Sunday, November 29, 2015

Sunday Sermonette

November 29, 2015
Inspired Words
“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” (Luke 21:33)
 
The doctrine of plenary verbal inspiration, wrongly considered antiquated by many modern neo-evangelicals, is actually essential to the Christian faith. “All scripture [that is every word written down or inscribed] is given by inspiration [literally ‘breathed in’] of God,” not man (2 Timothy 3:16)!
 
We acknowledge, of course, that problems of transmission and translation exist, but these are relatively trivial in the entire context. We also acknowledge that the process of inspiration may have varied, but the end result is as if the entire Bible had been dictated and transcribed word by word.
 
This is the way Jesus Christ—the Creator, the Living Word, the Author of Scripture—viewed the Scriptures. “The scripture cannot be broken,” He said (John 10:35). “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: . . . And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25, 27). The Bible, therefore, every word of it, is divinely inspired, verbally without error, infallibly true, and of absolute authority in every area of our lives. The words of Christ who taught these truths are forever “settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89) and “shall not pass away.”
 
It is mortally dangerous, therefore, “unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book” to “add unto these things” as the cultists do, or to “take away from the words of the book of this prophecy” as the liberals do (Revelation 22:18-19). Would it not be much better to say with the psalmist, “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors” (Psalm 119:24)? HMM

h/t:  HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Sunday Sermonette

November 22, 2015
A Resting Place
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” (Titus 3:5-6)
 
Certainly one of the most precious doctrines of all Scripture is that reflected in our text. Our salvation depends not on our own “works of righteousness,” but upon His mercy and grace, given us freely through the atoning work of Jesus Christ our Savior.
 
The grand old hymn “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place” reflects this theme. Let us use its four verses and chorus to focus our study as well as our hearts these next four days.
 
My faith has found a resting place, Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.

 
Nothing we could do (i.e., device) or nothing we or our church could believe (i.e., creed) can provide a resting place for our faith. “For we which have believed [i.e., faith, same Greek word] do enter into rest. . . . For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works . . .” (Hebrews 4:3, 10). The only work which counts for anything is that which the ever-living One accomplished when He died on the cross. “Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes [i.e., wounds] ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). It is not so much our physical health in view here, but the healing of our sin-sick souls.
 
Since “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3), there is no more penalty to be paid. Since He rose from the dead, He conquered both sin and its power, and our faith can rest. JDM

h/t: J.D. MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Sunday Sermonette

November 15, 2015
Maker and Owner
“I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.” (Jeremiah 27:5)
 
“The earth, the man and the beast” are the three entities which God is said to have “created” (Hebrew bara—note Genesis 1:1, 21, 27) in the Genesis account of creation. However, they are also said in Genesis to have been “made” (Hebrew asah—note Genesis 1:25-26; 2:4), and that is the emphasis in our text above. Of course, both aspects were accomplished in the six days of creation week, after which God “rested from all his work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:3). This statement makes it abundantly plain that the present processes of nature do not “create” (call into existence out of nothing) or “make” (build up into more complex forms) anything, as our modern theistic evolutionists and evangelical uniformitarians allege. God has rested from both of these works, except in occasional miraculous intervention in the present laws and processes of “nature.”
 
Now, because God did create and make all things, He also “owns” all things. “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). “The LORD hath made all things for himself” (Proverbs 16:4).
 
Therefore, all that we possess—as individuals or as nations—has simply been entrusted to us as God’s stewards, and “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Without a doubt this accounting will be of our handling of our goods, our minds, and our opportunities, among others. For “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). Let us be thankful—not covetous; and industrious—not slothful; in everything He has entrusted to us. HMM

h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
 
 

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Sunday Sermonette

November 8, 2015
This Grace Also
“Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.” (2 Corinthians 8:7)
 
The “grace” of which Paul was writing in our text is the grace of giving! Many Christians may show diligence and love in their Christian life, but are still very reluctant to give sacrificially to the work of the Lord.
 
Many follow what they consider the “law of tithing” (most Christians don’t even do that!) and consider this to be meritorious. The fact is, however, that giving for the Christian is not a law to be obeyed, but a grace to be cultivated.
 
The motivation cited by Paul for abounding in this grace was not the Old Testament ordinance, but the New Testament example in the church at Philippi. Consider, he said, “the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality . . . beyond their power they were willing of themselves.” And the real secret of their motivation was that they “first gave their own selves to the Lord” (2 Corinthians 8:1-3, 5). An even greater motive for abounding in this grace is the example of Christ: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
 
This grace of giving is thus displayed when one gives liberally (even in times of affliction and poverty) out of wholehearted devotion to the Lord and for the spiritual enrichment of those who are spiritually impoverished.
 
“God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). HMM

h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Sunday Sermonette

November 1, 2015
Preaching the Word
“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4)
 
Every believer has been called to preach God’s Word, not just pastors of churches. When Christ gave the Great Commission to “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), it was clear that this could be accomplished only if every Christian would actually preach the gospel!
 
This was practiced first by the members of the church at Jerusalem. Then, when the believers were “all scattered abroad . . . except the apostles” (Acts 8:1), these “laymen” went everywhere preaching the Word. One of the “deacons” selected to relieve the apostles of the “business” affairs of the church was Philip, and he “went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them” (Acts 8:5), speaking to great crowds and winning many to Christ. Then shortly afterward, the Lord called him down to Gaza where he met an Ethiopian eunuch, and he “preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35). This teaches plainly that one can preach to a large congregation, but he or she can also preach to one person. It is not the size of the congregation but the theme of the message that makes one a preacher of the Word!
 
Furthermore, it is not only by word of mouth that Christ is preached; Paul says that “the gospel . . . was preached to every creature [literally, ‘in every creation’] which is under heaven” (Colossians 1:23). “And how shall they hear without a preacher? . . . But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world” (Romans 10:14, 18). One can preach verbally to a congregation or to an unseen audience through radio or in writing to a reader, and even a godly lifestyle can “preach” effectively (although not specifically) of the saving work of Christ. Even the heavens declare His glory, and every believer must preach the Word! HMM

h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH