WHAT A FRIEND

The pharisees thought it was disgraceful that the Lord Jesus would be the friend of publicans and sinners (Matt 11:19). But nothing could be more beautiful to a sinner than the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the friend of sinners. What a friend sinners have in Christ!

• Christ is the friend whose love never stops. His love and friendship is eternal. (Prov. 17:17)
• Christ is the friend who was born in this world to overcome the adversity of the sin of His people that we could never overcome. (Prov. 17:17)
• Christ is the friend who raises all of His people from spiritual death in the new birth. (John 11:11)
• Christ is the friend who makes all of His people righteous. (James 2:23)

The Lord Jesus Christ is the best friend a sinner can have!

God the Father found in his Son a fit person to be our Redeemer and trusted the whole affair of redemption to him (Ephesians 1:12-13). The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who could honor and magnify the law, the only one who could glorify the triune God and save guilty sinners by the sacrifice of himself. And he did it!

Pastor Don Fortner

WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED?

When the Lord Jesus Christ met that young-rich ruler, who sought salvation by his good works, He quickly showed this man that he actually had no good works that would justify his soul. Although this man had claimed he had kept the law, "All these have I observed from my youth" (Mark 10:20); it is clear he had no idea what the LAW demanded. His spiritual ignorance was revealed by his self-righteous answer. The law reaches to the inward parts of a man’s soul. "God requires truth in the inward parts" (Psalm 51:6). The law reaches not only to the outward act, but also to the inward motive, lust and attitude of the heart (Matt. 5:27-28).

It is most evident that those who seek their salvation by the deeds of the law have absolutely no idea of the scheme of God's salvation (Gal. 2:21). To be ignorant of the law is to be ignorant of the character of God; He is holy in all His actions, and attributes (Rom. 10:1-4). To be ignorant of the law of God is to be ignorant of our own sinful character. We are at our best state sinful by nature, choice and practice (Rom. 3:9-20). To be ignorant of the law is to be ignorant of the provisions provided in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ honored the holy law of God for the believer. He fulfilled every precept of that law for us and died a sacrificial death to satisfy the penalty (2 Cor. 5:1). Christ Jesus has by His life and death redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:10-13). All those who try to satisfy the offended and holy justice of God by their feeble works will go away just as this young man did in Mark 10:22, "Sad and grieved."

The disciples asked a good question after this man walked away from the Lord, "Who then can be saved?" Our Lord, with all the power of His wisdom, simply answered, "With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Yes indeed your salvation is impossible with your righteousness and works. But thanks be to God, with our Lord Jesus Christ even your salvation is possible. Only God can work upon the affections, the will, the heart and the mind to cause a sinner to look to Him. Only God can renew and change the will to cause a sinner to seek Him (John 6:44). Only God can bestow spiritual life, quickening and regenerating dead sinners to life in Christ (Eph. 2:1).