The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost. It is Jesus' favorite title of Himself. I chosen this title because Jesus loved this title of Himself. We ought to never forget that Jesus is fully God and fully man: two natures in One Person. He is the God-man, the Incarnate Second Person of the Trinity. May we mediate on His life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension that we may be conformed to the image of the divine Son of Man! This blog web site will be a Christian defense of the Reformed doctrines of the Incarnate Son of Man. May all glory be to His name!

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Authenticity of Sanctification, Part 1


We are sanctified by the Triune God.  The Father sanctified us in His Son but through His Spirit.  The gracious act of sanctification involves the union of the Triune Godhead.  There is one God who sanctifies us and we are to understand the distinction of the Three Persons.  We teach the Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity.  The Trinity is one God as it is taught in the book of Deuteronomy.  We ought not to make ungodly preferences.  Christ is lovely and gracious but some misunderstand that the Father alone is for justice.  However, Christ is just but He is also lovely and gracious.  People also depreciate the Spirit.  When it comes to the Trinity they always act in unity.  By their essence, the Trinity is united in their deeds.  The Trinity’s love for the chosen is one and indivisible.  This is in the case of sanctification.  Sanctification is the work of the Spirit; however, the Father and the Son are not devoid of this work of holiness.  The work of sanctification is the work of the Father, of the Spirit and of the Son.  We were made in His image and the Triune God was involved in the creation of men.  We are called as God’s workmanship which He ordained that we should walk in them.

God values true holiness because the Godhead wants the church without “spot, or wrinkle or such thing.”  Anyone4 who stands against holiness of heart is in direct conflict with Almighty God.  Holiness is an architectural plan when God builds His spiritual temple.  Scripture speaks of the beauty of holiness.  The only thing that is beautiful is holiness before God.  The devil defiled himself and it violates holy, holy, holy.  The cry of the cherubim is the greatest song the creature offers.  The Trinity accepts this song because God is holy.  Holiness is His choice treasure.  Holiness is the seal on the heart and holiness is the signet ring upon His right hand.  God can’t cease to be holy because He is pure, righteous, and holy.  Those who consider themselves to be followers of Christ are to set a high priority on a godly life and holy conversation.  The blood of Christ is the foundation of our hope.  We ought to never speak disparagingly of the Spirit’s work.  It is our inheritance for the saints.  Prize holiness of life and make it a way of life to hate evil.  Prize it so it would flow in your life as a royal priesthood, a holy nation a peculiar people.  We ought to praise Him because He called us out of darkness into a marvelous light. 

My intention is to enlarge upon sanctification in this time. I use the term sanctification as theologians understand it. Sanctification in the Bible is understood in various ways.  We must understand how the Bible uses the term sanctification.  It has a wide meaning.  It has been well said that the Bible is not systematically arranged.  Systematic divines provide truth for common life.  The Bible is a hand book to heaven.  It is a guide to eternity.  It is meant for the farmer as well as the scholar in the classroom.  It is meant for the small child as well the educated adult.  It is meant for the humble and the ignorant man to renew his mind.  God has not given us a scientific book but He has given us His own Word for a practical way for daily use and edification. 

The meaning of sanctification is the pursuit of holiness.  The Bible is the key book to give us a proper understanding of holiness as a way of life.  The Old Testament helps us understand the New.  The New also helps us understand the Old as well.  The Bible teaches self-interpretation when Scripture interprets Scripture which was used by the early church fathers to interpret Scripture.  A goldsmith ha a rule of a diamond cut diamond and so it must be the rule of divine Scripture.  It must be studied in its own light.  The Old Testament uses the word sanctify very often but it is used in three senses.  Let us consider the first one.

