Articles by Pastor

The Double Cure

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. Isa 40:2

When the Lord Jesus Christ put away His people's sin, He put away all their sin - Perfect Sacrifice - Perfect Forgiveness! This He accomplished by Himself. This is the comfortable, joyful, good news of the gospel of God's saving grace. This message is the herald from the Throne of Grace. The Church's warfare is accomplished because her iniquity is pardoned through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Not only is her warfare accomplished and her iniquity pardoned - she is adorned with the perfect, imputed righteousness of Christ. So perfect is her garment that she enjoys full and complete acceptance before the thrice Holy God. Not only did God Incarnate bare His people's sin, He worked out a righteousness for them that is everlasting and freely gave it to them. What a transaction! For our sins we have received pardon for all our iniquity and the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ! "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure." - Toplady

"The glory of the Lord shall be revealed"

The glory of God is His infinite perfections and attributes. "Who [is] like unto Thee, O LORD, among the gods? who [is] like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders?" Ex 15:11.

The essential glory of God is idiosyncratic to Him alone. He is the uncaused being and therefore all that He is He never acquired and He forever remains the same. All that is known of Him is that which He has been pleased to reveal. There is that glory which He has revealed of Himself in the incarnation and redemptive work of Christ. This is the context of the passage before us. This glory is spoken of throughout the scriptures in both the old and new testament. In Exodus 33:18-19 we see His sovereign mercy in Christ, and in 2Co 4:6 we see His sovereign grace in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of God in the salvation of all the elect shall be and is revealed to them - "for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." In Eph 1:3-12 we see the glory of God in Christ from election to glorification. Those to whom Christ has been revealed give Him all the glory for all things, especially the salvation of their souls.

Our Lord's title of "Shepherd" is most endearing to the heart of the believer. In this title we can see all that He is and has done and is doing for His people. 1. They are His sheep. Chosen in Him - John 10:14 "I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of mine." Ephesians1:4 "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world" 2. He purchased them. He gave His life for the sheep - John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Acts 20:28 "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood." 3. He provides for them - Ps 23:1 "The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want." Php 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 4. He keeps and protects them - Ps 23:4 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." John 10:27-28 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." 5. He loves the sheep - John 10:15 "As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep." John 13:1 "… having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end."

Psalms 5:7 "But as for me, I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy: and in Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple."

What a great honor and privilege God has bestowed upon His church to come together at the appointed time to worship Him as Christ our Lord is revealed to us through the preaching of the gospel! There is no generation gap when it comes to public worship. It is believing parents responsibility to teach their children of Christ at home and to make sure that they are in the presence of the preaching of the gospel as well. The preaching of the gospel is the means that God has ordained to save His people. Teaching and rearing our children in the things of God is needful and very important, but making sure that they are under the ministry of the gospel is vital for them as well as ourselves. The church coming together to worship Christ is a joy to the saints. Psalms 122:1 "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." The church rejoices in Christ and the truth. Psalms 20:5 "We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfill all thy petitions." To hear of His love, mercy and grace is the desire of our hearts. The assembling of ourselves together in His name is also a solemn thing. He is the Lord God of Glory - we are His people. He is revered among His church. His Word is truth, light and life. The worship of Christ is not a frivolous and trivial thing. The position of the believing sinner is one of humbleness of mind and heart before Him Who is glorious in holiness. Exodus 15:11 "Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" Not only is public worship a privilege, joy and a solemn thing, we are graciously instructed to meet in His name. Hebrews 10:24-25 "…Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." When the church meets to worship Christ in the preaching and hearing of the gospel it is a special time. Mt 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

"And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon His Name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His Name is exalted." Isaiah 12:4

It has always been the honor and privilege of the Church of the Living God in every dispensation to worship Him Whose Name is above every name. This verse speaks particularly of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church after His humiliation and exaltation. There can never be any thing else incorporated into private or public worship. If there is, it is not of God. He alone is to be praised, whether in song or in word. His doings - His great work of redemption, is the sum and substance of the Gospel, and His great Name is therein exalted among His people. His Church calls upon Him in prayer and supplication in worship and devotion. Although contemporary religion has devised and invented many things and call it worship, the scriptures are clear that when the Church comes together in His Name we are to worship Him in Spirit and in TRUTH. Believers sing the gospel, pray the gospel and preach the gospel.

