Gospel Living

And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  10  And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11  And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12  so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’  13  And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?’ ” An unfortunate reality of this fallen world are physical ailments and handicaps, such as hearing loss.  It’s a result of the indwelling sin that touches every fiber of our being.  Our first parents smuggled it into our genome.  As a result, we naturally have ears to hear the words of Christ, but we’re born spiritually deaf, and just to be doubly-sure, some still place their hands over their ears. God must cure spiritual dea...

4            Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;             save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5            For in death there is no remembrance of you;             in Sheol who will give you praise? 6            I am weary with my moaning;             every night I flood my bed with tears;             I drench my couch with my weeping. 7            My eye wastes away because of grief;             it grows weak because of all my foes. David’s current state makes it appear God left Him.  In...

7            Arise, O Lord!             Save me, O my God!             For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;             you break the teeth of the wicked. 8            Salvation belongs to the Lord;             your blessing be on your people! Selah We should appreciate David’s dual desire—victory over his enemies, but also their good.  That’s because, in this case, his enemies are his kinsmen.  Just as Paul faced persecution from his fellow Jews but also desired their salvation (cf. Rm 9:3), David here seeks the Lord’s blessing for His people.  Always remember that salvation belongs to the Lord.  In David’s case, this in part ...

(In lieu of a Sunday devotional, each week I'll be posting my sermons from the previous Sunday.  May you be blessed in the reading and study of God's Word!) A sermon by Shaun Marksbury at  Cornerstone Church of Savannah , preached November 6, 2016. Video: Audio:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;  repent and believe in the gospel.” There have been a few misconceptions about the kingdom of God over the years.  One key one is that it is the church.  As the Roman Catholic Church wielded power over the known world, it was easy to see it as the kingdom come to earth.  Some Protestants still retain the tradition of viewing the church as some iteration of the kingdom of God.  However, Jesus said that it is near, not that it had arrived, so this isn’t quite right. There are both spiritual and physical aspects to the kingdom of God.  The primary spiritual concern for the kingdom of God is this: How will you deal with Jesus Christ?   When Jesus told them that the kingdom was near, He meant the King was near to them (cf. Lk 17:21; Mt 12:28).  But, it wasn’t just being physically near Him; it is about His commands here— repent and believe in the gospel .  If you are a Christian...

“I have baptized you with water,  but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It may surprise you to think that John’s baptisms changed nothing spiritually within a person.  It’s true that they represented repentance, but they didn’t wash away sins and make people new.  John points us to the true, saving baptism—the one we must be plunged into—the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The followers of Jesus waited the length of Jesus’ ministry for this to be fulfilled.  Nearing Pentecost after His resurrection, He told His disciples that they would soon “be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5).  After Acts 2, the term “church” appears to describe believers.  Pentecost is thus remembered as the time when the church began. Some can claim membership in the church and not be baptized in the Spirit.  In Acts 8:16, we see that that someone can only be “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” without the baptism of the Spirit.  Only a true ...

1 John 4:17-21 | Shaun Marksbury | Cornerstone Church of Savannah | 18 October, 2015 God’s love is at work in the heart of every true believer. Here are two points to keep in mind about that work of love today: 1.) God’s love confirms us, and 2.) God’s love compels us. www.cornerstonesavannah.org

Pray then like this ...   forgive us our debts (Mt 6:9, 12) We are all born the enemies of God (Rom 5:10).  Consider: God is holy , and we are not.  We chaff at the separation from sin we so love that He calls us to. God is omniscient , and knows every sin we do in secret.  Cf. Ps 139:7–8, Mt 12:36.  We chaff that we can’t have a moment to enjoy sin without His eye catching it. God is omnipotent , and can bring us low at any moment.  We chaff because He can destroy our bodies and cast us into Hell for sinning, and there’s nothing we can do about it. God is immutable , and we want Him to move.  We chaff because we have no hope that He will change His mind on sin, or that He will forget what we have done, or that His power would falter.  We can only have two responses to God.  We can continue to shake our fists at Him, or we can humble ourselves, asking Him to forgive our debts against Him. Romans 5:10 says, “For if while we ...

