Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Proverbs 30:7-9

Christ Our Life and Rule

It is as clear as the noonday sun that the law is neither the ground of life to the sinner nor the rule of life to the Christian. The Lord Jesus Christ is both the one and the other; He is our life and our rule of life. The law can only curse and kill, Christ is our life and righteousness. He became our curse by hanging on a tree. He went down into the place of death and judgment and by His death completely discharged all that was or could be against us.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;!” (Psalm 103:1-4).

Pastor Scott Richardson

SALVATION IS ALL OF GRACE - SO WHY NOT ME? (Romans 9:16)

God does not save any man because there is any­thing in that man that deserves salvation. He saves sinners because He delights to show mercy. The rea­son for redemption is found in Him, not in us. His mercy planned salvation, His grace chose us, His love gave Christ to redeem us, and His power keeps us. "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."

If you have been looking for some reason in yourself why God should show mercy to you, you look in vain! If you have weighed your works and considered your contributions to the kingdom in order to merit God's favor, you'll only be disappointed in the end! The Lord saves whomsoever He will. His own declaration to Moses is, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

Now then, if it be God's will to save sinners who have no good in them, who do not merit or deserve His love; if He delights to show mercy to all who call upon Him, why should He not save me and you? I certainly qualify as the chief of sinners. If God is pleased to provide a full Savior, I can provide an empty sinner. If Christ died for the ungodly then He certainly died for me! If Christ is the Friend of sinners, I lay claim to His friendship. This religion that requires merit and personal righteousness offers me no hope; but God's free grace to the undeserving, God's sovereign mercy to the ill-deserving, and Christ's effectual atonement for the helpless bring me to His Throne of Grace cry­ing, "God be merciful to me, the sinner." "All the fitness He requireth is to feel your need of Him." WHY NOT ME?

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1981)

WHO IS THE BLESSED PERSON?
Psalm 32:1-2

Who would you say is the truly blessed man? Most people would probably say, “Well, it is the person who has good health, if you have good health you have everything.” To them I would answer, good health is only temporary. One day soon the flesh must wither and die and after that is judgment (Psalm 103:14; Isa. 40:6; Heb. 9:27). Others might answer and say, “That the person who is wealthy, surely he is a blessed man.” Again, wealth may purchase a lot of things and influence many people, but we can be sure that we are not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold (1 Peter 1:18).

David in this Psalm gives us the right answer to this very important and sobering question. "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." Truly, here is the statement of the Almighty God that identifies who is truly blessed. It is the person who through the bloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ, (the sinner’s Substitute) has had his sin covered by the effectual atonement of the appointed Lamb (Heb. 2:17; John 1:29); his transgressions are forgiven because the Saviour took our sins and judgment to Himself (1 Peter 3:18). Our Lord also declares unto us that the believer is blessed because the Lord will not impute, charge or reckon our iniquities unto us (Rom. 8:1; Rom. 4:6).