Do you ever feel there is more to the gospel than most people make out?

Someone says,

“The gospel is easy, all you have to do is believe”.

Well that sounds easy. What do I have to believe?

“Oh, just believe that Jesus died.”

H-okay. Everyone dies – so that’s not hard to believe. Does that make me a Christian?

“Well no, you have to believe He rose again from the dead, as well”.

Okay. I can do that. Right, done.

“And that He went to heaven. And that He is coming back.”

Okay. Anything else?

“Well, you must believe in God and believe you’re a sinner.” “And you have to worship, and trust in the blood, and get baptised.” “You have to repent and pray as well, plus you should probably stop going to the pub.”

Wait! Wait! I thought you said this was easy.

More than simple faith

The truth is, the gospel is much bigger, broader, more profound, more meaningful and important than a few glib comments or a handful of trite religious suggestions. If you ever hear someone start a sentence with…

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Second. Universal invitations are supported, and can only be supported, by a perversion and misapplication of the addresses of the word of God. It is pretended that universal invitations are used in the word of God, and accordingly to be used now on that authority, although no man can bring them into harmony with any truth of a particular nature. I have read those who have collected their supposed authority from the sacred word, and the whole appears to me to be altogether without the true mind and intent of one text cited for the purpose; and to be a direct misapplication of them, both to persons and things; and a mere catching at sounds, with a gross perversion of sense, to make it fit to the predetermined favorite point. I am confident that with such a catching at sounds, irrespective of the real mind and intent of the text, which is evident from the…

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A Sermon Preached By John E. Hazelton When His Only Son Died, August 1st, 1909

The Book of Leviticus contains a series of very blessed illustrations of the Gospel of our God, of the Person and of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are enabled prayerfully to read it with a spiritual eye, by the side of the gospel as recorded in the New Testament, and in the light of the Epistle to the Hebrews, we are favoured to become somewhat instructed in the things that make for our eternal peace. It is Jehovah Himself who is speaking in nearly every verse in this book. I would draw your attention first, ere we pass on, to the very heart of the subject, to the place where the contents of the Book of Leviticus were spoken.

The whole verse reads, “Should it be according to thy mind? He will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest;” but we will seek to confine our attention to the first clause. They are the words of Elihu to Job, “Should it be according to thy mind?”

When we read the book of Job, the pathetic central figure pretty well absorbs our attention. Our hearts thrill as we gaze upon him. The book opens and we see that man of God sitting in the midst of the calm and cloudless day of prosperity; a rich man, an influential man, a God-fearing man, a man evidently singularly happy in his…

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AN ORDER OF SERVICE FOR DIVINE WORSHIP; DESIGNED FOR PRIVATE DEVOTIONS, FAMILY GATHERINGS AND CHURCH MEETINGS.

Sermon—“Have Mercy On Me”

For the full order of service, including hymns and reading, please follow this link…

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God’s Word, the Bible, teaches clearly that all that is necessary for a sinner’s salvation is worked out in eternity and reserved in Heaven for whoever is placed in Christ from eternity. This teaching starts at the first page of Genesis and continues to the last page of Revelation, revealing more and more of the Father’s covenanted way for mankind worked out in eternity with His Son. Thus, Christ, in eternity, secured the salvation of all in and for eternity irrespective of that elect person’s historical or geographical position. This was also the teaching of our Reformers.

However, nowadays, a number of Christians are following the old heretic Marcion’s ‘criticism with a penknife’ and, calling themselves New Covenant Theologians, they reject Old Testament covenantal teaching, arguing that it has been abolished by the New Testament. Yet there is not a doctrine in the NT which is not based on the OT as this was the only Bible Christ and the Apostles had and needed. Indeed, there is not a…

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On this head I shall be very brief. The apostle Paul seems to have the same things in view, when he says, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” (Col 2:6) If ye received him as the Lord your righteousness and strength, your God, your life, your light, your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, portion, and your all in all, walk in him as such. If ye have looked unto him and have been lightened, and your faces were not ashamed, continue to look unto him; he is still the same, and ye as much need him now as ever; for without him ye can do nothing. All your fruit is in him; and except ye abide in him by faith and love, ye cannot bring forth fruit. If the gospel ever appeared glorious, (and I am sure it has done to all who have looked into it,) it is glorious still, and will bear…

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I am not sure why we persist in calling Bartimaeus ‘Blind Bartimaeus’. Certainly, Bartimaeus once was blind, but what is much more important is that Jesus healed his blindness and gave him new eyes and instilled a new vision in his soul. Our passage today recounts the wonderful episode on the outskirts of Jericho when the Lord Jesus Christ on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified met Bartimaeus. The encounter changed Bartimaeus forever. I wonder if ‘Perfect-vision Bartimaeus’ might stick?

A blessing for Jericho

Jericho was an ancient walled city, and a cursed city. It was the first city conquered by the Israelites under Joshua when they entered Canaan. Once powerful, it had been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Now it was smaller and less impressive but today it was also blessed with the presence of Jesus Christ. Another conquering Joshua was passing through on His way to His greatest victory, but this time it was men’s souls that were…

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