CALL TO WORSHIP

(Tune: “Come Thou Fount”)

Christ is made the sure Foundation,

Christ the Head and Cornerstone,

Chosen of the Lord and precious,

Binding all the church in one;

Holy Zion’s help forever,

And her confidence alone

Is in Christ the blessed Savior,

In His righteousness alone.

Laud and honor to the Father,

Laud and honor to the Son,

Laud and honor to the Spirit,

Ever Three and ever One;

All engaged in our salvation,

By His grace alone are we

Safe and sure for heaven’s glory,

In His presence we will be.

Bible Study: “The Power of Christ” –II Samuel 23:8-38

Today’s Speaker: Brother Winston Pannell will conduct the 11:00 am service 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. To hear sermons on your computer click on www.americusradio.com

Web Site: Visit our newly designed web site at: www.rofgrace.com . Also visit us at: www.Sermonaudio.com\reignofgrace

Birthdays: Kathryn Cox – Aug. 19^th. – Jane Sparks – Aug. 19^th.

Mariel Moore – Aug. 20^th.

EVEN YOUR OWN RELATIVES THINK YOU ARE ALMOST INSANE

"The Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him." John 14:17

The world—that is, the world dead in sin, and the world dead in profession—men destitute of the life and power of God—must have something that it can see. And, as heavenly things can only be seen by heavenly eyes, they cannot receive the things which are invisible.

Now this explains why a religion that presents itself with a degree of beauty and grandeur to the natural eye will always be received by the world; while a . . . spiritual, internal, heartfelt and experimental religion will always be rejected.

The world can receive a religion that consists of . . . forms, rites, and ceremonies.

These are things seen. Beautiful buildings, painted windows, pealing organs, melodious choirs, the pomp and parade of an earthly priesthood, and a whole apparatus of 'religious ceremony,’ carry with them something that the natural eye can

see and admire. The world receives all this 'external religion' because it is suitable to the natural mind and intelligible to their reasoning faculties.

But the . . . quiet, inward, experimental, divine religion, which presents no attractions to the outward eye, but is wrought in the heart by a divine operation—the world cannot receive this—because it presents nothing that the natural eye can rest upon with pleasure, or is adapted to gratify their general idea of what religion is or should be.

Do not marvel, then, that worldly professors despise a religion wrought in the soul by the power of God. Do not be surprised if even your own relatives think you are almost insane, when you speak of the consolations of the Spirit, or of the teachings of God in your soul. They cannot receive these things, for they have no experience of them; and being such as are altogether opposed to the carnal mind, they reject them with enmity and scorn.

J. C. Philpot

The substance of faith that gives assurance and consolation is not feeling but fact. It is Christ and Him crucified. “And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jn. 6:69

Gary Shepard

PARTICULAR REDEMPTION

We must never be vague about the substitutionary death of our Lord Jesus Christ. To merely say to this religious generation, “Christ died for sinners,” is to dodge the issue and not tell all the truth. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was a victorious death for a particular people. “Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). “I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Let me be as clear as I can be. It is blasphemous to say that Christ died for those who will someday perish in their sins. How demeaning it is to the Savior to insist that He suffered the infinite wrath of God for some people who will themselves also suffer divine wrath. A just and righteous Judge could not punish any sinner whose sin debt has already been retired by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures teach that the design of the Lord from old eternity was the salvation of His people. In covenant grace, Christ assumed full responsibility for the spiritual indebtedness of those given to Him by the Father in the covenant of grace. According to the Word of God, the purpose of the Savior in His death has been realized. His sheep have been redeemed. “He obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12). Christ bought His people with His blood and it is absurd to think that He would purchase some and then not have them with Him for all eternity. Universal redemption is a lie. It says that Christ died for all men without exception, but His blood is only effectual if the sinner adds his part, which is usually said to be faith. Such teaching makes salvation conditioned upon, not the blood and righteousness of Christ, but the belief of the sinner. Some who object to the truth of particular redemption say, “According to what you are preaching, there are some people in this world for whom the Lord Jesus did not die and that really bothers me.” I will tell you something infinitely worse. If what the universalists say is true (and it isn’t!) then there are myriads of people in hell whose sins have been made an end of, whose transgressions are finished, reconciliation has been made for their iniquity, and everlasting righteousness has been brought in for them by Messiah (Daniel 9:24). What a travesty of divine justice that would be! Sinners perishing in hell even though Christ redeemed them? There’s nothing righteous about that!
Here is the simple and glorious truth: Christ died in the stead of His chosen people and fully satisfied divine justice for them. All that a holy God demanded for their salvation, the Savior entirely accomplished. His was a redemption that really redeemed, a reconciliation that actually reconciled, an atonement that fully atoned and a propitiation that completely satisfied divine justice.