GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of DANVILLE October 24, 2010 _____________________________________________________________
Was Christ a sinner? Such a question is absurd. The very thought is blasphemous! — Was sin imparted or infused into our Redeemer’s holy nature? Perish the thought! Was the blessed Son of God, our sin-atoning Substitute “made sin for us” as the Scriptures declare? Blessed be his name forever, he was made sin for us, else he could not have suffered the wrath of God in our stead, could not have satisfied the justice of God, and could never have made us the righteousness of God in himself! _____________________________________________________________
From Christ There Flows a Mighty Stream — Don Fortner (Tune: Faith Of Our Fathers #183 88.88.88)
1. Come, lost, despairing sinners, hear, Come, thirsty, sin-sick souls, draw near: From Christ there flows a mighty Stream To quench your thirst and make you clean! The wonders here in sinners wrought Reach far beyond all human thought!
2. The Fountain is Immanuel’s blood, The sin-atoning, crimson flood! Yes, Jesus’ blood, the boundless sea, Washes our guilt and filth away! Bathe here your soul and be made clean. Drink now, and never thirst again.
3. To this blest Fountain, now I come, With all the sins that press me down. Guilty, and vile, and thirsty, I Unceasing to the Fountain fly. Let me not from this Fountain move Until I reach its Source above. _____________________________________________________________
Seven Bible Descriptions of Salvation Psalm 37:39
This is the doctrine of Holy Scripture: — Salvation is the work of God alone, a gracious work of God wrought for and in chosen sinners, without their aid or assistance, through the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the gracious, irresistible operations of the Holy Spirit. Here are seven Bible descriptions of salvation. I ask only that you read them carefully and honestly, comparing Scripture with Scripture. If you will do so, you will see clearly that “Salvation is of the LORD!”
1. “THY SALVATION” — “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD” (Genesis 49:18). Salvation belongs to God. It is his prerogative and his work alone. He gives it and withholds it according to his own sovereign will.
2. “ETERNAL SALVATION” — “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). Salvation is an eternal work of God. It was devised and secured, predestinated and purposed, and performed, finished, and perfected in the covenant of grace before the world began. Read your Bible and you will see that this is so (Romans 8:29-30; Revelation 13:8; Hebrews 4:3).
3. “COMMON SALVATION” — “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). When Jude speaks of “the common salvation,” he is simply telling us that all God’s elect receive, experience, and possess the same salvation. The blessings and benefits of grace belong equally and fully to all who are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
4. “YOUR OWN SALVATION” — “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12). I like that! If you are saved, the salvation you have is “your own salvation.” God devised it for you. Christ purchased it for you. The Holy Spirit brought it to you and wrought it in you. It is yours forever! If you trust the Lord Jesus Christ all that is included in that word “salvation” is your personal property and possession forever. It belongs to you by the gift of the grace of God.
5. “SO GREAT SALVATION” — “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him” (Hebrews 2:3). It comes from the great God, through the merits of our great Substitute, by the power of God’s great, Holy Spirit, to great sinners, and brings all the great bounty of God’s great grace!
6. “EVERLASTING SALVATION” — “But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end” (Isaiah 45:17). God’s salvation is eternal both ways. It is from everlasting to everlasting.
7. “SALVATION TO OUR GOD” — “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9-12). That salvation which belongs to God and comes from God shall return to God in everlasting praise.
“Let God be magnified!” Psalm 70:4
Let every ransomed soul join our blessed Redeemer in this prayer: — “Father, glorify thy name.” In this Psalm we have a prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. Having done the Father’s will and put away our sins, the Lord Jesus Christ prays that all of God’s children would follow his example and say continually, “Let God be magnified.”
This is distinctly the language of men and women who have been saved by the grace of God. Notice how they are described. They seek the Lord. Feeling their need of him, they seek him by faith in Christ. We seek the mercy of God in Christ for pardon, righteousness, fellowship, honor, glory, and immortality. Seeking God in Christ, the believer finds salvation and life in him. God’s children are glad in him. We rejoice in who he is, and what he has done, and what he is doing for us. Being saved by the triune God, by the sovereign will of the Father, the effectual, sin-atoning blood of the Son, and the omnipotent, irresistible grace of the Holy Ghost, all God’s elect love his salvation. We love the gospel of substitution. We love him who is our Substitute. Once more, the Psalm characterizes God’s children as those who seek his glory. They say continually, “Let God be magnified.”
When we cry from our souls and say to one another, “Let God be magnified,” we are expressing the desire of our hearts that our great God be honored in and by all things. Our Savior taught us to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” That is the desire of every heaven-born soul. We want to magnify God in the thoughts of our hearts and in our actions and attitudes before men. The paramount desire of our souls is that our God and Savior be magnified. As individuals and collectively as the Church of the living God, let us say continually, “Let God be magnified.”
No one is worthy of honor, glory, and majesty but our great God; and the triune God is magnified when Christ is magnified. No one is worthy of honor, glory, and majesty but Christ our Savior. He loved us. He redeemed us. He preserves us. He will bring us to glory. We use this saying, “Let God be magnified,” with confidence, because we know that the Lord our God will be magnified in all things and by all things (Romans 11:33-36). ____________________________________________________________
THE GRACE BULLETIN October 24, 2010
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
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