Satan is Defeated at the Cross

Do you see how the devil is defeated by the very weapons of his prior victory? 

The devil had vanquished Adam by means of a tree. 

Christ vanquished the devil by means of the tree of the cross. 

The tree send Adam to hell. 

The tree of the cross brought him back from there. 

The tree revealed Adam in his weakness, laying prostrate, naked and low. 

The tree of the cross manifested to all the world the victorious Christ, naked and nailed on high. 

Adam’s death sentence passed on to all who came after him. 

Christ’s death gave life to all His children.
 

John Chrysostom

347–407

Darkness at Midday

At Bethlehem, when the Saviour was born, the night was changed to day as the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds. On Golgotha the day gave way to night as Christ sank deeper and deeper into the abyss of damnation.
The Cross He Bore : Meditations on the sufferings of the Redeemer, Fredrick S. Leahy, Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh 1996. P75

The Power Of The Gospel

Romans 1:1-16 The Power of the Gospel from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara on Vimeo.

A few months ago I spoke at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara. 

Here's the video! 

(Skip to about 9 minutes in - I kind of waffle at the beginning!)

The New Covenant

The new covenant is God not merely giving us a human mediator but the second member of the Trinity Himself coming into human history as the man Jesus Christ. This time, rather than taking life as He did when He flooded the earth in the days of Noah or requiring sacrifices for sin in the Mosaic covenant, He offered Himself as the sacrificial substitute for sinners on the cross where He shed His blood in their place.  

Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears , Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe,Pg. 206 , 2010, Crossway

Two Parts

The way of godliness consists of these two parts, pious doctrine and good works. Neither are the doctrines acceptable to God without good works, nor does God accept works accomplished otherwise than as linked with pious doctrines.
Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386)

"He who is mighty"

I am, then, first and foremost unlearned, an unlettered exile who cannot plan for the future. But this much I know for sure... I was like a stone lying in the deep mud. Then He who is mighty came and in His mercy He not only pulled me out but lifted me up and placed me at the very top of the wall. I must, therefore, speak publicly in order to thank the Lord for such wonderful gifts, gifts for the present and for eternity which the human mind cannot measure.
 

St. Patrick, 

as translated by Joseph Duffy in Patrick in His Own Words, Veritas Publications, 1972

Confession of Sins and Statement of Faith

My brothers, let each of you present himself before the face of the Lord, and confess his faults and sins, following my words in his heart;
O Lord God, eternal and almighty Father, we confess and acknowledge truthfully before Your holy majesty that we are poor sinners, conceived and born in iniquity and corruption, prone to do evil, incapable of any good, and that in our depravity we transgress Your holy commandments without end or ceasing; therefore, we purchase for ourselves, through Your righteous judgment, our ruin and damnation.
Nevertheless, O Lord, we are grieved that we have offended You, and we condemn ourselves and our sins with true repentance, begging Your mercy to relieve our distress. O God and Father most gracious and full of compassion, have mercy on us in the name of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And as You blot our sins and stains, magnify and increase us day by day the grace of the Holy Spirit, that as we acknowledge our unrighteousness with all our heart, we may be moved by that sorrow that shall bring forth true repentance in us, mortifying all our sins and producing in us the fruit of righteousness and innocence that are pleasing to You, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

John Calvin, 

The Form of Church Prayers and Hymns.

Hebrews 9-10

What does God see?

The Holy of Holies contained only the ark of the covenant, a wooden chest three feet, nine inches long; two feet, three inches wide; and two feet, three inches high. On the top of this chest was a beautiful “mercy seat” made of gold, with a cherub at each end. This was the throne of God in the tabernacle (Ex. 25:10-22, Ps 80:1, 99:1) 

On the Day of Atonement, the blood was sprinkled on this mercy seat to cover the tablets of Law within the ark. God did not look at the broken Law, He saw the blood.
 

Warren Weirsbe, Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament, Volume 2, 1989, Cook Communications,  Page 309

How Should We Assemble?

There should be some preparation of the heart in coming to worship God. Consider who He is in whose name we gather, and surely we cannot rush together without thought. Consider whom we profess to worship, and we shall not hurry into His presence as men run to a fire. Moses, the man of God, was warned to put off his shoes from his feet when God only revealed Himself in a bush. How should we prepare ourselves when we come to Him who revealed Himself in Christ Jesus, His dear Son? There should be no stumbling into worship half asleep, no roaming here as if it were no more than a playhouse. We cannot expect to profit much if we bring with us a swarm of idle thoughts and a heart crammed with vanity. If we are full of folly, we may shut out the truth of God from our minds.
Charles Spurgeon, as quoted by Wayne Mack, Life in the Father’s House, P&R Press, 1996 Pg. 101

“I delivered thee when bound,
And, when bleeding, healed thy wound,
Sought thee wand’ring, set thee right,
Turned thy darkness into light.”

Author Unknown, Redemption Hymnal, Song 565

What did the High Priest wear on the Day of Atonement?

The high priest's clothes that day were remarkably simple. When he represented God to the people he was attired in robes of sumptuous colour and glory. When he represented the people before God, he wore little more than a slave would: linen tunic, shorts, belt and turban.  
Gordon J. Wenham, New Bible Commentary; Leviticus, Inter-Varsity Press, 1994 Pg. 143

Incarnation Meditation from a Virgin Mother to her Divine Son

How shall I give You milk, who gives food to all creation?
How shall I hold You in my arms who holds all things?
How shall I look upon You without fear, on whom the cherubim with many eyes dare not lift their gaze?
Matutin, 6. Tone

As quoted in The Mystical Language of Icons - Solrunn Nes, Eerdmans, 2004

Deeper Symbolism Than The Grave

In fact, the waters of baptism have an even richer symbolism than simply the symbolism of the grave. The waters also remind us of the waters of God’s judgment that came upon unbelievers at the time of the flood (Gen 7:6-24), or the drowning of the Egyptians in the Exodus (Ex. 14:26-29). Similarly, when Jonah was thrown into the deep (Jonah 1:7-16), he was thrown down to the place of death because of God’s judgment on his disobedience - even though he was miraculously rescued and thus became a sign of the resurrection. 

Therefore those who go down into the waters of baptism really are going down into the waters of judgment and death, death that they deserve from God for their sins. When they come back up out of the waters of baptism it shows that they have come safely through God’s judgment only because of the merits of Jesus Christ, with whom they are united in His death and resurrection. This is why Peter can say in 1 Peter 3:21 that baptism “corresponds to” the saving of Noah and his family from the waters of judgment in the flood.
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, IVP, Leicester, 1994, page 968 (footnote 7)

Why Was Jesus Baptised?

Jesus sanctified baptism when He Himself was baptized, can anyone who scorns baptism pretend to piety? Not that He was baptized to receive remission of sins - for He was without sin- but, being sinless, He was nevertheless baptized that He might impart grace and dignity to those who receive the sacrament. For, “since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same nature,” that we, sharing His incarnate life, might also share His divine grace. Thus Jesus was baptized that we, in turn, so made partakers with Him, might receive not only salvation, but also the dignity.
The dragon, according to Job, was in the water, he who received the Jordan in his maw. When, therefore, it was necessary to crush the heads of the dragon, descending into the water, He bound the strong one, that we might receive the “power to tread upon serpents and scorpions.” it was no ordinary beast, but a horrible monster. No fishing ship could last under a single scale of his tail; before him stalked destruction, ravaging all in her path. But life came running up, that that maw of death might be stopped and all we who were save might say, ‘O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” Baptism draws death’s sting.
Cyril of Jerusalem:
Catechetical Lectures 3.11