Tag Archives: gospel

Who Is In Jesus’ Family?

His earthly mother Mary is at the door of the house, but cannot get to Jesus. God used Mary to bring forth Christ. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior of all who will believe on Him. Jesus is …

Revelation 1:5 … Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood …

Jesus is Man. Jesus is Perfect Man. Jesus is Sinless Man. You ask, “How can there be a sinless Man?”, and my answer is, “Only if He is a Unique Creation and God”. Adam was sinless in the Garden of Eden, but when Adam sinned, “by one man – Adam – sin entered into the world, and DEATH BY SIN; and so death PASSED UPON ALL MEN, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12). All humans born naturally are born sinners. This is a problem because, though God loves us, God is holy, without sin (1 Peter 1:16; Isaiah 57:15).

God is holy – but we are not! How can the gap be bridged between God and Man?

A Perfect Man, a Messiah, a Savior, cannot come through human effort. Humans are fallen. God must make a way. God must enter the creation as Man. This is what happened in Jesus. Jesus Christ is ETERNAL GOD THE SON. He declared Himself …

Revelation 1:8 … Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

“Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the Ending” is a title given only to God, “The Almighty”. Our Lord Jesus existed with God the Father and God the Spirit from eternity past. God left eternity, and came to this earth through a virgin named Mary. Yet though Jesus has a beginning as a human,… Continue reading

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Who Is God?

Turn with me in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 1. Jeremiah comes right after Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Solomon, Isaiah, JEREMIAH. Jeremiah was known as the “Weeping Prophet”. Why? Because God had been good to Israel, but Israel turned away from God. God’s people were chasing sin. God’s people had become indistinguishable from the lost peoples around them. So God sent Jeremiah to a hard hearted people with an uncomfortable message.

Jeremiah preached to Israel more than 40 years. The Book of Jeremiah, is the longest book in the Bible by Hebrew word count. It has 22,285 Hebrew words.

Jeremiah Teaches Us The Goodness
& Faithfulness Of God

We see God’s goodness in Jeremiah’s appointment: We are told in Jeremiah 1:1 that these are “the words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin” (1:1). Jeremiah is the “son of Hilkiah”. Jeremiah’s father “Hilkiah” is the Hebrew חִלְקִיָּה Chilqîyâh, {pronounced khil-kee-yaw’}, which means “The LORD {YHWH} Is My Portion”. The Priestly Tribe of Israel, the Levites, were given no land when they entered Canaan. As priests, God was their Portion (Deuteronomy 10:9; 18:1-8). As the son of a Priest,… Continue reading

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Reject Not The Counsel Of God

Saving faith comes to Jesus, and bows down at His feet. Saving faith clings to Jesus, adoring
Jesus as the Savior and Lord.

Simon had been greatly blessed by God. One commentary suggested that Simon might have been a leper that Jesus Himself healed, and so he now invited Christ to his home to “even up the score”. I don’t know if that’s true or not. I do know this.

You cannot be saved and NOT love Jesus. “We love Him, for He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Though Jesus was a Guest in Simon’s home, he made no effort to provide even the smallest amenity – like a wash basin and a cloth – to the Lord. He fed Jesus, but begrudgingly. The woman, on the other hand, ministered to Jesus. She ministered to God! Jesus said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little… Continue reading

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The Nature Of Marvelous Faith

Atheists and humanists have faith. They have faith that there is no God, no Creator Who made all things. Their faith is in themselves, in what they do or perceive. These people believe that “I can do all things through myself who strengthens me”. There are many like this in the world. What does God say of those who are atheists? “The FOOL hath said in his heart, ‘there is NO GOD’. They are corrupt. Their works are abominable, and no good at all” (Psalm 14:1).

Some have faith in technology. They believe that technology will make our lives great. Medical technology will, they believe, extend life indefinitely. Artificial intelligence will usher in a paradise on the earth.

Some have great faith in politics or philosophy. They believe that, if their party or position were dominant, that America would blossom. Others put… Continue reading

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Faithful Is The Word (Part 2): Gospel Truths

Please turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Timothy. This morning we began to look at the “faithful sayings” the Apostle Paul shared with two young men, Timothy (a Jewish Greek) and Titus (a Gentile). Paul left these men in Ephesus and Crete to establish local Churches in those areas. We see Paul repeating a phrase:
“This is a faithful saying”
the Greek pistos logos, or literally
“Faithful is the Word”

In these phrases the Apostle is emphasizing the faithfulness of God in saving souls. This morning we saw that (1) God came to this earth the save sinners, and (2) God has given us a Faithful Word, the Holy Scripture, to grow us in our salvation.

