Chosen in Christ to be holy
Predestined his children to be
According to the Father’s will
His grace he offers to us still
So enter in and now believe
His saving blessings to receive
Live as his child – blameless, holy
In awe give him all the glory
(To the tune of the Doxology)
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
– Isaiah 53:10-12
Consider Jesus Our Savior. Consider his victory. Jesus rose victoriously. It is not stated in so many words in these verses, but is everywhere implied. After he has made an offering for guilt (by dying), he yet will see his offspring, his days will be prolonged, and the will of God will prosper in his hands (v10). Again, he will see and be satisfied (v11). And then he will receive the victor’s prize in v12. All of these things require his resurrection in order to happen in any realistic meaningful way.
And yet his victory is not simply found in his resurrection, but in what he accomplished through his death and resurrection:
Consider Jesus our Savior. Consider his victory in his resurrection and for our salvation.
Father, thank you for the good news of the resurrection of Jesus.
May we live in gratitude and hope as we ponder the many saving benefits
of your salvation purchased for us.
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
We Should Be Weeping – Jared Mulvihill (DG)
The Best Kind of Savior – Tim Challies
8 Lessons from the School of Prayer – D. A. Carson (TGC)
Needing Guidance? 30 Questions To Ask – David Murray
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
Do People Bark? – John Starke (Gospel Coalition)
Christians base the dignity of a “person” on the imago Dei. Created in the image of God, humans have been given status and dignity above all other creatures in this world. We’ve been given the ability to make sense of the world and make something of it.
A Friend of Sinners and No Friend of Sin – Kevin DeYoung
The gospel–if we are talking about the true gospel–works through repentance and relationships. We need both. Jesus had relationships with sinners and tax collectors. And through those relationships what did he call them to do? He didn’t say call them to self-expression, or invite them to despise religious people, or summon them to eat, drink, and be merry (in our language: eat, drink, and be tolerant). He called them to repentance. One commentator says, “Jesus neither condoned sin, left people in their sin, nor communicated any disdain for sinners.”
The Loving Intolerance of God – Melissa Kruger (Gospel Coalition)
The cross demonstrates God’s character in all its complexity. It shows his love, kindness, and mercy united with his justice, holiness, and wrath. It perfectly demonstrates a God who surpasses understanding. The Lord is giving us a glimpse into the immensity of his love for us. The love of God is not a tolerant love. It is much better. It is a redemptive love.
What Makes A Full Atonement Full? – Mike Wittmer (Gospel Coalition)
The cross isn’t an act of love without penal substitution, because love is only love if it does something. If the cross isn’t necessary for God to forgive us, then what would be the point? If the cross is merely God expressing his solidarity with sinners, then why didn’t he simply use his outdoor voice and say, “Attention, people of Earth! I love you and I’m on your side!” The Father was silent when his Son begged for any other way, which proves that God believes the cross was necessary to defeat sin, death, and Satan.
Light Eternal, Shine in My Heart – Alcuin of York, 735-804 A.D. (via Trevin Wax)
Give me, O Lord, I ask You, firm faith, unwavering hope, perfect charity…
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our great God and Savior!
In Acts 15, some people were saying that circumcision was necessary for salvation. So Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to pursue clarity on this matter. The apostles and elders met to consider the matter. From the evidence of Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s working, they came to the conclusion that salvation was by grace alone through faith alone.
While we may not think circumcision is necessary for salvation today, we must continue to pursue clarity in salvation. Salvation remains by grace alone through faith alone. We must be crystal clear on this. We are not saved by good works or living a good life. We are not saved by going to church or praying or giving money. We are saved by grace through faith. Confusion on this matter can be eternally fatal. So we must come back again and again to this central truth: Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone.
A helpful summary of the gospel:
321 from Jeremy Poyner on Vimeo.
How can we grow up in Jesus? Part of the answer is that we need to preach the gospel to ourselves. We need to constantly remind ourselves of what God has done for us, of the many blessings of salvation that should change the way we live. In Romans 12:1 we read, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God….” These words mark a huge transition in the book. Everything before these words deals with God’s mercy in giving us a great salvation. Everything after these words deals with how we should live in response. It is because of the gospel that we should now live differently. And so we need to preach the gospel to ourselves. Let me take just two elements of the gospel to illustrate this point.
Remember the cross so you don’t want to sin. Part of the God’s mercy is that he became a man and took the judgment we deserved for our sins upon himself on the cross. Consider all that our Savior endured because of our sins. The whipping. The beatings. The mockings. The crown of thorns pressed into his head. The nails piercing his hands and feet. The agony hanging on the cross. As we consider what he endured to pay for our sin, how could we have any desire to sin? When the temptation to sin looks so alluring, place the picture of Jesus hanging on the cross next to the temptation, and the temptation will lose much of its tempting power. As we consider the cross, it motivates us to live for him. We remember the cross so we don’t want to sin.
Consider your new life that means you don’t have to sin. In Romans 6, Paul talks about the reality that we have died to sin and been raised to a new life in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin. And so he tells us in verse 11 to “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” He has already established that we have a new life. In verse 11 he wants us to consider this reality. To think about it. To remember it. He wants us to preach the gospel to ourselves. We have a new life. God has enabled us to say no to sin. We don’t have to sin anymore. Too often we hear people say (and we might say ourselves) after sinning, “Well, I just couldn’t help it.” But if we are true Christians, we have been given a new life. We can help it. In the face of temptation, remind yourself that you are no longer a slave to sin, and you don’t want to act like a slave anymore. You can say no. We consider our new life to remind us that we don’t have to sin.
Remember the cross so you don’t want to sin. Consider your new life that means you don’t have to sin. Preach the gospel to yourself.
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
Calvin on the Good News in Christ – John Clavin (via Justin Taylor)
But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinners justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. The gospel is the Word of life.
Twelve Propositions on Sanctification – J. C. Ryle (via Tim Challies)
Ryle defines sanctification as “an inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Ghost, when He calls him to be a true believer.”
100 Quotes From You On Sanctification – Desiring God
Charles Spurgeon: “If he gives you the grace to make you believe, he will give you the grace to live a holy life afterward.”
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating Jesus and growing in your walk with Him!
Remember what the gospel says about us:
we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe
but we are also more loved and welcomed than we ever dared hope.
– Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Dennis E. Johnson
So when the devil throws your sins in your face
and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this:
“I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it?
For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf.
His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where he is there I shall be also!”
– Martin Luther
I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior.
– John Newton
Brian J. Mikul 