Thursday, October 25, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #190
Why Is Christ Jesus The Only Qualified Person To Be The Savior Of Sinners?
He was instated. He was immaculate. He was interminate. He was infinite. He was intricate.
INSTATED
He was appointed and authorized by God. No one can save any sinner except Christ. Even if you can, it will not be recognized by God because God did not appoint you to be your own Savior. You are locked up to Christ.
IMMACULATE
He was sinless and flawless. If He committed even a single sin, it would be enough to disqualify Him as Savior because He would be needing salvation Himself. But He did not commit any and so He is qualified to be our Savior.
INTERMINATE
He was eternal, being God Himself (the second person of the Godhead). God's holiness demands an eternal payment for our sins. The extent of sin's penalty depends upon whom we ultimately sinned against. All sin is ultimately an offence against an ETERNAL God. Therefore the penalty of our sin must and should be eternal.
It would be an insult to God if we are only punished in hell for a billion years for an offense against an ETERNAL God. You would be insulted if your murderer will only be imprisoned for a week. You are not a dog right? You are a person made in the image of God though distorted by sin.
Christ being eternal was able in His death to make a provisional and yet eternal payment for our sins.
INFINITE
Christ being God was infinite. As such, He could die not just for one sinner but for all sinners. A finite person can only die for one person. He could not die for everybody. But Christ was infinite and therefore He could die for all sinners.
INTRICATE
He was the God-Man. He was one person with two natures: God and Man. As such, He could unite and reconcile in His person Man back to God.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #189
Isa 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
It was Peter Damian, a Benedictine monk who died on February 23, 1072 who started the practice of self-flagellation. As an act of penance (to atone for one's sins) he whipped himself and taught the practice to others. Later on he became a Roman Catholic saint.
Monks then began lashing themselves while reciting the Psalms. Each psalm was accompanied by 100 strokes. There are 150 Psalms in the Bible and so they lashed themselves for a good 1,500 strokes.
There were many who flogged themselves to death. During the 1200's and into the 1300's you can see people dressed in white with red crosses on caps and mantles, singing hymns and carrying banners. They scourged themselves with needle-pointed iron tips drawing blood as they struck to the rhythmic music of hymns.
If Peter Damian only knew and believed Isaiah 53, he would have realized that it is only through the sufferings and death of Christ that our sins can be atoned.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
It was Peter Damian, a Benedictine monk who died on February 23, 1072 who started the practice of self-flagellation. As an act of penance (to atone for one's sins) he whipped himself and taught the practice to others. Later on he became a Roman Catholic saint.
Monks then began lashing themselves while reciting the Psalms. Each psalm was accompanied by 100 strokes. There are 150 Psalms in the Bible and so they lashed themselves for a good 1,500 strokes.
There were many who flogged themselves to death. During the 1200's and into the 1300's you can see people dressed in white with red crosses on caps and mantles, singing hymns and carrying banners. They scourged themselves with needle-pointed iron tips drawing blood as they struck to the rhythmic music of hymns.
If Peter Damian only knew and believed Isaiah 53, he would have realized that it is only through the sufferings and death of Christ that our sins can be atoned.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #188
The Sinner's Inability To Save Himself
The sinner is powerless to save himself. When man fell into sin, he became debilitated, defiled, desperate, dead and deviated.
* DEBILITATED
Romans 5:6 describes a sinner as someone who is "without strength". Just as a paralyzed man is without strength to help himself so is a sinner without strength to save himself.
The sinner is powerless to save himself. When man fell into sin, he became debilitated, defiled, desperate, dead and deviated.
* DEBILITATED
Romans 5:6 describes a sinner as someone who is "without strength". Just as a paralyzed man is without strength to help himself so is a sinner without strength to save himself.
* DEFILED
Isaiah 64:6 describes a sinner as "unclean" and is someone who can only produce righteousness that are "filthy rags" in the eyes of God.
Now, think: If ever we can save ourselves, it would only be through our righteous deeds. There is no other option. We are either doing right or doing something sinful. Obviously, doing something sinful will not contribute to our salvation. In fact, it's one of the reasons why we need to be saved.
But if our righteous deeds are filthy rags in God's sight, then we have no chance of saving ourselves. The only possible way is closed.
* DESPERATE
In Matthew 19:25-26, the Lord Jesus taught that it is "impossible" for man to save himself.
* DEAD
Ephesians 2:1 describes a sinner as someone who is spiritually "dead". Being spiritually dead in the Bible primarily means separated from the source of life who is God. In order to be alive, life must come from Someone outside ourselves. For being dead, we are impotent to generate life for ourselves.
* DEVIATED
In Luke 19:10, the Lord Jesus describes a sinner as someone who is "lost". A lost person is someone who is incapable of finding his way. He needs someone to help him find his way back home.
We are debilitated, defiled, desperate, dead and deviated. In one word, we are depraved. We need the Deliverer---Jesus!
Isaiah 64:6 describes a sinner as "unclean" and is someone who can only produce righteousness that are "filthy rags" in the eyes of God.
Now, think: If ever we can save ourselves, it would only be through our righteous deeds. There is no other option. We are either doing right or doing something sinful. Obviously, doing something sinful will not contribute to our salvation. In fact, it's one of the reasons why we need to be saved.
But if our righteous deeds are filthy rags in God's sight, then we have no chance of saving ourselves. The only possible way is closed.
* DESPERATE
In Matthew 19:25-26, the Lord Jesus taught that it is "impossible" for man to save himself.
* DEAD
Ephesians 2:1 describes a sinner as someone who is spiritually "dead". Being spiritually dead in the Bible primarily means separated from the source of life who is God. In order to be alive, life must come from Someone outside ourselves. For being dead, we are impotent to generate life for ourselves.
