Coweta Baptist Church

We believe that justification was an eternal and immanent act and not a transient act. The act being considered and viewed in Christ from everlasting, before the foundation of the world; and therefore with justification. This justification is a spiritual blessing was given us in Christ Jesus from eternity, because from eternity God loved us in Christ and made us accepted in him.

… having prayed for an increase of spiritual knowledge, and that this might be put into practice, he proceeds to pray for strength for them, that they might be enabled to practice what they had knowledge of; to walk worthily, to please God in all things

These Pharisees and scribes had made the law something that was dishonoring to God making it the works of men and the laws of men. They had reduced this broad commandment to a fine point, keeping the letter of the Law and not understanding the spirit of the Law.

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the Mediatorial offices of the Son of God; who by the appointment of the Father freely took upon him our nature, yet without sin; honored the divine law by his personal obedience, and by his death made a full atonement for our sins; that having risen from the dead, he is now enthroned in heaven; and uniting in his wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfections, he is every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate, and an all- sufficient Saviour.

1. The desire or petition of Paul: might be filled with the knowledge of his will… "Knowledge" is epignōsis. It is a higher or more advanced kind of knowledge; it is a knowledge that comes by experience and denotes a larger and more thorough knowledge.

...a. His coming was not to destroy or lose men's obligations to the law. The word "destroy" means to tear down, dismantle, and bring to ruin. We do this to build something else in its place. He did not come to abrogate or to deny its divine authority and to set the people free from their obligation to obey them. His coming was to set the Law in its proper place, to give back to it the High and Holy place from which the hands of wicked men, that is the Pharisee's and the scribes, which had taken it and reduced it to a means of self-righteous and boasting...

1. The ministry of light is to all that are in the house and who occupy the city. 2. The ministry of light dispels all darkness. 3. The ministry of Light brings us to good health and life. High Light, Low Light or No Light, v15. A Warning for the Church.

This is all of the known world, wherever the gospel is preached it results in fruit, real evidence of the power and effectual working of the Spirit of God in the hearts of God's elect. This fruit is not of a temporal nature, it keeps on bearing fruit. What gospel should be preached to the unbelieving? What gospel was presented to the woman at the well in John 4? Is it different than the gospel preached to the believing? Something we often forget is that those who are saved under our preaching or witnessing are only manifesting the work of regeneration already performed in their heart by the Holy Spirit.

As in verse 1, it appears that this beast was by nature subtle. This cunning behavior or shrewdness is demonstrated by being skilled in deception. It appears that this beast is able to deceive its pray by some sort of deception, either in camouflage, stealth, or perhaps in appearing non-aggressive and benign for we see no dread or fear in the heart of Adam or Eve.

We should offer up thanksgiving and prayers for the Saints and churches who are in destress or facing some difficulty. Those threatened with false doctrine or are facing internal troubles because of unruly members. Some, because of some unscriptural prejudices, won't fellowship with other of the saints.

There is no varying degrees of shinning. We don't shine and then dim and then shine brighter. We as the light shine because Christ is in our midst, it is a steady and brilliant light.

We must ask, what activities mark out a 'holy people' from others, even religious others? I think that the words 'and faithful brethren' stand out as indicating these as saints, holy brethren. Thee word "saint" is not an adjective that describes some attributes of a man, but rather a noun stating what the man is. These are saints!

That which Lord has as a distinctive title which appropriates to himself he applies to his church, a title expressly said to be unsuitable even to the highest and greatest of all the prophets, John the Baptist...

2. It was this heavenly man, the mediator between God and man, the Great High Priest, who stood in eternity, in His heavenly manhood, as our Surety, and Lamb before the throne of God; that appeared on the earth to Adam, to Abraham, to Jacob, to Moses, the fourth man in the fiery furnace, and throughout the O.T. where God appears to man. He was not created either in his heavenly form or in his earthly form. Even though he took on human flesh, that flesh was not created but fitted and formed by the Father, Heb 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

They became "the light" by Jesus Christ in the creation of his ecclesia/congregation made them "the Light." He did not say, ye shall be the light of the world, as if on some future date this would happen. But He called them the Light of the world in his very presences. We conclude three things, (1)that men are in complete and utter darkness, (2) that they are in such a condition because they are spiritually blind, loving their darkness and hating light, and lastly, (3) Christ is the Light. Unless Christ opens the blind man's eyes and the deaf man's ears he shall never see the light or hear the gospel.

This morning I am speaking on 'Forgiving One Another.' As I read through the Gospel's the Lord put a great deal of emphasis the brethren loving one another, that being evidenced by their forgiving one another. Jesus, on the Sermon on the Mount, gave special attention to this problem in the form of judging others and in His example on prayer. Every N.T. book speaks of how we are to love and forgive one another. In fact, loving the brethren is a unique mark or trait that gives evidence that we are born from above, that we are even Christians. If we cannot forgive a brother his trespass, what makes us think we are Christians?

Why should we think our church is exempt from any condemnation? What makes us think that we are better, more spiritual, more obedient to the heavenly commands then these to whom John wrote? Our churches must be rebuked from time to time because of our failings to be obedient to the heavenly commands.

1. When the Scripture expresses the Holy Trinity as the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, it presents them in them as Self-Existent and Self-Sufficient, and immutable in themselves, complete and in absolute equality. When the Heavenly Man, Christ Jesus, is presented as dependent upon the Father this is ONLY IN HIS SACRED AND HEAVENLY HUMANITY. He is not dependent upon the Father in His Deity any more than the Father is dependent on the LOGOS in His deity. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. Each Divine Being is Sufficient within Himself in His essential and eternal Divine essence.

These young people will not listen to advice from their parents of others who have wisdom. They will do what their hearts desire, they think that know what is best. Even if they profess to be Christians they will violate every Biblical principle in pursuit for what they believe to be best or true. They are guided by their heart, thus their feelings and not by their head or reason. Many are the sins of the young

a. Without the ministry of truth there is no love of the brethren and of God. b. Without the ministry of truth there is no true worship of God. c. Without the ministry of truth there is no holiness of life or assurance of salvation. d. Without the ministry of truth Christ does not manifest himself to us. e. Without the ministry of truth the educated man is ignorant. f. Without the ministry of truth the wise man is a fool.

Today we have ways of accurately predicting weather but in Biblical times one day may bring warmth but the very next extreme cold with no warning. What famers did was based on seasons not on weather forecast. Here we have the farmer that is observing the wind and the clouds.

Another privilege we have in baptism, is through the faith of the operation of God, have fellowship with Christ, in His death and resurrection and by that power the strength of the body of sin is more subdued, that is brought into subjection, and we are more enabled to walk in newness of life.

First as He is the Father, the Word (LOGOS), and the Holy Spirit. In the second as it relates to men and their redemption as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I will be answering a number of questions that people often have concerning this Trinity of Beings such as, in what form was Jesus before his incarnation: was he spirit or did he have an actual spiritual body, a heavenly body? Is the LOGOS just another name for Jesus? When Jesus rose from the dead he appeared in a human body, but it was not the body he had before His resurrection.

Privilege Two: By baptism we enter in a Particular Gospel church and its privileges. 1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. Believers have baptism as the only means to enter into the fellowship of His Body, which is His Church, with all the privileges and liberties. Baptism is that only orderly entrance which God has appointed for believers into the fellowship of the Church of Christ

Why preachers are not salesman.

There is no higher moral standard than the truth that is found in God and His Holy Word. Every opinion that you and I hold will be judged according to His word. This single confession leaves us with a sincere, soul searching question. If we regard the word of God so highly and believe it to be the revelation of God and all things written are to be believed and obeyed, how obedient are we to the heavenly commands? How much do we fear God? How much do we love God? How much of this beloved Book do you really believe to be true?

Such a king would make his palace a place of pleasure rather than a place of governance, he would be fickle, changeable, passionate and self-willed, unskillful in government and will not be advised and if advised it would be by those who would use his foolishness for their advantage and indulge his childishness

The Ordinance of Baptism is a high and holy thing. It is a solemn external ritual that is clothed in prayer, dedication, sanctification, a holy emblem and is an identifying mark as a follower of Jesus. Do we think that calling out the trinity of Holy Beings is some kind of a magical formula? Have we never really considered what is being said or whose name is being called upon when we are Baptized?

If our Bible, what we call the Holy Scripture is not inspired of God or, if it was inspired at the time or its writing but not preserved, then we are a most unhappy people and have placed our faith in fallacies and fanciful ideology. If it cannot be believed as inspired and preserved, we have no sure word of prophecy and no certainty that anything we believe or hold dear to us is true.

The word babbler is interesting in that it means 'master tongue;" master to be understood as the 'master of one's house.' So, this one is a master orator, one who has mastered a language. This babbler is not an obnoxious and foolish talker as our dictionary might define him, but rather one that is skilled in his talking.

