We are engaged in a good cause,
\nwe fight under a good Captain,
\nthe victory is sure beforehand, and
\nthe prize is a crown\u2014a crown of eternal life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Newton<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How much religion, tradition, and ceremony can a man know\nand observe and yet not know God? Well, the Jews observed thousands of\nPassovers yet never saw CHRIST, OUR PASSOVER. They slew thousands of lambs and\nnever saw CHRIST, THE LAMB OF GOD. They kept thousands of Sabbaths and never\nknew the rest of CHRIST, OUR SABBATH. They ordained thousands of priests and\nnever saw CHRIST, THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST. They actually carried the mercy seat\non their shoulders yet never came to CHRIST, OUR MERCY SEAT. They ate the manna\nand drank from that Rock but never tasted the bread and water of life-CHRIST\nJESUS. Oh, Lord, open my eyes to see Him who is all and in all! \nHenry Mahan <\/p>\n\n\n\n
God could have over-ruled every difficulty in your way, had He\nseen it to be best for you. He who has begun a good work in you, is able to\ncarry it on\u2014in defiance of all seeming hindrances, and make all things (even\nthose which have the most unfavourable appearances) work together for your\ngood! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Newton<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| \n Sovereign Grace Hated by\n the Modern Religionist<\/strong> \n \n By C H Spurgeon<\/em> \n <\/em> \n If anything is hated bitterly, it is the out-and-out gospel of\n the \n grace of God, especially if that hateful word\n “sovereignty” is \n mentioned with it. Dare to say “He will have mercy on\n whom \n he will have mercy, and he will have compassion on whom he \n will have compassion” (Romans 9:15), and furious critics\n will \n revile you without stint. \n \n The modern religionist not only hates the doctrine of\n sovereign \n grace, but he raves and rages at the mention of it. He would \n sooner hear you blaspheme than preach election by the Father, \n atonement by the Son, or regeneration by the Spirit. \n \n If you want to see a man worked up till the Satanic is clearly \n uppermost, let some of the new divines hear you preach a \n free grace sermon. A gospel which is after men will be \n welcomed by men; but it needs divine operation upon the \n heart and mind to make a man willing to receive into his in \n most soul this distasteful gospel of the grace of God. My \n dear brethren, do not try to make it tasteful to carnal minds. \n \n Hide not the offense of the cross, lest you make it of none\n effect. \n The angles and corners of the gospel are its strength to pare\n them \n off is to deprive it of power. Toning down is not the increase\n of \n strength, but the death of it. \n \n Learn, then, that if you take Christ out of Christianity, \n Christianity is dead. If you remove grace out of the gospel, \n the gospel is gone. If the people do not like the doctrine \n of grace, give them all the more of it. \n \n I preach the doctrines of grace because I believe them to be\n true; \n because I see them in the Scriptures; because my experience\n endears \n them to me; and because I see the holy result of them in believers. \n \n The doctrine which I preach to you is that of the Puritans: \n it is the doctrine of Calvin, the doctrine of Augustine, \n the doctrine of Paul, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. \n The Author and Finisher of our faith himself taught the \n most blessed truth which well agreed with our text- \n “By grace are ye saved through faith; \n and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Eph\n 2:8\n \n \n \n \n \n OUR MISSION IN THIS WORLD<\/strong>\n On\n one occasion the Lord Jesus Christ said to his disciples, “As my Father\n hath sent me into the world, even so send I you.” Christ was\n sent to preach the gospel; so are we. Christ was sent for the salvation of\n God’s elect; so are we. Christ was sent to glorify God the Father; so are we.\n Christ was sent to do his Father’s will; so are we. We must not allow\n anything, or anyone, to turn us aside from that mission for which we have\n been sent into this world. Let us serve the Lord, our God and Savior, on the\n tiptoe of expectation, anticipating his sudden return. Soon\n our day of labor will be over.\n Don Fortner\n \n \n \n \n \n \n THE BLESSED COMFORT OF THE GOSPEL<\/strong>\n We are slow to receive it, and preachers are often afraid to\n proclaim it, but there is blessed comfort for sinners in the gospel. God\n commands his servants twice to proclaim that comfort. He says, emphatically,\n “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” And he tells us\n plainly that THE ONLY SOURCE OF COMFORT FOR SINNERS IS THE GOSPEL OF\n EFFECTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED REDEMPTION<\/strong>. “Speak ye comfortably\n to Jerusalem (The people whom he has chosen), and cry unto her,\n that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath\n received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isa. 40:1-2). If\n you trust Christ, if you cast all your hope upon his righteousness and shed\n blood, if you are a guilty, helpless sinner whose only hope is an\n all-sufficient Substitute, this gospel is for you.\n YOUR WARFARE IS\n ACCOMPLISHED<\/strong>. By the sacrifice of his own beloved Son, God has ended his\n controversy with you. God reconciled his people to himself, satisfying his\n law and justice in the life and death of Christ as the sinner’s Substitute\n (II Cor. 5:17-21).\n He sends his\n Spirit, applying the blood of Christ to the hearts of men by the gospel,\n creating faith and reconciling our hearts to him by irresistible grace and\n power (Col. 1:21). Peace was made by the blood of Christ. Peace is received\n and enjoyed by faith in that blood.