The Lord Who Saved Us, Owns Us, And Will Keep Us

2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

This “faithful is the Word” is tied together with FOUR Ifs. We’ll look at these in order…. Continue reading

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Faithful Is The Word (Part 1): Gospel Truths

Let’s start by looking at the first five words of our text, “This is a faithful saying”. This is only two words in the Greek, πιστός λόγος, pistos logos, which means “Faithful is the Word”. This phrase is found several times in the books of Timothy and Titus. This is it’s first use.

Our Lord is Faithful To Save Sinners

Our Lord has some fifty names in Scripture. He is:

The Dayspring from on high (Luke 1:78)
The Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8)
The Amen, the Faithful & True Witness (Revelation 3:14)
The Bread of Heaven (John 6:32)
The Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)
The Deliverer (Romans 11:26)
Immanuel, God With Us (Matthew 1:23)
The Door Of The Sheep (John 10:7-9)
The Heir of All Things (Hebrews 1:1-2)
The Horn of Salvation (Luke 1:69)
The Light of the World (John 8:12)

One of the earliest descriptive names of our God is FAITHFUL:

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God …

Our God is FAITHFUL. Our God is Father, Son, and Spirit. Our God is “The Word”. Remember those wonderful words:

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Faithful is THE WORD! Oh, this Jesus, this Eternal Son of God, of Whom the Scripture says …… Continue reading

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Near To God, Built On The Rock

We start out with the word “wherefore”. Anytime I see a “wherefore” I always ask myself, “What is it there for?” The “wherefore” points back to what we saw this morning:

We were hopelessly and helplessly lost, unable to come to God. Then God reached out to us, opened our eyes, and called us to salvation through Jesus. Receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works”. We are to be the Light of Christ to a lost world.

Word Study: We just looked at “wherefore”. The “wherefore” looks back at the text that we previously studied. The second word “remember” is the Greek μνημονεύω mnēmoneúō, {pronounced mnay-mon-yoo’-o}, which means “to think back, be mindful of”. Jesus used this word to remind His disciples of spiritual truths. He said:

Matthew 16:9 … Do ye not yet understand, neither remember (mnēmoneúō) the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife …… Continue reading

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For By Grace

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Today we’re going to look at one of the most profound Scriptures in the Bible. I love John 3:16. They are the words of our Lord, who said:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

These are beautiful, cherished words. But I also love this text. In three short verses the Apostle defines the Christian way of life. You learn first of all,

Salvation Is BY Grace THROUGH Faith

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved …

It is GRACE that saves the believing sinner. GRACE is the opposite of WORKS. GRACE is a free gift. God tells us in … Continue reading

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In Christ A New Creature

I loved being in the Air Force, and working around the bombers and fighters that brave men and women fly to protect our great nation. I started out as a “Food Service Technician”, but after 7 years I was cross trained to actually work on these aircraft.

I never worked on propeller type aircraft, but on jets. Jet engines produce more thrust, and can cause the aircraft to fly much faster than the older “props” could. One concern we always had when working on and around jets was “foreign object damage”. We signed out our tool kits, and counted every piece before and after a job. If a tool was left where it could be “sucked up” by the jet turbines, it could literally destroy the whole aircraft. Before launching the aircraft we walked the length and breadth of the flight line, insuring there were no loose objects that could be “sucked up” into the jet engine. If the engine breaks, the whole aircraft is broke!

Just as a piece of “foreign object” can “ground” a jet aircraft …

A Poor Understanding Of Salvation
“Grounds” The Gospel

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us …

Word Study: Some of the old English of the King James often obscures the meaning of the verse. The word “constraineth” is the Greek συνέχω synéchō, {pronounced soon-ekh’-o}, which means “to hold together lest we fall to pieces, to control, to press on every side”. It is the love of God that holds God’s people together. Love is the driving force. The fact that God loves us with an unconditional love, and as we have been loved, we are to love others.

I hear people today say “Why do we need the Church? Why can’t we just gather online, or in a meta-verse, and worship God in virtual reality?” It is because those saved by the Gospel MUST manifest LOVE toward God and others. You cannot do that with a computer or telephone screen…. Continue reading

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Message From A Basket

Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts 9:15.

Last week we saw a man named Saul knocked down on the Damascus Road by Jesus Christ our Lord. The man was arrogant. The man was self righteous. The man was murderous. The man was calloused, with a hardened heart. But Jesus had a plan for this man’s life. Knocked down and blinded, this now repentant man was led to Damascus, where he waited three days without sight, food, or water (Acts 9:9).

Saul waited on the Lord … and on the Lord’s servant Ananias. On the third day Jesus spoke to Ananias and told him to “put your hand on him, that he might receive his sight”. Jesus was talking about more than just physical sight. When Ananias touched Saul, he would gain both physical and spiritual sight.

Saul Is A Chosen Vessel

Ananias was scared to go to Saul, but the Lord assured him. Read with me:

Acts 9:15-18 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. 17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy {Spirit}. 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized … Continue reading

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