People wrest many passages of scripture that speak of the “world” and try to make them say that Christ came to make salvation possible for every son of Adam. We know that cannot be so because our Lord prayed “I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine.” (John 17:9) Christ did not die for the whole population of the world, but He did die for sinners from all over the world. In all things Christ will have the preeminence, so there is not a place Adam’s sin has gone that is out of the reach of Christ’s sin atoning blood. The curse of sin cannot spread anywhere that is beyond the scope of the power of Christ to remove the curse. A sinner cannot plunge so deep that he is too far gone for Christ to save him. There is no sheep of God who is so lost they are beyond the reach of the Shepherd of the Sheep to come find him and carry him back to the fold because Christ came to save sinners from every corner of the world In all spiritual things all your temptations, all your darkness, all you wanderings God will overrule. It shall be well with you. There shall never be a night, but that morning shall come; there shall never be a day of trouble, but a day of prosperity shall follow; there shall never be an emptying, but there shall be a filling; there shall never be a bringing down, but that He will raise you up again. Let it be either darkness or light, sorrow or grief, night or day, life or death, time or eternity, “It shall be well with the righteous.
Pastor Scott Richardson
The Good News of Representation
Genesis 3: 6: And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
When Eve took the forbidden fruit nothing happened. God made Adam to be her head so God looked to Adam not to Eve. Eve’s disobedience could not bring her under God’s judgment because her righteousness depended entirely upon the works of another, her head, Adam. Thus, it was only after Adam ate that Eve became unrighteous before God.
Likewise, God made Christ the Head of his elect when he blessed us with all spiritual blessings according as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. (Eph 1: 3-6) God looks to Christ, not to his people. Just as we were made sinners by the disobedience of our first head, Adam, so by the obedience of Christ, our last Head, every believer is made the righteousness of God.
(2 Cor 5: 21; Rom 5: 19) The believer disobeys God when we sin and God chastens his child for our sins. But our disobedience can never bring us under God’s judgment because our righteousness is another, our Head, Christ Jesus.
Believer, rejoice, just as Eve’s transgression brought about no change in her standing before God because she was in her head, Adam, likewise, the believer’s transgressions bring about no change in our standing before God because we are in Christ our Head. Before the all-knowing eye of God, in Christ our Righteous Head we are righteous; in Christ our righteous Head we have no sin; in Christ our righteous Head we cannot sin. (1 Jn 3: 5, 9) Oh, thank God for the good news of representation!
Pastor Clay Curtis
If we knew how needy we are, we would not neglect to pray. If we knew how vile we are, we would not fail to thank Him for His mercy. If we knew how glorious He is, we would not cease to praise Him. If we knew how soon we will be with Him, we would not be discouraged.
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Our monthly ladies brunch will be held next Saturday, April 12th at 10:30 a.m. at Panera Bread in the Ashland Town Center Mall.
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