Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

February 13, 2022

Weekly Schedule of Services

Proverbs 17:23: A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.

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FREE WILL OR PREDESTINATION

     Free will is responsible for every evil in the world.  All sin is the result of free will.  Free will is why the first murder was committed.  It is responsible for all war and has produced every false religion.  Free will is the doctrine of the sovereignty of man.  Predestination is the doctrine of the sovereignty of God.  If believed, it will abolish all race problems and rid of us all tyranny and war.  “Now therefore our God we thank Thee and praise Thy glorious Name” (I Chron. 29:10-14). 

–Scott Richardson

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Salvation is by grace so that God gets all the glory.  When false preachers glorify the sinner’s will and the sinner’s choice, they are making the sinner to be god.  They are giving the flesh room to glory.  They are breaking the very first commandment, “thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex 34:14). God gets the glory for choosing us in Christ, “That no flesh shall glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,…” God gets the glory for making Christ all unto us, “who of God is made unto us…” God gets the glory for being all unto us, “Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” Here is why, “That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:29-31).

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Sinners must seek Christ with all our heart in order to find Christ.  What is it to seek Christ?  It is seeking Christ himself.  It is seeking to find out who Christ is and what Christ has accomplished, is accomplishing and shall accomplish.

     The Lord Jesus is God in human flesh.  Did Christ accomplish the work God the Father sent him to accomplish in saving his people from our sins?  Christ prayed to the Father, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (Jn 17:4). The good news of the gospel is that Christ accomplished eternal redemption for each child for whom our great Shepherd laid down his life so that nothing can be added and nothing taken away.  It is finished! 

     Seeking Christ is find out where Christ is now and what Christ is doing now. God “hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Eph 1:22-23).  If we seek and find Christ it is because Christ first sought and found us.  And Christ is coming again to bring all his redeemed to glory with him. “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb 9:28).

     Do not merely seek a system of doctrine; seek Christ who is the Gospel! Do not merely seek an escape from hell; seek Christ who is the believer’s heaven! Do not merely seek the blessings; seek Christ the giver of every blessing! Do not merely seek a church; seek Christ who is the Head of the church! Seek Christ alone!  For “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

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Believer, every hour every day in every cause seek Christ. He says “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Mt 6:33).  “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Ps 62:8).

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THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT

Jeremiah 29:13: And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Sinners must seek the Lord with all our heart in order to find Christ.  But if we read this verse out of context it would make sinners think salvation is entirely in our hands.  Truth is, if God left us “dead in trespasses and in sins” we would surely perish because God says, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Eph 2:1; Rom 3:11). 

     God says in this passage that at the time God appointed, “I will perform my good word toward you in causing you to return” (v10). The gospel is God declaring what the LORD himself shall bring to pass.  He visits his children at the time God set and perform the works of salvation for and in his elect. So it was when Christ visited his people and accomplished the elect’s redemption so that Christ is our only Righteousness (Gal 4:4-5).  At his appointed hour, our sovereign Head sends his gospel, quickens and causes each redeemed child to return to the Lord, making us willing to call upon him in the day of his power. (Ps 110:3)  So it is in regeneration, so it is from the beginning to the end of the life of God’s child.

     All of salvation is according to God’s eternal purpose. God said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (v11). 

     Sinners must seek the Lord with all our heart.  But any time we do, it is by God working grace in our hearts. God said, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD…” (v12-13). 

     Do you see why context is so important? Taken out of context, our verse sounds like it is all up to the sinner. But in context, God declares it is God who shall make each of his children call on him with all our heart.  This is how Christ shall be found of each one.  This is the difference between the true gospel of grace and the false message of works. “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jon 2:9).