Sanctification means to be set apart.  It means in the Old Testament a setting apart.  The legitimate use is for God’s service alone but a life changed by God is never isolated.  It touches and infects all it comes in contact with.  The Bible calls it to be sanctified or holy.  The book of Exodus says to sanctify unto me all firstborn.  The firstborn of men and cattle are God’s possession but the firstborn of Egypt were destroyed.  Levi was set apart for the representative of the firstborn.  Levi was set apart to minister day and night.  The seventh day in the book of Genesis says it is set apart.  The seventh day was meant to be for rest and to serve the Master.  Leviticus 27:14 speaks of the set apartness of a house or a field because it is God’s.   The produce of the field on the occupation of the house was set apart for holy use.  There was no special thing done but it was set apart for God for sanctification.  In Exodus 29:44 God sanctifies the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar.  It means it was set apart to be his house which is the special place of his abode.  It is where bright light of the Shekinah might shine forth between the wings of the cherubim.  It is the precious and glorious evidence where the Lord God dwelt in the midst of God’s people. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

The Word and the Gospel

Lord Jesus, we are unrighteous people but we need the righteousness of the Gospel of Thee to give us hope.  And come Holy Spirit and teach us Thy truth in Jesus’ name.  Amen. 

25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  28We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.  (Colossians 1 NIV)

The apostle Paul is the servant of God and of Christ before His presence and the presence of His glorious, elect angels of God.  Paul is the servant of the church of God, and he was commissioned by God to proclaim the word of God in the gospel of God.  What does the word of God contain?  It is about God’s prescribed message for sinners in commanding them to turn from their sin and believe God the Son.  Paul speaks of the word of God in its fullness; we proclaim the word of God in its fullness.  As preachers of God we must declare the whole counsel of God and proclaim the full and true gospel of grace.  We also see God’s full divine revelation in the 66 books of the Old and New Testament.  God has shown men His divine revelation of truth in written form.  The gospel was proclaimed in preaching and in written form.  We proclaim the gospel message to a lost, dark, fallen world under Satan and sin; we proclaim the word of the gospel as a bright light in a dark land.  We must be like Paul and proclaim the full gospel of God.  As people of God we ought to proclaim His matchless message of truth.  We get the command to evangelize and proclaim His gospel.  Therefore we are commissioned by God in Christ to proclaim the message of repentance.  We do not need to add to the one true gospel, nor do we need to take away from the one true gospel.  God’s people should be servants of God in presenting the truth of God in the gospel of God. 

Do we want to proclaim God’s message of truth?  We should be eager to do it, but we fall short because we are sinners.  We ought to proclaim God’s message of truth with passion and clarity and confidence.  So many today believe it is impossible to define the gospel.  But it is not impossible to define the gospel for we have it in divine Scripture.  The gospel is about faith and repentance of sin, and trusting Christ as our divine Redeemer.  The gospel is the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  It is receiving the imputed righteousness of Christ by faith alone to unrighteous creatures that are undeserving of His grace, mercy and eternal life that He gives to His beloved few.  Romanists leave out imputation of Christ’s righteousness and replace it with infusion of grace.  False teachers take away from the fullness of the gospel of God in Christ.  They replace it with false hope, false righteousness, false life, false faith, false instruction.  They edit the most precious gospel of God and replace it with the invention of men.  Do we want the truth of God in Christ in terms of the message of the gospel?  Or do we want the imaginations of the heart and mind, coming from the inspiration of men?  The gospel should be treasured above all things.  Do we love it more then we love sin?  Do we love it more then the people of God in the Old Testament loved the Ark of the Covenant?  Do you understand that it is more precious then our very lives? 

Calvin said in his Commentary of Colossians, “25. Of which I am made a minister. Mark under what character he suffers for the Church — as being a minister, not to give the price of redemption, (as Augustine dexterously and piously expresses himself,) but to proclaim it. He calls himself, however, in this instance, a minister of the Church on a different ground from that on which he called himself elsewhere, (1 Corinthians 4:1,) a minister of God, and a little ago, (Colossians 1:23,) a minister of the gospel. For the Apostles serve God and Christ for the advancement of the glory of both: they serve the Church, and administer the gospel itself, with a view to promote salvation. There is, therefore, a different reason for the ministry in these expressions, but the one cannot subsist without the other. He says, however, towards you, that they may know that his office has a connection also with them.  To fulfill the word. He states the end of his ministry — that the word of God may be effectual, as it is, when it is obediently received. For this is the excellence of the gospel, that it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. (Romans 1:16.)  God, therefore, gives efficacy and influence to his word through means of the Apostles. For although preaching itself, whatever may be its issue, is the fulfilling of the word, yet it is the fruit that shews at length that the seed has not been sown in vain.”  Henry wrote, “…He was steward and master-builder, and this was given to him: he did not usurp it, nor take it to himself; and he could not challenge it as a debt. He received it from God as a gift, and took it as a favour.”

