The Reformed room Bible study

[CCWoody]

Boy, this site has been up or down for me more than a Jack rabbit running from a Whippet.

For those reading with me, since we are now beginning a new month, it would be a good time to add the Psalms reading to the lessons. The daily Psalms reading list can be found on the front page, underneath the list of Months that you click on to access the reading lessons. So, with this in mind, today's reading would be:

Morning Prayer:

2 Kings 13:1 - 13:25​

John 13:1 - 13:20​

Psalms 1-5​

Evening Prayer:​

2 Kings 17:1 - 17:23​

Hebrews 8:1 - 8:13​

Psalms 6-8​

 

[CCWoody]

Ok, I have fixed the problem in the dB & in the script which loads the data so that the pretty yellow marker is once again showing up on the right day.

I also have a Spurgeon sermon to send out that I forgot to send yesterday.



Regarding this morning's reading, I have a few observations.

A question for the Reformed Baptists here!​

John 13:34-35 GB

(34) A newe commandement giue I vnto you, that ye loue one another: as I haue loued you, that ye also loue one another.
(35) By this shall all men knowe that ye are my disciples, if ye haue loue one to another.
​

It would seem to me that Baptists would claim that Baptism is the sign of the new Covenant and that only disciples are to be baptized. Yet, it does seem to me that Baptism isn't the sign of discipleship, but the love which they bear for each other is the sign.

Does God Love everyone!​

It was said to me recently on this form by an Orthodox moderator that God loves everyone. I asked the question: Is burning someone in the Lake of Fire an expression of God's love for them. The answer was yes. I thought of that exchange when I read the Psalms for the morning lessons.

Psalms 11:5-6 GB

(5) The Lord will try the righteous: but the wicked and him that loueth iniquitie, doeth his soule hate.
(6) Vpon the wicked he shall raine snares, fire, and brimstone, and stormie tempest: this is the porcion of their cup.
​

Here, it clearly link's the Lord's punishment for the wicked lovers of iniquity to be an expression of His hatred for them.

 

[CCWoody]

If anyone wants to be added to the Bible study mail list to receive the Spurgeon sermons, please PM me an email address and I will add you. This is today's sermon.
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THE WONDROUS COVENANT.​

NO. 3326
​

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31ST, 1912,​

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,​

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.​

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” — Hebrews 8:10.
​

HE doctrine of the divine covenant lies at the root of all true theology. It has been said that he who well understands the distinction between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace is a master of divinity. I am persuaded that most of the mistakes which men make concerning the doctrines of Scripture are based upon fundamental errors with regard to the covenants of law and of grace. May God grant us now the power to instruct, and you the grace to receive instruction on this vital subject.
​

The human race in the order of history, so far as this world is concerned, first stood in subjection to God under the covenant of works. Adam was the representative man. A certain law was given him. If he kept it, he and all his posterity would be blessed as the result of obedience. If he broke it, he would incur the curse himself, and entail it on all represented by him. That covenant our first father broke. He fell; he failed to fulfil his obligations; in his fall he involved us all, for we were all in his loins, and he represented us before God. Our ruin, then, was complete before we were born; we were ruined by him who stood as our first representative. To be saved by the works of the law is impossible, far under that covenant we are already lost. If saved at all it must be all quite a different plan, not on the plan of doing and being rewarded for it, for that has been tried, and the representative man upon whom it was tried has failed for us all. We have all failed in his failure; it is hopeless, therefore, to expect to win divine favour by anything that we can do, or merit divine blessing by way of reward.
​

But divine mercy has interposed, and provided a plan of salvation from the fall. That plan is another covenant, a covenant made with Christ Jesus the Son of God, who is fitly called by the apostle, “the Second Adam,” because he stood again as the representative of man. Now, the second covenant, so far as Christ was concerned, was a covenant of works quite as much as the other. It was an this wise. Christ shall come into the world and perfectly obey the divine law. He shall also, inasmuch as the first Adam has broken the law, suffer the penalty of sin. If he shall do both of these, then all whom he represents shall be blessed in his blessedness, and saved because of his merit. You see, then, that until our Lord came into this world it was a covenant of works towards him. He had certain works to perform, upon condition of which certain blessings should be given to us. Our Lord has kept that covenant. His part in it has been fulfilled to the last letter. There is no commandment which he has not honored; there is no penalty of the broken law which he has not endured. He became a servant and obedient, yea, obedient to death, even the death of the cross. He has thus done what the first Adam could not accomplish, and he has retrieved what the first Adam forfeited by his transgression. He has established the covenant, and now it ceases to be a covenant of works, for the works are all done.
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“Jesus did them, did them all,​

