Reconciled To God

May 20, 2012

Reconciled To God

Ephesians 2:16-18

Too many Christians imagine that reconciliation with God is about sinners putting away their hostility toward God and embracing God’s love for them. Paul teaches that the opposite is true however, as he proclaims a reconciliation with God based upon Christ pacifying God’s wrath against our sin by His cross and thus “killing” the enmity which separated God from fallen sinners. This is what reconiliation with God is about and it brings with it the glorious effect of believers being able to draw near to God through Christ and enjoy access to the divine presence and grace. As Christ comes through His sent ministers who proclaim this peace, Christ Himself preaches this message of peace and makes it effectual unto His sheep by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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The Wall Is Gone

May 13, 2012

The Wall Is Gone

Ephesians 2:14-15

Memorable moments witnessed by watchful observers tend to leave vivid impressions, and one such memorable moment, is the crumbling of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989. People in the West were not only shocked but deeply encouraged as they saw that symbol of communist oppression and division systematically dismantled by an angry mob of West Germans. A similar “wall” of even greater symbolic weight was kicked down by Jesus Christ 2,000 years prior when he shed his blood on the cross. That wall, which Paul calls the “enmity” and subsequently describes as the “law of commandments contained in ordinances” separated Jew and Gentile, leaving the whole sweep of humanity on the outside of the covenant looking in. But Christ, by his cross, toppled that wall and made those two groups, Jews and Gentiles, into one new man through his blood who together might be partakers of grace. Praise God, the wall is gone!

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Brought Near In Christ

May 6, 2012

Brought Near In Christ

Ephesians 2:11-13

Six deficiences marked out the objective spiritual situation of the Gentiles before the incarnation of Jesus Christ. These deficiencies of the “far off” Gentile situation ranged from covenant exclusion, to hopelessness, to atheism. Paul proclaims the all-sufficiency of Christ as he explains that Christ has powerfully overcome these deficiencies through his shed blood as he inaugurated the new covenant and expanded its borders to include both Jew and Gentile.

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John Calvin’s Institutes Study Group

May 2, 2012

John Calvin’s Institutes Study Group

We are meeting this Sunday to go over Book 1 Chapter 14. Make sure you drop by for an interesting discussion and tasty meal.

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Saved By Grace

April 29, 2012

Ephesians 2:7-10

It is easy to start reading verse 8 with the words “saved by grace” and miss the first word in the verse, the word “for.” Such a reading tends to ingore the contextual role of verses 8 through 10 which serve not primarily as a proof-text for the doctrine of salvation but rather, they serve to confirm Paul’s assertion in verse 7 which is that God has acted in salvation in such a way that it manifests His eternal, gracious character. The role of these verses then is to show how salvation by pure undiluted grace confirms the grace of God’s divine nature which is the fountain from which the stream of saving grace flows. Any interpretation of these verses which detracts from the pure grace of salvation expounded upon here (Arminianism, Wesleyanism, Calminianism, or any kind of synergism) at the same time detracts from the eternal character of God and is therefore false and pernicious.

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The Virus of Triumphalism

April 15, 2012

The Virus of Triumphalism

Behind the rancor and division in the Corinthian church was a spiritual virus infecting it which was an immoderate desire to be something. Paul cuts the ground out from underneath those who were thus infected by reminding them that there was nothing desirable in them which accounted for their election unto salvation. Then Paul gives these Corinthians the pure gospel antidote for resisting this spiritual virus which is their sovereign and gracious union with Jesus Christ.

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Study of John Calvin’s Institutes

April 12, 2012

Study of John Calvin’s Institutes

With the middle of April nearly at hand we are approaching Calvin Studies Sunday. This week we will be discussing book one, chapter 13 on the doctrine of the Trinity. This is a lengthy chapter and has some difficult spots but I am sure that spending some time thinking about the doctrine of the Trinity will be edifying for us all. I look forward to seeing you all at the study.

Pastor Sawtelle

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He Made Us Alive!

April 10, 2012

He Made Us Alive!