\n YOUR INIQUITY IS\n PARDONED<\/strong>. God has fully put away the sins of all his people by the\n sacrifice of his Son (Heb. 9:12). God will never hold any believing\n sinner accountable for sin. He held his Son accountable for us, and punished\n our sins to the full satisfaction of his justice in his Son.\n YOU HAVE RECEIVED\n OF THE LORD’S HAND DOUBLE FOR ALL YOUR SINS.<\/strong> The\n Justice of God which demanded your eternal ruin has been satisfied by the\n blood of Christ; so that in Christ you are not only pardoned, but also made\n perfectly righteous by Divine imputation. Rather than bring an enemy of God,\n subject to and deserving his wrath, grace has made you an heir of God, fully\n deserving of all his benefits in Christ.\n \n Don Fortner\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n THOSE WHO REJECT THE GOSPEL\nWILL BE REJECTED BY GOD<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone who hears the gospel\nof the grace of God and yet refuses to believe is courting Divine judgment.\nThis fact is clearly set before us in the Parable Of The Marriage Feast (Matt.\n22:1-14), and in the history of the nation of Israel. The gospel was first\nrevealed to the Jews, the nation of Israel, under the types and shadows of\nthe Mosaic economy. To Israel alone God gave the law, the priesthood,\nthe tabernacle, and the prophets. And when Christ came he preached the gospel\nto none but the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But that nation, being\nblinded by their religious leaders, despised the opportunities of grace which\nGod had given them, despised the gospel, and despised the Lord Jesus Christ.\nThough they had feverishly adhered to the rites and ceremonies of the law, they\nhad long rejected the message of the prophets. When John the Baptist came\npreparing the way of the Lord, they ignored him. When God’s own Son came, they\nhung him up on a tree to die. And when God sent the apostles and disciples of\nChrist to proclaim the message of Christ, the ascended King, they rejected\ntheir message, imprisoned the messengers, beat them, and murdered them.\nTherefore, in 70 A.D. the Lord God sent the Roman army, under the command of\nTitus, and utterly destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the nation\nof Israel. At the end of Daniel’s 70th week, the house\nof Israel was left desolate. Their light was turned into darkness.\nNever again would Israel have a word from God. Never again would God\ndeal with that nation. God said to his servants, “Israel will not\nhear; leave her alone. Go ye therefore into the highways and hedges of the\nworld, and as many as you find, whether Jew or Gentile, bid them come. And\nwhosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nparable of the marriage feast speaks of the Divine retribution which fell on\nIsrael for her rejection of the gospel. Israel rejected God; therefore,\nGod rejected Israel. Israel despised the light God gave her;\ntherefore, God withdrew the light. Israel trifled with the gospel;\ntherefore, God cast her off. God’s judgment upon Israel stands as a\nsolemn warning to all men: GOD WILL NOT TRIFLE WITH THOSE WHO TRIFLE\nWITH THE GOSPEL OF HIS GRACE. TO REJECT THE GOSPEL IS TO COURT REPROBATION.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Works People Trust To Save Them<\/p>\n\n\n\n By pastor Scott Price <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eph. 2:8 For by grace are\nye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is<\/em> the gift of\nGod:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eph. 2:9 Not of works,\nlest any man should boast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Titus 3:5 Not by works of\nrighteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by\nthe washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Titus 3:6 Which he shed on\nus abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Titus 3:7 That being\njustified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of\neternal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word of God is clear in many places that nobody is, or even\ncan be, saved by works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is an impossibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is a wide array of opinions about what are\nunacceptable works for salvation. Once people enter into the conversation on\nthis topic many inconsistencies follow. It seems there are many things that\npeople count on and trust in to save them even without knowing that they are\ndoing it. In a word this is called deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In defining a work we must mention that works are something that\nare CONDITIONS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They are something that, when done, these works themselves are\nwhat makes the difference whether a person goes to heaven or hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those totally ignorant of the Bible or unchurched might say a\nperson gets to heaven by being good or by keeping the 10 commandments to get to\nheaven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But then you spend a little time explaining what God’s word says\nabout the Law and the conscience is then squeezed enough to readily admit they\ndo not keep the Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point many would claim “sincerity” as a major\ncontribution as getting to heaven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many religious people will tell you that ignorance of the truth\nand sincerity seems to excuse unbelief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A man once told me that God will only expect anyone just to do\nthe best they can. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The next logical question I asked this unbeliever was if he did\nthe best he could. