“Then he said unto the, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:25-27

The whole Bible has one central message, one theme, one subject, running right through it, from Genesis to Revelation, like a crimson cord threaded through each and every word – that message regards the person and the work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The message is clear – it concerns “Christ and Him Crucified”. Wherever we read in the scriptures, Old Testament or New, it is Christ who is being spoken of and it is Christ for whom we should look. To miss Christ – both His person and His work – is to miss the very heart, the very essence of the message of the word of God.

In Acts 8:32-35 we read of the Ethiopian eunuch in his chariot:-

“The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”

The eunuch needed the Holy Spirit to open his understanding in the scriptures. But the message which Philip preached unto him from those Old Testament scriptures was clear – they spoke of Jesus.

Jesus Himself confirmed this fact to the disciples in Luke 24:27 where we read: “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Elsewhere we read that the scriptures testify of Christ: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

Of whom it is written: “…thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21), “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), and also: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:1-5).

But not only has God given us the scriptures which testify of Christ, but the Holy Spirit, through the written word of God, testifies of the Living Word – the Lord Jesus Christ – that those chosen out of the darkness might comprehend the Light and believe on His name (John 1:12):

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26).

How we need the Comforter, the Spirit of truth to give us eyes to see and ears to hear what wondrous things the Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying to save sinners. May God be pleased to give grace to see Christ in “all the scriptures”.

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Have a listen to the following series of messages by Don Fortner in which he declares Christ as He is set forth in all 66 books of the word of God, and His work of salvation in saving sinners.

Discovering Christ In Genesis

Discovering Christ In Exodus

Discovering Christ In Leviticus

Discovering Christ In Numbers

Discovering Christ In Deuteronomy

Discovering Christ In Joshua

Discovering Christ In Judges

Discovering Christ In Ruth

Discovering Christ In 1 Samuel

Discovering Christ In 2 Samuel

Discovering Christ In 1 Kings

Discovering Christ In 2 Kings

Discovering Christ In 1 Chronicles

Discovering Christ In 2 Chronicles

Discovering Christ In Ezra

Discovering Christ In Nehemiah

Discovering Christ In Esther

Discovering Christ In Job

Discovering Christ In Psalms

Discovering Christ In Proverbs

Discovering Christ In Ecclesiastes

Discovering Christ In Song of Solomon

Discovering Christ In Isaiah

Discovering Christ In Jeremiah

Discovering Christ In Lamentations

Discovering Christ In Ezekiel

Discovering Christ In Daniel

Discovering Christ In Hosea

Discovering Christ In Joel

Discovering Christ In Amos

Discovering Christ In Obadiah

Discovering Christ In Jonah

Discovering Christ In Micah

Discovering Christ In Nahum

Discovering Christ In Habakkuk

Discovering Christ In Zephaniah

Discovering Christ In Haggai

Discovering Christ In Zechariah

Discovering Christ In Malachi

Discovering Christ In Matthew

Discovering Christ In Mark

Discovering Christ In Luke

Discovering Christ In John

Discovering Christ In Acts

Discovering Christ In Romans

Discovering Christ In 1 Corinthians

Discovering Christ In 2 Corinthians

Discovering Christ In Galatians

Discovering Christ In Ephesians

Discovering Christ In Philippians

Discovering Christ In Colossians

Discovering Christ In 1 Thessalonians

Discovering Christ In 2 Thessalonians

Discovering Christ In 1 Timothy

Discovering Christ In 2 Timothy

Discovering Christ In Titus

Discovering Christ In Philemon

Discovering Christ In Hebrews

Discovering Christ In James

Discovering Christ In 1 Peter

Discovering Christ In 2 Peter

Discovering Christ In 1 John

Discovering Christ In 2 John

Discovering Christ In 3 John

Discovering Christ In Jude

Discovering Christ In Revelation

(Or see Discovering Christ in all the Scriptures (Series) on SermonAudio.com) 

Where can the truth of God be heard in Devon?

‘The Church in Devon’ website seeks to answer that question – being most concerned with the gathering of Christ’s church (the ekklesia) in the Devon area. As such it promotes the Gospel of Christ and provides details of meetings held in Devon where that Gospel may be heard.

We live in days when there is a great famine of the hearing of the word of God in our country. Though many churches profess the name of Christ, the reality is that there are very few places where Christ is actually preached in the Gospel – where the Truth may be heard.  Yet the preaching of the Gospel is the very means by which God saves sinners, builds and establishes the church, and continues to sustain and feed His people in that church. The truth is, any ‘church’ in which the Gospel fails to be preached is not worthy of the name of Christ.

