SALVATION

“Then He is gracious to him, and says, deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom" (Job 33:24 NKJV).

These words were spoken by Elihu, the last of the four men to speak to Job about his misfortunes. While not fully understanding of Job’s situation, Elihu’s words are instructive. They tell of the pity for salvation, the protection in salvation, and the payment for salvation.

Pity for salvation - “Gracious to him.” Salvation is a result of Divine grace, and not a result of merit. We have no goodness by which we can merit salvation. Eph. 2:8 states “For by grace you have been saved.” This makes salvation available to all people. No matter what your past or your sin, grace makes it possible for anyone to be saved.

Protection in salvation - “Deliver him from going down to the pit.” The pit here speaks of the grave, but symbolically it also speaks of eternal damnation. Without salvation a person will go to the pit of hell for all eternity. But God’s gracious salvation will deliver the believing soul from the condemnation of eternal hellfire in the pit. Today, people spend money for all sorts of protection which relates only to this earthly life, but ignore the need of protection for eternity.

Payment for salvation - “I have found a ransom.” The word translated “ransom” here means the price of redemption. Salvation is costly. It is too costly for any man to pay. Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus Christ paid the ransom for our salvation. The price was His death on the cross of Calvary. “I have found a ransom” can be said by all who have come to Christ for salvation.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Christ’s pardon brings the soul to heaven; Christ’s presence brings heaven to the soul!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Discipline (trained)

In 2 Peter 2:14 we read, “Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children” (NKJV).

Discipline (trained) is the Greek word gumnazō (γυμνάζω = goom-nad'-zo). The word means to exercise bodily and described an athlete exercising in the gym. It describes the rigorous, strenuous, self-sacrificing training an athlete undergoes. Figuratively gumnazō means to discipline oneself or to exercise vigorously, in either the body or the mind. We get our English word ‘gymnasium’ from this word.

In Classical Greek gumnazō to refer to an athlete training in the nude, as was done in the Greek games. There is no reference to gumnazō in the Septuagint. However the use of gumnazō in the New Testament carries both a positive and a negative connotation, referring to those who by continual practice had trained themselves to a particular way of life.

Further, gumnazō (discipline/trained) is in the perfect tense indicating a past completed action with ongoing effect. This meant that the false teachers had lived this way for so long that their heart condition was one of a permanent state. Peter was not sparing his words in exposing these charlatans.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would the Spiritual Rock of Israel (Ex. 17:6)

New Testament Fulfillment – 1 Cor. 10:4

Bible Facts

The real you is spirit (Num. 16:22; Zech. 12:1). Personality is non-physical. For example, after a heart transplant the recipient does not receive the donor's character. An amputee is not half the person he was before losing his limbs. Our eternal nature is spirit, heart, soul, and mind. The Bible tells us that “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).

Bible Quiz

How old was Noah when the flood waters came on the earth?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What name was given to the place in the wilderness where the Israelites found bitter waters and murmured? Marah (Ex. 16:23).

That’s in the Bible

"Reap the whirlwind”

“They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal. If it should produce, aliens would swallow it up” (Hosea 8:7 NKJV).

“Reap the whirlwind” - The expression “reap the whirlwind” carries the idea of getting into deeper trouble than expected. The concept of sowing and reaping as it relates to conduct is very common in Scripture. In their idolatry and political alliances, the Israelites were trying to sow seeds that would produce a good harvest, but they were only sowing the wind (vanity, nothing), and would reap the whirlwind. The law of sowing and reaping is one of the basic principles of life. What we sow, we reap. If we sow a life of wickedness, we will reap God’s judgment.

Did You Know - Christian History

Robert Moffat was born December 21, 1795 in Ormiston, East Lothian, Scotland. He was a Scottish Congregationalist missionary to Africa, and first translator of the Bible into Setswana (a language spoken in Southern Africa).

As a child Moffat hated school. Unhappy with that state of affairs, Moffat ran away to sea, but found the sailor’s life even harder than the scholar’s. Barely a teenager, he apprenticed himself to a gardener for low pay and hard work. However, he soon realize that life without an education was going to be very tough. He arranged his work so that he could attend school at night to learn Latin and geometry.

Moffat was twenty when he encountered Christ. He shared his faith with all who crossed his path but was shocked to discover that most people did not care to hear. A desire stirred in him to do some great work for the Lord. He applied at a mission agency but was turned down. Yet he persisted and was finally sent to Africa. There he learned the value of patience. And although he was held in contempt by the Africans, he would not give up. In spite of the loss of personal property and threats, in spite of the long years without results, Moffat kept at it, trusting that God would keep His promises and produce a harvest of souls.

The breakthrough came when African leaders accompanied Moffat to the coast. Seeing the respect with which he was greeted, they realized he was no outcast. They saw the luxuries of civilization. “Why have you left all of this for us?” they asked. Moffat explained the love of Christ. In the days before modern linguistic tools, Moffat proved what a willing mind under Christ can accomplish. He learned a difficult language and translated the Bible into it. The boy who despised education became a man who educated thousands. Because of his perseverance, hundreds of Africans submitted their lives to the Christ he honored. Moffat died at Leigh, Kent, England on August 9, 1883, and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery.

A Little Humor

Two church goers had just come from church where the sermon was on Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis. “You know, George, I always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were man and wife.” His friend replied, “I can believe you, because I thought the Epistles were the wives of the Apostles.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Christ believed is salvation received!”