An unworthy, ordinary saint/sinner on mission to encourage his weary brothers and sisters to rest in The worthy Christ and The extraordinary Gospel.
Joined January 2014
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Believers often say 'live to please God, not man.' Problem: sinners can't please God. They should rather say 'be who you are in Christ,' keeping The Savior in the foreground. Christ pleased God FOR us. If you're in Christ, God IS pleased with you. That can't increase or decrease.
Jesus did good while suffering.
One might call that a mild understatement.
Brothers and sisters, let us take heart as we do the same.
We have a sympathetic high priest.
And he won't forget our service to one another, and the [unbelieving] world.
It's His work, after all.
Brothers and sisters, have you ever been...
...maligned?
...slandered?
...falsely accused?
...mocked?
...abandoned?
...betrayed?
For each of us, likely most of those things.
Yet let us take heart.
They all happened to Jesus, yet he was without sin.
And he is our Savior.
Psalm 4:8, 31:24, 56:8, 73:23
Isaiah 40:29
Zephaniah 3:17
Brothers and sisters, consider those verses a small sampling of encouragement.
Would any of you care to offer another?
Don't be shy.
We can all be sons and daughters of encouragement. (i.e. Barnabas)
Philemons, even.
"I testify, in the Lord's name, that gospel-holiness will never flourish among us, or in the generation, till we be more free of a legal spirit; and that we will not live unto God unless we be dead to the law."
- Ralph Erskine
Defense and articulation of what one believes.
Living what one believes.
The NT epistles advocate for both.
Brothers and sisters, let us do both.
Learn Christ.
Live like Christ.
Both require theology and doctrine.
The law and Gospel are both needed.
It's all important.
There is nothing more important than The Gospel.
Without It, there is no life or works.
Only death and depravity.
Praise God for The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Spirit carried Ezekiel to various places in visions.
He descended on Jesus in the form of a dove at his baptism.
He carried Philip away after he baptized an Ethiopian eunuch.
It all fascinates me.
Brothers and sisters: The Spirit descended on, indwells, and carries us.
The Gospel is in the Old Testament.
If untrue, Philip couldn't have proclaimed It to an Ethiopian eunuch, starting from Isaiah 53.
And Paul wouldn't have acknowledged to Timothy that the OT gives sinners wisdom for salvation.
Brothers...sisters, the OT is chock-full of Gospel.
Philip, to an Ethiopian eunuch, "Do you understand what you’re reading?"
Response, "How can I unless someone guides me?"
Brothers and sisters, may we allow The Spirit's work throughout church history to guide our understanding of His word.
Creeds.
Confessions.
All valuable.
God ordained the scattering of Christians via persecution.
Philip picked up where Jesus left off. (John 4)
Philip proclaimed Christ to Samaritans. (Acts 8)
And many trusted him for salvation.
I'm thankful for each one, and I look forward to meeting them in the new creation.
"His righteousness overwhelms your sins; his salvation wipes out your condemnation; with his worthiness he intercedes that your unworthiness may not come before God's sight."
- John Calvin
Local church: "The Gospel is for unbelievers!"
Also local church: *sings 'I Need Thee Every Hour'*
Brothers and sisters, that is what you call a contradiction.
Caiaphas. (John 11:51)
Pontius Pilate. (Luke 23:4, 14-15, 22; John 18:38; 19:4, 6)
Gamaliel. (Acts 5:38b-39a)
Those men spoke better than they understood.
Jesus died for a holy nation.
He was executed, despite being innocent.
And the spread of his Gospel can't be stopped.
"[The ground] will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field."
- Genesis 3:18
"The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and clothed him in a purple robe."
- John 19:2
Curse. Thorns. Crown. > Curse-bearer.
