Jul 18
22
The King’s Matter
“…thou hast made known unto us the KING’S MATTER.” Dan. 2:23
A death sentence had gone out from King Nebuchadnezzar for Daniel and
his friends. The only way their lives could be saved was for the Lord to
reveal the mystery of the king’s dream. So, it is with us. The wages of
sin is death. None of the magicians, astrologers or sorcerers of our day
can interpret the King’s Matter. The truth of the gospel of God’s free
grace in Christ (which is the King’s Matter) can only be known by divine
revelation. If the Lord doesn’t open the eyes of our understanding, we
will die.
Oh Lord, show us our total inability. Show us the glory of thy beloved
Son. Enable us to cast all our care on Him who cares for us. ~Greg
Judged By Christ
“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ
according to my gospel.” Romans 2:16
The Lord Jesus Christ did not replace the law of God (the demands of God
for righteousness), He fulfilled (satisfied the demands of Divine
Justice) the law for everyone whom God the Father predestinated to be
conformed to the image of His Son, therefore providing for them and to
them a righteousness fit for eternal glory. Hence, the righteousness of
Christ is imputed, and in ultimate regeneration imparted, to all who
believe.
God judges men’s hearts as to faith in Christ and His righteousness. No
matter who we are (Jew or Gentile), or what we have done or have not
done (morally good or evil), if we have not God given faith in Christ
and we continue to trust in our own righteousness we shall perish
without Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Righteous Standard by which
all men are, and shall be judged.
The gospel sets forth not the law of God for justification, but rather
the Christ of God for righteousness and justification. All the law can
do is condemn because we all come short of the glory of God. Christ our
Lord glorified the Father rendering perfect obedience in His flesh. The
elect of God is not only judged by Christ’s righteousness, we are judged
in Christ because He is THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! “And be found in
Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God
by faith” Php 3:9.
The believer’s justification is traceable not only to faith, not only to
the cross, yea, even to the eternal council, decree, and purpose of
God’s predestinating grace which is revealed in Christ and His
accomplished redemptive work. The secrets of the heart is who we really
are and why we do what we do.
True heart-faith in Christ, or not, will be revealed.
Tommy Robbins
The Judgement Throne of Christ
He shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world: (Matt. 25:33-34).
In this great and notable day of judgment, the Great Shepherd of the
sheep shall make a just distinction between His elect, chosen and
blessed in Christ and those left to justly perish in their sins (Matt.
25:41). As the sovereign Lord of all He has the supreme knowledge and
divine right to make these exact distinctions between the sheep
(believers) and the goats (unbelievers) (2Tim. 2:19). I want you to
notice carefully the words of commendations and grace given to His
church, “The King shall say unto them..”
1). “Come.” The great Shepherd calls His sheep unto Himself, ten
thousand welcomes (John 17:24). Come to Me, come unto my dearest
embraces, come into my sweet and eternal communion, come into my
spiritual kingdom take possession of all covenant mercies (Rom. 8:32;
Matt. 11:28; 25:21). Come unto my throne of glory (Rev. 5:10).
2). “Come, ye blessed of my Father.” The reason of our coming and
blessing is found in the eternal covenant of grace (Jer. 31:3; Psa.
65:4; John 6:44-45). As the Spirit glorifies the Son (John 16:14), so
the Son glorifies the Father by referring the salvation of His sheep to
the eternal purpose of God (Rom. 11:36), He is the first cause and last
end in justifying His elect (Eph. 1:3-14; Eph. 3:10-11).
3). “Inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” This is the eternal
inheritance of God’s grace (1Peter 1:3-5), bought with the precious
blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:5-6; John 14:1-6). Not
acquired by our merit, but rather by His free grace (Rom. 3:24). This
inheritance is freely given to all those made heirs of God and
joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:17; Rev. 21:6-7).
4). “Prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” All of God’s
preparations for the sheep on His right hand are by His eternal decrees
(Acts 15:11; Rev. 13:8). These preparations are not only eternal but
also particular, “for you” (2Thes. 2:13). The Lord Jesus Christ lived as
Mediator (1Tim. 2:5) and died as Substitute for the sheep on His right
hand (John 10:15; Matt 1:21). For God hath not appointed us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that,
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him (1Thes. 5:9).
One can easily see that the whole of our salvation and final
glorification is all of God’s free and sovereign grace, to the total
exclusion and any consideration of creature merit or righteousness (2Tim
1:9; 1Cor. 1:30-31).
Tom Harding
YOU SHALL FACE GOD SOON!
