Category: Exhortations (Page 4 of 14)

The Written and Necessary Message of Repentance and Forgiveness (Part 3)

Remission of Sins…

That brings us to the next part of our text: “that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations…” (emphasis added). Because forgiveness is the greatest need of mankind, Christians have the greatest news to proclaim!

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The Written and Necessary Message of Repentance and Forgiveness (Part 2)

Last year, my wife and I took our son, Zachary, to the doctor and she diagnosed him with an ear infection; and, like good doctors do, she not only prescribed the medication for him but she also provided the right dosage – you could say – how he was supposed to take the medicine: amoxicillin, twice a day, with a specific amount of milligrams. In like manner, when we are sharing the Gospel we want to make sure we properly tell people howto appropriate and receive the great news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; namely, repent and believe. If we provide the right medicine without giving the proper way for that medicine to be received, our job is in incomplete.

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The Written and Necessary Message of Repentance and Forgiveness (Part 1)

46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Lk. 24:46,47 NKJV)

 

After Jesus, recently resurrected from the dead, opened the minds of His disciples to understand the Scriptures (Lk. 24:45), and presumably after He gave them an Emmaus Road-like Bible study similar to the one Cleopas and other unnamed disciples received (vs.27), He concluded by saying, “Thus it is written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead the third day” (vs.46). Their ‘kingdom now’ expectations had been part of the reason they overlooked the Scriptures explicit predictions – the Christ was to suffer, die, and rise (Isa. 53; Ps. 22; 16:10). It was not an aberration of the plan of God and neither was it a contingency; it always was the plan. The promises found in Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms all bore witness to that.

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What to Think About What Others Think of You

Does it matter what others think of you?

Some would vehemently argue saying, ‘No, of course not! What others think of me is not my problem it’s their problem.’ Others might not verbalize their response saying, ‘Yes, I am overly concerned about what others think of me,’ but they may live that way without ever articulating it. Potential reactions aside, what, then, is the Biblical answer to the opening question?

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Keeping and Treasuring God’s Words (Prov 3:1-2)

1My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; 2For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. (Prov 3:1-2)

The opening exhortation of the third chapter of Proverbs is a familiar one to the book and Scripture in general. In two ways Solomon essentially commanded his son, ‘Remember my words.’ In the first portion of verse one he said, “My son, do not forget my law” (vs.1a), and in the latter portion, “let your heart keep my commands”(vs.1b). That charge, which is not only Solomon’s counsel to his son but an extension of God’s voice through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to all of His sons and daughters, is reflective of Old and New Testament truth alike. In Proverbs we read, “For I give you good doctrine; Do not forsake my law” (4:1) and similarly in Hebrews we read, “…we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (Heb. 2:1). In different ways, both passages are saying, ‘Hold onto God’s truth in your heart. Don’t drift from it or forsake it; give the more earnest heed to both grip it and, at the same time, pursue it.’ This was something that Solomon, in wisdom, continually instructed his son to do:

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