Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Psalms 32:10-11 ESV
God was pleased to display His holiness through the preaching of the gospel and the sinfulness of sin on the eleventh LORD’s Day this year. Sin is not cute. Sin is not sweet. Sin must be abhorred and repented. Praise be unto God because, our greatest problem of sin found its cure in Christ alone!
Excerpts and Lessons from BElla vista & HGCBCC Pulpit
At the last day, such of the saints as are found alive shall not sleep, but be changed; and all tAlthough God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which had been unto life had he kept it, and threatened death upon the breach thereof, yet he did not long abide in this honour;1 Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to subdue Eve, then by her seducing Adam, who, without any compulsion, did wilfully transgress the law of their creation, and the command given unto them, in eating the forbidden fruit,2 which God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory (1689 LBCF 6.1) (Bella Vista Sunday School)
The Sinfulness of Sin: 1 John 3:4 Message: Sin must be despised because it defiles God's glory and violates His law. I. Sin is defiling the glory of God a) The Nature of Sin - ἁμαρτία - [Trench’s New Testament Synonyms] when sin is contemplated as hamartia, it is regarded as a failing (or missing) of the true end and scope of our lives, namely God. Any form of sin is against God. b) The practice of sin II. Sin is violating the Law of God - ἀνομία - It carries the nuance of rebellion or willful rejection of an established standard (to behave with complete disregard for the laws or regulations of a society. [Culy, 71] - You cannot play with sin. Remembers this: Sin is not bad not because it hurts you, destroys friendship, makes you feel bad, sends you to hell, but because it is against God. It fails to bring to God the glory that belongs to Him - As God’s child, it is your duty to renounce sin. Strive to sin no more by God’s enabling grace in Christ. My soul, look away from the lusts of your eyes, and look unto the Lover of your soul! - The more we see sin as against God and His Righteous law, we will all the more be series in our daily walk of sanctification. - Meditate on what Christ did to take away sin and what sin did to Christ. If sin caused the death of our Savior won’t you do all things to any kill sin that crucified your Savior? - Whereas the unregenerate love their sin and rush headlong into it, believers possessed by the Spirit of Christ hate sin, and hatred of sin lies “at the bottom of all true spiritual mortification.” [Beek & Jones, A Puritan Theology. 215]
Any professed knowledge of Christ is invalidated if your life does not comport to God’s command (if you continue in sinning). A holy life is an obedient life. An unholy life is disobedient life. To disobey God is to sin. You cannot pursue purity while at the same time live in sin.
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Sanctuary and Snare: Isaiah 8:14-15 Message: The Terrifying Presence of God is a sanctuary to the believers and snare to the wicked. I. The Sanctuary to Believers (14a) a. A Sanctuary of the sanctified b. A Sanctuary of God’s presence II. A Snare to the Wicked (14b-15) a. Descriptions of the snare b. The result of the snare Sanctuary is not merely a place of protection or security but (מִקְדָּשׁ) a place where God dwells in his holiness. Because God’s holy and fearful presence is there, His people is secured. In Him, we find our shelter. He is our refuge. - To go against God is to destroy oneself. - There is a grave danger in ignoring the message of God's word.
“Our treatment of God determines our experience of Him.”
HGCBC Pulpit (From Afternoon Sermon, Text: Isaiah 8:14-15)
Blessed Lord’s Day!
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
HERALD OF GRACE COVENANT BIBLE CHURCH OF CAVITE 