The Sacrifice of Himself

What did Christ offer to God? He made a sacrifice of HIMSELF (Heb. 9:11-12). It is true that He sacrificed His rest, His honor, His reputation, and His life; but the essence of His sacrifice was HIMSELF. “He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26). “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Pet.2:24).

By Himself He honored the law and enabled the Lawgiver to be just and merciful (Isa. 42:21; Matt. 5:17; Rom. 3:24-26)

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (1985)

I have finished the race. 2 Timothy 4.7

The life of faith is compared to a race. However, it is not a sprint but a marathon. Many can run a sprint, but few can run a marathon. As Paul neared the end of his life, he did not brag that he ran faster than others, ran with proper form, or that he never stumbled or fell during the race. He mentions only that he finished.

Often we become so wrapped up in how well we are running that we forget that the goal of this race is simply to finish. And we know that the race is much longer than our stamina can endure, so we do not look to ourselves for the strength to run it. Rather, we look to the only One who was able to run this race under His own power and do so victoriously.

Child of God, do not give up though the way seems much farther than you can run, and do not fear that you shall not finish. You will. The same grace of God that put you in that race will be sufficient for you to finish. Pastor Joe Terrell

Liberty is freedom to do what you want to do. Liberty to an unbeliever is freedom to sin without restraint and without any temporal or eternal consequences. To the believer, liberty is to not sin. He will only feel completely free when he is no longer a sinner. And that day is coming. “I will be satisfied when I awake in Thy likeness.” Liberty is also being debt free. The unbeliever can never experience this. He believes in salvation by works and knows nothing of the joy and peace of believing. The believer knows salvation is 100% in Christ, by grace. He stands without debt before God’s holy law, and is perfect before God. But he still has a good kind of debt. “Oh to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be.” Pastor Todd Nibert

“For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace.”

(Hebrews 13:9)

Men may establish their heart with something other than grace, many do, but sooner or later they will find that they have built upon the sand. Some establish their heart trusting in their free will, their decision, praying the sinner’s prayer, being baptized, church membership or their morality. They establish their heart with a lie. Everything other than grace is something that man does, and God will not accept the works of fallen sinful man.

Grace speaks of what God has done and He does it all without merit or desert on the part of those who experience His amazing grace. All of the sinner’s salvation is attributed to grace, and this is the way the heart must be established. God’s eternal love, election, redemption by the blood of Christ, and the calling of the Holy Spirit are all because of God’s grace. The apostle wrote: “but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Rom. 5:20.)”

Grace gives all the glory to God in salvation! “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

Pastor David Pledger

“How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? forever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” (Psalm 13:1).

We often think that we believe the Lord more than we really do, that we love the Lord more than we really do. This is why our Lord puts His children in deep waters of trials, it reveals how shallow their faith in Him really is. It is in the deep waters of trials that we learn our spiritual deficiencies and look to Him for help, as the man cried, “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)