{"id":4067,"date":"2016-10-04T10:27:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-04T10:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=4067"},"modified":"2016-10-04T10:51:26","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T10:51:26","slug":"bulletin-edition-319-october-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=4067","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition #319 October 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE LORD KNOWETH HOW<\/strong>
\n2 Peter 2: 9-12
\nThe Spirit of God warns believers about this day in which we live. (Amos\u00a08:11) As religious as this world is, yet as ungodly as this world is, we should always remember that God is fulfilling his purpose even with false teachers and false religion in this world. Comfort for the believer is in knowing that our gracious God is fully in control. (Ps 76: 10) We may not understand how he is doing so, but rest assured that even in the deceptions of false teachers and false religion, God is bringing glory to his name. (Rev 20: 1-3; 2 Thess 2: 1-12) The Spirit of God gives us some characteristics in our text by which we identify false preachers.<\/p>\n

They Are Flesh Therefore Point Sinners to Flesh
\nReligion seeks men to build their churches, to fill their treasuries, and so on. They go after flesh like the Sodomites lusted after one another, \u201chaving eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices.\u201d (v14; Jude 1:8) They teach doctrines urging men to mind the things of the flesh, rather than Christ. Their doctrines have the same relation to truth that dreams do to good sense. They defile teaching big man, and a little god; they preach salvation by the will of man\u2019s flesh rather than by the power of God; they preach justification by the works of man\u2019s flesh rather than by Christ who declared God just and Justifier; they preach sanctification by works of man\u2019s flesh rather than by election, redemption and the work of the Spirit in the new birth. They teach evil is in things, not that the fleshly heart is desperately wicked! Their message is the message of rewards or loss of rewards based upon man\u2019s works. They claim to believe but they deny Christ in their doctrine and in their practice. (Tit 1: 16; Is 51: 4)
\n\u201cThem that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness\u201d are false teachers who cannot subject themselves to the gospel of God our Savior which declares that there is \u201cnow no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.\u201d (Rom 8: 1) They will not submit to the truth that the believer is not under the law but under grace, neither can they. Those in the flesh cannot please God and the only way to please God is to walk by faith, not by sight, by minding the things of the Spirit rather than the things of the flesh. (Rom 8: 9-14)
\nWhat \u201cdeeds of the flesh\u201d is Paul speaking about through the Roman epistle? He has been speaking against the old spirit of bondage to the law. (Rom 8: 15) Peter says false teachers \u201cspeak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.\u201d (2 Pet 2: 12; Col 2: 18-23) The pride and self-righteousness of man’s heart makes sinners deny the completeness of the fall of man and the completeness of reconciliation and salvation by Christ alone. These two deceits of the sin-dead heart attempt to bring man up and Christ down. If a man can do something to save himself then the fall of man is not complete, man is brought up. If man must do anything in addition to Christ\u2019s work then Christ\u2019s work is not complete, Christ is brought down.
\nYet, the Holy Ghost reveals in the gospel in the heart of his elect, that they are made righteous by the obedience of Christ and delivered by Christ as completely as was the condemnation of the elect of God by the disobedience of Adam. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” (Rom. 5: 19.) But by bringing men back under the bondage of the law these filthy dreamers defile men. (Gal 5: 2; 2 Pet 2: 18-22; Hag 2: 12-14; Tit 1: 10-16; Mat 7: 22-23)Clay Curtis.<\/p>\n

“If you are led of the Spirit\u2014you are not under the law.” Galatians 5:18<\/p>\n

We who looks at his own character and position from a legal point of view, will not only despair when he comes to the end of his reckoning\u2014but if he is a wise man, he will despair at the beginning; for if we are to be judged on the footing of the law, then no man can be justified. How blessed to know that we dwell in the domains of grace\u2014and not of law!<\/p>\n

When thinking of my state before God the question is not, “Am I perfect in myself before the law?” but, “Am I perfect in Christ Jesus?” That is a very different matter. We need not enquire, “Am I without sin naturally?” but, “Have I been washed in the fountain opened for sin and for impurity?” It is not “Am I in myself well pleasing to God?” but it is “Am I accepted in the Beloved?”<\/p>\n

The Christian views his evidences from the top of Sinai\u2014and grows alarmed concerning his salvation; it were better far\u2014if he read his title by the light of Calvary. “Why,” says he, “my faith has unbelief in it, it is not able to save me.” Suppose he had considered the object of his faith instead of his faith, then he would have said, “There is no failure in Him, and therefore I am safe.” He sighs over his hope, “Ah! my hope is marred and dimmed by an anxious carefulness about present things; how can I be accepted?” Had he regarded the ground of his hope, he would have seen that the promise of God stands sure, and that whatever our doubts may be, the oath and promise never fail.<\/p>\n

Ah! believer, it is safer always for you to be led of the Spirit into gospel liberty\u2014than to wear legal fetters. Judge yourself at what Christ is\u2014rather than at what you are. Satan will try to mar your peace by reminding you of your sinfulness and imperfections; you can only meet his accusations by faithfully adhering to the gospel and refusing to wear the yoke of bondage. Charles Spurgeon<\/p>\n

A mystery to yourself<\/strong>
\n\u201cI find then, the law that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present.\u201d Romans 7:21<\/p>\n

