"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."   -I Corinthians 15:58 [KJV] Because believers have been given the complete victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:57) , we have such a sure and certain hope of forgiveness and pardon from all sins (Ephesians 1:7; I John 1:7) , full redemption in Christ (Galatians 3:13) , total reconciliation in Christ (II Corinthians 5:18) , everlasting righteousness in Christ (Romans 4:6) , washing of regeneration in Christ (Titus 3:5) , and sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection in Christ,  (John 11:25; I Corinthians 15:51-56) “therefore, be steadfast, unmoving and abounding in the work of the Lord.” Be steadfast; settled in Christ, rooted and grounded in Christ, stand fast (Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 2:7.) Take a stand for the cause of God and truth and don’t compromise (Galatians 5:1; ...

"By the grace of God I am what I am."   If I am elect, my election is of grace. If I am redeemed my redemption is of grace. If I am called, I am called by grace. If I am preserved, I am preserved by grace. Whatever there is in me that is acceptable or gives my soul any comfort, must be all of grace and grace alone.   John Newton used to say that, “For a believer in sovereign grace to be proud was the most inconsistent thing in the world. By his own profession he is what he is, knows what he knows, and has what he has by the grace of God.”   Perhaps we have worshiped with some friend, prayed with him, or even heard him preach and teach the Word. He seemed to be a man of strong faith, deep conviction, and devout life. Then all of a sudden he is gone from the church, from the gospel and from the fellowship of the saints. What do you feel at such a time? You feel a sadness and broken heart for him and a fear for yourself and you say with Paul, "By the grace of God I am what ...

There are really only two religions in the world. One of Cain and the other of Abel. One of Ishmael and the other of Isaac. One of Esau and the other of Jacob. One of law and the other of promise. One of Mount Sinai and the other of Mount Calvary.  One condemns, the other finds no fault. One leads to bondage, the other to freedom. One tendeth to death, the other to life. One of weakness, the other of power. One of merit, the other of mercy. One of the weakness of the letter, the other of the power of the Spirit.                                -copied

“Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” -John 3:7 [KJV]   It is no marvel that our Lord told Nicodemus that all sinners must be born again.  We are dead in sin so it is obvious that we must be born again.  We can’t be born again by making a decision because dead sinners can’t decide to do anything but sin. Sinners are completely passive in the new birth. A sinner does not decide to accept Jesus and be born again any more than a baby decides to accept its parents and be conceived in the womb of its mother.  The new birth is an act of God done in a sinner, without any help from us whatsoever. The new birth is not something you do.  The new birth is something God does for you and in you by a miracle of His grace . You must BE born again.   -preacher Frank Tate

The believing soul cannot keep silent. These confess Him by a free and open declaration of their faith in the Holy One of God; whereby they acknowledge Him, verily to be what He is; {as set forth in Holy Scripture and invariably inscribed upon the heart by the testimony of the Holy Spirit;} that He is, the Son of the living God {Matthew 16:16, John 1:49.} That He came from the Father, in all the Divine fullness {John 6:57, Colossians1:19.}   That He is the true God and eternal life  {John 20:28, I John 5:20.} That He is Emmanuel, very God in our nature  {John 1:14, I John 4:2,15.} That He is the one Mediator between God and man {I Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 8:6.} That He is the Redeemer, Sanctifier, and Savior of His people {Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:11, I John 4:14.} That He is the true Prophet, Priest and King in His Church {Deuteronomy 18:18, Psalm 110:4. Mark 11:10.} That He is the Righteousness of all His Saints {Jeremiah 23:6, II Corinthians 5:21.} That He ...

ALL THE ETERNAL COUNCILS ORIGINALLY TERMINATE IN CHRIST, AND ALL DIVINE BLESSINGS RESIDE IN HIM AND DEVOLVE UPON HIS CHOSEN IN CONSEQUENCE OF THEIR UNION WITH HIM {Ephesians 3:11, Colossians1:19,27,28.} Therefore He says to His Father, “The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one” {John 17:22.}     THUS, GOD IN HIS OWN IMMUTABLE SELF IS THE AUTHOR; CHRIST, IN THE AMPLITUDE OF HIS OWN PERFECTION IS THE OBJECT; AND ALL HIS LITTLE ONES, IN THE RIGHT OF INSEPARABLE UNION ARE JOINT HEIRS WITH HIM OF ALL THE BLESSINGS CONTAINED IN THE ELECTION OF GOD {Romans 8:17.} And as for those persons whom God has chosen in His beloved Son for His own inheritance, He blesses them in due time, “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ ; ” so as they shall be perfectly qualified for that Felicity and exalted Station to which they are appointed.    THEY ARE REDEEMED, JUSTIFIED AND PARDONED BY THE BLOOD OF CHR...

"He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool."   -Proverbs of Solomon 28:26 [KJV] We all do so naturally: therefore, we are all natural fools. But, through our blindness, we are ignorant of it; through pride, we will not own it. How many continue in this awful state of folly, ignorance, and pride! Among the many who are made wise unto salvation, how doth this folly of self-confidence cleave to them! Say some, “To be sure, it is the greatest folly for natural men to trust in their own hearts; for they are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: but God hath given me a new heart, a clean heart, and a good heart; and surely I may trust in it.” This is the natural language of folly; not the judgment of a new creature in Christ . Hear the Lord: “I will give them an heart to know that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart”   (Jeremiah ch. 24.) So that the new heart, the cle...

"His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption." -Acts 2:31 [KJV] Two sweet, but distinct thoughts, arise out of this scripture: one, concerns the soul of Christ; the other, respects His body; and both are most blessed to the believer in the review. My soul! Thou hast attended to the parched state of thy Redeemer, as represented on the cross, and made it the subject of thy morning meditation; do thou now behold what this scripture states, under all His humiliating circumstances, that neither hell nor the grave can have dominion over Him. His soul shall not be long in a way of separation from the body, in the invisible state; for very shortly it shall arise from hades, the hell here mentioned. And His body is too holy, harmless, and undefiled, to admit of putrefaction; yea, it must he presented before the Lord for a sweet-smelling savour. Precious thought to the believer! Jesus needed not to lie long under the dominion of death: He had full...

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept; for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead; for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." -I Corinthians 15:20-22 [KJV] Christ risen is the firstfruits of that mighty crop of buried dead whose remains still sleep in the silent dust, and who will be joined by successive ranks of those who die in Him, till all are together wakened up in the resurrection morn. The figure is that of the sheaf of the firstfruits which was waved before the Lord before the harvest was allowed to be reaped (Leviticus 23:10, 11) . This offering of the wave sheaf was the consecration and dedication of the whole crop in the field to the Lord, as well as the manifest pledge that the harvest was fully ripe for the reaper's sickle. The firstfruits represented the whole of the crop, as Christ is the representative of His saints; the offering of them...