Of course, many will claim that they do preach the Gospel, but unless the gospel preached accords with that set forth in the scriptures (see The Gospel of God ), unless it be the same message preached by the apostles of old, preached with the same Spirit by those sent of God to proclaim it, then whatever the name given to the message, and whatever the claims made for it, it simply isn’t the Gospel of Christ, and it has no power to save. What is needed in the churches today is the faithful preaching of the Gospel of Christ, as set forth in the scriptures, by preachers sent forth by God to preach His word with boldness: “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance” 1 Thessalonians 1:5.

Yet despite a great falling away from the truth of the Gospel and from the faithful preaching of Christ in that Gospel in many places today, nevertheless the Lord still does have a people in this day, He still does gather them under the preaching of His word, and He still does send forth preachers to preach that word. Christ continues to build His church! It is our joy to see this happening and our desire to see God’s people gather to hear the preaching of Christ in the Gospel. To this end, this website promotes that Gospel and its proclamation in the county of Devon in which we live, and also further afield.

Since April 1999 we have held meetings in Honiton, Devon to gather under the preaching of the Gospel, usually on audio and video tape. These meetings are normally held every two weeks. If you are in the Devon area and are interested in attending these meetings please do get in touch by email. 

For further details see also the ‘Honiton Sovereign Grace Meetings’ website, which provides full details of meeting times as well as providing messages online which can be listened to. To understand the importance and value of the public worship of Christ in His church have a listen to The Importance of Public Worship by Henry Mahan.

See also: The Gospel of God  and Grace and Truth Online

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In this post I hope to provide some links to messages which we have recently heard at the meetings in Honiton, as well as information regarding the meetings.

On Monday February 25th we listened to the following heart-warming message by Maurice Montgomery:

‘Jesus Christ’ – Colossians 1:15-17 (Maurice Montgomery)

…

THE SOUTH WEST SOVEREIGN GRACE CONFERENCE 2008

On Tuesday April 1st and Wednesday April 2nd GraceAndTruthOnline.com’s 2008 Sovereign Grace Conference was held in Sidmouth, Devon.

Following his visit to this area last year we were delighted to welcome back Pastor Don Fortner as our speaker.

Don Fortner’s ministry has been a great blessing to us over the years, a ministry in which the Lord Jesus Christ is always exalted.

The venue for this year’s conference was the excellent Sidholme Hotel in Sidmouth Devon. This is situated about 30 minutes south of Honiton on the beautiful East Devon coastline (http://www.sidholme.co.uk ). Sidholme Hotel Elysian Fields, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 8UJ (See also the PDF Sovereign Grace Conference 2008 Flyer here?)

Audio messages of the meetings are now available.

Tuesday 1st April 2008 at 8.00pm D.V.
Freewill or Freegrace (Don Fortner)

The Baptisms of Luis Gomes and Ian Potts – April 1st 2008

Wednesday 2nd April 2008 at 8.00pm D.V.
A Parable of Every Believer’s Life (Don Fortner)

About Don Fortner

Don Fortner has pastored and faithfully declared the gospel of God’s free grace in Christ at Grace Baptist Church of Danville Kentucky for over twenty-five years. Only incidentally is he a widely published author, and conference speaker. Books and commentaries he has written include Basic Bible Doctrine; Grace for Today; Discovering Christ in Revelation; Discovering Christ in Genesis; Discovering Christ in the Song of Solomon; Discovering Christ in Ruth; Discovering Christ in all the Scriptures; Life After Pentecost; and The Church of God. His prolific and endless labour to comfort and feed the people of Christ has resulted in a copious amount of unpublished materials now available and updated routinely at http://www.donfortner.com.

“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:19-21

The message of salvation is a message of grace. It declares the free grace of God in saving undeserving, rebellious sinners, who turned their back on God and went another way… a people, who sought not God, but whom God was pleased to save out of nothing but His love and mercy to them in the Person of His precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This message of Free Grace is so rarely preached in the ‘churches’ of our day – yet it is the message of the Bible, the message of God’s Gospel, the message of Truth and the only message which saves! You and I need to hear it.

