January 11
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Ps 119:11). My Bible teaches that if a man can bridle his tongue, he can bridle his whole body (see Jas 3:2). That was one of the first lessons I learned in my Christian life… My tongue began to be bridled by my heart, that was bridled by the Lord and His Word. Immediately after my conversion I began learning Bible verses, and I learned one a day for the first three years. In those years I learned my first thousand verses. A preacher said to me when I went to him for help about leading others to Christ, “I’ll tell you...
Read MoreJanuary 10
“Pray for them…” (Mt 5:44). A survey prepared at Fuller Seminary was taken of 750 Muslims from 30 countries who had received the Lord Jesus. Here are the top five reasons that these Muslim considered Christ. 1. A true Christian lifestyle, a consistent testimony, the love Christians showed, plus respectful treatment of women. 2. The power of God in answered prayer, especially influential in countries isolated from other Christian influence. 3. Discontent with Islam, unhappiness with the Qur’an’s emphasis on God’s punishment, and no certainty of entrance into Paradise. 4. The ring of truth in...
Read MoreJanuary 9
“Are you saved, sir?” Harry Ironside asked a man at the close of a gospel meeting. “No, I can’t say I am, but I would like to be.” “Why? Do you realize you are a lost sinner?” “Of course, we’re all sinners.” “But are you a sinner yourself?” “I suppose so, but not what you’d call a bad sinner. I think I’m rather a good one. I always try to do the best.” “Then I fear there is little use showing you the way of salvation. Good sinners, together with honest liars, upright thieves, and virtuous scoundrels are far from ready to submit to God’s grace, which is only for poor, hell-deserving sinners...
Read MoreJanuary 8
Is there a difference between the teaching of Paul and James on whether a person is saved by faith alone or by faith plus works? Paul writes: “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Rom 4:2-3). James says: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” (Jas 2:21-22). Note the chronology of the events in...
Read MoreJanuary 7
A key Bible word is justification, defined as “to judicially declare right so as to have the force of law.” A person is “justified freely by His grace” (Rom 3:24); “justified by faith” (Rom 3:28); “justified by His blood” (Rom 5:9); “justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11); and “by works a man is justified” (Jas 2:24). We also read that Christ was “raised again for our justification” (Rom 4:25). We might say that the grace of God is the motive for His providing justification, faith is the human response to His offer, the blood of Christ the price...
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