\u201cNot\nunto us O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory…\u201d Ps 115:1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\nare many messages in the world that promise salvation. Only one gives to God\nALL the glory. The gospel of God\u2019s free and sovereign Grace in the\nglorious person and accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only\nmessage that will cause a sinner to declare, \u201cnot unto us O Lord, not unto us,\nbut unto Thy name give glory…\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Truly,\nsalvation is of the Lord and his people love it that way. The Lord gets\nall the glory in ELECTION having chosen us for no other reason than his own\ngood pleasure and will. He gets all the glory in REDEMPTION, having by himself\npurged our sins with his own precious blood. He gets all the glory\nin REGENERATION, arresting us on the road to destruction and making us willing\nin the day of his power. Our God gets all the glory in SANCTIFICATION,\nkeeping us from falling away and causing us to be renewed in faith day by day.\nHe gets all the glory in GLORIFICATION, by presenting us faultless before the\npresence of his glory with exceeding joy. Every other message contrived\nby man robs God of his glory and credits it to man. \u201cNot unto us O Lord, not unto\nus, but unto thy name be (ALL) the\nglory…\u201d. \n ~GE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
################################<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ\nMade Sin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor\nHe hath made Him sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the\nrighteousness of God in Him\u201d. 2 Cor 5:21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh,\nwhat a great mystery. The sinless Son of God being made sin. We can only\nstand in awe of this glorious truth. Like everything about our God, it is\nunsearchable. As always, our understanding must be confined to what God has\nrevealed in His Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever\nChrist, \u201cbeing made sin\u201d means in the fullness of His substitution, we cannot\ndoubt from Scripture that shame, sorrow and separation were experienced by Him\nto their fullest. \u201cMy wounds stink and are corrupt because of my\nfoolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day\nlong.\u201d \u201cFor I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before\nme. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my\nsin\u201d. Ps 38:5-6, 17-18. \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\nWhy art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?\u201d Ps.\n22:1. \u201cOut of the depths have I cried unto Thee, I am not able to look up\u201d, was\nour Sin-Bearer\u2019s cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nyou paid the penalty for someone else\u2019s crime, you could feel some sense of\npride for such a selfless sacrifice. Or you could feel resentment that you were\nmade to suffer unjustly. One thing you could never feel is shame, sorrow or\nseparation from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nis a straw man to say we have defiled the sacrifice by making Christ a sinner.\nHave we not learned from our own experience with sin that shame, sorrow and\nseparation are the real burden of sin? Infinite sorrow and separation was His\nexperience. When God saw the travail of His Soul, He was satisfied. \n \n ~GE<\/p>\n\n\n\n ##############################<\/p>\n\n\n\n GOD SPARED NOT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2 Peter 2:4-7; several times the word of the Lord\nsays, \u201cGod spared not;\u201d the righteous and holy judgment of God fell without any\nmixture of mercy on many. The angels that fell were judged and cast out.\nThe rebels in Noah\u2019s day were judged and with the flood of God\u2019s wrath.\nThe cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were reduced to ashes for their sinful\nwickedness. But we also read of God\u2019s mercy to some, Noah and his family\nwere spared. The Lord delivered Lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord knows how to justly\ndeliver His people from the wrath to come without compromising His\nrighteous character (2 Peter 2:9; 1 Thes. 1:9-10). The Lord our God\njustly delivers His elect from the wrath to come because He spared not\nthe Lord Jesus Christ from the holy wrath of His anger against our sin\n(Isa. 53:10; Lam. 1:12; Zech. 13:7). Read this verse slowly; \u201cHe that spared\nnot his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with\nhim also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge\nof God\u2019s elect? It is God that justifieth<\/em>\u201d (Romans 8:32-22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n What amazing love the Lord\nGod commends to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us;\n(Rom. 5:6-10; 1John 4:10). Were it not for His sovereign love, His\nfetching grace, and the sacrifice of Christ for our sin, we too would\neternally suffer the wrath of God. Thank you Lord for the gospel of\nsubstitution and satisfaction; (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18). Tom\nHarding<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n ########################<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Matthew\n27: 15: Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a\nprisoner, whom they would. 