"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." (Psalm 34:19)
NO ORIGINALITY Someone on television made this statement while being critical of another person, "He has never had an original thought." I know very little about the man to whom he was referring, but I know that when it comes to spiritual matters, every original thought of man is wrong because it comes forth from a sinner. "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).
I am thankful God the Spirit gives us some understanding of various verses of Scripture and over time often grants additional insight on those same passages. There is great cause for concern, however, when someone raises an original thought or promotes a new teaching that has not been proclaimed by the servants of God or heard by the people of God. When it comes to the gospel, the rule is, if it is true it isn’t new and if it is new it isn’t true. Continue with "the old paths where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Jeremiah 6:16). God help us to stick with the 5 R’s and the 2 J’s: man was Ruined by the fall, God’s elect were Redeemed by the blood of Christ who was Raised again because He brought in everlasting Righteousness for His people by His substitutionary death and therefore the Holy Spirit will bring about the Regeneration of all those for whom the Savor died so that they will believe the Savior. God is both Just and Justifier through the cross-death of Christ. Those doctrines are glorious, but they are not new and they certainly did not originate with man.
I do not claim originality. My goal is to say what God has said, to set forth the gospel of sovereign grace, man’s sinfulness, accomplished redemption, imputed righteousness, effectual calling and to declare, "Christ is all." Borrowing from Mr. Spurgeon I say, "I am content to live and die as the mere repeater of scriptural teaching, as a person who has...invented nothing, as one who never thought invention to be any part of his calling, but who concluded that he was simply to be a mouth for God to the people, mourning that anything of his own should come between." You may have your original thoughts and your novel teachings, but I am delighted to remain aligned with "the everlasting gospel," of the blessed God. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun" (Eccl 1:9). –Pastor Jim Byrd
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED "Thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). The Lord Jesus came on a specific mission, to save His sinful people, and He accomplished that task by being charged with our sins and dying in our stead to satisfy divine justice which demanded, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Christ came and died as our Substitute that God might be a just God and a Savior, and by His death He put away the sins of His people. He paid to divine justice the infinite debt we owed. His death was a glorious transaction between the Father and the Son on the behalf of a chosen people, and the blood of the covenant poured out declares - PAID IN FULL! What good news! God has forgiven, justified and accepted us in the Beloved Savior. What evidence do we have of that? The resurrection, ascension and enthronement of Christ shows that the Savior’s mission was accomplished and God accepted what the Savior did as the Substitute, Sacrifice and Sin-Offering of His people. –Pastor Jim Byrd
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