TheosGuy

The following reading, Steps in the Christian Life is taken from F.E. Marsh’s, 500 Bible Readings.¹

THERE are some terms that relate to the Christian life which are of pressing importance, because of the issues involved in relation to them. The following seven words indicate a few aspects of the Christian’s life, namely, “Believe,” “Pray,” “Abide,” “Walk,” “Take,” “Stand,” “Watch.”

1. To believe on Christ is the secret of the Christian life (Galatians 2:20 NKJV).
2. To pray to Christ is the stay of the Christian life (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).
3. To abide in Christ is the strength of the Christian life (John 15:4 NKJV).
4. To walk as Christ is the shining out of the Christian life (1 Peter 2:21 NKJV).
5. To take from Christ is the supply of the Christian life (Isaiah 27:5 NKJV).
6. To stand with Christ is the staple of the Christian life (Ephesians 6:14 NKJV).
7. To watch for Christ is the standing order of the Christian life (Mark 13:33 NKJV). The term watchfulness is a comprehensive one. It signifies far more than merely holding the truth of the Lord’s coming. It covers the whole trend of the spiritual life in the variety of its traits.

1. 500 Bible Readings, Marsh, F.E., (London: Marshall Brothers, 1897). Reading number 382.

Tags: Christian Living, Marsh, Theology

The following reading, Things We Obtain by Faith is taken from F.E. Marsh’s, 500 Bible Readings.¹

1. Salvation.. “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.” — Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
2. Justification.. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” — Romans 5:1 NKJV
3. Introduction.. “…through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” — Romans 5:2 NKJV
4. Adoption. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” — Galatians 3:26 NKJV
5. Sanctification. “…to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” — Acts 26:18 NKJV
6. Purification. “…and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” — Acts 15:9 NKJV
7. Occupation. “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,” — Ephesians 3:17 NKJV
8. Progression. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” — 2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV
9. Preservation. “…who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” — 1 Peter 1:5 NKJV
10. Expectation. “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” — Galatians 5:5 NKJV

1. 500 Bible Readings, Marsh, F.E., (London: Marshall Brothers, 1897). Reading number 443.

Tags: Faith, Marsh, Theology

Following are the verses used in the Gospel presentation known as The Romans Road to Salvation.

(Rom 3:10, 23 NKJV) As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(Rom 5:12 NKJV) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned–

(Rom 6:23 NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Rom 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Rom 10:13 NKJV) For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

(Rom 10:9-10 NKJV) 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. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

When I hear people talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I notice that many things are tacked on to the Gospel that I don’t think should be there. At the Together for the Gospel conference in 2006, I saw a book entitled, God Is the Gospel, by Dr. John Piper. Dr. Piper in this book used Biblical texts to define what is the Gospel. I decided to take it one step further and only use Biblical texts that use the Greek words translated as gospel or good news. To do this I followed the following procedure.

• I did a “LexiConc” search for the word “gospel” at Blue Letter Bible. This gave me all the Greek root words that are translated in the English to “Gospel.”
• I analyzed the results and noticed that three root Greek words were translated “gospel” 149 times in 121 distinct verses in the Greek text supporting the KJV.

From these results we can find some distinct elements that are comprised in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (also known as, the Good News). Some of these are the same as in Dr. Piper’s book, as well.

1. A living God, who is the Creator of all things.
   (Act 14:15 ESV ESV) “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

2. A Sovereign God.
   (Rom 10:15 NKJV) And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

   Note that Rom 10:15 is referencing Isa 52:7, which reads:

   (Isa 52:7 NKJV) How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

3. God has intervened into the life of man. The Kingdom of God is at hand! God is King!
   (Mar 1:14-15 ESV) Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
4. Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of David
   (Rom 1:1-3 ESV) Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
5. Great joy for all the people, a savior is come into the world!
   (Luk 2:10-11 ESV) And the angel said to them, Afear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
6. Christ died for our sins!
   (1Cor 15:1-3 ESV) Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
7. He was resurrected and it was witnessed by those who abandoned Him.
   (2 Tim 2:8 ESV) Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel
8. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
   (Luke 3:16, 18 ESV) John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire… So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
9. The power unto salvation.
   (Rom 1:16-17 ESV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The Gospel could be preached from Biblical text as:
The living Sovereign God, the Creator, the King of Israel and the universe, the son of David, has come in His Son, Jesus the Messiah, and has died for our sins and been raised from the dead, with the power to give us eternal life and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

I attended the Together for the Gospel (2010) conference this week. The theme for the conference was The (Unadjusted) Gospel. Dr. Ligon Duncan gave an address entitled, Did the Father’s Know the Gospel. It was referring to whether the pastristic fathers of the church preached the same Gospel that evangelicals preach today (i.e., personal justification, imputation of our sin to Christ and His righteousness to us, by faith alone).

