RESULTS FROM THE GOSPEL

“Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48 NKJV).

When Paul and Barnabas ministered the Gospel in Antioch in Pisidia, the Jews rejected the Gospel, so they turned to the Gentiles. Our verse speaks of the results of them giving the good news to the Gentiles. There was gladness from the Gospel, glorifying from the Gospel, and gain from the Gospel.

Gladness from the Gospel - “Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad.” The Gentiles were glad when they heard that the Gospel was going to be given to them. The Gospel brings joy to mankind. In fact, it brings the greatest joy of all. Nothing so gladdens the heart of man as the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The world has its pleasures to offer, but they all pale into insignificance when compared to the joys from the Gospel.

Glorifying from the Gospel - “Glorified the word of the Lord.” When people receive the Gospel, they will glorify the Word of God. And this in turn glorifies God. If a person wants to glorify God, they will believe what He says in His Word. And believing mean more than giving mental assent to the Word. It is believing what it says about the Lord Jesus and trusting Him as Savior and Lord. Unbelievers do not glorify God or His Word. They bring shame to God and mock the Word. With such mocking of God and criticizing of His Word, it is evident that unbelief, not faith, is dominant in our society today.

Gaining from the Gospel - “As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” The greatest gain anyone can experience is to gain eternal life. The world, however, only measures gain in terms of material and earthly gain. The Lord Jesus asks a very important question when He said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). And the phrase “appointed to eternal life” speaks of God’s Sovereignty. It does not change the message of the gospel that salvation is only found in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 2)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“The Gospel is open to all; the most respectable sinner has no more claim on it than the worst!”

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899 - 1981)

Welsh Congregationalist Minister and Medical Doctor

Word Study

Feet

In John 13:6 we read, “Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” (NKJV).

“Feet” is the Greek word poús (πούς = pooce). It literally means the part of the body used for standing or walking and was used in reference to the feet of men, and of animals. In classical Greek poús denotes the “feet” of men, animals, or things, as in the foot of a hill. This usage continued in the Septuagint. In the New Testament poús is used in a variety of ways, both literal and figurative, in which the foot is the most prominent member of the body representing the action or the attitude of the individual. Metaphorically, the way of one’s feet refers to the way of one’s life.

Did You Know…

The Israelites were permitted to lend money to other nations, but they were prohibited from borrowing from them (Deut. 15:6).

Bible Quiz

According to Leviticus 27, which kind of animals should not be given in sacrifice?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz

My name is Methuselah, and my father was a devout man who walked with God. In the end he was translated to Heaven. Do you know the name of my righteous dad? Enoch (Gen. 5:21-24).

Prophecies Fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ

The Atoning Sacrifice – Prefigures the Lord Jesus’ once-for-all Sacrifice (Lev. 16:15-17; Heb. 9:7-14)

"Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat” (Lev. 16:15 NJKV).

In Context, we have a description of what happened on the Day of Atonement. Two goats figured prominently in the ritual of this day (v. 5). These were to serve as a sin offering to the Lord. One goat was selected by lot to be the Lord’s goat, and the other was to be “the scapegoat” (v. 8).  The one selected for the Lord was to be slain and its blood sprinkled in the holy place, the altar, and the sanctuary. The second goat was kept alive. Aaron was to lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities, transgressions, and sins of Israel, putting them upon the head of the goat. The goat was then to be led into the wilderness, bearing away the iniquities of Israel (vv. 21-22). Together, the two goats constituted one sin offering and spoke of the Lord Jesus’ one sacrifice for sin. It teaches us that God is merciful to sinners only through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and that He alone make atonement for man. Indeed, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). No wonder John the Baptist pointed to Him and cried, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

Did You Know – Christian History

Charles Thomas (C.T.) Studd was born December 2, 1860, in Spratton, Northamptonshire, England. He was a British missionary who served in China, India, and Africa. He also founded the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade.

Studd was the son of retired merchant Edward Studd who had become a Christian during a Moody and Sankey campaign in England. In 1878, a visiting preacher asked the young man, a well-known cricket player, if he was a Christian. Studd would only go so far as to profess he believed Jesus Christ died. However, the preacher pressed the point, and young Studd then believed on the Lord Jesus for salvation. Unfortunately, he did not share his faith with others. As a consequence, he became spiritually cold. For six years he lived a life which he described as “backslidden.” The love of the world crept in. In 1883, Studd went to hear Dwight L. Moody speak. His soul was stirred afresh. He immediately began to tell others about Christ. Studd would later say that he had tasted all the pleasures of the world, but none gave him so much pleasure as bringing his first soul to trust in Jesus. Two years later, Studd sailed for China to join Hudson Taylor as a missionary. While in China, his father died and left him a large inheritance. Reading the Bible and praying, he felt convinced he should give his fortune away to show the world that he relied not on money but on a living Lord. “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him,” he argued.

Believing that God would provide for a Christian’s needs, Studd gave away his inheritance, specifying funds be given to the Moody Bible Institute, George Muller’s mission work and orphanage, George Holland’s work with England’s poor, and to the Salvation Army in India. He gave the final portion of £3,400 to his fiancée as a wedding gift. But Priscilla Stewart was as sure of God as her husband, and also gave the money away. Naturally, they ran short of money often after that. Yet they found God faithfully supplied them. “Funds are low again, hallelujah! That means God trusts us and is willing to leave His reputation in our hands,” said Studd on one such occasion. For the rest of his life, he lived as a ‘faith missionary’ with no fundraising. The Studds served in China and India and toured in behalf of the Student Volunteer Movement. Leaving his invalid wife in England, Studd sailed to Africa to open mission work in Sudan. In spite of heart attacks, he worked there to the end of his life. Priscilla was able to rejoin him for only one year before she died. On 16 July 1931, still laboring for the Lord at Ibambi at the age of seventy, Charles Studd died from untreated gallstones.

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A Little Humor

At the dinner table, a young couple prayed, “Lord, bless this food.” Their little girl added, “And bless Father O’Malley‘s sore throat, so he doesn’t preach for too long again.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“All who come in as Sinners, go out as Winners!”