The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. Proverbs 8:13-17

Salvation, The Lord’s Doings

My friends, when the Lord Jesus is truly seen, believed and loved, there will be joy in the Lord with genuine peace of conscience. Yes, we are sinners; but Christ died for sinners! Yes, the law condemns; but Christ honored the law! Yes, justice has a claim; but Christ satisfied that claim! Yes, we are imperfect in faith, in commitment, in love; but “He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust” and loves us just the same. We are in Him by HIS CHOICE, redeemed by HIS BLOOD, called by HIS SPIRIT, and kept by HIS POWER, through faith which HE GAVE US! How can I entertain any doubts based on shortcomings found in me when the whole affair is THE LORD’S DOINGS?

Pastor Henry T. Mahan

We are not saved by our faith, but by the power of the blood of Christ. It is not our believing, it is Christ's dying. I call on you to believe, but I beg you not to look to your believing as the hope of your salvation. Faith must look to Christ, not to itself. It is not our hold of Christ that saves us, but His hold of us. It is not the power of our believing on Him, but the power of His blood applied to us through the Spirit. Pastor Milton Howard

SALVATION IS ALL OF GRACE

Every believer of every generation knows that salvation is all of God’s grace. Salvation must be by grace because all men are lost in sin and cannot do anything to please the holy God. All of salvation must be by grace! God elected a people in grace. “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace (Rom. 11:5). Redemption in Christ is all of grace. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (Eph 1:7). Our calling by the Holy Spirit is all of grace. “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (2Tim. 1:9). The only reason I believe God, love Christ, and have a desire to worship God is because of God’s grace. “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). The only reason that Almighty God has not already cast my soul into hell is His grace. Thank God for His electing, saving, calling, keeping grace!

Pastor Frank Tate

Jeroboam’s Worthless Idols

(1 Kings 12:25-31; 13:1-6; 14:1-12)

The king of Israel, Jeroboam, forsook the living and true God and made golden calves, idols of his own imagination and idols that could not save (Isa. 45:20). Yet, he proclaimed that those worthless idols delivered Israel from 430 years of Egyptian bondage (1 Kings 12:28). Aaron and Israel did the same sinful and foolish thing in the wilderness (Ex. 32:4).

But when the man of God from Judah came and confronted Jeroboam for his idolatry and condemned it; Jeroboam reached forth his hand to maliciously lay hold on the prophet of God, his hand was paralyzed by the power of God (1 Kings 13:4). But Jeroboam did not cry nor look to his idols for help! But rather he cried unto the prophet of God to intercede for him and restore his hand. “Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again.” (1 Kings13:6).

Likewise in 1 Kings 14 when the son of Jeroboam, Abijah fell sick, again he did not cry unto his idols for help but rather told his wife to seek help from the prophet of God, Ahijah (1 Kings 14:2-6). The prophet of God gave her the bad news, the Lord was going to kill their son and He did (1 Kings 14:12).

Ungodly sinners know that when their trouble is bigger than their puny idols they unwillingly and reluctantly forsake them and turn to the Almighty God that is bigger than their troubles and problems. Like Jeroboam they go on in their religious idolatry of freewill works until the Lord is pleased to stop them in their madness and turn them from their idols (Jer. 31:18; Psalm 80:3).

Oh, that the Lord our God and Saviour would deliver all of us from any false notion of salvation by our works or idols. May He be pleased to turn us unto the true and living God to cry for mercy (Luke 18:14; 1 Thes. 1:9-10), cause us to look to the God of all power for deliverance (Isa. 45:22; John 17:2; Heb. 12:2), the God of all grace for salvation (2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Peter 5:10) and the God of all mercy and comfort for help in our time of need (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).