THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB

From a sermon by J.C. Ryle


"These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. They will never be hungry, neither thirsty any more; neither will the sun beat on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Revelation 7:14-17

...Around that throne you would find many who used to be the vilest of the vile.  Go up, and ask them, everyone, "How did you come here?  Where did you get that white robe?"  They will answer you, "We were once without God in the world—without light and without hope.  We cared for nothing but fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, we were known as drunkards and revelers and fornicators.  Many a time we hardened our hearts against advice.  Many a careless neighbor did we follow to the grave, and tempted God to cut us off by continued impenitence!  But at last our conscience spoke so loudly that we dared no longer delay.  We tried to keep God's law—but we could not answer it one in a thousand, it brought us to flat despair.  We made a great profession, and men said we were converted—but it would not do—sin lay upon us like a mountain, all unatoned for, and we were miserable.  But we heard a voice, saying, 'If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink!'  'He who believes on Me, though he were dead yet shall he live!'  'Come unto Me and I will give you rest!'  And when we heard it, we went at once to the Lord Jesus Christ, we waited for nothing, we laid all our sorrows and all our wickedness before Him, and, behold, that very day we were healed and made whole, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing!"  Such is the answer you would get from many in that company which the apostle saw.

This is the way you must walk in, if you would ever stand with them in glory.  You must lay aside all pride and self-dependence, you must use the tax collector's prayer, you must believe yourself a miserable undeserving sinner, you must lay hold on the cross of Christ with a simple childlike faith, and pray that you may be washed in His blood and pardoned for His name's sake.  Show me another way of salvation which will bring you peace at the last; I cannot find one in the Bible.  I hear of men who live on many a long year without a thought about this precious washing in Christ's blood, this precious garment of Christ's righteousness, and yet can tell us they trust it will be all right with them at last.  But if the Bible is true—this is impossible.  I see many who profess a belief in their need of this fountain for sin and uncleanness—but I fear they do no more than talk about it, they do not count all things loss until they are forgiven.  But whether men will receive the doctrine or not, the foundation of God stands sure, and though the saints of God form a multitude which none can number—I cannot read of one who had not washed his robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
...

See here for the entire sermon.

A CHRISTMAS STORY (The Real One)

Friday's Scripture Reading for the Second Week of Advent

A Christmas Story
(The real one)

The Exalted Servant

13 Behold, My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.

The Suffering Servant

Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

10 But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12
(NASB)

Thank you Lord Jesus

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT

ALMIGHTY  God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.  (The collect from the Book of Common Prayer)

The Epistle

Rom 13:8-14

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (KJV)

The Gospel

Matt 21:1-13

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
2Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
3And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
4All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
6And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
8And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
12And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. (KJV)

What Drives the Sinner to Christ Alone for Salvation?

When the eyes of men are opened to see their sin, their danger by it, and the insufficiency of their own works to justify and save them, no object is so desirable to them as the Lord Jesus Christ. _____John Fawcett

THE REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL

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 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.                                                                   I Thessalonians 2:13

Christ Speaking Through Preaching

Chrysostom on I Thessalonians 2:13: "For in hearing us, you gave such heed, as if not hearing men, but as if God Himself were exhorting you."

Augustine: "Yes it is I who admonish, I who order, I who command, it is the bishop who teaches. But it is Christ who commands through me." "The preacher explains the text; if he says what is true, it is Christ speaking."

Luther: "Flesh and blood are an impediment. They merely behold the person of the pastor and brother ... They refuse to regard the oral Word and the ministry as a treasure costlier and better than heaven and earth. People generally think: ‘If I had an opportunity to hear God speak in person, I would run my feet bloody’ ... But you now have the Word of God in church ... and this is God’s Word as surely as if God Himself were speaking to you."

Calvin: "When the Prophet says, by the breath of his lips, this must not be limited to the person of Christ; for it refers to the Word which is preached by his ministers. Christ acts by them in such a manner that He wishes their mouth to be reckoned as his mouth, and their lips as his lips; that is, when they speak from his mouth, and faithfully declare his Word (Luke 10:16)" (Comm. on Isa. 11:4).

Second Helvetic Confession (1566): "Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is preached, and received of the faithful; and that neither any other Word of God is to be feigned, nor to be expected from heaven: and that now the Word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches; who, although he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the Word of God abides true and good."

Archbishop Sandys (c.1516-1588): "... when thou hearest the minister preaching the truth, thou hearest not him, but the Son of God, the teacher of all truth, Christ Jesus" (Theology of the English Reformers, p. 125).

