O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. Psalm 38:1-4

Believing On the Lord Jesus

This is what I am hearing. Accept Jesus as your personal Savior, but nowhere in the New Testament do we find any apostle, prophet, or preacher ever telling a sinner to accept Jesus as his personal Savior. What we hear them saying is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The command to sinners was bow and be subject to the Lordship of Christ. That is, lay down your weapons, surrender, worship, and adore Him. You come to Him in your true character as a beggar; a lost undone sinner or you don't come at all.

Pastor Scott Richardson

To Be Like Christ

“That I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

(Phil. 3:9-11).

My determined purpose, my greatest desire, my soul and heart’s sincere hope is three-fold:

1.) “That I may win Christ and be found in Him;” not trusting nor having any self-achieved righteousness of my own, but possessing that genuine righteousness of God which comes through a living union with Christ by faith.

2.) “That I may know Him.” I do know Him, but I want progressively to become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him and the wonders of His person; that I may come to know the power flowing from His resurrection and the strength it gives to believers; that I may know and share His sufferings so as to be continually transformed into His likeness, daily dying to sin and the world.

3.) “That I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.” Certainly we want to have a part in that first resurrection in the Great Day; but perhaps Paul is referring here to a spiritual resurrection that lifts us out of the death, darkness, and corruption of this world.

The world, flesh, and all of this human life is death. In Christ there is real life, real love, real holiness. There is communion with God and perfect righteousness. This is what the believer wants. By whatever means it pleases God, I want to be like Christ in attitude, spirit, and heart. Pastor Henry T. Mahan (Bulletin 1985)

Sound Doctrine (2 Tim 4:3)

There are but two schemes of religion in this world. One is true the other is false. One is saving the other is damning. These two schemes of religion are free grace and free will. Free grace declares that salvation is the work of God alone (Jonah 2:9). Free will declares that salvation is, at least in part, the work of man. Free grace declares that salvation is conditioned upon the obedience of Christ alone as the sinner's Substitute (2Cor.5:21). Free will declares that salvation is ultimately and finally conditioned upon the obedience of the sinner himself. Any doctrine that makes salvation, eternal life, acceptance with God, and the reward of the heavenly inheritance to be dependent upon, or determined by you, at any point or in any measure, is contrary to sound doctrine and must be rejected. To receive, believe, or embrace such doctrine will be damning to your soul.

Here are five points of Divine truth revealed in Holy Scripture. Anything that is contrary to, or in any measure diminishes these five points of sound doctrine must be rejected as heresy.

1. TOTAL DEPRAVITY - All men by nature are both sinful and helpless, because all are spiritually dead (Matt. 15:19; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1-4).

2. UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION – God, from eternity, chose a people in Christ whom He determined to save, without consideration of anything in them or anything that might be done by them (2Thes.2:13; Eph.1:3-6).

3. LIMITED ATONEMENT – Christ died for and redeemed His elect only. The benefits of Christ's death are limited to the elect. And His death effectually secures their salvation (Isa. 53:8-11; John 10:11, 15)).

4. IRRESISTIBLE GRACE – God the Holy Spirit calls sinners from spiritual death to spiritual life in Christ by the power of his grace which cannot be successfully resisted (Psa. 65:4; 110:3; John 6:63; Eph. 2:8-9).

5. PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS – Every sinner chosen by God in election, redeemed by Christ at Calvary, and called by the Spirit in grace shall persevere in grace unto eternal glory, because they are all preserved and kept by grace (Jer. 32:38-40; John 10:27-30; 1Peter 1:5).