Psalm 33:4-6

Born of Water and The Spirit

“Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:5). “Of water “is not the waters of baptism. Water refers to the water of the Word. We read in Ephesians 5:27 of “The washing of water by the Word.” In the new birth the sovereign Spirit gives life. And He does so with the Word of God. He never acts independently from the Word, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever” (I Peter 1:25). Someone may think, “But God is not able to give life without the Word.” That is not the issue. Does God give life without His Word? The answer is no. Just as the physical creation came about by His Word, so too does the new creation. No one is born of the Spirit apart from the Word of God.

Pastor Todd Nibert

Calvinism

I know that we are not “Calvinists” in the sense that we are followers of John Calvin or, for that matter, any man. But I am not ashamed to be identified with faithful men of the past who preached and boldly contended for the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace. We must not be ashamed of our pedigree. The old truth that Spurgeon preached, that Whitefield preached, that Calvin preached, that Paul preached is the truth that I must preach today or be false to my conscience and my God.

Mr. Spurgeon one said, “The primary need of the church is not simply more evangelism nor even more holiness (in the first place) but a return to the full truth of the gospel of God’s free grace.” For convenience, he was prepared to name “Calvinism.” I cannot SHAPE the truth in order to get along with preachers and organizations which do not believe it. I cannot take the rough edges off nor the offence from such doctrines as the fall, election, and effectual atonement. Most preachers (if they will but admit it) are afraid for their popularity, jobs, and current situations; therefore, they spend their time EXPLAINING the Word of God in a way that will not offend those who do not believe the real gospel of God’s immutable, sovereign grace!

Someone once said, “You need not protect, defend, or make excuses for a LION, turn him loose!” The gospel is the POWER of God; preach it plainly, openly, boldly, and leave the results to the Lord of heaven and earth! Pastor Henry T. Mahan (1985)

“He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.“ (Matthew 28:6)

What does it mean for sinners like us to know that the Lord is risen? First of all it means, He died! The sinless one died! Why did he die? How could he die? He died because the sin of His people was pressed into Him, and He was judged before The throne of God for the sin that He carried. The only way that the spotless, holy Lamb of God could die was by bearing the sin of His people. So the fact that He died means, that’s exactly what He did! But The glorious announcement continues…

He was laid in a tomb after suffering the righteous judgment and punishment of God so that His people wouldn’t have to, but He is not still in that tomb! He is risen! That means: the sin is gone, the punishment is over, and God is satisfied! God the Father is satisfied with Christ, and He is satisfied with us IN CHRIST! Every bit of that happened, exactly as the Lord Jesus Christ said it would happen. Which means, the all knowing God is the very One who saved us. And to all who’s sins were put away in His death, burial, and resurrection, He says: “Come! Come see the place where I laid for you. Come unto Me and you will find rest for your weary soul.”

When the burden and guilt of our sin begins to bring us down into utter despair, let’s remember the word that He sent to us through His messenger: “He he is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”