Curse Motif of the Atonement (R.C. Sproul)

He Arose

Man, in his preoccupation with the things of the world, is inclined to forget his greatest enemies: Satan, sin, and death. This terrific array of might he is unable to cope with. Hence the purpose of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ into the world—to defeat these invincibles that rightly terrorize man. Our blessed Lord defeated Satan in the wilderness, conquered sin by His sinless life and death, and vanquished death, "the king of terrors," by His triumphant resurrection.

The Greatest Miracle

The Bible gives more space and attaches more importance to the literal, bodily resurrection of Christ than to any other miracle. Obviously, if this miracle can be substantiated we will have no difficulty with the rest of the Bible. Therefore, God has seen to it that the resurrection is one of the most demonstrable facts of history. Every conceivable objection that the fertile mind of man can raise against Christ's resurrection has been answered by the soundest reasoning and ablest Christian scholarship. Most certainly "We have not followed cunningly devised fables" (2 Peter 1:16).

Taking Sides

Paul said, Christ was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4). His crucifiers declared Him to be criminal and unfit to live (John 18:30,31). God on the other hand ran entirely contrary to man's opinion and raised Him from the dead and exalted Jesus to His own right hand.

So those in the world today must take their sides. To reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour is to join those who crucified Him. To believe on Him with a faith coupled with repentance means siding with God and enthroning Christ in the individual heart. Reader, have you done this very thing? "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).

Sin Question Settled

The resurrection proves that God has removed the believer's sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Jesus, because of who He is, did what only He could do—be a propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). The death of the Lord Jesus settles the sin debt of every believer, and His resurrection is like a receipt to the bill. "[He] was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25). On the cross He made Himself responsible for our sins, and in His resurrection God demonstrated that He is satisfied with the work of the cross.

The Believer's Resurrection

The resurrection of Christ assures the Christian of the kind of resurrection that he will enjoy. "As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15:49). In this world we all bear the image of fallen Adam—a prey to sin, sickness, and death. So in the resurrection we shall be like Christ—sinless, deathless, a child of God adopted to sonship and a joint heir with Christ. We who have this blessed hope are exhorted to be purifying ourselves, and by occupation with Christ to be daily becoming more like Him. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

—Edwin Fesche

Source: http://www.mwtb.org

What Does it Mean to be a Disciple of Christ?

Watch, listen or download the full message: "Remembering The Great Commission" by Richard Caldwell here.

Why Did Jesus Die?

This question is of vital importance because your eternal destiny depends upon your answer to it. Do you know why Jesus died? If not, I believe God has sent me across your path to tell you.

Sin Brings Death

In God’s Word, the Bible, we learn that death came into the world because of sin. “Wherefore … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). You and I die because we are sinners; we have forfeited our right to live on the earth. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Jesus Died For Us

Did Jesus die because He had sinned? No. Listen to the inspired Word: “In Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5); “Who did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22); “Who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, death had no claim upon Him. But, blessed be His Name, He “gave Himself for oursins” (Galatians 1:4). It was love to you and me that caused the Lord Jesus Christ to come down from heaven and die on Calvary’s cross. It was love to us that held Him on that shameful cross until He had finished the work of atonement to the glory of God.

A holy, righteous, just God cannot let sin go unpunished. On the cross the Lord Jesus bore God’s judgment against sin in our stead, as our substitute; and now God is offering not only forgiveness, but also justification to the repentant sinner who believes in Jesus. He is “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). God showed His approval of that mighty work by raising the Lord Jesus from among the dead and seating Him at His own right hand in heaven (Mark 16:19).

Jesus Is The Way

There is no other way a sinner can be saved but through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). “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).

Why did Jesus die? Have you ever realized that it was your sins that caused Him to die upon the cross, or ever felt your need of Him as your personal Saviour? As you read this little message, He looks down from heaven upon you, and He reads the thoughts and intents of your heart. He knows your attitude toward your sins, as well as your attitude toward the One who wants to be your Saviour.

Turn To Him Today

Even if you are a stranger to me, God knows all about you. I urge you not to lay aside this paper until you have settled this great question and have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. Once you see the seriousness of your sinful condition before God, you will never get rest of conscience and heart until you have trusted the Saviour of sinners. He made “peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20). We are “reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10).

If you do not trust Him now as your Saviour, you will meet Him in eternity as your Judge. For God “hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

Won’t you flee to Him now for refuge while it is the day of salvation? “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Source: http://www.mwtb.org

The Narrow Gate and Wide Gate (Trailer)

Matthew 7:13-14 - Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Watch, listen or download the full message: "Strait Gate and Wide Gate" by Todd Nibert here.

Salvation is Wholly of the Lord

Watch, listen or download the full message: "Eternal Security" by Rob Jones here.

How to Recognize a Real Church (Trailer)

I was listening to a radio program years ago, Christian radio station, and somebody called in--it was one of those talk programs--and said, “What do I look for in a church?” And I turned up the volume because I wanted to hear the answer. And the answer was, and I wrote it down, you look for fellowship, caring, and sharing--that’s most important. You might find that in a bar. You might find that in a club. You might find that in a thousand sociological associations and events; that’s not the right answer.

How do you choose a church? Some people would be pretty superficial about it. There was a study done a number of years ago that said, “The most important thing that a church does to attract people is to provide parking.” Parking was number one. Number two was nursery. And I kept reading, looking for pastor, but he didn’t appear until number six or so. There were all these things that people assumed were the important aspects--style, comfort, music, air-conditioning, friendliness.

What are you looking for in a church? And what should a church be? Well, that is a question that has very clear, biblical answers. But just to give you sort of a basic answer, and this would be Ecclesiology 101, there’s really only one issue: How do those people who gather together handle Scripture? That’s the issue. How do they handle the Word of God? What do they believe about the Bible? What do they believe the Bible teaches. How does the Bible inform their living and their preaching and their teaching?

I suppose it could be summed up by the psalmist in Psalm 119:161 who said, “My heart stands in awe of Your Word.” “My heart stands in awe of Your Word.” The purest demonstration of a true church is that it is an assembly of people who are in awe of the Word of God. In the language of Isaiah 66, they tremble at His Word. They tremble at His Word. Among those who are the architects of stylistic ministry today, it’s very popular to say that the traditional church has failed. That’s a very common thing to hear.

One of my friends recently wrote a little article on that, sort of pointing it out that the church is indicted repeatedly today as a failure--the church has failed. And they say the church has failed. Look at the world; that’s evidence of the church’s failure. Look at America and its moral decline and its abandoning of Scripture. And there’s very little question that we’re on a path and it kind of goes like this: eliminate the Bible; that’s step one. Eliminate the Bible--out of the public discourse, out of everything. Step two, then, is reverse morality. Do what Isaiah 5 says, turn bitter into sweet, sweet into bitter, light into dark, dark into light, good into bad, bad into good. And now the crime is not to affirm homosexuality, not to affirm immorality. Flip morality on its head.

The third step is demand tolerance. The fourth step is intolerance of those who are not tolerant. And the fifth step is persecution. And we’re fast moving toward that last step of persecution.

Watch, listen, read or download the full message by John MacArthur here.

The Infinite Value of Christ's Blood (Trailer)

Watch, listen or download the full message by John H. Innabnit here.

Are We Sure of Salvation?

Watch, listen or download the full message by Peter Masters here.

Balancing Grace & Truth

Watch, listen or download the full message: "Same-sex Attraction--Balancing Grace & Truth" by Shane Idleman here.

God Be Merciful to Me a Sinner

Watch, listen or download the full message: "A Troubled Sinner's Prayer" by John Greer here.