William Perkins (1558-1602): "Thus every [preacher’s] task is to speak partly as the voice of God (in preaching), and partly as the voice of the people (in praying): ‘If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth’ (Jer. 15:19)" (The Art of Prophesying, p. 7).

Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. & A. 160: "What is required of those that hear the word preached? It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the word of God ..."

Jeremiah Burroughs (a member of the Westminster Assembly): "First, when you come to hear the Word, if you would sanctify God’s name, you must possess your souls with what it is you are going to hear, that what you are going to hear is the Word of God. It is not the speaking of a man you are going to attend, but you are now going to attend upon God and to hear the Word of the Eternal God ... Therefore you find that the Apostle, writing to the Thessalonians, gives them the reason why the Word did them as much good as it did. It was because they heard it as the Word of God, I Thess. 2:13 ... Mark, so it came effectually to work because they received it as the Word of God. Many times you will say, ‘Come, let us go hear a man preach.’ Oh no, let us go hear Christ preach, for as it concerns the ministers of God that they preach not themselves, but that Christ should preach in them, so it concerns you that hear not to come to hear this man or that man, but to come to hear Jesus Christ" (Gospel Worship, p. 200).

Wilhelmus á Brakel (1635-1711): The minister must "remind himself in a lively manner that God has sent him, that he ascends the pulpit as an ambassador of God, speaks in the name of God, and is as the mouth of the Lord unto the congregation" (The Christian’s Reasonable Service, vol. 2, p. 138).

W. Sanday & A. C. Headlam (critical scholars) on Romans 10:14: "‘how can they believe on Him whom they have not heard preaching?’ ... must be so translated, and what follows must be interpreted by assuming that the preaching of Christ’s messengers is identical with the preaching of Christ Himself." 

D. M. Lloyd-Jones: "It is not only man preaching, as he says to the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 2:13: You listened, he says to them, and you realized it was not merely the word of man but it was indeed what it actually is, the Word of God. This is his preaching, and this should be true of our preaching" (Knowing the Times, p. 276).

John Murray on Romans 10:14: "... Christ is represented as being heard in the gospel when proclaimed by the sent messengers. The implication is that Christ speaks in the gospel proclamation."

Herman Hoeksema: "Through the preaching it pleases God through Christ, the exalted Lord, the chief prophet of God, who alone gathers his church, to speak to his people unto salvation. This is evident from Romans 10:14, which, according to the original, asks, 'How shall they believe in him whom they have not heard?' Through the preaching, therefore, you do not hear about Christ, but you hear him. The difference is easily understood. When you hear about or of someone, he is not present. You do not hear his own voice, but the voice of someone else who tells you something about him. But when you hear someone, you hear his own voice. He is present with you. He is addressing you personally. This is the sense of Romans 10:14, which teaches that you cannot believe in Christ unless you have heard him speak to you, unless you have heard his word addressed to you. This is exactly the meaning of the words, 'How shall they believe in him whom they have not heard?'" (Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 2, p. 289).

Leon Morris: "... Christ is present in the preachers; to hear them is to hear him."

James Montgomery Boice: "‘He who listens to you listens to me [Christ]’ and ‘he who rejects you reject me’ (Luke 10:16). It is the same today. When I (or any other minister) stand up to teach the Bible, if I do it rightly, it is not my word you are hearing. It is the Word of God, and the voice you hear in your heart is the voice of Christ. So, if you do not like what I am saying, do not get angry with me. I am only the postman. My job is just to deliver the letters. And when you respond, do not think that you are responding to me. You are responding to Jesus, who is calling you through the appointed channel of sound preaching" (Romans, vol. 3, p. 1241).

J. I. Packer: "A true sermon is an act of God, and not a mere performance by man. In real preaching the speaker is the servant of the Word & God speaks & works by the Word through his servant’s lips ... The sermon ... is God’s ordained means of speaking and working."

Klaas Runia: "The Pauline Epistles frequently use such expressions as ‘the word of God’ or ‘the word of the Lord’ or, in an even shorter formula, ‘the word’ (cf. 1 Thess. 1:6, 8; 3:1; Col. 4:33; II Tim. 2:9; 4:1; etc.). In all these passages the terms refer to the preached word. This is also the reason why the word preached by Paul and the others is effective. This efficacy is not due to the talents of the preacher, but the secret lies in the genitive: it is the word of God or of the Lord. In the apostolic message (the emphasis being always on the content) the voice of the living God is being heard. This emphasis was shared by the Reformers. Both Luther and Calvin were convinced that, when the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed, God himself is heard by the listeners" (New Dictionary of Theology, p. 529).