"…by faith that is in me." Acts 26:18

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, God gives (Eph. 2:8). The faith that God gives is believing and trusting with firm confidence. Yea, it is even more than believing, it is knowing. In 2Ti 1:12I Paul said, "I know whom I have believed". It is impossible to believe in someone whom one does not know. So then faith comes when Christ is revealed, not before. Faith in Christ is not an attribute of human nature. Man cannot exercise something he does not have. In Ro 10:17, we are told that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God". If faith were already present we would not be told that "faith cometh". The means by which God gives faith in Christ to Spiritually dead sinners is by the revelation of Christ through the preaching of the Word of God by His Spirit, which is the Revealer of Truth. 1Cor 1:21 "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe". John 15:26 "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of ME" . The promotion of faith before Christ is another ploy of free-will, works religion to boost fallen man's self-righteous, egotistical, depraved evil heart of unbelief. There is but one object of true, saving faith, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. The evidence of knowing Him is faith in Him. No faith - no Christ; No Christ - no faith!

THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL

"…the glorious gospel of the blessed God" 1Ti 1:11

"Glorious" means wonderful, magnificent, splendid. These adjectives seem much too weak to me to describe the Gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ. To the sinful soul (namely mine) who has been brought to the Lamb of God, forgiven all sin, clothed with the righteousness of Christ and therein accepted by God the Father into His everlasting Kingdom, there is no mind to comprehend or tongue to tell of the glory and preciousness of the "gospel of the blessed God!" The Glorious Gospel reveals to our hearts four great truths from which all truth springs and is vital in the begetting of spiritual life in the hearts of chosen sinners: (1) Who God is: God the Father in the trinity of His sacred Persons. God Almighty in His glorious attributes and infinite being. The One God of heaven and earth and all places, unto Whom all men, angels, powers and principalities are subject. He Who is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. (2) Who Jesus Christ the Lord is. God Incarnate. The God-man in Whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily. He Who was made flesh and dwelt among us. He Who is full of grace and truth - full of truth to reveal God, full of grace to redeem His people. He Who is separate from sinners, in Whom there is no sin. He Who now is seated in the Throne of God ruling and reigning for His Church as their Great High Priest and Intercessor. (3) The sinfulness and depravity of the human heart. Man (all men) are Spiritually dead by nature. Man by his first birth is a God hater and a rebel. There is not one spark of Spiritual life inside or outside mankind. Man has no ability to do anything to commend himself to God, neither does he have the desire to do so. His mind, heart and ways are against God. Man is a sinner against God Almighty. (4) Salvation is by the purpose, grace and power of God manifested and wrought in the Person and work of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and revealed to His people by the preaching of the Gospel. Christ's sheep are totally, fully, completely and finally saved by the Grace of God apart from any works of man - "…by grace are you saved" Eph. 2:8. I believe this is "the glorious gospel of the blessed God", and is more wonderful than words can describe to those who know Him.

"Yet have I set My king upon My holy hill of Zion."

Psalms 2:6

Though the true Church of the Living God is but little esteemed in the religious world, the Bride of Christ is most glorious in the eyes of God. It is the object of His love and affections. It is the place of His abode here on this earth, and it is through and in His Church that He saves, comforts and assures the hearts of His people. The Church is not an organization, it is a living Spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and very life. It's members are those whom God has chosen, Christ has redeemed, called and glorified in Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ having pleased the Father and being exalted in glory, His Church is exalted with Him and in Him. In Christ, the Church is Holy and without spot of sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is Head over all things to the Church. There is no nobler, honorable, exalted position than being an inhabitant of Zion because that is where Christ dwells. The God given knowledge of this wondrous truth causes the Spirit to soar to heavenly heights and at the same time humbles the heart to grateful submission before the King in the midst of Zion.

