Here is the summary of our messages this week.
Bearing a Name but Blaspheming THE Name (Rm 2.17-24)
In this message, we work our way through the logic of Paul’s accusation of the Religious Man. The Religious Man thinks that the blessings of his religion inoculate him against the judgment of God. The truth is that the religion of the Religious Man, true though it is, has not enabled that man to escape from his nature. His sins have caused the name he claims to bear to be blasphemed. The Religious Man is found to be likewise under the scrutiny of the penetrating judgement of God. The only hope of this man is for a righteousness religion cannot give to him.
Doubting Castle and the Delectable Mountains
Today we watch Christian and Hopeful seek the easy way out of difficult times only to end out in great difficulty and deep depression. It is only when they remember to pray (and subsequently remember the Promise of God) that they are able to escape Giant Despair. From thence they head to the Delectable Mountains, where the shepherds Knowledge, Experience, Watchful, and Sincere give wise guidance and insights to the pilgrims
Chosen for Cleanness (Lev 11)
Our Communion message this month comes again from Leviticus. We begin the section on the laws of cleanness and uncleanness which lead up to the Day of Atonement in Lev 16. Our first chapter in this section concern the laws of clean and unclean animals for food. As we seek understanding, we discover that the clean and unclean animals fit in with God’s other pictorials in the OT Law which describe the rights of access to his presence. Since the creation was marred by sin, men can enter his presence only under cover of the blood of acceptable sacrifices. This picture of the acceptable sacrifice all the way to the unacceptable, unclean animal (or worse, the dead animal), picture the depths to which the Saviour had to sink in order to redeem us from the chaos of death.
In him, we are cleansed, we have life, we have access to God, and all things are made new and clean. The OT laws of cleanness and uncleanness are abolished in Christ, and we in him have no more restrictions on clean and unclean foods.
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We had a fuller house than usual today with several visitors. Thank the Lord for that. A few comments afterwards reveal ways that the Lord is working in lives. It is a blessing to see.
Thirty-eight years ago today Nov 2 was also a Sunday. I was sitting in a Vespers program at BJU and the Lord began to impress on my heart the need to give my life to the Christian ministry. (I was a business major.) We have had some successes and some failures, but the greatest blessing of all is to see those lives who “walk in the truth” (3 Jn 1.4).
I really appreciate this series on Romans. I am gleaning a lot from it. Thank you for posting your sermon notes. God bless.
In your series on Pilgrim’s Progress, you refer to the book by Spurgeon entitled Pictures From Pilgrim’s Progress. I have all of Spurgeon’s sermons and many of his books on CD, and I never realized it was a series of messages, I thought it was woodcuts from the book, so never read it. Looks like I now have another book to occupy my time!!
Yes, it is included in the bibliography from the main study book I am using, Maureen Bradley’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress Study Guide”. I did a little looking on this and discovered that Spurgeon preached many sermons from PP themes. These were apparently collected by his son Thomas and published posthumously. … or something like that. I’d like to get a copy myself one of these days.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3