there is neither life nor
righteousness; nor to any creature, or creature-performance, for there
is a curse on him that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm; nor to
their own righteousness, which is impure and imperfect, and cannot
justify before God, nor answer for them in a time to come; nor to their
tears of repentance, which will not satisfy the law, atone for sins, or
wash them away; nor to carnal descent, birth-privileges, a religious
education, sobriety and civility, to trust to which is to have
confidence in the flesh, which will be of no avail; nor to ceremonial
services, or moral duties, or even evangelical ordinances, neither of
which can take away sin. There is no other saviour but Christ to look
to; no other mediator between God and men to make use of; no other
physician of value for diseased and sin-sick souls to apply unto; no
other fountain but His blood for polluted souls to wash in and be
cleansed; no other city of refuge, or stronghold, for souls sensible of
danger to flee unto and be safe; no other to come to as the bread of
life where hungry souls may be fed; no other place of rest for those
that are weary and heavy laden; nor is there any other where there is
plenty of all grace and security from every enemy, as in Him; and
therefore, to whom can they have recourse, but unto Him?
John Gill
EVERYTHING IS IN, BY AND THROUGH CHRIST JESUS
· Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (Jn 1: 17)
· There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus (Ro 8: 1)
· It is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that hath made us free from
the law of sin and death (Rom 8: 2)
· The love of God is in Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 8: 39)
· We are one body in Christ (Rom 12: 5)
· The church of God is sanctified in Christ Jesus (1 Cor 1: 2)
· In Christ we are begotten through the gospel (1 Cor 4: 15)
· We have hope in Christ Jesus (1 Cor 15: 19)
· In Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor 15: 22)
· Our rejoicing is in Christ Jesus (1 Cor 15: 31)
· Our love for one another is in Christ Jesus (1 Cor 16: 14)
· God always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus(2 Cor 2: 14)
· The vail over the heart is done away in Christ (2 Cor 3: 14)
· If any man be in Christ he is a new creature (2 Cor 15: 17)
· God reconciled us unto himself in Christ (2 Cor 5: 19)
· Our liberty is in Christ Jesus (Gal 2: 4)
· We are justified by Christ (Gal 2: 17)
· The everlasting covenant is confirmed of God in Christ Jesus (Gal 3: 17)
· We are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus(Gal 3: 26)
· We are all onein Christ Jesus (Gal 3: 28)
· The truth is in Jesus Christ (Eph 4: 21)
· You were darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord Jesus (Eph 5: 8)
· We are filled with fruits of righteousness by Christ Jesus (Php 1: 11)
· Our consolation and comfort of love is in Christ (Php 2: 1)
· The high calling of God is in Christ Jesus(Php 3: 14)
· The peace of God keeps our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Php
4: 7)
· We can do all things through Christ which strengthens us (Php 4: 13)
· God supplies all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus (Php 4: 19)
· Every believer shall be presented to God perfect in Christ Jesus (Col
1: 28)
· The ministry we have received is in the Lord (Col 4: 17)
· The dead shall rise in Christ (1 Thess 4: 16)
· We are preserved in Jesus Christ (Jude 1: 1)
· The grace of our Lord is exceeding abundant with faith and love which
is in Christ Jesus (1 Tim 1: 14)
· The promise of life is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 1: 1)
· God saves us and called us, not according to our works, but according
to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began (2 Tim 1: 9)
· We offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1
Pet 2: 5)
· We are called unto eternal glory by Christ Jesus (1 Pet 5: 10)
Clay Curtis
Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
(Acts 26:8)
If someone told you that a man had raised himself from the dead, you
would likely consider it a lie; a story worthy of supermarket tabloids.
“That’s incredible,” you would think. (The word “incredible” means
“unbelievable.”). Yet, the “gospels” believed by many are just as
incredible, for they require that one “dead in trespasses and sins”
raise himself from this death, change his own nature, thus becoming
suitable to approach God and find favor with Him. All who follow such
“gospels” must come to despair, for they will, sooner or later, realize
that such a work is beyond their abilities. Some of you may be in that
condition. For many years you have sought to make yourself acceptable to
God. You have outwardly acted like a Christian, gone to church, given
your tithe, sought to obey the Law, and followed all the church’s
requirements. But in your heart you know that you are still “dead in
trespasses and sins…without God and without hope in this world” (Eph.
