January
5, 2014
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 08553
Clay Curtis, pastor
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
Order of service, announcements, nursery schedule, etc.,
are in attachment. All articles in the bulletin
are by the pastor unless otherwise noted.
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He Said Unto Him, Zacchaeus
Luke 19: 5: And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him and said
unto him, Zacchaeus…
Christ came to the place where
Zacchaeus was because Christ appointed the very place where he would cross his
path. But how did Christ know his
name? In Christ’s parable of the
shepherd and his sheep, Christ said the shepherd “calleth his own sheep by
name.” Then Christ said, “I am the good
Shepherd and know my sheep.” (Jn 10: 3, 14) Christ knew Zacchaues’ name because
his name, like all Christ’s sheep,
was “written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.” (Rev 17: 8; 20: 15; Php 4: 3)
The names of God’s elect are not being written in his book when we
believe. Christ calls us out of darkness into his light because our names were
written in his book when the Father “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love.” (Eph 1: 3-4)
Christ became Surety of those given him of the Father by promising to
redeem us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us, that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Gal 3: 13-14) That is why
Christ is called “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” And because Christ accomplished the
redemption of each elect child, the Holy Spirit shall regenerate and call each
one to faith in Christ; and because Christ has known each one by name since before
the foundation of the world that is why Christ is able to call his own sheep by
name. “The foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.” (2 Ti 2: 19)
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Behold
I Am Against Them
Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do
tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness;
yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people
at all, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 23:32
It is vitally important that we only
preach and only listen to the true gospel.
There is no profit in a false gospel because salvation cannot be born
from a lie. God’s elect are born again
with the WORD OF TRUTH (James 1:18).
True salvation requires The Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. A false gospel will appeal to the flesh, and
even give some comfort and confidence to the flesh by giving the flesh
something to do to earn salvation. That
false gospel may make a person more law abiding, but it will never lead to
salvation because a false gospel never produces the new birth, never leads to
surrender to Christ, and never leads to faith in Christ.
Let us pray for the grace to preach
Christ out of a love for God. God will
be glorified when Christ is preached.
Let us also pray for the grace to preach Christ out of a love for the
lost. The only way the lost will be
saved is to hear Christ preached. In
whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation (Eph 1:13). Frank Tate
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God’s Glory
The whole scheme of works salvation is totally dependent upon man and
looks inward for all hope, happiness,
help, and holiness; making man the principle object of worship, preeminence and glory.
But, the whole scheme of God’s salvation is dependent upon Jesus Christ,
the appointed Mediator and Substitute
for sinners. This scheme of salvation looks
Godward for all hope, happiness, help, and holiness; making Jesus Christ the principle object of all worship,
preeminence and glory. “God forbid that
I should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.” The grand design of
God’s salvation is the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 17:4-5; 1 Cor.
1:30-31).
Tom Harding
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If Free Will Is True:
The belief that most people hold to
is that God loves everybody and wants to save everybody. That He has given man
a free will, and cannot save a man unless that man, of his own free will,
decides to let God save him. If
that is true:
1. The Bible is mistaken when it
describes man as dead in sins.
2. God is not sovereign. His will is subject to man's will.
3. Praying to God for the salvation of sinners is a mistake. We should be praying
to men to use their will to let God save them.
4. Salvation is not dependent upon God, but man.
5. Man gets a portion of the credit in salvation.
6. Salvation cannot be said to be 100% grace. Man's will is the key that
unlocks the grace of God. Grace cannot work unless man turns the key.
7. God's will has no say in the ultimate destiny of the sinner. In reality,
God's will is meaningless in the salvation of the sinner. The will of man
controls his own destiny.
8. The death of Christ was at best a gamble, dependent upon the will of man,
and in reality a failure, because many He died for are lost anyway.
9. The security of the believer hinges on his own will.
Have you ever looked at what the
bible says about God’s Will? "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but
of God that sheweth mercy (Rom. 9:15-16). Sinners are saved not by the will of
man, nor the will of the flesh, but of God. (Jn. 1:13) How could anyone have
any comfort or assurance of their eternal salvation if it ultimately depended
on their freewill?
For those who get angry at these
truths, God Himself says; “O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall
the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus"? We
can’t even control the events of the simplest parts of our everyday lives by
our wills, how then could we control the eternal? Bless the Lord for the God
Will Gospel! "Thou shalt call His Name Jesus, for He shall save his people
from their sins." (Matt. 1:21) Thank God, free will is not true! The
believer prefers Free Grace over free will. Don Bell