Long, long ago.”​

And now what remaineth of the covenant? God on his part has solemnly pledged himself to give undeserved favour to as many as were represented in Christ Jesus. For as many as the Saviour died for, there is stored up a boundless mass of blessing which shall be given to them, not through their works, but as the sovereign gift of the grace of God, according to his covenant promise by which they shall be saved.
​

Behold, my brethren, the hope of the sons of man. The hope of their saving themselves is crushed, for they are already lost. The hope of their being saved by work is a fallacious one, for they cannot keep the law; they have already broken it, but there is a way of salvation opened on this wise. Whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, receives and partakes of the bliss which Christ has bought. All the blessings which belong to the covenant of grace through the work of Christ shall belong to every soul that believeth in Jesus. Whosoever worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, unto him shall the blessing of the new covenant of grace be undoubtedly given.
​

I hope that this explanation is plain enough. If Adam had kept the law we should have been blessed by his keeping it. He broke it, and we have been cursed through him. Now the second Adam, Christ Jesus, has kept the law, we are, therefore, if believers, represented in Christ and blessed with the results of the obedience of Jesus Christ to his Father’s will. He said of old, “Lo, I come, to do thy will, O God! thy law is my delight.” He has done that will, and the blessings of grace are now freely given to the sons of men.
​

I shall ask your attention then, first, to the privileges of the covenant of grace; and, secondly, to the parties concerned in it. This will be quite enough, I am sure, for consideration this evening during the brief period allotted to our sermon.
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[rnmomof7]

THE JEWISH WEDDING CEREMONY AND THE BRIDE OF CHRIST

Both the Old and the New Testaments describe how God through Christ
(the Bridegroom) is in the process of marrying His bride (the believers in
Him) who will ultimately live and dwell with Him forever.

God ordained and established marriage and its divine sanctity in
Genesis, when He brought Adam and Eve together to become one flesh. *Genesis
2:21-24 ~ "So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and
while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs (Or took part of the
man's side) and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a
woman from the rib (Or part) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her
to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh; she shall be called woman, (The Hebrew for woman sounds like the
Hebrew for man) for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will
leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become
one flesh."

Adam is a type of Christ here. *Romans 5:14 ~ "Nevertheless, death
reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did
not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to
come."


*Ephesians ~ 5:31-32 ~ "For this cause shall a man leave his father and
mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
*2 Corinthians 11:2 ~ "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I
have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin
to Christ."

The ancient Jewish wedding ceremony God gave to the Jewish people was
to teach us also about the wedding of the Messiah. This ceremony consisted
of 12 steps. Notice the complete similarities to this wedding ceremony and
the Church, or Bride of Christ today.

The bride was usually chosen by the father of the bridegroom. The
father would send his trusted servant, known as the agent of the father, to
search out the bride. The chapter of Genesis 24 clearly shows this. In
this chapter, Abraham (a type of God the Father) wishes to secure a bride
for Isaac (a type of Messiah) and send his servant Eliezer (a type of the
Holy Spirit) to do this task. It is the role of the Holy Spirit to convict
the world of sin and lead them to God. *John 16:7-8 ~ "But I tell you the
truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the
Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he
comes, he will convict the world of guilt (Or will expose the guilt of the
world) in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment"

Just as the bride was usually chosen by the father of the bridegroom,
so the believers in the Messiah are chosen by God. *John 15:16 ~ "You did
not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit -
fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my
name."

