RECEIVING THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved\u201d (II Thess. 2:10).<\/p>\n
It is possible to receive the Truth without receiving the love of the Truth. Merely receiving the Truth is an acknowledgment that the Bible does in fact teach some particular doctrine. This is believing with the intellect and nothing more. Such receiving of the Truth will not end in salvation, but certain destruction. Paul goes on to say of these people, \u201cAnd for this cause (because they received not the love of the Truth) God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is one thing to believe the Bible is God\u2019s Word. It is another thing to love that it is so. It is one thing to believe the Bible teaches the sovereignty of God. It is another thing to love the God who is sovereign. It is one thing to acknowledge the Bible teaches election. It is another thing to love the God who elected sinners in Christ. It is one thing to agree that Christ is the only way. It is another to love Him as the only way. Where the Truth is not received in the love of it, it is not really believed.<\/p>\n
Pastor Gene Harmon<\/p>\n
When I hear it said, \u201cSuch and such do not believe the doctrines of sovereign grace and substitution, but they love the Lord and are saved,\u201d I wonder and ask, \u201cWhat then was the Bible written for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Is it no infallible expression of the mind of GOD? Is it no standard of Truth? Are we to believe what appeals to us and deny the rest? God forbid! God\u2019s Word declares the oneness of Truth and condemns every departure from the Truth as a direct attack on God Himself!<\/p>\n
Do not tell me that a man\u2019s heart is right with God when his head contains a creed of error and denies the Person and Work of the Redeemer.<\/p>\n
Horatius Bonar<\/p>\n
“ORDAINED TO ETERNAL LIFE”
\nActs 13:48<\/p>\n
Paul had preached the gospel clearly in power of the Holy Spirit. When
\nthe Jews heard the message, they walked out in angry protest; but the
\nGentiles desired that it be declared to them again (v. 42). When the
\nJews heard the story of substitutionary redemption, “they were filled
\nwith envy and spoke against those things…contradicting and
\nblaspheming”; but when the Gentiles heard it “they were glad” (w. 45,
\n48). When the Jews heard the gospel of the grace of God, they despised
\nit, rejected it, and put it away from themselves, judging themselves to
\nbe unworthy of everlasting life; but the Gentiles “glorified the Word of
\nthe Lord” (vv. 46, 48). What made the difference? Luke gives the answer
\nin plain, simple, unmistakable words: “As many as were ordained to
\neternal life believed.” The doctrine of the text is undeniable – All who
\nbelieve the gospel were from eternity ordained by God to eternal life.
\nAnd all who were ordained by God to eternal life shall believe the
\ngospel. God will save his own elect.
\nDon Fortner.<\/p>\n
The testimony to God’s Glory
\nAnd the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Isaiah 40.5<\/p>\n
The heavens declare the glory of God, and even the earth in its fallen
\nstate is a testimony to the greatness of the God Who made it. But
\nnothing has glorified God as did the Son of God when he was \u201cborn of a
\nwoman, made under the law\u201d and in that state performed the will of God
\nto perfection. “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work
\nyou gave me to do.” (John 17:4) Man seems to think God is glorified by
\nthe great works of men. The lofty cathedral, the massive choir, and the
\nsuccessful \u201cChristian\u201d business are all supposed testimonies of God\u2019s
\nglory. But God\u2019s glory was revealed in a baby of obscure parentage, a
\nyoung boy of exceptional spiritual wisdom, a preacher outside the
\nmainstream of popular religion and a crucified substitute. All that man
\ncalls wisdom was confounded. All that man calls power was overthrown,
\nand the glory \u2013 the true glory \u2013 of the Lord was revealed.
\nJoe Terrell<\/p>\n
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27).
