God Declares His Elect Not Guilty

Posted on April 7, 2012 by brothershawn

Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Romans 8:33-34

The Apostle asks the question; “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” If God justifies His elect, then who can revoke His verdict? He has declared us righteous through faith in His blood. {Romans 3:24-26} God justifies. God declares His elect not guilty and no one can ever condemn us again. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” {Romans 8:1} How is this? How can God declare a guilty man not guilty? A monarch or a government official may grant a guilty man a pardon but only God can declare a guilty man not guilty. His elect have been justified, that means declared sinless or totally righteous. A risen Christ makes intersession for us. We deserve the wrath of God but instead we have been delivered from His wrath. {1 Thessalonians 1:10} The Bible tells us that His righteousness was imputed to the Old Testament saints and “… for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Have you believed on the risen Saviour? He is real. Have you trusted Him as your Saviour, as your deliverer? Do you know Him or do you only know about Him?

Are you able to say as the songwriter?

“When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.” – The Solid Rock

He “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification”      {Romans 4:25}

I am thankful for a risen Saviour!

Shawn

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A Matter of Giving

Posted on April 6, 2012 by brothershawn


“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…” Ephesians 5:25

“So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.” Ephesians 5:28

“Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” Ephesians 5:33

These verses hardly need expounding but I am going to give it a shot anyhow.

A man should love his wife. How much?

Even as Christ loved the church. How much did Christ love the church? He gave Himself for it.

Men ought to love their wives. How much?

As much as they love their own selves.

Men are to give themselves for their wives.

Men are to love their wives at least as much as they love themselves.

“He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”

“let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself”

Do you want to have a good marriage?

A lasting marriage?

A stable marriage?

Then, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…”

Unfortunately, sometimes men have a hard time growing up. They want their toys. They want their time. We are by nature, selfish. But being a good husband means growing up and putting your wife and family first. It is a matter of giving… and Jesus is our example.

Shawn

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Who?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by brothershawn

“Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? Hath the rain a father? or who hath       begotten the drops of dew?” Job 38:25-28

As I hear the storms roll through this morning, William Cowper’s hymn comes to mind,

“God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.”

God is in control of the storm. I believe that God is in control of everything. I agree with Charles H. Spurgeon when he states, “I believe that the path of a single grain of dust in the March wind is ordained and settled by a decree which cannot be violated” {from the sermon, A Safe Prospective ,1869}

Do you know this God who “plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm”?

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” John6:37

If you haven’t called on Him will you come to Him today? He will abundantly pardon.

Shawn

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True Success

Posted on March 17, 2012 by brothershawn

“I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.” Proverbs 8:17-19

The world has a different definition of success than God. Jesus tells a parable about a wealthy man in Luke chapter 12 who had a bumper crop and an expanding business. To look at the man from the world’s point of view he was a big success. With a growing business and enough money to take it easy and to say to himself; “take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” Most of us would be envious of this man’s situation…plenty of money, opportunity to travel, the best food and the best “things”. But God looks down over the battlements of Heaven and declares the man a fool.

“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” The man had riches but not durable riches. He had wealth but he lacked something “better than gold, even better than fine gold and choice silver”. He lived and died without God. He didn’t seek God early, as a matter of fact he left God out of his plans altogether. The man thought success was having financial security, in having “much goods” {things}. “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” He thought one thing but God thought another. He probably thought religion was for suckers and weak people. He may have made fun of those who were Christians. He may have thought he would consider God later in life. It doesn’t really matter what he thought, God labeled him a fool. Jesus didn’t think the man was successful. He said the man was too busy in life laying up treasures for himself to think about God and eternity. I am afraid most of us will go through life supposing “things” will make us happy, that this fleeting life is what really matters…believing the world’s motto that “He who dies with the most toys wins”. A lot of people have been “choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life.” {Luke 8:14} Jesus said; “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” {Matthew 6:33} The fruit of Gods wisdom is better than anything the world can offer. Whose wisdom are you seeking?

Shawn

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Unspotted

Posted on March 6, 2012 by brothershawn

“…and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27b

“There is a little animal that lives in the forests of northern Europe and Asia called an ermine. This little animal has one of the most beautiful coats of any other animal and is sought for by the fur traders of the world. This little animal will protect its beautiful coat at the cost of its own life. It is said that when the hunters go after the ermine, they do not set a snare or a trap to catch it, but take cruel advantage of its peculiar pride in its white fur coat. They will find where its lair is and daub the entrance to it with filth. The hunters set the dogs on the trail of the animal and chase it to the entrance of its home which may be a hollow tree or a cleft in a rock. When the ermine flees from the dogs to his lair and finds it spread with filth, rather than defile its beautiful coat, it will turn and face the dogs and fight and defile its coat with blood rather than defile it with the filth.”

The Bible tells us that Lot was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. As believers we must be in the world but we must not behave like the world. Our language, our conduct, our moral values, everything about us should be light in a dark world. We should guard our testimony like the little ermine guards its coat.

Source: http://articles.christianbaptists.com/Art/404/63/Purity.html

 

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Steak vs.Chicken

Posted on February 26, 2012 by brothershawn

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:14

Have you ever noticed that by nature we usually want everybody to be like ourselves? If someone likes different things than we do or thinks differently than we do we call them weird or strange. The truth of the matter is we are all, every one of us different. Some like chicken better than steak. {weird} some like Fords rather than Chevrolets. {go figure?} My point is that God made us all different. We all have different likes and dislikes, different tastes, different hobbies, physiques, interest, talents and it was His doing. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made. Why mention all this? I just want to remind you it is ok to be you. And it’s okay to be me. Many times people spend a great deal of their time trying to be somebody else, trying to fit in someone else’s mold. Striving to be someone or something they are not. Or they spend a great deal of their time trying to make others fit in their mold. Peer pressure affects adults as well as teenagers. I am not going to try to fit in your box and I am going to try not to force others to fit in mine.