The verse this following song is based on is Acts 20:24, “To testify the gospel of the grace of God.”  Let us sing, “God, in the gospel of his Son, makes his eternal counsels known; Where love in all its glory shines, And truth is dawn in fairest lines.  Here sinners of a humble frame May taste his grace, and learn his Name; May read, in characters of blood, the wisdom, power and grace of God.  The prisoner here may break his chains; the weary rest from all his pains; the captive feel his bondage cease; the mourner find the way of peace.  Here faith reveals to mortal eyes a brighter world beyond the skies; here shines the light which guides our way from earth to realms of endless day.  O grant us grace, Almighty Lord, to read and mark thy holy Word; its truth with meekness to receive, and by its holy precepts live” (Trinity Hymnal, 262).

Jesus Christ is the all-sufficient Incarnate bodily Risen Savior and Lord.  If you believe the gospel, you will abhor sin, turn from it in true and faithful repentance and cling to Christ over your sins.  After regeneration (being born again) and justification (being declared righteous) comes sanctification (the pursuit of holiness).  There is a sense in which a believer has already been sanctified in Christ in a past tense.  Believers also go through sanctification in the present tense.  After all of this, in heaven we are glorified.  This is a wonderful reality for God’s people.  God will finish what He started.  God loses none that are His property.  The gospel is not a message of gloom or sadness.  Rather, it is a message of unspeakable love that Christ has for His people.  It is surely and truly the good news of my Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ: “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3 KJV).  If someone dies in their present condition of unrepentant life, he is lost forever.  If you are brought to a time in your life, which indicates that sin is your tremendous plague, in which you are offending God, which is your tremendous grief, and your heart is to please Him and honor Him, then God has given you hope.  This hope is in His Son, Jesus Christ.  For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10 KJV).

Let us go over divine Scripture and what it says about the gospel of God:  Matthew 9:35, “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.”  Matthew 11:5, “the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.”  Matthew 24:14, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”  Acts 8:25, “So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.”  Acts 8:40, “But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.”  Acts 14:7, “and there they continued to preach the gospel.”  Acts 14:15, “and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM.”  Acts 15:7, “After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.”  Acts 20:24, "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”  Paul warns against preaching of another gospel:  2 Corinthians 11:4, “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”  The gospel is the word of truth:  Colossians 1:5, “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel…”  1 Thessalonians 1:5, “for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”  (NASB).

Paul preached and proclaimed the full gospel.  We ought to do the same but we live in a time that false teachers preach another gospel wholly devoid of the matchless gospel.  The gospel comes with the power of God unto salvation for His elect people only.  We ought not to be ashamed of the full and true and complete gospel because this is what God has chosen to His people, but the world rejects the gospel because it is alien to the truth of God, and Satan does not want to save men but to destroy them.  We ought to be committed to the true gospel, and not to a false gospel.  May God open the eyes of His pre-converted elect who may have embraced a false gospel!  May God use His people to reach the lost in a dark world, in a dark universe!  We are entrusted with the gospel not because we are better then others but because God in His goodness has chosen to use us as vessels of righteousness for His glory, honor, praise.  Will we be like Paul we preached the gospel and fulfilled His mission from the Lord?  Or will we be in slumber and sleep with what has been entrusted to us?  The word of God is the gospel of God.  The Word of God is true, trustworthy, infallible, inerrant, proven, reliable and it convicts the hearts and minds of men.  Why then do we not spread the gospel message as we ought to, to all persons who do not know it or who oppose it?  We ought to be like Paul and follow the God of the gospel. 