"…the LORD hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation. This is My rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it." Psalms 132: 13-14

The Church of the Living God is not an organization founded by man and inhabited by those who choose to join it's ranks. God's Church on this earth (and in Heaven) is the Spiritual body of the Lord Jesus Christ consisting of those whom He has chosen for Himself before the foundation of the world, Christ Himself being the Head. Zion (His Church), is the result of His desire and in Her He dwells forever. Although the masses claim It's name and fame, only those whom He has redeemed by His blood, sanctified by His Spirit and called by His grace are members of His glorious body. Only those in whom Christ The Lord dwells live and enjoy the blessings of His grace. It is in Zion that He reveals Himself and is worshipped and praised. The very existence of Zion is the evidence of God's sovereign grace and mercy. Impossible for the world to comprehend the glory of Christ in Zion and appreciate It's beauty, they try to mimic It with form and ceremony which is a reproach to God. The true Church of God is but little esteemed by man, yea, even scorned by religion, yet It is indeed desired and chosen by God and there will He rest forever.

"I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them." John 17:9-10

There is a distinguishing difference between a true child of God and a false professor. The Bible is filled with illustrations of this truth - Mt 7:22-23; Mt 23:27; Mt 25:32; John 14:21; 1John 3:14. This discernable difference is characterized from an inward principle of the indwelling Spirit of God which is produced and manifested by the love of God in the true believer, and is absent in the false professor. The child of God, by His grace, loves God, loves His Son, loves His Gospel, loves the brethren, and loves His work. Although this inward principle can be imitated outwardly by the false professor for awhile to some degree. it can never be counterfeited in the heart. What a person loves and gives himself to is, at some point, revealed in his life - For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also Luke 12:34 . There are those who profess their allegiance and love to Christ and His Church, yet can never bring themselves to commitment to the same. They remain their own person, not Christ's. The true children of God have a new nature, the Divine nature, which continually causes them to give themselves to the things of God. The truth is that the distinguishing difference is LIFE and DEATH. To those who know Him, He is their life. Those who only profess to know Him, their life consists of themselves, which is death. It is of a truth that the true believer's life revolves around Christ, and that to the false professor Christ revolves around his life. It is comforting to know that God has a people in this world of falseness and deception, and that they, having the Divine nature, live for His glory. No, they are not perfect in themselves! But they are perfect in Him and seek to honor Him and His cause by His distinguishing grace. WHICH ONE OF THESE PROFESSORS ARE WE?

REPENTANCE

"I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:5-6

Repentance is a work of God's grace in the heart of every believer. Apart from the grace of God no man will repent. Repentance toward God is an evidence of Spiritual life. One great example of repentance and what it is, is found in 1Thess 1:9 - "For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." Hearing with the physical ear and giving mental accent to the truth does not bring about true repentance. This can only change man's ways for awhile and to some degree, which only tends to self-righteousness. Only when Christ is revealed in the heart by God's efficacious Spirit by the preaching of the gospel will a sinful man, who is an idolater by nature, repent toward and believe on Christ. Faith in Christ alone - now mine eye seeth Thee - , which is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9), will cause a sinner to hate himself and love God. Repentance is a heart work perpetually carried on by the indwelling Spirit and grace of God. True repentance changes a person from the inside out. Repentance and faith are twins. They always come together. The object of both is the same….Christ. The cause is the same…Christ. Repentance is not a work of the flesh that we do which God will accept. It is produced and directed by the faith that He gives. "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Php 1:6

IN CHRIST

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one." John 17: 21-22

The actual phrase "in Christ" appears over seventy times in the New Testament, not to mention those like which we see in the above verses. This term speaks of vital union, oneness, a partaker of, in agreement with Christ and all that pertains to our salvation in Him. Remove "in Christ" and "in Him" and we would have nothing. Outside Christ there is only death, and the wrath and judgment of God on sinners like ourselves. As those inside the ark, we who are in Christ are safe and secure. In Christ we have eternal life, and rejoice in hope. In Him we are righteous and accepted by God. In Him we have peace which passes all understanding and fellowship with Him and the Father. In Christ we have all the promises of God. All that the believer is and has is in Christ as we are in Him. As God, Who is holy and just looks upon His Son in Whom He is well pleased, He views His people in Him and therefore is well pleased with us and smiles upon us. This truth - that we are in Christ - is the cure for all our ills in this life and affords us with the hope of glory in eternity. For the babe in Christ or the aged dying saint to be in Christ is his great confidence and rest. "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations." Psalms 90:1

