TODAY’S SPEAKER: Eager Avenue Grace Church extends a warm welcome to Gary Shepard. Gary is pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Jacksonville, N.C. He will conduct both the 10:00 am and 11:00 am services today. Pray for him as he delivers God's Word.
Television Broadcast: Our Reign of Grace Television program is being broadcast on WFXL Fox 31, Channel 4. The program will air every Sunday morning at 11 AM. Pray that God will use it for His glory.
Radio Broadcast:Sunday morning at 9:30am on 98.7 FM –WISK. You can also hear the sermons on your computer. Just click on www.americusradio.com
THE SIMPLICITY OF CHRIST
The Apostle Paul wrote, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Cor. 11:3). Paul's desire for His hearers was that they, as justified sinners, be established in grace, rejoicing in Christ Jesus, with no confidence in the flesh. In order to do this, he taught that it was necessary for believers to set our minds and affections upon Christ and the simplicity which is found only in Him. What is this simplicity? It is salvation, from regeneration to final glorification, conditioned solely upon Christ and His righteousness imputed, with no contribution from our best obedience as to the ground of salvation. This is what our looking to and resting in Christ is about. This is what it is to give Him all the glory and the pre-eminence in our salvation and in our lives. Our doctrine, our practices, our methods should aim towards this simplicity so that we continually say, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal. 6:14).
BILL PARKER
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Ro 5:19)
To say that the just God would deal with one representative man in one way and the other in another way is to begin down a slippery slope to great error. If Adam was made a sinner by a just God’s legally accounting him so, then Christ the Last Adam was made sin by God legally accounting Him so. In Adam all die, in Christ all are made alive. There is undoubtedly a great difference in the two representative men but a difference in Greek words used does not make a change in the principles of representation and substitution. Righteousness IS a matter of justice and we are made the righteousness of God "in Christ." Thank God He is a just God and thus a righteous Savior!
Gary Shepard
TRUE HUMILITY
True humility in its greatest demonstration was evidenced by the subordination of God the Son in his offices to God the Father for the purpose of redemption. When he “thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” he willingly set aside the glory he had with his Father, but he did not cease to be God. When he “made himself of no reputation, and took on him the form of a servant,” he took into union with his divine person, true sinless humanity, body and soul as God-Man. When he “humbled himself and became obedient unto death,” he was made to be sin by imputation only, in order to satisfy all the conditions for the sins of his people as God-Man Mediator. When “he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” he became a curse to put away sin for all those he represented, for it is written;” cursed is every one who hangs on a tree.” And through all this he remained holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” What humility!
The second demonstration of true humility is that sinner who is submitted to Christ and his righteousness imputed as his only means of salvation and acceptance before God. He has seen that God would be just to condemn him based on his best efforts to serve God and that nothing short of Christ’s righteousness imputed could ever recommend him to God. He has seen that Christ’s righteousness imputed is his one and only means of standing complete before a holy God, and he is glad to stand there. “Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner” is his only plea.
Winston Pannell, Eager Ave. Grace Church
SAVED BY GRACE
We are saved by grace - free grace, rich grace sovereign grace, distinguishing grace - without one atom of works, without one grain of creature merit, without anything of the flesh.Oh! Sweet grace, blessed grace!Oh! What a help - what a strength -what a rest for a poor, toiling, striving, laboring soul -to find that grace has done all the work - to feel that grace has triumphed in the cross of Christ - to find that nothing is required, nothing is needed, nothing is to be done!
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