Hymn of the Day
(Tune: Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee, p. 58)
Jesus exalted far on high,
To Whom a name is given;
A name surpassing every name,
That's known in earth or heav'n.
Before whose throne shall every knee,
Bow down with one accord;
Before whose throne shall every tongue,
Confess that Thou art Lord.
Jesus, Who in the form of God,
Didst equal honor claim;
Yet to redeem our guilty souls,
Did stoop to death and shame.
All glory, Lord, and praise to Thee,
Whom heav'n and earth adore;
To Father Son and Holy Ghost,
-----0-----
Today's Hymns
Lord, with Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee #cb6
How Can It Be? #67,
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us #294
-----0-----
Special Dates:
Asher Vlastuin – 18 ~ Aiden Koedam – 19 ~ Katelyn Sandbulte – 19
Bonnie Terrell – 19 ~ Olivia Koedam – 20 ~ Diane Scholten - 21
-----0-----
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this:
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ.
-Acts 2.26
In the religion of my youth, people were first called on to "accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior," and later called on to "make Jesus Lord." This was labelled by some as "easy believe-ism." In response to this, a doctrine called "Lordship Salvation" was devised in which it was said that unless a person is living a life of obedience to Christ as Lord, then he is not saved. Neither the "Savior, then Lord" system or the "Lordship Salvation" position are Scriptural.
The "Savior, then Lord" system fails for it calls on people to do what God has already done: make Jesus to be Lord (Acts 2.36). It also fails for it ignores the fact that the essential confession of a believer is, "Jesus is Lord" (Romans 10.9) No one is a believer apart from that confession.
The "Lordship Salvation" system fails for there are none who are perfectly obedient to Christ and the "Lordship Salvation" system never does say just how obedient a person must be in order to rightly claim that he is in submission to Jesus as Lord. And more importantly, the so-called "Lordship Salvation" position makes a person's level of obedience to be a determining factor in his salvation.
Here is what the Scriptures say: 1) Jesus is Lord, and He is Lord because GOD made Him to be Lord. Therefore, the Scriptures never call on us to make Christ Lord. We can and should acknowledge or "confess" that He is Lord, but we cannot make Him to be Lord. 2) Every believer does confess Jesus to be Lord for he believes that God has, indeed, made Him to be Lord. Moreover, the believer rejoices that Jesus is Lord. He does not count obedience to Christ to be a burden. He does not think of obedience to His Lord as some distasteful aspect of life he must endure in order to be certain of salvation. In truth, the believer's greatest sorrow is that his obedience to Christ is so pitifully deficient. He owns Christ as Lord but also owns the fact that he is not very good at obeying his Lord.
If you do not believe and confess that Jesus is, indeed, Lord over all; if you do not count obedience to Him to be sweet and disobedience bitter, then you are not a Christian who lacks commitment, you are not a Christian at all. It is equally true that if you believe that your level of obedience to Christ is superior to that of someone else such that you will be saved but they will not, then you are not a sufficiently committed Christian; you are not a Christian at all. You have "fallen from grace" (Galatians 5.4). Our obedience has nothing to do with our salvation; that is foundational to the concept of grace.
Christ is not the Savior of those who have not bowed to Him as Lord, but neither is He the Savior of those who think their obedience has played a part in their salvation. Christ is the Lord who saves sinners, and those He saves are glad he is Lord. -Joe
-----0-----
Those whom God chose to eternal life were given to Christ in the covenant of grace. When we were born, though born in sin and children of disobedience and enemies of God, yet the covenant made with Christ on our behalf remained unbroken. -Milton Howard
-----0-----
Our Lord says to all of his people, "Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine" (Isaiah 43:1). We have no cause to fear, no matter what our circumstances may be. If we belong to Christ, by the virtue of his blood and the power of his grace, all is well. He will allow no harm to come to his own elect. We will pass through the waters of sorrow, but he will be with us. We will go through the rivers of affliction, but they will not drown us. We will have to walk through the fiery furnace of trial, but the flame shall not kindle upon us. He that is our God is the God of the waters, the rivers, and the fire. He has made them for us; and he will see to it that in their ultimate end, they will bring good to us. -Don Fortner
-----0-----
Our Lord came on purpose, to save a particular people, and He accomplished what He came to do! If you are one of those particular people, and if He accomplished salvation for you, then He will notify you of it through the preaching of His Word. In His notification, He will convince you of the fact that you are a sinner - the worst sinner you've ever known! That is the very reason He had to die: It was to save you from your sins. His death was God the Father's free gift to you, and in His free gift, you are completely redeemed! It was all appointed by the Father and obtained by the Son. To Him be glory forever! -Gabe Stalnaker