BLESSED ASSURANCE

We, too often I fear, find ourselves looking inward or to things for assurance. We are never encouraged by our Lord to do so. Christ said "Look unto me". To look anywhere else besides Christ is folly and sin. We are assured by the Word of God, which testifies of Christ and salvation in Him.

I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart. Ps 40:8

These are the words of our King David, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Eternal Covenant of Grace. Here He reveals to His people His heart's desire for their salvation and the glory of His Father. Not only did He agree with, and to do His Father's will, He delighted to do so. Yea, even, this was in His heart. This was not something that He must do only out of obligation and fulfillment of promise, He must accomplish salvation as our Substitute because of love for His Father and for His people. The great work of redemption is more than doctrine, it is more than systematic theology, it is One perfect man dying for those sinful creatures whom He everlastingly loves, in obedience to God Whom He loves. This truth makes the passage in Ro 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." more than a dogmatic doctrinal truth. It reveals the heart and soul of Christ in the gospel. The desire of our Lord is not unlike His children's desire. Is this not the cry in our hearts - "I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart"? Love for Christ, which He has given us, must be the singular motive and rule of life for what we do no matter how noble the work or it is even as a sounding brass and a tinkling symbol and will be burned with fire. I have no heart for a heartless Christ preached by a heartless preacher.

WHY?

Ps 106:8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known. Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee My power; and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth

It is evident that the majority of religionists will go to any extreme to rob God of His power and glory, especially in the salvation of sinners and the damnation of the wicked. This they do by placing man's eternal destiny in the hands of man. Free-will, works religion, makes the power of God and the Person and work of Christ nothing more than an instrument in the hands of the fallen creature to use as he will. Every false gospel and false preacher perverts the Word of God to present God and His Christ to be less than the scriptures declare Them to be, and man to be more than he is. The context of the two passages above never wavers throughout the Bible. It is God in Christ that saves sinners with an everlasting salvation according to His Own will and purpose for His Own glory without the aid or assistance of the sinner. From election to glorification the mighty power and glory of God is revealed. This is not just a point of doctrine, this is the heart and soul of the gospel and our only hope. Why does God save sinners? - He saved them for His name's sake - To the praise of the glory of His eternal power and sovereign love, mercy and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began - 'Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His Own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began' 2Timothy 1:9. Why does God punish the wicked? The power and glory of God is revealed in the judgment and condemnation of the unbelieving as well as in the salvation of His elect. God's holy character and divine nature necessitates His hatred for and condemnation of sin. 'God is angry with the wicked every day.' - Psalms 7:11. ; 'The foolish shall not stand in Thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.' Psalms 5:5. His Name, Glory, Person and Being is Holy and Righteous, therefore for His great Name's sake and honor He must by no means clear the guilty that His Name might be declared throughout all the earth. The revelation of God's power in love, mercy and grace in Christ and the revelation of His hatred for and wrath upon sin is equally vital to His honor and glory.

"Even so then at this present time…" Romans 11:5

Elijah, upon observing the supposed ruin of Israel and slaughter of God's people, and the increase of worship of false gods, was convinced that he was the only prophet of God that was left and they would soon kill him. His great concern was , not his life, but the gospel. When he took his complaint to God he found the encouragement that he needed - God said, "I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal." We are not unlike Elijah in this respect. The children of God often become discouraged and fearful as we look inside us and around us. The adversary is real and the flesh is weak. There is no doubt that the enemy by far out-numbers us. The adversary is at liberty (as much as God will give him) to use whatever means he can devise to further his cause against Christ and His kingdom. The believer has only one defence - GOD! "Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy." Ps 59:17. As we are not unlike Elijah, Elijah's God is the same God we worship and we are not alone "even at this present time". Elijah's encouragement was not because of the seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal, but in that God answered "I have….Even so at this present time Christ is on the Throne ruling and reigning for His people and they will not bow to any other god and this is according to the election of grace. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