Edmund Clowney: "As [ministers] are obliged to preach, so others are obliged to hear. Their message must be received as the word of God (I Thess. 2:13)" (Called to the Ministry, p. 50).

Hughes Oliphant Old: "Fides ex auditu [faith comes by hearing] is a corollary to a strong Augustinian theology which believes that it is essentially God himself who reaches out to his people in the preaching of the word, and therefore it is what God does in and through these means of grace which makes them effective. That faith comes by hearing follows naturally from the doctrine of grace ... when the word of Christ is truly preached, then Christ is present" (The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures, vol. 1, pp. 183, 186).

J. Mark Beach: "... according to the classical Reformed tradition, the preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God. Or to state it more accurately, preaching, when accompanied by the Spirit’s presence and power, is Christ’s living voice to the church and world today. Christ is really present in the preaching of the gospel" ("The Real Presence of Christ in the Preaching of the Gospel," Mid America Journal of Theology, 1999, p. 77).

Robert Spinney (American Baptist): "Good preaching is not merely correct proclamation of the truth; it is God himself proclaiming his Truth ..." ("Looking for Grace in All the Wrong Places: The Marginalization of Preaching," Modern Reformation, Nov./Dec. 2000, p. 38).

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This list of quotes is from the web site of Covenant Protestant Reformed Church, Northern Ireland.

Related Article: from Luther and Calvin on the Nature of Preaching. Please take the time to read this excellent article by J. Mark Beach.

Happy 502nd Birthday John Calvin

John Calvin was born on July 10, 1509. He was one of the most significant figures in the Reformation. His scholarly writing, and preaching were instrumental in returning the church to the true gospel.

GOSPEL WEEKEND: "JUSTIFICATION"

I am slowly making my way through Derek Thomas' book, How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home.  It is not a long book, only about 140 pages.  One could easily complete it in a day.  It is not difficult reading.  The subject matter does not extend beyond the essential doctrines of the Christian Faith.  But I find myself needing to pause frequently to meditate on what I have just read, even after a paragtaph or two. As the author of Hebrews says, "...we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."[1]   Today, the Gospel is being diluted in many nominal Christian churches and "ministries."  Besides that, there is the temptation in all of us to lose the appreciation of how great the Gospel is, and need to be reminded of how our Father loves us, and how through the Holy Spirit, is transforming us into the image of Christ.

The following quote is from the chapter I read this morning.  It covers Romans 8:28-30, the beloved passage known to many as "The Golden Chain of Salvation."

"...[J]ustified.  We are called into union with Jesus Christ, and thereby we find ourselves in a right relationship with God.  God judicially credits our sins to Jesus Christ, and credits Christ's righteousness to us.  By faith, we receive all that Christ has done for us, propitiating God's wrath against sin by His sufferings on the cross on our behalf.  Through an act of substitution, Jesus is reckoned sin and judged accordingly, and we are reckoned "the righteousness of God" in union with Christ and accepted into fellowship with God (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20-21).

Being "justified by faith we have peace with God"  (Rom. 5:1)"


[1] Heb. 2:1

"Romans 8 is a description of the Christian life...from justification to glorification, from trial and suffering to the peace and tranquility of the new heavens and new earth."   __ DEREK W. H. THOMAS

The Mind Set On The Spirit

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"A Beethoven piano sonata, a painting by Rembrandt, a poem by Wordsworth - these are among the most sublime artifacts of human creation and have the capacity to reach beyond the authors' grasp. But none of these works can sit alongside the simplicity of the words in the prologue of John's Gospel: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' (John 1:1) Here we are on another level, a dimension to which the natural man has no access."     _____Derek W. H. Thomas

This quote is from the book I am currently reading, How The Gospel Brings Us All The Way Home, by Derek Thomas. (Reformation Trust Publishing) It is about Romans 8, which the author calls, "THE BEST CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE," and, "the heart of the Epistle to the Romans."

I have made one of the aims in my life to know the Gospel as well as I am able to (by the grace of God, even beyond my own ability). When I first saw Derek Thomas' latest book advertised on line, along with a sneak preview of the entire first chapter to tempt me, I decided to make How The Gospel Brings Us All The Way Home part of my summer reading. This volume has exceeded my expectations by shedding light on some facets of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ that should illuminate the Christian's heart and mind. 

TELL THE GOSPEL,

AND TELL IT WELL. 

Dynamations

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click here



click here

 These are two (my favorite) of many multi-media presentations created by Kids 4 Truth. Turn on your speakers, and click to view them. At the end of the presentation there will appear a menu where you can select other Dynamation themes and/or check out their other offers (like a screen saver). I discovered these programs three or four years ago, linked on Ron Osburn's web site "Holy, Holy, Holy" and I just got the idea of sharing them with my readers. I know you will enjoy them. -  And check out Ron's site too.

