\u201cA Merciful and Faithful High Priest\u201d \n Hebrews 2:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is this conformity to us that\nqualifies our Lord to be the kind of Priest we need. He was made a man that he\nmight be our High Priest. And he suffered, being tempted as a man, that he\nmight be \u201ca merciful and faithful high priest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ is moved to compassion and\npity by the things that we suffer, being touched with the feeling of our\ninfirmities, because he has also suffered those very things. He is merciful,\nnot only because it is his will as God to be merciful, but also because he has\na fellow feeling with those who need mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our Saviour faithfully shows\nmercy to us because the things he suffered, he suffered specifically and\ndistinctly for us. He exercises constant care for all the concerns of his\nbrethren. He lovingly condescends to the wants and sorrows of his suffering, tempted\nbrethren (Isaiah 40:11). Because his compassion does not fail, his faithfulness\nis great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such is the unspeakable love of\nChrist for us that he willingly endured all that was necessary for him to be\nour merciful and faithful High Priest. Like Jacob because of his love to\nRachel, our Lord was content to submit to any terms, to undergo any sorrow, to\nmeet any conditions, that he might save and enjoy his beloved bride (Ephesians\n5:25-26). Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Gospel is not an offer. An\noffer presupposes a man\u2019s ability to accept or reject the offer. To offer life\nto one who is dead in sins would be absurd and insincere. God does not offer\nlife. He gives it! \u201cAnd you hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and\nsins.\u201d Did Christ offer life to Lazarus? Of course not! \u201cLazarus, come forth.\nAnd he that was dead came forth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Todd Nibert<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noah was called a preacher of\nrighteousness. For 120 years he preached a holy and righteous God, and Christ\nthe believer\u2019s righteousness. Think about it. He preached for 120 years and did\nnot see one convert . . . not one! Not one person came into that ark, except\nhis family. But then. Imagine how grateful Noah was for those 7 souls . . . his\nfamily. I\u2019ll bet Noah continued preaching afterward . . . to just 7 souls. And\nhe was mighty thankful for this little congregation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
P. Mahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But by the grace<\/strong> of\nGod-I am what I am!”<\/em> 1 Corinthians 15:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n John MacDuff Grace found him a rebel <\/em>against\nGod-it leaves him a son <\/em>of God! “And this is the\nrecord, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his\nSon.” 1 John 5:11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n How often we are looking and\nlooking in vain for life in ourselves. True it is that if God has quickened our\nsouls we are partakers of life divine, of life spiritual, of life eternal, of\nthe life that is in Christ and comes from Christ; and yet how often we vainly\nseek to find it warm and glowing in our breasts. If once given it never dies;\nbut it is often hidden beneath the ashes, and thus though it slowly burns and\ndimly glows, yet the ashes hide it from view, and we only know it is there by\nsome remains of warmth. “Your life is hidden with Christ in God”\n(Col. 3:3); and therefore not only hidden as treasured and stored up safely in\nGod, but hidden from the world, and even hidden from the eyes of its possessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ is our life. There is\nno other. To look, then, for life in ourselves independent of and distinct from\nthe fountain of life is to look for that in the creature which is lodged in the\ndivine Creator, is to look for that in man which dwells in the God-man; to look\nfor that in self which is out of self, embosomed in the fullness of the Son of\nGod. And it is not merely that life is in him, but he is the life itself. As\nthe sun not only has light and heat, but is light itself and heat itself, so\nthe blessed Lord not only grants life, but he himself is what he grants. As a\nfountain not only gives water, but is itself all water, so Christ not only\ngives what he is, but is all that he gives. Not only, therefore, is he the\n“resurrection,” centering in himself everything, both for time and\neternity, which resurrection contains and resurrection implies, but he is\n“the life,” being in himself a fountain of life, out of which he\ngives from his own fullness to the members of his mystical body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Fight the good\nfight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Timothy 6:12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is through faith that the\npower whereby God keeps his people, acts and is made known, and it is very\ninstructive and encouraging to be able to trace in our own hearts the\nconnection between the power of God and the actings of faith. We are not\ncarried to heaven as passengers are carried by the express train, so that if\nonce in the carriage they may go to sleep, look out of the window, or read the\nnewspaper without fear of losing their way, or not reaching their destination.