Bethel Community Church

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Psalm 3:8

Here is Mr. Spurgeon on this great Psalm of David as he fled from Absalom.

“This verse contains the sum and substance of Calvinistic doctrine. Search Scripture through, and you must, if you read it with a candid mind, be persuaded that the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is the great doctrine of the word of God: “Salvation belongeth unto the Lord.” This is a point concerning which we are daily fighting. Our opponents say, “Salvation belongeth to the free will of man; if not to man’s merit, yet at least to man’s will;” but we hold and teach that salvation from first to last, in every iota of it, belongs to the Most High God. It is God that chooses his people. He calls them by his grace; he quickens them by his Spirit, and keeps them by his power. It is not of man, neither by man; “not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” May we all learn this truth experimentally, for our proud flesh and blood will never permit us to learn it in any other way.”

(Treasury of David, Psalm 3)

For Whom Did Christ Die

Here is John Owen’s Argument for Particular Redemption. Still unanswerable!!!

The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either:

  1. All the sins of all men.
  2. All the sins of some men, or
  3. Some of the sins of all men.

In which case it may be said:

  1. That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved.
  2. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world, and this is the truth.
  3. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?

You answer, “Because of unbelief.”

I ask, Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!”

The Threefold Use of the Law

The Threefold Use of the Law (triplex usus legis)

  1. The Civil Use (usus civilis, usus politicus)—the law is given to restrain sin = the Preparative use
  2. The Pedagogical Use (usus paedagogicus, usus elenchticus)—the law is given to convict of sin = the Preservative use
  3. The Normative Use (usus normativus, usus didacticus)—the law serves a rule of conduct = the Restorative use

Hell-Delivering Concern

Life, Life, Eternal LifeHow concerned are we for the lost? Do we agonize painfully in prayer for their salvation. Do we declare the love of Christ for sinners? Doctrinal exactness is no substitute for preaching Jesus & him crucified. Without the love of Christ manifest in our lives & preaching – precision in theology will leave sinners cold & dead. I am all for doctrinal exactness and we should be very concerned for that – but let our hearts be fired with love from our doctrine for the sinner who is perishing. The lost husband or wife or child or friend. Pray about this – seek Christ about it – since he sought you and found you.

The Servants of the Church (1 Timothy 3:8 – 13) May 18, 2025

The Savior of the Unsavable ( Mark 5: 1 – 20) May 11, 2025 (Tommy Valladares)

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