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Showing posts from November, 2016

In Jesus Christ

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The following is part five of a sermon delivered on October 30, 2016—Reformation Sunday—at First Baptist Church of Mulberry, FL. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . (Romans 5:1) My last point is, we have peace with God In Christ . We have peace with God In Christ. Everything I’ve said up to now—you have been justified, you have been justified by faith, and you have peace with God—is applicable to you if and only if you are found in Jesus Christ. Let me take just a minute to review where we’ve been.

We have peace with God

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The following is part four of a sermon delivered on October 30, 2016—Reformation Sunday—at First Baptist Church of Mulberry, FL. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . (Romans 5:1) Point three is we have peace with God. We have peace with God. The Coming Judgment This is the result of justification. We can have peace with God. Look at chapter 3:19. Because of the law, and because of the fact that we have all sinned (verse 23), Paul says that “our mouth is stopped.” I like the way some translations say “every mouth may be silenced”—and the whole world may be held accountable to God. As Christians we all confess together that Jesus Christ is king, reigning at the right hand of God the father Almighty. And he will come again to judge the living and the dead. This judgment is coming. It may be some time away or it may be very soon . But Jesus will come back and he will j...

Justified by faith

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The following is part three of a sermon delivered on October 30, 2016—Reformation Sunday—at First Baptist Church of Mulberry, FL. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1) My second point today is that we are justified by faith . We are justified by faith . On this point, Paul gives you the principle in Chapter 3 and illustrates it in Chapter 4, with the life of Abraham. Faith and Works So, what’s the principle? Take a look at verse 28, “ for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law .” So we know what justified means, but now Paul introduces two new ideas: faith and works. He says were justified by faith, and not by works. Why is that?

We are justified

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The following is part two of a sermon delivered on October 30, 2016—Reformation Sunday—at First Baptist Church of Mulberry, FL. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1) Justified . In the Bible and in Paul’s theology, justification is a pretty important word. So what does it mean? I think we probably already have a general understanding of what it means. We justify things all the time. At work, for example, whenever you buy something or incur any kind of expense on the job, you have to file an expense report, and justify it in order to be reimbursed. Think back to your childhood — or for maybe any of the children or teenagers in the room — have you ever been in trouble with your mom or dad, when they ask you “explain yourself!” Or even think about the decisions you make from day-to-day. You’re in the grocery store and in the frozen section you see that fantastic dessert. And you d...

Justification: We have peace with God

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The following is part one of a sermon delivered on October 30, 2016—Reformation Sunday—at First Baptist Church of Mulberry, FL. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1) This is October 30, 2016. 499 years ago tomorrow, a man called Martin Luther posted an article made up of 95 points, arguing with a then-current fundraising practice. Martin Luther was a Pastor and University Professor in Wittenberg, Germany. He posted his article on the church door, which was a little like a community bulletin board. Luther’s article proved to be very controversial and very popular. The history is more involved than we really need to get into here, but in effect, the Roman Catholic Church at the time was selling the right for people or their dead family members to be free from purgatory. The sheer crassness of the fact that they were selling salvation for cash bothered L...