The Unstoppable Force of God\u2019s Grace<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace is not merely doctrine, but\nan unstoppable force of God. It is never without e\ufb00ect! We are chosen by grace with the\nundeniable e\ufb00ect that\nwe are His. We are redeemed by grace with the certain e\ufb00ect that\nwe are free. We are called by grace with the inescapable e\ufb00ect that\nwe come to Him. We are preserved by grace with the inevitable e\ufb00ect that\nwe shall be with Him forever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe Terrell (1955-2024)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I fear, lest by\nany means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds\nshould be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ <\/em><\/strong>(2Cor. 11:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Satan still tempts\nmen to swerve from the simplicity that is in CHRIST, by supposing that CHRIST\u2019S\nPerson, work, righteousness, and blood shedding, are but procuring causes.\nThat our faith, sincerity, repentance, and the like, must be added, in order to\nrender the finished work of Christ effectual. And thus, the\nsimplicity that is in CHRIST, the minds of some men are corrupted from the\nbeautiful whole of CHRIST, in CHRIST, and from CHRIST, becomes mingled with\ncreature-attainments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robert Hawker<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of Christ’s condemnation\u2014flows our\njustification!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of His agony\u2014comes our victory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of His pain\u2014comes our ease!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of His stripes\u2014comes our healing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of His gall and vinegar\u2014comes our\nhoney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of His curse\u2014comes our blessing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of His crown of thorns\u2014comes our\ncrown of glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of His death\u2014comes our life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n O what a melting consideration is this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ is not sweet\u2014until sin is made\nbitter to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John Flavel (1628-1691)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now then, there is but\none thing with which Almighty God is satisfied \u2013 entirely satisfied \u2013 and that\nis THE PERSON AND WORK OF HIS SON! It is with Christ that we must be satisfied,\nnot with ourselves, nor anything about us! When we cease from ALL our labors,\nand ALL our righteousness, and ENTER INTO HIS REST, pardon and peace will come\nwithout delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Horatius Bonar<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fear Him!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (John MacDuff) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us\nalways think of the Holy Spirit with holy awe and reverence!<\/strong> Is\nthere no silent lesson here for us?<\/strong> Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of\nSimon the leper, <\/strong>7 <\/sup><\/strong>there came unto him a\nwoman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his\nhead, as he sat at meat<\/em>.<\/strong>”\nMatthew 26:6-7<\/strong> This is\nthe God whom we adore!<\/strong> FAITH IN CHRIST <\/p>\n\n\n\n He that heareth my\nWord, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life (John 5:24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many\nfalse religious refuges in which men hide, and many false claims to a hope of\nglory which will be shattered at the judgment. One such refuge is\nreligious orthodoxy and sound theology without a personal faith in\u2014and\ncommitment to the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saul of Tarsus was\na student of the Scriptures, a man of high morality and integrity, a believer\nin the sovereignty of God and election (he believed the Jews were Gods elect).\n He fought for what he believed. But Saul had never\nbeen brought to a personal knowledge of Christ Jesus, an understanding of His\nperson and work, and a genuine, open committal to Christ. The fact\nthat he was one of the elect, that he would one day preach the gospel, that he\nwould one day seal his testimony with his blood, did not alter the fact that he\nwas a lost sinner who must hear the voice of God in His Word and believe on the\nLord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may be as\northodox as an old, studious Puritan and as sincere in your contention for the\ndoctrines of grace as Calvin himself; but, if the Holy Spirit has not\nbrought the Word of the gospel to your heart in conviction of your sin, sins,\nand righteous rags; if the Holy Spirit has not revealed (through the Word\nof God) Christ to your heart in faith, committal, and love, you will hear\nChrist say to you, \u201cDepart from Me, I never knew you\u201d (Matt. 7:23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not faith in\ndoctrine that saves, nor even faith in God\u2019s power to save, but faith in\nChrist! Anyone who believes there is a God knows that being God\nenables Him to do what He will! But what will God do? He\nwill redeem men in Christ; He will love men in Christ; He will\naccept men in Christ; He will save all who are in Christ; and that\nnot by election alone, but by faith! <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout faith it is impossible\nto please God\u201d (Heb. 11:6). \u201cHe that believeth not shall be\ndamned\u201d (Mark 16:16)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once more I set\nbefore you the gospel of Jesus Christ and call upon you to believe Him, look to\nHim, and confess Him publicly as your Lord and Saviour! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry Mahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWalk in love, as Christ also\nloved us, and gave himself for us as offering and a sacrifice to God for a\nsweet-smelling savour\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Ephesians 5:2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n (1) Christ gave Himself. \nHe didn\u2019t give the wealth of this world for us, He gave himself. He gave\nHimself, His life, his time, his reputation, and all the comforts of\nlife. He gave Himself, He gave his life. (2) Christ gave Himself\nfor us. That means that He gave himself as our substitute. How are\nthe us described in Romans 5:6-8? Look at the us for whom Christ gave\nHimself as described in Romans 5:6-8. Christ gave Himself for those who\nwere: without strength. We were strength-less, we had no power or ability\nto reconcile ourselves to God. Christ gave himself for those who were\nungodly, even though created in His image, by our sin we were un-like\nGod. Christ gave Himself for those who are were sinners. We missed\nthe mark and came short of the glory of God. (3) Christ gave Himself for\nus to God. It was God who was propitiated by His sacrifice. It was\nGod against whom we had sinned and His justice must be satisfied that He might\nbe \u201cA Just God, and a Saviour\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n David Pledger <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Unstoppable Force of God\u2019s Grace Grace is not merely doctrine, but an unstoppable force of God. It is never without e\ufb00ect! We are chosen by grace with the undeniable e\ufb00ect that we are His. We are redeemed by grace with the certain e\ufb00ect that we are free. We are called by grace with the […]<\/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-6972","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\/6972","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=6972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6973,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6972\/revisions\/6973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n“Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations!” Jeremiah\n10:7
\n
\nHow reasonable it is that this glorious Being whose greatness is\nunsearchable, should be regarded with feelings of the profoundest reverence. It\nis indeed, His due-and as such He claims it from all His creatures.
\n
\n“Concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear\nof God before his eyes!” Psalm 36:1. To have no fear of God before our\neyes, is at once the greatest injustice<\/em>, and the most\nunutterable folly!<\/em> All who have the impudence to lift up their puny\narms in rebellion against Him-are engaged in a conflict, which, if persisted\nin, is sure to terminate in their utter destruction!
\n
\nReader, think of His incomprehensible<\/em> greatness<\/em> and majesty<\/em>.\nThink of Him as the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity. . .
\n the heavens His throne,
\n the earth His footstool,
\n the light His garment,
\n the clouds His chariot,
\n the thunder His voice!
\nViewing Him thus-it will be impossible for you to treat Him with\nindifference, far less with scornful disdain. If you are only brought in some\nmeasure to realise the fact of God’s greatness and majesty-you cannot fail to\nacknowledge that He is greatly to be feared, and to be held in reverence by all\nHis creatures.
\n
\nJust so, with all the other attributes<\/em> of His\nnature.
\n
\nWho can think of His power<\/strong> so mighty, so\nirresistible-a power that is able to crush us into atoms with infinitely\ngreater ease than we can tread the crawling worm beneath our feet-and not fear\nHim?
\n
\nWho can think of His knowledge<\/strong>, nothing being hidden\nfrom His omniscient glance, the darkness of midnight and the splendour of noon,\nbeing altogether alike to Him-and not fear Him?
\n
\nWho can think of the terrors of His avenging justice<\/strong>-and\nnot fear Him? Especially as when He proclaims from His exalted throne,
\n“There is no God with Me:
\n I kill, and I make alive;
\n I wound, and I heal:
\n Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
\n If I whet my glimmering sword, and mine hand take hold on\njudgement; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and I will reward them that\nhate me.” Deuteronomy 32:39, 41
\n
\nOur God is truly a consuming fire! It is most befitting for us,\nto regard Him with a reverence and godly fear.
\n
\nIt is not those who can deprive us of our present life, whom we\nshould so much dread. Limited and of brief duration, is the power of all mortal<\/em> foes\nat best.
\n
\n“ <\/sup><\/strong>And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill\nthe body, and after that have no more that they can do. <\/strong>5 <\/sup><\/strong>But I\nwill forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath\npower to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.<\/strong>”\nLuke 12:4-5<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(C.H.Spurgeon)
\n
\nLet us always think of the Holy Spirit with holy awe and\nreverence<\/strong>, remembering that . . .
