Justification
August 26, 2012
"And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." (Genesis 7:1)
This is the first mention of the great doctrine of justification in the Bible--that is, being seen as "righteous" by God. The same Hebrew word is translated "just" in Genesis 6:9: "Noah was a just man." The reason Noah was seen as righteous and therefore as just, or justified before God, was that "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8). This is the first mention of "grace" in the Bible. The first mention of "faith" or "belief" is also associated with justification: "|Abraham| believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6).
Thus, in the Old Testament and certainly in the New, justification is by grace through faith. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" and also "being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:24; 5:1).
Justification--that is, being seen and proclaimed as perfectly righteous, even in spite of past sins--must of course be authorized by God the Creator. "It is God that justifieth" (Romans 8:33). That God can indeed be both "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26) is based entirely on the substitutionary death and bodily resurrection of Christ who conquered death. "Being now justified by his blood," the Lord Jesus Christ "was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 5:9; 4:25).
Now, although we are freely justified by grace through faith, such justification inevitably generates good works also, for "by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Sunday Sermonette
Unanswered Prayer
August 19, 2012
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12)
There are many wonderful promises of answered prayer in the Bible, some of which seem both unlimited and unconditional. On the other hand, there are also many warnings of unanswered prayer. This seeming anomaly merely cautions us again that every Scripture must be interpreted in context--both the immediate context and the broader context of all the Scriptures.
For example, Jesus said, "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." But in the same upper-room discourse, He also said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 14:14; 15:7). This is a very significant condition, attached to what--out of context--might have seemed an unconditional promise.
Our text indicates that overt sin in one's life will certainly hinder God in answering our prayers. So will selfish praying: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). And so will unbelief: "When ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). Poor home relations also could be a factor. "Husbands . . . |give| honour unto the wife . . . that your prayers be not hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).
Even when we are confident that we are fully right with God, the desired answer must still be in His will. "If we ask any thing according to his will . . . we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15).
Finally, there is the question of timing. "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). Therefore, the believing prayer of a man righteous before God surely will be answered in God's time and way. HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
August 19, 2012
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12)
There are many wonderful promises of answered prayer in the Bible, some of which seem both unlimited and unconditional. On the other hand, there are also many warnings of unanswered prayer. This seeming anomaly merely cautions us again that every Scripture must be interpreted in context--both the immediate context and the broader context of all the Scriptures.
For example, Jesus said, "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." But in the same upper-room discourse, He also said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 14:14; 15:7). This is a very significant condition, attached to what--out of context--might have seemed an unconditional promise.
Our text indicates that overt sin in one's life will certainly hinder God in answering our prayers. So will selfish praying: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). And so will unbelief: "When ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). Poor home relations also could be a factor. "Husbands . . . |give| honour unto the wife . . . that your prayers be not hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).
Even when we are confident that we are fully right with God, the desired answer must still be in His will. "If we ask any thing according to his will . . . we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15).
Finally, there is the question of timing. "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). Therefore, the believing prayer of a man righteous before God surely will be answered in God's time and way. HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Sunday Sermonette
Unanswered Prayer
August 19, 2012
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12)
There are many wonderful promises of answered prayer in the Bible, some of which seem both unlimited and unconditional. On the other hand, there are also many warnings of unanswered prayer. This seeming anomaly merely cautions us again that every Scripture must be interpreted in context--both the immediate context and the broader context of all the Scriptures.
For example, Jesus said, "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." But in the same upper-room discourse, He also said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 14:14; 15:7). This is a very significant condition, attached to what--out of context--might have seemed an unconditional promise.
Our text indicates that overt sin in one's life will certainly hinder God in answering our prayers. So will selfish praying: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). And so will unbelief: "When ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). Poor home relations also could be a factor. "Husbands . . . |give| honour unto the wife . . . that your prayers be not hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).
Even when we are confident that we are fully right with God, the desired answer must still be in His will. "If we ask any thing according to his will . . . we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15).
Finally, there is the question of timing. "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). Therefore, the believing prayer of a man righteous before God surely will be answered in God's time and way. HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
August 19, 2012
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12)
There are many wonderful promises of answered prayer in the Bible, some of which seem both unlimited and unconditional. On the other hand, there are also many warnings of unanswered prayer. This seeming anomaly merely cautions us again that every Scripture must be interpreted in context--both the immediate context and the broader context of all the Scriptures.