For ever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven." Ps 119:89

"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2Co 5:21 "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" Ga 3:13 "Who His Own Self bare our sins in His Own Body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes ye were healed. 1Pe 2:24 "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand." Isa 53:10 "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Ro 5:9 "But This Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" Heb 10:12 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Ga 2:16 "That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Tit 3:7 This is God's thoughts concerning substitution and justification. This is the context of all scriptures. This is the good news from God to His people whom He has chosen in Christ before the world was. All who know Him and preach His gospel wholeheartedly agree.

The scriptures emphatically declare the holy character and glorious attributes of Jehovah. Yet, the majority of religions insist that He is not as the scriptures reveal him to be. I insist that this is a willing refusal to believe and bow to revealed truth. Any other god than the God described in the scriptures is a false god, and the worship of a false god is idolatry. The gospel of God, when preached, is met with in one of two ways 1. Believed and embraced, or 2. Rejected and hated. There seems to be a common ground upon which all false religions agree - that God can be any way you imagine Him to be as long as you believe in Him; that every one that believes in a god is going to heaven - not so! (Mt 7:21) - "this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" John 17:3. The Bible is dogmatic and clear concerning the character of God, and salvation being in Christ alone (Acts 4:12). False religion insists upon the free-will of man, the Bible insists upon the free-will of God (Isa 46:10). False religion insists upon the Person and work of Christ plus the works and cooperation of man. The Bible insists upon the Person and work of Christ alone (Heb 9:12). False religion insists that there is good in every one. The Bible insists that there is none good except Christ (Mt 19:17-Mr 10:18). In short, what the scriptures plainly declare is either ignored or perverted by false religion in order that depraved man may retain his pride and imagined sovereignty over God and therefore the truth is rejected and hated. Those that by God's grace and power bow to and believe the truth embrace Christ by faith that He gives by the preaching of the gospel (Ro 10:17). "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" 2Th 2:13

The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the sovereign hand of God the Spirit is most powerful and the only means of salvation for sinful man. Man with his religious inventions and gimmicks to try to entice sinners to become Christians is useless and a mockery to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Nothing can improve or replace what God has ordained. Even when Christ is preached (and only when Christ is preached) in truth, God must make His Word effectual to the heart, giving faith, life and understanding. The Gospel of Christ is not just a part of a greater and larger plan that God uses to save His people, It is the heart and soul of all that is revealed of God's salvation in Christ. Ro 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." 1Co 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." There never has been, is not now, nor never will be one sinner saved apart from the preaching of Christ and Him crucified, because the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING

The child of God is not forsaken in poverty and ruin. He is not left to fiend for himself in the garbage and filth of the world and religion. He is not left to walk in the blindness and darkness of falseness and error. As a matter of fact, there is nothing negative or despairing about the sheep of Christ our Lord. God's children has the best of everything. The true and living God is our God and we are His people - "God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 2 Cor. 6:16. God is for His people - "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Ro 8:31 God works all things in providence for His people's good - "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose." Ro 8:28 God has not withheld any spiritual blessing from us - "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" Eph 1:3 Not only has He forgiven our sin, He has given us the very righteousness of Christ - "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2Co 5:21 There is nothing lacking in the believer's life - "And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power." Col 2:10 God's people walk in the light and glory of God by faith that He has given - "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 1Th 5:5 It would be impossible to numerate and articulate all that we have as God's children. But to sum it up, in Christ we have the best of everything. If Christ be ours and we be His, there is nothing more to be desired. All that we have He has freely given because He loves us and is pleased to do so. I may not look like much or appear to have much by the world's estimation, but by God's grace, I have the best of everything. "The father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." Luke 15:22-24

