Monday, August 10, 2020
Fruit That Abounds - by Pastor Paul M. Sadler
Fruit That Abounds -
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler
"Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account" (Phil. 4:17).
How the Apostle Paul rejoiced on behalf of the Church at Philippi in their labors of love! This faithful church in their love for Paul and the message of Grace more than once had come to the Apostle's aid. They participated in his sufferings and necessities in sending him financial relief. At Macedonia, their giving advanced the work of the Lord in the furtherance of the Gospel of the Grace of God (v. 15). At Thessalonica, their sending of a timely offering enabled Paul to flee Thessalonica and seek refuge at Berea (v. 16 cf. Acts 17:1-10).
This is what prompted Paul to say, "Not because I desire a gift." Paul was not greedy or seeking personal gain, but he desired fruit that might abound to their account. The word fruit is used in the Scriptures to denote results or that which is produced. To quote one author by way of example, "We speak of 'Punishment as the fruit of sin,' 'Poverty as the fruit of idleness,' and 'Happiness as the fruit of a virtuous life.'" Here we see sin produces punishment; idleness produces poverty; and a virtuous life produces happiness, so in the case of the Philippian believers, faithfulness produces reward.
The Apostle Paul rejoiced for them in their acts of kindness and faithfulness in service for Christ. The Apostle desired that their acts of kindness in providing for his needs might be put to their account, that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, they might be richly rewarded and reap the benefits of their fruitfulness. Would the great Apostle be able to commend our Grace Churches of the present as he did the Church at Philippi? Are we standing in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel as they did?
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Les Feldick Ministries
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30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
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Monday, August 3, 2020
The Sins That Are Past - by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
The Sins That Are Past -
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
In
Chapter 3 of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans he declares that God has
set forth Christ as a satisfaction for man’s sin and that redemption is
obtained by faith in “His blood,” or His payment for sin at Calvary,
entirely apart from works, religious or otherwise (Rom. 3:21-26).
But
in this same passage he states that this “remission” concerns the “sins
that are past” (Ver. 25). What does he mean by this? Some have taught
from this verse that when a sinner turns to God for salvation all his
sins are forgiven up to that time and now that he is saved he is
henceforth responsible for himself. But this would mean that God saves
men by His grace only to turn them over again to their own weak and
sinful natures. If this were the case, the converted sinner would be
lost again the same day, for what Christian believer is wholly free from
sin?
Paul
rather looks back here at past ages and declares that we now know and
proclaim that men like Abel, Noah and Abraham, and also like Moses,
David and Daniel (who lived under the Law) were actually saved by the
redemption wrought by Christ, although Christ’s death was still future
in their day. In other words, Christ died, not only for the sins which
we have committed, but also for the “sins which are past.” The believers
of past ages simply believed what God told them then, and God counted
them righteous (Gen. 15:6) on the basis of Christ’s coming payment for
sin.
We
have the same truth set forth in Hebrews 9:15, where we are told that
Christ’s death availed also “for the redemption of the transgressions
that were under the first covenant,” i.e., the Law.
How
blessed we are to live at a time when God’s plan of salvation has been
fully revealed, and that we can now look to the Lord Jesus Christ and
exclaim with Paul:
“He loved me, and gave Himself for me!” (Gal. 2:20).
Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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Saturday, August 1, 2020
The Word Of Truth - by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
The Word Of Truth -
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
In Ephesians 1:13 the Apostle Paul declares that men are saved and sealed by hearing and believing “the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” This declaration is substantiated by many other passages of Scripture. Our Lord said: “He that heareth… and believeth… hath everlasting life” (John 5:24). This at a time when sacrifices and baptism were still required for the remission of sins. Even then men had to hear and believe to be saved, for “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
Now, however, salvation is received by hearing and believing alone. Works for salvation are not merely unnecessary; they are forbidden. Today salvation is “to him that worketh not, but believeth” (Romans 4:5). “For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
God has changed His dealings with men from time to time down through the ages, teaching one lesson at a time. This is why it is so important to note the dispensational distinctions in Scripture, “rightly dividing the Word of truth.”
Once the works of the Law were required for salvation: “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested” (Romans 3:21) and men are saved solely by faith in Christ, “being justified freely by [God’s] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). We are saved, then, as we hear and believe what Paul calls, “the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:13), and we are established in the faith as we obey II Timothy 2:15: “rightly dividing the Word of truth.”
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Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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