The Gospel

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

[Paul, writing to Christians @ Corinth, 1 Cor. 15:1-4]

Friday, December 28, 2012

Matthew 6:9

Title:  Our Father

God is holy and powerful that we dare not speak to him unless he initiates the conversation.  In fact it is a communication that should never have been attempted had man taken into account the unapproachable glory of the Creator.

But by God’s mercy, our position was changed to that of sons through the gospel of the Lord Jesus, the Christ, when we repented of our sins and trusted in Jesus for our salvation, and with this standing came the privilege of pouring out our hearts to him, and the right to call God “Abba,” which corresponds to our “Papa.”

Neglect of prayer, for a Christian, is spiritual suicide and a demonstration of contempt for the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus which made it a possibility.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Matthew 1:21

Title:  Jesus

There is no God other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  There is no Savior other than the only begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus.  There is no way sins would be forgiven other than by the sinless life, death, and resurrection of the Lamb of God.

Can I prove these in order to convince people that Christianity is true?  No; not at all.  There is no evidence that will bring about belief to a soul that is indulging in sin and enjoying it.  Faith cannot be divorced from conviction of sin and a Godly sorrow that will lead to repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus.

When God appeared in a body to shine on those living in darkness, the secret of godliness, which is the pillar and ground of truth, was also manifested in the flesh, so the Christian would know how to conduct himself in the congregation of the righteous and in the world.

Holiness is the fruit of the existence of God in our lives; there is no other.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Isaiah 9:6

Title:  Unto us a child is born

God doesn’t want our empty celebrations for his Son.  He wants our faith!

And this faith, by His grace, would take us from a stable to a path of rejoicing and worship, on a road pockmarked with the hardships and trials of life, to the narrow streets leading to the gate of the city, and past the wall to a cross on a hill where the Lamb of God was sacrificed, next to a garden wherein he was laid in a cave no more than three days.

The reason for the season is sin, and the cause for celebration was the Lord Jesus’ victory over death, a triumph which is also our own by faith.

John 1:11

Title:  He came unto his own

The commercial atmosphere surrounding the commemoration of the birth of the Lord Jesus is reminiscent of the reception the Son of God received 2000 years ago.  Not only did the world not recognize him but they also did not receive him as the Creator and as the long-awaited Messiah.

In our days the Christmas season is the same non-recognition and rejection, only now there are glittering lights and festive music to hide the blasphemy and the unbelief.

We celebrate for the sake of celebrating and enjoying ourselves, that’s all, when we should be glorifying and praising God for all the things he has done.

And thus we celebrate with empty hearts.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Galatians 4:4

Title:  The fullness of the time
  
The date of the Lord Jesus’ birth should not be a subject of unprofitable debate when the Father had set to send his Son when the time had fully come, and also to signal the last days.

It is not for us to dwell on dates in view of a timeless eternity, but our attention should be riveted on the purpose of the Immanuel, who, being in very nature God was born of human flesh to redeem his people from their sins that they might share in his glory, and also at the proper time.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Luke 2:10

Title:  Good tidings of great joy

Not everyone would find a Savior in the promise of the birth of the Messiah.  Reactions to this obscure event during the reign of Caesar Augustus (31 B.C. – A.D. 14) ranged from worship, amazement, to outright fear and murder.

2000 years later, the reception would be that of apathy and a season designed to make a mockery of the virgin birth, satisfy the lust of the eyes, to indulge in gluttony, and to fulfill the cravings of the flesh for material baubles.

Only a remnant would come out of this commemoration glorifying and praising God, and only those who have experienced the new birth from above and have been raised to walk in newness of life.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Matthew 1:21

Title:  From their sins

The Lord Jesus was born a man in order to give eternal life to those who would repent of their sins and trust in him for their salvation.  Period.

Not included in the promise of his sacrificial death are prosperity and sublime health.  These matters are individual in nature and come between God and the person concerned.

The remedy to sickness and poverty is an imperishable body at the resurrection; therefore the flesh shall be subject to all the ills that befall mankind, and yet we have a blessed hope, and those without a Savior have none.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Mark 9:35

Title: Who was the greatest?

