The truth of the gospel. ( 2 ) ( Ephesians 2 v 8 - 9 )

 Continuing on from yesterday, as regards a church that was turning away from  the gospel. The good news, it  is not Christ plus, it is Christ only ,the moment one adds unto the gospel ,it is no longer good news,   it becomes invalid. There are people who believe that they must do something to save themselves, they would profess to believe  in Christ ,but insist on adding something extra, they are  in error, and they will never be saved. It may be circumcision , baptism ,good works, sabbath keeping, door knocking, church attendance, keeping the commandments. Anything you add to the gospel , is destroying the gospel, in fact it becomes another gospel, which in fact is not a gospel. The apostle Paul said the  following ,''May I never boast  except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, ( Galatians 6 v 14 ) , Christ death on the cross is sufficient to save us completely, when we add to it we  are taking away from it. If you have trusted Jesus as your Saviour ,do not sell out to those who tell you must add on ,don't be fooled. It is never  a matter of you trying harder, but a matter of faith and faith alone in Christ, that saves.' Nothing in my hands I bring , Simply to thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless,  look to Thee for grace; Foul , I to the fountain  fly; Wash me Saviour, or  I die'.  ( Words by A. G. Toplady )

The truth of the Gospel { 1 } { Galatians 1 v 6 - 10 }

 Imagine  a young person who was  rescued from a abusive situation ,and adopted  into a loving caring family, and then imagine that same young person leaving that loving family ,and going back into that abusive situation. It does not make sense, the loving  family are devastated, why they ask themselves? why?. Then  consider the great apostle Paul hearing that a  Church that had come into being under his ministry, were now turning back, why/?.  It is in his letter to the Galatians we discover the reason , they were forsaking the truth, for error. When  we forsake  truth we are forsaking God, for God is a God of truth, and he expects those who follow him , to hold fast for the truth  especially  the truth of the gospel. After all it is only the truth of the gospel that can save us. It appears that  people  ,they are called, the circumcision party , did two things ,they poisoned the minds of the church  against Paul. If they had succeeded in this  they  would have undermined Pauls teaching, and ministry. What were they teaching ?,they were Jews who  taught that Christ and his finished work on Calvary was not enough to save ,a person.  They taught  that one had to be circumcised, to be a real Christian, in other words they  had to become legalistic Jews.  This basically is what the letter to the Galatians is about ,this is as relevant now, as it was then , as we see next time.

God does test us . (2} ( Romans 8 v 28 )

 Yes, God  does test us, I suppose the question is why ?. Consider Job who was a very godly man, and so why did he suffer?. People who suffer often say or even think , what have I done to deserve this  ?. Jobs suffering was very severe, he lost all his  children, all his possessions, and  his health, it appeared to have happened very quickly, one blow after another.  He had three friends ,well sort of, you have heard the term Jobs comforters  , when you use that term as regards someone being a Jobs comforter, you mean they are the very opposite to that. Basically  they all said it was Jobs fault , that he was suffering, because he had sinned. Of course like all of us he was a sinner, but Job had not done anything to warrant or cause the evil that had befallen him.  They were wrong ,there are still  Jobs comforters about, beware of them,  Job was not being punished for any sin he had committed, but he was being tested. Satan was attacking him , seeking to prove that he only trusted God because of  the blessing he had bestowed on him. So God permitted the devil to afflict him, and that he did, I believe he came through that test successfully. There is  a lot of suffering in this world , Christians are not  immune from suffering, could be that you are suffering, will you pass that test ?,will you  trust God in your times of trials? In the midst of his trials Job said,'' Though  he slay me , yet  I will trust Him ''.  ( Job  13 v  15 ) ' Judge not the Lord  by feeble sense,  but trust Him  for  His grace; Behind a frowning  providence , He hides a smiling face.'  ( Words by William  Cowper )

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Be good ( Romans 2 v 7 - 11 )

The apostle  Paul  in Ephesians  1 v 4 / v 11, tells us how God  has chosen us unto salvation ,and   writes that  we  should be holy and blameless, and in 4 v 1,that we should walk worthy of that calling. With privilege comes responsibility ,our lives must reflect are calling ,commenting on this  C , Swindoll says ,''Our response to election should be like Queen  Victoria's reaction when she realized  she would one day be queen;  When she was young , Victoria was shielded from the fact that  she would be the next ruling monarch of England lest this knowledge spoil her. When her teacher finally  did let her discover for herself that she would be Queen of England, Victoria's response was, ''Then I will be good''. C S , continues, 'The fact that God has chosen us for salvation in Christ  should not cause us to boast;  it should  drive us to humility. It should  not make us live loose lives; it should  motivate  us to ''be good'' that is, to conduct ourselves in holiness and blamelessness before Him'. As a parent ,what did we often say to our children , ''be good'', so our loving heavenly Father says to his children ,'' be good''.

Change. ( Psalm 48 v 14 )

We live in a world of change, I am not the good looking young man I used to be, now I am the good looking old man, the mirror does not lie.( my little joke ).But the fact is most of us do not like change , for instance, moving home , country, job ,you may be reallocated, children moving school. Just  at this moment I  am working on my new laptop, I know it is for the best, the last one was old and needed to be replaced, but because I  am not sure of the new one, I struggle with that. Now for any of you who have moved, or about to move, whither it is to a new house, a new job, a new school, country etc, Here is what God would say to you,  'Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord  your God will be with you wherever you go. '   ( Joshua 1 v  9 ).

Don't forget. ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15)

Confined to his bed in early 1807 ,because of age and his weakening condition ,John Newton that able preacher, and hymn writer, had a visit from a friend. As the friend sat by his bedside he saw that John was struggling to say something, so he leaned over to hear what it was. This is what he said, ''My memory is almost God, but I remember two things'', he whispered , feebly. ''That I am a great sinner'', He paused to summon up his last breath, before finishing the sentence,''  And that Christ is a great Saviour''. Then he went to be with the Lord. John never forgot what his Savour had done for him, nor should we , for we are  all  great sinners, but praise God like John we have a great Saviour.

 

Mental illness ( Romans 5 v 6 - 8 )

'Could we with ink the ocean fill,and were the skies of parchment made;Were  every stalk on earth a quill,  and every man a scribe by trade  To write the love of God above,would drain the ocean dry,nor could the  scroll contain the whole. Tho ' stretched from sky to sky'. We do not know the name of the person who wrote these lovely words,they were written by a man on the wall of the narrow room in an institution for the mentally ill,the man  was said to be demented. These words  were later incorporated  into a hymn by F.M. Lehman, called ,'The Love of God'. ' Are you a Christian? if you are,think much  on the love of God, look on the cross and you need look no further.Consider it was for you the Saviour died, He became cursed for you, that curse that is upon you, because everyone who has broken God's law is cursed . (Galatians 3 v 10 ).In so doing he saved you from God's wrath'.That death on the cross was a manifestation of outrageous love,'Love so amazing so divine, demands,your soul, you life,your all.'