The bridegroom chose the bride and lavished his love upon her and she
returned his love. This can be seen in *Ephesians 5:25 ~ "Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
Rebekah consented to marry Isaac even before she ever met him. Today,
the believers in the Messiah consent to become the bride of Christ even
though we have never seen Him. *1 Peter 1:8 ~ "Though you have not seen him,
you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and
are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy."



A price would have to be paid for the bride. Jesus, being our
bridegroom paid a very high price for His bride, the body of believers. The
price He paid was His life. *1 Corinthians 6:20 ~ "You were bought at a
price. Therefore honor God with your body."



Betrothal is the first of two steps in the marriage process. Betrothal
legally binds the bride and the groom together in a marriage contract,
except they do not physically live together. Whenever you accept the Lord
into your heart and life, you become betrothed to Him while living on earth.


A contract is developed ,it states the bride price, the promises of the groom, and
the rights of the bride. The groom promises to work for her, to honor,
support, and maintain her in truth, to provide food, clothing, and
necessities, and to live together with her as husband and wife. This
contract was the unalienable right of the bride. It must be executed and
signed prior to the wedding ceremony. The Bible is the believers contract.
All the promises that God provided for the believers in Christ are legally
ours. *2 Corinthians 1:20 ~ "For no matter how many promises God has made,
they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to
the glory of God."


The Bride must consent .The personal application to those who desire the Lord to come into
their hearts and lives is to accept his invitation to do so by faith. As
His bride, we are saying 'I do.'


Gifts were given to the bride and a cup called the cup of the covenant
was shared between the bride and the groom. The rite of the betrothal is
completed when the groom gives something of value to the bride and she
accepts it. Today, the gift that is given is usually a ring. When the
groom places the ring on the bride's finger, the rite of betrothal is
completed.
This completed rite is known in Hebrew as kiddushin, which means
'sanctification.' The gifts to the bride are symbols of love, commitment,
and loyalty. The gift God gives to those who accept Jesus is the Holy
Spirit. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He gave us gifts, including
righteousness, eternal life, grace, faith, and other spiritual gifts. In
addition, at this time the cup of the covenant was shared and sealed between
the bride and the groom with the drinking of wine. In doing so, the couple
drinks from a common cup. The cup is first given to the groom to sip, and
then is given to the bride.
This cup, known as the cup of the covenant, is
spoken of in *Jeremiah 31:31-33 ~ "'The time is coming,' declares the LORD,
'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke
my covenant, though I was a husband to (and I turned away from) them,'
declares the LORD. 'This is the covenant I will make with the house of
Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their
minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my
people.'"

Also in *Luke 22:20 ~ "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for
you.'"
Also in *1 Corinthians 11:25 ~ "In the same way, after supper he took the
cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever
you drink it, in remembrance of me.'"


The bride then had a water immersion , which was a rite of cleaning.
This indicates a separation from a former way to a new way of life. In
the case of marriage, it indicates leaving an old life for a new life with
your spouse. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3, that we must be born anew
to enter into the Kingdom of God. Believers are to be immersed in the name
of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the immerser of God. *Acts 11:15-16 ~ "As I
began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the
beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: `John baptized with
water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"



At this point, the bridegroom leaves for his father's house to prepare
the bridal chamber for his bride. It was understood to be the man's duty to
go away to be with his father, build a house, and prepare for the eventual
wedding. Before he goes, though, he will make a statement to the bride, "I
go to prepare a place for you; if I go, I will return again unto you."
*John 14:2-3 ~ "In my Father's house are many rooms (Or mansions); if it
were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you
to be with me that you also may be where I am."


The bride was consecrated and set aside.
Before the bridegroom could go and get the bride, the groom's father
had to be satisfied that the son had made every preparation. *Matthew 24:36
~ "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father."
Only then could he give permission to the son to go and get the bride.
In other words, while the bridegroom was working on the bridal chamber, it
was the father who 'okayed' the final bridal chamber.
*Rev 21:2 ~ "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband."
The bridegroom did not know when his father would declare the bridal
chamber fit and send him to go get his bride. Note the parallels:
*Mark 13:32-37 ~ "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do
not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his
house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and
tells the one at the door to keep watch. 'Therefore keep watch because you
do not know when the owner of the house will come back-whether in the
evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes
suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to
everyone: 'Watch!'"
Meanwhile, the bride was to wait eagerly for the return of the
bridegroom. In the mind of the bride, the bridegroom could come at any
time, even in the middle of the night or at midnight. Therefore, she had to
be ready at all times.


