Purposed Grace Articles

What would you think of a man who sat down to his Sunday dinner and tried to eat sufficient then, at one meal, to last him for the whole week? And yet that is precisely the method followed by multitudes of people with their spiritual food. The only time they get an adequate spiritual meal is on Sunday, and they make that last them for the remainder of the week. Is there any wonder that so many Christians are weak and sickly! O let us face the fact that our souls are in urgent need of a daily supply of the Bread of Life. Whatever else be left undone, let us see to it that we regularly feed on the spiritual manna.

Philip didn’t preach a theology, he didn’t preach a personal opinion, he didn’t preach a pet doctrine or an issue, beloved he preached a person; he opened his mouth, and from the scriptures he preached JESUS.

All faithful ministers, men sent of GOD, preach CHRIST JESUS and HIM CRUCIFIED; they don’t preach themselves—they are not men pleasers, they are your servants for JESUS sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5)

Beloved, I pray that the LORD will ever enable me to open my mouth and preach to you JESUS. That through HIS undeserved grace, HE will ever make me to be your faithful minister of CHRIST. (Colossians 1:7)

Beloved, the reason why Adam and Eve were found clothed in these coats of skins is the same reason why you, who believe on Christ, are found in Him.

You see, salvation is God providing for you in Christ, not you providing for yourself. Salvation is GOD clothing you in Christ, not you clothing yourself.

If you are in Christ, saved by His blessed person and finished saving work, you are found in Him according to the good pleasure of His will, not yours—though He makes us willing. (Psalm 110:3)

You see, salvation is God’s provision for sinners in Christ, not our provision.He who makes Christ to be our coat of salvation, is the one who graciously dresses us in Him, and makes His righteousness to be ours—through that vital living union with Him! Beloved, of God are ye in Christ Jesus! (1 Corinthians 1:30)

The only exchange of words that has ever brought peace to my heart are those words exchanged in the covenant of grace. The words exchanged between the Father and the Son on behalf of His blessed People. Our heavenly Father commands us to behold His Son and hear Him.

The Father declares of His Son and all His blessed people in Him. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (MATTHEW 3:17) The Son declares to the Father “Behold I and the children which God hath given me.” — “Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost.” (HEBREWS 2:13, JOHN 17:12)

From before the foundation of the world, we hear each blessed clause, each blessed sentence of the covenant, exchanged between the Father and the Son, and delivered to the believing heart by the Holy Spirit to His people.

How prone we are to try and find assurance in the words of others. Or worse yet, to try and give it to others with our own! Beloved, we’ll only find peace, quietness, and assurance forever believing the words exchanged by and within our covenant God, who changeth not. Words exchanged between the Father, His Son, and blessed to the hearts of His people by the Holy Spirit. Beloved, He sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not — he declares to you elect of God — “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” “I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (PSALM 15:4, JEREMIAH 31:3, MALACHI 3:6)

LORD deliver us from looking to ourselves. Cause us “to put our trust in HIM.” Grant us to hear the well pleasing voice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, declaring to us once again through the gospel of our salvation, that everything this poor undeserving sinner needs to be saved before a Holy God, has been freely and graciously supplied in and by CHRIST. Our Lord declares “I GIVE unto them ETERNAL LIFE; and THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Beloved, no man shall pluck us out of the hands of our Father and His beloved Son. Believer, you can’t even pluck yourself out of the hands of our God; you are sealed by His Holy Spirit and are His Son’s purchased possession.

Everything I must be to be saved, he has graciously made me in the flesh of a man. Not in my flesh, but in the flesh and Spirit of His Son, which I now walk after by His grace. Beloved, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (ROMANS 8:1)

God grant, both the writer and the reader, grace to behold that the only work that effects assurance to the hearts of His people, is not any work done in our flesh, but rather the righteous finished work of Christ — fulfilling GOD’s LAW on our behalf. On the cross where our blessed Saviour died, He hath purchased [us] with his own blood. The punishing, bloody propitious death of our Lord that paid the penalty of all our unholy sins. And with that righteous life He lived as a man, and now He is risen, and ever lives at the righthand of the Father, fulfilling every demand God requires of me for holiness. God grant, both the writer and reader help! Lord I believe, help my unbelief. Beloved, HE has accomplished and finished the work of our salvation! Amen. (ISAIAH 40:1-2, HEBREWS 4:3)

“If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ…” (1 Corinthians 16:22). I say it with sorrow in my voice, but there are multitudes that have religious feelings and do not love Christ. Salvation is in a Person, who He is, and what He did and why He did what He did. When will you know you are saved? When you love Christ. Who cares about the past or future? It is the present that is crucial—my position in Christ.