\n it is the Spirit who quickens <\/em>us,
\n it is the Spirit who instructs <\/em>us,
\n it is the Spirit who sanctifies <\/em>us,
\n it is the Spirit who preserves <\/em>us,
\n it is the Spirit who makes us fit <\/em>to be\npartakers of the inheritance of the saints in light!
\nSo unto the ever-blessed Spirit be glory and honour and praise,\nforever and ever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(Horatius Bonar, “Bethany and Its Feast”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nReverence, homage, love\u2014are all embodied in this act.
\nShe grudges no cost for Him whom she so reverently
\nloves.
\n
\n“She has wrought a good work upon Me!” Matthew 26:10<\/strong>
\n
\nIt is Mary whom Jesus marks and commends. Her fervent
\nlove, pouring itself out in one single act of devotion, gets
\nthe highest notice.
\n
\nIs there no silent lesson here for us?<\/strong> It\nis not labor,
\nnor suffering, which get the highest commendation from
\nJesus. It is love\u2014pure, warm, ungrudging, loyal love! It
\nis this which gets the Master’s “Well done.” He can do
\nwithout the others\u2014but not without this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(John Newton)
\n
\n“For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is\nabove all gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, in earth,\nin the seas<\/em> and all deep places!” Psalm 135:5-6
\n
\n<\/em>God rules all!<\/em> And though He is\nconcealed by a veil of second causes <\/em>from common eyes, so that\nthey can perceive only the means, instruments, and contingencies by which He\nworks, and therefore think He does nothing; yet, in reality, He does all\naccording to His own counsel and pleasure, in the armies of heaven, and among the\ninhabitants of the earth.
\n
\nWho can enumerate all the beings <\/em>and events<\/em> which\nare . . .
\n incessantly before His eye,
\n adjusted by His wisdom,
\n dependent on His will,
\n and regulated by His power!
\n
\nIf we consider the heavens<\/strong>, the work of His fingers,\nthe moon and the stars which He has ordained; if we call in the assistance of\nastronomers to help us in forming a conception of the number, distances,\nmagnitudes, and motions of the heavenly bodies – the more we search, the more\nwe shall be confirmed that these are but a small portion of His ways! Without\nHis continual energy upholding them – they would rush into confusion, or sink\ninto nothing! They are all dependent upon His power, and obedient to His\ncommand.
\n
\nTo come nearer home, and to speak of what seems more suited to\nour scanty apprehensions – still we may be lost in wonder. With respect\nto mankind<\/strong>, He reigns with uncontrolled dominion over every\nkingdom, family and individual. Before this blessed and only Potentate, all the\nnations of the earth are but as the dust upon the balance, and the small drop\nof a bucket – and might be thought (if compared with the immensity of His\nworks) scarcely worthy of His notice! Yet here He presides, pervades, provides,\nprotects, and rules! All changes, successes, and disappointments – all that is\nmemorable in the annals of history, all the risings and falls of empires, all\nthe turns in human life – take place according to His sovereign plan!
\n
\nIn Him His creatures<\/strong> live, move, and have their\nbeing. From Him, is their food and preservation. The eyes of all are upon Him;\nwhat He gives, they gather – and can gather no more! And at His word they sink\ninto the dust!
\n
\nThere is not . . .
\n a worm <\/em>which crawls upon the ground,
\n or a flower <\/em>which grows in the\npathless wilderness,
\n or a shell <\/em>upon the sea-shore –
\nbut bears the impress of His wisdom, power, and goodness!
\n
\nHe preserves man <\/em>and beast<\/em>,\nsustains the young lion <\/em>in the forest, feeds the birds <\/em>of\nthe air, which have neither storehouse or barn, and adorns the insects <\/em>and\nthe flowers <\/em>of the field with a beauty and elegance beyond all\nthat can be found in the courts of kings!
\n
\nAll things serve Him, and are in His hands – as clay in the\nhands of the potter. Great and marvellous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!\nJust and true are Your ways, O King of saints!
\n
\nThis is the God whom we adore!<\/strong> This\nis He who invites us to lean upon His almighty arm, and promises to guide us\nwith His unerring eye!<\/p>\n\n\n\n