Tag: Romans 5

Mystery of Mysteries

I like a good mystery!  Not the predictable sort; I like the ones that challenge the mind and stretch the imagination. The kind you almost feel like you have to work for to understand.

There is a mystery found in God’s Word. It is the ultimate mystery – A mystery of mysteries. No earthly mystery compares to the mystery of the gospel! Sadly, we do not dwell on the contents or the characters of the mystery enough. But when people do, I find the response is either worship or rebellion. Some behold the mystery and worship, while others grow angry and defiant.

In considering both responses, let’s first unpack the mystery.

Continue reading Mystery of Mysteries

Double Shot of Gospel (Part 2)

notepad and coffee

Would you like a gospel refill?

Yes, Please!

 

By Grace Through Faith And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved

Ephesians 2:1-5 ESV

 

 

“We have an unchanging gospel, which is not today green grass and tomorrow dry hay; but always the abiding truth of the immutable Jehovah.”

C.H. Spurgeon

 

“As the early church fathers delighted in saying, Christ took what was ours so that we might receive what was His.” 

Sinclair Ferguson, In Christ Alone

 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

 

“The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ.”

C.H. Spurgeon

 

“The gospel is not ‘God loves us,’ but ‘God loves us at the cost of his Son.’”

Derek Thomas

 

“Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my God, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God’s own Son in my place. Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell I deserve.” 
Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians

 

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8 ESV

 

“Grace-driven effort is violent. It is aggressive. The person who understands the gospel understands that, as a new creation, his spiritual nature is in opposition to sin now, and he seeks not just to weaken sin in his life but to outright destroy it. Out of love for Jesus, he wants sin starved to death, and he will hunt and pursue the death of every sin in his heart until he has achieved success. This is a very different pursuit than simply wanting to be good. It is the result of having transferred one’s affections to Jesus. When God’s love takes hold of us, it powerfully pushes out our own love for other gods and frees our love to flow back to him in true worship. And when we love God, we obey him. The moralist doesn’t operate that way. While true obedience is a result of love, moralistic legalism assumes it works the other way around, that love results from obedience.”

Matt Chandler, The Explicit Gospel

 

“Never lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted.”

C.H. Spurgeon

 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 ESV

 

“Let this be to you the mark of true gospel preaching – where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus.”

C.H. Spurgeon

 

“When I begin my train of thought with the gospel, I realize that if God loved me enough to sacrifice His Son’s life for me, then He must be guided by that same love when He speaks His commandments to me. Viewing God’s commands and prohibitions in this light, I can see them for what they really are: friendly signposts from a heavenly Father who is seeking to love me through each directive, so that I might experience His very fullness forever.”
Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians 

“If God does not save men by truth, he certainly will not save them by lies. And if the old gospel is not competent to work a revival, then we will do without the revival.”

C.H. Spurgeon

Love… Vast As The Ocean

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Love is amazing!

What moves a man and a woman to make a “til death do us part” vow to each other?

Or a mother to risk her life, without hesitation, to save her child from harm?

And, what moves the Creator of the universe to leave the comforts of heaven and take on the frailties of human flesh, live a perfect life, and die on that cross – for me… for you?

I am a sinner!

I need a Savior!

When I say, “I am a sinner”, I do not mean I have some flaws or I make some mistakes.  I mean… I am a sinner. And as a sinner, whose sins are against a Holy God, who has given me life, I deserve not love. Rather…. judgement.

I say it again, I need Savior! Love is Amazing. His love is beyond amazing!

Sometimes, I am too familiar with the truth of God’s love.  I lean toward being over familiar with the love of Christ on that cross.  Familiarity can be the death of worship or the stifling of service. It turns joy into duty and passion into formalism.

I say to myself today:

Tim, listen up – because you are dull, Tim – you need to hear this TODAY:

Christ came to die for my sins, taking the punishment my sins deserved, on the cross!  And this is LOVE, Tim! You did not earn this love. Be freshly reminded – this is the amazing grace of the Almighty God!

“The love of God is the spring from which the atonement flows”

John Murray

“Legalism says God will love us if we change. The gospel says God will change us because He loves us.”
Tullian Tchividjian

“The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands”

Martin Luther

“We obey God’s Law, not to be loved but because we are loved in Christ.”
Jerry Bridges

God did not HAVE to redeem sinners.  He freely chose, out of His love, to shed his blood for my / our sins.

His Death / My Life

The cross is the love of God on display. This cross, this death is my life.  Amazing! Worship Him with your life, Tim.

Where would I be without this love? The cross of Christ shows us just how great is our need and how deep is the Father’s love to meet that need.  If Jesus could redeem us any other way, it would most certainly be a lesser display of His love.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

(Romans 5:6-11 ESV)