GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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FREEDOM'S FOUNDATION
By Miles Sanford


"I have been crucified with Christ, and I myself no longer live" (Gal. 2:20, Wms.).

Upon conversion, the new believer feels that every opposition to a joyous, fruitful Christian life has been overcome once for all. Later, when the world and self begin to insinuate themselves once again, he thinks that determination and self-effort will keep him free. Finally, after a seemingly endless struggle, the defeated believer is brought back to the Cross. Here is the source of liberation from the power of self and the  world.

"Sinners are not saved until they trust the Saviour, and saints are not delivered until they trust the Deliverer. God has made both possible through the Cross of His Son." ---L.S.C.

"The believer can never overcome the 'old man' even by the power of' the 'new' apart from the work of the Cross, and therefore the death of Christ is indispensable, and unless the Cross is made the basis upon which he overcomes the 'old nature,' he only drops into another form of morality; in other words, he is seeking by self-effort to overcome sin and self, and the struggle is a hopeless one." - C.U.

"Just as the Lord Jesus came into this world where this old humanity was and came into it not to ally Himself with it but to take it into death by the Cross, even so He now by the Holy Spirit, in regeneration, comes into us where there is this old fallen life and not to ally Himself with it, but to hold it in the place of death by the same means - His Cross." - N.D.

"But may it never be mine to boast of anything but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world!" (Gal. 6:14, Wms.).

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NOW NO CONDEMNATION
By M. Stanford


"Ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God" (Rom. 7:4).

Romans Six reveals our position as having died unto the principle of sin; Romans Seven teaches us our position as having died unto the principle of law. Both must be counted upon if we are to abide in Christ, and walk in the Spirit, as set forth in Romans Eight.

"We have to look at ourselves and see how far we are devotedly following the Lord Jesus, with full purpose of heart - how we can say, 'This one thing I do'; but we must take care at the same time not to get into legal bondage by this standard. If I say, 'Here is a rule of conduct: follow it,' this cannot reach the heart, the affections. The ministration of the letter brings only failure, and condemnation; for it prescribes a rule which man, being a sinner, can never follow. It does not change a man; it proves him 'ungodly and without strength.'

"We may turn even Christ into that letter of condemnation; we may take His life, for instance. and make it our law. Nay, we may turn even the love of Christ into our law; we may say, 'He has loved me, and done all this for me, and I ought to love Him, and do so much for Him, in return for this love,' etc. Thus if we turn His love into a rule of life, it becomes the ministration of condemnation."

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1).

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Now Means Now!
by Anabel Gillham



Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1

Now (adverb): at the present time; at once (Webster)

I've been thinking about the difference between conviction and condemnation. When the Holy Spirit convicts me of something that I have done wrong, the thoughts will be something like this: "I really blew that! I was wrong. I should have thought before I said that. That was certainly not a Christ-like thing to do! I'll go over the first thing tomorrow and make an apology. I am so thankful that He has promised to complete what He started. He still has a lot of work to do on me - that's for sure!" In conviction there is hope - hope for changing fleshly patterns because of the power of Christ in me - hope for righting wrongs - hope for overcoming.

On the other hand, thoughts of condemnation will attack me - myself - not just my performance. For example, "I am such a loser. I do everything wrong. I should not be teaching or witnessing. What a sorry Christian I've turned out to be. I can't do anything right." There's no hope in those accusations - just condemnation. Those words condemn me because of my poor performance and give birth to guilt, depression, disappointment, hopelessness, and a lot of other destructive thoughts.

The Holy Spirit isolates - brings to mind - the sinful act. Satan, however, makes broad, all-inclusive accusations against my person/character/integrity. God will never condemn me. Why? Because He knows me - my new heart, my desire to please Him, my love for Him - and He doesn't expect me to perform perfectly. That's His program - conforming me to the image of His Son. "Conforming" means there's work to be done - changing my performance, the things I do - not my identity. There is, therefore, NOW no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

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Can God Forget?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth
       

 “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb. 10:17).