Man has an eternal question to settle. What is the purpose of his existence? Surely we have more purpose than to be born, grow, become men and women, work, make money, buy food, eat, work, make more money, etc. and retire and live happily ever after. Even a fool can see that, yet men are worse than fools.

When is a pastor a good pastor? It is when he arrives at the place Paul spoke about to young Timothy, not being ashamed of that which Christ taught. One thing I don’t intend to be is a “nice old preacher,” because I am not a nice old preacher. I resent more and more the religious idiocy of this age. My intention is to SEPARATE men. People come and people go, and to some degree I am at peace about the “goers.” If I could cause “fence-straddlers” to be totally uncomfortable, then that is good.

Philip didn’t preach a theology, he didn’t preach a personal opinion, he didn’t preach a pet doctrine or an issue, beloved he preached a person; he opened his mouth, and from the scriptures he preached JESUS.

All faithful ministers, men sent of GOD, preach CHRIST JESUS and HIM CRUCIFIED; they don’t preach themselves—they are not men pleasers, they are your servants for Jesus sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5)

Beloved, I pray that the LORD will ever enable me to open my mouth and preach to you JESUS. That through HIS undeserved grace, HE will ever make me to be your faithful minister of CHRIST. (Colossians 1:7)

To answer this question properly, much needs to be said by way of introduction. However, for the sake of time, allow us to outline the difference as simply as we can. We will only make three brief introductory points. First, what we believe is rooted in WHO we believe. This is not an intellectual or academic exercise. It is a living relationship with Jesus, THE Christ, the Lord of glory, our Savior. That is the reason we refuse to allow our desire to be a witness for Him to be reduced to a debate. Second, the differences in what we believe are not a matter of theological emphases. Denominations have been created over one doctrine or tradition being emphasized over another. The difference in what we believe and what most believe is the difference in eternal life and eternal death. Third, we understand, from personal experience, that the only way to savingly see the difference between the truth and a lie is by the free and sovereign grace of God. He is the only one that can make us to differ from another. So, what are the differences?

1. We do not believe God loves everybody. We believe the love of God is only to be found in Christ, and that was determined by God before the world began. (EPHESIANS 1:4)

2. We do not believe Christ died for everybody. He laid down His life for the sheep not the goats. It is not for us to try to figure out which one men are. His sheep will hear His voice and they will follow Him. Christ purposed to save His elect, and He fulfilled all He came to do. (JOHN 10:26-27; ISAIAH 42:1-4)

3. We do not believe God, in any way, wills all men to be saved. God is God. His will is always accomplished. If He willed all men to be saved then all men would be saved. The purpose of God according to election will stand (ROMANS 9:11, 8:28)

4. We do not believe man has a “free will”. Man's will is in bondage to his sinful nature. It is not free to choose Christ. Man left to himself is unable to believe. God must make him willing through the miracle of the new birth. [JOHN 3:3]

5. We do not believe the gospel is an “offer” of salvation to be accepted by man. The gospel is the declaration of the “good news” that Christ has DONE everything necessary to secure the salvation of His people. God is not waiting for us to DO something to make what Christ did work for us. (2 TIMOTHY 1:9), (“It is finished!”- JOHN 19:30). This message of grace is irresistible to the elect.

6. We do not believe our faith is the effectual cause of our salvation. The Faith OF Christ is the only faith that makes us accepted before a holy God. Gal.2:16 Our faith is a gift of God given IN, not FOR salvation. (EPHESIANS 2:8-9)

7. We do not believe the Bible is a rule book for Christian living. We believe it is in its entirety a revelation of the glorious person and accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He Himself is our rule of life. (LUKE 24:44-45)

8. In short, we believe that “salvation is of the Lord”. He gets all the glory for saving a dead dog sinner such as I. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. God, our Heavenly Father, purposed the salvation of His chosen people in the covenant of grace before the world began. Christ, the Son of God, accomplished everything necessary for Righteousness and Justice on behalf of those chosen. The Holy Spirit, at the appointed time, gives the elect ears to hear and hearts to believe. He then keeps them in Christ until their sojourn in this world is over. At that time, they will see Christ in all His glory and be made like Him.

While I understand what people mean when they ask the question ‘What does your church believe?’, I believe it is far more helpful to sinners and ultimately to God’s people, to ask the question ‘whom have you believed?’