16: And they had then a notable prisoner, called\nBarabbas. 17: Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto\nthem, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called\nChrist?…<\/strong> 21: The governor answered and said unto\nthem, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said,\nBarabbas. 22: Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is\ncalled Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23: And the\ngovernor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more,\nsaying, Let him be crucified.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \nPut your place in that cell with Barabbas. He knew he was guilty. Death\nawaited him. There was no escaping. As he sat in his cell, Barabbas\ndid not know what Pilate had said to the crowd. The only thing Barabbas\ncould hear was the angry crowd chanting, \u201cBarabbas! Barabbas! Barabbas!\u201d Then\nhe heard the crowd yelling, \u201cCrucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!\u201d He\nmust have been terrified, convinced that he was about to die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sinner,\nhave you found yourself in that place? Has the Spirit of God made you confess\nthat you are guilty before God\u2019s holy, unbending law? Has God sent the\nsentence burning into your conscience so that you own the truth that you\ndeserve to die? It surely is the case with every sinner as we are born in Adam.\n(Rom 3: 10-13; 19-20, 23) But you will never need another to save you\nuntil you are convinced in the court of your conscience that you are guilty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThen try to imagine this. Barabbas heard the jailor nearing his\ncell. The jailor opened the door. But to his surprise, the jailor\nunlocked Barabbas’ shackles announcing that he was free to go. How? Why? It was\nbecause another, Christ Jesus, had taken his place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sinner,\nthis is the good news of substitution! Christ took the place of his\npeople on the cross. (Jn 10: 15) He took the sin of his people on the\ncross. (2 Cor 5: 21) Christ took the judgment and wrath of hell for his\npeople on the cross. (Gal 3: 13) And on the cross, God saw the travail of his\nsoul and was satisfied. (Is 53: 11) By Christ pouring out his precious blood in\nplace of all those that the Father gave to him, Christ purged our sins,\nsatisfied justice and obtained eternal redemption for all for whom he died.\n(Heb 1: 3; Rom 3: 24; Gal 2: 16; Ti 3: 7; Heb 9: 12) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore,\nat the appointed hour, through the Spirit of regeneration, through the key of\nthe gospel, each child for whom Christ died shall have the Holy Spirit sent to\nthem where they sit bound in the sin and death of their dead, carnal\nnature. Each one shall be brought to believe on Christ and be set\nfree from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8: 1-4) It is not possible for the law\nto punish Christ the Substitute then punish even one for whom he died. (Rom 5:\n9-10) They are justified before God! This truth of the successful, particular\nredemption of chosen sinners by the death of Christ is the gospel which\nmanifests the righteousness of God, Christ Jesus! (Rom 3: 21-22) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sinner,\nhas God opened your jail cell with the key of the gospel of the substitionary\ndeath of Christ Jesus the Son of God? Has the Holy Spirit un-shackled your\nchains of unbelief with the gift of life and faith in Christ? When\ndeath-row sinners behold the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus then the\nLord Jesus sets his child free, saying \u201cto the prisoners, Go forth; to them\nthat are in darkness, Show yourselves.\u201d (Is 49: 9)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can\nyou picture the joy Barabbas had that day? That temporal freedom is\nnothing compared to the joy of the child of grace when we are enabled to sing,\n\u201cRedeemed by the blood of the Lamb, his child and forever I am!\u201d May God\nin his free, sovereign, invincible grace make you sing that joyful song today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clay Curtis<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n ###########################################<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ Died in Place of His People <\/strong>(Matthew 27:21-26)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Put your place\nin that cell with Barabbas. He hears his name shouted by the crowd. Then he\nhears, \u201cCrucify him, crucify him!