Ironworks

Do you love the lost? Christians would resoundingly answer yes. When we consider the reason we love the lost it is more than an affection toward our fellow man. There is a greater reason, we know how to love because of Christ’s love for us. It is without question that God loved the world enough to offer up His only begotten son (John 3:16). This is truly a remarkable gift because Christ came to die for even His enemies.   But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.   Romans 5:8-9   To understand this love for the lost we espouse, we must consider the example of that love in our Savior Christ Jesus.             The rich young ruler is a quintessential account of Jesus ’ love for the lost. It is strange when we consider it as an example of love becau...

 “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15            There is a Bible study that happens every week, twice a week. These studies are held in a location you frequent. It is comprised of your family and your brothers and sisters in Christ. The Bible is the textbook, and it is supported by book, chapter, and verse. It sounds like something that all Christians would seek to be present for. It is our weekly Bible studies at 9:45 AM and Wednesdays at 7:00 PM. If this sounds so good, why do our attendance numbers for the hour of worship differ from our Bible Study times? Why do we attend Bible study anyway?   Christians Study the Bible  We are commanded to study the Bible. Paul wrote,  “Till I come, give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching.” 1 Tim 4:13. When we meet together for Bible study it provides a great supplemen...

  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.  John 3:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. Mark 16:16  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  2 Peter 3:9   But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8  When we seek to interpret the Bible, we look at the text and ask several questions; first, is there a specific command in the Scripture regarding this subject? If there is not, we might look to approved examples where a certain question might be answered by the presence of an example that corresponds with the whole of Scripture. Lastly, we find there are certain times where a specific comma...

“I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ “  Philippians 1:3-6           Last week it was announced that a new Disneyland-like family-themed amusement park is coming to Green Country. With this announcement, there has been much excitement and some apprehension. Some of the latter comes from all the required work, especially infrastructure that will have to be taken into account with increased tourist traffic in the area. Roads will have to be built, others improved, and there is much work to be done. Have you ever noticed all the ongoing work on our highway system? It is likely that some projects will never come to an end. How does this reality of our lives relat...

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.  In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another;” Romans 12:9-10            Love is commanded. Do you want real love?  Then it cannot be counterfeit. The world is full of pretend love. People who are infatuated with the idea of someone often mistake this for love. People who tolerate all kinds of evil claim they are loving an individual and thus become an accessory to that evil. The love God commands cannot be counterfeit; it must be authenticated by the only source of true love, Jehovah.  “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen. And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." 1 John 4:20-21           Our love for one an...

          Have you ever seen someone that was resilient despite all that was thrown at them? I love the story of triumph that happens seemingly every day all across the world. Someone might beat cancer with the assistance of great doctors with great treatments. Another person might overcome a financial setback and go on to successfully rebuild their financial well-being. One thing that is necessary for every story of someone who has overcome is the right attitude. This is no different for the New Testament Christian. We each must take setbacks and failures in stride trusting our Lord always to be our rock and salvation. This will take each of us using the Words of the faithful, rather than the words of failure.  Paul’s State Changed, His Faith Remained the Same      “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.  I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in ev...

“I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ “  Philippians 1:3-6      Have you ever noticed all the ongoing work on our highway system? It is likely that some projects will never come to an end. Even in recent months, a new federal infrastructure package has been a source of much debate in the houses of Congress. How does this reality of our lives relate to our lives in Christ Jesus? When we look at the words of Paul, we certainly can understand we are a work continually in progress. Our Fellowship is Contingent on Furtherance of the Gospel       The Lord commanded that we are to take the Gospel and preach it to all creation (Mark 16:15-16). This Gospel is wha...

Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. 1 Kings 16:2-4             There is an old saying amongst the brethren: you cannot live wrong and die right. We often say this to get the point across that a life of sin, while it may seem fun and entertaining, will end with eternal damnation. Yet many live a life of self-gratification, and when they pass we are faced with the question, “Where will so-and-so spend eternity?” The answer is obvious if we will only look at the Word of God.  ...

  Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam (also Abijah) over Judah.Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. 1 Kings 15:1-3        Do you ever wonder how someone who gets things mostly right can still be so wrong? It is mind-boggling if we do not consider that God judges man in totality. From our text above, it is hard to see anything good that can be said about Abijam (Abijah) son of Rehoboam. After all, it is evident that he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.      So where do we learn the details? 2 Chronicles 13:1-22 gives us further evidence of Abijah’s issues. We know he i...

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;   but he that believeth not shall be damned.   Mark 16:16 Mark 16:16 is one of many passages that confirm that baptism is one of the five steps in the Gospel Plan of Salvation that is applicable to all men. Some observations in the verse include the fact that both belief and baptism are coequals to be saved. The diagram below shows their correlation as well as the order of both belief and immersion for the purpose of salvation. Belief is an absolute prerequisite of baptism, and this is very well explained in the second section of verse, for it is by disbelief that one is condemned. As it has been noted before, it certainly takes more to be saved than to be condemned. He____________________________________________________/shall be saved             That______________________/believeth              ...

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation . Rom 10:9-10 Who are you willing to confess? Did you know that your salvation depends on it? I trust that many of you who are reading this do know this, and others have heard something along those lines but we must not lose sight of what God has required for salvation. Paul reminded the Christians in Rome that this was something that they had done and brought them unto salvation. This was not some cleverly added thing of Paul's own volition but the Inspired Word of God. This was the same thing that Jesus said prior.  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.   Matt10:32   Are you willing to confess Christ? I know it might seem scary to sp...

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.  1 Cor. 9:19-22 What are you willing to give? That will be the question that is posed repeatedly in the new sermon series. It has been laid out last month that God is the great provider, Jehovah Jireh, who has lavished us with a grace that can cover all of our sins. Considering that, how can we give and be better givers? The first thing we can do is give up. I know that is not the most common of encouraging phrases, but it is truly per...