For example, Jesus said, "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." But in the same upper-room discourse, He also said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 14:14; 15:7). This is a very significant condition, attached to what--out of context--might have seemed an unconditional promise.
Our text indicates that overt sin in one's life will certainly hinder God in answering our prayers. So will selfish praying: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). And so will unbelief: "When ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). Poor home relations also could be a factor. "Husbands . . . |give| honour unto the wife . . . that your prayers be not hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).
Even when we are confident that we are fully right with God, the desired answer must still be in His will. "If we ask any thing according to his will . . . we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15).
Finally, there is the question of timing. "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). Therefore, the believing prayer of a man righteous before God surely will be answered in God's time and way. HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Sunday Sermonette
Christians and the World
August 12, 2012
"I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word." (John 17:6)
In the wonderful intercessory prayer of Christ for His disciples just before His death, there are several important references dealing with the relation of the Christian believer to the world around him. In the first place, according to our text, they have been called out of the world, and thus are not really a part of its system any more, once they belong to Christ.
Yet, they necessarily must still live in the world. "These are in the world. . . . I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (vv. 11, 15). They are not of the world, however, for they have been separated from the world, and unto Christ, whom the world continues to crucify daily. "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (v. 14). Like Christ, they are bound to be hated by the world.
Nevertheless, Christ has sent them into the world as His witnesses. "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world . . . that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. . . . I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (vv. 18, 21, 23).
And the most wonderful thing about all these relationships to the world we live in is that God planned them even before He created the world! "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (v. 24). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
August 12, 2012
"I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word." (John 17:6)
In the wonderful intercessory prayer of Christ for His disciples just before His death, there are several important references dealing with the relation of the Christian believer to the world around him. In the first place, according to our text, they have been called out of the world, and thus are not really a part of its system any more, once they belong to Christ.
Yet, they necessarily must still live in the world. "These are in the world. . . . I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (vv. 11, 15). They are not of the world, however, for they have been separated from the world, and unto Christ, whom the world continues to crucify daily. "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (v. 14). Like Christ, they are bound to be hated by the world.
Nevertheless, Christ has sent them into the world as His witnesses. "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world . . . that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. . . . I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (vv. 18, 21, 23).
And the most wonderful thing about all these relationships to the world we live in is that God planned them even before He created the world! "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (v. 24). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Sunday Sermonette
The Lord Jesus Christ
August 5, 2012
"Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 1:1)
It is significant that in this first verse of what may have been Paul's first inspired epistle, he twice identified the Son of God as "the Lord Jesus Christ," thus giving Him the honor and recognition to which He is entitled.
Paul used this "full name" of Christ at least 19 times in the two brief Thessalonian epistles, as he often did also in his other epistles. Likewise James, in his first verse, called himself "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1). Jude warned against any who would deny "the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 4). Peter began his first epistle with "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:3). The apostle John closed the last book of the Bible with the benediction: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Revelation 22:21).
In the New Testament epistles, He was also frequently called "Jesus Christ," "Christ Jesus," "the Lord Jesus," "the Lord," or simply "Christ." Once He was called "the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:24). It is significant, however, that He was never called merely by His human name "Jesus" except when the writer was referring strictly to His human incarnation. In the gospels, the name "Jesus" was used very often in relating His words and deeds, but never did His followers address Him as "Jesus." Always when speaking to Him they addressed Him as "Lord" or "Master" (note John 13:13).
Perhaps modern Christians are too careless when they speak or sing of Him or pray to Him using only His human name. As Peter said, "God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). He is now our risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ! HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
August 5, 2012
"Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 1:1)
It is significant that in this first verse of what may have been Paul's first inspired epistle, he twice identified the Son of God as "the Lord Jesus Christ," thus giving Him the honor and recognition to which He is entitled.
Paul used this "full name" of Christ at least 19 times in the two brief Thessalonian epistles, as he often did also in his other epistles. Likewise James, in his first verse, called himself "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1). Jude warned against any who would deny "the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 4). Peter began his first epistle with "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:3). The apostle John closed the last book of the Bible with the benediction: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Revelation 22:21).
In the New Testament epistles, He was also frequently called "Jesus Christ," "Christ Jesus," "the Lord Jesus," "the Lord," or simply "Christ." Once He was called "the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:24). It is significant, however, that He was never called merely by His human name "Jesus" except when the writer was referring strictly to His human incarnation. In the gospels, the name "Jesus" was used very often in relating His words and deeds, but never did His followers address Him as "Jesus." Always when speaking to Him they addressed Him as "Lord" or "Master" (note John 13:13).
