Incoming GOOD NEWS!
Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (17-19SEP21)
Heads-Up --- Please find enclosed encouragement in SO GREAT SALVATION by the perfect and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace -God's unmerited favor to save us from our sins and from Hell:
HOW GOD SAVES SINNERS
In Genesis chapter six and seven we have the story of the flood and how God saved Noah and his family from the horrendous destruction by putting them into an Ark. We see the righteous judgment of God against sin and the mercy of God revealed through Christ. The Ark of God is a worthy picture and pattern of how the Lord is pleased to save sinners and justify them in Jesus Christ. Here are five things to remember about how God saves sinners.
1). The grace of God, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8). Noah did not earn, merit or deserve grace, he found God to be gracious. It was the sovereign grace of God that made Noah to differ from the rest of the population (I Corinthians 4:7). Noah was just as guilty as the rest (Genesis 6:5) or he would not have needed the grace of God to justify him (Romans 3:24). The only explanation for the grace of God in Noah's life is sovereign grace(John 1:16; Romans 9:12-16).
2). The Ark of God, "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch" (Genesis 6:14). God uses means to attain His righteous end. The Ark is the means God chose to save His people. This Ark is a type and picture of our only refuge from sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. There was just one Ark, there is only one way of salvation (John 14:6). The Ark was sufficient to save all that God brought into the Ark, and so too Jesus Christ is the sufficient Saviour of His chosen people (Matthew 1:21).
3). The covenant of God, "I establish My covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee" (Genesis 6:18). The mercy and salvation that Noah experienced was because of the covenant that God had established with Noah before the flood. All the mercy any sinner receives from God is because of the eternal covenant of grace established in the Lord Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world (II Thessalonians 2:13; Ephesians 1:3-7). Jesus Christ is the Surety of the covenant(Hebrews 7:22), the Mediator of the covenant (Hebrews 8:6), the Sacrifice of the covenant (Hebrews 13:20).
4). The call of God, "The LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark" (Genesis 7:1). God did not invite Noah and his family into the Ark; He commanded them and irresistibly drew them in. This is exactly the same way the Lord calls out His elect through the preaching of the gospel(Psalm 110:3; John 10:27). God is not trying to save all men everywhere, He is sovereignly calling out His sheep to Himself (Galatians 1:15; Matthew 11:28).
5). The preservation of God, "The LORD shut him in" (Genesis 7:16). Noah's safety did not depend upon Noah's ability or conduct. Once inside the Ark of God his comfort rested upon the Word of God alone. Those in the Lord Jesus Christ by God-given faith cannot perish. Our salvation does not depend upon our ability or conduct, but rather upon the promise of God, the person and perfect redeeming work of Christ Jesus. (I Peter 1:3-5; Hebrews 9:12; John 10:27-30).
In Genesis chapter six and seven we have the story of the flood and how God saved Noah and his family from the horrendous destruction by putting them into an Ark. We see the righteous judgment of God against sin and the mercy of God revealed through Christ. The Ark of God is a worthy picture and pattern of how the Lord is pleased to save sinners and justify them in Jesus Christ. Here are five things to remember about how God saves sinners.
1). The grace of God, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8). Noah did not earn, merit or deserve grace, he found God to be gracious. It was the sovereign grace of God that made Noah to differ from the rest of the population (I Corinthians 4:7). Noah was just as guilty as the rest (Genesis 6:5) or he would not have needed the grace of God to justify him (Romans 3:24). The only explanation for the grace of God in Noah's life is sovereign grace(John 1:16; Romans 9:12-16).
2). The Ark of God, "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch" (Genesis 6:14). God uses means to attain His righteous end. The Ark is the means God chose to save His people. This Ark is a type and picture of our only refuge from sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. There was just one Ark, there is only one way of salvation (John 14:6). The Ark was sufficient to save all that God brought into the Ark, and so too Jesus Christ is the sufficient Saviour of His chosen people (Matthew 1:21).
3). The covenant of God, "I establish My covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee" (Genesis 6:18). The mercy and salvation that Noah experienced was because of the covenant that God had established with Noah before the flood. All the mercy any sinner receives from God is because of the eternal covenant of grace established in the Lord Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world (II Thessalonians 2:13; Ephesians 1:3-7). Jesus Christ is the Surety of the covenant(Hebrews 7:22), the Mediator of the covenant (Hebrews 8:6), the Sacrifice of the covenant (Hebrews 13:20).
4). The call of God, "The LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark" (Genesis 7:1). God did not invite Noah and his family into the Ark; He commanded them and irresistibly drew them in. This is exactly the same way the Lord calls out His elect through the preaching of the gospel(Psalm 110:3; John 10:27). God is not trying to save all men everywhere, He is sovereignly calling out His sheep to Himself (Galatians 1:15; Matthew 11:28).
5). The preservation of God, "The LORD shut him in" (Genesis 7:16). Noah's safety did not depend upon Noah's ability or conduct. Once inside the Ark of God his comfort rested upon the Word of God alone. Those in the Lord Jesus Christ by God-given faith cannot perish. Our salvation does not depend upon our ability or conduct, but rather upon the promise of God, the person and perfect redeeming work of Christ Jesus. (I Peter 1:3-5; Hebrews 9:12; John 10:27-30).
-preacher Tom Harding of Zebulon Grace church in Pikeville, Kentucky USA
===========================================================================
Comments