MERCY AND GRACE - THE DOORS TO INFLUENCE

     The truth is sometimes harsh! We think of Baptists today as being on either of two sides; liberal and permissive or militant and legalistic. But what should true Christianity look like? Should we abandoned truth to be more accepted and likable? Or should we take a hard stand and insist on the unrealistic standard of perfection? The answer to these questions lies in the balance of grace, mercy, and truth! 

Ephesians 4:9 “But speaking the truth in love”

    1. God expects us to use Mercy and Grace.  

“shouldest not thou have also had compassion on thy fellowservant” Matthew 18:33

     In Matthew 18:23-35 Jesus tells us the story of a king and his two servants. The king had mercy on the first servant who owed him, and yet the first servant would not have mercy on the second servant. Jesus shows us His thoughts about when we have little or no mercy on others when He has blessed us with so much mercy and grace. Without mercy and grace we are going to hell, with no hope of ever receiving forgiveness. God acted before we could ever ask for forgiveness. Even after we have received this mercy and grace, we cannot do anything to be worthy of it! How can we not freely and unconditionally give it to others?

     2. Mercy and Grace allow for restoration.

“restore such an one in the spirit of meekness” Galatians 6:1

Without mercy and grace there is no restoration! We could not have been restored to fellowship with God except for the mercy and grace that Jesus bestowed on us! Likewise we must humbly show mercy and grace to those who have fallen, realizing that but for the grace of God THERE GO I!

     3. Mercy and Grace commands respect, and warrants following. 

“Let love be without dissimulation” Romans 12:9

     Of the twelve children of Jacob which one had the most influence on the world and the Israelites? Which of the twelve do we still tell stories about today? Joseph and his coat of many colors! Joseph’s life was marked by mercy and grace in everything that he did and everywhere that he went. Genesis 49:22-26 lists the blessings that were given to him and end with “the blessings..have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors (direct ancestor) unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:...the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.”

     The statement “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care” may sound like a cliche but it is very true. Mercy and Grace are the doors through which you will gain influence and be able to reach a lost world for Christ. Mercy and Grace are the doors through which you will be able to develop a true “son” or “daughter” in the faith, as Paul did with Timothy. I wonder if that relationship (Acts 16:1-3) was possible because Paul had just learned something from Barnabas about Mark (Acts 15:37-41)? Proverbs 3:3-4 “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Visit us on the web at www.x2ministries.com

Written by: Joel Wallace
Associate Pastor 

 Hendrix Road Baptist Church

www.hendrixrdbaptist.org

“Speaking the Truth in Love” Eph 4:8

SATISFIED

"In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless babe,
This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones He came to save,
Til on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied,
For every sin on Him was laid, Here in the death of Christ I live."

     God is a holy, just, righteous God. He cannot be infringed upon and He cannot look upon sin. He cannot be cast aside, and He cannot be taken lightly. When man sins against this holy God, the wrath of God must be poured out upon the individual. There is no other way for God to remain just and right and not punish sin. He must punish those that have transgressed against His law. We can use an illustration to try to help us understand God's position with the sinner.

     Imagine the worst possible, the most immoral person you can think of. Whether that be a child rapist, a terrorist, a mass murderer, a shooter of innocent children. Now imagine that person had committed this crime against his fellow men. He was guilty. All evidence was against him and there was no way he could try to say he was innocent. Guilt was admitted by the offender as he stood before the judge. Now imagine the judge looked upon the guilty man and told him he was free to go. All the crimes he had committed against innocent people were forgiven. He had chosen to allow him to be declared innocent.

     If this took place, there would be something wrong. There would be an uproar. The judge must have been bribed. That judge would not be a just judge and would not deserve to be a judge or leader of anyone.

     We are that guilty party. There is no way one can stand before a holy God and try to claim his innocence. We are transgressors in every point of the law. "For our trangressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our trangressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;" God's wrath is upon us. For God to remain just, holy, and righteous, the penalty of our iniquities must be carried out!

Romans 3:11-19
     "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."

     We don't like to think of ourselves as full of bitterness, cursing, and deceit. We don't like to think our feet are swift to shed blood and we are full of destruction and misery, but that is who we are without Christ. It doesn't matter what we try to claim. For God to be pleased or satisfied the price must be paid. Even if we try to claim our righteousnesses, they are simply filthy rags in the sight of God. It would be like the guilty man before the judge trying to claim his donations to charity or his involvement in church work as grounds for him to be declared innocent. Any "good" we seem to do does nothing to remove the debt we owe for our sin. This puts us in a predicament. We have sinned against God. We are guilty and God cannot just let our sin pass.

     This is where Jesus Christ, the literal Saviour of the world comes in!!! Christ was the perfect sacrifice, the only one who could satisfy the wrath of God upon the world. Isaiah 53 paints a very vivid picture of the suffering endured by Jesus, but often overlooked is a very key part of the passage. Verses 10-12 tell us of God's relationship with Christ as he bore our sins.

     "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefor will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

     God was pleased to bruise His only begotten Son that we might be free from His wrath. He was satisfied to carry out His wrath upon the Lamb of God that we might have eternal life. He was content to impart His righteousness unto us through the finished work of Jesus on the cross! 