Two great posts on Christmas exist on the Glory Books blog  Check them out: Investigating the Necessity of Christmas by Eric Weathers  White as Snow Christmas: Is Forgiveness Easy? by Issa Haddad

When you don't trust  completely  on the life and death of Christ for salvation, you'll have to add something to pay your way.  What's more, you'll leave heavy burdens on others, not lifting a finger to help.  Consider:  Mother Teresa Was No Saint Says Study .  (HT:  Worldview Weekend ) Theology matters.  Find a church that teaches the Bible this weekend.

Dr. Bill Barrick answered two questions we've all had concerning salvation: Where does the OT talk about giving the nations an opportunity to repent?  Is faith in the OT based upon what a person understands about God? Pre-Mosaic or Mosaic, could they truly understand the Jesus of the NT or have enough knowledge of the Messiah? How were people saved from pre-Flood to prophetic times? Want to know the answers?  Find them out on his blog post .

What does it mean to be one with Christ?  I recommend this helpful chart that Andy Naselli posted to help us understand.

Wretched posted a meme befitting the " Last Call for Altar Calls " post:

Abused to no end in worship services, should the altar call fall by the wayside?  Do they harm or help? 4/10/13 Update: Wretched posted a meme befitting this post:

Imagine with me: what does John Lennon of the Beatles have to do with your personal relationship with Christ?  This movie is for every Christian in America.

Perhaps one of the best-known verses of Scripture is John 3:16.  Its context, Nicodemus' discussion with Jesus at night, seems to provide words that seekers and new believers need to hear.   As the passage becomes so familiar, however, we tend to gloss over the deeper truths of the passage and may fail to realize its lasting impact on our lives. Listen as John MacArthur explains this passage to the men gathered at the 2013 Shepherds' Conference. MP3 Download:   English | Spanish | Portuguese

I encourage you to take advantage of the following lecture series: One of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith involves the biblical truth of one God in three persons, i.e., the triunity of God. Our faculty lecture series in chapel during February focused on this essential belief. The lectures are listed/hyperlinked below so that you too can benefit from the fruitful labors of our TMS faculty. Enjoy! Trinitarianism & Creationism Dr. Bryan Murphy   Trinitarianism & Inspiration Dr. William Barrick   Trinitarianism & Salvation/Sanctification Dr. Andrew Snider   Trinitarianism & Eschatology Dr. Michael Vlach   Trinitarianism & Church History Professor Nathan Busenitz

Everyone defines who God is and what He is like in their minds, even if they try to avoid it. Those beliefs  color all life's issues.  Within the Christian church, they determine how we counsel and disciple others. The following series of posts will provide you an overview of God’s attributes and nature, including each person within the Godhead. God’s Attributes      This is not an exhaustive list of God’s attributes, but it represents how some of the basic teachings of Scripture affect us as believers. Immutability  “For I the LORD do not change...” (Malachi 3:6) Theologians use the term immutability to speak of God as immovable and unchangeable.  Such an affirmation gives believers hope in something solid during turbulent times. We find it in Psalm 33:11, where we see hope in God’s everlasting counsel contrasted to man’s (v. 10). Our trust in the sufficiency of God’s plans and work is well placed (Eccl 3:14). His immutabil...

Click to enlarge: Don't fret, Sunday's a'comin'! (HT: Fish with Trish )

There are a lot of great Bible reading and prayer programs to get you started in the New Year, but there is one vital question everyone should answer to examine their underlying motivations for such resolutions: do I know God? No, I don't just mean "know" in the salvific sense (though, if He has not saved your soul yet, remember that  the Christmas season was the celebration of His offer of salvation ).  I mean that there are often barriers in relationships which we must identify. J.I. Packer has done a wonderful job of helping us with just that, and this month the audio version of his book is free .  Here is the description from the site: A lifelong pursuit of knowing God should embody the Christian's existence. According to eminent theologian J.I. Packer, however, Christians have become enchanted by modern skepticism and have joined the "gigantic conspiracy of misdirection" by failing to put first things first. Knowing God aims to redirec...