\u201d He is convinced he is a dead man\nwalking. The jailor opens the door to his cell. But instead of dragging\nhim to the cross, the jailor unlocks Barabbas’ shackles announcing that Christ\nJesus has taken his place on the cross; therefore, Barabbas is a free\nman. That is the good news of substitution! Every chosen child for\nwhom the Son of God shed his blood at Calvary shall be set free by the Spirit\nof regeneration through the key of the gospel of the free grace of God. It is\nnot possible for the law to punish the Substitute and punish those for whom he\ndied. The truth of the successful particular redemption of chosen sinners\nis the gospel which manifests the righteousness of God\u2014all others are not\nanother. He has seen the travail of his soul and is satisfied. Is\nthis news good to you or do you scream unfair? Do you think Barabbas screamed\nunfair? Do you think he argued that there was something yet that he must\ndo? Do you think he had to be persuaded out of that jail cell? Many\nconvicts have had to be hog-tied to get them in a prison cell, not one pardoned\nprisoner has had to be coerced to go free. Has the Spirit of God entered\ninto your heart with this gospel, unlocked your bars of spiritual death with\nlife, un-shackled your chains of unbelief with the gift of faith? When\ndeath-row sinners behold the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus it is the\nLight of the open door on the eternal day of blessed pardon. Picture\nBarabbas dancing and singing, \u201cRedeemed! Redeemed! Free!\nFree!\u201d Oh, may God have mercy today and make us sing that joyful song!<\/p>\n\n\n\n ##############################<\/p>\n\n\n\n I Plead the Merits of Christ<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, Lord, the blood and sweat Remember how that Jesus bled A perfect righteousness He wrought, I plead the merits of the blood Tune: \u201cWhen I Survey\u201d p. 118<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavius\nWinslow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel<\/strong> <\/strong>is the master-work of\nJehovah, presenting the greatest display of His manifold wisdom, and the most\ncostly exhibition of the riches of His grace. In constructing it, He would seem\nto have summoned all the resources of His own infinity to His aid . . . Hail,\nSovereign Grace, Eternal, Free!<\/strong> Jesus Christ and Him crucified<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Author unknown) Christ\nOur Substitute.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “He\nhath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we might be made the\nrighteousness of God in him.”<\/em> II Corinthians 5:21<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a day of new beginning for us all. As your pastor, I sense\nthat you are all as full of anticipation regarding our ministry together as I\nam. Therefore, I thought it would be good for us to remind ourselves of our one\ntask as a church—We must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to our\ngeneration. This is our one and only message, “In due time, Christ died\nfor the ungodly.” Every doctrine of the Bible may be summed up on one\ndoctrine. Every book of the Bible, when understood in its essence, has but one\nmessage. That doctrine and that message is Substitution. Brethren, always keep\nthese three things in mind concerning the death of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The Atoning\nSacrifice Of Our Lord Jesus Christ Was a Divine Work.<\/strong> God the Father\nappointed his Son to be a redeemer and God the Son voluntarily gave himself for\nus. It is true wicked men crucified the Son of God. But, our Redeemer was\ndelivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Having chosen Christ\nas the Substitute for his people, God made his Son to be sin for us! What\namazing love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The Death Of\nChrist Was A <\/strong>Substitutionary<\/strong> Atonement.<\/strong> The\nLord Jesus Christ, the holy, harmless, undefiled Godman Mediator, was made sin\nfor us. It was a legal work. God charged his Son with all the sin of his\npeople. And because he was made sin for us, he was slain as our substitute, in\nour place. As our surety, he paid the ransom price and redeemed our souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. The Lord\nJesus Christ Was Triumphant In His Death.<\/strong> When our surety cried,\n“It is finished!” he did not mean that the work was partially\ncomplete. He meant that the work was done, which had been committed to his\nhands. The law was fulfilled. Justice was satisfied. Our sins were gone. And we\nwere made the righteousness of God in him. There is no possibility of any soul\nfor whom Christ died perishing. All for whom he was made sin are made righteous\nby him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cNot unto us O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory…\u201d Ps 115:1. There are many messages in the world that promise salvation. Only one gives to God ALL the glory. The gospel of God\u2019s free and sovereign Grace in the glorious person and accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is […]<\/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-6701","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\/6701","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=6701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6702,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701\/revisions\/6702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nOf Him Who more than paid my debt.
