by HARVEYOPP | Dec 2, 2014 | Scott Henry
This attached video has graphic footage of the abortion process, but it’s a reality in this fallen world. Choose not to put your head in the sand like an ostrich, but to act responsibly, prayerfully, and Biblically as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Abortion is not the unpardonable sin, but it is the grievous sin of murder. Maybe you know a woman who has had an abortion and now she’s grieved about her decision. She needs to know that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). The Apostle Paul, previously Saul of Tarsus, was one who persecuted the church and put many Christians to death, said that he was chief of all sinners. Yet Paul found God’s forgiveness & mercy at the cross of Christ. No matter how great your guilt, if you trust in Jesus Christ as the one who bore your sins on the cross, God will pardon all your sins and credit the righteousness of Jesus Christ to your account.
May God grant His redeemed people great boldness to be an army that stands for the truth and declares the consequences of sin, but yet also mercifully proclaims to a dying world the promise of Scripture “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
by HARVEYOPP | Dec 2, 2014 | Scott Henry
“…in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…” (Titus 1:2).
Have you ever had someone break a promise? Maybe you’ve broken a promise you made to someone? Sadly the words “I promise” have become little more than a phrase meant to prove someone’s sincerity. Breaking promises is taken lightly in our society yet 100 years ago people highly valued a promise. Business was done, goods were sold, and transactions were made, many times, on nothing more than a promise and a handshake. Today promises seem to be made in order to be broken, but there is One who has never, can never, and will never break His promise … God. When God promises something you can be sure it will come to pass! Notice the promise He made to Noah: “Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:11). God promised Noah that He would never again use a flood to destroy the earth, and God has kept that promise. Remember the rainbow! Look at some other promises God has made throughout Scripture to every believer:
“I will never leave nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
“I will strengthen and help you” (Isaiah 41:10).
“Nothing will separate you from My love” (Rom. 8:39).
“I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“I will forgive you” (1 John 1:9).
“I will bless you” (Psalm 84:11).
“I am with you always…” (Matthew 28:20).
“I will guide you” (Psalm 25:9).
“I will work all to your good” (Romans 8:28).
“I will deliver you…” (Psalm 50:15).
God’s promises are found in every book, every chapter, and every verse of His Word. As a Christian, God has promised to provide for you, protect you, be near you, forgive you, etc. He loves every believer as He loves His own dear Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, He promises to work all things together for good to His people through His infinite plan. But how often do we forget God’s promises? How often, in the midst of trouble, tribulation, or persecution do we worry, fear, and wander from God? Never forget that God is sovereign; He has everything in heaven and on earth under His control. “All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” (Daniel 4:35).
Have you forgotten God’s promises? Take time today to reflect upon God’s promises and apply them to your life, and live with the knowledge that your Heavenly Father watches over His people every moment of every day. Psalm 34:15: “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.”
by HARVEYOPP | Nov 25, 2014 | Scott Henry
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
The Word of God teaches that it’s the duty of every believer to give thanks to God ALWAYS! Thanksgiving should not be limited to special occasions or certain days because giving thanks to God refers to the attitude of the believer’s heart. The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 86 reads as follows: “Since, then, we are redeemed from our misery by grace through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we do good works? Because Christ, having redeemed us by His blood, also renews us by His Holy Spirit after His own image, that with our whole life we show ourselves thankful to God for His blessing…”
For the Christian, thanksgiving is every moment of everyday, and it continues throughout eternity! “So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations” (Psalm 79:13). We must give thanks to the Lord at all times, without exception. “And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: “Stand up and bless the LORD your God forever and ever! Blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!” (Nehemiah 9:5)
Scripture also teaches us that we must give thanks for everything; not only for the pleasant things that God gives to us to richly enjoy, but also for the unpleasant things! Job said, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept evil? The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). We also read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks.” We are to be thankful always and for all things.
Something else the Word of God teaches us is that at the heart of all true thanksgiving must be praise to God for His grace, mercy, and love shown to us through our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:15: “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift,” and Christ is the gift the Apostle Paul is speaking of. Just think of the well-known verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Christ is the unspeakable gift, the only begotten Son, the pearl of great price, given to redeem unworthy sinners!
True thanksgiving is not rooted in the material things we receive from God. True thanksgiving is rooted in God who sends everything – good & bad – for His glory and the salvation of all those He has given to His Son, Jesus Christ (John 6:37). As we read in Lamentations 3:37-38: “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?” Nevertheless, God uses all these things, all the time, for the eternal, spiritual good of all those who trust in Jesus Christ! (Rom. 8:28) Therefore we can and must give thanks to God at all times and in every situation because we know that in Christ, God is working all things together for our salvation. And with this we must be content!
Are there times and situations when your thanksgiving is not heard in heaven? If the darkest providence you could imagine came upon you today, would you say, “Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will give thanks to the God of my salvation”? Take time today to give thanks to God for all He has done for you in Christ Jesus!
by HARVEYOPP | Nov 18, 2014 | Scott Henry
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
The Bible gives us a multitude of reasons to be thankful to God. In the Psalms, we learn that we give thanks to the Lord for He is good. The psalmist also declares that we ought to give thanks to God because His mercy endures forever! Moses wrote in Exodus 20:6 that God shows “mercy to thousands of generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Another reason we give thanks to God is because He is the sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth who provides for His people. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1Timothy 6:17 that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy.”
Once again, David writes in Psalm 37:23-26: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed.” The psalmist gives thanks to the Lord because He redeemed his life from the pit, and because every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights (James 1:17), who establishes justice and shows mercy to His people forever. The Bible has a host of things for which we ought to give thanks to the Lord and so the Apostle Paul simply says: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Did you notice the all-inclusive words in our text? “In everything give thanks!” There are many favorable circumstances that happen in each of our lives, which giving thanks to God is altogether appropriate, and rather easy to do. But what about the times when things are not so pleasant? Are you willing to give God thanks when in His good providence pain, suffering, hurt, turmoil or death touches your life? How do you then respond to God? Are you one who only seeks the blessings or the Giver of all blessings?
Paul says in our text that we are to give thanks to Almighty God in EVERY THING! We may not be able to understand every little detail God is working in our lives, or why He has done certain things the way He has, but we do know He has promised to work all things together for the eternal good of every believer. This should make us thankful to God in all things, even the evil that He sends upon us in this troubled life. If we really believe God causes all things to work together for His glory and our eternal good then we can be thankful no matter what situation we may find ourselves. We must look to the end result of what God is doing, and Scripture simply tells us that we must trust our heavenly Father even though we may not understand what He’s doing. As we read in Hebrews 11:8: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Walking by faith in the promises of God enables the child of God to give thanks to God in every circumstance.
Take time today to praise His holy name!
by HARVEYOPP | Nov 3, 2014 | Scott Henry
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses for reform on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther’s students then took the 95 theses, made copies and distributed them throughout Germany, and this was the catalyst that sparked the Protestant Reformation. The main emphasis of the Reformation was to bring the straying church back to the teaching of Scripture, especially regarding the doctrine of justification. You see, the Reformers understood the Bible to be the very Word of God and therefore the Bible alone can instruct us concerning every issue of faith and life (2 Peter 1:3). It was from this understanding of Scripture that the “Five Solas” of the Reformation were developed.
- Sola Scriptura: the Bible is the only authority in faith and life. This teaching opposed the Roman Catholic doctrine of church tradition and the authority of the Pope (Matt. 4:4; John 12:48).
- Sola fide: we are justified through faith alone, not faith plus works (Ephesians 2:8-10).
- Sola Gratia: we are saved by God’s grace alone, not because of anything we have done. Salvation is simply according to God’s good pleasure. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Ephesians 1:5).
- Sola Christo: we are saved by the person and work of Jesus Christ alone; Not Christ plus the sacraments or Christ plus good works, but by Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5).
- Lastly, Soli Deo Gloria: ALL things are to be done unto God’s glory alone. (1 Cor. 10:31)
Now it’s important to realize that each of these “Solas” is under attack today, and not just in liberal churches, or in the secular world, but these five “Solas” are being undermined even in the evangelical church. And if we lose them, we lose biblical Christianity, because without the “Solas” we lose the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The single most important question any person could ever ask is, “How can a sinful man be reconciled to a holy God?” How is it possible for a sinner, who has violated ALL the holy standards of God’s law, to escape the penalty of eternal death and be received into God’s favor? From the moment man fell into sin he has been seeking to answer this question in a myriad of ways. Adam thought it enough to cover himself with figs leaves, whereas Cain believed bringing his produce should be enough to satisfy God. And the Pharisees of Jesus’ day declared themselves righteous in God’s sight on the basis of their obedience to the works of the Law.
Therefore it should come as no surprise to us that there are modern-day Pharisees who declare that fallen, sinful man can be justified before the holy God of Scripture on the grounds of their own obedience to God. They even say this is what the Scriptures teach, but according to Scripture, NO SINFUL MAN will ever be justified in the sight of God according to what he has done. Rather, Scripture declares that man is justified by grace alone through faith alone apart from the works of the Law, and that any man seeking to be justified by his works is under the curse. CLEARLY STATED: GOD JUSTIFIES HIS PEOPLE BY GRACE ALONE, THROUGH FAITH ALONE, BY CHRIST ALONE, FOR THE GLORY OF GOD ALONE!!
Praise be to God for giving us faithful men who fearlessly recovered the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
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