By Grace Alone

8 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.
Ephesians 2:8-9

It is humbling to believe the Gospel. Religion, on the other hand, is a great foundation for human pride. Religion lets me continue to think well of myself even as I exult in “the depths” of my devotion to God. With religion I am the one in charge. I set the pace. I make the decisions (at least the ones that really matter!). I devote myself to God’s cause and do my best to practice my faith in a way I feel is both personally fulfilling and, I imagine, of help to God.

But the Gospel is just the reverse. When the Gospel comes to me, it finds me to be an outcast, powerless and – to be honest – anything but devout. No, I am a sinner. A reprobate. A pagan with nothing in me that could commend me to God. Every decision I have ever made – spiritually speaking – has been the wrong one. And even my best acts of righteous devotion have been nothing but filthy rags of self-serving pride. That’s where the Gospel finds me! Not a good man, hoping to be better. Not even a weak man needing to be made strong. But a dead man who needs to be given a life that comes from outside himself.

I remember for years thinking of my salvation as if I had been drowning – going down for the last time - and Christ at the last minute jumped in to save me. Now I know that I was a dead man, three weeks dead, bloated and lying at the bottom of the ocean when Christ, for his own purpose and glory chose to come to me. I could not cry out. I would not save myself. Nevertheless He came. And with a marvelous display of astounding power and grace, He saved me! He rescued the perished and gave life to the dead. Where then is my boasting? It is no more. All I can do is say, “Praise! Praise! Praise for an Amazing Grace!”

SSL

A living, loving, personal Savior

One of the things that really struck me this past week as I was preparing for Sunday's message is the personal nature of Salvation by Christ. I'm fully aware that many in evangelicalism have misused the idea of having Jesus as "personal" Lord and Savior. We've bent and twisted this idea into the creation by each of us of our own "personal Jesus" which is, of course, idolatry. The same Jesus who saved Paul is the Jesus who saves me. He's not my personal possession (though I have become His). He's not mine to re-image or re-configure. He is Who He is. The Living God become flesh -- the Eternal Son, Second Person of the Trinity as revealed in Scripture.

And yet, when He does comes by His grace to save a loathsome sinner like me, He comes to me in a way that is real and person through the Gospel that is preached. By His Holy Spirit He opens my heart to believe in Him. And as a result, I personally, through that grace given, repent and believe in Him and am brought into the personal intimacy of a new relationship with Him and with His church that is real. I come to know Him who died for me and with all the saints begin to live to the praise of the glory of His grace.

That's the point of this little quote below. Jesus becomes for those He saves.....

A living, loving, personal Savior

(J. R. Miller, "Counsel and Help" 1907)

We are in the habit of saying that Christ saved
us by dying for us on the Cross. In an important
sense this is true. We never could have been
saved--if He had not died for us.

But we are actually saved by our relation to a
living, loving, personal Savior--into whose
hands we commit all the interests of our lives;
and who becomes our Friend, our Helper, our
Keeper, our Burden bearer--our all in all.

Christian faith is not merely laying our sins on
the Lamb of God, and trusting to His one great
sacrifice; it is the laying of ourselves on the living,
loving heart of one whose friendship becomes
thenceforward the sweetest joy of our lives!

"The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me!" Galatians 2:20

Only Jesus

My wife, Amy, has always had a time sitting still. Her active mind is always buzzing about something. Even in church she tends to need to occupy herself with something as she listens and participates with the congregation. This past Sunday night as we were all celebrating Christmas together, Amy was jotting down some of the thoughts that were pouring through her brain. She shared them with our congregation just before I got up to preach. I thought they are an excellent summation of why only Jesus is worthy of all praise!

Here is what she wrote:

Only Jesus


Only Jesus can be our Great High Priest

And our sacrifice



Only Jesus can be our judge

And our advocate



Only Jesus can be born

Of his own creation



Only Jesus can be humble enough

To be highly exalted



Only Jesus can be seated at the right hand of the Father

And be with us always



Only Jesus can be the hearer of all our cries

And cry out in intercession



Only Jesus can be the alpha

And the omega



Only Jesus can be the Lion

And the lamb



Only Jesus can say “It is Finished”

And “I am completing a good work in you”



Only Jesus can be feared

And calm our every fear



Only Jesus could have nothing in his appearance that we would desire him

And be the joy of man’s desire



Only Jesus can be despised and rejected

And draw all men unto himself



Only Jesus can exist before time

And appear when the time had fully come



Only Jesus could empty himself

And be the fullness of God in bodily form



Only Jesus

Love for Jesus

The following is from (Theodore Cuyler, "Wayside Springsfrom the Fountain of Life" 1883). I borrowed it from Gracegems.org, a fine organization that is a treasure trove of great quotations, books and sermons from the rich heritage of our Christian past. I highly recommend it -- not just the website, but the passion producing power that flows down to us from faithful men and women in our past who faithfully served Christ. They have much to teach us.