 We know that God forgives the sins of His people, but does He forget them? It would seem so. Our text suggests that He “will not remember” the sins committed against Him by His children (Isa. 43:25). Believers have always found a great deal of comfort in this blessed thought.

 But then God calls upon us to likewise forgive others “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). Doesn’t this suggest that we too should forgive and forget? Perhaps you are thinking, “But Pastor, you don’t know what they did to me!” True, but was it more than what was done to God when men crucified His Son?

 Remember, God’s vow to forgive and forget the sins of His people includes even the brutal murder of His only begotten Son. We are tempted to think, “Well, it’s easy for God to forget,” but such is not the case. God says of the sins of unbelievers that He “will NEVER forget ANY of their works” (Amos 8:7). How then can this God of “total recall” forget our sins? Does His memory have a convenient “on/off ” switch that makes it easy for Him to forgive and forget? If so, then we who do not have such a switch would have an excuse for forgiving but not forgetting. But if God has such a switch, would He not also have to erase His memory of Calvary, or else forever wonder why His Son had to die? But it cannot be that God could forget the Cross, for Revelation 5:6 joins John 20:27 to reveal that the Lord’s resurrection body will forever bear the scars of the Cross, making it impossible for God—or us—to ever forget His sacrifice for our sins.

 What then is the answer to our question? Can God forget our sins? Perhaps the reader has noticed that we never read that God will forget the sins of His people, but rather that He “will not remember” them. By a deliberate act of His “will” He chooses to act toward us AS IF He has forgotten our sins, on the basis of the blood of the Cross. That’s how fully and completely He has forgiven our sins. And if we are to forgive others “as”God forgave us, then we too must choose to act toward others as if we have so fully forgiven their transgressions against us that we have forgotten them—also on the basis of Christ’s shed blood. This and this alone is complete forgiveness of others, and it is high spiritual ground indeed.

 May God help us to begin the new year with a slate wiped clean of “all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking...with all malice” (Eph. 4:31).

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OF HIM ARE YE IN CHRIST
By Russell Miller

Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 1:30

To be out of Adam and "in Christ" is a very marvelous thing. No human effort or merit could accomplish such a thing. But the Lord Jesus Christ, through His finished work of redemption, has reversed what the devil through Adam wrought for mankind. The Bible plainly describes what we were in Adam and how "the works of the flesh" degrade his descendants.

"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:3-5).

In what Christ accomplished is our position and standing "in Him", and instead of sin and unbelief Paul declares: "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification. and redemption" (I Cor. 1:30).

Praise the Lord. Now, by the grace of God, we may enter the presence of God's holiness without fear, for His wrath was poured out against sin upon His Son. This glorious position by virtue of just simply being "in Christ" is ours to enjoy forever. What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord!  May we never lose sight of it, nor what He did for us on that cruel cross.

"That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (I Cor. 1:31).

Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ

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NO WORD, NO TRUTH
By M. Stanford


"Without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11 :6).


Rationalism defies God; Ritualism degrades God.

"With Rationalism's intellectual audacity on the one hand, which dares to speak against the Word of God; and on the other hand, the outward piety of Ritualism - ---there is really the same root of infidelity at bottom. There is the supplanting of the plain truth of the inspired Word. Both get rid of it, depriving the soul of that which is the only means of a living link between God and man.

"It does not matter what the means or forms may be, whether the negative process of Rationalism, or the more positive claim of Ritualism: if man comes in -- whether it be his rites or his reasonings -- so as to exclude God's Word, or step between its authority and the soul of man, it becomes pretty much the same result in the end.

"Rationalism is the deification of human powers, in which man presumes by his own mind to judge the Word of God, and is therefore the infidelity of the intellect when either carried out to its results or judged in its principle.

"On the other hand Ritualism is the infidelity of the imagination, very often with piety underneath it, with a love for the Saviour that may preserve from the full consequences of the system, but in itself always savoring of and tending to idolatry.

"We cannot know the value of Christ the Truth unless we have the Spirit of Truth. Nevertheless, the test of having the Spirit of Truth, and of not being a prey to fanaticism, is that the soul is attracted and subject to the Lord Jesus Christ --- and this cannot be without faith produced and nourished by the Word of Truth." -W.K.

"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10: 1 7).

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EN-GRACED IN THE BELOVED ONE
By Ivan Burgener


Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1: 6

God has chosen us in Christ "before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him." It was "in love," on God's part, that He predestinated us according to His will, placing us as sons (full grown sons) by Jesus Christ. This grand plan was "to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved (One)."
 
This word "accepted" in our verse is the word "EN-GRACED" in our title because that is exactly what it means. Literally, God en-graced us in His grace! Did He do this apart from the Lord Jesus Christ? By no means! We have been "accepted (or en-graced) in the beloved (One)." But Christ is not merely the agent or instrument whereby God has shown this grace to us. We are en-graced "in the Beloved." It is "in Christ" that we receive this grace as we are placed in Him, baptized into His One Body, vitally identified with our risen Head in heaven! It is "in the Beloved" that we enter into this favor. Apart from Christ, we have nothing of God's grace, or any spiritual blessing!
 
We were chosen in Christ "before the foundation of the world," but we are "en-graced in the Beloved One, in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace!" And that is just how rich His grace is. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies is ours in Christ, and the riches of His grace is not one bit impoverished by such-sharing!
 
The "glory" of this grace might be taken in connection with God's revelation of this grace. One of God's glories is that He can and does reveal Himself. This "grace" was ever in the heart of God. Thus Paul is led into one of the most wondrous doxologies of all his letters as he contemplates the revelation of this grace, by which grace we have been en-graced in the Beloved One.

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EPHESIANS 1:4
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world"


BLESSED SOVEREIGNTY

By His grace and mercy, our will becomes the Father's will when we choose the Saviour. May it ever continue!

As the master musician knows exactly how the symphonic rendition will sound before its notes vibrate upon the air, anticipating with accuracy every tone, cadence, and change of tempo, so God knows precisely what will occur and keeps it under control, though enacted by independent moral agencies. It is because God knows what the reactions of such 'free agencies' will be under any given set of circumstances, that He encompasses the inner circle of 'freedom' with His outer circle of sovereignty.

The will of man is guided by what he knows and what he desires. The divine method of reaching the will is by graciously increasing man's knowledge and by stimulating his desires, while on the divine side of this method there remains not the shadow of possible failure. The end is as certain as any eternal reality in God. On the human side, man is conscious of doing only what he actually does: he chooses as an act of his own volition to receive the grace God offers in Christ Jesus. By persuasion and enlightenment God realizes His purpose to the point of infinite completeness; yet no human will has ever coerced, nor will one ever be.

God's elective purposes are carried out in such an incomprehensible way through the internal and external influences of infinite love and wisdom that man is at no time conscious of any external compulsion, but only of choices and decisions in the exercise of his own free will. Knowledge of what God has accomplished by His own free will comes later by the channel of the Word.


".......being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" Eph. 1 :11

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"KNOWING GOD'S WILL"
By late Pastor Lloyd Peterson


We need to understand how to apply grace to the decision-making process of our lives. When grace rules a person's life his perspective changes on everything. He begins to understand that every detail of life flows from his relationship with God. Grace means that God does it all. We simply receive from Him, cooperating with the Holy Spirit by trusting Him moment by moment. To walk in grace doesn't mean that we are passive In matters of daily living. To the contrary, it means that we act in confidence, resting In the fact that it is God who will initiate, perpetuate, and consummate His plan for our lives.

Many believers fall short of the joy God intends for them because they fall to understand how His grace acts on our behalf to being to pass the wonderful plan He has for us. God has an awesome plan for your life. It isn't a cookie-cutter plan, either. He designed a special agenda that was uniquely created just for you. Before you were ever born, He saw you and customized His plan for your lifetime. (Ps. 139:16) One of the greatest joys in life is knowing that you are experiencing the very purpose for which you were created. Fulfilling the will of God Is not some elusive goal that can never be reached. It Is possible for Christians to enjoy the experience of knowing that we are in the very center of God's purpose.