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before he could answer I followed up with asking if he did the\nbest he could all of the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course he failed his own test for entrance to heaven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is just one of the many inconsistencies I mentioned\nearlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the levels of deception in counting on works for one’s\nsalvation must be considered to be self righteousness. Because it sounds so bad\nhardly anyone will admit that they are self righteous or even ever have\nbeen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Self righteousness is the most deceiving and evil of all sins.\nIt is the root of unbelief. It is a tool Satan uses to make people think they\nwill be accepted by God in doing some kind of work whether it be great or\nsmall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next level of deception and probably the most popular is\nmaking faith a work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The act of believing, or at least what one considers believing,\nis most often considered a work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The key to understanding this master deception is to realise\nWHERE faith is directed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If faith is directed to itself, like in most cases, then it is\nan evil work that will be rejected at Judgment Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God-given faith, the kind the word of God speaks of, is directed\ntoward the LORD Jesus Christ alone. Faith looks to Christ NOT as a condition\nfor salvation, but rather to Christ who FULFILLED ALL the conditions Himself in\nsalvation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This faith is not an offer either as something to “accept\nor reject.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Faith is commanded of God not offered by Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are consequences attached to unbelief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people think that faith is brought out from within\nthemselves, something that they can be credited for. They describe this by\nsaying it comes from what they call “freewill.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Only people who are ignorant of the basic teaching of man’s\nsinful nature will use such language. Unbelief and self righteousness is the\nautomatic response of man unless or until the LORD intervenes with grace to\nchange the heart and mind of a sinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two works many people count on is even more subtle,\nwhich are related to the faith as an offer or “freewill” deception.\nThey are the twin works of cooperation and enablement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some think that God tries to convince the sinner of salvation\nand the sinner cooperated with God to fulfil whatever conditions He\nrequires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The other related work is that God actually works in the sinner\nand gives the ability to them allowing them the divine energy to fulfil certain\nconditions demanded but in the end the sinner gets the credit for acting based\non his doing or at least the will to do what they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of these things are based on a system of grace PLUS works.\nIt is a deception that Satan uses that detracts and distracts from the grace of\nChrist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone whose faith is directed toward something else besides the\nfinished work of Christ alone for salvation does not have salvation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If they are trusting in a work of their own added to the work of\nChrist this only means Christ had an unfinished work waiting for the sinner to\nadd a condition to complete it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not the gospel of Christ but rather a deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The work is done and FINISHED.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ effectively completed ALL there is to do in securing the\nground of salvation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are NO further works to be done because Christ did ALL\nthat is required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you believe that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n If not, I am afraid you are self righteous and still in your\nsin. The gospel of grace is a humbling to the pride of man who naturally wants\nto work and merit his way to heaven by something no matter what. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But when God saves a sinner He gives them repentance to reject\nall self righteous means of attaining salvation by doing any form of works.\nHave you been given such repentance and eyes to see through the false system of\nworks plus grace? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Faith looks outside itself to Christ and His work ALONE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank God for His free and full sovereign grace in salvation in,\nACCOMPLISHED ENTIRELY by and through Christ The Lord our Righteousness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are engaged in a good cause, we fight under a good Captain, the victory is sure beforehand, and the prize is a crown\u2014a crown of eternal life. John Newton How much religion, tradition, and ceremony can a man know and observe and yet not know God? Well, the Jews observed thousands of Passovers yet […]<\/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-6738","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\/6738","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=6738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6739,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6738\/revisions\/6739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |