Through the Bible - Psalms 75-76, Romans 7
Good morning,
Yesterday we considered Christ's imputed and imparted righteousness. This was accomplished through His death and resurrection. Salvation is God's gift, but it was far from being free. We are reminded of this when we participate in communion. Most of us are probably familiar with "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross".
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
That were a present far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
The amazing thing about this is summed up in today's verse from Romans 5
Rom 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation. NLT
or from the NKJV
Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Consider this, Paul had been persecuting Christians dragging people from their homes and arresting them (Acts 9) , he had witnessed Stephen being stoned, holding the coats of those who stoned him. Looking back Paul realized that even while he was doing these things, Christ died for him. Looking up he could "see from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Consider this, Paul had been persecuting Christians dragging people from their homes and arresting them (Acts 9) , he had witnessed Stephen being stoned, holding the coats of those who stoned him. Looking back Paul realized that even while he was doing these things, Christ died for him. Looking up he could "see from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, "Look at it, he (Isaac Watt's) says, survey it. And that is the way to know the love of God. You do not wait for a feeling or try to conjure up a feeling. You go to the cross and look, and survey it, consider it, meditate upon it and all that was involved. Ask the Spirit to give you enlightenment and understanding. That it the way we come to know and to understand the love of God. That it what God has done. He had purposed it before the foundation of the world, but it was at Calvary that His work was actually done."
We don't earn our way to God, but we must turn to Him, turn to Jesus Christ. Can you understand why Paul wrote the verses and why Isaac Watts would write these words?
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Phil 3:6-12
6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! NLT
Faith Triumphs in Trouble
5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Christ in Our Place
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. NKJV
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