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Grace Baptist Church of Danville

May 5, 2013

Let every saved man desire the work of the ministry, desiring from God a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. That is noble and right. But let no man thrust himself into the work. Gospel preachers are called, gifted, and sent of God. If God creates a bird to fly, he gives it wings; and if God calls a man to preach, he gives him the gifts necessary to perform the work.

·      Bro. Frank Hall is preaching today for Bible Baptist Church in Madisonville, KY.

·      Lantana Grace Church, Crossville, TN, will host its annual Sovereign Grace Bible Conference June 21-23. Bro. Donnie Bell is the host pastor. — Telephone: 931-788-6195 — Email: dlb50@frontiernet.net

·      I am scheduled to preach Friday-Sunday for Grace Baptist Church in Taylor, AR, where Bro. Darvin Pruitt is pastor. — Telephone: 870-626-0740 — Email: darvinpruitt@gmail.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Will Hacker-10th   Fred Tuttle-11th

NURSERY DUTY THIS WEEK

Today: Jenny Bartley (AM) Ruth Wall (PM)          Tuesday: Debbie Bartley

Christ Made Sin — Don Fortner

(Tune: #42 — All Hail the Power CM)

1.    Th’ enormous load of all my guilt

Was on my Savior laid,

When He, Who knew and did no sin,

For sinners, sin was made!

2.    “Awake, O sword,” in furious wrath,

Jehovah cried; and He

(The Lamb of God, my Substitute!)

Was sacrificed for me!

3.    In that same way, by grace and truth,

My ransomed soul is made

“The righteousness of God in Him,”

And I from sin am freed!

4.    This wondrous mystery of grace! —

Salvation, full and free,

Shall be the subject of my songs

Throughout eternity!

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Guilt and Substitution

2 Corinthians 5:21

There is nothing in all the world so tormenting as guilt. I do not doubt that the very fires of hell that cannot be quenched are relentlessly fueled by an indescribable sense of guilt tormenting the soul. The worm that never dies in the pit of the damned, that undying worm that forever gnaws upon the fully awakened consciences of the damned is guilt.

Tormenting Guilt

But even in this world, there is nothing more tormenting to a man than a sense of guilt. I do not mean merely a sense of guilt with regard to men, but a consciousness of guilt before the infinite, holy, eternal God. Are you struggling with such guilt? Does your screaming conscience torment you day and night? You try to silence it with prayers, Bible reading, moral reformation, and religious duty. But when you toss upon your bed in the lonely watches of the night, alone before God, you find that your bed is too short and your covering too narrow; and you cannot rest. Your refuge of lies is swept away in a moment before the bar of God’s holiness, justice, and truth. In your very soul, you cry and weep, tremble and quake with an overwhelming sense of guilt and the fear of eternal damnation. You cannot rest. You have found, and find day after day, that there is “no rest for the wicked.”

Believers with Guilt

Some of you who are my brothers and sisters in Christ, true believers, some of you who are born of God, yet struggle with a horrible sense of guilt. You know that Christ paid your sin debt; but you still carry the weight of guilt. Oh, what an unbearable weight it is! You know that the Lord Jesus has redeemed you from the curse of the law; but you still carry the weight of the condemned in your soul. You know that Christ is the Lord your Righteousness, that you are made the righteousness of God in him; but your soul is still filled with guilt. Why? Because you are keenly aware of your own, inward lusts and sin. You still bear your own iniquities in your soul.

There is nothing that makes the life of a poor, tender soul so painfully bitter as this oppressive, unbearable load of sin and guilt. Satan knows that there is no yoke so oppressive, no bondage so cruel to your soul as this. Therefore, he constantly accuses you. He raises Moses up to condemn you, and your flesh says, “Amen,” to his accusations.

A Message from God

I have a message from God for you. It is specifically to you who carry the weight of sin and guilt in your souls. If God the Holy Spirit will give you eyes to see and a heart to believe what he declares to us in 2nd Corinthians 5:21, you will find the message of this text worth more than a mountain of gold to your soul. — “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

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Context

In this portion of Holy Scripture (2 Corinthians 5:17-6:2), Paul is calling sinners to faith in Christ. He urges us to be reconciled to God upon the basis of reconciliation already made at the cross, promising righteousness, the very righteousness of God, to all who trust Christ. This message he urges us to believe, and to believe now. His message is both urgent and authoritative, for it comes to us from one who speaks as the very ambassador of God. Indeed, it is God himself speaking to us by him.

But the entire message of this passage, indeed, the entire message of the Bible is built and hangs upon this one profoundly glorious fact. — “He hath made him sin.” We cannot be made new creatures in Christ until “He hath made him sin.” God cannot reconcile us to himself until “He hath made him sin.” We cannot be reconciled to God until “He hath made him sin.” We cannot be made the righteousness of God in Christ until “He hath made him sin.” We cannot receive grace until “He hath made him sin.”

Conscience Silenced

Nothing in all the world can silence an accusing, condemning, screaming conscience but this: — “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Guilty sinner, look away to Christ. Trust the Son of God, the sinners’ Substitute; be reconciled to God, and live forever in the blessed peace of guiltlessness and perfect righteousness before God. When Satan raises Moses up and accuses you of guilt, my brother, my sister, look out of yourself to Christ, your Substitute, your Righteousness, and send the serpent slithering away in silence. “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

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“He hath made him sin for us.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 —— Martin Luther

This no doubt all the prophets did foresee in spirit, that Christ should become the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, rebel, blasphemer that ever was or could be in the world. For he, being made a sacrifice for the sins of (his elect throughout) the whole world, is not now an innocent person and without sins; but a sinner who has and carries the sin of Paul, who was a blasphemer, an oppressor, and a persecutor; of Peter, who denied Christ; of David, who was an adulterer, a murderer, and caused the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of the Lord; and, briefly, who hath and bore all the sins of all in his body: not that he himself committed them, but for that he received them, being committed or done of us, and laid them upon his own body, that he might make satisfaction for them with his own blood.

If you deny him to be a sinner and accursed, deny also that he was crucified and was dead. But if it be not absurd to confess and believe that Christ was crucified between two thieves, then it is not absurd to say that he was accursed, and of all sinners the greatest.

God, our most merciful Father, sent his only Son into the world, and laid upon him all the sins of all (his elect), saying, You be Peter, that denier; Paul, that persecutor, blasphemer, and cruel oppressor; David, that adulterer; that sinner who did eat the apple in Paradise; that thief who hung upon the cross; and, briefly, you be the person who has committed all the sins of all. See, therefore, that you pay and satisfy for them.   

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The Grace Bulletin

May 5, 2013

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

Schedule of Regular Services

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

Television Broadcasts in Danville

Channel 6 — Sunday Morning 7:45 A.M.

Channel 6 — Wednesday Evening 6:00 P.M.

Channel 6 — Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.

Television Broadcasts in Harrodsburg

Channel 6 — Sunday Afternoon 3:00 P.M.

Channel 6 — Friday Evening 6:00 P.M.

Web Pages

http://www.DonFortner.com

http://www.FreegraceRadio.com

http://www.Grace-eBooks.com

Don Fortner

Pastor Fortner’s

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