Responding to God’s Justice and Mercy [1 Timothy Pt.5]

Responding to God's Justice and Mercy

When you consider the justice of God, His righteous judgment of those who violate His standard, What is your heart’s response? Is it anger? Fear? Self-Righteousness? Many don’t like the thought of God’s Justice and yet as the Apostle Paul gave instruction to Timothy with regard to the proper use of God’s Law, to bring conviction on sinners and to drive them to the mercy of the Savior that is in the Gospel,  it brings him to unrestrained praise.

1 Timothy 1:9-17  knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,  10  for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,  11  according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.  12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,  13  although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  14  And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  15  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.  16  However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.  17  Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

In order for this to happen, we need to be willing to recognize the nature of our sin. After listing several types of sin that the Law will bring conviction over and attaching this use of the Law to the Gospel (Vs. 11) He moves directly into a doxology, thanking Christ for His forgiveness and for using him in the ministry. I don’t know how you lived before you came to faith, but I know that for myself, I was nearly as contrary to the Lord and the Apostle Paul had been, though not in the same ways. To consider that He would forgive me and especially that He would use me in His service is a reason to break out into praise and thanksgiving.

Paul is so moved that he adds his own personal sin list to that which he has already given. He was a Blasphemer, yet he was one of the most religious men in Israel. Why? Because He spoke against Jesus Christ. To call Him anything less than God is to speak evil of Him or to “blaspheme.” He was a Persecutor, arresting, beating and confiscating the property of the followers of Christ. He was an Insolent Man. This is the heart issue that he faced. His attitude of insolence, feeling he was above everyone else, better than them. This  justified his abuse of them. See, for Paul, the Law was now turned inward and used to examine his own heart, and not the lives of those whom he saw in the world around him as it had been before his conversion. This is the effect that the Law should have on all of us who have found grace in the sight of God through the Gospel.

He says,  “And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:14-15)  Grace in his life changed him from an ignorant, unbelieving, blasphemous, insolent persecutor to one who have been given Faith and Love.  I love what Calvin says about verse 14:

“But I prefer a more simple interpretation, that “faith and love” are indications and proofs of that grace which he had mentioned, that it might not be supposed that he boasted needlessly or without good grounds. And, indeed, “faith” is contrasted with unbelief, and “love in Christ” is contrasted with the cruelty which he had exercised towards believers; as if he had said, that God had so completely changed him, that he had become a totally different and new man. Thus from the signs and effects he celebrates in lofty terms the excellence of that grace which must obliterate the remembrance of his former life.”

This kind of encounter with the Law and the Gospel is necessary to move us to this attitude about the Law, our sin and God’s mercy and grace. This is what produced in the Apostle, a great and fervent love that broke out into unrestrained praise at the thought of God’s righteous judgment, coupled with his mercy in the Gospel. What about you? Does the thought of our guilt and God’s grace produce gratitude in you? Does it open your lips to show forth His praise?

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Audio of our lesson and discussion time is available by clicking on the link below. I encourage you to give it a listen.

Responding to God’s Justice and Mercy – AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin

Holy, Blameless and Above Reproach [Colossians Pt. 8]

Holy, Blameless and Above Reproach

What changed in the status of Believers  as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection? We often think of the Gospel as a way to avoid the penalty of sin. It is,  but it is so much more than a “get out of hell free” card. In this series we have taken the time to look hard at the basic truths of the Gospel from Colossians 1:15-23. These verses are loaded with foundational Gospel truth. If you have listened to the previous messages, you should have noticed that we are using the Bible text from our Vacation Bible School lessons and going a bit deeper with it than we will next week with the little ones. But, we have also been following the order of the Wordless Book. Hopefully, this will make their retention a little better as they consider these important truths. These basic truths about God, self, sin and the Redemption that God has provided through Christ are designed to make us all think a little harder about this and bring it into a proper perspective.

The truth of the White Page, which we learned about this morning, has to be in the context of the truths of the other pages to be fully appreciated. If Jesus is who Jesus is, according to the Gold Page (Colossians 1:15-19), The Creator and Sustainer of ALL; and if we are who we truly are according to the Black Page (Colossians 1:21), in absolute rebellion, having alienated ourselves from our Creator, hating the idea of His authority over us; Yet He has come to us and, at His own expense, He has brought true reconciliation according to the Red Page  (Colossians 1:20), What has changed as a result? Does God just decide to overlook our sin, or does He do more than that? According to what we see in our text from Colossians, He does a lot more than that.

Colossians 1:22 (Vs 21 you… He has reconciled) in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—

So…  more than just a simple negation of the evil, we get a positive impartation of what we lost as a result of our sin. As Christ paid the price of our pardon, we also got a full reinstatement. His Holiness, Blamelessness and Irreproachableness was given to us; put in our account. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” There was an exchange that took place. Not just the removal of guilt, but the bestowing of righteousness.  That’s right! Though we are guilty, we are forgiven and also accounted as righteous on the Merit of Jesus Christ.

