GOSPEL LIGHT #754

GE 19:21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 

GE 19:22 “Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed but Zoar was spared. Why? Because of the righteousness of one man - Lot. Lot came into the lives of the people of Zoar and so they were spared from destruction. Lot was their righteousness so to speak. 

This illustrates the value of Christ for a sinner. Just as Zoar was spared from destruction because of the righteousness of one man—Lot—so too are those who have Christ as their righteousness spared from God's judgment.

Each of us is like Zoar, which means small and insignificant, confronted with impending judgment. But the moment the Lord Jesus Christ arrives in our lives, just as Lot arrived in Zoar, He becomes our righteousness, and His righteousness is a powerful request to God not to overthrow us, small and insignificant sinners as we are. 

You can make Christ as your righteousness right this moment if you trust in Him and what He did on the cross for your salvation. 

GOSPEL LIGHT #753

The Gospel According To The Silkworm 

It's from a silkworm that we get silk. Silk is a luxurious, natural fiber known for its smooth texture, tensile strength and shimmering, light-reflecting appearance. 

Silkworms would spin a cocoon of silk around themselves. To extract the silk fibers, the cocoons are boiled. The boiling process separates the silkworm from the silk fibers. However, in the process, the silkworm is killed. The silkworm must be sacrificed in order for us to have silk.

The Bible says that man's righteous deeds are like filthy rags. In Isaiah 61 verse 10, we read of "the garments of salvation" and "the robe of righteousness" that God provides to cover a sinner. 

In order for this to be possible, the Lord Jesus had to come and suffer on the cross. In Psalm 22 verse 6, we read the pre-incarnate Christ describing Himself like this: "...I am a worm, and no man..." Worms are creatures which men trample down. Psalm 22 is a Messianic psalm that depicts the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as the silkworm gives its life, the Lord Jesus gave His life so that we might be clothed in righteousness and glory.

The garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness are ready for you to wear. Will you put them on by faith in Christ? 
 

GOSPEL LIGHT #752

The "Try Christ" Delusion 

There are people who egg others to "Try Christ." One time I personally heard an evangelist encouraged others to "Try Christ" for their salvation. I wanted to shout "No! That's wrong!"

The Bible nowhere enjoins us to "try Christ" like no one, in his right mind, would tell us to try a parachute. A wag once said: "If at first you don't succeed then skydiving is definitely is not for you."

Our eternal destiny is an infinitely higher jump than any skydiving there is, with eternal consequences. You can't come back to earth, live again, and make another jump into eternity trying another option until you find what works.

When God saves a sinner, He convicts him of his sin; He would make him realize that he is helpless and powerless to save himself. Then He would illumine him about the sufficiency of what Christ did on the cross for his salvation. He has to convince us first about our helplessness and Christ's adequacy.  

A man jumps out of a plane not to "try" his parachute, but because he is certain of two things:

First, he knows he cannot fly or levitate on his own.
Second, he is convinced that his parachute will support him and land him safely.

He is not trying his parachute. No, he is trusting in it. We don't try Christ. We don't experiment with Him. No, we trust Him. 

P.S. "Trying Christ" is the language of those who have not realized their own helplessness in saving themselves and a lack of understanding of the sufficiency of Christ's work on the cross.

GOSPEL LIGHT #751

 

The Forbidden Tree Vs The Foreordained Tree 

Just as the fall came by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree so salvation comes by eating the fruit of the foreordained tree.

The Lord Jesus was foreordained by God to die on the cross of Calvary for our sins. He Himself prepared and accomplished 100% salvation for us all. Salvation is simply the fruit of what He did on the cross. Now, our part is to simply receive and enjoy its blessings by faith in what He did.

God's curse on those who ate of the forbidden tree was this "...in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." God’s blessing with regard to the foreordained tree is this “in the day that you eat from it you will surely live and be saved.”

GOSPEL LIGHT #750

From Divine Hypermnesia To Divine Amnesia

Ho 7:2 They do not consider in their hearts That I remember all their wickedness; Now their own deeds have surrounded them; They are before My face.

Heb 10:17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."


From "I remember" to "I will remember no more." From divine hypermnesia to divine amnesia. We don't want the first; we want the second. The first is hell; the second is heaven. The first is condemnation; the second is salvation.

What brought about the change? John 1:29, it says here: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

It was the cross of Calvary that caused all the "amnesia." Of course, God does not actually suffer from memory loss. He is ever the all-knowing One. However, when He takes away the sins of a sinner who trusts in what the Lord Jesus did on the cross, God no longer holds those sins against them --- so much so that it would seem as if He has completely forgotten about them. He treats them as if the sins never existed. 

GOSPEL LIGHT #749

A Physical Demonstration Of Repentance 

Lu 19:6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.

As the Lord Jesus was passing through Jericho, a large crowd surrounded Him. Zacchaeus, a tax collector who was short in stature, wanted to see Jesus but couldn’t see over the crowd. So, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view. When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up, saw Zacchaeus in the tree, and called him by name, telling him to hurry and come down because He needed to stay at his house that day.

Zacchaeus was a repentant man at this point, and this verse right here might be used as a physical demonstration of it. Repentance is the attitude of coming down and receiving the Lord joyfully. 

We step down from our imagined high moral ground, acknowledging ourselves as sinners in need of salvation. Then, with humility, we receive Jesus gladly through faith in Him.

GOSPEL LIGHT #748

Christ Sacrifice On The Cross Sufficient For All Time

HEB 10:12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time... 

Christ died for sins - past, present and future. How many of your sins were future when Christ died on the cross 2000 years ago? All of them were future right? 

This was the realization that changed my life. I was painfully aware of my sinnerhood. I knew that I was helpless and hopeless to save myself. Then this good news of a message reached me --- Christ's death on the cross was sufficient for all time. I said: "That's enough! That will do! I can rest on that truth. In the eyes of God, all my sins are already effectively dealt with."

My friend, I invite you to cease striving to save yourself. Instead, rely on the all-sufficient and all-efficacious sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross.