A Powerful Message

The cross of Christ - washes away all sin, for those who believe.  This sermon is on the Supremecy of Christ by Voddie Baucham.  From desiringgod.org



The Supremacy of Christ and Truth from Josh Gunter on Vimeo.

Who Gets to Go to Heaven?

Excerpt from a message by Dr. Jack Hughes.

Mt. 7:21-27 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.  “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” 

Luke 6:45-46 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. "And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?

Jn 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 

Jn 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 

John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Acts 5:32 "And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

Ac 15:11 “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

Ac 16:31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 

Romans 3:23–24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 10:8–9 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. 

1 Co 1:18–21 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. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 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 6:9–11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. 

I Corinthians 15:1-4  Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

Ephesians 2:8–10 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. 

Ephesians 5:3–5 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 

Titus 2:11–15 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. 15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. 

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 

2 Ti 1:8–9 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 

Hebrews 5:9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,

Hebrews 12:14  Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.

James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

1 John 2:3-4 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.  The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

1 John 3:10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

1 John 4:19-20 We love, because He first loved us.  If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

1 John 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

Rev 14:12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Re 21:6–8 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” 

Bin Laden is Dead

The news changes our world, changes our day.  Around the world many people are celebrating the death of Osama Bin Laden.  He was supposedly the master-mind behind the 9/11 tragedy in NY almost 10 years ago where 3000 people died.

We have spent billions of dollars trying to kill him.  We have entered multiple wars and killed tens of thousands of people around the globe in retribution.  I ask you, is this just?  Are we missing the point?

I think so.

As believers, the main thing is always the main thing. The lost souls of men.  Who on the news is sad that a man who cursed the Savior of the World with his life is now suffering for all of eternity in Hell (unless, like the thief on the cross turned at the last moment).  Bin Laden will continue to sin against God for all of eternity.  No salvation is now offered to him.  This is awful!  His soul is forever gone to torment.

My prayer today, is no different than yesterday, or last week.  May every ear hear the good news of Jesus Christ.  May every soul be saved!

How?

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  (Romans 10:9)

All men and women are sinners in need of a savior.  (Romans 3:23)  To believe that all things were created out of nothing, by nothing, ever existing with no first cause, is ludicrous. It defies every scientific principle known to man. It defies Christ.  It defies scripture.  People know there is a God who made them.  People know they live because made them.  If men turn to the truth of scripture, they can live for Jesus and begin to understand their purpose and meaning in life.  Only then will they live!

Everyone will bow the knee to God.  Either today, tomorrow, or after death.  But all will bow the knee.  I pray for my dear friends at Dreamworks who think life is about money and good times.  I pray for my extended family and relatives who don't know and serve Christ as described in scripture.  I pray for the souls of my children.

God has blessed my wife and I with caring parents and a privileged life, being in the USA. The quest for religious freedom has spilt much blood.  Any of you on USA soil are the benefactors of such a pursuit. May we not take for granted what God has given.  May the world know, everything they have comes from God.  He is in control. He loves them and died for their sins so that they wouldn't have to endure the eternal wrath of God, like Osama Bin Laden.  I pray he repented before he died!

May God have mercy on us all.

Rome - True Catholicism - Celebrating the Dead!

Ever wonder if Catholicism is united?  or practiced the same everywhere?  well. that is what's supposed to happen, but Rome is more steeped in the worship of Mary than most of the world, with South America a close second.  Here's what's going on over there...taken from Christian missionaries who live in Italy.



Here's whats going to happen as they celebrate the dead!

"The ceremony for the beatification of John Paul II will be between April 30th and May 5th. The Vatican is predicting the arrival of 300,000 people to the city. The program that is planned is spiritually disturbing. As believers in the city of Rome, we are used to having to live the spiritual tension before a power that unites truth and lies, God and idols, the authentic Gospel and false gospels. To celebrate John Paul II, the evening of Saturday the 30th of April, there will be a prayer meeting wake dedicated to Mary in the Circus Maximus. After this there will be a procession with the icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani (Mary the salvation of the Roman people). The icon itself will be lifted up to a position of preeminence in the immense plaza full of at least 300,000 people. Afterwards will follow the song of Totus Tutus, the celebrated motto of the pope affirming his profound dedication and devotion to Mary. All the plaza will be involved in singing this song. Following this will be the recitation of the Rosary dedicated to Mary linked by satellite with the 5 sanctuaries that are dedicated to the Madonna in the world, including Fatima, the Madonna that was particularly spiritually near to the pope and to whom this one indicated her as the protector of the world."