And the question is asked, “Is it fair for God to forgive the guilty and declare them just?” The answer is, “Yes!” Christ took the penalty upon Himself as an Innocent Victim for the purpose of removing our guilt and reinstating us as righteous. He stood in the courtroom as Prosecutor and made Himself the Payment of our Penalty. Therefore, the Judge of the Universe has declared us Not Guilty and given us the privileges of a perfect standing before His Bench. All of this is bestowed upon us as we trust that what He did was for us. God “reckons” us righteous based on the Merits of Christ in His sinless life and atoning death.

As I said at the beginning, to be fully appreciated, we need to see this Justification of ourselves against the backdrop of God’s absolute Authority, Our own Rebellion and the Price that was paid in the Sacrifice of Christ, not just to remove guilt, but to reinstate us to a right standing before the Judge of the Universe. So, its not just, “I forgive you, now go away.” But, “I receive you as though you are perfect, despite your glaring faults. And I do that at the expense of the life of My Son.”  This is a truly amazing thought! We serve an truly amazing God!

I encourage you to listen to the audio of this sermon by clicking on the link below. As always, there is a lot more to it and I am sure you will be blessed as you consider this profound truth!

Holy, Blameless and Above Reproach -  AUDIO

In Christ!

Kevin

By Him, Through Him, For Him [Colossians Pt. 5]

By Him, Through Him, For Him

Who’s in charge around here? Sometimes it seems like the bad guys are winning. But, as the old hymn reminds us, “This is my Father’s world, O let me never forget, that tho’ the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” Our discouragement is often from a lack of understanding and trusting in God’s control. The Colossians struggled with this too. They had been a part of a culture that was very superstitious and who thought that angels influenced the events of the world. Fear ruled their lives because they did not understand that Christ is over everything.

Colossians 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  16  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.  17  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Being the visible representation of the invisible God, Creator of all things visible and invisible which includes the very idea of authority, there is nothing that overrules Jesus Christ! Verse 16 gives a list of authorities that relate to the invisible realm; angels or demons who exert influence in the visible realm. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” and yet we see that they too were created by Christ, through Christ and for Christ. Their authority is derived. The influence that they wield is only through the filter of His control. Like the Devil and his attack on Job, it comes through the permission of God for the benefit of His people.

We often forget that we live in a fallen world that is cursed because of our own sin. We expect that if God is good then life should be trouble-free. On the contrary, if God is good we should all be consigned to eternal torment because of our rebellion against Him as the source of all goodness. We are the evil in the world and should be eradicated by the Good God who rules the universe. Yet, He chooses to show mercy and compassion to us through the Cross of Christ. As redeemed people we live in that fallen world where the fruit of sin is constantly ripening around us. And yet we live in the midst of that world under the authority of the One who rules all. He will bring us through the difficulties of this world and carry us to His appointed end because He is in charge.

Romans 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  32  He who did not spare 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 bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.  34  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes 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 YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.”  37  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We can derive great comfort from this as His children. He is just in His judgment of sinners who continue to rebel. He is caring for and protecting His own. He will govern all things to His appointed end and there is no power in the created realm, whether visible or invisible that can thwart His will. Is the the God that you worship today? Can you trust Him to do what He knows is right?

Audio from this message is available by clicking the link below.

By Him, Through Him, For Him

In Christ!
Kevin

Out of Darkness [Colossians Pt.4]

Out of Darkness

Gratitude is the fuel that drives the Christian Life.  It is not duty or the desire to find God’s approval. If you have trusted Christ as Savior it is because of His love to you and the great work of Redemption that He has accomplished. We have to begin where He begins in talking about ourselves. We cannot imagine that we are good people who need a push in the right direction; or that He is a God who is not concerned with how we live our lives. If we are to accomplish what the Apostle Paul prayed for those Colossian Believers in Colossians 1:9-11, then we need to build it on the foundation that he built it on in Colossians 1:12-14.

Colossians 1:9-14 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;  10  that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;  11  strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;  12  giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  13  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,  14  in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Considering what Paul prayed for those Christians we might ask,

“Do I really need to be FILLED with the knowledge of God’s will?”

“Can’t I just know the important stuff?”

“Do I have to please Him in EVERYTHING?”

“Can’t I just do the basics?”

Many in the Church would like to take issue with this idea and tell us that “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.” I have to say it is really both. Our “religion” is how we relate to God. It is what we know about Him and what we do with that knowledge. Is God and your relationship to Him so unimportant that you do not care what He thinks? If so, you do not know Him.