"The love of Christ constrains us."
2 Corinthians 5:14

Love of Jesus is essential to Christianity.
No privations can starve it, and no burdens
can break it down. It is the core of all true
piety. It is the only cure of the reigning
worldliness and covetousness and fashion
worship, which have made such havoc in
too many churches.

There is only one way to be a steadfast
Christian--it is to get the heart so full of love
to Jesus--that the world, and the lusts of
the flesh, and the devil can get no foothold.

A true Christian life is the continual
consecration of our bodily powers, of our
energies, our affections, our resources,
and our influence--to Him who bought
us with His precious blood.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of
God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is
your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1

Christmas, Depravity and Why We Need a Savior

"For from within, out of the heart of men,proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."
Mark 7:21-23

“‘Tis the Season!” And in all honesty I must confess that I’m a sucker for this time of year. I love the sights and smells and traditions. I like to hear the carols and watch It’s a Wonderful Life and The Muppet’s Christmas Carol at least once during December. I can’t help myself. I really do just love it.

And yet, despite all the talk of “peace on earth and good will toward men, ” I am forced to admit that Christmas, like everything else, brings out the best and the worst in people. We are, after all, such depraved creatures, you and I (Rm 3:10f). When push comes to shove, we shove back and find a way to turn even the greatest of all God’s gifts into a reason to display the selfishness of man.

We, sadly, saw a terrible example of this last week when 34 year old Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death in a Long Island, New York Wal-mart as Black Friday shoppers pushed and shoved their way past his broken body in their rush to claim their Christmas deals. And so the birth of the One given as the result of the greatest of all loves, became an excuse to kill a man in the selfish desire of a crowd to satisfy it’s lust for things.

Certainly I know this is an extreme case, but doesn’t it reveal something about the true nature of the human heart. Jesus said that it is from within, out of the heart that such evil flows (see Mark 7:21-23 above). That is the true condition of every man and woman apart from the grace of God. That is the root of our problem. Not what other people do, but what I myself am capable of doing and will do in my selfish rush to satisfy me! That, my friends, is why we need a Savior, and why I celebrate God’s gracious gift of Christ for a sinner like me!

To Him Be the Glory Forever!
SSL

God Reigns

A good word from my friend, Mack Tomlinson

God Reigns

Daniel 4:34-35

I awoke this morning, looked out my bedroom window, and saw the leaves of a tree gently moving in the breeze; The thought came to me: "God is controlling the movement of every leaf on every tree, in every town, on every mountain side, and in every valley, in the whole earth. Lord, You are the One who controls that breeze, and ordains and causes every movement of each leaf."

If that is true, how much more the nations, governments, and all the direction of the affairs of all men?

"I bless the Most High, and I praised and honored him who liveth forever, whose dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation; And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest Thou?" - Daniel 4:34-35

In other words, God reigns! In eternity past, He was reigning; at creation, He was reigning; at the coming of Christ to earth, He was reigning; a thousand years ago, He was reigning; and yesterday and today-- He is reigning in all the affairs of men. He reigns. Rejoice-- the Lord is King.

- Mack Tomlinson

Preaching Repentance

And they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.
Mark 6:12

The Christian message begins with a call for sinners to repent of their sin and turn to God by faith. That’s always been the case. When Jesus began his ministry after being baptized by John, he began by commanding repentance. He said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15). Without repentance there is no Gospel.

Sadly, much of today’s preaching skips over repentance as if it were an unnecessary addition to the Gospel. Since Christ came to save people, so the thinking goes, let’s just tell them about Christ and his love, and urge them to put their trust in Him. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” they say, “so pray this prayer and ask Jesus into your heart and you can be saved.”

The problem with such a message is that it falls far short of the biblical Gospel, and thus it cannot save. ‘Salvation’ you see, implies rescue from something. I’m in danger of some terrible fate. I need to be rescued from it. But what does the modern gospel offer, to save me from missing “God’s wonderful plan for my life?” Maybe I have plans of my own? Is that all there is to it? I think most people would be willing to take their chances if there is nothing more to the Gospel than that!

But the biblical Gospel begins with a warning. “You have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”, and “the wages of your sin is death.” It’s not just that you might “miss God’s best.” You are a rebel sinner who’s sin has put you under the wrath of God. You’ve set ourselves against God and His right to rule over this universe. Thus the danger you are in is that you will perish under His righteous wrath when He pours it out against all who stand against Him. No, your only hope is to turn from your sin and embrace by faith the Savior God has sent to bear His wrath for you – Jesus Christ His only Son. So repent and believe the good news that God saves sinners who turn and trust in Him!

Soli Deo Gloria
SSL