The Word of the Gospel was hidden in ages past, and now it is revealed, and it was revealed by the Lord Christ.  The Lord Christ accomplished a work for us, not in us.  The central theme of the Gospel is the Cross.  And it was in the Cross where Christ accomplished His work for His people.  He died in their place, and in their behalf.  The Gospel is of God and not of men.  The work of Christ was done for us, and it is not from the inspiration of men but from God Himself.  The Cross occurred from the will of God through His Son and by the power of the Spirit in the life of Christ.  It is an inward manifestation of an outward work.  We are holy because of the Savior alone not because we have inherent holiness.  The Christ of the Bible is the Lord of Righteousness, the Lord of Holiness, the Lord of purity, the Lord of Justice.  We ought to not look to ourselves but to Christ in the gospel.  If we look to ourselves it is foolish but if we look to Christ is the hope of glory.  Obeying the true Gospel, the word of the Gospel, is the hope of glory, but our obedience does not form the grounds for justification.  Rather, it is the active and passive obedience of Another, Jesus Christ alone.  We would not make it to heaven on our imperfect, flawed, foolish obedience tainted with sin, but if we possess the perfect righteousness of Christ we do not lack true hope, but the assured hope of true glory in heaven.  We are to look to Christ and be found in Him.  We cannot commend to God the deeds of our works, because every department of our being is tainted with sin.  We must wholly trust Christ and not ourselves.  I submit that the most outwardly of men who perform good deeds do not meet the perfect righteousness of God in Christ.  Even Mother Teresa in all of his works did not perform one work that was perfect.  Her works will never avail before God as acceptable; but only the perfect righteousness of Christ the Redeemer and Lord avails before God, imputed to us by faith alone.  Nowadays they are trying to find a miracle to officially make her a saint, but my friends; this is all rubbish before God, and He desires the sinless righteousness of His Only Beloved Son.  Nothing in all the world compares with the imputed righteousness of Christ. 

What are we to preach to the Church?  We are to preach Christ.  We are not to teach with the wisdom of men but the wisdom of God in Christ.  Nothing will profit a man before God save His Scriptural wisdom in Christ.  We need to be in Christ on the Last Day otherwise we will not stand.  When we are glorified we will be perfect in Christ.  We cannot obtain to perfection now, but we will in glorification.  At that time we will no longer sin, and we will not need to repent.  The Word of the Gospel makes us wise unto salvation, but it is not the oral tradition of Rome, but the living and active Word of God alone.  We ought to preach Christ and Him only.  What do we see in the Church of Rome?  We see them advocating a belief in making Mary a Co-Redeemer.  Such is completely alien to divine Scripture, and we need to preach Christ only to be faithful to the divine text of Scripture.  The Gospel is the power of God, the wisdom of God and the salvation of God.  Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of truth.  It is indeed the Word of God.  Let us remember that we can only be presented perfect in Christ at the Last Day, and standing before Him in His perfect righteousness.  The Gospel is not about the righteousness of men but the alien righteousness of the Son of the Father. 

God’s gospel is offered to the elect, His chosen people.  But we preach the gospel to everyone in everyplace.  We do not say “Here is one elect person” and “Here is a non-elect person.”  We proclaim the gospel indiscriminately to everyone: men and women, boy or girl, poor or rich.  The gospel is the power of God, and it by God’s sovereign power changes lives.  God has chosen to save His people in the past, and He has chosen to save people nowadays.  He has not ended His work of saving His people, but when the last disciple is saved, Christ will come again in His Second Coming or rapture.  Christ has chosen to save Jews and Gentiles; we all make up the spiritual Israel of God.  Romans 11:7,  What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened…”  Colossians 3:12, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…”  2 Thessalonians 2:13, “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”  2 Timothy 2:10, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”  Revelation 17:14, "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

Paul was commissioned by God to preach the gospel with all wisdom.  1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  1 Corinthians 1:21, “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”  1 Corinthians 1:25, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”  1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”  1 Corinthians 3:19, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS…”  (NASB).

Let us consider some essential truths of the Word of the Gospel:

The Gospel is Sufficient.  We learn in the Bible that we have the divine Scriptures to make us wise unto salvation.  We learn that God’s Word is enough to know about the salvation of our souls.  We do not need to add or take away from divine Scripture because it is sufficient for salvation.  When we hear the gospel we do not have an insufficient message but a sufficient message of divine truth.  Herein is about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ:  “…Repent and believe in the gospel.”  (Mark 1:15 NASB).  The gospel is, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”  (Acts 16:31 NASB).  It is a true story about the expiation (that is, Christ Himself has removed sin for His elect only “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12 NASB), and propitiated (that is, Christ Himself has appeased the wrath of God the Father), and at the same time, (the Son of God came into the world to save sinners in sinless conformity with the Father’s will not in opposition to it) for His elect people.  This gospel pamphlet is concerning the holiness of God, man’s total depravity, the negative result of that, which is God’s real wrath, and the actual eternal solution to it, Who is the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is from the will of God the Father by His divine Spirit, and people that are His have repentance and faith toward God.  Within the text of Holy Scripture is the message of the gospel of grace and peace.  The Scriptures, as some say, are merely the words of men, and simply an ancient document written with many errors.  The burden of proof is on those who make such false claims.  On the testimony of the sinless, error-free Christ, the divine Lamb of God; the Scriptures are rightly presented, within this presentation of the gospel, as the very words of God Himself (John 17:17; John 10:35 cf. 2 Timothy 3:16). 