Of course as a Bible believing Christian I must speak out against sin and ungodliness. A license to do wrong in the name of tolerance or diversity is not what I am talking about. God’s word must always be my final authority as a Christian. I am discussing the personality and character traits that make all of us different. Pride and our fallen nature make us think that everyone ought to be just like ourselves. Christians can be remarkably cruel to each other at times.

We can be very cliquish and judgmental over things that are not that important. We are constantly trying to outdo the other guy. I truly believe persecution would cure a lot of our nonsense but who wants that? For myself, I am going to try to do better, but that steak vs. chicken thing really bugs me!

“I will praise Him; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!”

Shawn

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Mile Long and a Quarter-Inch Deep

Posted on February 25, 2012 by brothershawn

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. 1 Thessalonians 1:5

All of our preaching is vain unless empowered by the Holy Ghost. No amount of technique or finesse or talent matters if God is not helping us. I read a lot of sermons from preachers from the past. I have noticed that most of the time they would take a very short text or even part of a text before preaching. I am thinking of C. H. Spurgeon s sermon “Little Sins”. His text was part of a verse from Genesis chapter nineteen. “(Is it not a little one?) To be fair I think most of these churches had a “reading” which would include the whole chapter from which the text was taken before the preacher came to the pulpit.

I think Dr R. L. Hymers makes a good point in the following quote. We who are preachers should consider what he says and also study the sermons and men that God has used in the past. – Shawn

“Baptist people are made shallow and uninformed by Bible “rambles” that are a mile long and a quarter-inch deep. If you are covering eight to ten verses, you are forced to be very superficial – and this does not give the people in our pews the meat they need! Only expositions on one or two verses can go deep enough to give the people meat instead of pablum! 

I believe in exposition, but it should be confined to one or two verses only – or even a phrase – certainly not to eight or ten verses – or more – as is so often the case today. Verse-by-verse preaching is, of necessity, not only too shallow, it is also, of necessity, too scattered to be motivational. The greatest preachers of the past, like Whitefield, Wesley, Edwards, and Spurgeon, knew that. They knew that if you want to motivate people to a given course of action, then you must not get bogged down in a prolonged series of comments on an extended passage of Scripture. Whitefield and Wesley changed the direction of a civilization! You can’t do that with a rambling commentary! Great sermons move people to action! Today’s insipid “expositions” move people to sleep – mentally and spiritually and, yes, emotionally as well.”

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Saying Grace

Posted on February 25, 2012 by brothershawn

Saying Grace

And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. John 6:11

Norman Rockwell’s painting “Saying Grace” portrays two young men scrutinizing an elderly woman and a little boy thanking the Lord for their meal. It reminds me of a little story I heard once,

“A farmer who was a loyal church-going Christian was spending the day in a large city. He entered a restaurant and sat down at the table near a group of young men of the world. When his meal was served, he quietly bowed his head and said grace. One of the sophisticates thought he’d have some fun with the farmer, and he said in a loud voice, “Hey, Pop, does everyone do that where you come from. The old man looked at him and replied, “No, son, the pigs don’t.”

If our Lord and Saviour publicly gave thanks for His food shouldn’t we also?

Shawn

 

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How to Kill a Wolf.

Posted on February 19, 2012 by brothershawn

Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard. Proverbs 13:15

The songwriter said “He came to me when I was bound in the chains of my sin” Sin enslaves people. It becomes our master “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.” Romans 6:20-21.

Sin is the destroyer. The Bible tells us the “end of sin is death”. Look around at the ravages of sin. Look at the drunkenness, the drug addiction, the pornography addiction, the gambling addiction. Lives wasted, bodies destroyed, families devastated. The way of the transgressor is indeed hard. I’m sure as a young person no one says, “Boy when I grow up I’m going to be a drunk”.  I doubt any young lady has ever said “I can’t wait to I’m older because I’m going to be a drug addict and destroy my life, that way I can die at an early age”. Many of us can think of schoolmates or relatives whose lives have been destroyed by sin. Would you take some Biblical advice? “Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.”…Don’t go the way of the transgressor.

“Radio personality Paul Harvey told the story of how Eskimo kill wolves. First the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait he licks it, tasting the fresh-frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the Arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor sharp sting of the naked blade on his tongue nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more-until the dawn finds him dead in the snow.”

That is a pretty good analogy of how sin destroys a person. The Devil is a mighty good hunter.

“The way of transgressors is hard.”

Which way will you go?

Shawn

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Addition

Posted on February 12, 2012 by brothershawn

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:4-8

Character – “By way of eminence, distinguished or good qualities; those which are esteemed and respected; and those which are ascribed to a person in common estimation.” Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

Strong’s Concordance defines the word virtue as moral goodness or moral excellence in thoughts feelings or action.

Decency, morality, character or what the Bible calls virtue is a Biblical objective or goal. We are told in the Word of God to add to our faith. We are instructed to give all diligence to add seven things; virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity.

I have seen a lifetime of “Christians” who say they know Christ yet lack the most common virtues. There is something strange about that.

I think Mr. Spurgeon sums it all up rather well,

“You can be no more saved by believing right doctrine than you can by doing right actions.  “There,” says another, “I like that; I shall go and believe in Christ, and live as I like.” Indeed you will not! For if you believe in Christ he will not let you live as your flesh liketh; by his Spirit he will constrain you to mortify its affections and lusts. If he gives you the grace to make you believe, he will give you the grace to live a holy life afterwards. If he gives you faith, he gives you good works after- wards. You cannot believe in Christ, unless you renounce every fault, and resolve to serve him with full purpose of heart.

Let us give all diligence- Shawn

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