The thing is, that we do not do the right things out of some legalistic necessity, rather as the Apostle Paul prays for the Colossians, it is in response for what He has already done for those whom He loves.  What we do for God is to be based on what He has already done for us.

Colossians 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  13  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,  14  in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

We begin life as the enemies of God. Giving ourselves to His enemy and living for self and under the authority of the devil. That is why He had to rescue us from his power or domain.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,  25  in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,  26  and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Sure, we are captives, but we are willingly deceived and led captive because it seems better to our fallen will than submitting to the God of the universe. Scripture is clear Ephesians 2:1-3, Romans 3:9-21, and just a few verses further on in Colossians 1:21. Jesus is willing to come into the domain of the devil and rescue those who He made in His image, yet who rebelled and took the side of his enemy. He did that for all who would trust in Him. He rescued us from the trouble that we got ourselves into by rebelling against Him. He did it at the expense of His own life!

This is the foundation of obedience. Not to win or to keep favor with God, but because He has already shown favor when we were absolutely unworthy of it. So Paul, after he has prayed for the Christians in Colosse to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and to live lives to His honor and glory in all areas, including suffering well, he brings them down to the foundation of it all. That foundation is God doing a work in us and for us that we would really not even have wanted. But through His love and goodness, He breaks our heart for our sin and we see His infinite benevolence as He takes out the the domain of darkness and establishes us as citizens of His kingdom with all of the rights of Sons. What an amazing God we have!

I encourage you to listen to the audio of this message and I pray that when you see His amazing love, it would make living for His glory rather than for your own pleasure make absolute sense!

Out of Darkness

In Christ!

Kevin

Jesus is Looking for Fruit

Mark 11:11-21

Jesus entered Jerusalem as their Messiah-King on the Sunday before the Passover. He entered on a donkey in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah. He entered to the shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” But did He come in, simply to display Himself as King? Or did He come in to exercise His authority as such?

Mark gives us some details in his account of those few important days of Jesus’ life that the others pass over. His detail concerning Jesus’ only destructive miracle, The Cursing of the Fig Tree, gives us some insight into the rest of His work in those few days leading up to the Cross.

Mark 11:12-21 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  13  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  14  In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.  15  So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  16  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  17  Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL NATIONS’ ? But you have made it a ‘DEN OF THIEVES.’”  18  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  19  When evening had come, He went out of the city.  20  Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  21  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

Many people see this as nothing more than a shallow and petty event. Jesus got mad at a tree and vented on it. People have issues! Mark 11:13-14 “And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  14  In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.” Jesus did it for a reason. It was a lesson to His disciples. This imagery is used throughout the Bible. Jesus is giving the disciples an object lesson.

Luke 13:6-9 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  7  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’  8  But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  9  And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”

Matthew 3:8-10 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,  9  and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  10  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

And even in a positive sense as Jesus went from His Last Supper with the disciples out to the Garden of Gethsemane, explaining to them,   John 15:5-6 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  6  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

The Jews had plenty of opportunity to bear some fruit, as in the parable in Luke 13, but they did not. Jesus dug around them and fertilized them, but no fruit came, only greed and corruption. Jesus was looking for fruit. Jesus is still looking for fruit. The New Testament teems with this imagery. It is a sign of true faith and salvation:

Mark 4:20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Jesus did not die to make anyone religious. He did not dye so you could make a bear profession about some truths that are related to Him. He died to restore the image of God into His fallen and corrupted creatures. By faith, as we acknowledge His Person and His Work on the Cross, it needs to change us. Jesus is looking for fruit, fruit that is “worthy of repentance” as John  the Baptist preached. How is your fig tree doing?

You can hear the audio of this message by clicking the link below.

Jesus Is Looking For Fruit – Mark 11:7-21

In Christ!

Kevin

What is the Task of the Evangelist?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been my passion since I first believed it about 18 years ago.

As we have been looking at the Sayings of Jesus in our Sunday Morning messages we have come to the need of understanding what it means to preach or to share the Gospel. What is the Gospel? What is its main point? As we saw in the morning message from Matthew 10:34 we are all (if we call ourselves Christian) to preach the Gospel no matter what the response to our message is. (see yesterday’s post)

My ministry in preaching the Gospel and teaching others to do so is in a significant way, fueled by a study I did in the book of Job many years ago. I know, Job and evangelism may not seem like a likely combination in the minds of many Christians. I am not trying to come up with something new here or the twist the Scriptures to fit my own preconceived notions. Think about it for a moment. What is the story of Job really about?

Job is a “righteous” man. As a matter of fact even God says, “There is none like him in all the earth.” But let me ask, is one saved by being good? If you know what the Bible says about this you must immediately say no.

Romans 3:10-11 As it is written: “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE; 11  THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS; THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS AFTER GOD.