Craig

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

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The Lord's Herald: "Escape from the wrath to come. Repent and trust in Christ crucified for forgiveness and everlasting life."

The deceiver: "Relax. There is no 'wrath to come.' "

Spurgeon on How To Win Souls For Christ

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I command men in the name of Jesus to repent and believe the gospel, though I know they can do nothing of the kind apart from the grace of God.

We are sent to say to blind eyes, "See," to deaf ears, "Hear," to dead hearts, "Live," and even to Lazarus rotting in that grave, wherein, by this time, he stinketh, - "Lazarus, come forth."
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PENTECOST SUNDAY

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
   ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
   ³And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
   ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
   ⁵And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
   ⁶Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
   ⁷And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
   ⁸And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
   ⁹Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
   ¹⁰Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
   ¹¹Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
(Acts 2:1-11)

The Collect for Whitsunday - Book of Common Prayer

"O GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end.  Amen."

The Universal Proclamation of the Gospel

The promise of the gospel is that whosoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish, but have eternal life.[1] This promise, together with the command to repent and believe,[2] ought to be declared and published to all nations,[3] and to all persons promiscuously and without distinction, to whom God out of His good pleasure sends the gospel.

[1] Jn 3:16; 1 Cor. 1:23;     [2] Acts 2:38, 16:31;     [3] Matt. 28:19

(Canons of Dort, Second Head of Doctrine: The Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby, Article 5)

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"The church was not the fruit of the organizational genius of a group of zealots who came to believe that Jesus had risen in their hearts as they tried to cope with the disappointment they felt once Jesus was put to death by the Romans and His glorious kingdom did not manifest itself as promised. Instead, the biblical record tells us that the church was founded by a risen Savior who appeared to His chosen witnesses the first Easter, confirming that His death on Good Friday was the ultimate triumph over human sin. The church was not organized by Jesus’ disappointed followers trying to cover-up their embarrassment. The church was founded by Jesus Christ Himself.

"This becomes clear when we consider that the post-resurrection appearances of our Lord to His disciples do not take place in a vacuum. Our Lord’s resurrection appearances take place against the backdrop of His three-year messianic ministry during which Jesus demonstrated that He was the One promised throughout the Old Testament and that He had come to establish His kingdom and found His church. Pentecost (Acts 2), which is often considered the official birthday of the church, is the culmination of all of our Lord’s promises and only makes sense against the backdrop of our Lord’s messianic ministry."                    ____Kim Riddlebarger

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The Ultimate Question Regarding Christ

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"Everyone who believes on the Son of God, and trusts their soul to Him, is at once pardoned, forgiven, justified, counted righteous, reckoned innocent, and freed from all liability to condemnation. Their sins, however many, are at once cleansed away by Christ’s precious blood. Their soul, however guilty, is at once clothed with Christ’s perfect righteousness. It matters not what they may have been in time past. Their sins may have been of the worst kind. Their former character may be of the blackest description. But do they believe on the Son of God? This is the one question. If they do believe, they are justified from all things in the sight of God.

"It matters not, that they can bring to Christ nothing to recommend them—no good works, no long-proved amendments, no unmistakable repentance and change of life. But do they this day believe in Jesus Christ? This is the grand question. If they do, they are at once accepted. They are accounted righteous for Christ’s sake."
~ J.C. Ryle

Ryle's statement carries little weight for those whose consciences have not been affected by the knowledge  that they have grievously sinned against their most Holy and Just Creator-God. But to the one who is thus affected, those words are precious as  pure water to one dying of thirst.

   "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst."
(John 6:35)

THE STORY

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The Gospel Story as told by R. Scott Clark

The article, "This Christian Life," originally appeared in Valiant for Truth, Westminster Seminary California's blog, on January 25, 2011.

   

"...At the beginning, God walked in the garden with Adam and told him a story. He told him how He had created everything from nothing by His powerful Word. He told Adam how He had created him from the earth and how Adam had it within his power to experience more than his present life in the garden; that there was before him a consummate, glorious existence of intimate, perfect, and endless fellowship with God and man; if only he would pass one test..."

Read, enjoy, and appreciate the article here. http://wscal.edu/blog/entry/this-christian-life

Arminian Objection / Calvinist Response # 2

A. The will of God to save those who would believe and persevere in faith and in the obedience of faith is the whole and entire decree of election, and nothing else concerning this decree has been revealed in God's Word.

C. This plainly contradicts the Scriptures, which declare that God will not only save those who will believe, but that He has also from eternity chosen certain particular persons to whom, above others, He will grant in time, both faith in Christ and perseverance; as it is written "I have revealed Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world" (John 17:6), and "as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). And "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him" (Eph. 1:4).



Canons of Dordt. First Head of Doctrine: Divine Election and Reprobation. Rejection of Errors. Paragraph 1 

Arminian Objection / Calvinist Response

A. Christ neither could die, nor needed to die, and also did not die, for those whom God loved in the highest degree and elected to eternal life, since these do not need the death of Christ.

C. This contradicts the apostle, who declares, Christ "loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20). Likewise: "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died. (Rom. 8:33-34), namely for them; and the Savior who says: "I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:15). And: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends). (John 15:12-13).



Canons of Dordt. Second Head of Doctrine: The Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby. Rejection of Errors, Paragraph 7

Calvin on Evangelism

"God invites all indiscriminately to salvation through the Gospel, but the ingratitude of the world is the reason why this grace, which is equally offered to all, is enjoyed by few."

John Calvin __ Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels 1:116

Second Week of Advent: Monday

A SAVIOUR AND DELIVERER

Isa 19:19-25

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them. The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."
(NIV)

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"For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."

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"We know not of any event in which this prophecy can be thought to have its full accomplishment short of the conversion of Egypt to the faith of Christ, by the preaching (as is supposed) of Mark the Evangelist, and the founding of many Christian churches there, which flourished for many ages. Many prophecies of this book point to the days of the Messiah; and why not this? It is no unusual thing to speak of gospel graces and ordinances in the language of the Old-Testament institutions."

(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

The Gospel For Idiots

I am quite sure that the religion of Jesus Christ, was never intended for the highly-cultured only, or even for them in particular. Christ's testimony concerning his own ministry was, "The poor have the gospel preached to them" Matt 11:5; so, if you bring me a gospel which can only be understood by gentlemen who have passed through Oxford or Cambridge University, I know that it cannot be the gospel of Christ.

"I tell you, sirs, that your newfangled gospel is a lie, and I will stick to the old one, which a man, only a little above an idiot in intellect, can understand."

He meant the good news of salvation to be proclaimed to the poorest of the poor; in fact, the gospel is intended for humanity in general; so, if you cannot make me understand it, or if, when I do understand it, it does not tell me how to deliver its message in such plain language that the poorest man can comprehend it, I tell you, sirs, that your newfangled gospel is a lie, and I will stick to the old one, which a man, only a little above an idiot in intellect, can understand.

I cling to the old gospel for this, among many other reasons, that all the modern gospels, that leave out the great central truth of substitution, prevent the message from being of any use to the great mass of mankind. If those other gospels, which are not really gospels, please your taste and fancy, and suit the readers of Quarterly Reviews, and eloquent orators and lecturers, there are the poor people in our streets, and the millions of working-men, the vast multitudes who cannot comprehend anything that is highly metaphysical; and you cannot convince me that our Lord Jesus Christ sent, as his message to the whole world, a metaphysical mystery that would need volume upon volume before it could even be stated. I am persuaded that he gave us a rough and ready gospel like this:

"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" Matt 18:11; Luke 19:10;

or this, "With his stripes we are healed" Isa 53:5;

or this, "The chastisement of our peace was upon him"

or this, "He died the Just for the unjust to bring us to God."

Do not try to go beyond this gospel, brethren; you will get into the mud if you do. But it is safe standing here; and standing here, I can comprehend how our Lord Jesus took the sinner's place, and passing under the sentence which the sinner deserved, or under a sentence which was tantamount thereto, could cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Ps 22:1; Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34


From a sermon titled, "The Saddest Cry from the Cross" -- Matt. 27:46
(from Spurgeon's Sermons, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

"I Don't Need Jesus"

"No. I don't need Jesus, because I've got my own mind."

When I hear that, I realize that I am talking with someone who has fallen asleep to reality. I can understand that a person might say to me, "R.C., I don't want Jesus." But when they say to me, "R.C., I don't need Jesus," I ask, "Have you lost your mind? Do you hear what you are saying?"

If there is no God, of course you don't need Jesus. If there is a God, and he is holy and you are holy, you don't need Jesus. But if God is, and God is holy, and you are not holy, there is nothing in this universe you need more desperately than Jesus.

If God is, and God is holy, and you are not holy, there is nothing in this universe you need more desperately than Jesus.____R.C. Sproul

Quoted from Ligonier Ministries' video series, Choosing My Religion. Available from http://www.ligonier.org/