Bible Study

Romans 3:26

[26] It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Psalm 143:1-2

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

    [1] Hear my prayer, O LORD;

        give ear to my pleas for mercy!

        In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 

    [2] Enter not into judgment with your servant,

        for no one living is righteous before you.

Proverbs 28:13

    [13] 

    Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

        but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Psalm 51:3

    [3] For I know my transgressions,

        and my sin is ever before me.

Right Here Right Now In This Moment In This Time

Salvation is here, right now.

The work has been done.

The gift is being offered.

You are a sinner deserving judgment.

Without Christ you are doomed!

Mercy has come from the blood of Christ through the cross. 

Death has lost its sting.

Christ has risen indeed.

Our hope is in Christ!

Christ is seated at the right hand of God The Father.

Are you in Christ? 

Is your name written in the book?

2 Corinthians 6:2

[2] For he says, 

    “In a favorable time I listened to you,

        and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

    Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 

Isaiah 55:6

    [6] “Seek the LORD while he may be found;

        call upon him while he is near;

Luke 4:18-19

    [18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

        because he has anointed me

        to proclaim good news to the poor.

    He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

        and recovering of sight to the blind,

        to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 

    [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Colossians 2:9-14

[9] For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, [10] and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. [11] In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, [12] having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. [13] And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Romans 5:8

[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Psalm 39:7

    [7] “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

        My hope is in you.

Revelation 20:11-15

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

[11] Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. [13] And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Victory Is Found In Jesus

PRAY OVER THIS

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:4-7

 

PONDER THIS

If you are in Christ Jesus, where does this passage say you are seated? In heavenly places. You are in Christ. When God raised Christ, He raised you. Jesus by death destroyed him that had the power of death, and now He is seated in the heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers that ever were, are, or will be. He is there living, risen, and victorious. Guess who’s there with Him? You are!

Has Jesus ascended? Yes. Have you ascended? Yes! Does Jesus have all power? Yes! Do you have all power? The word power means authority. It doesn’t mean you can fly or walk on water. Were demons subject to Jesus? Yes. Are they subject to you? Yes!

If you’re not living in dominion, it is not because the devil is so powerful. Satan has no power over you. Jesus said, “I give you authority over all the power of the enemy” You may say, “Then why don’t I have it?” Paul wrote this to remind us of what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember what you have in Him!

How should knowing this truth about who you are in Christ change the way you will live today?

Who are some brothers and sisters in Christ you know who need to be reminded of who they are in Him?

PRACTICE THIS

Encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ about who they are in Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

He Knows Your Need

“Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:31–32)

Jesus wants his followers to be free from worry. In Matthew 6:25–34, he gives at least seven arguments designed to take away our anxiety. One of them lists food and drink and clothing, and then says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Matthew 6:32).

Jesus must mean that God’s knowing is accompanied by his desiring to meet our need. He is emphasizing we have a Father. And this Father is better than any earthly father.

I have five children. I love to meet their needs. But my knowing falls short of God’s knowing in at least three ways.

First, right now I don’t know where any of my children are. I could guess. They’re in their homes or at work or school, healthy and safe. But they might be lying on a sidewalk with a heart attack.

Second, I don’t know what is in their heart at any given moment. I can guess from time to time. But they may be feeling some fear or hurt or anger or lust or greed or joy or hope. I can’t see their hearts. They don’t even know their own hearts perfectly.

Third, I don’t know their future. Right now they may seem well and steady. But tomorrow some great sorrow may befall them.

This means I can’t be for them a very strong reason not to worry. There are things that may be happening to them now, or may happen tomorrow, that I do not even know about. But it is totally different with their Father in heaven. Our Father in heaven! He knows everything about us, where we are, now and tomorrow, inside and out. He sees every need.

Add to that, his huge eagerness to meet our needs. Remember the “much more” of Matthew 6:30, “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you?”

Add to that his complete ability to do what he is eager to do (he feeds billions of birds hourly, around the world, Matthew 6:26).

So join me in trusting the promise of Jesus to meet our needs. That’s what Jesus is calling for when he says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”

John Piper 

Bible Study

Titus 3:5

[5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Romans 2:4

[4] Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

John 3:16

For God So Loved the World

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Colossians 2:9-14

[9] For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, [10] and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. [11] In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, [12] having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. [13] And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Why Do We Worship?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.” 1 Corinthians 3:18

 

PONDER THIS

Why would we worship? That’s what God wants of you. Say to yourself, “God wants me to worship.” We become like what we worship. That’s the reason idolatry is such a sin. First, the man molds the idol, and then the idol molds the man. We become like what we worship. That’s true in the negative sense, but it’s also true in the positive sense. The more you worship God, the more you will become like God.

When you worship God, you increasingly become like what you worship, and God’s fire will be in you. As you contemplate the Lord, as you worship the Lord, as you keep your heart open to the Lord, you will be changed to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

Consider this question: Do other people see Jesus in you? Answer this sincerely in your heart. Are you being changed day-by-day into the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

When was a season in your life when you were being changed day-by-day into the image of Jesus? What has changed? What has stayed the same?

What does it look like to worship in your day-to-day life?

PRACTICE THIS

Write down some ways to worship God in your everyday life. Ask a brother or sister in Christ to give you some more ideas of how you might worship God every day.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Giver Gets the Glory

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)

It is very good news that God designs his glory to be magnified through the exercise of his grace.

To be sure, God is glorified through the power of his wrath (Romans 9:22), but repeatedly the New Testament (and the Old Testament, for example, Isaiah 30:18) says that we should experience God’s grace so that God gets glory.

Ponder how this works in the prayer of 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12.

Paul prays that God would fulfill our good resolves.

How? He prays that they would be done “by [God’s] power.” That is, that they would be “[works] of faith.”

Why? So that Jesus would be glorified in us.

That means the giver gets the glory. God gave the power. God gets the glory. We have faith; he gives power. We get the help; he gets the glory. That’s the deal that keeps us humble and happy, and keeps him supreme and glorious.

Then Paul says that this glorification of Christ is “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus.”

God’s answer to Paul’s prayer that we rely on God’s power to do good works is grace. God’s power to enable you to do what you resolve to do is grace.

That’s the way it works in the New Testament over and over. Trust God for gracious enabling, and he gets the glory when the help comes.

We get the help. He gets the glory.

That’s why Christian living, not just Christian conversion, is good news.

John Piper