{"id":578,"date":"2011-06-18T01:15:36","date_gmt":"2011-06-18T01:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=578"},"modified":"2011-06-18T01:15:36","modified_gmt":"2011-06-18T01:15:36","slug":"bulletin-articles-issue-76-june-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=578","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Articles Issue #76 June 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Redeemed<\/span><\/strong> (Thomas Brooks, “Paradise Opened<\/a>” 1675)<\/p>\n

“For you know that it was not with perishable\u00a0things such as silver or gold that you were\u00a0redeemed <\/strong>from the empty way of life handed\u00a0down to you from your forefathers.” 1 Pet. 1:18<\/p>\n

Christ redeems us from all sin\u2014and from all the consequences of sin. He endured the wrath of God to the uttermost\u2014for everyone who believes on Him.
\nBy this redemption . . .
\njustice is satisfied,\u00a0 wrath is pacified, \u00a0 grace is procured,\u00a0 all spiritual enemies are vanquished.
\nEach child of God is redeemed <\/strong>from . . .
\nthe love of sin,\u00a0 the guilt of sin, \u00a0 the dominion of sin,\u00a0 the damnatory power of sin,\u00a0 the power of Satan,\u00a0 the curse of the law,\u00a0 hell and wrath to come!
\nThe work of redemption was a great work. The greatness of the person <\/strong>employed in this work, speaks out the work to be a great work. The great and invaluable price <\/strong>which was paid down for our redemption, speaks it out to be a great redemption. The price that we are bought with, is a price beyond all computation. This redemption that we have in Christ, is a free and gracious <\/strong>redemption. All the rounds in this ladder of redemption, are made up of free, rich, and sovereign grace! Though our redemption
\ncost Christ dearly\u2014yet as to us it is most free!
\nJesus Christ has completely done the work of our redemption. He does not redeem us from some of our sins, and leave us to grapple with the rest. Oh, no! Christ makes a most complete work of it.He redeems us from all our iniquities. He delivers
\nus out of the hands of all our enemies.He pays all debts,He delivers from all wrath,
\nHe takes off the whole curse, He saves to the uttermost, and will settle us in a state of full and perfect bliss\u2014when grace <\/em>shall be turned into glory<\/em>. The redemption which we have in Jesus Christ, is an eternal, a permanent, a lasting, yes, an everlasting \u00a0redemption! \u00a0\u00a0“Having obtained eternal <\/strong>redemption for us.”<\/p>\n

Hebrews 9:12<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

What a mercy it is to have a conscience in any measure purged from dead works to serve the living God; to feel any free access to his gracious Majesty, any happy liberty in walking before him, any deliverance from doubt and fear, any removal of those exercises which try the mind and often bring heavy burdens upon the soul! Still, after all our wanderings, we must ever come to the same spot; after all our departings and backslidings, still again and again we must be brought to the same place to get the guilt removed, the mercy proclaimed, and the peace revealed. For is not this the blessedness–that the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin? Having obtained eternal redemption for us, his blood will never lose its efficacy, but will ever purge the conscience as long as the conscience of any burdened member of his mystical body remains to be purged, until he presents all his ransomed saints faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.\u00a0 J.C. Philpot<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some Things We Know <\/strong><\/p>\n

I Peter 1:18-23<\/strong><\/p>\n

Believers are men and women who are taught of God. Being taught of God, they know some things. Others have opinions, theories, speculations, and conjectures, but believers know some things. Here are four things that Peter says the people of God know.<\/p>\n

1. WE KNOW THAT WE WERE NOT REDEEMED WITH CORRUPTIBLE THINGS. “Silver and gold” refers to anything we can do, give, or produce. Any fool, except one blinded by the papal doctrine of indulgences, knows that money cannot buy grace. Yet, most people foolishly imagine that it can be bought by human works! The price of redemption is much higher than anything you and I can offer God; and believers know it. The price on the sinner’s head is blood and death! God’s law must be honored. His justice must be satisfied.<\/p>\n

2. WE KNOW THAT WE WERE REDEEMED WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST. This is the doctrine of Holy Scripture. In the Bible wherever you find forgiveness, you find blood. Wherever you find atonement, you find blood. Wherever you find mercy, you find blood. Wherever you find the sons of Adam worshipping the holy Lord God, you find blood. God said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you!” (Read Ex. 12:13; Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:11-22).<\/p>\n

3. WE KNOW THAT OUR REDEMPTION BY CHRIST WAS ARRANGED AND PURPOSED BY GOD’S SOVEREIGN DECREE AND ETERNAL FOREORDINATION. The blood of Jesus Christ, his sin-atoning death, his substitutionary sacrifice was not an after thought with God! He became our Savior, our Substitute, our Redeemer before the world began (Rev. 13:8). Though this doctrine sounds strange and new to a generation of lost religionists who have never heard from God, it is no new doctrine at all. It is the doctrine of the prophets and apostles (Acts 2:23; Heb. 13:20).<\/p>\n

