Seven Things Christ Is

1) He is the Way; men without him are Cains, wanderers, vagabonds:—

2) He is the Truth; men without him are liars, like the devil, who was so of old:—

3) He is the Life; without him men are dead, dead in trespasses and sins :—

4) He is the Light; without him men are in darkness, and go they know not whither:—

5) He is the Vine; those that are not grafted in him are withered branches, prepared for the fire:—

6) He is the Rock; men not built on him are carried away with a flood:—

7) He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the author and the ender, the founder and the finisher of our salvation.

~John Owen

P.S. He that hath not him, hath neither beginning of good, nor shall have end of misery.

from a sermon entitled A Vision of Unchangeable, Free Mercy ; Volume 8, page 36

HT: The Essential Owen

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When Christ shall come!

What will you see when the great event of Christ’s return takes place? You will see the eternal Son of God return in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will come to raise the dead saints and to change the living ones, to punish the wicked and to reward the godly, to summon every one before His bar,and to give to every one according to His works. He will come to bind Satan, and deprive him of his usurped dominion, to deliver the earth from the curse, and to purify it as the eternal dwelling-place of a holy nation; to cast out sin, and all its accursed consequences, – disease, death, sorrow, wars, poverty, injustice, and oppression. You see the world defiled now by the presence of evil. You will see it at length restored to its former state, and the days of paradise before the fall brought back again.

~ J.C. Ryle

Tract: Are You Looking?

HT: Ryle Quotes

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Christ’s return: longing for and living in light of it

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ” (1 Peter 1:13, ESV).

This is one of many reminders and affirmations in the NT that how we live today (our words, actions and decisions) should be governed by what we know is coming in the future.  In many ways, NT believers should be like an engaged couple who are making all their plancs in light of the coming wedding day.  Our wedding day is when we, the Bride of Christ, meet our beloved Bridegroom.  Glory should dominate our thinking.

To live in such a way is to long for the revelation of Jesus Christ in all of His glory–just like the NT writers did.  Here’s just a sampling of texts that show us this:

“and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”” (Acts 1:11)

“And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;” (Romans 11:26)

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,” (1 Corinthians 15:51)

“so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:28)

“You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:8)

“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” (Revelation 1:7)

So how should we live in light of this glorious day? Here are  a few more Scripture passages that answer that question:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11–14)

“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23)

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20–21)

“When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4)

“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8)

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)

““Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” (Revelation 22:12)

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What we bring to the Table

This morning we will be observing the Lord’s Supper together as a church. What a privilege and what a blessing.  I will be sharing this quote with our church family before we observe this ordinance.

“A sense of our own utter unworthiness is the best worthiness that we can bring to the Lord’s Table. A deep feeling of our own entire indebtedness to Christ for all we have and hope for, is the best feeling we can bring with us. The very thought that we feel literally worthy, is a symptom of secret self-righteousness, and proves us unfit for the Lord’s Table in God’s sight. Sinners we are when we first come to the throne of grace and sinners we will be till we die; converted, changed, renewed, sanctified, but sinners still (though not like before since sin is not the pattern of a believer’s new life). In short, no person is really worthy to receive the Lord’s Supper who does not deeply feel that he is a miserable sinner.~ J.C. Ryle, Tract: A Look at Communion~

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