CHRIST SECURED OUR SALVATION Tune to O FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES CM Words by JIM BYRD
1. The Shepherd of the Sheep has come, His life He freely gave; To pay the debt of sin we owed, Our guilty souls to save.
2. The vengeance of the Lord was poured Upon the Sacrifice; He bore our load of guilt and shame, And paid the ransom price.
3. When Jesus died upon the cross, And all my hell endured; The law was fully satisfied, Salvation was secured.
4. Though buried in a silent tomb, He rose to die no more; Ascended high He sits enthroned The Sovereign evermore.
5. Soon every soul whose sin He bore, Shall see Him face to face; And sing the praises of the Lamb, Who saved us by His grace.
***** SCRIPTURE READING: 2 Corinthians 5:1-17
Daily Readings - March 29 - April 4 Sunday - Judges 20-21 Monday - Ruth 1-4 Tuesday - 1 Samuel 1-3 Wednesday- 1 Samuel 4-7 Thursday - 1 Samuel 8-11 Friday - 1 Samuel 12-14 Saturday - 1 Samuel 15-16 *****
“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Mercy shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.” (Psalm 85:10) *****
Christ Died and Arose “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:33-34) I do not think that we give sufficient weight to this “rather.” The death of Christ is the rock and basis of all comfort, but we must not overlook the fact that the resurrection of Christ is considered by the apostle to yield richer comfort than His death – “yea, rather, that is risen again.” How can we derive more comfort from Christ’s resurrection than from His death, if from His death we gain a sufficient ground of consolation? I answer, because our Lord’s resurrection denoted His total clearance from all the sin which was laid upon Him. A woman is overwhelmed with debt: how shall she be discharged from her liabilities? A friend, out of his great love to her, marries her. No sooner is the marriage ceremony performed than she is by that very act clear of debt, because her debts are her husband’s, and in taking her he takes all her obligations. She may gather comfort from that thought, but she is much more at ease when her beloved goes to her creditors, pays all, and brings her the receipts. First she is comforted by the marriage, which legally relieves her from the liability, but much more is she at rest when her husband himself is rid of all the liability which he assumed. Our Lord Jesus took our debts; in death He paid them, and in resurrection He blotted out the record. By His resurrection He took away the last vestige of charge against us, for the resurrection of Christ was the Father’s declaration that He was satisfied with the Son’s atonement. As the hymn-writer puts it – The Lord is risen indeed, Then justice asks no more; Mercy and truth are now agreed, Which stood opposed before. In the prison-house of the grave the hostage and Surety of our souls would have been confined to this very hour, unless the satisfaction He offered had been satisfactory to God, but being fully accepted He was set free from bonds, and all His people are thereby justified. “Who is He that condemneth? Christ is risen again.” –C. H. Spurgeon *****
A Wonderful Plan or an Eternal Purpose? Some say that “God has a wonderful plan for your life but that plan will never come to fruition unless you give Him permission to do what He wants to do.” What kind of a god requires your cooperation before he can act? What kind of a god has a wonderful plan, but the very creatures that he made will not allow him to do what he wants to do? Such a god is, in reality, no god at all, merely an idol which came forth out of man’s vain imagination. What do the Scriptures say about God and His purpose? “In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11). I do not read in His word that God has a wonderful plan, but I do read of His eternal, unchanging, unfailing purpose which cannot be frustrated. “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). – Pastor Jim Byrd *****
DIVINE LOVE The terrors of the law have much the same effect on our duties and obedience as frost has on a stream: it hardens, cools, and stagnates. Whereas, let the shining of divine love rise upon the soul; repentance will then flow, our hardness and coldness thaw and melt away, and all the blooming fruits of godliness flourish and abound. –Augustus Toplady *****
“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10)
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