June 3, 2007

“It is the nature of the gospel to irritate those who are opposed to it and comfort those whose hope is in it.”                                           — Pastor Joe Terrell

Be Still, My Heart, and Doubt No More — Don Fortner

(Tune: There Is A Fountain #222 — CMD)

1.    Upon my great and sovereign God

I cast my soul and rest.

My Father's hand controls the world;

And what He does is best.

Refrain                       Be still, my heart, and doubt no more,

Believe, and find sweet rest.

God's wisdom, love, and truth, and power

Combine to make me blest!

2.    In raging storms and fiery trials

He keeps me from all harm.

He walks with me and holds me in

His everlasting arms!

3.    My God, with skill infallible,

And great designs of grace,

With power and love that never fail,

Shall order all my ways.

4.    My life's most minute circumstance

Is ordered by my God,

Who promised that in all things He

Will ever do me good.

            Describing the believer’s new nature, C. H. Spurgeon asserted, “The sin of the old flesh remains but there is no sin in the newborn nature; it cannot sin because it is born of God himself. It is as impossible for that new nature to sin as for the Deity itself to be defiled. It is a part of the divine nature — a spark struck off from the central orb of light and life, and dead or dark it cannot be, because it would be contrary to its nature to be either the one or the other. Oh, what a difference! In the first birth — born to sin, in the next — born to holiness, in the first — partakers of corruption, in the next — heirs of incorruption, in the first — depravity, in the second — perfection. What broader contrast could there be! What should make us more thoroughly long for this new birth than the glorious fact that we are by its means consciously lifted up from the ruins of the fall, and made perfect in Christ Jesus.”

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The New Nature

“Do I have a “new nature?” Let me answer like this: Though my old nature is unchanged, I have a nature now that is new to me! I have not always had it but it came to me when the Holy Spirit came to abide in me. In my flesh is no good thing but in me now is the Holy Spirit who, as God, possesses the holy nature of God. Yet, being indwelt by the Spirit is like having a powerful new engine in an automobile with no tires, wheels, axles, etc. Though He puts in me a desire to do all that would please God, I find no ability in my flesh to do so. Thus, the chief evidence of this new nature in me is that I look to Christ for all righteousness! I see all my imagined righteousnesses as filthy rags and trust the righteousness of God in Christ imputed to me as all. He is Jesus Christ the Righteous and He is the Lord my Righteousness. If the Holy Spirit is in me, I have the nature of God in me. If not, I am an unregenerate man.”                                                                                                                          — Pastor Gary Shepard

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If God Wills the Salvation of All People…

“So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” (Romans 9:16)

It is almost universally believed that God wills the salvation of all people without exception, that he wants to save all, that he has done all he can to save the whole human race. If that is the case, if the Lord God wills the salvation of all and some are not saved, as is the case, what does the will of God have to do with anyone’s salvation? — Absolutely nothing!

            If God willed the salvation of all, and some are lost in spite of his will, God’s will would be just as irrelevant and meaningless as yours or mine. But that is not the case. He declares, “I will do all my pleasure!”—“Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased!”—“Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the sea, and in all deep places!”

      The Word of God declares, with unmistakable clarity, that it is the will of God alone that is the cause of our salvation in Christ (John 1:11-13; Romans 9:16). If salvation depended upon the will of man, no one would ever be saved. What is the condition of man’s will? It is the same as man’s condition. —Spiritually dead! —Depraved! —Perverse! —In Bondage! This is the doctrine of Holy Scripture (John 5:40; 6:44; Romans 3:10-12). It is not the sinner’s will that brings him to Christ, but God’s will (James 1:18; Ephesians 1:3-5, 9, 11; John 6:37-39). If God almighty willed the salvation of all, all would be saved (Isaiah 14:24; 46:9-11; Daniel 4:34-35). —“The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have thought, so shall it stand!”

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If Christ Died for All Men…

“For the transgression of my people was he stricken.” (Isaiah 53:8)

If the Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood for all alike, if he died to redeem and save all men and some go to hell anyway, what does the blood of Christ have to do with anyone’s salvation? — Absolutely nothing!

      If, as will-worshipping rebels assert, Christ died to save all men and some are not saved, then that blasphemous absurdity must follow that Christ died in vain for some, his blood was a meaningless waste, he suffered and died for nothing, his death really has nothing at all to do with anyone’s salvation! —Horrid blasphemies these are; but they are inescapable conclusions that must be made, if we entertain the notion that Christ died for the multitudes who are in hell. — If Christ died for all men without exception, if he shed his blood to save the entire human race, then the shedding of his blood was an atonement that did not atone, a redemption that did not redeem, a ransom that did not ransom, a deliverance that does not deliver, a sin-offering that does not satisfy, and a propitiation that does not propitiate!

      The precious blood of Christ shed at Calvary, the death he died as the sinner’s Substitute upon the cursed tree was an almighty, effectual atonement for sin (Isaiah 53:9-11; Romans 5:10-11).

      Tell me what you believe about the death of Christ, why he had to die, what he accomplished in his death, what purpose his death served, and I will tell you what you think of Christ. What you believe about the death of Christ reveals whether you are a Christian or a pagan, a believer or an idolater! What do you see in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ?

            The cause of our Savior’s death was the love of God for his elect (John 3:16). The reason why Christ had to die was that God might be just in the exercise of mercy and grace to the saving of our souls (Romans 3:24-26). — “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged” (Proverbs 16:6). The purpose served in our Savior’s death was the accomplishment of a work no one else and nothing else could accomplish — The putting away of sin (Hebrews 9:26). All the Jewish sacrifices offered under the law could never put away sin (Hebrews 10:1-9). Man’s obedience to the works of the law can never put away sin (Romans 8:3-4; 9:33-10:4). God himself, who created the world by the word of his mouth, could not put away one sin without the shedding of Christ’s blood (Hebrews 9:22). But Christ, the God-man, put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 1:3).

      The Book of God declares that the death of Christ was more than an attempt to save. His death upon the cross was the accomplishment of redemption for God’s elect! What did the Lord Jesus Christ actually accomplish by his death upon the cursed tree? The revelation of Holy Scripture is unmistakable. — The Lord Jesus Christ died for and effectually redeemed his people (Hebrews 10:12-14, 17-20; 9:12, 24-26; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 1 John 1:7, 9; Isaiah 53:4-6, 8, 10-12).

            Assuming that God is true, and that his Word is true, it is not possible for a man to both believe the testimony of Holy Scripture and believe that Christ shed his blood to redeem all men (John 10:11-16, 26). Blessed be his name forever, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ shall never be discovered a miscarriage!

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Grace Bulletin

June 3, 2007

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 8:00 A.M.

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

Channel 6 - Friday Evening 7:00 P.M.

Web Pages

http://www.donfortner.com

http://www.sovereign-grace/gracechurch.htm

http://www.freegrace.net/danville/default.asp

Don Fortner

Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com