COMMON FAITH

"To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour." Titus 1:4

The "common faith" that Paul speaks of in this verse does not mean that it is ordinary or plain, or that every one possesses this faith. This faith spoken of is peculiar only to those to whom God has given it (Eph. 2:8-9). It is called "like precious faith" in 2Peter 1:1. It is the same faith that all who know Christ have. This precious faith has one precious object - CHRIST - "Unto you therefore which believe He is precious" 1Peter 2:7. This common faith looks only to Him - "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…" Hebrews 12:2 . All those who have this faith, without exception, know Him, love Him, believe His gospel, follow Him, and are committed to Him. Faith in Christ is the brand or mark which identifies and distinguishes His people from the world. This common faith is the bond that unites and makes His church to be one in Him. This "common faith" makes reference to the gospel as well. Those who have this faith agree whole heartedly upon the Person and work of Christ and salvation in Him alone. All to whom He has given faith believe and rejoice in God's sovereign grace and glory revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. Those who have this faith have, and do, renounce all righteousness, even their own, and submit themselves to the righteousness of God. This common faith, this precious faith is the life of the child of God - "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20 - "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17. Without this faith it is impossible to know God, to worship God, or to please Him in any way. Faith never exalts itself, but the rather exalts it's object, which is The Lord Jesus Christ.

The whole of the work of salvation is a work of God the Father, God the Son and the God the Spirit. While man never ceases to attempt to take part in the glorious work of redemption, he will continually fail. Fallen man never has and never will accomplish what Christ accomplished for His people. Sinful, religious man tries to find hope, peace and comfort, and eternal life in his own supposed righteousness, while the child of God, by God's grace, finds all he desires in the Person and work of Christ. To the believer the benefits of God's saving grace is wonderful and glorious, but the Substance of God's grace is most excellent of all, which is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! The child of God's great joy and satisfaction is not in the systematic doctrine of salvation by grace or works of righteousness which we have done (which is really unrighteousness) but in Christ in Whom all true doctrine is found. In Christ we see the love, mercy, and grace of God freely given to sinful man. In Him we rest, knowing that the great work of salvation is finished in perfection and entirety without our aid or assistance. As not to minimize the importance of sound doctrine we must conclude that one may know sound doctrine and yet never know Christ, but on the other hand, all who know Christ know and believe the truth because grace and truth is revealed in Him alone. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John 1:17

"Let God be magnified" Ps 70:4

The heavens and earth declare the greatness and glory of the One True and Living God. All things were made by Him and for His pleasure (John 1:1-3; Rev. 4:11). This is clearly visible to all, yet believed by few. It is only those to whom Christ is revealed that clearly see God's saving glory and grace and believe. It is "such as love Thy salvation (that) say continually, Let God be magnified. The love, mercy and grace of God (as well as all of God's attributes) is magnified in Christ and in His redemptive work. The purpose of God in Christ in the salvation of His elect is the manifestation of His glory (Eph 1:4-6; Ps 106:8 "Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known"). God's people magnify Him in His Word. They love, believe and submit to the scriptures that declare His glory. Ps 119:162 I rejoice at Thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. The believer magnifies God the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God incarnate. In Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. His people magnify Him in salvation. In Christ alone is all our salvation. 2Sa 22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of the Rock of my salvation. The child of God magnifies Him in all providence. He is sovereign over all things for His people's good and His glory. Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. He is magnified in the hearts of His people and therefore confessed to all that He is God and beside Him there is none other. Ps 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my Strength, and my Redeemer. Ps 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. To magnify the great name of our God is the joy and delight of the Church. Those who glorify and magnify man do not know the True and Living God. Yet some day all will be made to submit to Him. Ro 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

"With The Heart….."