Are you not often a mystery to yourself? Warm one moment\u2014 cold the next! Abasing yourself one hour\u2014exalting yourself the following! Loving the world, full of it, steeped up to your head in it today\u2014crying, groaning, and sighing for a sweet manifestation of the love of Godtomorrow! Brought down to nothingness, covered with shame and confusion, on your knees before you leave your room\u2014filled with pride and self-importance before you have got down stairs! Despising the world, and willing to give it all up for one taste of the love of Jesus when in solitude\u2014trying to grasp it with both hands when in business! What a mystery are you! Touched by love\u2014and stung with hatred! Possessing a little wisdom\u2014and a great deal of folly! Earthly minded\u2014and yet having the affections in heaven! Pressing forward\u2014and lagging behind! Full of sloth\u2014and yet taking the kingdom with violence! And thus the Spirit, by a process which we may feel but cannot adequately describe\u2014leads us into the mystery of the two natures perpetually struggling and striving against each other in the same bosom\u2014so that one man cannot more differ from another, than the same man differs from himself. But the mystery of the kingdom of heaven is this\u2014that our carnal mind undergoes no alteration, but maintains a perpetual war with grace. And thus, the deeper we sink in self-abasement under a sense of our vileness, the higher we rise in a knowledge of Christ, and the blacker we are in our own view\u2014the more lovely does Jesus appear.
\nJ.C Philpot<\/p>\n

The True Believer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The true believer does not love sin, he loves Christ and holiness. He would like to be perfect and without even the thought of sin, and he longs for the day when this promise in Christ will be a reality. He grieves over his sins, mourns over his infirmities, and feels that he is, indeed, the chief offender. He does not excuse, nor justify, his sins but owns and confesses them daily.
\nHenry Mahan<\/p>\n

Some good men who, in grievous error, would impose the law as a rule of life for the believer mean very well by it (for they strive to be pious); but the whole principle is false. The law, instead of being a rule of life, is necessarily a rule of death to one who has a sin nature. Far from being a delivering power, it can only condemn such. Far from being a means of holiness, it is, in fact, and according to Paul, \u201cthe strength of sin\u201d (I Cor.\u00a015:56).
\n\u2013William Kelly<\/p>\n


\nAltogether Vanity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Psalm 39: 5<\/p>\n

It is the assumption of most that sin is something that comes into their lives at moments of weakness. Anger, jealousy, and pride, finding an occasion, cause their feet to slip and sin enter the door. If they could somehow get rid of these things that have ruined their reputations, their lives would stand as a good testimony to God. The truth about sin is that the part of our lives that we are the proudest of gives the greatest evidence against us. \u201c\u2026Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.\u201d \u201cBut we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags;\u2026(Isaiah 64: 6) Sin is what we are; it is the leprosy into which we are born and infects the whole or our nature. While we may attain a good name and high honor in this world, we are like Naaman of old, still a leper and forbidden to come into the camp of Israel. (II Kings 5: 1) Darvin Pruitt<\/p>\n

I find to this day seven abominations in my heart: 1. Inclining to unbelief; 2. Suddenly to forget the love and mercy that Christ manifesteth; 3. A leaning to the works of the law; 4. Wanderings and coldness in prayer; 5. To forget to watch for that I pray for; 6. Apt to murmur because I have no more, and yet ready to abuse what I have; 7. I can do none of those things which God commands me, but my corruptions will thrust in themselves.<\/p>\n

When I would do good, evil is present with me. These things I continually see and feel, and am afflicted and oppressed with, yet the wisdom of God doth order them for my good; 1. They make me abhor myself; 2. They keep me from trusting my heart; 3. They convince me of the insufficiency of all inherent righteousness; 4. They show me the necessity of flying to Jesus; 5. They press me to pray unto God; 6. They show me the need I have to watch and be sober; 7. And provoke me to pray unto God, through Christ to help me, and carry me through this world.<\/p>\n

\u2014John Bunyan<\/p>\n

CHRIST IS ALL<\/strong>
\nIf salvation depends upon our being or doing anything, we shall inevitably be lost. Thank God, it does not; for the great fundamental principle of the Gospel is that Christ is all; man is nothing. It is not a mixture of Christ and man \u2013 it is all of Christ. The peace of the Gospel does not rest in part on Christ\u2019s work and in part on man\u2019s work; it rest wholly on Christ\u2019s work, because that work is perfect, perfect forever; and it renders all who put their trust in Him as perfect as Himself? Christ must either be a whole Savior or no Savior at all. The moment a man says, \u201cExcept you be this or that, you cannot be saved,\u201d he totally subverts the Gospel; for in the Gospel I find Christ coming down to me, just as I am \u2013 a lost, guilty, self-destroyed sinner; and coming, moreover, with a full remission of all sins, and a full salvation from my lost estate, all perfectly wrought by Himself on the Cross.<\/p>\n

\u2014C.H. Mackintosh (1820-96), minister in Ireland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE LORD KNOWETH HOW 2 Peter 2: 9-12 The Spirit of God warns believers about this day in which we live. (Amos\u00a08:11) As religious as this world is, yet as ungodly as this world is, we should always remember that God is fulfilling his purpose even with false teachers and false religion in this world. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4067"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4084,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4067\/revisions\/4084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}