The the Bridegroom would return for his bride with a shout "Behold the bridegroom cometh " Then a rams horn would be blown .
The time was determined by the grooms father .

The time of the return of the bridegroom was usually at midnight. When
the bridegroom did come, he came with a shout *Matthew 25:6 ~ "At midnight
the cry rang out: `Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'"
Also with the blowing of a trumpet *1 Thessalonians 4:16 ~ "For the
Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice
of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God"
The marriage between the bride and the groom would take place under a
wedding canopy. Since Heaven is a type of canopy, we can see that when
Jesus gives a shout for His bride, accompanied by the blowing of a trumpet,
the marriage between Christ and his bride will take place in Heaven. The
marriage ceremony will have a sacred procession. For this reason, the
bridegroom (Jesus) will be led to the canopy first. When the bridegroom
approaches the canopy, the cantor chants, "Blessed is he who comes." This
expression means 'welcome.' Jesus said that He would not return for His
bride until these words were said. The groom is greeted like a king under
the canopy. During this time Jesus, the bridegroom, will be crowned King
under the canopy, which is Heaven.

He would abduct his bride, usually in the middle of the night, to go to
the bridal chamber where the marriage would be consummated.
*1 Thessalonians 5:2 ~ "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the
night."
This is the full marriage. The bride and groom will go to the wedding
chamber, where the marriage will be consummated. They will stay in that
wedding chamber for seven days, or a week.
At the end of the seven days, the bride and groom will come out from
the wedding chamber. The word week in Hebrew is shavuah. It means a
'seven.' It can mean seven days or seven years. From this we can see that
the believers (bride) in the Messiah (bridegroom) will be with the Messiah
in Heaven for His wedding while the earth will be experiencing the
seven-year tribulation period. Also in the biblical wedding service that
God gave, after you are married, you have a honeymoon. The honeymoon lasts
a week, having the same meaning as the above. Seven days or seven years.
So this also can refer to Heaven where the previously raptured believers
have been enjoying a seven-year honeymoon with the Lord while the earth is
experiencing the tribulation.

The bride and the groom would be in the wedding chamber for seven days.
When the bride and the groom initially went into the wedding chamber, the
friend of the bridegroom stood outside the door. All the assembled guests
of the wedding gathered outside, waiting for the friend of the bridegroom to
announce the consummation of the marriage, which was relayed to him by the
groom. John referred to this in *John 3:29 ~ "The bride belongs to the
bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him,
and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine,
and it is now complete."
At this signal, great rejoicing broke forth. The marriage was
consummated on the first night. The bloodstained linen from this night was
preserved. It was proof of the bride's virginity. <Deut 22:13-21> On the
wedding day, the bridegroom is seen as a king and the bride as a queen.
During the consummation of the marriage, the bridegroom (Jesus) will be
crowned King over all the earth and the bride (believers in Christ) will
live with Him and rule with Him forever.
Jesus will be returning with His bride and we will rule and reign with
Him
. *Rev 20:4 ~ "I saw thrones on which
were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls
of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and
because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image
and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came
to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years." The essence of romance
is laid out in this wedding, reserved for those who take part in being the
Bride of Christ. Love is God and God is Love!
*Rev 22:20-21 ~ "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming
soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's
people. Amen."

 

[ksen]

A question for the Reformed Baptists here!​

John 13:34-35 GB

(34) A newe commandement giue I vnto you, that ye loue one another: as I haue loued you, that ye also loue one another.

(35) By this shall all men knowe that ye are my disciples, if ye haue loue one to another.

​

It would seem to me that Baptists would claim that Baptism is the sign of the new Covenant and that only disciples are to be baptized. Yet, it does seem to me that Baptism isn't the sign of discipleship, but the love which they bear for each other is the sign.