\nWhen men are sick, they are glad to see the doctor and happy to follow
\nhis advice, but when they have recovered from the illness they don\u2019t
\nwant him to stay. It is a fact we have come to know and see played out
\nin our own experience as well as in the religion of our day. Someone
\nbecomes very ill, or meets with a calamity, or suffers a great loss and
\nthey come to church looking for answers and comfort. And so, a quick
\nremedy is prescribed, and they do what they\u2019re told, and when the pain
\nand sorrow go away, so does the \u201cdoctor\u201d and \u201chis remedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is not so with Christ. He is the Great Physician and He is himself
\nthe remedy. He is not the expensive errand boy that religion describes
\nbringing this and that to us from God, but is Himself the Gift of God.
\nRadiating from His person is life, peace, comfort, joy, love, kindness,
\nfellowship, and mercy. Salvation is in Him, life is in Him, and
\ntherefore Christ in you is the hope of Glory. Take away Christ and the
\nleprosy is still there. Take away Christ and we return to the beggar\u2019s
\nblanket. Take away Christ and we return to our paralysis by the pool
\nwaiting for a hand to lift us into the waters.<\/p>\n
To have Christ is to have a well of water springing up, bread
\ncontinually coming down from God out of heaven, and wisdom that leaves
\nthe foolish physicians scratching their heads. \u201cOf Him (God) are ye in
\nChrist Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
\nsanctification, and redemption.\u201d (1 Cor. 1:30) The gospel is the
\nglorious name of our God manifested in His Son who saves sinners by the
\nmerits and means of Himself. \u201cNeither is there salvation in any other;
\nfor there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
\nmust be saved\u201d (Acts 4:12).
\nDarvin Pruitt.<\/p>\n
\u201cComfort Ye, Comfort Ye, My people saith the LORD\u201d Isaiah40:1<\/p>\n
Here in this passage God has commanded Isaiah to give comfort to the
\npeople of Judah. In the verses before He tells them of the great ruin
\nthat He will bring upon them for their sins (Isaiah 39:5-7). Even so has
\nGod declared that all men are ruined by sin. All men are spiritually
\ndead in sins and because of this nature, men cannot come to God and they
\nwill not come to God for mercy. God declares that all men are hopeless
\nto save themselves by either law, religion, or even by the will of man.
\n(Romans 3:10-20; 5:12: John 1:13; 6:65). Let us then ask two questions:<\/p>\n
1. Who are to be comforted?<\/p>\n
If all men are born in sins and cannot come to Christ, who then is to
\nreceive comfort? These are the elect of God. Those that were chosen
\nbefore the foundation of the World according to God\u2019s Sovereign Free
\nGrace. These are the ones God calls \u201cMy People\u201d, which were chosen of
\nHim, not on their merit but only by grace. Who are the elect? If only
\nthe elect are comforted then who are they? They are the ones in need of
\ncomfort. They are the ones that see their need of mercy and forgiveness
\nof sins. They are given to see their condition as \u201cheavy laden\u201d with sin
\nand their need of rest. And they all will come to Christ Jesus alone for
\ntheir salvation. All the elect of God shall come to Jesus Christ, and
\nall that come to Him, He will not cast out but give Comfort to their souls.<\/p>\n
What is the source of this comfort?<\/p>\n
Our \u201cwarfare is accomplished…\u201d That is to say that God in Christ has
\ngiven us the victory. We are at war with this world who hates our gospel
\nand our God, but let us be comforted in the fact that we who are \u201cin
\nChrist are more than conquers\u201d over all our foes.<\/p>\n
Take comfort in that \u201call (our) sins are pardoned.\u201d God has exacted at
\nthe hand of Christ all payment for our sins. It is only in the offering
\nof Jesus Christ that \u201cGod can be both just and justify the ungodly.\u201d
\nTake great comfort in that by the blood of Jesus, God can justly pardon
\nus who have sinned against Him; for God has \u201creceived double of the
\nLord\u2019s hand for all (our) sins.\u201d
\nDon Fortner.<\/p>\n
A GREAT LIGHT
\n\u201cThe people that walked in darkness have seen a great Light: they that
\ndwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the Light
\nshined.\u201d Isaiah 9:2
\nIn this chapter and the previous one, God the Spirit reveals unto us a
\nbeautiful picture of Christ\u2019s deliverance of those whom God the Father
\nhas given to Him. They are a wonder of God\u2019s sovereign grace manifested
\nin the appearing and redemptive work of Christ Jesus our Lord. God\u2019s
\nelect, who have all their life walked in Spiritual darkness, and dwell
\nin the land of the shadow of death have now, by the power and revelation
\nof God, by the preaching of the gospel of Christ, seen a great Light –
\n\u201cFor God, who commanded the Light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
\nin our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
\nthe face of Jesus Christ\u201d 2Co 4:6.