The starting point for understanding the will of God must be grace. The legalist asks, "What is the will of God for me?" The will of God is not primarily a plan, but instead is a Person. Jesus Christ is the will of God. When one rightly relates to Him, doing the will of God becomes the natural result of our union with Him.

Many Christians act like a deist* when it comes to God's will. They look for God to show them his will so that they can then go out and do it.

So under grace, it isn't the Christian's duty to find God's will, but rather God will reveal His will to the one who rests in Him.  A person ruled by law will pursue God's will with sincerity and yet never be confident that he has discovered it. One who enjoys intimacy with Jesus will know it without struggling to find it.

* A Deist, basically recognizes very little personal interaction between God and has empowered the car (earth) to run, and now it is up to many where he drives it and how he runs it.

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BE ON YOUR GUARD
By R.B. Shiflet

One of the strongest appeals that the Apostle Paul makes to believers is that found in Colossians 2:4-23, in which he warns us against letting Satan capture our minds. This section of the epistle is bounded on either side by the word “hid,” and its key message is the fulness of Christ as the only answer to the emptiness of human reasoning. Note how in verse 3 he refers to Christ, “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and in chapter 3, verse 3, he says to us as believers, “ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Between these passages that tell us that all true wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ and that our own lives are also hidden in Him, he calls attention to (1) The Purpose of our Enemy, (2) The Plan of our Enemy, and (3) The Protection Against our Enemy.

THE PURPOSE of our Enemy

The aim of our foe is stated in Colossians 2:8: “Beware lest any man spoil you.” The term “spoil” means to “rob,” or to “make a prey” of, or to take one captive. It is obvious that a loose hold on the truth of our fulness in Christ will make one an easy victim to this method of deception. Just as surely as the truth makes free, error genders to bondage. One who fails to see the truth of our completeness in Christ and His fulness does not have a balanced view of truth and can be easily led astray.

It is interesting to note the bait that Satan uses to reason aside the weak brother that he takes into captivity. For the carnal believer, such as those at Corinth, he uses the coarse appeals of the flesh with all of its lusts. But for the “spiritual” Christian who still has an unbalanced view of truth, he may use a “spiritual” bait—as is suggested in Colossians 2:18. This may come in the form of “visions,” superior claims to holy living, or any effort to attain spiritual progress through fleshly efforts or wisdom.

THE PLAN of Our Enemy

The enemy usually lures us aside through an emphasis on an empty, deceitful kind of wisdom. He bases this, according to our chapter in Colossians, on three things:

First, he uses man-made teachings, or the traditions of men. Bible teachers tell us that the word “tradition” as used here is found thirteen times in the New Testament, and it is usually used in a bad sense. Note, for example, where the Pharisees were charged with making the Word of God of none effect through their traditions (Mark 7:2-7). How much of the church programs of today are nothing more than traditions of men, with no Scriptural basis!

Second, Satan would lead us astray by keeping us in the elements, or rudiments of the world. The term “rudiments” means “first steps.” The Hebrews were told that these rudiments or elements belonged to childhood, and the mature believer was charged to leave them and go on (Hebrews 5:12-6:3). The Galatians were told that these rudiments would only gender bondage (Galatians 4:3). In Colossians 2:20, the believer is told that he is dead with Christ to these rudiments, and that he therefore should not be subject to carnal ordinances. By way of contrast, he is told to set his affections on things above, not on things on the earth. Believers who live in the shadow days of external ordinances miss the joy of the reality, who is Christ; those who feel that they can worship only with these worldly elements fail to see that we are citizens of heaven and in the sight of God are “seated with Christ” in heavenly places even now.

Third, if Satan cannot lure us through traditions of men and rudimentary ordinances, he will make the intellectual appeal. He will reason us aside through wisdom of words, making the cross of Christ ineffective (1 Cor. 1:17); he will try to get us so involved in the wisdom of this world that we will fail to see that it is only foolishness to God (1 Cor. 3:19); he will lead us into fleshly wisdom, frustrating the grace of God (2 Cor. 1:12); and he will make the wisdom from beneath so, attractive that we neglect the wisdom which is from above (James 3:15-17).