I don't think that we Baptists believe that Baptism is the sign of the New Covenant. I'm pretty sure we'd hold that the sign of the New Covenant is His blood which is symbolized by the cup of the Lord's Table.

Baptism is a Believer's public identification with his Lord.

Does that help?

 

[CCWoody]

If anyone wants to be added to the Bible study mail list to receive the Spurgeon sermons, please PM me an email address and I will add you. This is today's sermon.

JESUS PUTTING AWAY SIN.​

NO. 759
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DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, JULY 7TH, 1867,​

BY C. H. SPURGEON,​

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.​

“...now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. “-Hebrews 9:26.
​

HEN the conscience is unenlightened and the heart is rebellious, man is divided from his God by a false sense of personal righteousness. He imagines that God deals hardly with him, that he looks upon his sin in too severe a light, and that, although he may be offended, yet, in some other respects, he has a claim upon the consideration of his Maker. As soon, however, as the Spirit of God illuminates the understanding, this selfrighteousness disappears: it is a flimsy cobweb which the besom of the law soon sweeps away; it is no more substantial than the mist of the morning, and it is at once dissipated by the rising sun of grace. Then man feels himself divided from his God by another and more real barrier: he has given up his self-righteousness, but now he is painfully conscious of his sinfulness, which appears to him to be an impassable gulf, parting him for ever from the just and holy God. The more the conscience becomes quickened, and the more fully the understanding is enlightened, the more desponding does the man become as to any hope of his ever becoming acceptable to the Most High. He puts himself into God’s position; his enlightened understanding enables him to look upon sin in some degree as God would regard it, and he is horrified to think that he should have been so ungrateful to so kind a Father; he is ashamed that he should have broken laws so perfectly just, and altogether out of heart with himself for having done despite to a government every way so generous and righteous as the moral government of God. The awakened sinner says within himself, “I can never make recompense for the injury which I have done to God’s honor; it is not possible that any doings or sufferings of mine compensate for my continued rebellion and obstinacy. Even could I cease from sin in the future, yet I cannot hope to meet my God with peaceful mind when I recollect the unhallowed and disgraceful past.” And thus the very enlightenment of conscience, which is one of the best signs of hope in quickened sinner, causes in him a consciousness of sin which becomes to him the ground of self-despair. I have no doubt I have some such in this congregation. Even among you who have believed in Jesus there may be some such; for every now and then we go back to first principles, we get again a distressingly vivid sight of sin, and need once more to understand how God can be just and yet the justifier of him that believeth. Brethren, if you are now desirous to be at one with God, if your spirit longs for his embrace, and yet you feel as if you could not come to God by reason of the sin which troubles you, it will be a great joy to you to know that eternal wisdom has devised a plan, and carried it out too, for the effectually putting away of sin. This is a wonder of wonders, which will create for ever enthusiastic gratitude among celestial spirits. Eternity shall not diminish the amazement of our minds at the thought that the impenetrable partition wall of our sin has been broken down, and the awful veil of thick darkness which shut us out from the mercy-seat has been for ever removed. Belshazzar’s knees knocked together, and the joints of his loins were loosened, when he saw the handwriting on the wall which declared his condemnation. What joy would have filled his despairing spirit, if suddenly that writing had been blotted out, and another hand had written “I have loved thee with an everlasting love!” Can you conceive the joy of that astonished monarch, the transport of that affrighted throng? Yet, this morning, I have as good news to tell to the penitent as though such were their position, and such the act of pardoning mercy. Jesus has blotted out the handwriting which was against us, and written words of love concerning us. The angel of wrath once stood over Jerusalem, having a drawn sword in his hand; but Jehovah has put away the sin of his people, and now the avenging sword is returned to the scabbard, and God regardeth his Zion with everlasting love. I have said that this is a wonder, and so it is, when you recollect that the angels fell. The sons of the morning kept not their first estate, but for fallen angels, there is no putting away of sin. Shut up for ever, chained with adamantine bands, their sufferings shall know no pause, their anguish shall find no end; and yet we, creatures of inferior mould, we have enlisted the sympathy of the ever Blessed, who undertook to make atonement for our sin, and has achieved the purpose of his grace. Brethren, it might have been easy enough for God to have put away human sin itself by the destruction of our race. It would no more need an effort of power on God’s part to destroy us, than for us to tread upon a moth-nay, his mere will could have done it; and I do not know that one of the crowns of his glory would have lost a jewel. He might instantly have created another race superior to ourselves if so it had pleased him, and every gap which the destruction of mankind might have caused in the universe, might have been at once filled up; but, wonder of wonders, he spares us at a vast expense: he spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all! It has sometimes been asked why God did not pardon sin without an atonement. That is a question which we must leave those to answer who propound it. We do not doubt but what God might have done so if so he had willed-we doubt whether he ever would have willed to do so, for our view of the constitution of his glorious character seems to require that sin should be punished-but that is not a question for us: we know that the Lord has not willed to let sin escape. He has been pleased to make the display of his grace to sinners an opportunity for the revelation of all his other attributes, that-
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“God, in the person of his Son,​

