Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church "Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Four Years” 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 October 26, 2015 Newsletter Number 539 Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor Brother Ronnie Henderson, Song Director Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com

Our Prayer Request: All of Our Military, Their Family’s & All the Civilian Workers in The Middle East, Zee Mink Fuller and Family, Her son’s Bryan Armstrong and Hunter Hackie, Daughter Shannon, and Brother Philip & Sondra Thornsberry, Johnnie Stephens, Alecia Stephens, and children, Frankie Baldridge and daughter, Buckie Thompson, Frank & Sonya Trusty, Frank & Dawana Reigel, Andrew Preston, Larry & Martha Mollette and Her Family, Trace Wilson, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family, Wendell Henderson, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie and Sarah Henderson, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Velma Hammond, Charles, Don Hammond and Families, Archie & Barbara Griffin, Bro. & Sister Bob Keller, Donna Johnson, Mark Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy Fails, Nathan Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Imajo Tracy, Linda Hughes, Roy Lemmon, Rosie Tomlin, James and Lynn Tomlin, Pat Abercrombie, Donna Jones, Diane Thomas, Brandy Sullivan, Gina Peel, Tammy Haiston, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Megan Whitaker, Manual Seymour, Sr, Brother Jerry and Sister Jean Dodson, Dewayne Sewell, Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan and the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, and Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

A Thought From our Pastor: God's Love. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10 John said "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us..." this is love, God loved us from the beginning of all things. there has never been a time when God did not love us. While it is a fact that God NEVER loved everyone in the world, but there is a remnant He has loved with an eternal love. By eternal I mean He never did not love us nor did He ever come to love us. Some people have an issue with the immutability of God, which means God never changes therefore it is imposable for Gods love to ever change. Either He has forever loved you of He does not. There is nothing man can do to change or persuade God's love for them. There is something else most do not get and that is God hates all that He does not love. We know that God hated Esau, "... Esau have I hated." Romans 9:13 God had always hate Esau even before the world was created. Esau never did anything to cause God to hate Him, God never loved him, ever. Just like Jacob never did anything to cause God to love him. I never did anything for God to love me, and if you are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ you never did anything for God to love you. John said "...not that we loved God..." how could we, we were not even born. When Jesus Christ died for a remnant and not the entire world. If Christ had died for the entire population of the world then everyone would be saved. The sins of the remnant were actually cleansed when the blood of Jesus Christ was spilt on the cross, not when we are acknowledging our faith. We are saved once we acknowledge faith, but salvation includes so much more than faith. We love God because He loved us, not from the moment we acknowledge faith but before the world was created, and into all eternity. This is why we came to the acknowledging of faith, because the Holy Spirit brought us to that point and gave us the faith to be saved. Many people believe that God loves everyone and everyone has the same opportunity for salvation, and God has basically nothing to do with it, because it is our choice. Now beloved that is a gross error of thinking. We are the ones who have nothing to do with our salvation because it is totally in Gods hands of love. Man has made salvation a errors doctrine and have mislead so many to a false salvation. God said in Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves..." and so many still believe it is by something we do. God not only loved us, elected us as his own, but He also sent the Holy Spirit with a quickening of the spirit, and the faith by which we are saved. Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is...faith," Since this is that truth, then it is imposable for any lost sinner to save themselves. It is a gross misunderstanding of the scriptures that lead people to believe salvation is their choice. You will never find an occasion in the bible where anyone was saved by today's ways. If man is truly totally depraved because there is not good in them than they cannot change what they are, and they are at enmity with God. Romans 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God..." The word "enmity" means they are haters of God, as to who God truly is. They may love the god in their mind but the sovereign God of the bible they hate. You cannot find anyone saved in the bible by today's ungodly standards. Not one time did anyone on the own turn from carnal to God. No one ever made a decision for Christ and no one was ever asked too. No where in the bible was a sinner told salvation was a choice, nor was anyone ever told "God cannot change mans will" as so many errors preached today declare. God has an elect remnant and He sent Jesus Christ to die for them over two thousand years ago, this how God displayed His love to us-ward.

A Thought For Your Week! It Cannot Be Both Ways The great questions that divides Christendom are these: Is salvation by works or by grace? Or, is it by some kind of hybrid thing – a combination of works and grace? Is a person saved in the first place by something he does? Is he kept by being faithful in good works? Is a person saved by praying the right words? Is he saved by being baptized? Is he saved by making a decision? What about what some people call “accepting the Lord as Saviour?” Is salvation by works or by grace? Our title says, “It Cannot Be Both Ways,” as we shall show. Remember this fact: while the Bible teaches that a sinner must be born again in order to be saved, the Bible nowhere tells us what it is that a sinner can do in order to be born again. The reason? Because there is nothing a sinner can do to bring about his own spiritual birth. The new birth is a work of the Holy Spirit of God as Jesus said: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again,” (John 3:6-7). Notice that the statement is passive. Jesus did not say you must do something to be born again. He said you must “be born.” It is the action of another which accomplishes the new birth. A baby does not go into labor and birth itself naturally and neither can the sinner birth himself into the family of God. While a baby is a participant in its birth, it is passive not causative. So it is in the new birth! In dealing with the Bible doctrine of election or God's choice of those sinners whom He would save, Paul wrote: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work,” (Romans 11:6). In this verse he lays down a principle: the new birth and everything related to it (including election) must be either by grace or by works. It cannot be both. Salvation is either deserved because of something the sinner does or is – or salvation is by grace. If by grace then the actions of the sinner have nothing to do with the new birth. Nothing the sinner does can cause or bring about his new birth. In another place Paul wrote: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast,” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Do not believe it if someone tells you “do this” or “do that” and you will be saved. If you are interested in salvation, know this: salvation is a gift bestowed by God. It is “not of works lest any man should boast.” By Curtis Pugh

Church News! * Last Wednesday October 21, 2015 was the churches 54th Anniversary. Happy Anniversary Church! * Don't forget Sunday November 01 Daylight Saving Time Ends be sure to set your clocks BACK one hour. * Next Sunday November 01 we will have our monthly business meeting at 4:00.