GOSPEL NUGGET #594

Ro 5:19  "...by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

The "one" here refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. The "obedience" here refers to His submission to God the Father as the sacrifice for the sins of sinners.

Php 2:8 ... he humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

One Man's obedience, yet, the benefit of many. It was He who obeyed to pay the price, yet, it was the many who were constituted righteous in God's sight. The work of One resulted in the blessing of many.

If you ask the "many" here: "What good works did you do that you were justified in God's sight?"
They would reply: "We were not justified by our own works. It was He, the Lord Jesus Christ, who did that one work, that one act of sacrifice on the cross, and we are just the beneficiaries. It was His pain but our gain.

My friend, do you want to be part of the many who will benefit from Christ's work on the cross? Put your trust in Him and what He did on the cross and you will be justified.

GOSPEL NUGGET #593

ISA 27:5 “... let him rely on My protection, Let him make peace with Me, Let him make peace with Me.”

In verse 4, God is pictured as a man with a torch in His hand and stomping and burning the devices of His enemies that they set against Him. Here, in verse 5, God is offering the alternative of peace to His enemies. Judgment in verse 4 but peace in verse 5. They can take their pick.

The words here in verse 5 can be applied to the salvation sinners can have in Christ Jesus.

The Lord Jesus, as the sinner's Savior, is God's protection for them from His wrath. Moreover, the Lord Jesus is also the sinner's peace with God.

Do you want to be protected and saved from God's wrath? Rely on God's protection. Rely on the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for you.

Do you want to have peace with God? |Rely on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for you become your peace-offering to God.

Ro 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus

Ro 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

GOSPEL NUGGET #592

Saving Faith Is Relying On The Efficacious Work Of Another

A sinner is not saved by his own efforts and labors. Rather, he is saved by what the Lord Jesus worked and labored on the cross. It was Him who did all the strenuous toil and exerted all the grueling effort for the sinner's behalf.

And that atoning work was eternally finished and completed to the satisfaction of God. Nothing more can be done in addition to it. No extra works are necessary.

People often react vehemently against the thought that salvation is by faith alone. In many cases, they think of "faith alone" as taking place in a vacuum, without any connection at all to anything that is efficacious. Nothing could be further from the truth. Saving faith is relying on the efficacious work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.

Saving faith is not relying on nothing. It's not plugging onto empty space. No, it's relying on something that Someone did for us. It's plugging into a powerful dynamo of a work that can truly affect our standing before God. It's banking on a project, an undertaking and an enterprise that can truly make a difference with our relationship to God.

And so, you see, trusting and relying ON CHRIST AND WHAT HE DID ON THE CROSS is not a sterile exercise. It's hooking up with God's powerful force for salvation.

GOSPEL NUGGET # 591

ISA 22:12 Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth.
ISA 22:13 Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “ Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”
ISA 22:14 But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself to me, “Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you Until you die,” says the Lord GOD of hosts.

Judgment and destruction were coming to Jerusalem. And God was calling them to mourn and be in sorrow over their condition; He called them to repent. But, instead, they held a feast in the face of impending death. They did not turn to God to deliver them; they did not believe that He was powerful enough to save them from what was coming. Instead, they took a hedonistic stance and carried on with a devil-may-care attitude and lived for the moment. A sure condemnation awaited them.

How about you my friend? You know that you are a sinner. Are you in sorrow over this fact? Do you mourn that you are not right with God? Do you long for His forgiveness and deliverance?

Or are you someone who can afford to be unconcerned about the condition of your soul before God? Are you someone who could care less about the sins you have committed in your life? Are you someone who can party over the many transgressions you have made against God?

Oh, my friend! I hope that you are not the latter but the former! I hope you are someone who realizes your spiritual bankrupt condition before God and mourn over it. "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted," the Bible says. That is, blessed are those who mourn over their spiritually bankrupt condition because they will be comforted with God's forgiveness and salvation.

Mt 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

Jas 4:9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

In one word --- Repent! And those who repent will find the comfort of forgivness and salvation in Christ Jesus and what He did on the cross for our sins.