CALL TO WORSHIP (Tune: “Come Thou Fount”) (Words by Pastor Jim Byrd)
Blessed Jesus, our Redeemer, saved us from eternal loss; For He bore our sins and sorrows, when He died upon the cross. Glad the tidings of salvation; all our sins on Him were laid; You who trust Him hear this message, Christ your debt has fully paid.
Look my soul behold with wonder, see who hung upon the tree; ‘Twas the Lord, the righteous Servant, put to death to set us free. Mark the sacrifice appointed, Lamb of God for sinners slain; God in human flesh enduring, condemnation, grief and pain.
Hear Him lift His voice in triumph, "It is finished," praise His Name! Gone our guilt and our transgressions, He removed our sin and blame. Resurrected and ascended, now He reigns upon His throne; Blessed Jesus, only Savior, Intercessor for His own.
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Todays: Bible Classes – 10:00 a.m.; Morning Worship - 11:00 a.m. Messages by Pastor Bill Parker
Television Broadcast: Our Reign of Grace Television program is being broadcast every Sunday morning on WALB-TV @ 9 AM.
Live Streaming of 11:00 a.m. service from Sermon Audio web site
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12)
The Gospel of God free and sovereign grace in the salvation of sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ is truly a message of and from Almighty God and not of man. One way we know this is the Gospel we believe and preach gives all glory to God and none to men. It exalts the Lord Jesus Christ in the glory of His Person as God manifest in the flesh, and in the power of His finished work of redemption to seal and secure the complete salvation of all for whom He died. It leaves men no room to boast in their works, their wills, or any pretended or self-proclaimed righteousness they think they may have. It is salvation based totally upon the righteousness of God in Christ freely imputed and received by God-given faith. It also promotes godliness and obedience, not motivated by legal threats of punishment or mercenary promises of earned rewards, but motivated by grace, love, and gratitude. Only a Gospel that comes from Almighty God could accomplish all these things in the heart of a sinner saved by grace.
– Pastor Bill Parker
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MERCY THROUGH CHRIST
If we would have saving mercy, it must be through Christ. Outside of Christ, there is no saving mercy. We read in the old law, that none might come into the holy of holies, where the mercy-seat stood but the high-priest. This signifies that we have nothing to do with mercy but through Christ our high-priest. That the high-priest might not come near the mercy-seat without blood is to show that we have no right to mercy but through the expiatory sacrifice of Christ's blood (Lev 16:14). If we would have mercy, we must be in Christ. Mercy swims to us through Christ's blood!
-- Thomas Watson
GOD’S HATRED OF SIN AND SINNERS
The foolish shall not stand in Thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. (Psalm 5:5)
The reason the natural man cannot accept the thought of a God who hates sinners is because he is deceived in matters of God’s holiness and justice, along with the reality of his own sin and depravity. The Bible is clear – God hates “all workers of iniquity.” This is why no sinner can be justified before God based on his works. “Iniquity” means such works do not measure up to God’s standard of righteousness, and our works always miss that mark (Rom. 3:23). How then can God love any of us? Are we not all “workers of iniquity”? Here is the good news of God’s grace and love for His people in Christ. All for whom Christ died have no iniquity charged to their account because the Lord Jesus Christ was charged with and crushed unto death for their iniquities (Isa. 53:5). We who are IN CHRIST, for whom He stands as Surety and Substitute, we who are washed in His blood and clothed in His righteousness imputed, can honestly say, “We have no iniquities.” We cannot say we have no iniquity in ourselves, that even as saved by grace, we are not sinners who fall short of righteousness in everything we do. But in Christ we have no iniquity, therefore, God’s hatred is never aimed at us! We are objects of God’s love from eternity. The wrath of God has never been upon God’s elect because Christ bore the debt of our iniquity and in time was brought under God’s wrath to pay that debt in full. As sinners saved by grace, we readily admit that we deserve nothing but God’s hatred and wrath. This is why God’s love for sinners in Christ Jesus is such an amazing reality for those who are brought by the Holy Spirit to see the exceeding sinfulness of their sin. God redeemed those He loves with the precious blood of His Son. God justified those He loves, and sin cannot be charged to their account. They were charged to Christ (Rom. 8:33-34). God’s love for His elect was and is never earned or deserved by them, but it is freely and unconditionally given to them in Christ (1 John 4:9-10). All conditions were fully met in and by Christ. God loved them with an everlasting love, and nothing can separate them from that love in Christ (Rom. 8:35-39).
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