Pastor Joe Sugrue - Grace and Truth Podcast

Tuesday March 5, 2019

There is a definite and dominant ethical quality about the divine election. We are elected by a God to a heavenly quality.

His election of us is His will for us. His will is His highest and best and not a much-watered down version of our own.

To water down holiness and blamelessness is to destroy their meaning. It's like trying to limit God, if you do, you destroy His name. None of these wonderful divine things must be lessened in order to make them more human and therefore acceptable to more people who have no knowledge of them or of God.

God says that He is in the heavens. Did you ever find that strange when God also says that He is omnipresent? Isn't He on the earth as well? But why does God place Himself in a place of holiness, unstained by the...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1990

Sunday March 3, 2019

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Eph 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

In contrast to our calling to blamelessness (amomos), false teachers are called momos, blemished.

False prophets and false teachers are blemished [momos].

2Pe 2:12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed,

2Pe 2:13 suffering...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1989

Tuesday February 26, 2019

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Eph 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love

Eph 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

Eph 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Jesus is, always has been, and always will be the origin, meaning, and destiny of your existence. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

We were elected so that we should be holy and...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1987

Sunday February 24, 2019

Title: Ephesians; 1:4 - Elected to be blameless. Humility and obedience are the only way.

There was never a time, all of the past, the present, and into all of the future when you were not elect in the mind of God. There was never a time when you did not have a deep, deep connection with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joh 17:16 "They [elected and predestined sons] are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Joh 17:17 "Sanctify [make them holy] them in the truth; Thy word is truth.

Holiness cannot be experienced without the truth. One cannot draw near to God with false doctrines.

Joh 17:18 "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1986

Friday February 22, 2019

Last time we witnessed the truth that all believers in Christ in this age have been elected that they should be holy and blameless before the foundation of the world, essentially before time. There was never a time, all of the past, the present, and into all of the future when you were not elect in the mind of God. There was never a time when you did not have a deep, deep connection with the Lord Jesus Christ.

In reality, Jesus is, always has been, and always will be the origin, meaning, and destiny of your existence. "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end."

Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1983

Thursday February 21, 2019

Eph 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

"should be" - present active infinitive of eimi = it is an eternal truth that the elect are to be set apart from the world and unto God, without stain, the obligation of which is in Eph 4-6.

Holy and blameless do not refer to our position but to our character and conduct. It is stated by Paul as a doctrinal truth and he will detail the obligation in chapters 4-6.

"holy" - hagios = separate from dedication to things secular and dedicated to God and His way. Separate from sin and evil and dedicated to the worship and service of God.

Blameless is amomos, which is...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1982

Wednesday February 20, 2019

Ephesians; 1:4 - Elected to be holy and blameless

There is so much to continue in the doctrine of election and we will see more of it as we progress through Ephesians.

Eph 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

Elected so that we will be holy and blameless.

Elected is in the middle voice: He elected us for Himself.

He did this before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him....

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1981

Tuesday February 19, 2019

Our current topic: the called can call upon the Father. The blood of Christ has given us full access to the Father.

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us [prosagoge] to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

We need full access to the Father because we face much opposition to the life of Christ in all who are elect. The war on truth is ascending in intensity. The coming presidential election is going to push that war into the absurd.

We are not afraid of the people who oppose God or their ideologies.

1Pe 3:13 And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1980

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Let's step back and ask ourselves what motivates the left-wing virtuecrats attempting to enforce their new regime of political correctness. Christian theologians tell us that the visio beatifica-the beatific vision of God-is the highest pleasure known to man. Alas, that communion is granted to very few in this life. For the common run of mankind, I suspect, the highest earthly pleasure is self-righteous moral infatuation. [Imprimis: Feb 2019, Roger...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1979

Title: Ephesians; 1:4 - The calling of the elect, part 11: The called call upon a holy God.

The called also call upon the name of the Lord, Rom 10:12-14; 1Co 1:2. They call upon the Father, 1Pe 1:17.

1Pe 1:13 Therefore, gird your minds for action [be ready at all times for action], keep sober in spirit [calm, collected, self-controlled, and careful], fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ [justification and sanctification now and glorification in eternity].

1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,

1Pe 1:15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;

1Pe 1:16...

for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1978