Perhaps modern Christians are too careless when they speak or sing of Him or pray to Him using only His human name. As Peter said, "God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). He is now our risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ! HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sunday Sermonette
The Ministry of the Saints
July 29, 2012
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's." (1 Corinthians 1:2)
This salutation to those "called saints" at Corinth (the words "to be" are not in the original) makes it clear that all who "in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord" are the saints of God. The word "saint" means "one who is sanctified" or "set apart," having been called to serve the Lord.
That service is varied, and many striking figures of speech are used in the Bible to describe it. In the first place, the saints are "witnesses unto me" (Acts 1:8) and, therefore, "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20). The words and deeds of believers are to serve as an actual Bible to those who may not read God's Word. "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart" (2 Corinthians 3:3).
Christ applied the figure of candlesticks to the churches addressed in Revelation, with Himself in the midst (Revelation 1:12-13). Similarly, we are enjoined to "shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life" (Philippians 2:15-16). This light is not merely the light of a godly life, but the light of God's revealed truth, for we constitute "the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
In relation to Christ, we constitute "the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Corinthians 12:27) and have been presented "as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2). One day we shall reign with Him as "kings and priests unto God" (Revelation 1:6). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
July 29, 2012
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's." (1 Corinthians 1:2)
This salutation to those "called saints" at Corinth (the words "to be" are not in the original) makes it clear that all who "in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord" are the saints of God. The word "saint" means "one who is sanctified" or "set apart," having been called to serve the Lord.
That service is varied, and many striking figures of speech are used in the Bible to describe it. In the first place, the saints are "witnesses unto me" (Acts 1:8) and, therefore, "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20). The words and deeds of believers are to serve as an actual Bible to those who may not read God's Word. "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart" (2 Corinthians 3:3).
Christ applied the figure of candlesticks to the churches addressed in Revelation, with Himself in the midst (Revelation 1:12-13). Similarly, we are enjoined to "shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life" (Philippians 2:15-16). This light is not merely the light of a godly life, but the light of God's revealed truth, for we constitute "the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
In relation to Christ, we constitute "the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Corinthians 12:27) and have been presented "as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2). One day we shall reign with Him as "kings and priests unto God" (Revelation 1:6). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Sunday Sermonette
Praise at the Incarnation
July 22, 2012
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David." (Luke 1:68-69)
These words of praise, uttered by Zacharias the priest at the birth of John the Baptist, comprise one of seven great doxologies given by men and women in connection with the entrance of the Savior into the human family. Even before this was the testimony of His mother Mary in her Magnificat: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour" (vv. 46-47).
But the first was uttered by Elizabeth: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. . . . And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord" (vv. 42, 45).
Then, when Christ was born, there were the shepherds who, after seeing Him, "returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them" (2:20). Eight days later, at His circumcision in Jerusalem, the aged prophet Simeon "blessed God, and said . . . mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" (vv. 28, 30-32). The prophetess Anna "gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (v. 38).
Finally, perhaps two years later, Gentile wise men, after a long journey from the east, "fell down, and worshipped him" (Matthew 2:11). Humble Jewish shepherds and great Gentile scholars joined with priest and prophet and three godly women to praise the Lord for the gift of His Son and to worship Him. Can we do any less? HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
July 22, 2012
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David." (Luke 1:68-69)
These words of praise, uttered by Zacharias the priest at the birth of John the Baptist, comprise one of seven great doxologies given by men and women in connection with the entrance of the Savior into the human family. Even before this was the testimony of His mother Mary in her Magnificat: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour" (vv. 46-47).
But the first was uttered by Elizabeth: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. . . . And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord" (vv. 42, 45).
Then, when Christ was born, there were the shepherds who, after seeing Him, "returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them" (2:20). Eight days later, at His circumcision in Jerusalem, the aged prophet Simeon "blessed God, and said . . . mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" (vv. 28, 30-32). The prophetess Anna "gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (v. 38).
Finally, perhaps two years later, Gentile wise men, after a long journey from the east, "fell down, and worshipped him" (Matthew 2:11). Humble Jewish shepherds and great Gentile scholars joined with priest and prophet and three godly women to praise the Lord for the gift of His Son and to worship Him. Can we do any less? HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
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