4. WE KNOW THAT REDEMPTION IN CHRIST WAS PURPOSED, PURCHASED, AND PROVIDED FOR A PARTICULAR PEOPLE. Infidels and freewillers may be ignorant of this, but God’s saints know that the blood of Christ was not shed in vain. He died for someone in particular. Jesus Christ died “for you, who by him do believe in God,” for you who obey his gospel, for you who are born again by the power of his grace!\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Don Fortner<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>All true religion<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus is . . .
\nour sun, and without Him all is darkness;
\nour life, and without Him all is death;
\nthe beginner and finisher of our faith;
\nthe substance of our hope;
\nthe object of our love.<\/p>\n

It is the Spirit who quickens us . . .
\nto feel our need of Christ;
\nto seek all our supplies in Him and from Him;
\nto believe in Him unto everlasting life,
\nand thus live a life of faith upon Him.<\/p>\n

By His . . .
\nsecret teachings,
\ninward touches,
\ngracious smiles,
\nsoft whispers,
\nsweet promises,
\nmanifestations of Christ’s glorious Person and work,
\nChrist’s agonizing sufferings and dying love,
\nthe Holy Spirit draws the heart up to Christ.<\/p>\n

He thus wins our affections, and setting Christ
\nbefore our eyes as “the chief among ten thousand
\nand the altogether lovely One,” draws out that love
\nand affection towards Jesus which puts the world
\nunder our feet.<\/p>\n

J.C. Philpot<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

T<\/strong>he Golden Key! The Golden Thread! <\/strong>by Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n

Jesus<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>is the one great theme both of the Old Testament and the New. The whole Bible is designed to testify of Christ<\/em>, “The Scriptures point to Me!” <\/em>John 5:39
\nIn Christ the Messiah<\/em>, in Jesus the Savior<\/em>, in the Son of God the Redeemer \u2014 <\/em>all the truths of the Bible centre. To Him all the types<\/em> and shadows<\/em> point! \u00a0Of Him all the prophecies<\/em> give witness! \u00a0All the glory of the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation \u2014 culminates at the cross of Christ! The Bible would be an inexplicable mystery apart from Christ, who unfolds and explains it all. He is the golden Key which unlocks the divine treasury of Scriptural revelation! Until He is seen<\/em>, the Bible is, in a sense \u2014 a great mystery<\/em>. But when He is found, it is a glorious revelation<\/em>. Every mystery is opened, every enigma explained, every discrepancy harmonized, and every truth and page, sentence and word, quickened with a life and glowing with a light flowing down from the throne of the Eternal God.<\/p>\n

Christ is the substance of the Gospel.<\/strong>
\nAll its divine doctrines<\/em>, all its holy precepts<\/em>, all its gracious instructions<\/em>, all its precious promises<\/em>, all its glorious hopes \u2014 <\/em> meet, centre, and fill up their entire compass in Jesus!<\/p>\n

He is the Alpha and the Omega of the Bible, from the first verse in Genesis \u2014 to the last verse in Revelation.<\/p>\n

Oh, study the Scriptures of truth with a view of learning Christ. <\/em>
\nDo not study the Bible as a mere history. Do not read it as a mere poem. Do not search it as a book of science. It is all that, but infinitely more. The Bible is the Book of Jesus! <\/em>It is a Revelation of Christ! Christ is the golden thread <\/strong>which runs through the whole! Blessed Lord Jesus! I will read and study and dig into the Scriptures to find and learn more of You! \u00a0You, Immanuel, are the fragrance <\/em>of this divine box of precious ointment. You are the beauteous gem<\/em> sparkling in this divine cabinet.
\nYou are the Tree of life<\/em> planted in the centre of this divine garden.
\nYou are the Ocean <\/em>whose stream quickens and nourishes all who draw water out of this divine well of salvation. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible is all about You!<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Gospel Distinctives <\/strong>by Don Fortner<\/p>\n

I know that the things we believe and preach, place us in direct conflict with the religious world around us. That really shouldn’t surprise us. When our Lord Jesus told the religious leaders of his day the things I am about to tell you, they started grabbing rocks to stone him to death. So we must never be surprised when lost religionists get upset with us for preaching the gospel. Here are four things which place us in direct conflict with the entire religious world–<\/p>\n

1. What we believe and preach about GOD<\/strong> himself is the primary, basic difference between us and those who do not believe the gospel. We believe, according to the plain statements of Holy Scripture that the one true and living God, the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN of the universe (Ps. 115:3; 135:6). That simply means that God is God. He does, he always does, exactly what he will everywhere, with everyone and everything! God always has his way. God always does all his pleasure. None can stay his hand. None can resist his will. In heaven, earth, and hell GOD RULES!<\/p>\n

This great, sovereign God is absolutely, perfectly, immaculately HOLY. Everything he does is holy. Everything he requires is holy. He is so perfectly, absolutely, inviolably holy that he cannot and will not accept anything or anyone who is not perfectly holy.<\/p>\n

Our great, sovereign, holy Lord God is immutably JUST. God our Savior declares himself to be both “a just God and a Savior.” His justice is unbending and unbendable. He will not forgive sin, except upon the grounds of strict justice. The just God must and shall punish all sin. He cannot forgive sin until full satisfaction for sin has been made. And this gloriously just God cannot charge any sin upon any sinner for whom atonement has been made. Justice, once satisfied, demands the release of all for whom satisfaction has been made.<\/p>\n

