Adversities introduce us to ourselves. Usually, it is a very disappointing introduction.
Extol the Triune God of Grace – Don Fortner (Tune: #66 Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts -- LM)
1. To Him that chose us long ago, To Him that bore our sin and woe, To Him that called and made us new, To God alone our praise is due.
2. Our Father’s love inspires our song; Hosannas to the Son belong; And God the Holy Spirit praise; Extol the triune God of grace!
3. All saints below, all saints above, Forever bless, forever love The Mighty God, the Three-in-One, For all He is and all He’s done!
4. Let us now lift His honors high, And with the holy angels vie, Until with that great blood-washed throng We cast our crowns before His throne.
“Are you saying…?”
I received the following note from someone who listens to our messages on www.FreeGraceRadio.com. The question asked and my response to it are matters of great interest to our readers.
Hello Pastor Fortner,
I heard a message of yours on SermonAudio recently where you preached on 2 Corinthians 5:21 [For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him].
I have a question for you. — Are you saying that Christ was “morally” made a sinner when it says that God made him to be sin for us, or are you saying that God reckoned him a sinner in a “judicial” or “legal” sense?
Thank you for clarifying! _______
Dear Bro. _____,
Please forgive my late reply to your good note and the brevity of it. I am simply swamped with trying to catch up after a long hospital stay.
Our Savior had no sin of his own. He was born without original sin, being even from birth “that Holy One” (Luke 1:35). Throughout his life he “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), “did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22), “and in him is no sin” (1 John 3:5). But on Calvary the holy Lord God “made him who knew no sin sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Just as in the incarnation “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), in substitution he who was made flesh “was made sin for us.” I do not know how God could be made flesh and never cease to be God; but he was. I do not know how God could die and yet never die; but he did (Acts 20:28). And I do not know how Christ who knew no sin could be made sin, and yet never have sinned; but he was.
Indeed he could never have suffered the painful, shameful, ignominious death of the cross as our Substitute had he not been made sin for us. Justice would never have allowed it. The Lord God declares, “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are an abomination to the Lord” (Pro. 17:15; Ex. 23:7).
These things are mysteries beyond the reach of human comprehension. But they are facts of divine revelation to which we bow with adoration.
If you wish to do so, you can read everything I have written on this or any other subject at www.DonFortner.com.
Don
Christ is Lord
The Lord Jesus Christ, because of His Godhead, has always had rule over the universe. Yet in His incarnation, God the Father bestowed or conferred on Him, (His Son), the office of King (Luke 1:32-33, Psalm 2:6). His office as King, or His Lordship, is what every believer bows to first, His right to rule over them. So His kingship commences in the hearts and lives of those who truly bow to and come by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. After His resurrection, the Father turned over the reigns of this universe and all that is in it, to His Son, to dispose of, to govern, to reign over till all His enemies are made His footstool and the last enemy is destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:25-27, Matthew 28:18). — Pastor Donnie Bell
New Nature
The light of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ, which is revealed to the renewed heart by the Gospel, has a transforming effect upon those who receive it; they are made partakers of the divine nature, and resemble Him, whose they are, and whom they serve, ‘in righteousness, goodness and truth’ Eph. 5:9. — John Newton
A Dog in a Steel Trap
Several years ago I was hunting deep in the woods when I came upon a dog caught in a large steel trap. I purposed to save that dog and set him free. But when I approached him, I was met with a fierce look and a deep growl. Eventually I made my way near him; but when I touched the trap (causing pain), the dog attacked and I barely escaped being bitten. Not to be frustrated in my purpose of mercy, I found a forked stick and used it to hold him down while I removed the trap and set him free. He limped away in one direction while I went another.
Shortly, I became aware that the dog was following me. I stopped, he came to me, I petted him, he licked my hand. The dog followed me the rest of his life. The Lord Jesus came to me when I was trapped in sin and doomed to die. He purposed to save me and set me free; but when He approached me in the gospel, I met Him with fierce looks and harsh words. When He touched me, it caused pain because it revealed my problem, and I rebelled all the more. But He would not be frustrated in His purpose of mercy. By divine power He held me in check as He removed my chains and set me free.
Now I follow Him, I lie at His feet, I desire no more than to be with Him. — “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2). — Pastor Charles Pennington
GRACE BULLETIN
June 29, 2008
GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of DANVILLE 2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438 Telephone (859) 236-8235 - E-Mail don@donfortner.com
Donald S. Fortner, Pastor
Schedule of Regular Services
Sunday 10:00 A.M. Bible Classes 10:30 A.M. Morning Worship Service 6:30 P.M. Evening Worship Service
Older
Top
