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“It is not the job of preachers to tell people whether or not they are saved; rather, it is his job to preach the means by which God saves His people and leave it to God to either convict of judgment or convince of salvation.” — Pastor Joe Terrell
Daily Readings for the Week of June 10-17 Sunday Job 32-36 Thursday Psalm 17-21 Monday Job 37-40 Friday Psalm 22-30 Tuesday Job 41-Psalm 5 Saturday Psalm 31-36 Wednesday Psalm 6-16 Sunday Psalm 37-43
· Lantana Grace Church, Crossville, Tennessee will host a sovereign grace Bible conference next weekend (June 15-17). Speakers: Paul Mahan, Bruce Crabtree, Tom Harding and Joe Terrell. Contact: Pastor Donnie Bell 931-788-6195 dlb50@frontiernet.net .
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Roger Criss-11th David Peterson-11th Harmony Schwartz-13th Jennifer Hellar-14th Skip Gladfelter-15th NURSERY DUTY THIS WEEK Today: Shante’ Birchum (AM) Emily Rice(PM) Tuesday: Laura Peterson
Assurance – Don Fortner (Tune: #405 – My Soul, Be On Thy Guard -- SM )
1. The sinner who believes In Christ’s atoning blood Is justified from all things, and Saved by the grace of God.
2. Yet, sin within remains! When vile corruptions rise, Then Satan tempts us to despair And God’s free grace despise.
3. Our flesh with him agrees, And says we cannot be Partakers of God’s saving grace, And yet such sinners be.
4. But faith looks out of self, And trusts in Christ alone. Our hope is not in what we do, But what our Lord has done!
5. His blood and righteousness, The anchor of our souls, Assures us in the teeth of sin Free grace has made us whole!
16 “I no longer believe in particular redemption”
A pastor once declared to a friend, "I want you to know that I no longer believe in particular redemption." When I heard this, I was shocked, but I was not surprised. I am always shocked when a man turns from the Gospel of grace to something else, especially when that person has studied the Scriptures, the ancient fathers, the character of God, the nature of sinners, and the covenant mercies of God in Christ. To deny effectual and particular redemption is to deny the very sum and substance of the Gospel — SUBSTITUTION. “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness are my beauty and my glorious dress.”
I am not surprised when certain preachers decide they will no longer preach particular redemption, for it is without question the most hated truth in Scripture. Universal love and universal atonement are universally accepted by all of Adam's sons except those who, by the grace of God, have seen the Lord Jesus Christ as Isaiah saw His glory and spoke of Him. The preacher who denies particular redemption will have little opposition, for he has taken the offense from the cross. All cults, sects, denominations, and religious promoters have this in common — they believe there is a sense in which God loves all men and Christ died for the sins of all men.
If Christ died for all the sins of all men, then all men will be saved. If Christ died for some of the sins of all men, no one will be saved. However, if Christ died (as the Scripture teaches) for all the sins of His elect, then His elect will be saved. Pastor Henry Mahan
If God the Holy Spirit calls all…
“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” (Psalm 110:3)
How often have your heard a preacher say, “God has done all he can to save you, and now it is up to you”? Think about that for a minute. If God has done all he can to save all men, if God the Holy Spirit is gracious alike to all, if he calls all alike, if his power is exercised upon all alike for the saving of their souls, and some yet perish in unbelief under the wrath of God and are forever lost, what does the power, grace, will, and call of God the Holy Spirit have to do with anyone’s salvation?—Absolutely nothing!
If the Spirit of God strives to regenerate and save all men alike, if he seeks to bring every man and woman in the world to life and faith in Christ, and some are not saved, then it must be concluded that he has no power to give life to anyone, that he has no grace to regenerate anyone, that he has no ability to save anyone. In a word, it must be concluded that the eternal God is a frustrated, dismal failure, incapable of accomplishing anything!
To say that God loves all people alike, that he wills the salvation of all, that Christ died to redeem and save all, that the Holy Spirit strives to save all is to
17 declare, “Salvation is not of the Lord at all, but rather it is the response and work of man that saves!” It is to declare, as multitudes do, “God has done all that he can do, but salvation is altogether up to you!” Such thoughts are utterly blasphemous!
Caused to Approach
It is written, “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple” (Psalm 65:4). Regeneration, the new birth, eternal life is the gift and work of God the Holy Spirit, the operation of his omnipotent grace (John 3:5-8).
Every chosen, redeemed sinner is, at God’s appointed “time of love,” graciously born of the Spirit, made willing in the day of Christ’s saving power, and caused to approach him in faith. It is not the sinner’s willingness to come to Christ, or his coming to Christ in faith that causes him to be born of God. Can a spiritually dead sinner rally his will and alter it, muster faith in himself and bring himself to Christ? What nonsense! By the new birth and the revelation of Christ in the heaven born soul, the sinner is given a new nature and a new will, a new heart with new inclinations, and is sweetly, irresistibly, effectually caused to come to Christ in faith.
More than Religious Knowledge
The new birth is more than a change of mind. It is more than the mere acquirement of religious knowledge. Anyone who is familiar with the Word of God knows that all men and women have some awareness of God, of sin, of life, of death, of judgment, and of eternity (Romans 1:18-20; 2:14-15). Man is by nature a very religious creature (John 5:39-40). And unsaved religious people often recognize and believe some true facts about God and Christ and salvation (John 3:2). But the quickening, regenerating work of God the Holy Spirit is much, much more than embracing facts about God and salvation. As John Owen wrote…
“Of all the poison which at this day is diffused in the minds of men, corrupting them from the mystery of the gospel, there is no part that is more pernicious than this one perverse imagination, that to ‘believe in Christ’ is nothing at all but to believe the doctrine of the gospel!’”
In the new birth Christ is revealed in the chosen sinner (Galatians 1:15-16). God the Holy Spirit gives impotent, dead sinners eternal life (John 3:5-8; Ephesians 2:1-5). And the life he imparts is Christ himself (Colossians 1:27; 2 Peter 1:4). Revealing Christ in the heart, he convicts and convinces sinners of sin, righteousness, and judgment, (John 16:8-15; 1 Corinthians 2:7-10; Zechariah 10:12), and effectually draws sinners to Christ and makes them willing to come (John 6:44-45; Psalm 110:3).
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Grace Bulletin
June 10, 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 |
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