* DEVIATED
In Luke 19:10, the Lord Jesus describes a sinner as someone who is "lost". A lost person is someone who is incapable of finding his way. He needs someone to help him find his way back home.
We are debilitated, defiled, desperate, dead and deviated. In one word, we are depraved. We need the Deliverer---Jesus!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #187
Ps 40:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
King David is the speaker here in this verse. David's physical deliverance is a picture of spiritual salvation. Notice three things here:
I. MY HELPLESS CONDITION BY NATURE: I was in "a horrible pit" and in "the miry clay".
II. HIS SALVATION BY GRACE: "He"..."brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay"
III. MY SPIRITUAL POSITION BY REDEMPTION: He "set my feet upon a rock and established my steps".
I now have a new stable standing in Christ, who is the rock of my salvation. Spiritually, I was in a horrible pit and a miry clay. I could never pull myself out. But Christ came and delivered and then set me on an immovable rock, a stable foundation that shall not be moved. He has made me safe and secure.
And what He did to me He can do for you. Trust in Him, who alone can deliver you from the pit.
King David is the speaker here in this verse. David's physical deliverance is a picture of spiritual salvation. Notice three things here:
I. MY HELPLESS CONDITION BY NATURE: I was in "a horrible pit" and in "the miry clay".
II. HIS SALVATION BY GRACE: "He"..."brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay"
III. MY SPIRITUAL POSITION BY REDEMPTION: He "set my feet upon a rock and established my steps".
I now have a new stable standing in Christ, who is the rock of my salvation. Spiritually, I was in a horrible pit and a miry clay. I could never pull myself out. But Christ came and delivered and then set me on an immovable rock, a stable foundation that shall not be moved. He has made me safe and secure.
And what He did to me He can do for you. Trust in Him, who alone can deliver you from the pit.
Monday, October 15, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #186
Ge 6:14 "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
The ark was covered inside and out with pitch. It served as the coating for the Ark. No water could get inside the Ark, yes not even a single drop of the waters of judgment could get in.
It is a picture of the blood of Christ shed on the cross. In Christ, a sinner who seeks refuge will be completely secure from God's wrath and judgment, yes not one bit of condemnation will fall on him.
The ark was covered inside and out with pitch. It served as the coating for the Ark. No water could get inside the Ark, yes not even a single drop of the waters of judgment could get in.
It is a picture of the blood of Christ shed on the cross. In Christ, a sinner who seeks refuge will be completely secure from God's wrath and judgment, yes not one bit of condemnation will fall on him.
Monday, October 8, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #185
How Are We Not Saved?
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the gift of God,
9 NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast.
How are we NOT saved? Two things: a) Not of ourselves and b) Not of works. Combine the two ideas and we have: "We are not saved by trying our best to be saved."
Our best is not good enough. We are saved by God's Best--- His one and only Son --- when we put our trust in Him alone for salvation.
Don't TRY your best. TRUST in God's Best!!!
Saturday, October 6, 2012
GOSPEL NUGGET #184
GOSPEL NUGGETS
The Liberal Preacher And The Dying Woman (A True Story)
One time a knock on a liberal preacher's door was heard in his study.
(A liberal preacher is someone who does not believe in miracles in the Bible, he does not believe that Christ died for the salvation of sinners. For him, it was just an example of how we should love others, he believes that the Bible is full of errors. He's actually a false preacher)
A little girl who was poorly dressed came and pleaded with him: "Can you help me get my mother into heaven? She's at home. She's dying. She sent me out to find a preacher to help her get into heaven. My Mama is dying."
He went with her to a poor section of town and there he saw a woman who was dying on her deathbed with half of her life gone. He then told her about the Sermon on the Mount, about living right, doing good and other great and wonderful moral truths.
The woman looked distraught and said: "You don't understand. I have lived a sinful and wicked life. Now, I am dying. It is too late for me to do all of that. Don't you have a message for a woman like me?"
The preacher realized that he did not really have any message for the dying woman. And then he remembered the story of her mother before he came to a liberal seminary about the Savior who shed His blood, about His death on the cross for sinners.
He then told her about the cross, about grace and the free offer of the salvation that is in Christ to unworthy sinners. And there, the dying woman received peace with God and was marvelously saved. It was at that time too that the preacher himself got saved.
The only hope for sinners like us is the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross.
The Liberal Preacher And The Dying Woman (A True Story)
One time a knock on a liberal preacher's door was heard in his study.
(A liberal preacher is someone who does not believe in miracles in the Bible, he does not believe that Christ died for the salvation of sinners. For him, it was just an example of how we should love others, he believes that the Bible is full of errors. He's actually a false preacher)
A little girl who was poorly dressed came and pleaded with him: "Can you help me get my mother into heaven? She's at home. She's dying. She sent me out to find a preacher to help her get into heaven. My Mama is dying."
He went with her to a poor section of town and there he saw a woman who was dying on her deathbed with half of her life gone. He then told her about the Sermon on the Mount, about living right, doing good and other great and wonderful moral truths.
The woman looked distraught and said: "You don't understand. I have lived a sinful and wicked life. Now, I am dying. It is too late for me to do all of that. Don't you have a message for a woman like me?"
The preacher realized that he did not really have any message for the dying woman. And then he remembered the story of her mother before he came to a liberal seminary about the Savior who shed His blood, about His death on the cross for sinners.
He then told her about the cross, about grace and the free offer of the salvation that is in Christ to unworthy sinners. And there, the dying woman received peace with God and was marvelously saved. It was at that time too that the preacher himself got saved.
The only hope for sinners like us is the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross.
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