At the time of the writing of Acts, there was only one kind of church and they were distinguished in their faith and practice, exactly matching the doctrine of Christ and the Apostles. In these days there are a multitude of religious organizations claiming the authority to baptize. I say nay! Only churches that have continued in Christ's and the Apostles doctrine are the true churches of Christ. They have existed in every century, in every age, through a succession of their preachers, carrying the authority of Christ to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Lord and organizing churches, just like they did in the first century beginning at the shores of Galilee.

Observable folly in places of dignity. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: The Preacher speaks of an evil, a calamity, a harmful thing that results from a ruler that makes an error in judgement. We might ask how does an error in judgement become the cause of some great calamity? In the case of a ruler, a bad decision, an error in judgement affects all that he rules over. It could lead to economic ruin; it might be the cause of war. A ruler must be clothed with wisdom and be surrounded by wise counsel or risk being a fool. Jeroboam forsook sound advice be wise men and took the advice of fools and split the kingdom of Israel...

Over the last four weeks we have seen that both Jew and Gentile are great sinners in need of redemption. We saw the work of Christ in one act redeem all his people. We saw that this great work of salvation was achieved in time by the grace of God in the creative act of the new birth and evidenced by faith and repentance. This morning I hope to show by the scriptures the nullification of the physical and religious distinctions in the bringing of these two flocks of believers into one-fold and under one Shepherd.

The question that came to my mind was, how does a little misdeed, a small sin cause such injury to a man? But from the text this is not just an ordinary man whereby you might expect a little or perhaps a lot of folly. This is a man of reputation, honorable and just, a little sin in his life is magnified beyond a little and one single act of sin, may injure the character of a wise and honorable man, and greatly expose him to shame and contempt, and cause him to stink in the nostrils of men. It may never again recover his dignity and place among men and if he is able to recover, it will not be without the scars of his injury. He will never regain the place and reputation he once had.

I want to speak on mercy and grace realized in time. Though Christ already obtained redemption for us (Heb. 9:12), our sins already paid for. Forgiveness granted and Christ's righteousness imputed and this long before we were born; yet in time we are to experience this wonderous grace.

Answering questions from the question Box.

Time and chance, the unknown events that can make or brake us. We often hear it said, in the right place at the right time, or the opposite, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some might say that it was their lucky brake or things just went their way. Man has no reliance on anything because things can change instantly.

Not a general mercy but an act of his will with a special mercy. It is directed at those whom he loves. If this kind of mercy was directed at the whole of mankind, then the whole of mankind would be saved. If God loved all men upon this earth as he does his sheep, the elect of God, then all men would receive this same mercy that would "quicken" them or "make them alive" in Jesus Christ, they also receiving grace, for by grace are ye saved! The ultimate motive for the work of regeneration is here given, and it is simply the Divine Mercy. No claim or obligation is in the question, nor right inherent in the alienated race of men, nor the "fitness of things" in the abstract; only the uncaused and supremely free choice of the God of mercy

We finish this course this evening looking at the duty the members have one to another. Church is not a social club but a closed society of Christian men and women who have great responsibility laid upon them in serving on another.

The Preacher give us instructions on what man is to do so as to have a joy filled life before he dies. One of the things is that of labor. God's design is for men to labor as it was commanded of Adam while in the garden.

So far in our understanding the Christ's great work of Redemption we have seen: 1, The Christ is the Great Shepherd of the flock. 2, That the Great Shepherd is already in possession of these sheep. 3, That the Great Shepherd will never fail and cannot ever fail in redemption of his sheep. But this morning we will focus on the the condition of the flock before the experience of redemption.

There are two views concerning the salvation of men. One is called Calvinism, the other Arminianism. Both are complete opposites concerning the means of salvation. One is built upon the grace and merit of Jesus Christ and His atonement for the sins of His people, the other upon the works of men...

If I were to sum up these four verses it would be to enjoy life to the fullest because it is very short. We have a contrast of life with death, we are to enjoy life as fully as possible because it does end in death, where these earthly enjoyment cease. While we have temporal enjoyments listed they are not unchristian. God Himself, to whom we owe it, will have it so that we enjoy it, within the moral limits prescribed by Himself

"them also must I bring." Jesus never fails in anything that he does. Jesus said that he came to seek and to save that which was lost. It was sheep that were lost, not goats. I don't know how many people think about what they read. If you lost something, was it not yours before you lost it? "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."