"The next day (Sunday, May 1st) will be the ceremony of beatification (declared blessed) in the plaza of S. Peter, at the conclusion of which hundreds of thousands of people will be invited to take advantage of the intercession of this new 'blessed one'. After having prayed to Mary, the crowd will pray to John Paul II. The casket of the pope will be there for viewing and the procession of the faithful will pass by for days increasing the veneration of this person as never before.”

Church Fathers on Salvation - Athanasius

Athanasius

“It is just that the Word of God…, in offering His body as a ransom for us, would discharge our debt by His death. So, united to all mankind by a body like theirs, the incorruptible Son of God can justly clothe all men with incorruptibility.” (De incarn. 9, italics added)

Pretty clear.  Salvation is through the death of Christ, totally and completely.  No good works to further make one "more" justified are needed.  Plenty of good works do naturally follow the true believer though - that is called Sanctification and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).  Just as a real fruit tree produces fruit, so too real believers produce good works, which are the fruit of their salvation.

Religion vs. The Gospel

There is a good sense of relgion, yet referred to here it connotates a pharisaical implementation.

The following is from Chris Barksdale of the hollywood church:

·      Religion says if you obey God then he loves you and accepts you. The gospel says God loves you because of Jesus therefore you obey.

·      Religion says life and the Bible is all about what I do for God. The gospel says it is about what Jesus did for God on my behalf.

·      Religion says God is like a piñata and religious acts are the stick you hit Him with to get thing from Him. The Gospel says that God is an unconditional lover and giver to those who accept His Son.

·      Religion leads to pride, despair, uncertainty, and no assurance. The Gospel leads to humility, confidence, and joy.

·      Religion sees hardship as a punishment from God. The Gospel sees hardship as not punishment because Jesus already bore all the punishment for me. Hardship is rather sanctified affliction.

·      Religion sees the world as divided up into good and bad people. The Gospel sees the world as divided up into unrepentant and repentant bad people. 


The last one is telling.  Do you see yourself as against all others, or as a servant of others with the truth?  The dish you serve is the gospel.

Riches Beyond Comparison!!!

Believer - feast on the word of God.  Herein, and here alone, resides our infallible understanding of God Almighty.  All that we learn about Christ, even the experiential, the fantastic and the miraculous, must be submitted to the only infallible word of God, the 66 Books of the Holy Scripture.

Believer - read what is yours in Christ!  My seminary notes from Ephesians chapter 1. http://www.esvonline.org/search/ephesians+1/

There is a major thrust at the outset of Ephesians to understand that, as believers, our entire calling is “in Christ”, also referred to as “in him”. Our being chosen (1:4), being predestined “through Christ” (1:5), our blessing in “the Beloved”, having redemption (1:7) according to “his grace”, understanding “his will..his purpose” in Christ (1:9), being unified (1:10), given an inheritance according to his will and his purpose (1:11), having hope in Christ unto His glory (1:12), having belief in Him (1:13), sealed with the Holy Spirit (1:13) being the “guarantee of our inheritance” and all this “to the praise of his glory.” (1:14)  The modern phrase “it’s not about me” just doesn’t do such a marvelous passage about our Lord and Savior justice, and reminds us of our inability to comprehend “how deep and wide” is the love of Christ that was bestowed upon us.  This is how Paul starts the letter, and it grows from there into much thanksgiving and prayer through 1:15-23.


True riches are in Christ!

Creation is Cursed.

Here is a summary of what was covered yesterday in our Sunday School class.  It is a class of about 75 people, ages 20 - 90 literally.  It's a wonderful group of people who pursue Christ and live for His glory.

Summary of Ed's lesson.

1.  Creation, man, beast and planet, is cursed:  Genesis 3:17-19

2.  Sin offers more of creation
    Pattern: From 1 Peter chapters 1-3 

       2a.  World suffers - Then glory

       2b.  Jesus suffered - Then glory

       2c.  We suffer - Then glory

3.  Sin is not worth it.

4.  Jesus is!

Jesus' death on the cross paid for all of the sin of those who repent and believe in His name.  His wrath is reserved for those who reject Him.  Do not put your trust in your self and your good works.  Salvation is not by works. Ephesians 2:8-9.  Salavation is by grace through faith - both being a work of Christ.

Justification by Faith

How are you saved?  That is the most crucial question for a believer.  There are many cults, false religions and weird ideas out there about how a person gets to heaven and how a person is justified, or "made righteous" before God.  We know from 1 John 1:7 that Jesus is our Advocate before God the Father, which means even as believers we continue to sin.

The real question is, "Did Jesus pay for some or all of our sin, past - present - future, on the cross?"  The answer is fundamentally intertwined with real justification.  Here is Phil Johnson to give a quick answer to this question, What is Justification by Faith?