Has all his mightiest works outdone.”​

Without raising questions which would minister no profit to us, it is ours to behold the great love wherewith the Lord hath loved us, that he sent his Son to redeem us from our iniquities, by the shedding of his own most precious blood.
​

“Oh! fathomless abyss,​

Where hidden mysteries lie:​

The seraph finds his bliss,​

Within the same to pry;​

Lord, what is man, thy desperate foe,​

That thou shouldst bless and love him so?”​

I propose, this morning, as God may help me, to comfort those who are longing for reconciliation with God, by showing them that no difficulties exist, since Jesus Christ has for ever put away the sin which would have separated a penitent soul from its God. We shall look at the text carefully, and I think we shall notice in it several things which minister comfort to seeking sinners. Jesus Christ has appeared once, in the end of the age, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.​

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.​

[snip]​

.​

Now, this is a clear explanation of the plan of salvation. Not thus is it with the mummeries of superstition. The priests of Baal tell us that when they take an infant in their arms, and put water on its face, using a certain ritual, that the unconscious babe becomes there and then a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven: can they tell us how this marvellous change is wrought upon a dormant intellect, a slumbering soul? No; they can only mutter that it is by some occult influence! Occult indeed! For the child grows up to live as others live, and perhaps to die in unbelief. Such mummeries, with their base pretensions to occult influences, are worthy to he ranked with the whisperings and incantations of the witch of Endor, or the dealings of Balaam, the son of Peor. But we can tell you how it is that sin is put away by the sacrifice of Christ. There is nothing occult in the cross, The doctrine of atonement appeals to the understanding and the judgment. Christ pays the debt-then, of course, the believer is free. Christ suffers for me. Then how can two suffer for the one offense? Here is something for men in their wits to think of; something for the profoundest intellect to ponder over. As for the shams of confession, priestly absolution, etc., which Baal’s priests are continually thrusting in your way instead of our blessed Lord and Mastersuch shams that my soul boils at the very thought of them-regard them not, neither endure them. With their vestments, their genuflections, and their ceremonies, they are as wizards that peep and mutter, and forge a lie to deceive. They would use an unknown language if they dared, like Babylon’s priests; as it is, their intonings make plain words hard to be understood. Their religion is not a revelation, but an obvelation; not a manifestation of God, but a veiling of his face. Like the children of the old covenant of bondage, they have a veil over their faces, and they see not the truth; but we who preach Jesus Christ in the fullness of his gospel, use great plainness of speech, for we tell you good news which you can comprehend, which appeals to your understanding and intellect-for once in the end of the world Jesus Christ has made a disclosure of himself; has brought life and immortality to light, and has revealed to you how God can be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly. Surely there is no one here who does not understand the plan of substitution; if there were, I would try to elucidate it still further. Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, stood in the place of men-in your place, dear hearer, if you trust him, he suffered for you. You can understand how God is just in taking this voluntarily-offered sacrifice instead of your sacrifice, punishing Christ instead of you, and then saying to you, “I have vindicated the honor of my government; I have magnified my law and shown that it must not be trifled with, and now I forgive youfreely do I pardon you, for Jesus died.” I pray you receive with your heart what you have accepted with your understanding. My dear hearer, kick not against a gospel so simple, so just to God, so safe to you. Yield to it, I pray you, yield now, and remember, if thou believest in the appointed Savior, thou art saved. If thou wilt trust thyself now with Jesus Christ, he will not fail thee; he will cover thee with his righteousness, cleanse thee with his blood, protect thee by his power, and, by-and-by, enshrine thee in his glory, world without end. But we must pass on.
​

 

[CCWoody]

The Peace Which Christ Gives His True Followers

 

[ksen]

Now this is Biblical Ecumenicism at its best!

• Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. - II Chronicles 23:17 (KJV)

 

[CCWoody]

It is often asserted by our Arminian opponents that Romans 8:28-30 teaches that those whom God foreknew, he knew only in a sense of precognition. Yet, what does the Lord himself reveal to us in His high priestly prayer, but that the gift of eternal life to those whom the Father has given to the son in election is nothing less than to know God? We are already known by God. Now, we are given the gift to know God. This is eternal life. So, it is impossible that those whom God foreknew in Romans 8:29 were known only in the sense of precognition.

John 17:1-3 GB

(1) These things spoke Jesus, and lift up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, that hour is come: glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee,
(2) As thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to all them that thou has given him.
(3) And this is life eternal, that they know thee to be the only very God, and whom thou has sent, Jesus Christ.
​

The blessed Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo on the same topic:

"But we say," say they, "that God did not foreknow anything as ours except that faith by which we begin to believe, and that He chose and predestinated us before the foundation of the world, in order that we might be holy and immaculate by His grace and by His work." But let them also hear in this testimony the words where he says, "We have obtained a lot, being predestinated according to His purpose who worketh all things. He, therefore, worketh the beginning of our belief who worketh all things; because faith itself does not precede that calling of which it is said: "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance;" and of which it is said: "Not of works, but of Him that calleth"; and the election which the Lord signified when He said: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." For He chose us, not because we believed, but that we might believe, lest we should be said first to have chosen Him, and so His word be false (which be it far from us to think possible), "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." Neither are we called because we believed, but that we may believe; and by that calling which is without repentance it is effected and carried through that we should believe. But all the many things which we have said concerning this matter need not to be repeated.

​

 

[CCWoody]

The Christian Pilgrim Or THE TRUE CHRISTIAN’S LIFE A JOURNEY TOWARD HEAVEN

 

[CCWoody]

I wonder how the Premillennialists explain this verse:

Hebrews 13:14 GB

(14) For here have we no continuing city: but we seek one to come.

​

 

[ksen]

I wonder how the Premillennialists explain this verse:



Hebrews 13:14 GB

(14) For here have we no continuing city: but we seek one to come.

​

​

Easy......our Hebrews 13 ends at verse 13.

 

[CCWoody]

Easy......our Hebrews 13 ends at verse 13.

Perhaps it is just dense Engineering Theologian's day and the real kicker was nobody informed the Engineering Theologians, but I don't get it.

 

[LynneClomina]

it was a verse removed from their scriptures.

 

[CCWoody]

Ah, I see.

Here is another interesting verse. What day was the Passover; the day of Jesus' death (that coming evening) or the evening before, when the Lord gave the disciples the Lord's Supper?

John 18:28 GB

(28) Then led they Iesus from Caiaphas into the common hall. Nowe it was morning, and they themselues went not into the common hall, least they should be defiled, but that they might eate the Passeouer.
​

When the Jews were out preparing their Passover lambs for sacrifice, was the Lord, our Passover Lamb, being sacrificed for us? Or, had the Passover celebration already occured with the Lord celebrating it with His disciples and this verse is a reference to day 2 of the Feast of Unleavened bread?

 

[ksen]

Ah, I see.

Here is another interesting verse. What day was the Passover; the day of Jesus' death (that coming evening) or the evening before, when the Lord gave the disciples the Lord's Supper?



John 18:28 GB

(28) Then led they Iesus from Caiaphas into the common hall. Nowe it was morning, and they themselues went not into the common hall, least they should be defiled, but that they might eate the Passeouer.