“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ
according to my gospel.” (Ro 2:16)
There is a day coming when you shall face God. Think about that! (Rom 2:
5-16) God says if you go through life refusing to repent from your sin
and vain works and believe on Christ then you are treasuring up wrath
against that day of God’s wrath. It means you are heaping up God’s wrath
against yourself like a man saves up money. In that day the righteous
judgment of God shall be revealed. God will deal justly with every man
by rendering to every man exactly according to his deeds. Not only the
outward deeds that are known, but God shall judge the secrets of men,
even the secrets sins of the heart. And get this, the judge shall be the
very one you called a liar, the Righteous Lord, Jesus Christ. (Rom 2: 5-6)
The judgment of God is nothing fearful to the believer. To them who
patiently continue doing that which is good, that is, who patiently
continue in faith, trusting Christ alone to be all their salvation
before God, seeking the glory, honor and immortality that is by Christ
alone, God shall give eternal life. All who believe on Christ are free
from sin and condemnation. We have fulfilled the law and suffered its
just penalty by the obedience and death of Jesus Christ our Head and
Substitute. (Rom 5:19-21) But if you have never believed on Christ then
you have no reason to do anything but fear the righteous judgment of
God. God promises to those who are contentious, and do not obey the
truth but obey unrighteousness, God shall pour out his indignation and
wrath. There will be anguish and tribulation like you have never
imagined. You may think it wise to ignore my gospel and go through life
never giving a thought to eternal matters but remember you shall face
God soon! And do not imagine that God will show partiality based on who
you are or what you have done. God is no respecter of persons. Men look
on the outward appearance. So they imagine they will please God by an
outward show of goodness and righteousness, religious deeds and
morality. But God’s judgments are true and righteous. God looks on the
heart, not on the outward appearance. (Rom 2: 28-29)
Therefore, sinner, seek Christ today! Except you trust the Lord Jesus
Christ, you shall be forever damned. It will be just. You will have
earned it! But trust Christ and you shall be forever saved. It will be
just because it is what Christ earned for his people. God give you grace
to trust him!
Clay Curtis.
ONLY TWO CATEGORIES
Not withstanding the numerous religious organizations, denominations,
sects, churches, preachers, and their various and different messages or
gospels, every group or preacher’s message will fall into one of two
categories:
1) Arraign guilty men before God, or
2) Place God on trial before men.
To speak more plainly, every religious message will either:
1) Deliver men into the hands of God for His salvation, or
2) Deliver God and His salvation into the hands of men.
Maurice Montgomery
WOULD YOU BE JUSTIFED BEFORE GOD?
Then learn one thing! Jesus Christ is ALL in our justification before
God! Only through Christ can a sinner have peace with the Holy God. Only
by Christ alone can a sinner be accepted and admitted into God’s
presence. HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS is the only robe which will cover us. HIS
BLOOD is the only mark that will save us from eternal death. HIS NAME is
the only name by which we shall obtain an entrance through the gate of
eternal glory. I pity those who try to obtain God’s favor by their
works; and I sound a clear warning – you are building on sand; you are
spending money for that which is not bread; you will hear Him say,
“Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” But this I know – not one
person has ever entered heaven’s courts with any testimony but this:
“Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood –
to Him be the glory” (Rev. 1:5-6).
Henry Mahan
Is Christ’s work of righteousness really my righteousness or am I just
laying claim to the work of another in order to bypass God’s judgment?
If it is that His righteousness really is the whole of my righteousness
before God, then we must conclude first how close union with Christ
really is. Truly, He is our Head and we are His body; the head cannot go
where the body is not. When He wrought His righteous work, I was in Him.
All those in Him can lay claim to His work as their own work of
righteousness before God. His work is mine and I have nothing to be
ashamed of before God. Second, His work is the only work that has or
ever will be deemed Righteous. All of mankind are sinners, incapable of
producing a righteous work of their own that God will accept. Therefore,
I have nothing to mention regarding my own works that I wrought in my
life. They would only condemn me.
It all sounds good up to this point, but what about sin? What must be
done with it? God cannot accept me in sin or without righteous works.
Having one of the two is not enough! Just assuredly as I can lay claim
on the works of Righteousness that Christ wrought and those be my
righteousness, Christ laid claim on all the sin of all His people. In
doing so, that sin became His guilt, His shame, and His foolishness
before God. In spite of Him having never committed sin Himself, God
killed Him for it.
If Christ cannot lay claim to my sin, making it His own and bearing
guilt and punishment because of it, then two things are true:
1) God killed His Son unjustly since He was not really guilty.
2) I can no longer lay claim to His Righteousness as my own.
It must be true in both cases, or none of it is true. We have His
Righteousness as our own and He bore our sins as His own. If Christ
suffered and died, then assuredly, I must live!
“He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even
they both are abomination to the Lord.” -Proverbs 17:15
– Andy Davis
Faith is necessary for salvation. But we do not look to our faith to
save us; rather, in faith, we look to Christ. Repentance is necessary
for salvation. But we do not look to our repentance to save us; rather,
in repentance, we turn to Christ. There are graces, which God works in
us as He saves us. But these graces are never to be the object of our
trust, confidence or hopeful gaze. All the graces God gives us in
salvation are to be used to look to, turn to, appreciate, and lay hold
of Christ, who is our Salvation! – Joe Terrell