Romans 4:25

God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.

Matthew Henry Commentary on Romans 4:25

“In Christ’s death He paid our debt; in His resurrection He took out our acquittance.”

Definitions of acquittance

1. A legal document evidencing the discharge of a debt or obligation
2. A writing which is evidence of a discharge; a receipt in full, which bars a further demand.
3. A document freeing a person from liability

The Gospel According to Bob Dylan

I owned this record album by Bob Dylan way back in the day. It’s stored in my garage with a lot of old vintage Christian rock. I always thought the words were profound. As I listen to this song and think upon the lyrics I see more depth in them than the first time I listened to them. Whatever is going on in Bob Dylan’s life you can see that someone shared the Gospel with him as he expressed through these lyrics. 

Precious Angel – by Bob Dylan

Precious angel, under the sun,
How was I to know you’d be the one
To show me I was blinded, to show me I was gone
How weak was the foundation I was standing upon.

Now there’s spiritual warfare and flesh and blood breaking down.
You either got faith or you got unbelief and there ain’t no neutral ground.
The enemy is subtle, how be it we are deceived
When the truth’s in our hearts and we still don’t believe.

Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
You know I just couldn’t make it by myself.
I’m a little too blind to see.

My so-called friends have fallen under a spell.
They look me squarely in the eye and they say, “All is well.”
Can they imagine the darkness that will fall from on high
When men will beg God to kill them and they won’t be able to die.

Sister, let me tell you about a vision I saw.
You were drawing water for your husband, you were sufferin’ under the law.
You were telling him about Buddha, you were telling him about Mohammed
in the same breath.
You never mentioned one time the Man who came and died a criminal’s death.

Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Ya know I just couldn’t make it by myself.
I’m a little too blind to see.

Precious angel, you believe me when I say
What God has given to us no man can take away.
We are covered in blood, girl, you know our forefathers were slaves.
Let us hope they’ve found mercy in their bone-filled graves.

You’re the queen of my flesh, girl, you’re my woman, you’re my delight,
You’re the lamp of my soul, girl, and you torch up the night.
But there’s violence in the eyes, girl, so let us not be enticed
On the way out of Egypt, through Ethiopia, to the judgment hall of Christ.

Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Ya know I just couldn’t make it by myself.
I’m a little too blind to see.

Jesus Paid It All, All To Him I Owe;

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

From time to time the refrain of this hymn has played in my mind going on 35 years. I have sung it in many different denominational churches over the years. It is the theme music for Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s Thru The Bible radio broadcast. Yes. I have listened to Dr. McGee over the years. I have heard doctrine that I don’t agree with from time to time but Dr. McGee knew it is by grace only that we are saved and nothing we can do.

When I hear that hymn, I hear Jesus paid it ALL. I have nothing but sin. Jesus Christ gets all of the glory.

At some point I must leave the ELCA… sadly…

The decision of the ELCA to turn away from scripture and the tradition of the historic Christian church leaves me no choice but to follow the clear word of scripture. These are very harsh words and hard to say. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (Gal 1:8) Paul had to say these words because he spoke the truth in love. Would some say that Paul did not love? If we love someone we will speak the truth so they can see who they really are before God and see the unmerited favor that god offers to all. I echo Paul’s words with much sadness, for as the Psalmist said, Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. (Ps. 133) This is no longer that case. I love my brothers and sisters in the faith but we must follow God’s Word above anything else.

In an October 16, 2009 letter from Lutheran CORE, Kenneth H. Sauer and Paull E. Spring (both formers bishops in the ELCA) stated the following… “Obviously we in Lutheran CORE are in disagreement with the decisions of the 2009 churchwide assembly. We see those decisions as part of an ongoing failure, within the churchwide expression of the ELCA, to listen to the words of Holy Scripture and the witness of two thousand years of Christian reflection on the Word of God. For these reasons Lutheran CORE is in the process of discerning prayerfully how God wishes to use us in ministry, a ministry that sadly must take place apart from the ELCA.”

At some point I must leave the ELCA… sadly…

Reformation Day Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for the mighty work of grace you performed through your servant Martin, and for the many fruits of that work which we enjoy today. Grant us strength to stand firm in your truth, and proclaim your truth with a boldness and veracity sent from you. Send us forth in your strength to proclaim the Gospel, which is salvation to the world. Amen.

Closet Mormon?

 

Some people are closet Mormons and don’t realize it. The Book of Mormon in II Nephi 25:23… “. . . We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

Ouch! If me doing something to be saved is in the mix I am in major trouble. Let’s let the Bible set the record straight… Ephesians 2:8-9… “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Thanks be to God that He does it all. We would mess things up if we were part of the equation.

 

Romans 4:25 – One Verse Sermons

One Verse Sermons

Jesus, our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive God’s approval.

Romans 4:25
GOD’S WORD Translation

The Christian Life

The Christian life is not about moving from vice to virtue, but moving from virtue to Grace.

-Author Unknown

What Did Jesus Do? Bumper Sticker

Here’s a bumper sticker I designed. I welcome your feedback on this initial design.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (ESV)

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Law and Gospel – Hymn Verse

John Newton (1725-1807) known for the great hymn “Amazing Grace” expressed understanding of Law and Gospel in another hymn he wrote…

“Safely Through Another Week” – Verse 5…

May Thy Gospel’s joyful sound
Conquer sinners, comfort saints;
Make the fruits of grace abound,
Bring relief for all complaints.
Thus may all our Sabbaths prove
Till we join the Church above.