In the address he referenced a document from the early second century (dated as early as 117 A.D.) known as The Epistle to Diognetus, which clearly states the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is the excerpt from that document. The citation is from The Epistle to Diognetus as translated by J.B. Lightfoot, chapter 9, verses 2-6:

[2] And when our iniquity had been fully accomplished, and it had been made perfectly manifest that punishment and death were expected as its recompense, and the season came which God had ordained, when henceforth He should manifest His goodness and power (O the exceeding great kindness and love of God), He hated us not, neither rejected us, nor bore us malice, but was long-suffering and patient, and in pity for us took upon Himself our sins, and Himself parted with His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy for the lawless, the guileless for the evil, “the just for the unjust,” the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. [3] For what else but His righteousness would have covered our sins? [4] In whom was it possible for us lawless and ungodly men to have been justified, save only in the Son of God? [5] O the sweet exchange, O the inscrutable creation, O the unexpected benefits; that the iniquity of many should be concealed in One Righteous Man, and the righteousness of One should justify many that are iniquitous! [6] Having then in the former time demonstrated the inability of our nature to obtain life, and having now revealed a Saviour able to save even creatures which have no ability, He willed that for both reasons we should believe in His goodness and should regard Him as nurse, father, teacher, counsellor, physician, mind, light, honour, glory, strength and life.

Thank the LORD for the sweet exchange, i.e., imputing our Saviour’s righteousness to us and taking our sins upon Himself.
The righteousness of One is a very sweet gift

Tags: Imputation, Righteousness, Salvation

James MacDonald in one of his sermons was discussing the resurrection. He indicated that when dealing with someone who questioned the authenticity of the Resurrection, he would ask 10 questions. Here they are, as paraphrased.

1. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who moved the stone?
2. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, why did the Pharisees bribe the guards?
3. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who or what overcame the Roman soldiers?
4. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, appeared to the Apostles after His crucifixion?
5. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, empowered the Apostles to heal as in the instance where Peter and Paul said “in the Name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk”?
6. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, how did 500 people confirm seeing Him after the crucifixion and testify to the appearance? Did they lie? There is no record of any one of them recanting!
7. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, why did the Apostles die as martyrs? All but one—John—died terrible deaths as martyrs, and John was tortured for His belief in and preaching of Christ!
8. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who appeared to Saul of Tarsus? Saul, the feared murderer of believers, repented and became the greatest Christian missionary of the Church!
9. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who changed me and forgave me of my sins?
10. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who changed the believers throughout the Church age?

From the message, YWHW in Psalm 34, Pt. 3 about 36 minutes into the message.

Tags: Christ, Salvation

The following reading, Salvation,
is adapted from F.E. Marsh’s 500 Bible Readings¹.

What is comprehended in the most comprehensive word “salvation”? The following acrostic will indicate, in some small degree, Salvation.

1. 500 Bible Readings, Marsh, F.E., (London: Marshall Brothers, 1897). Reading number 335.

Tags: Marsh, Salvation, Teaching Ideas

My Position in Christ

• I have been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of the Jesus Christ. (Col 1:13)
• I currently possess redemption, the forgiveness of sin, through the blood of Jesus. (Col 1:14)
• I have died, and my life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3)
• I was purchased by God at a price. (1 Cor 6:20)
• I now belong to Christ and therefore belong to God. (1 Cor 3:23)
• I was chosen in Christ before the creation of the world, to be reckoned as holy and blameless before Him. (Eph. 1:4)
• I have been made alive with Christ and sit with Him in the heavenly places. (Eph. 2:5-6)
• I am God’s child. (John 1:12)
• I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
• I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. (Eph 2:6)
• I am a citizen of heaven. (Phil 3:20)
• I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)

Regarding Sin

• I am free from the power of sin, and am now a slave to righteousness. (Rom 6:7-8, 11, 14, 18)
• I have been redeemed from the curse of the Law. (Gal 3:13)
• I am free from condemnation. (Rom 8:1-2)

• No works that I do will or can justify me. (Rom 3:20)
• I am justified. (Rom 5:1)
• I am saved by the grace of God through faith. (Eph 2:8-9)
• I am able to find God’s grace and mercy in time of need. (Heb 4:16)

I Am Complete in Christ

• I am in Christ, and am therefore complete in Him, because He is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. (Col. 2:9-10)
• I have access to the mind of Christ so that He may instruct me. (1 Cor 2:16)
• Through Christ, I have overcome the world. (1 John 4:4)

My Hope is in the Character of God

• I will wait upon the Lord for His lovingkindness never ceases; His compassion never fails; He is good to those who wait for Him. (Lam 3:22-25)
• I will obey Him, for the Lord’s commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)
• I am safe for He will never abandon me. (Heb 13:5)
• The Lord is faithful. He will strengthen me and protect me from the enemy. (2 Thess. 3:3)
• I look forward to His glorious coming. He is preparing a place for me and will come again to receive me unto Himself. (John 14:1-3, 1 Thess 4:17-18)
• I am confident that the good work that the Lord has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil 1:6)

Tags: Christ, Faith, Salvation

The Greek verb used in relation to salvation is used in past (perfect), present and future tenses in the Greek (as well as aorist and imperfect).

Tags: Faith, Salvation

Philippians 2:7 tells us that Jesus emptied (Greek = kenosis (1)(2)) Himself. What did this mean? Did He give up His Divine attributes? The following helps to define.

Dr. Walter Martin said,

Jesus put aside the independent exercise of His divine attributes in His full submission to the Father.

Dr. David Hocking adds,

The Roman centurion when going into battle would remove his insignia that identified his rank. He would then go to battle on the front lines with his soldiers. After the battle, he would then replace his insignia. The act of removing his insignia in the Greek language was denoted with the word, kenosis. The centurion did not cease to be in full command of this troops.

Tags: Theology