November 4, 2012
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse,
2nd Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New
Jersey, 08553
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone:
615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM
Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning
Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM
Midweek Service
Order
of service, announcements, etc, are in attachment. All articles in the bulletin are by the
pastor unless otherwise noted.
*******
THIS IS THE RECORD
1 John 5: 11
What is the truth of the gospel? In this one verse God tells us plainly.
That God
Salvation begins not with the sinner but with
God—in the beginning God. God the Father chose his Son to come forth as
the arm of his strength to uphold his righteousness. (Is 59: 16; Rom 3: 25-26) God chose whom he would in his Son. (2 Thess
2: 13)
Redemption from the fall and from sin is by God the Son. (Ro 8: 3-4;
Jn 17: 4; He 9: 26) Did he put away
sin? Whose sin did he put away? God in Christ put away the sin of each one
for whom Christ died! This is the
record, that God hath put away sin. (Acts 20: 28) We are taught this record—this
witness—this testimony of God—in the heart by God the Holy Spirit. (Jn 3: 6; 6:
45) This is the record—THAT GOD. The only thing the elect of God get credit
for doing is sinning.
Hath Given
Nothing that God gives to a sinner is or can be earned. A sinner is conceived and born in sin so that
we can do nothing by our own hand to make God receive us. God owes no man anything but to leave us in
our sin and give us the wages of that sin which is death. God has not given because of good in us. Every sinner God saves was as wicked as the
next—There is none good, no not one. But this is the record that God hath
GIVEN. When we are talking about the
gift of God we are talking about grace: unmerited, unearned favor. A gift given
to you is not earned by you nor can it be or it ceases to be a gift. Salvation is the gift of God’s grace. (Rom 11: 6)
To Us
Who are “the us”? They are all of us who were chosen of God unto salvation before God
made time. All of us who shall be saved by grace were ordained unto eternal life,
meaning God arranged in an orderly manner, assigned, appointed, and determined
who, what, when, where and how God would save us. The us who are ordained to
eternal life shall be born of God and believe this record (Acts 13: 48); the us
are as many as God entrusted to his Son; the us are all for whom Christ died
and redeemed by his blood; the us rejoice that this record is true because it
gives God all the glory and assures us of our eternal inheritance. When God bears
record in our soul our stony hearts melt and with a new heart we are grateful
and rejoice that God gave all this to us freely!
Eternal
Life
Eternal life is life without beginning or end. It is without beginning because we have
always been alive eternally in Christ, created in Christ in the purpose of God
from the beginning. Our life is without
end because there is no end to God. Life
without beginning or end is too big for our finite minds. Still the truth remains, “And this is the
promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” (1Jo 2:25)
And this
Life is in His Son
It is by the Son of God that we have an
understanding and know him that is true.
(1 Jn 5: 20) Christ is the Word of
life, the life manifested, and the eternal Life by whom we have fellowship with
God the Father. (1 Jn 1: 1-3) As sin
reigned unto death, grace reigns through Christ our Righteousness unto Christ
our eternal life. He is the gift of
eternal life from God. (Ro 5: 21; 6: 23)
Christ our Life calls us by his Voice effectually and gives us eternal
life. (Jn 10: 26-29) Christ gives
eternal life to as many as the Father gave him and the life he gives is knowledge
of God through the Son. (Jn 17: 2-3) The
Son of God is the Wisdom of God required of God by his people; the Son of God
is the Righteousness of God which God requires we have; the Son of God is the
Holiness of God which God requires we have; the Son of God is the Truth of God
by which we know God; the Son of God is the Fidelity of God and having Christ
we have the perfect faithful One God requires; the Son of God is the Way to God
and the only way to God; and the Son of God is ours by God’s gift to you who
believe him. This is the conclusion of
the whole matter, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not
the Son of God hath not life.” Now do
you believe the record which God has given?
*******
Blessed
are the Dead who Die in the Lord
Rev 14:
13
By Henry Mahan
This
is the message from heaven. It was a voice from heaven which COMMANDED JOHN TO
WRITE, Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord"
The
world will take you into a lavish country club where wealth, power, and success
abound. These people are laughing, singing, drinking, and merry. Nothing on
this earth is beyond their reach. The best is none too good. The world will
take you to a university where the scholars of the world delve deeper into the
wisdom of the world; or to the Olympic games where men and women in excellent
health vie for prestigious, precious medals; or to the field of battle where
officers win a place in history; or to the halls of legislature; for the
doctrine of men is "blessed are the living who are rich, wise, healthy,
and powerful."
The
voice from heaven takes you into a darkened room. There is complete silence
except for the breathing of a weary pilgrim. A loving husband and grateful
children stand at the foot of the bed as tears flow silently down their cheeks.
In a moment, with a deep sigh, her eyes open and a smile crosses her face as
she says, "I am ready to go and be with Christ which is far better; for I
KNOW WHOM I have believed and am persuaded He is able to keep that which I
have committed unto Him FOR THIS VERY DAY." She breathes for the
last time and she is gone; and the voice from heaven says, "blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord that they may rest from their labors."
The
world may try, but they cannot write BLESSED where God has written CURSED;
and try as they might, they cannot write CURSED where God has written BLESSED!
It is so sad that what the world calls rich, God calls poor; and what the world
calls poor, God calls "rich in faith and heirs of His kingdom"
(James 2:5).