THE PROTECTION Against Our Enemy

The entire Colossian epistle is written to give us the protection we need against these tactics of our enemy. It may be summarized in one or two verses: “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9-10). This completeness in Christ is the exact opposite of the empty, vain life that Satan has to offer. Are we really aware of what we have? YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM! If I am complete in Christ, then nothing a preacher or a church can do for me in the way of ritual or religion is needed. As a matter of fact, we can add nothing to completeness. We are Complete in HIM. If we believe this, may we act upon it and make Christ the center and circumference of our lives. May we rejoice in Him, glory in Him, do all that we say or do in HIS name, giving no occasion to the flesh, but doing all for His honor and glory. Only then will the purpose and plan of our enemy be foiled and our protection against him be sure.

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BABES IN CHRIST
By MARVIN DUNCAN



Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 3:1

There are a number of conditions that the Apostle Paul connects with our being "IN CHRIST." Our salvation is "IN CHRIST." Our standing is "IN CHRIST," and in I Corinthians 3:1, Paul speaks of a condition every believer experiences at his salvation, our being "BABES IN CHRIST."

To understand this condition we must recognize that salvation is spoken of as A NEW BIRTH. We are born physically into the family of Adam and upon receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we experienced a SPIRITUAL BIRTH. Paul speaks of our being "A NEW CREATION" in II Corinthians 5:17. Just as in our physical life, so it is with our spiritual life. We all start at birth as babies and develop through stages, to maturity; first a babe, then a child and on to maturity through feeding on spiritual food and exercising the spiritual man.

One of the mistakes many Christians make is to expect the newly saved individual to be able to handle life's trials and the old habits as if he were a mature spiritual individual, without ever having been taught the Word of God or experiencing the faithfulness of God to strengthen and convict him in his daily walk. None of the men in Scripture automatically changed overnight from their worldly attitudes to spiritual attitudes.

Abraham is a good example of spiritual growth over a number of years. Early in his spiritual life he made many errors and failed to trust God completely, yet in his later life, after seeing God's faithfulness in doing what He promised, Abraham was able to trust God even to the point of being willing to sacrifice his only son.

It is this progressive growth toward maturity that Paul is speaking of in our text verse. These Corinthians had been born into God's family some five years earlier, but they had not grown They were still "BABES."

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WHAT DEATH MEANS TO THE BELIEVER - Part 1 of 2
By Evangelist S. Lee Homoki
Hebrews 9:27


Death is a fact of life. Having lived, given time, we all must die! The Apostle Paul said that "death worketh in us" and that "our outward man perisheth " (2 Cor. 4: 10-18 ). All men give a great deal of time and discussion to the subject of death and yet it remains veiled in mystery. We have all witnessed, or read about, some tragic death and pondered its mystery. For me, I have always questioned: "Did they know Christ as their Saviour?" "Why did this happen"?

In this life, God gives to every person good gifts. God is the world's greatest giver (Jas. 1:17). He is an especially generous giver to all those who believe Him, giving salvation to all that "call upon the name of the Lord" (Rom. 10:12-13; 6:23; 2 Cor. 8:9; 9:15). God says to us through the death of a loved one: "In this life you gain many things and you lose many things. In this life you have loved ones and you lose loved ones. I gave you the loved ones and I have taken them away, but I am still here!" This is one of the reasons why Paul said to the believers who remain "that we sorrow not as those who have no hope, " and that we are to "comfort one another with these words." God is still here and will bring those who are dead in Christ with Him (I Thess. 4:13-18 ).

CONFIDENCE FOR THOSE WHO DIE

Paul must have solved some of this mystery that surrounds death because he was able to exhibit the same preparedness for dying as he did for living and serving (Rom. 1:15; I Cor. 9:16-18 cf. Acts 21:13; 2 Tim. 4:6-8 ). This is surely the reason why Paul could say that to "depart and be with Christ" was "far better" than living (Phil. 1:20-23).

