November 8, 2020
Hymn of the Day
(tune: Look Ye Saints, p.141)
Sovereign grace o'er sin abounding,
Ransomed souls the tidings swell;
'Tis a deep that knows no sounding,
Who its length or breadth can tell.
On its glories,
Let my soul forever dwell.
Who from Christ my soul can sever,
Bound by everlasting bands;
Once in Christ, in Him forever,
The eternal covenant stands!
None can pluck us,
From the blessed Savior's hands.
On such love, my soul, still ponder,
Love so great, so rich, so free;
Say, while deep in holy wonder,
Why, O Lord, such love to me?
Hallelujah!
Grace shall reign eternally.
Today's Hymns: Jesus Calls Us #374,
O Zion Haste #cb9, My Hope Is in the Lord #cb5
Special Dates: Pat Koedam – 13
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Although the sovereignty of God is universal and absolute, it is not the sovereignty of blind power. It is coupled with infinite wisdom, holiness, and love. And this doctrine, when properly understood, is a most comforting and reassuring one. Who would not prefer to have his affairs in the hands of a God of infinite power, wisdom, holiness and love, rather than to have them left to fate, or chance, or irrevocable natural law, or to short-sighted and perverted self? Those who reject God's sovereignty should consider what alternatives they have left. -Loraine Boettner
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The strongest inducement for a Believer to obey God is the fact that he has already been graciously pardoned in Christ for having disobeyed. -copied
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I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God.
~Job 19.25, 26
At the cross, the religious leaders of the day said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him" (Matt. 27:42). They falsely claimed that if they saw a miracle, they would believe on Christ. Isn't this what many people are still saying in our day? They say if they see miracles they will believe. They say they will believe if the Lord will miraculously provide for them or heal them. But this is not true. The only way any sinner will ever believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is by the revelation of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word (I Corinthians 1:21-24). Let us always make much of the preaching of the Word of God. If hearing the Word of God preached will not convince a man to trust Christ, you can rest assured no miracle will be able to do it either. -Frank Tate
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God's people must have the truth for they are begotten of it; therefore, they love it, though it often cuts to the very heart. They also hunger and thirst after righteousness because they are aware of how desperate their need of it is; for in themselves they know they are destitute of it. Do you love and desire the truth? Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? -Donnie Bell
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The voice from the cross did not summon men to do, but to be satisfied with what was done, "It is finished." The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only perfect thing which has ever been presented to God on man's behalf. "It shall be perfect to be accepted, there shall be no blemish therein" (Leviticus 22:21). - Scott Richardson
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We must make Christ the paramount object of our soul's pursuit or our spiritual life will decline. It was Christ yesterday, and it must be Christ today, and Christ forever. -Scott Richardson
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Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him."
(Matthew 27:41, 42)
Such is the blindness of natural man that when he attempts to speak of spiritual things, even the most intelligent among them become fools. The intelligentsia of Jewish religion had long hated Christ. They had often gone to where he was teaching to ply him with questions in an attempt to tricking Him into saying something they could use against Him. In so doing they doubtless heard much of His teaching.
Yet, now they say, "Come down from the cross and we will believe you." Their taunt is utterly absurd. If He comes down from the cross, they will have no reason to believe Him; He will have made Himself a liar. Did He not say, "…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many," and, "The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again"? If He had come down from the cross, he would have proven Himself a liar and undermined any reason for anyone to believe Him.
But there is a more serious issue. If Christ were to have come down from the cross, there would have been no value in believing Him. Faith would not have brought salvation. Had Christ not fulfilled this death-work, believing Him would leave believers in their condemned state. Their sins would not have been paid for, leaving them in a state of guilt, and God will by no means clear the guilty.
Anyone who does not see the cross-work of the Lord Jesus as the linchpin of the whole scheme of grace does not understand the scheme of grace. The whole of it rests upon "Christ and Him crucified!" -Joe