1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” /*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/* Jesus Christ Shall Not Fail! Isaiah 42:4 “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law.” In Isaiah 42:4 we read of a most glorious truth about our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged.” As God’s Servant and Christ, He came into this world to do the will of God. He said, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work (John 4:24).” Of this we can be certain, that everything the Father sent the Son to accomplish, He fulfilled it to the exact will, purpose and delight of God Almighty. It is recorded in verse 21 of this same chapter, “The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” The Lord Jesus was the delight of the Father in eternity (Proverbs 8: 22-30). And when He was manifested in the flesh in time, Jesus Christ pleased the Father, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The exact opposite is true of man, from the beginning he has been a failure. Adam, even in his perfect environment that God had placed him in failed. All of Adam’s race has inherited from the first man, a fallen and depraved nature that cannot produce anything before God but failure and sin (Romans 5:12). God has said of us, “Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity” (Psalm 39:5); “For there is not a just man upon the earth that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiates 7:20). This should give every sinner great incentive and inspiration to look to the Christ of God that cannot fail and trust Him for all things in salvation. The sinner needs righteousness, Jesus Christ did not fail to produce righteousness for us (Romans 10:4). We need redemption from all our sin, Jesus Christ with His own blood redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13; Hebrews 9:12). We need salvation, He saved His people with an everlasting salvation (Isaiah 45:17). We need to be justified, Jesus Christ justified us through His blood (Romans 5:9). In every aspect of our salvation, Jesus Christ as our Mediator and Substitute did not fail to honor God’s holy justice in securing our salvation. Therefore, we can rightly conclude that those for whom Jesus Christ lived and died as Representative and Advocate cannot perish (John 6:37-40). Because He lives we live (John 14:19). Because He did not fail as our Substitute to please and satisfy God (Psalm 85: 10), we did not fail being in Him (Galatians 2:20). This causes the believer to bow in humble adoration and say, Lord, how great Thou art. We give thanks unto God that did not leave us to our own miserable failures, but revealed unto us, the Lord Jesus Christ who did not and will never fail. He performed all things in salvation for us (Psalm 57:2). --Pastor Donnie Bell
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ While our efforts to obey God, to be like Christ, and to love our brethren, are in no way any part of the ground of our justification before God, they are without doubt evidences of the genuineness and sincerity of our faith in Christ who is our justification before God. --Copied ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “Christ is All, and in all.” Christ is the only Head of the church, which is His body. Everything in it revolves around Him. All of the promises of God are “in Him.” The person that has Jesus has everything. The person who does not have Jesus has nothing. There are no exceptions. This being true, the greatest blessing you can ever have is to be made one with Christ. --Copied ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Let us look upon a crucified Christ as the remedy of all our miseries. His cross has procured a crown—and His passion has expiated our transgressions. His death has disarmed the law—and His blood has washed a believer’s soul. His death is the destruction of our enemies, the spring of our happiness, and the eternal testimony of divine love! --Stephen Charnock ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Paul was so captivated by Christ that nothing sweeter than Jesus could drop from his lips and pen. --Stephen Charnock ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ One gem from the ocean of Christ’s preciousness, is worth all the pebbles from earthly streams. --Robert Murray M'Cheyne ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ We explain justification simply as the acceptance with which God receives us into his favor as righteous men. And we say that it consists in the remission of sins and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. --John Calvin ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will. --Jonathan Edwards ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ A greater contradiction cannot be thought of—than a morose (sullen and ill-tempered), hard-hearted, covetous, proud, malicious Christian. --Jonathan Edwards