HE GAVE HIMSELF

In Galatians 2:20, the apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ as the one “who loved me, and gave himself for me.” That statement says a whole lot about who I am and a whole lot about who the Lord Jesus Christ is. This statement means that I am so depraved and so fallen in sin that the only way a sinner like me could be saved is by the Son of God giving everything He is to redeem me. What a precious gift to a sinner like me.

This statement also says a whole lot about who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Not only has Christ given me grace, mercy, the forgiveness of sin, and eternal life, but He gave HIMSELF to save a sinner like me. There never has been, and never will be a more precious gift.

Regeneration makes no alteration on the flesh, but the spirit. There is nothing in the flesh made holy. And there is nothing in the spirit left unholy.

Robert Hawker

THE MIRACLE OF SALVATION

The Lord Jesus Christ performed many miracles while upon this earth. He cast out devils, healed lepers, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf; He raised the dead. While these miracles certainly proved him to be the Christ, they are also illustrations of how the Lord saves sinners. Every sinner the Lord saves, is all these things…possessed by a devil, a sinful leper, deaf, dumb, blind, and dead in sin. Salvation is a miracle of God’s sovereign grace and power. Nothing more or less can save a sinner but the power of Christ; the Word Truth, the gospel. May the Lord be pleased to perform a miracle today?

Pastor Paul Mahan

IGNORANCE LEADS TO ERROR

Jesus answered and said unto them, ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matt. 22:29).

Our blessed Lord answers the question of the Sadducees about the resurrection by telling them their problem. The problem is not with Christ and the truth of the resurrection, it is with the sinner. Here our Lord declares to us the root cause of all error and unbelief; it is ignorance of the scriptures and not knowing the power of God. These two truths are inseparable, there is no way of knowing and understanding the power of God apart from the revelation of holy scripture (Rom. 15:4; John 5:39; 20:31), nor is there any way of knowing and understanding the holy scriptures apart from the power of God revealing them unto us (John 16:13-15; 1 Cor. 2:9-14). Therefore, it becomes absolutely necessary for each of us to avoid error and ignorance by taking advantage of the inspired word of God, for what the scriptures speak, God speaks (1Tim.3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). He has promised to bless the truth of His word to the hearts of His people (Isa. 55:11). All who seek salvation by works of self-righteousness, do so because, “not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Rom. 10:1-4). Surely, all who seek salvation by and through the Lord Jesus do so because of His sovereign grace, knowing what the scriptures do teach, “salvation is of the Lord” (1 John 5:21; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5; John 14:6) and knowing the gospel is the power and the wisdom of God unto salvation (1 Co. 1:18-31; Rom. 1:16).