HYMNS FOR SERVICE: “How Firm a Foundation” – p. 268 “Blessed Assurance” – p. 255
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
I am a sinful man, of that there is no doubt. As I reflect upon my life, I see nothing but wretchedness and pollution. Rather than growing better, it seems I grow worse. I can certainly echo the words of the inspired apostle, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not" (Romans 7:18). Although I am indeed a sinner, yet I am not filled with despair because Christ Jesus is my Redeemer and my Righteousness. In Him I have no sin, no fear of death, no sting of conscience and no dread of judgment. There is no condemnation to them who, by the grace of God, are in Christ Jesus. Yes, I am a sinner as touching this present life, and I need not expect any improvement in my fleshly condition. However, by the substitutionary cross-death of the Son of God, I have been made the righteousness of God in Him.
–Pastor Jim Byrd
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Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: BUT AS HE WHICH HATH CALLED YOU IS HOLY, SO BE YE HOLY IN ALL MANNER OF CONVERSATION; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:13-16)
As true believers our pursuit of holiness is not intended to plunge us into what Bunyan called “the slough of despond” and drive us to despair. It is not intended to motivate us to look to ourselves for righteousness or assurance of salvation. It is intended, first, to promote humility within us knowing that if the Lord ever charged us with sin we would be damned forever. It therefore intended to drive us more and more in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for ALL salvation and all righteousness. Our assurance of salvation is never in self, but in Christ Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is intended also to show us as true believers (sinners saved and preserved by God’s grace) how to glorify and honor the God of all grace and express our love and gratitude to Him for all the blessings of salvation given us based on the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is intended to give us a way to express our love to our brethren in Christ and encourage us in witnessing to a lost world, in our own growth in grace and in knowledge of Christ, and in our continual warfare with the flesh. -- Pastor Bill Parker
TRUE AND LOVE; LOVE AND TRUTH
Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. – 2 John 3-4
To hear some who claim to be Christian speak of matters of truth and love, one would think these things are mutually exclusive. Should true Christians walk in truth or in love? The fact is that in the Bible and in the experience of salvation truth and love are not enemies. It is not an “either-or” situation. In salvation by God’s grace we cannot have truth without love or love without truth. One thing that proves this is the very foundation and heart of salvation. How can a holy and just God love and save sinners like us? God hates all workers of iniquity, and He must punish sin with death if He is to deal honestly and righteously with Himself and with us. So how can God love His elect, save and forgive them without being dishonest with and dishonoring Himself? He must be both a just God and a Savior. His love for His people must be perfectly consistent with holiness, truth, and justice. When it comes to dealing with sinners, “we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things” (Rom. 2:2). The answer to this dilemma lies in God’s power and grace in sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to do the work of a Surety in substituting Himself in the place of His people, having their sins imputed to Him, and dying for them under the just wrath of God in His death on the cross. His death resulted in righteousness that was imputed to all of God’s elect. In saving them from sin, God therefore deals with them in love, but it is a love that is perfectly consistent with His truth and justice. This shows us that if we as true believers are going honor our Savior and Lord, we must deal with our brethren and our lost neighbors in love AND in truth. If God in love could not save us at the expense of truth, then we cannot sacrifice truth in the name of love in order to gain the favor and applause of men. Any love without truth as it is revealed in the Gospel is empty, vain, and self-serving. It is a deception. “He that believeth not shall be damned” may not sound like love to an unbeliever, but it is the greatest expression of love for him. It is meant to point him to the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of his soul. Telling him otherwise promotes the damnation of his soul. We as Christians, therefore, must walk in love AND in truth. -- Pastor Bill Parker
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