July 26, 2009

SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
Of Princeton, New Jersey

Matthew 5: 14: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15: Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

MEETING LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd floor
150 Washington Street, Rocky Hill, NJ, 08553

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
Sunday 10 AM Bible Class
11 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7:00 PM Mid-week Service

WEB ADDRESSES AND MAILING ADDRESS
www.sovereign-grace.us/
www.freegraceradio.com

Clay Curtis, Pastor
7 Birch Street
Pennington, New Jersey, 08534
Phone: 615-513-4464
Email: clay@sovereign-grace.us

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Matthew 5: 13: Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

YE ARE THE SALT
All who have been born of the Spirit of Christ are the salt of the earth. In scripture, salt represents concord, covenant; salt is an antiseptic; salt preserves (2 Chr 13: 5; Nu 18: 19.)

Ezekiel 16: 4: And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. 5: None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born...8: Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

God wrote his everlasting covenant of salt on our hearts when Christ was formed in us in the new birth. Through faith we find that God has bound himself to preserve us. All his free promises toward us are accomplished by Christ's one offering. As Christ is, so is the believer in this world. He spread his skirt of righteousness over us and covered our nakedness. We have been made the very savor of Christ Jesus before God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Ye are salt, saved from the corruption of sin, accepted in everlasting covenant bonds in Christ, and preserved.

YE ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH
The purpose of Christ's church in this earth is to set forth the truth of Christ Jesus our Lord. Remove the Lord's people and this earth is nothing but corruption. But if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

This word comes on the heels of what the Lord Jesus Christ had just said in verse nine: blessed are the peacemakers. He followed that word with a word concerning persecution. Christ the Salt-the gospel of Christ-is the antiseptic of healing but how it does sting the wounds of depraved sinners! If we cease to trust and bear witness of Christ in the face of this then we have lost our savor. But how can we not cease when we are such weak and helpless creatures of flesh?

Herein is the lesson, we must ever be mindful that our sufficiency as salt, our savor as salt, is not of us, but is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our only sufficiency is Christ Jesus the Son of God. When we count the cost we find we have nothing to pay but Christ is our abundance with which to build on this foundation; when we go to battle against enemies which far outnumber us we do so assured of victory because we fight under the banner of the Captain of our salvation (Lk 14: 15-35; He 10: 21-39.) What assurance, what sufficiency is Chirst! Hold fast our Savor and we shall remain a savor! "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ...And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." (2 Cor 2:14-17; 3: 4, 5.)

ELECTING GRACE
Isaiah 17: 6: Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.

If we could just enter into the grace that is included in that one word, YET! Verse 6 to verse 8 is a parenthesis in the middle of judgment. If you lifted it out, there would be no holiness for any, no grace for any, no redemption for any and no salvation for any because there would no Redeemer for any. That is where we would all be were it not for God's "YET."

There would be a few of these desperately depraved sinners whom God would spare. Of the remnant that was spared, they were rebels against God just as much as those who were destroyed. The only reason they were chosen unto salvation is because before time began thus saith the LORD God of Israel-YET! (Is 1: 9; Ro 9: 6-8; Gal 3: 16, 17.)

The uppermost Bough-the Branch full of fruit-in whom God's fruit are elected unto salvation, made the righteousness of God and spared from the striker is Christ Jesus the Son of God, the Righteous Branch (Jer 23: 5; 33: 15; Zec 3: 8.)

THANK YOU
I would like to extend a special thank you to the dear beloved brethren who worked so hard to prepare for our meeting. What a token of God's grace that he has given hearts which desire to set such a feast of fat things before his people and serve them freely.

SERMONS
Fruit in the Bough
Salt of the Earth
Pressed in the Spirit

ARTICLES FROM OTHERS
What Must I Do To Be Saved
I Didn't Preach Christ, and She Never Returned
Rest With Us
A Draft Of Volunteers?
The Strong Arm of Our Savior God
Perfect Sinfulness?