When Holy Spirit conviction makes a sinner to know his sin, God says, “pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.” Then he says, “Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail.” The language is imperative. “You must be in pain. You must labor to bring forth, like a woman in travail” (Micah 4:9-10). Blessed are they who have such pangs of travail. — If ever God brings you into travail of soul, he will bring forth life in you.
• Bro. Todd Nibert (Todds RD Grace Church) will be here to preach the gospel to you Tuesday night. I am scheduled to preach Tuesday and Wednesday for the San Diego SOVEREIGN GRACE FELLOWSHIP in San Diego, CA. Friday – Sunday I am scheduled to preach in the Bible conference at RESCUE BAPTIST CHURCH, Rescue CA, where Bro. Gene Harmon is pastor.
The Brazen Serpent — Don Fortner (Tune: The Doxology — LM)
1. Uplifted at the Lord’s command, Behold the brazen serpent stand, That Israel's tribes may look and live, And glory to Jehovah give.
2. Thus Christ is preached to Jacob's race, And guilty sinners taste His grace. — One look at Jesus crucified, Will make the pangs of guilt subside.
3. Proclaim the word and lift Him high. — Tell sinners they shall never die Who look by faith to Christ alone, Christ crucified upon His throne!
4. Oft as I feel the serpent's bite, A bleeding Savior kept in sight, Removes my guilt and heals my heart, And life, and health, and peace impart!
The Surety’s Death Hebrews 7:22
The Lord Jesus Christ, our great, all glorious Surety, died for and redeemed those for whom he assumed all responsibility as a surety in the covenant of grace before the world began.
Though very few in this reprobate age understand it, this is as blessed a truth of the gospel as it is vital. Our great Savior’s sacrificial work as our sin-atoning Sacrifice, as our great High Priest was made for those for whom he undertook to be a Surety in the covenant of grace before the world began. Those for whom Christ died, those who have been redeemed by his blood are the people for whom he became a covenant Surety.
He is the Surety of the better testament, the covenant of grace. He became a Surety for those, and for none other than those, for whom that covenant was made. And in that great covenant the Son of God engaged himself to be our Surety and Redeemer.
Foundation of Redemption
It is Christ's suretyship which is the ground and foundation of redemption. This is the reason why our sins were made his and the punishment of our sins was laid upon him, the reason why he bore and endured the wrath of God for our sins, and paid all our debts as his people, and the reason why he redeemed us out of the hands of divine justice. The Son of God pledged himself to God the Father as a Surety, and laid himself under obligation to do all these things for us. He became totally responsible for his elect in all matters. But he was not obliged to pay the debts of those for whom he did not become a Surety, or to suffer and die in their room and stead. As John Gill wrote…
“Christ's suretyship and redemption are of equal extent, and reach to the same objects. They are the Lord's Benjamins, the sons of his right hand, his beloved sons, that Christ, the antitype of Judah, became a surety for, and laid himself under obligation to bring them safe to glory, and present them to his divine Father.”
Absolute Surety
When we think of a surety, we usually think of a mere guarantor, one who co-signs a mortgage or a bank loan. If the original debtor fails to pay the note for any reason, both he and the co-signer are responsible for the debt and all the interest accumulated by it. What the lending institution cannot collect from one party, it will attempt to collect from the other.
That is not the kind of Surety Christ is. Our most glorious Christ is an absolute Surety. When he struck hands with the Father as our Surety, he voluntarily became totally responsible for all the debts and obligations of all his people forever!
Shifted Responsibility
This is one place where I love and seek to promote shifted responsibility. All the responsibilities of God’s elect were shifted from us to our Surety. As such, as our covenant Surety, the Lord Jesus Christ promised to fulfil all righteousness for us, satisfy divine justice for us, give us a new (holy) nature by his Spirit, preserve us unto the end, raise us up at the last day, and present us in eternity before his Father’s throne holy, unblameable, and unreproveable. Upon this pledge to redeem and save his people, the Father trusted his Son as the Surety of his people, and placed us in his hands (Ephesians 1:12; John 6:38-39). And upon the revelation of him in our hearts by the gospel, being chosen, redeemed by grace, we trust Christ as our Surety before God (Ephesians 1:13). If you can trust him, Christ is your Surety, too! God help you now to trust him, for Christ’s sake.
How did we get our Bible? 2 Timothy 3:16
All who are taught of God understand that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God,” “for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). But how did we get our Bible?
In recent months papists have been running a series of television advertisements stating that the Bible came to us from the Church of Rome. Sadly, most people actually believe that; but nothing could be further from the truth. God did not give us his Word through Babylon’s whore!
The canon of the Old Testament Scriptures was established by the prophets of God in the Old Testament era, stamped with divine approval by our Lord Jesus Christ himself quoting it as the Word of God (Matthew 4:4-16; 9:15; 11:10; 13:14-15; 15:4; 21:5-42; 22:24-44; 26:31; 27:46; Luke 4:18-19; 20:27; 22:37; 23:46).
The canon of Holy Scripture in the New Testament was determined by the apostles of our Lord. Those divinely ordained and gifted men of God had the same authority and gifts that were possessed by the prophets of the Old Testament (1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:14; 1 Peter 1:12). Their inspired writings are the writings of God (1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Thessalonians 4:2).
Knowing that their writings were God breathed, knowing that they wrote by divine inspiration, the Lord’s apostles required that their writings be treated with the same reverence and obedience as the Old Testament Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:27; 2 Thessalonians 3:14; Colossians 4:16; Revelation 1:3; 22:18-19; Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32).
Those divinely gifted men knew that it was their writings that were inspired, not themselves. They were but fallible, sinful men, redeemed by blood and saved by grace. And they knew that only specific writings of their pens were by divine inspiration. Their other writings were just the writings of men (1 Corinthians 5:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:2.)
And the apostles recognized one another’s inspired writings as Holy Scripture. The apostle Peter included Paul’s writings among the things “contained in the Scripture” (1 Peter 2:6; 2 Peter 3:16). And Paul referred to the Gospel of Luke as the very Word of God, giving it the same authority and validity as the book of Deuteronomy (1 Timothy 5:18; Luke 10:7; Deuteronomy 25:4).
THE GRACE BULLETIN
January 22, 2012
GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of DANVILLE 2734 Old Stanford Road-Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438 Telephone (859) 236-8235 - E-Mail [email protected]
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
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