September 28, 2008
Sunday 10:00am &n bsp; WLEX TV Channel 18
It is requested that all children under the age of five stay in our nursery
so there will be no distractions during the preaching of the Gospel.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Thy works, not mine, O Christ
Speak gladness to this heart
They tell me all the work is done
They bid my fear depart.
Thy cross, not mine, O Christ
Has borne the awful load
Of sins that no, none else could bear
But our incarnate God.
Thy death, not mine, O Christ
Has paid the ransom due
Ten thousand, thousand deaths like mine
Would have been all too few.
Thy righteousness, O Christ
Alone can cover me
No righteousness can satisfy
Save that which is of Thee!
(Tune: “I Love Thy Kingdom” p.188)
*****
Upcoming Bible Conference in the month of October:
10th8 012th – Central Baptist Church, Rocky Mount, VA 17th – 19th
- Hurricane Road Grace Church, Ashland, KY
24th – 26th – College Grove Grace Church, College Grove, TN
Birthdays
28th – John Parker 28th – Ben Walmsley 3rd – Alison Farhat
3rd – Paul Harries 4th – Alex DuFour 4th – Don Williams
“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth
more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” -Proverb 11:24
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAW AND GOSPEL
The last words of our Lord from the cross were, “It is finished.”
In these precious words we find the main difference between the law and the
Gospel. The law says, “It is not finished.” There is something
that you must do before you can be saved. The work Christ did for you may
be of no avail if you do not do something to activate it. But the Gospel says….
“It is finished.” When He died, He did not make salvation possible
if we….. He actually saved everybody for whom He died. =2 0Their salvation
was finished! But do we not have to believe? Most certainly! And we must believe
this.... “I have glorified Thee on earth. I have finished the work Thou
gavest Me to do.” Law says, “It is not finished.” Grace
says, “It is finished!”
*****
Consider ordinary farming. The grain of wheat must first be buried and lose
its form before it springs up again and bears fruit. So it is with the Son
of man. He must be crucified for sin, buried, and rise again that the law
might be honored, the justice of God might be satisfied, and there might be
a gospel of life. If He does not die (like the corn of wheat), He abides alone
with no people, no fruit! Without His blood and death, there is no remission
of sin. But His death will be productive of much fruit from every tribe, kindred,
and nation.
So it is with those who would be disciples of Christ. If we hold to, protect,
and shield this life from being crucified and buried with Christ, if we refuse
to be identified with Him in truth, suffering for the Gospel even to death,
we shall lose our soul. But if (like the farmer who in faith cast his wheat
into the ground, believing in the future harvest) we cast our20lives, hope,
and future to Christ, with Christ, and for Christ (caring not for worldly
security, comfort, nor praise), we shall live forever (II Timothy 1:8-12).
– Pastor Henry Mahan
*****
Learn that urgency in prayer does not so much consist in vehement PLEADING
as in vehement BELIEVING.
- Robert Murray M’Cheyne
ANOTHER JESUS
“He who….preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached”
II Corinthians 11:4
The Jesus of free-willism, unlike the Jesus of Gospel preachers, does not
possess the love of God. Preachers of free-willism assert God loves everyone
in exactly the same way. They therefore indiscriminately tell their hearers
what no Gospel preacher in Scriptures ever said: “Smile, God loves you.”
And they preach what no Gospel preacher in Scripture ever preached: “God
loves you so much He chose you for salvation, but the devil hates you so much
he chose you for damnation, and you must of your own free will cast the deciding
vote. And Jesus Christ loves everyone so much He died for all their sins.”
The god of free-willism is therefore not the God of Holy Scriptures and Gospel
preachers. The true God does not love everyone in the same way. Rather, He
hates those who20go to the grave in rebellion against Him. “For Thou
art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with
Thee. The foolish shall not stand in Thy sight; Thou hatest all workers of
iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing; the LORD will abhor
the bloody and deceitful man” (Psalm 5:4-6).
And the true God has a special love for His own people. These are they whom
He of His free and sovereign grace, apart from any merit of any kind in them,
chose and predestined for salvation before the foundation of the world (Eph.
1:3-6; II Thess. 2:13). They are called the Israel of God in the New Testament.
God says of them, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love;
therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).
Preachers of free-willism declare their Jesus loves and died for everyone.
But Gospel preachers declare of the true Jesus, “Christ loved the church
and gave Himself for it!” He did not waste a single drop of His redeeming
blood for those who will never submit to Him. You may not believe these Bible
truths, but you cannot refute these Bible truths. Dear souls, read your Bibles.
– Pastor Donnie Bell