The Holy Spirit teaches us

Context, Context, Context!!!

1 John 2:26-27 is in the context of warning us about false teachers.  We know that context is the most important thing when it comes to studying the Bible apart from the discernment and understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit.  In Bible Study principles "context is king".  For instance, if you were to take my statement "context is King" out of context, to make it say whatever you wanted it to say, you would say the Bible says "Jesus is King".  But the context of what I am saying is about how to study your Bible.  So the principle "context is king" means that it is the most important of the Bible study principles.

Another example:  "I love this dog".  What does that mean?  You have no idea.  You have no context.  Am I speaking of a "ball park frank" at a cubs game with mustard on it made out of meat, or am I speaking of a furry four legged creature?  Again, you MUST understand the context to understand what a writer or author is talking about.  That is also true of scripture.  That is why God gave us context.

There are many religious groups out there that teach only the "church" or the bishops or priests or pope can accurately explain the truth.  This comes from taking verses out of context.  Whenever we come upon something like this, we need to run to scripture and test that teaching with the word of God. In Fact, that is what God commands us to do!!!  Paul even commands us to test his words against scripture. (Gal 1:8 - the context is preaching a false gospel)  Jesus called Peter "satan" and Peter denied Christ 3 times at the most important turning point in all of history.  Don't rely on men!  That is why God said, "I will build this church".  Not on the value of Peter, whom he called "satan", but on the will, good pleasure and sovereignty of God.

So let's examine this text.

1 John 2:26 - This further clarifies the context of what John is saying.
   "These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you."

John tells us in verse 26 exactly why he is writing.  There are false teachers who are trying to deceive the  believers.

1 John 2:27
   "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him."

John then explains to them that the Holy Spirit teaches men the truth.  We do not have to rely soley on  popes or bishops or priests for truth.  That would fully contradict these verses.  We know when men contradict scripture, we obey God rather than men.

How do we know John is talking about the Holy Spirit?  Good question.  Look at the context.  1.  John says "the anointing...abides in you"  We know that believers are a temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 6:19)  2.  2:20-21 - The Holy One is Christ (Acts 3:14) - the anointing the Holy One gives is the Holy Spirit.  It can only be God the Father, Son or Holy Spirit.  No one else comes to live inside of us.  John 14:26 (also written by the Apostle John so the people would be familiar with his writing) explicitly states the Holy Spirit "will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you".  Notice, the Holy Spirit will teach us scripture, not new doctrines.

I hope what you have taken from this short study, is:
1.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher
2.  Anyone who says people can't know the truth apart from their own teaching is in disagreement with Holy Scripture.
3.  Context is king, when it comes to studying the Bible, or any literature.  Without it, you will be following error and fighting against the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who will one day judge the living and the dead.

I pray you read the Bible, in it's context.  Seek to understand what it means, not what you want it to say. In that, you will stay away from error just as the Apostle John and God want you to.

Dave

A New Year, How's your heart?

The first month of the New Year is almost over.

We still haven't sold our house, but the Lord continues to provide.  He is so faithful.

So how is your faithfulness to God?  Do you live the way He desires in scripture?  Are you abiding by His rules or mans?  Even the Apostle Paul said to check everything he said with scripture, like the faithful Bereans.  We are not to follow even one word that man says, if it is not 100% in line with the 66 books of the Bible.  Jesus, the apostles, and those who wrote scripture attested to only these books.  Even Clement of Rome attested to these books as I learned in Historical Theology this past semester.  For an extensive treatment of this subject, go here:  http://calvarybiblechurch.org/teaching.aspx/doctrine_of_the_bible

So I want to encourage you to take a good hard look at your life.  How would you say your love for Jesus is going so far this year?  It is hard this time of year with Holiday parties that have made us tired, new things starting up at work and having a new schedule to keep a consistent time of prayer with our sweet Savior.  But how is your prayer life?  Do you spend solitary time with God in prayer, like Jesus and the Apostles did?  If not, take it at face value and ask the Lord for help.  He is willing.  How's your Bible reading and study?  Not good?  Well, take that at face value too and ask the Lord for help.  He is willing.  It's really an issue of our heart.  When our we treasure Jesus and His word, prayer and bible study are very natural to the believer.

Be willing this year to be led by the Holy Spirit through the power of the word of God and prayer.  If you're not doing this, be real with yourself and ask the Lord to change your heart.  We spend every day just exactly how we want to.  I pray this year for my family and for you, that we would spend more time at the feet of our Savior, resting in His complete payment for our sins, praying to Him and studying the perfect word of God.