Paul was ready because he knew: (1) that life is fragile and fleeting (2 Tim. 1:14; Jas. 4:13-15; I Pet. 1:14). Like David, he could say, "there is but a step between me and death" (I Sam. 20:3). Our life hangs by a very thin thread (Eccl. 12:6). (2) That the issues of life and death are in God's hands. Job understood this when he lost seven sons and three daughters in one day. He said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job. 1:21 cf. Matt. 6:25-30). (3) That God's warnings must be heeded, or pay the consequences. The warning of the Prophet Amos to the sinful nation of Israel, "to prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4:12), is a warning to all men of all dispensations that "God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption" (Gal. 6:7-8 cf. 2 Thess. 1:5-10). The message is clear that unless a man makes preparation to be properly adjusted to a holy God, this will surely be a fearful day of reckoning (Rom. 2:5-10; Heb. 10:27-31). (4) That he had made the only decision that could prepare him for death. That decision was to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31).

It only stands to reason that if a person is spiritually prepared to die, that when it comes time for death, they will face death differently than the person who has made no preparation. It is encouraging to note that when it was "time for his departure, " the Apostle Paul had no regrets, having "fought a good fight, finished his course and kept the faith," he exhibits great confidence that God will give him a "crown of righteousness" in the not-too-distant future (2 Tim. 4:6-8 ). In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul describes himself as a runner consumed with only one ambition and that is to win the prize for which God had called him heavenward. And in 2 Corinthians 15:55-57, Paul thanks God for victory over the sting of death. Death is not a defeat for the believer: it is the final victory. Those who die and go to Heaven can laugh and shout: "I Won! I Won! I won through Jesus Christ my Lord!"

God sees something about the death of the believer that is hidden to us, at least we do not see it clearly (Rom. 8:18; I Cor. 13:12; 2 Cor. 5:7). Whatever that something is, God says that it is "precious in His sight" (Ps. 116:15). The Lord Jesus Christ is said to have "Abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10). Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the mighty conqueror, encourages our hearts by declaring: "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen; and have the keys of Hell and death" (Rev. 1:18 ).

The believer, through the Word of God, accumulates more and more confidence about the true nature of death. His worst fears are found to be foundationless as he grows in grace and draws closer and closer to what the Bible calls his "long home" (Eccl. 12:5). The believer even discovers that his death is redefined as nothing more than a harmless "sleep" (Jn. 11:11-14; I Thess. 4:13-14).

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WHAT DEATH MEANS TO THE BELIEVER
Part 2 of 2
By Evangelist S. Lee Homoki
Hebrews 9:27


COMFORT FOR THOSE WHO REMAIN


Death for the believer means (1) That there will never be any more condemnation for them (Rom. 8: 1). According to Hebrews 9:27, man is faced with two appointments: death and judgment. Romans 8:1 tells us that the appointment with judgment has been canceled.

It is true that believers will yet face a judgment for rewards (2 Cor. 5: 10), but never will our salvation again be in jeopardy because the Lord Jesus Christ was judged and condemned in our place (Rom. 4:23-25; Gal. 3:13; Col. 2:13-14). (2) That they will immediately be ushered into the presence of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8; I Thess. 4:17). The key word to help us appreciate this is the word "home." Who is afraid to go home? Paul says he's at "home" in the body but would rather, willingly, be "at home with the Lord."  The believer is perfectly correct in referring to the death of a saint as a "home going." (3) That they will never again know any more pain, sorrow, tears or death because "the former things are passed away" (Rom. 8:18-23; Rev. 21:4).

How wonderfully comforting this promise must be for those who must daily suffer from emotional, mental and physical pain. (4) That we receive our eternal inheritance (Rom. 8:17; Col. 1:2; I Pet. 1:4). Death does not destroy our inheritance. Here on this earth all of our treasures are subject to corruption (Matt. 6:20). These things are "seen as temporal," but thank God, there are unseen treasures that are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18 ).