\nThough kept by the power of God, we have to fight every step of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is this living, fighting,\nstruggling, and yet eventually conquering faith, which sets the tried and\nexercised child of God at such a distance from the loose and careless doctrinal\nprofessor, who is hardened and emboldened to presume, and even walk in ways of\nsin and death by holding the doctrine of being kept by the power of God,\nwithout knowing anything of the secret way by which this power works and keeps.\nTo such we may adapt the language of James. You believe that the elect of God\nare kept by his Almighty power unto salvation. “You do well; the devils\nalso believe and tremble”–which you do not if you be one of these loose\nprofessors. But does God keep you? Does he keep you from evil, that it may not\ngrieve you? Does he keep your eye single, your conscience tender, your heart\nprayerful, your life and walk circumspect, your eye from adultery, your tongue\nfrom folly, your hands from covetousness, and your feet from the ways of pride\nand worldliness? You have no evidence that you are an heir of God and are being\nkept by his power unto salvation, unless you have some experience how he keeps,\nand that as it is by power on his part, so it is through faith on yours.\nWhenever we slip, stumble, or go astray, it is through the power of unbelief;\nand whenever we stand, fight, or prevail, it is by faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nis the Record<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis\nis the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his\nSon. He that hath the Son hath life.\u201d (1 John 5:11-12)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n God, in his infinite wisdom,\nplanned and permitted the fall of our race in the garden. Man was ruined by\nsin. Guilt filled the wretched pair with fear and cut them off from all hope\nbefore God. In sin, spiritual death, and despair, with the curse of God upon\nthem, our first parents \u201cfled from the presence of the Lord, and hid\nthemselves<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, sovereign mercy, love, and grace interposed. The poor,\nguilty, trembling partners in woe were called before the offended, justly\nprovoked Lord God. How they must have trembled! Did the Lord God call them\nbefore him in fury, clothed with vengeance? Were they about to hear their\nsentence of eternal doom to destruction? Would hell be opened to swallow them\nup? No. Be astonished, O heavens! Rejoice, apostate sons and daughters of Adam!\nAdam and Eve were called of God to hear a record of that which was performed in\nthe eternal council of heaven in covenant grace before the world was made. The\nlight of eternal mercy shined forth in the earth darkened by their sin. Instead\nof anticipated gloom, they heard the good news of sovereign grace! Instead of\nwrath, mercy was declared to the fallen pair! Instead of woe, the boundless\nblessings of grace were bestowed upon them! Instead of eternal death, the God\nof all grace interposed to give them everlasting life! Instead of everlasting\nmisery in hell, the everlasting bliss of heaven was bestowed upon their\ntrembling souls!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fallen man did not seek the Lord, beg for pardon, and sue for\ngrace. No. Fallen man fled from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sought\nsinful man, with everlasting love in his heart, to proclaim the joyful news of\neternal life as the free gift of unmerited grace and mercy in and by the Seed\nof the woman, Jesus Christ. Glorious record of love! Blessed testimony of life!\nJoyful tidings of grace!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you heard, known, and believed this record? \u201cBless the\nLord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the\nLord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine\niniquities!<\/em>\u201d Behold and admire the wisdom as well as the love of God. In\nthis rejoice always. Be humble continually. Life, eternal life, is given to us\nin and by Christ, the woman\u2019s Seed. Our \u201clife is hid with Christ in God<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Christ dwells in our\nhearts by faith, we have God’s beloved Son; we have eternal life. The report of\nthis is joyful to our ears. This is heaven on earth. It fills our souls with\nthe joyful hope, confidence, and assurance of future glory. This life that is\nours in Christ animates our souls. \u201cBecause I live<\/em>,\u201d he said, \u201cye \nshall live also<\/em>.\u201d God has given us eternal life. And he is faithful. He\nwill not revoke his own precious free gift. Our all-glorious Christ has\nconquered every enemy and defeated every foe that might prevent our enjoyment\nof eternal life. God the Holy Spirit has given us a vital-union with Christ\nthat can never be broken. We are joined unto the Lord, and are one spirit with\nhim (1 Cor. 6:17)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Christ\nWho Is Our\nLife” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Colossians\n3:4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ\nis life (John 11:25; 14:6). Apart from him there is nothing but death. He\nis the Source of life, the Strength of life, the Sum of life and the Object of\nlife. All life is in Christ. By nature we are all dead, spiritually dead,\nwithout life before God. But there is life in Christ for sinners. That life\nwhich is in Christ may be described in three ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.