God allows and even instigates Job’s bout with suffering. Read Job 1-2 and see it for yourself. God challenges the devil to assault Job, but God has an ultimate purpose in the assault. As it all transpires Job’s friends come and rather than comfort him they antagonize him and increase his misery. What should be a time of mourning and comforting becomes a shouting match and a vexation to Job. (Job 3-31)

All the while in the background there is a silent and solitary figure, a young man who hesitates to speak his piece.

Job 32:1-4 So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.  2  Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.  3  Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.  4  Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job.

When Elihu does finally come forward he corrects both Job and his friends. He corrects the main flaws that are present in the human understanding of God and His relation to fallen humanity.

(1) Job’s friends believe that God is chastising Job for some great hidden sin. He might just as well “fess up” and get it over with. This is the view of many people in this world. God is a God of retribution and every “bad” thing that happens is due to His retaliatory nature. When I was a kid, surrounded by an unbelieving family, some of few remembrances of discussions of God were at the point was when I would trip or stub my toe or something like that. It was always said, “You must have been bad and gotten away with it an now God got you for it.”

(2) Job’s view, “I am a good person and God should always be nice to me.”  Another common misunderstanding of God. This is the complaint of the atheist, “If God is loving and all-powerful then there should be no suffering in the world.” Here we deny or forget that we live under the curse of sin. God did indeed make the world perfect, but man rebelled against the command of God and brought judgment upon himself and the whole of creation.  Calamity is one result of the Fall. Remember, as good as Job was, “There is none righteous, no not one….”

So, what is the point of Job’s suffering then?

James 5:11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord–that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

It was, according to James in the New Testament, to be “compassionate and merciful.” I can hear you saying now, “WHAT? You call that compassion and mercy? God took away his family, his wealth and his health and then tortured him with abuse from his friends and his wife. How is that compassion and mercy?” It is at this point in the Life of Job that he is ready to hear the words of the young man Elihu. This is the mercy of God. He brings Job to the end of himself and humbles him to be corrected by a young man. And so from Job 32-37 he guides Job and his friends to the point where they are ready to receive the truth about God in their situation. In Job 38-41, the Lord begins rebuking Job for his pride and puts him in his place and in Job 42, Job responds very differently;

Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.  6  Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”

Job goes from a superficial knowledge of God to a real face to face encounter with Him. He acknowledges his sin and ascribes righteousness to God in his situation. This is due to the ministry of this man Elihu. Listen to how he describes his ministry to Job and his friends;

Job 33:23-24 “If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness,  24  Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom’;

Elihu is a messenger to Job, He delivers to him the message of God. He is also a mediator or an interpreter. He makes sure that Job understands the message. He is one among a thousand and so there are not many who understand the message and can communicate it to others. Finally he gets to the content of the message, “To show man His uprightness.” That is to prove to man that whatever his situation is, God is still righteous.

The Gospel is ultimately about the righteousness of God. He is rightly offended by our sin and our nature of sin as inherited from our first father, Adam. If everyone in the world went to hell God would still be just and loving. He created us, gave us food, clothing and other people to love. We rejected His Law and His provision for restoration, yet in His patience He still gave us rain and sunshine and people to love, happiness and contentment when He might have just been done with it and sent us all straight to hell. Being Just by nature He cannot overlook our sin and rebellion and yet He made a way to maintain His justice and yet extend His mercy;

Romans 3:24-26 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  25  whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,  26  to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Patiently putting up with our sin, He sent His only Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and on account of sin, and He condemned sin in the flesh,  that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4) In Jesus Christ, sin was properly judged as He willingly took our sin upon Himself, the only sufficient Sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. It was a Sacrifice of Ultimate value because it was God of very God who was sacrificed. It was a real sacrifice in that God was in the form of a man when it happened. The Justice of God was met, the mercy of God was served and the offer of salvation was given to the world.

You say again, “Wait a minute, Job lived over 1,500 years before Jesus.” Yes he did, yet he looked forward to the same Redeemer we look back to.

Hebrews 4:3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “SO I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

The work of redemption is eternal. God planned it before the world was made and God’s plans are as good as done. Jesus said to the pharisees, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he saw it and was glad.” In Job’s story we see a man that was a truly good man but seemed to rely upon his own righteousness a little too much. We see God bringing calamity upon him in His mercy to help him see things more clearly. We see God providing the right man at the right time to communicate the message of God clearly, that God is righteous and it is Job that has erred. And then we see the grace of God bring restoration and grace to Job and his friends. The Gospel is the Righteousness of God. It is none other. It must be communicated to a world that is self-righteous and does not get it. If you know Christ you are called to be 1 in 1000.

You can listen to audio of this message by clicking the link below

The Evangelist

In Christ!                                                                                              Kevin