For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4)
Romans 3:24 — “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”
The Protestant Reformation was born with much emphasis on the Scriptural truth of justification by faith; and faith is the way that God has said that a sinner will receive justification. The conclusion — “a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28).
Continue reading “Justification by Grace”
With presidential pardons in the news this week, it seems a good time to discuss something far, far, better.
While having a sentence commuted, or a pardon, which is essentially high level forgiveness for a known crime, it does not take away the guilt of the offence. It simply takes away the due punishment for the crime. Some may say, and rightly so, sometimes, that the sentence was too harsh for the crime. That is true, sometimes, but should be as expected in unjust man’s “justice” system. When the unjust have rule over justice, how can we really expect justice, but that is a digression, for a real pardon is when it is offered when the sentence really is due. A pardon is never a declaration of “not guilty”.
Hebrews 2:8 – 9 — “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
In the last study on the Epistle to the Hebrews, we saw that the world to come will be governed by the Son of Man. That Son of Man is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ revealed in glory. He will have all things put in subjection under His feet:
THERE are two great revelators, or unfolders of Divine Truth in the Bible — Moses in the Old Testament and Paul in the New.
Someone may say, “Is not Christ the Great Teacher?” In a sense this is true; but in a real sense Christ is the Person taught about, rather than teaching in the Gospels. The Law and the Prophets pointed forward to Christ; the Epistles point back to Him; and the Book of Revelation points to His Second Coming, and those things connected with it. The Four Gospels tell the story how He was revealed to men and rejected by them. Christ, Himself, therefore is the theme of the Bible. Moses in the Law reveals God’s holiness, and thus by means of the Law reveals human sin and the utter hopelessness and helplessness of man. Paul in his great Epistles reveals Christ as our Righteousness, Sanctification, Redemption, and All-in-All.
The twelve Apostles (Matthias by Divine appointment taking the place of Judas) were to be the “witnesses” (Acts 1:22) of Christ’s resurrection — that is, of the fact of it. They were not to unfold fully the doctrine of it as Paul was. The twelve were with Jesus personally and knew Him as a man, and when He died they saw it. When He was buried, they knew it personally as eye-witnesses. And when He was raised, they found it out experimentally, visiting His actual tomb and seeing that it was empty. They were also to see and handle the physical, risen body of our Lord. And it was with them that our Lord abode on earth forty days after His resurrection, “shewing Himself alive [physically, in a body] by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3).
Romans 3:25 – 26 — “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
There is much that the Scripture shows of what the cross of Christ means to the sinner. The verse prior to these that are under consideration speaks of justification freely given by grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. But toward God, Christ is the propitiation:
Continue reading “Propitiation — What the Cross Means to God”
Romans 3:21 – 26 — “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
A man with a record of his life that he was perfect and upright, that he feared God, and eschewed evil, had to ask the question, “How should a man be just with God?” (Job 9:2)
The precious words that the Apostle Paul said leading up to these life giving words were words of indictment against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of man. All are guilty. All are concluded under sin. There is none righteous, no, not one. Continue reading “How Should a Man be Just with God?”
Exodus 25:17–22 — “And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”
Exodus 30:6 — “And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.“
Romans 3:19 – 20 — “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Leading into this pivotal paragraph in the Apostle’s declaration of the gospel of Christ, we learn the truth about what the law really is. Looking at verse 19, we see to whom the law is speaking: it is speaking to them that are under it. Who is under it then?
By Justin Johnson — Grace Ambassadors
original: http://graceambassadors.com/prophecy/the-sign-of-the-time
While many see the signs of the times in the modern headlines, an old Bible teacher rightly said that we do not see the signs of the time, because we do not live in the times of the sign. That teacher was dispensational.
Matthew 24 is where the disciples ask Jesus, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” (Matthew 24:3)
Dispensational Bible study has received a scarred reputation by prophetic speculators who think Matthew 24 prophesies the present dispensation. Mid-Acts right division accurately explains it as the sign of the Lord’s return to earth in Israel’s kingdom, and not his return for the church of his body.
Let No Man Deceive You
Moreover, many of signs that speculators produce from Matthew 24 are not the sign Jesus described. Jesus warned against following after those who see signs in the events of the day.
Today, the Doctor is going to give us a full physical examination, so He can give us a full diagnosis of our health. He is going to check our eyes, our mouths, our throats, and check on the aptitude of our hands and feet.
Below, you will find the Doctor’s summary diagnosis. On the plus side, He has let us know the diagnosis of everyone on this planet. That means that you already are able to know some of the characteristics of the woman, or, for you ladies, of the man that you will marry. We can always think that it is good to go into anything with a good amount of knowledge. Being forewarned is forearmed, so carefully read the Doctor’s diagnosis before continuing:
