Nov 25
3
Christ + Anything = Nothing
Christ + Nothing = Everything
This heavenly arithmetic the natural man cannot comprehend. But it is the teaching of Holy Scripture. “If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.” This is Christ + anything = nothing. “Christ is all and in all.” This is Christ + nothing = everything! It is the difference between trusting Christ alone and trusting Christ and…………
One leads to heaven. The other leads to hell. One is simple, the other is complicated. One gives Christ all the glory. The other gives man the glory. One is saving. The other is not.
Todd Nibert
“I have taken all my good deeds, and all my bad deeds, and cast them through each other in a heap before the Lord, and fled from both, and betaken myself to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in him I have sweet peace.
David Dickson, Scotland (1789-1842), on his deathbed
The great mistake made by most of the Lord’s people is in hoping to discover in themselves that which is to be found in Christ.
A.W. Pink
When Jesus Comes…
Revelation 1:7
When I have stated all that I know about the second coming of Christ and prophetic events, I will not have said much. The glory that awaits God’s elect when time shall be no more is indescribably greater than any mortal mind can comprehend. But some things are clearly revealed about our Lord’s second coming. Let me remind you of a few of those things which are most obvious in Holy Scripture.
1st, We must recognise the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ may come at any moment (Rev. 1:7). There is nothing necessary to prepare for the coming of Christ. The time is at hand. “Lift up your heads, your redemption draweth nigh.” Indeed, the sense of Scripture is that our glorious Redeemer is presently coming; he is on his way now. We should live, moment by moment, upon the tiptoe of faith in anticipation of his glorious appearance. Everything he has done since his ascension and exaltation has been and is just the movement of his feet in his return. Every work of providence is another step toward his bride, whom he is preparing for himself.
2nd, Our Lord is coming in power and great glory (2 Thess. 1:7-10). The Bible nowhere speaks of our Lord coming in secret to rapture the church and then coming again (a third time) in judgment seven years later. The second advent of Christ will be a climatic thing. Suddenly, he shall appear in power and in great glory.
3rd, Our Lord will come in a real body (Rev. 1:7). I will not attempt to say what the glory of his body will be; or how every eye shall see him at once, but two things are sure: (1) Christ will come in a physical body, the same body in which he hung upon the cross; and (2) His body will be so glorious, so bright, so dazzling, that every living creature shall see him, and the earth shall melt before him.
4th, When Christ comes a mighty resurrection shall take place (John 5:28-29). There will be a resurrection of the just. – The people of God shall be raised to immortality, life, and eternal glory. The body of flesh shall be gathered from the dust and united to our souls in the perfection of righteousness, blamelessness, and glory; and in those bodies we shall see the Lord, our Redeemer (Job 19:25-27). Eternal life, in all its fulness and bliss, shall be our portion! There will also be a resurrection of the wicked. – The ungodly, the unbelieving, shall also be raised, their bodies shall become immortal and united to their souls, so that they may endure everlasting damnation in hell. This is the second death. Eternal death, in all its horror, shall be their portion forever!
5th, At the second coming of Christ, this world shall be destroyed and our God and Saviour will create new heavens and a new earth (2 Pet. 3:10-14; Rom. 8:18-23). The people of God will not spend eternity floating around like ghosts in the air. In these very bodies, we shall live for ever upon the new earth. Heaven shall be brought to the earth. Righteousness shall reign here. The Paradise of God, the Heavenly City, shall be with men.
Don Fortner
Let each new month, new week, new day, each recurring providential dispensation add new power to the summons—”Awake, awake! put on your beautiful garments!”—”Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” So that when the hour of the Second Advent shall strike, when “the Lord shall come, and all His saints with Him,” we may be able to exclaim with rejoicing—”Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him and He saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” “Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, WHEN HE COMES, shall find watching.”
“It may be in the evening,
When the work of the day is done,
And you have time to sit in the twilight
And watch the sinking sun,
While the long bright day dies slowly
O’er the sea,
And the hour grows quiet and holy
With thoughts of ME!
“It may be when the midnight
Is heavy upon the land,
And the black waves lying dumbly
Along the sand;
It may be at the cock-crow;
When the valley-mists are shading
The river’s chill,
When the morning star is fading,
Fading over the hill.
Let the door be on the latch
In your home;
In the chill before the dawning,
Between the night and
morning,
I may come!
“It may be in the morning
When the sun is bright and strong,
And the dew is gleaming beauteous,
The meadow slopes among,
When the waves are laughing loudly
By the shore;
And the birds are singing sweetly
By your door.
It may be in the morning I will come!
“A gentle shadow fell
across
The window of my room;
While working my appointed task,
I calmly turned me round to ask,
‘Is He come?’
An angel whispered sweetly
In my ear:
‘Lift up your head rejoicing—
HE IS HERE!'”
“Even so! Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!”
John MacDuff
Jesus Christ is completely sufficient!
(author unknown)
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and ye
are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power!”
Colossians 2:9-10
One of the great tenets of Scripture, is the claim that Jesus Christ is
completely sufficient for all matters of life and godliness! 2 Peter
1:3-4
He is sufficient for:
Creation (Colossians 1:16-17)
Salvation (Hebrews 10:10-12)
Sanctification (Ephesians 5:26-27)
and Glorification (Romans 8:30).
So pure is He, that there is no blemish, stain, spot of sin,
defilement, deception, corruption, error, or imperfection in Him! (1 Peter
1:18-20)
So complete is He, that . . .
there is no other God besides Him (Isaiah 45:5)
He is the only begotten Son (John 1:14, John 1:18)
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him (Colossians 2:3)
the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him (Colossians 2:9)
He is heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2)
He created all things-and all things were made by Him,
through Him, and for Him (Colossians 1:16)
He upholds all things by the word of His power
(Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:3)
He is the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15)
He is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3).
He has no beginning and no end (Revelation 1:17-18)
He is the spotless Lamb of God (John 1:29)
He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14)
He is our hope (1 Timothy 1:1)
He is our life (Colossians 3:4)
He is the living and true Way (John 14:6)
He is the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star (Revelation
22:16)
He is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11)
He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2)
He is Captain of our Salvation (Hebrews 2:10)
He is the Elect One (Isaiah 42:1)
He is the Apostle and High-Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1)
He is the Righteous Servant (Isaiah 53:11)
He is the Lord Almighty (Malachi 3:17)
He is the Redeemer (Isaiah 41:14)
He is the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 54:5)
He is the God of the whole earth (Isaiah 54:5)
He is the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3)
He is the Light of the world (John 9:5)
He is the Son of Man (Matthew 20:28)
He is the true Vine (John 15:5)
He is the Bread of Life (John 6:48)
He is the Door to Heaven (John 10:7)
He is the Sovereign Lord (Philippians 2:10-13)
He is Prophet, Priest and King (Hebrews 1:1-3)
He is our Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9)
He is our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)
He is the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
He is the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)
He is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5)
He is the Rock of Salvation (Psalm 62:2)
He is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13)
He is the Counsellor and Comforter (John 14:26)
He is the Messiah (John 4:25-26) and
He is the great I AM! (John 8:58)
“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” Ephesians 2:14
“He is our peace.” This necessarily springs from being reconciled and brought near by the blood of Christ. Sin has not only made us enemies to God; but made God an enemy to us. What peace, then, can there be between us while thus mutual enemies? Peace is between friends, not between foes. During this state of hostility and warfare, as there is no real, so there can be no felt or enjoyed peace. But the removal of the cause of the war brings about peace, first really and then experimentally. Christ has made peace through the blood of his cross (Col. 1:20). There is now no enmity on the part of God, for it was a ‘legal’ enmity. God always loved his people in Christ; and as he is unchanging and unchangeable, he never could or did hate them. But as a judge is an enemy to a criminal, even were that criminal his own son, so, as Judge and Lawgiver, God was an enemy to his own elect, viewed as law-breakers.
But when the law was fulfilled, and all the breaches of it atoned for by the obedience and death of his dear Son, then this law enmity was removed, and the anger of God against sin and the sinner pacified. Sin, therefore, being put away, the whole cause of that ‘legal’ enmity is removed.
And when we believe in the Son of God, and receive the atonement by his precious blood, then there is no enmity on OUR side; for the goodness, mercy, and love of God melt the heart into the sweetest humility, affection, and love to and before him.
J.C.Philpot
Why Was The Law Given
Galatians 3:19
We know that the law of God cannot redeem, justify, or sanctify guilty sinners (Rom. 3:28). And we know that the law was never intended to be a rule of life for God’s children in this world (I Tim. 1:8-9). The law can in no way effect God in the fulfilment of his covenant mercies. It cannot cause God to bestow his grace, or prevent God from bestowing his grace. God’s covenant people shall obtain all the mercies revealed and promised in the covenant, because the covenant was made long before the law was given (Gal. 4:17). If the law cannot save us, sanctify us, govern us, or in anyway nullify the covenant promises, what is the purpose of the law? That is the question Paul answers in Galatians 3:19-25. He tells us that the law was added “because of transgressions,” to rule over and restrain wicked men until God fulfilled his covenant mercy in bringing them to Christ.
First, and foremost, God gave the law at Sinai to convince wicked men and women of their guilt and sin (Rom. 7:7; 5:20; 3:19). “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Do you hear and understand what the law says? Read the commandments. The ten commandments is not a list of moral ethics, a code of conduct, or a rule of life. It is an indictment of justice! It is a sentence of eternal death and everlasting condemnation. “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” Any man who ever hears what the law says will seek a place of refuge from this august, holy Lord God, and seek a Mediator to deal with God on his behalf (Ex. 20:1-21). To break the law in one point, only one time, is enough to damn us forever. But we have broken the law in every point and violated every command, from our youth up! The law can never cleanse. It only condemns. The law can never save. It only slays. The law can never give peace. It only punishes. Only Christ can cleanse. Only Christ can save. Only Christ can give peace through the pardon of sin.
Don Fortner