II Corinthians 5:21
     "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

     Christ literally became sin for us who knew no sin that we might just as literally be made the righteousness of God. WOW!!! What an amazing, mind-blowing, crippling truth! We are made the righteousness of God through Christ and God is satisfied. It is settled. In the words of Christ, "It is finished!" Do not ever forget the truth of the gospel!!!

Written by:
Joel McCarty
Teacher and Staff at Madison Baptist Church
@mccartyjoel on Twitter
Check us out Times2 Ministries on the web at x2ministries.com 
See the video about our ministry at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKn41p8OC-Q

SPIRIT-FILLED MUSIC SERVICES

     Glorifying and worshiping God through music is evident throughout the Bible. Music is so important in our worship that the largest book in the Bible, Psalms, is a book made of musical songs to God. Each Psalm is a song about the Lord and our life with Him. We should therefore take special note on how important music is in our lives and especially in our church services.

Music should hold a two-fold purpose:

     1. GLORIFY GOD
I Corinthians 10:31  "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 

     2. EDIFY THE BELIEVER
I Corinthians 14:12   "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church."

     If we fulfill these two purposes, it will unify the congregation and we will have one purpose, that of giving God glory and praise. When we glorify God in our music, He then inhabits our praises and our church service will be spirit-filled! We see in II Chronicles 5:13-14 what music can do in our church services when we praise God in one accord. 
     "It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God." 
     When they were of one accord and truly praised God with all their might, the Lord God's presence was so strong the priests could not even enter in! We need this power in our services! Music is so vital to the well being of the local church. It prepares the hearts and minds to receive God's message, His Spirit, and His will for our lives. In our preparation of worshiping God through music we should recognize what a great responsibility we have to the Lord and to those we minister to. 
To have a great spirit-filled church service we must first recognize music's importance in the church. We should desire our music services to be as it says in Ephesians 5:18-19. 
     "...be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."

Visit us on the web at www.mantlex2.wix.com/times2 

Written by Brandon Neft
Music Minister
Open Door Baptist Church
www.opendoormwc.com

TRUTH, THE FOUNDATION OF GRACE

Romans 8:31-39

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Amazing Grace how sweet the sound” 

      The grace of God truly is amazing. But what gives grace such a powerful and life altering meaning? Many times we think that some of the attributes of God (such as holiness, grace, truth, mercy, etc.) are more important than others, or we try to put them in a list starting with the most important one first. The mistake we make when we do this is that we are automatically downplaying the other attributes of God. No one attribute of God is better or more important than the other. Without condemnation there is no need for salvation. Without righteousness there is no need for mercy. And without truth there is no need for grace! We must speak the truth, despite peoples feelings, because without truth grace is left weak and useless. 

 “That saved a wretch like me...” 

     Consider the truth of our wretchedness and where we were before God. That is what makes this passage (and song) so wonderful. Truth is what gives grace meaning, and what makes it so wonderful. Truth is the foundation of grace!

1)  TRUTH IS, BY DEFINITION, EXCLUSIVE 

     (only one way, i.e. If the answer is A, it cannot be B.)

     John 14: 6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

     There is a right way and a wrong way. To pretend that there are no absolutes is to ignore the clear teaching of scripture (not to mention the way everyone lives their life). Everyone has something that they think is wrong (murder, rape, ect) likewise everyone has something they think is right (kind to fellowman, charity, ect). Anyone claiming that there are no absolute truths, is not thinking about the issue clearly.

2)  TRUTH IS NOT RELATIVE. IT IS FINDABLE AND KNOWABLE.

     (relative - considered in relation or in proportion to something else)

     John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

     Would God command us to know the truth in order to be free, and then not give us the truth? As Paul would say “God forbid.” The truth is there for us to know and understand. We are simply either too self-centered, lazy, or worldly to find and recognize the truth. Where is the Truth? 

      John 8:31 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;"  

     The Bible is the source of all Truth!

1)  TRUTH IS OUR SCHOOLMASTER (TEACHER)

      Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

     Before salvation we must first realize why we need to be saved. We must believe that we are sinners before God. Jesus' words to the people who knew they were sinners was always hope and grace (the woman at the well, the Philippian jailer, etc). Yet His words to people who did not already know the truth (the way God thought about their sin) was always one of judgment and condemnation (Pharisees, Rich Young Ruler, etc). The truth must be known BEFORE grace can be extended!

      Is abortion murder? Is sex before marriage okay? Is God okay with a homosexual lifestyle? If I die without accepting Jesus Christ will I go to hell? God has clearly answered these questions. And for any of us to down play, muddy the answer, or refuse to speak the truth because we think that it may be too harsh or hurts someone's feelings is equal to not warning people of impending destruction because they do not wish to be disturbed. Often we simply do not wish to feel uncomfortable or unappreciated. As Peter and John said in Acts 4:20 “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard”  

     Truth is the foundation of grace!

Check back next week for a follow up post on "The Importance of Graciousness”.

Visit us on the web at www.mantlex2.wix.com/times2!!!

Written by: Joel Wallace
Associate Pastor

 Hendrix Road Baptist Church

www.hendrixrdbaptist.org

“Speaking the Truth in Love” Eph 4:8