The death of Christ and our identification with Him is assurance of an eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15). The Holy Spirit is our down payment on this inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14). (5) That they will have a new home. We have already pointed out that wherever the Lord is, according to Paul, that is home. We are convinced that while Revelation 21 and 22 describes the eternal glories of the New Heaven and the New Earth, I believe that the new, eternal home for the Body of Christ in the heavenlies is beyond description - not even described in the Bible! When that "man" of 2 Cor. 12:1-5 was "caught up into paradise," he heard and saw things that could not be described. Paul said, "of such a one will I glory." Oh, how beautiful our heavenly home must be! Perfect! Prepared by God and can't be improved upon! (6) That they await a glorious resurrection.

Paul says that he will be glad to trade in his old earthly tabernacle "for a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor. 5: 1-3). It will be a glorified,  resurrected body "fashioned like unto His glorious body according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. 3:21). (7) That they will be a part of a family reunion. The great, wonderful Body of Christ Family will be "caught up together," a reunion in the air (I Thess. 4: 17)! The songwriter has correctly written:

"There's going to be meeting in the air,
In the sweet, sweet bye and bye.
I will meet you, meet you, meet you there,
In that home beyond the sky.
Such singing you will hear never heard by mortal ear,
Twill be glorious I do declare!
For God's own Son will be the leading One
At that meeting in the air."

Praise God!

Dear Friend, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour? If not, why not take your place before Him as a sinner? Sit in the sinner's seat. Acknowledge your need for a Saviour. Cast aside all other confidences and put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross for your salvation. Tell Christ that you now believe on Him. Do it today!

[nChrist]

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TYRANNY OF SIN
by Miles Stanford



"You were set free from the tyranny of Sin" (Rom. 6:18, Wey.).

The tyranny of sin over the lost necessitated the death of the Lord Jesus on the Cross. The tyranny of sin over the saved necessitated the death of the believer in the Lord Jesus on that same Cross. The dual truths of Calvary: His death for our sin, as payment; our death with Him unto sin, for deliverance.

"The believer sees that Christ by dying for him has completely delivered him from the penalty of sin. So it is his privilege to see that because he is identified with the Lord Jesus in that death, he is also delivered from sin as a ruling principle. Its power is broken. He is in that sense 'free from sin' (Rom. 6:18, 22)." - E.H.

"Through my life-union with Christ in His death and resurrection, 1 have 'died to sin' His death to sin is my death to sin. In my very humanity Christ so took me up with Himself in death that, when He died unto sin, I too was executed and there died to sin's reign and power. Has Christ so dealt with sin that He has exhausted its every claim and dominion? And do I share with Him His death unto sin? With bold and explicit reckoning, then, let me count on my death-resurrection relationship to God through the Lord Jesus. In Christ crucified I have been discharged from sin's domination." - L.E.M.

"When victory does not tend to worship, we and God part company, so to speak, as soon as the victory is achieved. How sad to see victory often leading to mere joy, instead of still greater dependence on, and delight in, God!" - J.N.D.

"But now, being freed from the bondage of sin. . . your fruit is growth in holiness" (Rom. 6:22, Cony.).

[nChrist]

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SACRIFICIAL SERVICE
By Miles Stanford



"I endure all things for the elect's sake" (2 Tim. 2:10).

Our Father's mercy is all-encompassing. It includes our salvation ---- ".... according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5); and our service---" ... by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice ... which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1).

Reasonable service is based upon sacrifice: "I, Paul ... rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church" (Col. 1:23,24).

"To truly minister to others is always to accept new happiness and new distress, both of them forever deepening and entering into closer and more inseparable union with each other, the more profound and spiritual the ministry becomes. The one who gives himself to others can never be a wholly sad person; but no more can he be one of unclouded gladness." -G.M.

"The fuller the service, the greater the surrender and sacrifice. It is not giving what one can spare without feeling it, for I will not offer the Lord 'that which doth cost me nothing' (2 Sam. 24:24).

"The service declares its virtue and aim by the suffering which is endured in rendering it, for what can be done at one's ease is generally done without much concern for the one to whom it is rendered, and thus the true quality is lost."

"I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved" (2 Cor. 12:15).