\nThe Lord Jesus Christ is that GREAT LIGHT and in Him is life, truth,
\npeace, and assurance. It is now said of those upon whom that Light has
\nshined, \u201cYe are all the children of light, and the children of the day:
\nwe are not of the night, nor of darkness\u201d 1Th 5:5. When God effectually
\nreveals Christ to a sheep who walks in darkness there is a radical
\nchange. A change that is compared to the difference in darkness and light.
\nOur Lord gives us an example in Saul\u2019s (Paul\u2019s) conversion – \u201cAnd it
\ncame to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto
\nDamascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light
\nround about me\u201d Ac 22:6. Thereafter Paul\u2019s life was never the same.
\nOthers saw it, but not with discernment. Many see and hear the truth but
\nnot with faith \u2026 only with natural understanding. That great Light is a
\nwonder and an amazement only to those upon whom the Son of Righteousness
\nhas shined.
\nTommy Robbins<\/p>\n
Sovereign Grace Hated by the Modern Religionist
\nBy C H Spurgeon<\/p>\n
If anything is hated bitterly, it is the out-and-out gospel of the
\ngrace of God, especially if that hateful word “sovereignty” is
\nmentioned with it. Dare to say “He will have mercy on whom
\nhe will have mercy, and he will have compassion on whom he
\nwill have compassion” (Romans 9:15), and furious critics will
\nrevile you without stint.<\/p>\n
The modern religionist not only hates the doctrine of sovereign
\ngrace, but he raves and rages at the mention of it. He would
\nsooner hear you blaspheme than preach election by the Father,
\natonement by the Son, or regeneration by the Spirit.<\/p>\n
If you want to see a man worked up till the Satanic is clearly
\nuppermost, let some of the new divines hear you preach a
\nfree grace sermon. A gospel which is after men will be
\nwelcomed by men; but it needs divine operation upon the
\nheart and mind to make a man willing to receive into his in
\nmost soul this distasteful gospel of the grace of God. My
\ndear brethren, do not try to make it tasteful to carnal minds.<\/p>\n
Hide not the offense of the cross, lest you make it of none effect.
\nThe angles and corners of the gospel are its strength to pare them
\noff is to deprive it of power. Toning down is not the increase of
\nstrength, but the death of it.<\/p>\n
Learn, then, that if you take Christ out of Christianity,
\nChristianity is dead. If you remove grace out of the gospel,
\nthe gospel is gone. If the people do not like the doctrine
\nof grace, give them all the more of it.<\/p>\n
I preach the doctrines of grace because I believe them to be true;
\nbecause I see them in the Scriptures; because my experience endears
\nthem to me; and because I see the holy result of them in believers.<\/p>\n
The doctrine which I preach to you is that of the Puritans:
\nit is the doctrine of Calvin, the doctrine of Augustine,
\nthe doctrine of Paul, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
\nThe Author and Finisher of our faith himself taught the
\nmost blessed truth which well agreed with our text-
\n“For by grace are you saved through faith;
\nand that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Eph 2:8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RECEIVING THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH \u201cBecause they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved\u201d (II Thess. 2:10). It is possible to receive the Truth without receiving the love of the Truth. Merely receiving the Truth is an acknowledgment that the Bible does in fact teach some particular doctrine. This […]<\/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-4941","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\/4941","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=4941"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4944,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4941\/revisions\/4944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}