THE TWENTY-NINTH DAY OF MARCH IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN Click here for Part 1 We are thinking about three sentences in a context, of which John 3:16 is the second, central, and climactic sentence. The statement that God "so loved" does not describe the intensity or extent of his love (as if it said "s-o-o-o loved") but rather tells "how" God loved--it is the same "so" we saw in the first sentence and, like that one, it points to the text immediately before it. How did God love the world? The answer is found in an old story about poisonous snakes. "As Moses … [Read more...]
THIS IS HOW GOD LOVED (1 of 2)
THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF MARCH IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN We are familiar with Jesus' comforting words in John 3:16 about God's love and the believer's eternal life. But, as my preacher Jeff Christian noted recently, we often read or quote verse 16 in total isolation, are surprised to discover that the verse has a context, and are shocked to realize what that context says. In fact, John 3:16 is the climactic center and high point of four supposed-to-be-inseparable verses (John 3:14- 17) that include the two sentences Jesus spoke immediately before and after it. … [Read more...]
Jesus fulfilled law and prophets (Part 2 of 2)
THE EIGHTH DAY OF MARCH IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN A gracEmail subscriber asks why God would throw out the Old Testament and replace it with another; why he would begin with an attempt to redeem sinners through a system of law-keeping, then switch to a system grounded in grace ; and please explain the statement that "the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). * * * The Bible is above all a story--a story of the divine rescue, by which the Creator delivers, redeems and reconciles to himself a broken, … [Read more...]
Family Notes (03/05/2015)
THE FOURTH DAY OF MARCH IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN RADIO MINISTRY -- God willing, I will be guest on Sunday night, March 15 on a radio program broadcast from San Antonio, Texas. More details to follow. PRECIOUS TO GOD -- Psalm 116:15 says that "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." That is surely especially true when they are martyrs dying for their faith in him, as is the case with thousands continually throughout the Middle East at the hands of the murderous self- named Islamic State. Like the martyrs in Revelation 6:9-11, these … [Read more...]
Jesus fulfilled, not destroyed, law and prophets (1 of 2)
THE FIRST DAY OF MARCH IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN A gracEmail subscriber asks how to assist a friend who struggles to understand how Old Testament law was replaced with New Testament grace. He doesn't see how the Old Testament could just be thrown out. * * * If we want to know Jesus' intentions toward, relationship with, and effect upon the Jewish "Law" and "Prophets" (which, with the "Writings," comprise the Hebrew Scriptures), we will do well to ask Jesus himself. Jesus' answer is clear: "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not … [Read more...]
family notes (02/25/2015)
THE TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF FEBRUARY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN SOLDIER ON The two words "soldier on" are a personal motto of our good brother Leroy Garrett (born 1918), and also the name of his "occasional" e-bulletin. Issue #476 went out this week; Brother Leroy intends to stop with #500 if he reaches that far. He has published a personal bulletin of teaching, encouragement, and news for 64 years under a variety of names: Bible Talk (1952-58), Restoration Review (1959-92), Last Time Around (1993-94), Once More With Love (1990-2003). and Soldier On! You … [Read more...]
Jesus’ personal prize and inheritance
DAY TWENTY-TWO OF FEBRUARY, YEAR OF GRACE TWENTY FIFTEEN A gracEmail subscriber writes: "The author of Hebrews says that Jesus "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2). What is that joy? Paul prayed for his converts to know "the riches of [God's] glorious inheritance in the saints" (Eph. 1:18). Is this saying what it sounds like? Are the saved themselves somehow a part of Christ's own reward? * * * God has named Jesus "heir of all things" and that includes every human being he rescues from destruction (Heb. 1:2). They all will be presented to him as a gift and … [Read more...]
family notes 02/18/2015
THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN LINK 'JOURNEY TOWARD JESUS' Shortly before our new website was "turned on," we featured a free on-line book of letters by Bruce Edwards and myself titled A Journey Toward Jesus, with a link to the still-active old website. Several gracEmail subscribers told us the link did not work and they wanted to read the book. So for the convenience of all you who enjoy gospel truth made plain in real life, you can read A Journey Toward Jesus here. IT'S FULLER IN JUNE The second Rethinking Hell conference … [Read more...]
Family Notes
THE ELEVENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN CHRIST AS SIN-OFFERING A good many years ago I discovered that I was not really preaching Christ. I was preaching only the conditions of salvation, just as though . . . the Lord’s visit to this earth [was] to set forth certain acts as conditions of justification. I was overlooking the importance of the cross upon which he bore our sins. I was not recognizing Jesus as our High Priest who offered himself for the sins of the world. I considered the cross as a means to an end, the end being the endowment of … [Read more...]
A MAN NOT A PLAN
The original founders of the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement (RM) had known, understood, and preached Jesus Christ. However, from the second generation forward, Jesus Christ himself gradually faded from view as the primary subject discussed week after week from the pulpits of Churches of Christ, to be replaced by "the Lord's church" (or "The New Testament church") and "the plan of salvation." In his book titled The Core Gospel: On Restoring the Crux of the Matter (ACU Press, 1992), the late Dr. Bill Love, a Jesus-man and Bible preacher of uncommon giftedness, painstakingly documented, … [Read more...]