February 26, 2006
“I had rather have one sentence in the scriptures from God the Holy Ghost, with a ‘thus saith the Lord of Hosts,’ in confirmation of any of his blessed truths, than all the reasonings and opinions of the world.”
Daily Readings for the Week of February 26-March 5
Sunday Deuteronomy 8-11 Thursday Deuteronomy 22-24
Monday Deuteronomy 12-14 Friday Deuteronomy 25-27
Tuesday Deuteronomy 15-18 Saturday Deuteronomy 28-29
Wednesday Deuteronomy 19-21 Sunday Deuteronomy 30-32
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Amy Coleman-3rd Stephanie Wall-4th
church cleaning in march: Mark and Regina Henson
Lord Jesus, Savior of the Lost — Don Fortner
(Tune: #46 — O for a Thousand Tongues — CM)
1. Lord Jesus, Savior of the lost,
My only hiding place,
I fall before Your sov’reign throne
And seek Your saving grace.
2. Guilty, pursued by justice, Lord,
Helpless to You I fly;
An outcast wretch, undone I am;
Save me, or else I die!
3. Forgive my sins, renew my soul,
O wash me in Your blood;
Your Spirit send and make me whole;
Restore me to my God!
4. My life, my soul, my all I give
To You, my rightful Lord;
Receive me now, salvation grant,
According to Your Word.
5. Eternal life! Eternal life!
The gift of grace divine.
I can, I will, I do believe -
Eternal life is mine!
6. And when I stand before Your throne
On that great judgment day,
Your blood and righteousness alone
Shall be this sinner’s plea!
25
“Ye must be born again.” — John 3:7
There is a multitude of sinners in this world, who are the objects of God’s everlasting love and grace in Christ, who must be born again. The Lord Jesus did not simply say to Nicodemus, “You really should be born again,” or “You need to be born again,” or “I urge you to be born again.” Our Savior said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again!” And, though he was not here born again, at the appointed time of love and grace, this man was, according to the purpose of God, born again (John 19:38-40).
Taking Nicodemus to be a representative of all God’s elect, the Son of God says, concerning all chosen sinners, “Ye must be born again;” and they shall, every one of them, at God’s appointed time. This is a matter of absolute certainty because it is a matter of absolute necessity. Why must God’s elect be born again? What necessity is there for this? Here are seven things clearly revealed in the Word of God showing us why every chosen sinner must be born again.
1. God’s elect must be born again because we need it.
Though chosen and redeemed, though predestinated to eternal salvation, none of God’s elect can ever be saved apart from the new birth. We must be born again because we were all born wrong the first time (Ps. 51:5; 58:3). Because we were born wrong the first time, unless we are born again, we can neither see nor enter into the kingdom of God.
2. Every one of the elect must be born again because God, who cannot lie, promised it before the world began (Jer. 31: 33-34; Tit. 1:2).
3. All the chosen must be born again because election demands it (2 Thess. 2: 13-14; Eph. 1:2-14).
If even one of those chosen to salvation should fail to obtain salvation, then God’s election is meaningless, his purpose is useless, his love is worthless, and his Word is comfortless! If God cannot be trusted to do this, to save the people he purposed to save from eternity, he cannot be trusted to do anything!
4. God’s elect must all be born again because predestination arranged it (Rom. 8:28-30).
Predestination is God’s appointment and arrangement of all things from eternity to secure the salvation of his chosen. Providence is God’s execution of his eternal purpose of grace in predestination.
5. Every one of God’s elect must, without exception, be born again because the sin-atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ has obtained it and demands it (Heb. 9:12).
6. Every chosen, blood-bought sinner in this world must be born again because our God wills it (2 Pet. 3:9; 15).
7. All the chosen, all who were predestinated to eternal life, all the redeemed, all of them must be born again because the Holy Spirit was sent here to do it (John 16:8-11; 6:37-40, 44-45, 63).
26
“Must Yet be Accomplished”
Luke 22:37
Here the Son of God, our all-glorious Savior, declares the absolute necessity of his sin-atoning death upon the cursed tree as our Substitute. — “This that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors.” The Lord of Glory was compelled to die as he did because the Scriptures must be fulfilled. The particular passage he quotes here is Isaiah 53:12.
The Lord Jesus came into this world with a commission, on a mission of mercy, under the bondage of his own voluntary suretyship engagements, which he assumed for us as the Surety of the everlasting covenant (Heb. 7:22; Matt. 1:21; John 3:14-17). His death was no accident. It was not something which came to pass because of man’s free will, or because the Jews would not let him be their king! The Lord Jesus died at Calvary because he must die at Calvary (Luke 9:22).
The word “must” means “necessary” or “binding.” It is used to describe that which is absolutely vital. Why? What necessity was there for the death of the Son of God upon the cursed tree? Why must this Holy One be made sin for us? Why must the Son of God’s love be put to death? Our Savior has told us that his death as our Substitute was necessary because the Scriptures, which declared hundreds of years earlier, “He was reckoned among the transgressors,” must be fulfilled. But there are other things that made his sacrificial, sin-atoning death upon the cursed tree necessary.
The Lord Jesus Christ must die at Jerusalem as he did because God the Father purposed it from eternity (Acts 2:23). Our dear Savior had to die at Jerusalem in order to fulfil his covenant engagements for us. He voluntarily assumed all responsibility for our souls in the covenant of grace; but once he assumed that responsibility, he must fulfil it. He was honor bound to do so (Gen. 43:8-9; John 10:18; Acts 13:29).
And it was absolutely necessary for the Lord Jesus Christ to die as he did upon the cursed tree, lifted up from the earth, in order for the holy Lord God to save us from our sins (Rom 3:24-26; John 3:14-17). If he would be “a just God and a Savior” (Isa. 45:20), he could not save us from our sins, except by the sacrifice of his own dear Son. He could only do it this way, because righteousness must be maintained, sin must be punished, justice must be satisfied, forgiveness must be legitimate, and love must be blameless.
The Lord God was not, in any way, compelled by anything outside himself to save anyone. But, having determined to save some of Adam’s fallen race, he could not do so except upon the grounds of justice satisfied. He was not compelled to save us. But, having chosen to save us, he could not do so except by the infinitely meritorious sacrifice of his own dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. — “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged” (Pro. 16:6; Rom. 3:24-26).
27
Grace Bulletin
February 26, 2006
GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of DANVILLE
2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Telephone (859) 236-8235 - E-Mail don@donfortner.com
Donald S. Fortner, Pastor
Sunday
10:00 A.M. Bible Classes
10:30 A.M. Morning Worship Service
6:30 P.M. Evening Worship Service
Tuesday
7:30 P.M. Mid-Week Worship Service
Channel 6 - Sunday Morning 8:00 A.M.
Channel 6 - Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M.
Channel 6 - Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.
http://www.donfortner.com
http://www.sovereign-grace/gracechurch.htm
http://www.freegrace.net/danville/default.asp