2. That which we believe about MAN<\/strong> also separates us from the entire religious world around us. We believe, according to the plain statements of Holy Scripture, that all men and women are sinners, born in spiritual death, corrupt at heart, inclined toward every evil, incapable of doing good, and totally incapable of changing their condition. In a word, fallen man is “dead in trespasses and sins,” lost, justly condemned, under the wrath of God, doomed, damned, willfully ignorant of all things spiritual; without Christ, and without hope, apart from God’s sovereign mercy.<\/p>\n

3. Everything we believe about the LORD JESUS CHRIST <\/strong>sets us apart from the religious world in which we live. Unlike most religious people, we actually believe the Bible. We believe all that the Bible reveals about the Son of God. We really do believe that Jesus Christ is God, God in human flesh.
\n-That he is the eternal Surety.
\n-That he brought in everlasting righteousness for his elect by his obedience to God as our Representative.
\n-That he fully satisfied the justice of God for the sins of his people, which were imputed to him, when he died as our Substitute at Calvary.
\n-We believe that all for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died must and shall be saved, because he cannot fail. He is an almighty, effectual Redeemer, an omnipotent Savior, an unfailing Advocate, and an all-prevailing High Priest!<\/p>\n

4. Believing what the Bible teaches about SALVATION<\/strong> also separates us from the lost religionists of this world, who foolishly imagine that God’s salvation depends in some way, or to some degree, at some point upon the will, work, or worth of man. It does not! “Salvation is of the LORD!” Salvation is accomplished, in its entirety, by the free, sovereign, irresistible grace and power of God Almighty, through the person and work of his dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the omnipotent operations of his Holy Spirit, who alone can raise sinners from death to life, reveal Christ in them, and give them the gift of faith in him.<\/p>\n

Every aspect of God’s salvation is by GRACE alone.<\/p>\n

Are we ‘chosen’ of God? We were chosen unto salvation by the election of grace.<\/p>\n

Are we ‘redeemed’ by the blood of Christ? We were redeemed because God the Father gave us to God the Son in the covenant of grace before the world began.<\/p>\n

Are we ‘called’, ‘born again’? We are born again by the Spirit of God, who called us from death to life in Christ by the power of his omnipotent grace.<\/p>\n

Are we ‘justified’? We are justified by grace.<\/p>\n

Are we ‘sanctified’? We are sanctified by grace.<\/p>\n

Are we ‘kept’? We are kept by the power of God’s grace.<\/p>\n

There is no place between the pit of hell and the gates of pearl, where salvation depends on us. It is written in the Book of God in bold, capital letters– “BY GRACE YOU ARE SAVED!” That is the message written upon every page of the Bible. Any religion, any doctrine, any preacher, any religious teacher, anything or anyone who contradicts that message contradicts the Word of God. Salvation is by the grace of God, entirely by the grace of God. Human works, human effort, and the will of man has absolutely nothing to do with it. “Salvation is of the LORD!”<\/p>\n

I know that men object to these things. I know preachers everywhere deny them. I know that proud men are offended by them. But I am not running for political office. I am here to proclaim the truth to eternity bound sinners for the glory of God. That which we have heard and learned of the Father, we must declare. I must be true to God, true to the Scriptures, and true to your souls.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Who hath saved us,<\/strong> 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 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 2 Timothy 1:9,10,11<\/p>\n

The Church is said to be saved, and called, with an<\/p>\n

holy calling. Not any holiness in the Church, or from<\/p>\n

foreseeing holiness in the Church; for it is immediately<\/p>\n

added, not according to our works. It could not be<\/p>\n

according to our works, for the saving is said to have<\/p>\n

been before the world began. Neither could it be from<\/p>\n

any works after, for when the Church is quickened, in<\/p>\n

every individual member of CHRIST\u2019S mystical body; the<\/p>\n

sinner is said to be quickened, that was before dead in<\/p>\n

trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2:1. Neither could it be<\/p>\n

from the prospect of anything to be wrought of holiness<\/p>\n

in us, after grace is received; for this scripture saith, that<\/p>\n

it was GOD\u2019S purpose, and grace given us in CHRIST JESUS,<\/p>\n

and that before the world began. Hence, every testimony<\/p>\n

bears a beautiful correspondence to all the other parts of<\/p>\n

scripture, that grace, and salvation, are all of GOD, not of<\/p>\n

man. We are saved by grace through faith; and that not of<\/p>\n

ourselves, it is the gift of GOD, not of works, lest any man<\/p>\n

should boast. Ephesians 2:8, 9. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Robert Hawker poor man\u2019s commentary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Redeemed (Thomas Brooks, “Paradise Opened” 1675) “For you know that it was not with perishable\u00a0things such as silver or gold that you were\u00a0redeemed from the empty way of life handed\u00a0down to you from your forefathers.” 1 Pet. 1:18 Christ redeems us from all sin\u2014and from all the consequences of sin. He endured the wrath of […]<\/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-578","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\/578","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=578"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":580,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions\/580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}