Dec 24
28
TRUTH SEPARATES
“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” (John 6:66).
A great multitude had left off following the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord had preached things they found to be “hard sayings.” Without
going into great detail on what Christ said that offended the followers, I want us to see that the preaching of the truth of the doctrine of Christ is one of the means of separating sheep from goats, wheat from chaff, true disciples from the false. Often afflictions, temptations, and persecutions will separate the true from the false, but the preaching of the Gospel is in itself the means of dividing the true believer and those who are disciples only in name. “Then said Jesus unto the twelve; will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:67-68)
My dear brethren, is there anything Christ has said that would make
you leave him? Is there any truth he preached that offends you? Have
you someone else that you can go to who has words of eternal life? It is a sad fact that if you can leave Christ and walk no more with him, some day you will.
Donnie Bell
Regarding the mysterious and wonderful Incarnation of our Blessed Lord.
William Gurnall:
“He who was eternally in the bosom of His Father, chose to be born in a foul stable. He who hung the stars in the sky, chose to be nailed and die upon the accursed tree. This is love immeasurable, love incomprehensible!”
Isaac Ambrose:
“Consider Christ’s condescension: He who made man, was made man. He who is the eternal Word, was pleased to be an infant who could not speak. Oh, the depth of this mystery!”
John Flavel:
“The Eternal God was pleased to wrap Himself in flesh, in order to come down from the height of His glory, to the depths of our misery. Here is a love that surpasses comprehension. Here is the greatest wonder that heaven and earth have ever seen!”
John Bunyan:
“He came not as a fierce lion to devour, but as a spotless lamb to be sacrificed, that we might be reconciled to God. Marvel at this: the King of glory chose a cradle over a crown, and a cross over a throne.”
John Cotton:
“The Son of God left His glorious throne, to become a servant; in order that we who were rebels, might become children of God. The incarnation is the key to all our hope and joy.”
William Perkins:
“The Creator, became the creature.
The infinite, was clothed in flesh.
The Son of God, became the Son of Man.
Such is the divine wisdom and love, that it staggers the comprehension of angels and men alike.”
Jeremiah Burroughs:
“What greater wonder is there, than that the infinite God should clothe Himself in finite flesh in order to save wretched and rebellious men? This is the bottomless ocean of mercy.”
Christopher Love:
“Behold the marvellous mystery! He who was rich, became poor; that we who were poor, might become rich. The Son of God entered the misery of the world–that we might enter the glory of Heaven.”
Charles Spurgeon:
“The infinite became an infant.
Incomprehensibility was made man.
Eternal, and yet born of a woman.
Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s bosom.
Supporting the universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms.
Oh the wonder of wonders.
Oh the mystery of mercy.
Oh the profoundness of His matchless grace.”
Lord save us and we will be saved. Call us and we will come. Speak to us we will listen. Feed us we will be fed. You have started the work. You must finish it. We are completely at your mercy. We are the work of your hands.
Pastor Gabe Stalnaker
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The promise of the Lord to Joshua is the same promise He gives to every vessel of His mercy, and His Word to them is the very foundation of their rest……As I was with Moses, so iwill be with thee, iwill not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Pastor Marvin Stalnaker
“According to His purpose” Romans 8:28
Everything that comes to pass in time is brought to pass according to His purpose” According to the sovereign, eternal, unatterable purpose of God, “Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11). The Word of God assures that behind and beneath all the apparent confusion of this world lies the purpose of God. It is God purpose to perfect the people he has chosen and restore the world he made to Himself through the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus Christ. To this and He arranged all affairs of human history from eternity and sovereignly brings them to pass in time. History is His story? Nothing happens in His story by accident. Nothing comes to pass that He has not purposed. Nothing can thwart or even hinder his purpose.
Pastor Don Fortner
There are two things that will divide a church. The gospel and the
law. If a church splits, you can be sure it is one or the other. In
short, the gospel will divide believers from unbelievers. The law
will divide unbelievers from other unbelievers. The only
explanation needed for all the divisions in so-called Christianity,
is different opinions over the law. Christ is not divided. 1 Cor.
1:13. All those who look only to Him will stand fast in one spirit,
with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Phil.
1:27b. May the Lord keep us looking only to Christ. “Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity!” Ps. 133:1.
Greg Elmquist
The Business of The Gospel
Every religion except one puts you upon doing something in
order to recommend yourself to God. It is the business of all false
religion to patch up a righteousness in which the sinner is to stand
before God. But it is the business of the glorious Gospel to bring
near to us, by the hand of the Holy Spirit, a righteousness ready
wrought, a robe of perfection ready-made, wherein God’s people,
to all the purposes of justification and happiness, stand perfect
and without fault before the throne.
Augustus Toplady
We will not have peace of mind unless and until we come to
believe that salvation is, indeed, entirely a matter of God’s grace
from beginning to end. This is why the judgmental are always so
fearful and angry and never at peace – one simply cannot be
judgmental of others while relying entirely on the grace of God
for himself.
Joe Terrell
Have You Been Born Again?
Most people look for some outward evidence of the new birth.
They look for a changed life. They look for a more religious
demeanour. But the only evidence that there is of the new birth is
inward not outward. The only evidence of the new birth is faith
in Christ. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born
of God.” (I John 5:1) If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Saviour
that the Father sent into the world to save His elect, then you
have been born again. If you believe that the only way that your
sinful soul can be saved is by the Lord Jesus Christ, then you
have been born again. The only people who can believe on
Christ that way are people who have been born again with a new
nature of faith.
Marvin Stalnaker
Four words you must know
SIN…Sin is the character of man. It is the act of transgressing God’s law. But, it is more. It is the nature, the character, and the heart of man. RIGHTEOUSNESS…Righteousness is the character of God. That is what God is. He is perfectly holy. And that is what God requires of man. He can accept no less. JUSTICE…Justice is the basis of God’s actions. Everything God does is done in justice if He condemns, His condemnation is just. If He saves, His salvation is just. PROPITIATION…Propitiation is the satisfaction of God’s justice in the law for sin. Jesus Christ, the God-man Mediator, is the only propitiation for sin. In His life, He accomplished for us a righteousness equal to the character of God. In His death, He suffered the just penalty for our sin. The eye of justice looks on Christ and is satisfied. The eye of faith looks on Christ, and is saved.
Don Fortner
The Believers Position
The believer is perfect in Christ; but in himself he is a poor, feeble creature, ever liable to fall. Oh, the unspeakable blessedness of having One who can manage all his affairs for him at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens; One who upholds him always by His right hand; One who will never let him go; One who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” One who will bear him through all the difficulties and dangers which surround him and finally present him faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Blessed forever be the grace that has made such provision for all our need in the blood of a spotless victim and the intercession of a Divine High priest!
Scott Richardson
Psa. 39:7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
Faith is the soil and waiting upon God is a flower that grows out of it. “What wait I for?” –I have not found it, yet I am waiting for it. I have no earthly expectations. Hope of finding anything here that can satisfy me is forgotten. My hope is in Christ. To see him; to be with him; to be like him! He will come for me some day. This is what I am waiting for, and nothing else! Henry Mahan
The salvation of the Church doth not spring from any holiness wrought in us, but from the work of CHRIST wrought for us. Not in our brokenness of heart, but in Christ’s bruised and broken body on the tree.
Robert Hawker