From the time a young person starts playing team sports, they learn that there is no “I” in “team” only “we.” When it comes to the new birth, Scripture is clear that regeneration, or, being made alive, is not a cooperative effort between God and the sinner; rather, regeneration is sovereign, with God doing all the work while man sits passively. Paul unravels the logic behind God’s sovereignty in making sinners alive as he grounds the new birth in its prior historical and covenantal reality of being united with Christ in his bodily resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven.

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The Rich Mercy of God

April 1, 2012

The Rich Mercy of God

Three attributes of God, mercy, love, and grace, are the source of the rich streams of saving benefits bestowed upon sinners when they are converted to faith in Christ. Paul, responding to the terrible predicament of human sin, outlined in verses 1-3, transitions to proclaiming gospel grace by putting the spotlight on the rich mercy of God the Father. This message takes the attributes of divine mercy, which a root of our salvation in Christ, and places it in its broader Biblical context in order to gain deeper insight into the riches of God’s mercy.

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Children of Wrath

March 25, 2012

The third distinct component of Paul’s description of fallen humanity apart from Christ, contained in these first few verses of Ephesians 2, is found at the end of v3 in the terrible words, ‘we were born children of wrath by nature.’ Paul’s words which describe the spiritual condition of every person born into this world cannot be taken reasonably or fairly to mean anything other than that all men are born as objects of divine wrath. Minds unwilling to submit to Scripture seek to twist and contort Paul’s plain statement about the human condition primarily because they think such an idea makes the God of Scripture an unjust monster; however, the proper response to the truth is not denial or protest, but acceptance. As each person understands the misery and consequences of sin they are able to appreciate the wonder of the gospel which proclaims a God who redeems sinners from divine wrath through faith in the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

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Walking in Deadness of Sins

March 18, 2012

Walking in Deadness of Sins

Verse 2 begins with two words, ‘in which,’ marking the connection between verse one and verse two. In verses two through three Paul, looking back at dead in sins, moves the thought forward by expounding on what it means to be dead in sin by showing its corrupt works. Three distinct legs form the stool of deadness in sin: walking according to the course of this world, walking according to the prince of the power of the air, and making decisions directed by the flesh and the sinful mind. In order to appreciate the grace of being made alive we need to first come to grips with the dreadful condition of being dead in sins; by expounding the threefold dimension of spiritual death Paul helps us come to know the joy, liberation, and power of the gospel.

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You Being Dead

March 11, 2012

Sentences form the bedrock of divine revelation to the fallen race, but finding the limits and parts of the sentences in Scripture can sometimes be challenging. Ephesians 2:1-7 is one long sentence in the Greek and is irregular in structure. The key to understanding this sentence is to see that Paul places the direct object of the sentence up front in verse 1 while the subject and verbs of the sentence do not occur until verses 5 and 6. By putting the direct object in the emphatic position in verse 1, Paul signals that he is calling attention to the character and condition of fallen men. Through exposing the spiritually dead nature of sinner, Paul prepares the way for us to appreciate the joy, power, and peace of the gospel of sovereign grace in Jesus Christ.

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Mediatorial Kingship of Christ Over the Church

March 4, 2012

Mediatorial Kingship of Christ Over the Church

‘Him’, Paul says, the Father gave as Head to the Church, and by putting it that way he puts emphasis on the power and authority of Christ as Head. Accenting the pronoun ‘him’ reaches back to the sweeping power, authority, and exaltation of Christ spelled out in 1:20b-22a and applies it to Christ as Head over the Church. As Head, that is, supreme ruler, Christ exclusively rules his Church and has authority to establish its ministry and govern its practice without interference of the Pope, Bishops, magistrates, or democratically elected church rulers.

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New Sermon Audio Site

March 1, 2012

You can now listen to our most recent sermons at SermonAudio.com. So please bookmark us and follow along as we continue …

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Psalm Singing & Dr. Joel Beeke

February 22, 2012

This Lord’s Day February 26th at 2PM All Saints Reformed Church will have a joint psalm sing with Los Angeles Reformed Presbyterian Church …

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Change of Venue

February 15, 2012

All Saints and visitors, As of Sunday February 26, 2012, we will be holding our worship services at Laurel Elementary …

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Great Power, Great Consolation

February 12, 2012

Ephesians 1:19 Paul’s prayer for illumination for the Ephesians contains a very surprising and thrilling request as he prayed that …

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