\nRemember Christ upon the tree,
\nAnd now be merciful to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIn this poor, guilty sinners stead.
\nHe bore your wrath and curse for me
\nIn His own body on the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAnd by His blood my pardon bought,
\nSo that His righteousness might be
\nBy grace imputed now to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nOf Jesus Christ the Son of God.
\nThe sinner\u2019s Substitute is He,
\nA mighty Substitute for me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n His fathomless wisdom<\/em>,
\n His boundless love<\/em>,
\n His illimitable grace<\/em>,
\n His infinite power<\/em>,
\n His spotless holiness<\/em>
\n \u2014all contributed their glory, and conspired to present\nit to the universe as the most consummate piece of Divine workmanship!
\n
\n The revelations it makes,
\n the facts it records,
\n the doctrines it propounds,
\n the effects it produces\u2014
\n proclaim it to be the “glorious gospel of the\nblessed God.”
\n
\n We live encircled by shadows . . .
\n our friends<\/em> are shadows,
\n our comforts<\/em> are shadows,
\n our supports<\/em> are shadows,
\n our pursuits<\/em> are shadows, and
\n we ourselves<\/em> are shadows passing away!
\n
\n But in the precious gospel we have substance, we have\nreality, we have that which remains with us when all other things disappear,\nleaving . . .
\n the soul<\/em> desolate,
\n the heart<\/em> bleeding, and
\n the spirit<\/em> bowed in sorrow to the dust.
\n
\n But the gospel . . .
\n guides our perplexities<\/em>,
\n mitigates our griefs<\/em>,
\n sanctifies our sorrows<\/em>,
\n heals our wounds<\/em>,
\n dries our tears<\/em>,
\n because it leads us to . . .
\n the love of Jesus,
\n the tenderness of Jesus,
\n the sympathy of Jesus,
\n the grace of Jesus!
\n
\n The gospel . . .
\n reveals Jesus,
\n speaks mainly of Jesus,
\n leads simply to Jesus,
\n and this makes it “glad tidings of great joy,”\nto a miserable, lost, and Hell-bound sinner!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\n(by Don Fortner)
\n<\/em>
\n1. Hail,\nsovereign grace, eternal free<\/strong>,
\nSo bountifully bestowed on me!
\nGrace chose me in eternity,
\nAnd sent my Lord to die for me!
\n
\n2. T’was grace, God’s free and sovereign grace,
\nThat stopped me as to hell I raced,
\nAnd sweetly forced me to confess
\nMy sin so vile, my wretchedness!
\n
\n3. Grace gave me eyes and made me see
\nWhat Christ, my Lord, has done for me.
\nHe ransomed me with His own blood
\nAnd reconciled me to my God.
\n
\n4. Let heaven and earth my song now hear,
\nCome, ransomed sinners, sing with cheer –
\nHail, sovereign grace, eternal, free,
\nSo bountifully bestowed on me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n“For I resolved to know nothing\nwhile I was with you, except
\n Jesus\nChrist and Him crucified<\/strong>.” 1\nCorinthians 2:2
\n
\nJesus Christ and Him crucified<\/strong>, is\nthe way in which God . . .
\n displays His perfections,
\n unfolds His purposes,
\n maintains His rights,
\n confounds His foes, and
\n secures His glory in the salvation of His people.
\n
\nJesus Christ and Him crucified<\/strong>, is\nthe only way in which . . .
\n death is destroyed,
\n sin is conquered,
\n righteousness is established,
\n rebels are reconciled,
\n saints are sanctified,
\n and Heaven is opened!<\/p>\n\n\n\n