You must enter the narrow gate:  “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24 NASB). Those that cannot enter the narrow gate were not drawn by the Father.  Those who are drawn by the Father enter the narrow gate.  It is essential:  “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14 NASB).  Once you are through the narrow gate, it is an indication of being saved.  If God grants you to truly come to Him, you will never truly be forsaken (see Hebrews 13:5) nor will He cast you out.  Once a person is in Christ “there is…no condemnation.”  (Romans 8:1 NASB).  To one person the gospel of Christ is the fragrance of death, and to another person the gospel of Christ is the aroma of life (see 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NASB).  Believe the eternal Son of God:  “…but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31 NASB).  God’s people who believe, who have received Him, become the children of God (John 1:12).  Moses asked, as do I, “…Who is on the LORD's side?...”  (Exodus 32:26 KJV).

The Gospel is Divine.  We learn in the New Testament that the Gospel is the Gospel of God or of the Son not the Gospel of Men. Come Divine Spirit and work in our minds!  Romans 1:1, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God…”  Romans 1:9, “God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you.” Romans 15:16, “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 9:13, “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”  2 Corinthians 11:7, “Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge?”  1 Thessalonians 2:8, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”  1 Thessalonians 2:9, “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.”  1 Thessalonians 3:2, “We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith…”  2 Thessalonians 1:8, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”  1 Timothy 1:11, “that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.”  1 Peter 4:17, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

The True Gospel is Sound Doctrine.  Titus 1:9, “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”  We must be committed to sound doctrine regarding the gospel.  We must treasure it more then life itself. 

The Gospel Is the Power of God.  Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”  1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 

Let us exalt God by the proclamation of His gospel.  Let us bring God glory by preaching repentance no matter what the response.  Let strive together by the Scripture’s clear testimony of the Gospel.  Let us proclaim it with clarity and truth.  Let us speak to young and old far and wide and bring the truth of God to a perishing world.  Let us do this with love in our hearts, and commitment in our souls.  For on the Last Day let us be able to say with St. Paul, I blameless in the sight of God and innocent of all of men, for I proclaimed the gospel to everyone I could.  Let us not forget about God’s truth and His sovereign plan.  Let us fully carry out our mission in preaching and proclaiming the gospel and grace and peace.  Amen. 

Father, thank you for blessing this time, and we sought to give you glory.  May we live a life worthy of the gospel, and preach Thy truth to a world of evil and hatred.  Amen.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Psalm 1

 1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
 4The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
 5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
 6For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Psalm 51

 1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
 2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
 4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
 5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
 6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
 9Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
 11Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
 12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
 13Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
 14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
 15O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
 16For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
 18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
 19Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Verses on the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ

In Him all things consist for He is God:

14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
 15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
 19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.(Col. 1).

Our Jesus Christ is equal to the Father:

5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
 6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
 8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(Phil. 2).

In Him all the fullness dwells:
 9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.(Col. 2).

Jesus is the First and the Last:

17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:  18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.(Rev. 1).

Thursday, June 2, 2011

There is Forgiveness Through Christ

There is forgiveness with God so He may be feared:
Psalm 130:4
But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

When we rebel He forgives:
Daniel 9:9
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

There is no forgiveness for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit of God:
Mark 3:29
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.
 
There is repentance unto remission:
Acts 5:31
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to
Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
 
The Gospel is about the forgiveness of our sins:
Acts 13:38
Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

That we may possess the forgiveness of sins:
Acts 26:18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Forgiveness is through His blood:
Ephesians 1:7
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
 
The power is in the blood of the Cross of Jesus Christ:
Colossians 1:14
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: