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

“ When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, IT IS FINISHED : and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” - John 19:3 0 [KJV]   When Christ died on the cross for the sins of His people, what exactly was finished (brought to its full and final completion and culmination)? Consider the following: (1) The whole will of God in regard to the ground of redemption (Heb rews 10:7) . (2) The whole work His Father had given Him to do in saving His people (I Tim othy 1:15) . (3) The Old Covenant law and all types and ceremonies (Heb rews 10:9-14) (4) The righteousness of God performed, perfected, and which is imputed to believers (Rom ans 3:19-24; Rom ans 10:4 & II Cor inthians 5:21) . The proof of the accomplishment of all that He came to do was His resurrection from the dead (Acts 17:31) . Salvation and eternal life is the gift of God, not of works on our part, but through the Person and work of our Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph es...

The sinner who has saving faith believes that there is a fullness of salvation in Christ for poor sinners. "Wherefore HE is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by HIM ...." (Heb rews 7:25). In the word of the Gospel Christ is held forth as an able Saviour - able to save men from their sins and from the wrath of God. His merit is a sufficient shield against the tempest of wrath which incensed justice is ready to exact against transgressors. The sinner who has saving faith knows that the righteousness Christ fulfilled as the condition of the Covenant of Grace is so valuable in itself, and in the eyes of the Father, that it is sufficient to procure justification, sanctification, and all other saving benefits to sinners who in themselves deserve death and damnation. So they are happy who are in Him. They shall never perish but have everlasting life, being eternally secure under the cover of His righteousness as a sufficient defense. -p...

Sometimes the most profound wisdom can be stated in the simplest way. One of our brethren was talking to another brother, one who is older in age and older in the faith. They were talking about doubts with which we as believers are plagued throughout our Christian life. Doubt (even unbelief) is that sin that so easily clings to us, entangles and hinders us, in the life and walk of faith (Heb rews 12:1). The only remedy is to run the race of grace with endurance “ looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Heb rews 12:2). We who know Christ also know that it is by His will, grace, and power alone, not our own, that we persevere in the faith. In their conversation, the younger brother asked the older one, “Do you ever think you are lost, that you are not saved?” The older believer replied, “Yes, I sometimes in moments of doubt do think such thoughts, but I always come back to this, I CAN'T BE LOST BECAUSE I KNOW THE WAY.” Brethren, we will be plagued...

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (17-19AUG18) 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 - from their sins and from Hell. The longer I live, the more I feel that if there were one thing left undone, if the devil were not conquered, sin not expiated, justice not satisfied, the law not honored and magnified, death not overcome, and every burden not carried, I should not have a ray of hope. I used to think I saw this as clear as the noon day thirty or forty years ago; but I saw it very differently then to what I see now; for I see and feel now that if one hair-breadth is left for me to do to merit heaven, or bring as a plea before God, I am undone for ever and ever. But on the Mount of Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ undertook the cause of His people; and there is not a...

God’s sovereignty is His absolute ( complete ), independent ( free from external constraint ) right ( privilege ) to dispose of this world, and everything in it, according to the good pleasure of His will. "Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with Mine own?" (Matthew 20:15). A God who is unable to bring His desires to pass, whose purpose can be frustrated and whose will is dependent upon the cooperation of man is not worthy of worship. Such an one is merely an idol, a golden calf, a false god. The truth of absolute sovereignty is so fundamental to an understanding of who God is, that it is impossible to worship Him unless we have some knowledge of the fact that He reigns. A God who is not sovereign is no God at all. Nebuchadnezzar said, "I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth for ever, Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are repu...

“ How much more shall the blood of Christ, W ho through the eternal Spirit offered H imself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” - Hebrews 9:14 [KJV]   We often feel that we are not worth saving …  and this, of course, is an accurate assessment. As Spurgeon said, “When you feel yourself as totally unworthy you have hit the truth.” That is why, as we grow in grace, the Gospel is our best friend. Let me illustrate. The story is told of how the devil sought to discourage the mighty reformer Martin Luther by continually making him feel guilty.  Satan, it seems constantly reminded the great preacher of the list of his sins. When the devil had finished, Luther purportedly said, “Think harder: you must have forgotten some.” And the devil did think, and he listed more sins. When he was done enumerating the sins, Luther said, “Now, with a red ink write over that list, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses...

The gospel, my dear sir, is a salvation appointed for those who are ready to perish and is not designed to put them in a way to save themselves by their own works. It speaks to us as condemned already and calls upon us to believe in a crucified Savior that we may receive redemption through the blood, even the forgiveness of our sins. And the Spirit of God, by the gospel, first convinces us of unbelief, sin and misery; and then, by revealing the things of Jesus to our minds, enables us, as helpless sinners, to come to Christ, to receive Him, to behold Him, or, in other words, to believe in Him. -John Newton