​

When the Jews were out preparing their Passover lambs for sacrifice, was the Lord, our Passover Lamb, being sacrificed for us? Or, had the Passover celebration already occured with the Lord celebrating it with His disciples and this verse is a reference to day 2 of the Feast of Unleavened bread?

Remember that a Jewish day starts at sundown. Therefore the lamb would have been killed the afternoon before the official start of Passover which would have been sundown.

So I believe the Lord celebrated the Last Supper on the evening before Passover. And then He was killed at the time the Passover lamb was being killed for the next evening's meal.

 

[snerkel]

Ah, I see.

Here is another interesting verse. What day was the Passover; the day of Jesus' death (that coming evening) or the evening before, when the Lord gave the disciples the Lord's Supper?



John 18:28 GB

(28) Then led they Iesus from Caiaphas into the common hall. Nowe it was morning, and they themselues went not into the common hall, least they should be defiled, but that they might eate the Passeouer.


​

When the Jews were out preparing their Passover lambs for sacrifice, was the Lord, our Passover Lamb, being sacrificed for us? Or, had the Passover celebration already occured with the Lord celebrating it with His disciples and this verse is a reference to day 2 of the Feast of Unleavened bread?

Have I stumbled into Bible 101?

Passover is a 7 day event. A person must remain clean and undefiled for the duration of passover in order to participate in all the festival.

The passover lamb would have been killed and consumed on the evening of 14 Nisan, the first day of Passover, which would have been the night before the trial.

 

[CCWoody]

Have I stumbled into Bible 101?

Passover is a 7 day event. A person must remain clean and undefiled for the duration of passover in order to participate in all the festival.

The passover lamb would have been killed and consumed on the evening of 14 Nisan, the first day of Passover, which would have been the night before the trial.

Perhaps you have stumbled into Bible 101. Yes, I understand that the Feast of the Unleavened Bread is a 7 day celebration, which starts on the evening of the Passover itself. This was my reference to day 2.

However, there is a very real controversy within the church as to whether or not the Lord's supper was also the Passover meal. I have read arguments for both, my last being one by A.T. Robertson.

And, you do bring up 2 interesting points:

#1. Where in all of scripture is the Feast of Unleavened bread referred to as the Passover?
#2. Where are the places in the OT where the requirement was given for purification for all 7 days of the feast?

 

[snerkel]

Perhaps you have stumbled into Bible 101. Yes, I understand that the Feast of the Unleavened Bread is a 7 day celebration, which starts on the evening of the Passover itself. This was my reference to day 2.

However, there is a very real controversy within the church as to whether or not the Lord's supper was also the Passover meal. I have read arguments for both, my last being one by A.T. Robertson.

I believe much of the controversy/confusion which surrounds Passover is the fact that this Feast contains more than 1 Sabbath. And I believe if the Passover begins on a Saturday evening, it contains 3 Sabbaths (the first and last day of the feast are marked as a Sabbath and then you have the regular Sabbath beginning at sundown on Friday). It gets rather confusing.

You have to pay close attention to the wording in Scripture. The day before each Sabbath is viewed as a day of preparation, since no work is allowed on the Sabbath. It is my understanding that Jesus did partake of the Passover feast and that the "day of preparation", which is mentioned in Scripture at the time of His trial/crucifixion/burial, is the day of preparation for the regular Sabbath.

And, you do bring up 2 interesting points:

#1. Where in all of scripture is the Feast of Unleavened bread referred to as the Passover?

Exodus 12

#2. Where are the places in the OT where the requirement was given for purification for all 7 days of the feast?

Leviticus 15:1-18

 

[theseed]

I wonder how the Premillennialists explain this verse:

Hebrews 13:14 GB

(14) For here have we no continuing city: but we seek one to come​

Have you ever read The Pilgram's Progress by John Bunyan?

It seems to be a reference the the Celestial City (the one to come) and the City of Destruction (not lasting).

"Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed." (Edwards, Angry God) [Cross reference with p. 4 of Pilgram's Progress]

Genesis 19
17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

So, I don't think it has anything to do with The Millenium