1 JOHN 1:5\u201310<\/b><\/p>\n
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all<\/i><\/p>\n
(1 John 1:5)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Much of ancient paganism said that human beings were images of animals, which is why animals symbolized their gods. Other forms of ancient paganism dissociated the gods from animals, but reduced the gods to the immoral level of ordinary human beings. Modern secular humanism says that man evolved up from animals. None of these presents a very flattering view of man. Only biblical faith takes man seriously, and says that he is the image-bearer of a holy and perfect God.<\/p>\n
God is perfectly holy and demands that His creation be perfect also. Since most everyone admits no one is perfect, what are our options? Some foolishly deny our imperfection and proclaim our perfection. Another option is to rationalize our imperfections and minimize our sin. Yet another way is to assume that God is not perfect; that way, God will not be upset by some of our imperfections.<\/p>\n
If we understand ourselves at all, though we know this will not work. We know intuitively that we are estranged from the holy God, and that because God is holy and perfect. He cannot negotiate with sin. Thus, the only way we can escape is to come up with a God that is not holy.<\/p>\n
The basic message of Christianity is that mankind needs redemption. We need a savior to enter into the human condition. We need someone who can deal with the radically depraved core of our nature and make us righteous.<\/p>\n
The basic issues that Christianity addresses are not morality and liturgy, but the problem of our guilt. Christianity takes guilt seriously because it takes human beings seriously and it provides a Savior who gives us a new life. He strips away the filthy rags that enshroud our reflection of God. He brings us into conformity with Himself, so that when people look at us, they can begin to see the character of God.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Psalms 145\u2013146<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 11<\/p>\n
WEEKEND<\/b><\/p>\n
Psalms 147\u2013150<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 12<\/p>\n
Due to our societal affluence, most of our needs are easily attained and our luxuries become necessities. When we say we need a savior, does this mean we think we need some assistance to make the job easier? When it comes to salvation, you need to have a sense of desperation. This weekend relight your holy passion to know your Savior.<\/p>\n
For further study: John 3:19\u201336;<\/i> Nature of Man series<\/i><\/p>\n
TABLETALK<\/p>\n
from ligonier ministries and teaching and encouraging believers \u2022 september 1990<\/p>\n
VOLUNTEERISM: LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR<\/p>\n
Daily Studies From The Teaching Fellowship Of R. C. Sproul<\/p>\n
publisher<\/b> Ligonier Ministries<\/i> executive editor<\/b> Ralph D. Veerman<\/i> editor<\/b> Robert F. Ingram<\/i> assistant editor<\/b> Michael S. Beates<\/i><\/p>\n
marketing<\/b> Gretchen L. Suskovic<\/i> production<\/b> W. David Fox, Melissa A. Prichard, R. C. Sproul, Jr.<\/i> design<\/b> David K. Freeland<\/i><\/p>\n
circulation<\/b> Gwen Weber<\/i> writer<\/b> Sharon J. Anderson<\/i> board of directors<\/b> Bruce Fogerty, Robert Fraley, G. Richard Hostetter, Robert C. Legler, Stephen H. Leve\u00e9, Jr., C. G. Mills, Archie B. Parrish, James M. Seneff, Jr., R. C. Sproul, John Thompson, Ralph D. Veerman, Luder Whitlock, Charles Colson (Director Emeritus)<\/i><\/p>\n
Published by Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, Inc. under license granted by Ligonier Ministries, Inc. Copyright 1990, Ligonier Ministries, Inc. This Bible study is based upon teaching material by Dr. R. C. Sproul. Unless noted, all Scripture quotations in this publication are from the<\/i> Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishers.<\/i><\/p>\n
member evangelical press association<\/p>\n
Cover: Volunteering with the elderly, Superstock\/NY<\/p>\n
robert ingram \u2022 editor<\/p>\n
Coram Deo<\/p>\n
Looking back upon it, I think Jane Terry used to dread answering the phone for fear I might be calling to ask her to do one more thing within the church. For that matter, it was true for Dee, Clay, Jean and a host of others.<\/p>\n
Why do I think this about members of my own congregation? Were they so unwilling to volunteer their time and talents? No. By contrast, they had a difficult time saying no to me because of their graciousness and my persistence. Their dread of answering the phone or agreeing to go to lunch with me had more to do with the sad fact that volunteerism was not a uniform ideal within the congregation.<\/p>\n
It is for volunteers such as these friends that there should be something called the Order of the Towel. It celebrates Christ\u2019s girding Himself with a towel in order to wash the disciples\u2019 feet. What a menial, lowly act of consideration this was. Qualify it all you want, foot-washing in any culture or age is still foot-washing.<\/p>\n
As a voluntary expression of love for the brethren, it may only be surpassed by the Cross. It becomes, then, for us a controlling symbol of service. Entrance into the Order of the Towel is intentional and deliberate. No one joins accidentally or by mistake. A mindset of compassionate service must be fostered. A volunteer is one whose moral compass is pointed in the proper direction: toward others. It is a self-denying act in which others are esteemed more highly than oneself.<\/p>\n
While Christ is the only One who can bind the conscience regarding any ethical issue, including voluntary service, others have recently addressed this subject. President Bush has been quoted as saying that, \u201cFrom now on, any definition of a successful life must include serving others.\u201d And national pollster George Gallup reflected that volunteerism \u201cis at the heart of the American experiment.\u201d One aspect of Coram Deo<\/i> (living life in the presence of God, living under His authority, unto His glory) is the willingness to belong to the Order of the Towel. It is not only a national agenda as President Bush acknowledges, but a kingdom agenda as well. ■<\/p>\n
table of contents<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1 JOHN 1:5\u201310 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Much of ancient paganism said that human beings were images of animals, which is why animals symbolized their gods. Other forms of ancient paganism dissociated … Continue reading “MANKIND NEEDS A SAVIOR”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11264\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}