Christian service is not about achieving greatness or prominence.  If that were so, we should have known the identity of the good Samaritan long ago.  The kingdom the Lord will establish will have only one foremost and essential figure in its economy, the Son of God.  In the presence of the majesty and awesomeness of the power of the Lord Jesus, we dare not yearn for any other position but that of a servant.

Luke 10:1

Title: To places where He would Himself go

The true master is also a servant, determined to the task before delegating it to his followers, and could be nameless, considering the proximity of this account to the narrative on the good Samaritan.

No lesson in leadership is more insightful than to rule by example, in every single detail, such as traveling light and not greeting anyone along the way for any lengthy exchange of pleasantries, in view of the urgency of the undertaking.  The Lord Jesus would not only carry out the same mission, but accomplish more than any of His disciples was willing to do, even to suffer on the cross.

1 Timothy 6:11

Title:  Man of God

A minister of the gospel must run away from and shun the pursuit of wealth, which is so uncertain and could lead a person astray from his moral convictions and to dejecting grief, and because it is actually his pledge before God and men to pursue, instead, the fruit of the Spirit, and having the basic necessities of life, must be content.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Luke 12:21

Title:  Rich toward God

We cannot store up riches for ourselves here on earth and at the same time store up treasures in heaven.

And, by the way, being rich toward God will not be a source of pride or influence in eternity, or a means of acquiring prominence in the kingdom of God.

Anyone who would be rich in this life must realize that God has a plan for our wealth, since God owns everything anyway.

We often speak of God’s plan for our lives, but seldom, sometimes never, of his plan for our money.  No, no, no, you can’t touch that.

God doesn’t want us to be greedy, to rely on our bank accounts for security, to send away a hungry brother when we have more than enough bread to eat, refuse a worthy borrower when we have the capacity to lend, to be proud of our wealth, to use our money to subvert the law, to bribe civil servants, etc.

The time we start using our money for the welfare and succor of the brethren according to the plan of God for our wealth, which we have inquired of Him by prayer, we begin to store up treasures in heaven.  And these eternal riches will gain for us the greater capacity to worship and serve God.

Luke 24:44

Title:  Written about me

The Bible is the only book authored by God and penned by men as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, to reveal himself to the world.

This revelation culminated with the advent of the Lord Jesus, the God who is with us, so that everyone who looks to the Son as he is lifted up outside the walls of the city, and believes in him shall have eternal life and will be raised imperishable by him who is the First and the Last upon his return on the holy mountain.

The Bible is the only Book about the one true God and eternal life, the Lord Jesus, the Christ.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

John 16:8

Title:  When he is come

The church, in its conduct and message, and as the repository of the Holy Spirit, must expose the guilt of the world in regard to sin.

In fact the Bible, which is its sole source of authority, is the record of man’s sinfulness and God’s provision for the covering and, ultimately, the taking away of sin by the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

We cannot soften the message and compromise the reality of man’s depravity in order not to offend the sensibilities of people and thereby sound politically correct, in view of Gods demand for purity by faith and the impending judgment of those who remain obstinate in their sinful lifestyle and their unbelief.

The exigency and intensity of preaching convicting of sin must be sustained as the judgment against it is unchanging.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Mark 9:35

Title:  Last of all

In the economy of God, there is no need to scuffle for the position of principal importance because it doesn’t exist!

The ministry needs men who are willing to waive all honor and accolade for the opportunity to be a servant, but never a slave, of all, in humility and of a gentle but equitable disposition.

By nature, no one wants to be counted last in benefits and worth, but the wise leader would covet that obscure spot, conscious that a cloud of witnesses had been in the same standing, and the Lord Jesus himself, and who are we to be numbered first?

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Luke 2:20

Title:  Glorifying and praising God

Title:  Glorifying and praising God

No one who has found God, or has been directed to his Son, should fail to worship him and to speak in praise of his amazing grace.

The birth of the Lord Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise of preservation of God’s people in the midst of warnings of judgment against those who have rejected the gentle call to repentance and salvation.

If for no other reason but his mercy, we must rejoice, glorify and praise God.