INTRODUCTION:As believers in the Lord Jesus, we have to learn how to see Him as our substitute in all things, and not just in His death on the cross. Jesus did not just die in our place (although He did do that), He also lived in our place. The sacrifice of Jesus was for us, …
Idols Razed, Idols Demoted
Idolatry is to place any created thing in the place that should be occupied by the living God alone. Gross idolatry occurs when someone carves or paints an object, and then bows down in front of it. This is prohibited in the ten commandments—no graven images. But idolatry can also occur when we are dealing …
When Affliction Floats
The grace of God is not just given to us in forgiveness of sin, although that is certainly an important part of it. The grace of God also equips and strengthens us to do things that we did not think we were going to be able to do. In short, the grace of God is …
God Doesn’t Care
Given the grace and goodness of God the Father in giving us the sacrifice of Jesus, and given the work of the Holy Spirit in the gospel offer to all men, the only sin that is damnable is the sin of perpetual hardheartedness—the sin of rejecting grace, and willfully remaining in unbelief. The wrath of …
Love That Dirty Water
When Isaiah has his great vision of the thrice-holy God, his immediate reaction is to recoil in the realization that he dwells among a people of unclean lips (Is. 6:5). The Lord Jesus teaches that the overflow of the mouth reveals the true state of the heart (Matt. 12:34). Hypocrisy can bottle such things up …
No Picky Eaters
The apostle Paul teaches us that we are all one loaf (1 Cor. 10:17). We are one body, one loaf, one congregation. We symbolize this by symbolically partaking of one loaf. Now if it happens that we have more saints gathered than can be fed by one loaf, no matter. The Lord once took five …
Buttery Lessons
God has created us in such a way that we must live in accordance with a word. We must live by a law, by a standard. There is no other way for us to function. When we fell into sin, we discovered the possibility (or so we thought) of living by another standard than the …
The Cootie Contagion Radius
One of the things we have to learn as Christians is that, when it comes to appearances, we clean up real nice. But we also have to remember that this is also true of whited sepulchers. They clean up real nice also. When new Christians join us, still reeling and recovering from all the problems …
Threat and Promise
The Bible describes God has one who sometimes repents, sometimes changing His mind (Gen. 6:7). The Scripture also describes God as one who does not do so (1 Sam. 15:29). How are we to harmonize this? We know that with regard to His eternal decrees God freely and unalterably ordains whatsoever comes to pass. But …
What Draws Us All
The words of grace to us are centered in the phrase no condemnation. But this word from God is nonsensical unless it is understood in the context of the condemnation that could have been. Indeed, it has to be understood in the context of the condemnation that most certainly would have been had God not …