\nJUDICIAL LIFE – When a guilty criminal is pardoned, he has his life restored to\nhim in a legal sense. While he is under the sentence of the law, his life is\nheld under the bondage of the law’s penalty. When he is pardoned, the law\nreleases its hold upon him. In just that sense Christ is our life! He promises\nthat all who believe on him “shall not come into condemnation; but (are)\npassed from death unto life” (John 5:24). “He that hath the Son\nhath life; and he that hath not the Son hath not life” (I John 5:12).\nThe law of God will not release you from its hold and its condemnation until\nyou come to Christ. He alone can give you life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.\nSPIRITUAL LIFE – Spiritual life is the life that is begotten in the soul by the\nHoly Spirit in regeneration (John 5:25; Gal. 2:20). When Adam sinned,\nwe all died in him, in a legal, judicial sense. And we all died in him\nspiritually (Rom. 5:12). We were born without spiritual life. In the new\nbirth the Spirit of God gives us a new life, a new will, a new nature. We are\nmade “partakers of the divine nature” (II Pet. 1:4). Christ is formed\nin us (Col. 1:27). “You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and\nsins” (Eph. 2:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.\nETERNAL LIFE – The Lord Jesus Christ says, with regard to his sheep, those\nchosen sinners for whom he suffered and died, “I give unto them eternal\nlife; and they shall never perish” (John 10:28). That judicial life which\nChrist gives can never be revoked, for sin shall never be charged to those\nwhom God has pardoned. That spiritual life which we have\nin Christ can never be destroyed, for that life is “Christ in you.”\nUntil Christ can be destroyed the believer cannot perish! The Son of God\ndeclares, “Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die!”\n(John 11:26). Christ is our life. And in him we shall live forever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\nFortner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cA Merciful and Faithful High Priest\u201d Hebrews 2:17 It is this conformity to us that qualifies our Lord to be the kind of Priest we need. He was made a man that he might be our High Priest. And he suffered, being tempted as a man, that he might be \u201ca merciful and […]<\/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-6770","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\/6770","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=6770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6771,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6770\/revisions\/6771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
\nThis is the believer’s eternal confession!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nGrace found him wandering at the gates of Hell<\/em>-it leaves him at the\ngates of Heaven!
\n
\n<\/em>Grace devised <\/em>the scheme of Redemption.
\nJustice <\/em>never would; reason <\/em>never could.
\nAnd it is grace which carries out<\/em> that scheme.
\n
\nNo sinner would ever have sought God-but “by grace.” The thickets of\nEden would have proved Adam’s<\/em> grave-had not grace called him\nout! Saul <\/em>would have lived and died the haughty self-righteous\npersecutor-had not grace laid him low! The thief on the cross<\/em> would\nhave continued breathing out his blasphemies-had not grace arrested his tongue\nand tuned it for glory!
\n
\n“Out of the knottiest timber<\/em>,” says Rutherford, “God\ncan make vessels of mercy <\/em>for service in the high palace of\nglory!”
\n
\n“I came, I saw, I conquered!” may be inscribed by the Saviour on\nevery monument of His grace<\/em>. “I came <\/em>to the\nsinner; I looked <\/em>upon him; and with a look of omnipotent\nlove-I conquered <\/em>him!”
\n
\nBeliever, you would have been this day a wandering star<\/em>, to whom is\nreserved the blackness of darkness forever! You would have been Christless,\nhopeless, and portionless; had not grace constrained <\/em>you! And\nit is grace which, at this moment, “keeps” you.
\n
\nYou have often been a Peter<\/em>-forsaking your Lord-but brought back to\nHim again. Why have you not been a Demas <\/em>or a Judas? <\/em>“I\nhave prayed for you-that your faith fail not!” Is not this your own\ncomment and reflection on life’s retrospect: “Yet not I-but the\ngrace of God which was with me!”
\n
\n<\/em>Seek to realise your dependence <\/em>on this grace every moment.
\n
\n“More grace! more grace!” <\/em>needs to be your continual cry.
\n
\nHis infinite supply<\/em>-is commensurate with your infinite need<\/em>.
\n
\nThe treasury of grace<\/em>, though always emptying-is always full.
\n
\nThe key of prayer <\/em>which opens it-is always at hand!
\n
\nAnd the Almighty Bestower <\/em>of the blessings of grace-is always\n“waiting to be gracious.”
\n
\nThe recorded promise<\/em> can never be cancelled or reversed:\n“My grace is sufficient for you.”
\n
\nThe grace of God is the source of lesser temporal <\/em>blessings-as\nwell as of higher spiritual <\/em>blessings. Grace accounts for the crumb\nof daily bread<\/em>-as well as for the crown of eternal glory!<\/em>
\n
\nBut even in regard to earthly mercies, never forget the CHANNEL of grace: “through\nChrist Jesus!”<\/em> It is sweet thus to connect every blessing, even\nthe smallest and humblest token of providential bounty-with Calvary’s cross-to\nhave the common <\/em>blessings of life stamped with “the print\nof the nails!” It makes them doubly precious to think, “All\nthis flows from Jesus!”
\n
\n“But by the grace<\/strong> of God-I am what I am!”<\/em>
\nReader! seek to dwell much on this inexhaustible theme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n