We thank God for those men whom He has sent to preach that very message. Men such as Don Fortner and Henry Mahan. Listen to some of their messages here:

What Does it Take For God to Save a Sinner? – 1 Peter 4:18 (Don Fortner)

No Compromise – Exodus 5:1 – 10:29 (Don Fortner)

Eternal Grace – Ephesians 1:3-6 (Don Fortner)

He Opened To Us the Scriptures – Luke 24:13-35 (Don Fortner)

Accepted in The Beloved – Ephesians 1:6 (Don Fortner)

A Man After God’s Own Heart – 2 Samuel 11:26-27 (Don Fortner)

…

In Christ – Revelation 14:13 (Henry Mahan)

The Miracle of Grace – Isaiah 55:6-9 (Henry Mahan)

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.  Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.”

The Truth of God has foundations and the foundational truths of the Gospel are constantly under attack. Often I receive enquiries from people asking about certain aspects of the truth, questioning it, doubting it, at times attacking it. “What is the kingdom of God?”, “Who is the Holy Ghost?”, “Is Jesus Christ God?”, “Does one need to hear the Gospel to be saved?”

The answers to such questions are vital. We must have a reason for the hope that is in us. Here are a number of messages which address various aspects of the truth which are often a source of enquiry. May God use them to establish His people in the word and set them firmly upon the one true foundation of His church - the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel

“Who is Jesus Christ? Is He God? How is He made known?” 

“Does one need to hear the Gospel to be saved?”

God’s Work & The Means by Which He Performs It (Don Fortner)

Hear this foundational and vital message – highly recommended:

Paul’s Gospel – Romans 1:1-4  (John Metcalfe 9/9/85 Penang)

Unashamed of the Gospel – Romans 1:16  (John Metcalfe 15/7/01 Glasgow)

The Foundations

His Foundation – Psalm 87  (John Metcalfe 12/9/85 Singapore)

The Holy Spirit

“Is the Holy Spirit a person or an influence?”

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit – John 20:22  (John Metcalfe 28/12/84 Kuala Lumpur)

The Kingdom of God

“What is the kingdom of God? What is the kingdom of heaven?”

The Gospel of the Kingdom – Mark 1:14 (John Metcalfe 4/5/91 London)

The Nation of Israel

Who Are The Hebrews? The Israel of God? – Exodus 3:15-18 (Don Fortner)

End Times and Prophecy

“What does the Bible teach about the end times and the coming again of the Lord? What is Premillenialism? Postmillenialism? Preterism?”

Overview of Revelation  (John Metcalfe 24-10-85 Singapore)

…”And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you”.

The word of God as recorded in the scriptures has been under constant attack from the time at which it was first written until the present day. The Adversary constantly seeks to attack the foundations to cause confusion and cast doubts upon the truth. Yet for 2000 years since the New Testament scriptures were concluded God has preserved His word – both in the original languages (Greek and Hebrew) and in providing faithful translations of the scriptures – such as the ‘Authorised Version’ (KJV) of the Bible in the English tongue. As 1 Peter 1:24-25 tells us: “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

The proliferation of ‘modern’ translations of the Bible into English, especially since the revision published in 1881, has only served to cause confusion. The vast majority of these translations have been based on a less reliable edition of the Greek than that from which the Authorised Version was translated and this has led to numerous errors in these versions. It is wise to be aware of the differences and not to be taken in by the ‘Trojan Horse’ enchantment of the promise of ‘more modern English’ which comes at the expense of the truth itself.

For many years the Trinitarian Bible Society has both published the word of God in the Authorised Version (and in other languages) and also provided a defence of that translation in contrast to many modern mistranslations. A number of excellent pamphlets have been produced examining other ‘translations’. Their website is well worth a visit.

However, the TBS now also has a presence on SermonAudio.com where a number of messages may be heard by various preachers in relation to the work of the TBS, the preservation of the word of God and the inaccuracies of other translations. 

Amongst the messages available on that site are a couple by G .D. Buss and B.A. Ramsbottom who are both well known ministers amongst those churches known as ‘Gospel Standard Strict Baptists’, as group of churches which sprang up from the faithful ministry of the Gospel in the early 1800s by such men as William Gadsby, John Kershaw, John Warburton and J.C. Philpot – men of God who loved and proclaimed the Gospel of Free and Sovereign Grace.

The Lord gave the Word – G.D. Buss (10/6/2000)

Hebrews 12:27 – B.A. Ramsbottom (22/9/2007)

See: Trinitarian Bible Society on SermonAudio.com