GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of DANVILLE
November 14, 2010
Please quit acting spiritual. — In the privacy of your own closet before God, if you want to raise your hands and waive your palms, roll your eyes up toward heaven, and show by bodily gestures that you are super-spiritual, if you dare do so, go ahead. — But do not act spiritual before men. Our Lord strictly forbids outward displays of religious devotion. Only self-righteous Pharisees do things to be seen of men (Matthew 6:1-8).
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• Bro. Todd Nibert, pastor of Todds Road Grace Church in Lexington, will preach the gospel to you Tuesday night.
• I am scheduled to preach Tuesday and Wednesday for the SAN DIEGO GRACE FELLOWSHIP, Jamul Professional Center, 13910 Lyons Valley Rd, Unit A, Jamul, CA.
• Friday through Sunday I am scheduled to preach for GRACE BIBLE CHURCH, San Leandro, CA, where Bro. Jesse Gistand is pastor.
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“Yet, I Obtained Mercy!” — Don Fortner
(Tune: #400 — Jesus, and Shall it Ever Be? — LM)
1. Come, ransomed sinners, help me sing
The love of our Almighty King;
I strove against His fixed decree,
Yet I obtained His mercy free.
2. Despising all His boundless grace,
Madly, I chose the rebel’s race;
I said, “O’er me He’ll never reign.” —
Yet I obtained His mercy then!
3. Self-righteous — Ignorant of God,
But cleansed, and saved by Jesus’ blood,
No ruined sinner could be worse,
Yet I obtained His mercy thus.
4. Poor, needy sinners! Don’t despair,
To Calv’ry flee — and tarry there;
My glorious Surety’s merit view,
And you’ll obtain His mercy too.
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No Pre-Requisites for Saving Faith
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36)
Self-righteousness is like the pesty mole. Drive it out of one hole, and it will quickly find another in which to make its den. We have fairly well beaten it out of the den of good works as a ground of hope before God. But it has found another hiding place.
The dark den where self-righteousness hides with little possibility of detection is called by many names: “Fitness for Faith,” “Conditions of Conversion,” “Suitability for Salvation,” “Qualifications for Grace,” and “Saving Knowledge.”
No matter what name you hang over the hole, it is a den of iniquity. It teaches sinners that in order to have true faith in Christ there are certain conditions that must be met. The doctrine goes like this: “Salvation is by grace alone. It is not what you do, but what Christ has done that saves you. But before you can truly trust Christ and be saved, you must be terrified with conviction, you must weep and mourn over your sin, you must desire holiness, you must repent, you must long for Christ, you must come to see yourself as a lost sinner, you must earnestly seek the Lord, or you must acquire a certain measure of doctrinal knowledge. Then, once you’re qualified, once you’ve met the required conditions, you may trust Christ.”
Such doctrine may sound good on the surface to those who are not taught of God, but it is only a round-about way of preaching salvation by works. —— Anything set by men between Christ and the sinner (works, feelings, experience, knowledge, anything!) is damning doctrine. It is not to be tolerated.
There are no pre-requisites, no conditions, no qualifications to be met by sinners before they trust Christ. The gospel of Christ is addressed to sinners as sinners, not awakened sinners, not sensible sinners, not convicted sinners, not lost sinners, not repentant sinners, just sinners!
God does not command sinners to feel a certain way, experience something, to acquire a certain level of knowledge, or come to realize something about themselves. God commands sinners to believe on his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The moment a preacher places any condition or qualification of any kind upon the sinner before he can trust Christ and be saved, he ceases to preach a gospel of pure grace. Repentance, conviction of sin, lamentation and sorrow over sin are not prerequisites for coming to Christ and trusting him. These things do not precede faith. They are the results of faith (Zechariah 12:l0; John 16:7-14). — “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
“Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” No other question is relevant. “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” May God the Holy Spirit give you grace to believe!
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Lessons from the Marriage Feast — Matthew 22:1-14
Here are seven important lessons taught by our Lord Jesus Christ in this parable of the marriage feast. May God the Holy Spirit write them upon our hearts.
1. The salvation proclaimed in the gospel is comparable to a marriage feast (v.2). At a marriage feast everything is provided for the guests. They are not expected to bring anything. It would be an insult for them to do so. Even so, in the gospel of Christ there is complete provision for all the needs of a man’s soul before God. God provides everything. We bring nothing!
2. Our Lord reminds us that the invitations of the gospel are full, free, and unlimited (v.4). — “All things are ready, come to the marriage.” — There is nothing lacking. No barriers are set before you. No conditions are to be met by you. “All things are ready!” The gospel sets an open door before poor, needy sinners, and says, “Come.” No one is excluded from the range of its invitation. “Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely.” — Election does not shut the door of grace. It opens it!
3. Our Savior shows us that the gospel of the grace of God is flatly rejected by many who hear it (v. 5). Most of those people who hear the gospel receive no spiritual benefit from it. Some of you hear the gospel of Christ week after week, month after month, year after year. Yet, you do not believe. The gospel profits you nothing. You see no beauty in Christ. You feel no need for Christ. You do not scoff and ridicule the message of grace. You do not outwardly oppose the gospel. You simply love other things and prefer other things. Your heart is full of this world, so full of the pleasures and cares of the world that there is no room for Christ.
4. Our Redeemer teaches us that many who profess to believe the gospel are yet without faith and under the wrath of God (vv. 10-13). C.H. Spurgeon said, “This man without the wedding garment is the type of those who pretend to be Christians, but do not honor the Lord Jesus, nor his atoning sacrifice, nor his holy Word.” The fact is — The vast majority of those who take up a profession of religion are walking in the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23).
5. We are assured that man’s unbelief will not alter, thwart, or in any way hinder the purpose of God (v. 10). — “The wedding was furnished with guests.” — I remind you once more that the purpose of God does not depend upon man. Though the Jews rejected God’s Son, he had a remnant according to the election of grace who gladly embraced him. And though many refuse to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, every chosen, redeemed, and regenerated sinner in this world, everyone purposed by God from eternity to be saved shall be saved by him and shall believe on him (Romans 3:3-4; 11:11, 24-26).
6. Our Savior tells us that in the last day, on the Day of Judgment, all false professors will be detected, exposed, and eternally condemned (vv. 12-13). In this life a profession of faith and a fairly moral life is enough to secure a name and reputation as a Christian. But when we stand before God, he will examine us completely and judge us according to strict justice by those things written in the court books of heaven (Revelation 20:11-12). If we are not washed in the blood of Christ and robed with his righteousness, we will be forever lost.
7. The Son of God declares that the source and cause of true faith is God’s sovereign, electing love (v. 14). — “Many are called, but few are chosen.” — If you and I are true believers, if we truly believe the gospel, if we truly rest our souls upon the Lord Jesus Christ alone, it is because God, from all eternity, chose us as the objects of his sovereign love and distinguishing grace (Jeremiah 31:3). — Every saved sinner gladly acknowledges his indebtedness to electing love.
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THE GRACE BULLETIN
November 14, 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
Tuesday
7:30 P.M. Mid-Week Worship Service
Television Broadcasts in Danville
Channel 6 - Sunday Morning 8:00 A.M.
Channel 6 - Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M.
Channel 6 - Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.
Television Broadcasts in Harrodsburg
Channel 6 - Sunday Afternoon 3:00 P.M.
Channel 6 - Friday Evening 6:00 P.M.
Web Pages
http://www.DonFortner.com
http://www.FreegraceRadio.com
http://www.Grace-eBooks.com
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