Tag: atonement

The Preeminent King Who Reconciles All Things

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

Our focus as a church this week was on the preeminence of Christ. Preeminence refers to the exclusive right of being first, supreme, or surpassing all others. The Son of God in the person of Christ is preeminent (Colossians 1:18). He is before all things (1:16) because He created all things (1:15-16) and holds all things together (1:17b).

Christ is also preeminent over the church (1:18). The church is made up of those whom Christ created; they are part of the “all things” He created in 1:16, who rebelled against Him (1:21) but have been reconciled back to Him (1:22). But how did this reconciliation occur? By the preeminent One “making peace through the blood of His cross” (1:20).

The beauty of the gospel captured my heart this Sunday. Colossians 1 presents the Son as the One who created all things and currently holds all things together. But it also presents Him as the One who reconciles all things by His own death. Only the One who created all things can reconcile all things back to Himself- and there was only one way for Him to do that- “by the blood of His cross” (1:20).

Here is the prominent reminder for us: everything that we need, from the greatest need of salvation to the smallest need of our next breath: Christ provides. He created all things. He sustains all things. He reconciles all things. By the blood of His cross.

A Merciful God Who Doesn’t Clear the Guilty

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Miscellaneous4 Comments

Throughout the Bible, there is a seeming paradox: God is holy and just, but He is also loving and forgiving. God declares these things to be true about Himself in Exodus 34. He tells Moses that He is a “merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love” (Exodus 34:6). But He also says that He will by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:7). We are left with the question: how can God be gracious, loving, and merciful, while also being a just, holy, fair judge of the guilty?

Continue reading “A Merciful God Who Doesn’t Clear the Guilty” →

The Red Sea: Salvation is of the Lord

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Devotionals1 Comment

redsea

Two sets of water. Two miracles. Two fundamental lessons on salvation.

The parting of the Red Sea and the Jordan River are much more than neat miracle stories. They are central events in the unfolding drama of redemption that proclaim who God is and the nature of His salvation. In this post, I will discuss one fundamental lesson of salvation revealed in the first of these events.

The Red Sea

Imagine the scene at the Red Sea: God had promised to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt and into land he promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through many miraculous signs and wonders, God moved the stubborn heart of Pharaoh to momentarily allow Israel to leave. In dramatic fashion, the people evacuate Egypt, Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues Israel, and Israel seems to be trapped by the impassibility of the Red Sea. Their first thought isn’t to turn to God for help (easy to judge, but unfortunately we often do the same), but to complain and grumble against Moses and declare that they were better off in Egypt (see Exodus 14:10-12). Moses responds, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today” (Exod. 14:13).

Continue reading “The Red Sea: Salvation is of the Lord” →

Coming to the Blood of Jesus -Spurgeon

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

“and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”    – Hebrews 12:24

Reader, have you come to the blood of sprinkling? The question is not whether you have come to a knowledge of doctrine, or an observance of ceremonies, or to a certain form of experience, but have you come to the blood of Jesus?
The blood of Jesus is the life of all vital godliness. If you have truly come to Jesus, we know how you came–the Holy Spirit sweetly brought you there. You came to the blood of sprinkling with no merits of your own. Guilty, lost, and helpless, you came to take that blood, and that blood alone, as your everlasting hope. You came to the cross of Christ, with a trembling and an aching heart; and oh! what a precious sound it was to you to hear the voice of the blood of Jesus! Continue reading “Coming to the Blood of Jesus -Spurgeon” →