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Grace Baptist Church of Danville

August 24, 2014

 

There are three great temptations by which Satan assails preachers: the temptation to shine, the temptation to whine, and the temptation to recline.

 

Daily Readings for the Week of August 24-31, 2014

Sunday                Ezekiel 17-19                                               Thursday       Ezekiel 27-29

            Monday                      Ezekiel 20-21                                               Friday             Ezekiel 30-32

            Tuesday                    Ezekiel 22-23                                               Saturday                    Ezekiel 33-34

            Wednesday  Ezekiel 24-26                                               Sunday                      Ezekiel 35-37

 

·      Our 35th Annual Sovereign Grace Bible Conference will begin Friday at 7:00 PM. There will be no service here on Tuesday night; but we will gather on Thursday night at 6:00 PM to make final preparations for the conference.

 

Happy Birthday!  Casey Henson-27th     Mark Henson-30th

 

Nursery Duty this Week Today: Shante’ Birchum  (AM)  — Mindy Peterson(PM)

 

Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life Don Fortner

(Tune: #225 — I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say — CMD)

 

 

1.    Inquiring souls, far off, astray,

Poor sinners, without God,

Behold, in Jesus Christ the Way,

To happiness and God!

Christ is the Way that God approves,

The only Way from hell,

In which, He brings the souls He loves,

With Him on high to dwell.

 

2.    Christ is the Truth, the Truth itself,

Revealing God to man;

Incarnate God (He is Himself!)

Who saves from death and sin!

Our Prophet true, our faithful Priest,

Our just and righteous King,

Christ is the Truth; and all are blest

Who live by faith in Him.

 

3.    Christ is the Life; in Him I live,

By free and sov’reign grace!

Eternal life He freely gives

To all who seek His face!

Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life,

Oh, come to God by Him!

Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life,

Oh, come to God by Him!

“The Manifold Wisdom of God”

Displayed in the Choice of Christ as Our Redeemer

Ephesians 3:10

 

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is in every way a fit and proper Person to be our Redeemer. He who undertakes to redeem sinners, satisfy justice, make reconciliation for transgressors, and atone for sin must be a divine person.

 

A Fit Redeemer

None but God could be equal to the great work of redemption. The Redeemer must be One who is infinitely holy. None could take away the infinite evil of sin, but One who is infinitely pure. None can make satisfaction, except him who is of infinite worth and merit. He who undertakes the redemption of sinners must be a person of infinite ability. The work of redemption is a great and mighty work, requiring both wisdom and power belonging only to God. And the Redeemer must be a person infinitely dear to God. In order for God to place infinite value upon the Redeemer’s work, the Redeemer himself must be infinitely dear to God, the Beloved One of his heart, the Apple of his eye, the Darling of his affection (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10).

      Our Redeemer must also be a person who has an absolute right to redeem. — He must be one who is free of all personal obligation and responsibility. If he is a servant, or a subject, he has no right to redeem another. He cannot merit anything. A servant has nothing of his own, no price to offer, and no merit before his Master. I rejoice to assert that Christ freely became Jehovah’s Servant to do his will in redeeming God’s elect; but he is not in any way God’s subject. He is God’s equal, for Christ is God! He has the right to redeem!

      And the Redeemer had to be a person of infinite love and grace! — No one else would undertake a work so costly for a creature so worthless as man. Behold, how he loved us!

      Once more, the one chosen to be our Redeemer must be a person of infinite truth and faithfulness. — He must be immutably true and unalterably faithful. Otherwise, he could not be trusted to carry on his great work of redemption to the horrible, ignominious death of the cross.

      God the Father found in his darling Son a fit person to be our Redeemer, and trusted the whole affair of redemption to him (Ephesians 1:12-13). The Triune God trusted our Surety, his darling Son, the Lord Jesus Christ with the honor of his law, the salvation of his elect, and all the glory of his being!

 

Only Fit Redeemer

This is great wisdom. God found a Redeemer for sinners in the Person of his dear Son! But there is more. — The only fit person to be our Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is not only a fit redeemer, he is the only one who could be a fit redeemer. Not only was there no other way for a holy God to save fallen man, but by the redemption that is in Christ, there is no other person who could be our Redeemer but Christ. The whole work must be on his shoulders alone! No man could make atonement, because all are guilty. No angel could redeem, because all are finite. God the Father could not redeem us, because in the divine economy he is the One whose justice must be satisfied. God the Spirit could not redeem us, because he is the One, by whom the blessings of redemption are conveyed to us pleading the merits of the Redeemer.

      Who but God, infinitely wise, could have thought to make Christ our Redeemer? Had God asked the heavenly angels or the sons of Adam, whom he would create, where can a ransom be found? None could ever have found the Redeemer we must have. But, thank God, he found a Ransom! And the Ransom, the Redeemer he found is his own darling Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

By Substitution

God’s wisdom is revealed in his determination to accomplish redemption by substitution. — Having chosen Christ to be our Redeemer, our infinitely wise God contrived the way in which he would accomplish redemption; and the way he devised, indeed, the only way in which he could accomplish redemption, is substitution. The Son of God was made to be, and voluntarily became the Representative, Surety, and Substitute for God’s elect for the accomplishment of their eternal redemption (Romans 3:24-26; Hebrews 7:22; Genesis 43:8-9).

      Before the world began, God’s own dear Son became our Substitute. He stood in our room and stead. And God determined that his Son, Christ Jesus, must have the sins of his people made his own, that he must take our guilt upon himself and make it his own, and that he must suffer the utter extremity of the law’s penalty to the full satisfaction of justice.

      Not only did God determine to make Christ our Substitute, he made him our Substitute from eternity, accepted as the Substitute slain for the salvation of his people from eternity, and accepted his sacrifice and accepted us because of his sacrifice as redeemed sinners, saved by grace as one with Christ before the world began (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:9-11).

 

œ—————————————————

 

“What think ye of Christ?”

Pastor Gene Harmon

 

Do you know him as the Sovereign Creator who designed this whole universe as it pleased him, asking no one’s advice or counsel? Do you know him as the God-man who died on the cross to save his chosen people? Do you know the Gospel of Jesus Christ, made effectual by his saving power, as that which delivered you from such a state of spiritual deadness that you were unable to contribute anything to the miracle of the new birth? Do you know Jesus Christ as your risen Lord, seated on his sovereign throne of power in heaven, doing what pleases him, asking no one’s permission, or allowing anyone to question him for what he does? If your answer to those questions is not a God-honoring, “Yes,” you do not know Jesus Christ Who is the power of God and the wisdom of God!

 

The Grace Bulletin

 

August 24, 2014

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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