SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/6/2018
11:04 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“The Positive Response”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts
13:48-49
Message of the
verses: “48 When the Gentiles heard
this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been
appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was
being spread through the whole region.”
We begin today’s SD by looking at the second sub-point
under the main point entitled “The Subsequent Response” which covers verses
45-49 of the thirteenth chapter of the book of Acts.
The response that the Gentiles gave to the offer of
salvation was directly opposite to the response of the Jews as seen in verse
48. Jesus spoke a parable to the
Pharisees a short time to when He would be crucified which goes along with what
happened to the Jews that Paul and Barnabas were speaking to. The following comes at the end of the parable
found in Luke 20:17-18 “17 But Jesus looked at them and said, "What then
is this that is written: ’THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME
THE CHIEF CORNER stone’? 18 “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to
pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."” The Gentiles who wanted to hear about
salvation and become believers understood that Jesus Christ is the chief
cornerstone, the Jews did not.
I have highlighted a portion of verse forty-eight and
this is one of the clearest statements in Scripture that speaks of the
sovereignty of God. Luke is saying of
these Gentiles that everyone who has been appointed to eternal believed. We have gone over this in many other
Spiritual Diaries stating that in eternity past the Lord chose a bride for His
Son, the Lord Jesus came to pay the price for the bride by dying on the cross,
and the Holy Spirit give an effectual call to all whom were chosen by God. We also saw in our earlier SD’s on this
section that men do have a choice to turn down the offer of salvation and for
that they will be punished.
John MacArthur writes “Appointed’ is from tasso, which is used in some ancient
documents in the sense of ‘to inscribe’ or ‘to enroll’ (F. F. Bruce, The book of Acts).
“Scripture affirms that those who go to hell do so
because they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life (v. 46). Conversely, the elect are saved because God
appointed them for eternal life (v. 48).
Those truths form a narrow causeway between two chasms. To emphasize either truth at the expense of
the other is to plunge oneself into the abyss of doctrinal error.
“Evangelism
always follows true salvation, as those who are saved naturally desire to share their
faith. The converts in Antioch
were no exception. Through their
enthusiastic testimony, ‘the word of the Lord was being spread through the
whole region.’ As always, the agent
through which salvation came was ‘the word of the Lord’ (cf. vv. 44, 46,
48). Antioch was turned upside down not
because Paul discoursed on self-esteem, politics, or social issues, but because
he proclaimed God’s Word.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: What I have highlighted at the beginning of the last paragraph
from John MacArthur’s commentary is my spiritual meaning for my life today.
My Steps of Faith for Today: That highlighted section is also my step of
faith today as I look forward to talk to people that the Lord brings into my
life today about salvation through Jesus Christ.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “six.”
Today’s Bible
question: “The land that God promised to
the children of Israel was described as flowing with what?”
Answer in our next SD.
3/6/2018 11:33 AM
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