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Christ Came To Save Sinners

11/26/2014

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This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. -- 1 Timothy 1:15

Reader! Is your name written here?  Are you described by this shameful hashtag, “sinner”?  The apostle Paul described himself as the chief of sinners: “of whom I am chief.” The Publican cried out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner (Luke 18:13)!”  Is this faithful saying your basis for trusting Christ in life and your hope in death?

Who came from heaven? God the Son. He made Himself of no reputation. He willingly became a servant.  As man, He obeyed even unto death.  “The Word was made flesh (John 1:14).”  Emmanuel, “God with us,” became man (Matthew 1:23; John 3:13). The fullness of the Godhead dwells in His body (Colossians 2:9). Make no mistake here.  If Christ is not God, He cannot save (Isaiah 45:21). If He is not man, He cannot redeem (Hebrews 2:17). He is the only Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).

But why did He come? To save His people from their sins. His very name binds Him to fulfill this God-glorifying purpose: “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)” This is the commandment His Father gave Him to obey (John 10:15-18), the will He gave Him to finish (John 6:37-40; Hebrews 10:1-10). This is the covenant Christ fulfilled by His death (Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 26:28). When He came into the world, He said, “I come to do Thy will O God. (Hebrews 10:7)” The last words He spoke before He died were, “It is finished! (John 19:30)”

What God the Son came to do, He actually accomplished. “He shall not fail (Isaiah 42:4).” Christ sits at His Father’s right hand because He finished redemption’s work (Hebrews 1:3; 9:12). Just as surely as He obtained eternal redemption for His people, He shall surely pour out His Spirit on every chosen, redeemed sinner in omnipotent saving grace. He will bring all of His ransomed home to heaven to be with Him in eternal glory.

Christ did not come to make all men savable; He came to save His people from their sins. He did not come to give dead sinners a choice; He came to raise them to eternal life, to live on Him by faith.

Oh sinner! If you have no spiritual value (Matthew 5:3), nothing to pay (Luke 7:42), are ungodly and without strength (Romans 5:6), even the enemy of God (Romans 8:7), then look in total dependence to Christ alone!  “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22)”
-- Rick Warta
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God's Equation

11/17/2014

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“Albert Einstein once said, ‘I want to know God’s thoughts in a mathematical way.’ Einstein wanted an equation that would encapsulate all physical laws. That was his life’s goal.” (History.com). God has such an equation, though Einstein never documented it. God’s equation goes beyond Einstein’s quest as far as understanding goes beyond ignorance.

It is astounding to think that one equation could explain all things in both the physical and spiritual universe.  But God’s equation is the revelation of scripture.  It is the way God thinks.  It is the truth of heaven.  It is the purpose of eternity.  It explains God’s word.  It fulfills His work.  This equation gave birth to time. It determines and controls all events in time. It survives time; it determines the world that is to come, when time will be no more.

This equation pleases God. It satisfies His heart. It fulfills His love. And, it is the comfort, confidence and joy of every believing sinner.  It is the hope and content of every believer’s blessing. It solves all problems, from the simplest to the most complex. By it, God answers every question.

God’s equation is singularly simple, sublimely elegant and infinitely applicable. It is clearly stated in just three short words in Colossians 3:11, “CHRIST IS ALL.” Scripture factors this equation by expanding and explaining its terms throughout its pages.

Christ is all in creation. All things were made by Him and for Him. He was before all things. Without Him was not anything made that was made. He upholds all things. He gives life and breath to all.

Christ is all in providence. By Him, all things in time and eternity consist and are ordered to bring about His sovereign will. All are perfectly reconciled to the will of God; all are put in their place:  His people and elect angels -- vessels to honor -- with Him in glory, in their place; the devil and unbelievers -- vessels to dishonor -- separated from Him eternally, in their place.

Christ is all in salvation to God’s elect, the Church. He is their eternal Redeemer, Surety, Mediator, Priest, and He is the Lamb of God. In wisdom, He answered heaven’s court and heaven’s heart for them with Himself. In righteousness, He met every obligation for obedience and satisfied every demand of justice that God required of them. In holiness, He sanctified Himself to God with His whole heart, soul, mind and strength, in life and in death, for their holiness. He is the ransom price paid to God’s justice, by which He obtained eternal redemption for them, paying their every crime-debt against God, freeing them from captivity to every enslaving and terrorizing enemy. His redemption earned eternal inheritance for them in God: He is their God and they are His people; Christ is their shield who gave Himself for them, and their exceeding great reward who gives Himself to them.

If you have been taught of God, then Christ is all to you. If Christ is not all, if you need something else or something in addition to Him, then you remain ignorant of God. Lord! Make this sinner to know you in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ alone!
-- Rick Warta
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The Unassailable Argument of Christ's Death

11/11/2014

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I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:21)

If God required the death of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, then salvation by any other means is impossible. Christ's death is an unassailable argument against salvation by all contributions from man.

God's justice required the death of His Son to save His people from their sins. God gave His Son to die for His people for no cause in them; it was by grace alone. Christ's death was satisfaction to God's justice. It was an act of His pure, free grace. Salvation is therefore according to justice, by grace alone.



Anything from man is necessarily excluded in salvation. If God’s justice required the death of His Son, then surely no other way is possible. Would God take pleasure in the death of His Son if His Son did not need to die?!  If God, in grace, gave His Son to die, then surely nothing from man could earn salvation. Can man earn the death of the Son of God?!

All have sinned, and there is none righteous. Therefore, salvation by man’s personal obedience is impossible. But nothing makes it more impossible than for God to require His Son’s death, and for Christ to give Himself to death, for nothing.

To save His people from their sins, God the Son humbled Himself as a servant, took the nature of His people as His own, was made under the law, made sin for them, and offered Himself in obedience to the will of God by His death on the cross, in satisfaction to God's justice. By His one offering, Christ perfected His people forever, establishing their everlasting righteousness.

Therefore nothing involving us makes us acceptable to God: nothing done by us and nothing done in us. All that includes man is excluded. God’s people were made righteous entirely outside of their own personal experience. Christ's death finished the work of our salvation. 

Is Christ everything in your salvation?  Then God has given everything to you.  But if you need something in addition to Christ, then Christ is nothing to you, and you are nothing to God.
-- Rick Warta
References
Mark 14:36; Acts 17:3; Hebrews 2:10; Isaiah 53:10; Revelation 13:8; Romans 4:25
Matthew 1:21
Philippians 2:5-8
2 Corinthians 5:21
Romans 3:21-28; Hebrews 10:5-14
Hebrews 10:14
1 Corinthians 1:30; Daniel 9:24
Isaiah 45:24; Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16
John 17:4; John 19:28-30
Galatians 5:2
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    Pastor Rick Warta

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