Call to Worship
Let them neglect Thy glory Lord,
Who never knew Thy grace,
But our loud songs shall still record
The wonders of Thy praise.
We raise our shouts, 0 God, to Thee,
And send them to Thy throne,
All glory to the united Three,
The undivided One.
Twas He, and we'll adore His Name,
That form´d us by a word,
‘Tis He restores our ruined frame,
Salvation to the Lord!
Hosanna! Let the earth and skies
Repeat the joyful sound,
Rock, hills, and vales reflect the voice
In one eternal round.
Isaac Watts, 1709
(Tune: “At The Cross” pg. 129)
THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE
1. God, in Christ, chose a great host of Adam's race to salvation before the foundation of the world. He did this according to the good pleasure of His own will and for His own glory, (Ephesians 1: 4-6).
2. Those whom God before had chosen had no merit - nothing to commend themselves to God, but were dead in trespasses and sins, (II Timothy 2:9, Ephesians 2:1).
3. Jesus Christ came in the flesh; joined Himself to humanity by the womb of a virgin and on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem bore all the sins of all those chosen people whom God had purposed to save. Jesus the Lord by His own suffering on the cross satisfied the justice and judgment of God and by Himself obtained eternal redemption for all those whose sins He bore. He then arose from the dead - having put sin away - and is now seated at the right hand of God in heaven, (John 10:11; Isaiah 53: 6,11; Hebrews 9:12).
4. The glorious Gospel of God is now calling those whom God has chosen unto salvation. They are being taught of God to see their need of saving mercy, and they come crying out for it to be manifested to them. These are being called in such a powerful manner - which is effectual - they cannot and will not resist. They all come to Christ and believe on Him to the saving of their soul, II Thessalonians 2:13-14; John 6:44-45
5. Those whom Jesus Christ has died for and redeemed will not only be called and justified, but they - each and every one - will never be lost again. The Spirit of God that regenerated and called them and gave them faith will continue His good work of grace in them, until they are with Him who loved them and died for them, where they will rest until the resurrection. At which time their bodies shall be suddenly raised and fashioned like the glorious body of Christ Himself, to be - body and soul - forever with the Lord, (John 10:29; Philippians 1:6 Corinthians 15:45-50 I Thessalonians 4:17). - Pastor
SAVED THROUGH FAITH
When we say that we are saved by faith, we mean accurately, THROUGH FAITH. It is God that saves. It is Christ’s life, Christ’s blood, Christ’s sacrifice, and Christ’s intercession that saves. Faith is simply the channel through which there flows over into my emptiness the Divine Fullness. It is not faith that saves us; it is Christ that saves us, and saves us THROUGH FAITH. - Alexander MacLaren
~~~ O ~~~
WHAT I AM IN CHRIST
If I reason from what I am in myself, instead of from what I am in Christ, I must of necessity arrive at a wrong conclusion. The moment the sinner comes to Christ and believes on Him, that moment he is taken completely off the ground of nature, he loses his old legal standing and all its belongings, and he is looked at as IN CHRIST. He is no longer "in the flesh," but he is "in the Spirit" (Romans 8:9). God only sees him in CHRIST and as CHRIST; he becomes one with Him forever (1 Corinthians 1:30).
This is the absolute standing, the settled and eternal position of the very weakest babe in the family of God. There is but one standing for every child of God, every member of Christ - IN CHRIST! Their knowledge, experience, power, gifts, and intelligence may differ; but their standing is one! Whatever of righteousness or sanctification they possess, they owe it all to their being IN CHRIST. Consequently, if they do not have a perfect sanctification, neither do they have a perfect righteousness. The Word does not say that we have a perfect righteousness and a measure of sanctification. God does nothing by halves! There is no such thing as a half justification or a half sanctification.
"But of Him are we IN CHRIST JESUS, who of God is made unto us WISDOM, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and SANCTIFICATION, and REDEMPTION; that according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). - Scott Richardson
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