2). I have good news for you! It would, indeed, be incredible for you to
save yourself. But it would not be incredible for God to do so! Unbelief
(which keeps us from God and is the evidence of an evil heart, Hebrews
3:12) arises from a dependence on the wrong person. We all, by nature,
depend on ourselves. The Gospel tells us to depend on God! If I look to
myself, it appears incredible that I should be raised from the dead
someday and stand before God, holy and unblamable. But such a thing does
not seem so incredible (unbelievable) when I look to God in Christ.
Seeing that God has raised up Christ (who bore the sins of many) and
seated Christ at His own right hand, it becomes a believable thing that
God could do the same for even me, who bears only my own sin (that is,
without Christ). Get rid of unbelief by fixing your eyes on God and His
work rather than on you and your works!
Joe Terrell
—-
As the doctrines of election and perseverance are comfortable, so they
cut off all pretense of boasting and self-dependence, when they are
truly received in the heart, and therefore tend to exalt the Saviour. …
How do our hearts soften, and our eyes melt, when we feel some liberty
in thinking and speaking of him! For we had no help in time past, nor
can have any in time to come, but from him alone. If any persons have
contributed a mite to their own salvation, it was more than we could do.
If any were obedient and faithful to the first calls and impressions of
the Spirit, it was not our case. If any were prepared to receive him
beforehand, we know that we were in a state of alienation from him. We
needed sovereign irresistible grace to save us, or we had been lost
forever. If there are any who have a power of their own, we must confess
ourselves poorer than they are. We cannot watch, unless he watches us;
we cannot strive, unless he strives with us; we cannot stand for one
moment, unless he holds us up; and we believe we must perish after all,
unless his faithfulness is engaged to keep us. But this we trust he will
do, not for our righteousness, but for his own name’s sake, and because
having loved us with an everlasting love, he has been pleased in loving
kindness to draw us to himself, and to be found of us when we sought him
not.
John Newton
A God You Cannot Satisfy, A Law You Cannot Keep . . .
I have tried diligently to preach God as He really is, to sinners as
they really are, and to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Mediator
between the holy God and sinful men, the all-glorious Redeemer who
accomplished, by Himself, the reconciliation of His people (II Cor.
5:18-21). I have tried, and shall continue to do so, to preach to you:
1. A God you cannot satisfy,
2.A law you cannot keep,
3.An obedience you cannot produce,
4.A righteousness you cannot produce,
5.A love you cannot give,
6.Sin you cannot get rid of,
7.A judgment you cannot endure,
8.A repentance you cannot produce,
9.A faith which God alone can give,
10.But … a Christ who fully satisfied God for sinners and who freely
saves the vilest of sinners. I urge you to look to Him, believe Him,
trust Him, and confidently commit your guilty soul unto Him. Simply hug
up to Him in childlike faith and trust, and all will be well with your
soul. In Him there is no condemnation.
Pastor Maurice Montgomery
“Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?”
(Gal. 4:21)
The life of the Old Testament Jew, under the law, was so difficult. He
was hedged in by a thousand commandments and prohibitions. The forms,
laws, ceremonies, and sacrifices were many, and every detail minutely
arranged. He was always in danger of becoming unclean. If he sat on a
certain stool, drank from a certain pitcher, ate a certain food, touched
a leper, or did a certain deed, he was defiled. A thousand sins of
ignorance were like hidden pits before him. He must be in constant fear
of being cut off. No Jew ever talked of a finished work. A lamb was
slain, but there must be another; the High Priest went into the holy of
holies, but he must go in again next year. The law with its types and
shadows can never put away sin! “But this man, after He had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of God.”
Look at our priest — “A priest forever.”
Look at his atonement — “It is finished.”
Look at our position in Him — “Complete.”
Look at our rest — “We have entered His rest.”
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus.” Pastor Henry Mahan