Habakkuk 1:12-13

All of Grace

“I am what I am by the grace of God and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:10). I am one of God’s elect; my election is of grace. I am redeemed from the curse of the law; redemption is all of grace from beginning to end. I am kept and secure but He keeps me by His grace (1 Peter 1:5).

If there is anything about me that is commendable or useful to God or men, it is not I, but Christ and His grace in me. I have joy within and comfort of soul regarding death, judgement, and eternity; but this hope is ALL OF GRACE!

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1987)

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Everything concerning a sinner’s salvation is of God. Nothing is of us. We don’t begin the work of salvation, He does (Phil. 1:6). We don’t perform the work of salvation, He does (Phil. 1:6). We don’t finish the work of salvation, He does (John 19:30, Heb. 1:3). We don’t call on Him, He calls us (Luke 5:32). We don’t seek Him, He seeks us (Luke 19:10). We don’t find Him, He finds us (Luke 15:3-6). We don’t accept Him, He accepts us (Eph. 1:6). We don’t produce our own faith to believe on Him, He puts His own faith in us and causes us to believe on Him (Eph. 2:8). We don’t earn any perfection of our own, He earned it for us (Titus 3:5). It’s not that we loved Him, but that He loved us (1 John 4;10). We don’t keep ourselves in His love, He keeps us there (1 Peter 1:3-5). Salvation is totally of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). Pastor Gabe Stalnaker

“HE MUST INCREASE - I MUST DECREASE"

As the years pass, I come to a greater and greater realization of how much I must depend upon the grace of God for my salvation. My righteousness appears less and less acceptable in my sight: and if it looks poor in my sight, how awful it must appear in God's sight! My will and determination do not appear half so strong as they once did, and I feel a greater need to rely upon the unchangeable will of God if I am to persevere. This business of growing in grace is not at all what I once thought it would be. Rather than growing stronger, it seems I am growing weaker. Rather than growing more self-sufficient, it appears that I am growing more Christ - dependent. My utter dependence on Christ for all things is more evident to me now than before. I suppose this is why Peter united growing in grace with growing in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. So, if your desire is to grow in grace, then prepare yourself to diminish; prepare yourself to reduce in the flesh, for growth in grace is a growth in "Christ being formed in you," which always follows the old pattern "He must increase, I must decrease." Pastor Joe Terrell

IT IS FINISHED (John 19:30)

These are the last words that our Lord spoke from the cross. We must never view Christ Jesus crucified as a tragedy nor as an accident. He died according to God’s eternal purpose (Isa. 53:10). He died as God’s appointed Lamb to put away the sin of His appointed people (John 1:29). These are not the last words of a helpless victim, they are the words of a jubilant Victor that has fully accomplished the work the Father gave Him to do (John 17:4). When our Lord uttered these words from the cross, "It is finished" what did He mean and what was finished? Here are several things to think about.

1). The fulfillment of all scriptures concerning the Messiah. He died for our sins according to the scriptures (1 Cor. 15:1-4). He fulfilled all that had been pictured of Him in the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. His birth, sufferings, death, resurrection and exaltation were all recorded centuries before He came and one by one He fulfilled them all.

2). The accomplishment of atonement for the sin of His sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ did not make an effort to put away some of the sin of all people. He made complete atonement for all of the sin of His covenant people (Jn. 10:15; Heb. 13:20). There is no one in hell for whom the Lord died, all for whom He died must be saved, because His blood justified them from all their sin (Rom. 5:9). The only difference between Peter and Judas is the blood atonement of Jesus Christ not the obedience of the creature (Heb. 9:12; 1 Peter 1:18). The salvation of sinners is not dependent nor is it determined upon the will and work of men, but rather the purpose and grace of God, it is God who makes the difference (1 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 1:9).

3). The honoring of God’s law and holy justice. We read in scripture that the law is, "holy and the commandment holy, just and good" (Rom. 7:12). The problem is not with the law of God, it is in the weakness of our sinful flesh to obey it and to honor it in God’s sight (Rom. 8:3). By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified (Rom. 3:20). The good news of the gospel of God’s grace is that our Lord came to honor the law for His chosen people (Gal. 4:4). As the man Christ Jesus, He honored every precept and worked out perfect righteousness for His elect (Heb. 7:26; Isa. 42:21). As our Saviour and Mediator He died to satisfy the penalty of the law for us, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21). This is the only way that God can forgive sin and justify the ungodly (Rom. 3:26).