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:10

With the new heart….not the old heart, man believes. In regeneration God gives His people a new heart. The heart makes reference to the inward man….the real man. Before regeneration man is a single body of sin, body, soul and spirit. When Man is quickened by the Spirit and grace of God there is a new man on the inside. New life, new desires, a new creature that believes, loves and desires Christ and the things of God. This new man with a new heart worships the true and living God and His Christ. He is clothed with the wrought-out, imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ. He is justified from all sin by the blood of Christ. True, the old heart still exists, but the new heart has preeminence. True, there is a warfare, but the new man is already the determined victor. This new man, new heart, new life, is really Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is impossible for the old man to believe on Christ….It is equally impossible for the new man not to believe on Christ. Believing is literally faith and the faith which God gives has One Object - CHRIST! As there is undeniable evidence of the natural, old, sinful man, by his words, acts and deeds, there is evidence of the new man that believes on Christ with the heart…with his mouth he confesses Christ and His righteousness. He walks, lives and runs by faith. The present and end result of believing with the heart is salvation in Christ alone

SOVEREIGN MERCY

"Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth." Romans 9:18

In the previous verses reference is made of God's promise to Abraham and His conversation with Moses concerning His Divine choice of vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath. Religious men may argue their point of man's freewill but their objective will never be accomplished. These verses as well as the whole of scripture assert that man's will is held captive by his sinful nature, which is against God, and that God's will and purpose over-rules all creation including sinful mankind. To deny God's elective choice of whom He will be merciful to is in effect denying the very existence of God and making the redeeming work of Christ nothing more than a feeble effort and a failure. The blessedness of this text is that God will show mercy to undeserving, rebellious sinners. Those sinners of His choice He makes willing by the power of His everlasting love. There is nothing that they have done or can do, or that Christ did to cause God to have mercy upon them. His love, mercy and grace is manifested toward them and given them in Christ and what He did. The vessels of mercy respond in willingness and humble submission to Him as a direct result of His sovereign mercy and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. We love Him because He first loved us…we come to Him because He came to us….we bow to Him because He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Apart from God's sovereign mercy there is no mercy at all for poor sinners such as ourselves. But as long as God is sovereign there is hope for the vilest of sinners. To God be the glory, great things He hath done! "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And He put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will…." Luke 5:12-13

THE STUMBLING STONE

"As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a Stumblingstone and Rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed." Romans 9:33 In this verse and context, Sion is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Stumblingstone and Rock is Christ Himself. Those who seek to be justified by their own works are those that stumble and fall because they believe not on Christ for all their righteousness. Those who believe on Him shall not be ashamed, confounded, or fall. The Lord Jesus Christ is our righteousness - period! If He is not, we have none - period! Self-righteousness is the offending characteristic of depraved human nature before God. The imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ is the hope and salvation of the elect and called of God. Self-righteousness embodies unbelief, doubt, and rebellion as well as hatred for God and His Christ. Self-righteousness is an abomination to God because it exalts the creature above the Creator. The unbeliever is offended and stumbles upon Christ and His righteousness. The righteousness of Christ humbles the child of God and exalts the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have submitted themselves (by God's grace) to the righteousness of Christ willingly and gladly renounce their own righteousness, which is of the law, and embrace Christ and His righteousness. Christ is the Stone and Rock of the of our salvation. "… God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galatians 6:14

Why is it that some who claim to be Christians and believe the gospel are faithful and ambitious in every aspect of their life except the gospel and the things of God? They are faithful to their family, their job, they make sure that they have all the provisions necessary to a comfortable and pleasurable existence in this world, as much as they can. Yet when it comes to the things of God there is very little time, resources or interest left. There is nothing wrong with having these things and doing these things, but should it be at the expense of the most important, most wonderful and glorious thing in a believer's life? When I observe the tendency of this attitude in my life and in others I am reminded of these scriptures: 1John 4:9 "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." Matthew 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." ; Mark 8:36 "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" ; 1John 2:15 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Can it be that one who truly loves Christ, His Gospel, and His people continually and boldly, with a self-justifying attitude live to themselves and put the things of God somewhere in a convenience file? The most important things in our heart will be the most important things in our life. May God give us grace enough, and boldness enough to examine ourselves in the light of His Word to truthfully answer this all important, vital, Gospel question - "Do I love Christ?" John 21:15 "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee."

Audio Sermons By The Pastor

[Home] [Purpose] [Upcoming Meetings] [Weekly Bulletins]