O GIVE THANKS!

By on Mar 13, 2013 in Current Issues, Features

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By Jon Cardwell, pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Anniston, Alabama
This is a repost of an article that ran on Preaching Christ Crucified

“Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.” —Psalms 30:4

meditationsWe should certainly enjoy the Word of God for the joy it brings to our souls through the comfort and everlasting goodness of God’s holy presence; yet, we must also give earnest diligence to cutting straight furrows in the field of scripture for our fruitful understanding.

It is written, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV).

Our Christian faith is an intellectual faith, a knowledgeable faith, and a reasonable faith, to be sure. The LORD God, in fact, tells us through His prophet, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 1:18).

God is not inviting His people to barter or negotiate with Him in terms of what is acceptable or may be permitted within His law. The LORD tells His people to come to their senses concerning true reason found in His prophetic word, because His prophet, Isaiah, is speaking His word to them.

In this case, the LORD tells them what is reasonable in the rest of the verse, “…though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” God proclaims His amazing and abounding grace.

In our last article in Romans, we examined for a moment the benefit that came to the Jews through the oracles of God (Romans 3:1, 2). God had entrusted to Israel with the holy scriptures that contained the written record of God’s gracious plan of salvation that would come by Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of God’s elect.

Those ancient scrolls, preserved by God’s providence through men, revealed the greatest manifestation of God’s Word by the incarnate Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said,“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).

When the soul saved by God’s grace has his understanding of the Scriptures enlightened by the illuminating assistance of the Holy Spirit, that soul embraces the blessed doctrines of grace, faith, justification, regeneration, imputation, repentance, sanctification, sovereignty, &etc.

As we grow in grace, we grow in understanding and are strengthened in faith; and as we read the blessed truths recorded in scripture we give thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18). A magnificent and tremendous benefit of the law of God is the revelation of who God is and what He has done, and is doing.

The more that is understood of those truths, the more magnificently blessed we are; and the more blessed in that knowledge and understanding, the more grateful we become. How could we not but give thanks when these truths, exciting truths, exalted truths, well up in our souls? It cannot be restrained; it will spring forth in spontaneous praise.

This is one of the most marvelous benefits we receive from the scriptures: the revelation of Jesus Christ unto eternal gratitude.

Listen to the sermon preached on this text, Romans 3:1-8, “The Essence and Benefit of the Law,” on August 30, 2009 at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church.

Read the previous article in this series, “Benefit of the Law” (Romans 3:1-8).

The original appears here.

Further reading