12
Apr '20
The Day Death Died
12
Apr '20
Fear is powerful. Scripture teaches that the fear of God is the way of knowledge, wisdom, fruitfulness and joy. There is such a thing as healthy fear, but often our fear is unhealthy. You may discern the difference when your fear leads you to sinful practices. Fearing poverty, some put their career before anything and anyone else. Fearing loneliness, many behave against their better judgment thirsting for acceptance. Fearing failure, many will lie, cheat, steal, or worse. This means that the problem isn’t fear but what we do with our fears.
The greatest of all fears is the fear of death. That fears is universal, because death comes to us all. The rich cannot buy their way out of it. The intellectual can’t outsmart it. The physically gifted cannot outrun or outlast it. Death is the great leveler of humanity. No event is so sobering because no event is so final or so mysterious. The prospect of going through the veil by ourselves is enough to overwhelm any of us with fear.
Fear is what has humanity by the throat right now. We’re afraid to touch or be touched. We’re afraid of the air we breathe because we’re afraid of COVID-19. Our fear what we don’t understand, and we don’t know much about this new coronavirus other than out fears that it is a death sentence, either for ourselves or our loved ones.
Good news for the fearful!
Here is some good news. Christ Jesus came into this world to free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. John 11 recounts the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and provides a preview of Christ’s own resurrection. That chapter teaches us some comforting truths as we think about our own mortality. That will be our text this Easter morning.
One of my favorite passages of all scripture is John 11:25-6, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
View this morning’s livestream by following this link or by clicking the “Watch Video” button on our church’s Facebook page. A Facebook account is not required to visit that page.
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11
Apr '20
Spurgeon for Your Saturday
11
Apr '20
Matthew 26:64, “Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven”
Ah, Lord, thou wast in thy lowest state when before thy persecutors thou wast made to stand like a criminal! Yet the eyes of thy faith could see beyond thy present humiliation into thy future glory. What words are these, “Nevertheless — hereafter”! I would imitate thy holy foresight, and in the midst of poverty, or sickness, or slander, I also would say, “Nevertheless — hereafter.” Instead of weakness, thou hast all power; instead of shame, all glory; instead of derision, all worship. Thy cross has not dimmed the splendor of thy crown, neither has the spittle marred the beauty of thy face. Say, rather, thou art the more exalted and honored because of thy sufferings.
So, Lord, I also would take courage from the “hereafter.” I would forget the present tribulation in the future triumph. Help thou me by directing me into thy Father’s love and into thine own patience, so that when I am derided for thy name I may not be staggered, but think more and more of the hereafter, and, therefore, all the less of today. I shall be with thee soon and behold thy glory. Wherefore, I am not ashamed, but say in my inmost soul, “Nevertheless — hereafter.”
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24
Mar '20
One Way
24
Mar '20
Would you drive from Mount Vernon to Louisville by heading to Harlan? Of course not. We all know that to get to the desired destination we have to take the right road. We have to go in the right direction.
The same thing is true of trying to get to heaven, yet many believe that all religions lead to God. The truth is that no religion leads to God!
In the Bible we read that:
- Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”1
- Despite the danger from the same religious leaders who had killed Jesus, Peter plainly preached that salvation is only in Jesus: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”2
- Paul said, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all.”3
- The Apostle John said, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”4
The Bible is God’s Word, and it makes clear that apart from Christ there is absolutely no way to the Father and no eternal life in heaven. Other religions offer systems of thought that cross the gap between men and God, but Jesus is the only One who has bridged that divide. Christ said “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.”5 Only those who take the narrow way of Jesus Christ will find eternal life in heaven.
Jesus’ Exclusive Claims
Jesus claimed: “I am the way.” Jesus does not merely show a way to God, He is the only way to God. He spans the otherwise unreachable distance between a righteous God and unrighteous sinners like us.
Jesus claimed: “I am the truth.” Truth implies an objective standard that does not change like cultural fads or trends. Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”6 Come to Him “and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”7
Jesus claimed: “I am the life.” Without Jesus we are spiritually dead. But when we repent of our sins and believe on Jesus we are made spiritually alive. Scripture says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”8
Christ’s resurrection from the dead was the absolute proof that He was indeed the Son of God, just like He said He was. He is the Light of the world that conquers sin, death, and the grave.
Rising from the dead proved that Jesus had paid the price of our sin. The resurrection proved that God the Father accepted the substitutionary sacrifice of God the Son. More evidence of Jesus’ resurrection is that before He ascended back into heaven He met with over 500 of His followers to leave final instructions and encouragement (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-9).
There is no way to be saved but through Jesus Christ!
Religion—including the religion of atheism—cannot save or prepare one for eternity. The only way to be prepared is to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus, the One who gave His life in place of ours: “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.”9
Jesus is the way that must be taken, the truth that must be believed, and the life in which we must walk. Will you believe in the One who can—and will—bring you to God? Place your faith in Christ alone today. He promises, “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”10
Bible references: 1John 14:6, 2Acts 4:12, 31Timothy 2:5-6, 41John 5:12, 5Matthew 7:13-14, 6Hebrews 13:8, 7John 8:32, 8John 3:18, 91 Peter 3:18, 10John 6:37
Bible Baptist Church exists to see unbelieving people become committed followers of Jesus Christ. If you have any questions about what you have read, or if there is any way in which we can minister to you, please contact us.
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