November 2005 - Vol 1, Issue 7

In this issue...
-- Let Us Thank God
-- Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
-- Second Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries is a tremendous success
-- Conference day ends well with VCY Rally
-- Whitcomb Ministries hits major mark on SermonAudio.com
-- Dr. Whitcomb's story told in biographical article

Let Us Thank God
By Dr. John C. Whitcomb

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thess. 5:18).

In this Thanksgiving season - and throughout the year - let us thank God for Who He is, what He has said, and what He has done, is doing, and will yet do.

We thank God the Father for His perfect holiness and His infinite love: "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..." (John 3:16). He did not simply forgive our sins, He maintained His holy character and standards by paying the essential price for our sins. "He loved... He gave!" This was not cheap grace! "He... spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Rom. 8:32). Thank You, Heavenly Father for giving Your Son for us!

We also thank God the Son for the marvelous display of His wisdom and power in creating the universe, the earth, and all living things. "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3). "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible" (Col. 1:16). "In Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Thank You, Lord Jesus, for creating us!

We also thank God's Son for His moment-by-moment work of maintaining the universe which He created ("by Him all things consist [i.e., hold together]" Col. 1:17; He "uphold(s) all things by the word of His power" Heb. 1:3). Not only does He prevent things from sinking into non-existence, He also directs everything toward a God-honoring ultimate goal by His providence. Thus, the Father has appointed Him to be "heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds (literally, the ages; i.e., mass-energy through time)" (Heb. 1:2). It is only because the Son of God is in charge of the universe (not Satan! not chance!), that "all things" can "work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28). Thank You, Lord Jesus, for preserving and guiding all things!

We must especially thank our Lord Jesus Christ for dying on the cross for our sins. As a perfect man, He would not have wanted to experience the wrath of His Father for those three hours (from noon to 3 p.m.). Therefore He cried out, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup (of temporary but total separation from the Father) pass from Me." We must be eternally grateful that He added these words: "nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matt. 26:39).

Amazingly, the Father was "pleased (i.e., it was His eternal purpose, cf. Acts 2:23)... to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief" (Is. 53:10), in order that we might be saved. "He (the Father) hath made Him (the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

Thus, our sin was transferred to Jesus Christ, and He became our substitute before the Father the moment we believed in Him! When God the Father looks at believers, He sees us through the sacrificed blood of the Lamb of God because "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13). His righteousness was imputed (i.e., transferred, counted, reckoned) to us, just as our sin was imputed to Him: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

For all eternity we shall be thankful to God our Father, who "quickened us together with Christ... and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-6). We are positionally, judicially perfect, in the mind of God, who sees us as we shall be. But now, "it doth not yet appear what we shall be" (1 John 3:2). Even the great Apostle Paul, keenly discerning the depth of his sin nature, representing all of us, exclaimed: "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom. 7:24). What is the answer to this awful bondage to sin? "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 7:25)!

As believers, we must say, then, "Thank You, our Father, for counting us as righteous in Your sight, because of the infinite work of substitutionary sacrifice our Savior performed that afternoon, nearly 2,000 years ago, outside of the walls of Jerusalem on the central cross between two thieves!" "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Is. 53:6).

Hundreds of millions of people who claim to be Christians are to some extent haunted by the ultimate consequences of their sins. They are not really satisfied with the price our Savior paid on the cross. They do not understand what He meant when He said: "It is finished!" (John 19:30).

But the Son of God was satisfied: "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied" (Is. 53:11). "And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation (i.e., satisfaction) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1, 2).

The New Testament could not be clearer: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3:23-26).

"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift" (2 Cor. 9:15).

Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
Following his very busy weekend in Wisconsin during the first weekend in November, Dr. Whitcomb made stops at the Mid-America Association of Christian Schools Conference in Kansas City, the Grace Bible Church in Bucyrus, Kans., and the Spring Valley Grace Brethren Church in Elyria, Ohio.

He currently has no more speaking engagements scheduled for the remainder of this year.

Please pray for Dr. Whitcomb as he uses his time during this holiday season to study and prepare in order that he may continue to write, teach and speak in the months ahead.

For additional details about other upcoming events, please visit our web pages at www.whitcombministries.org and www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

Second Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries is a tremendous success
An unofficial count of 267 people registered for the Second Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries in Menomonee Falls, Wis., which was held on Saturday, Nov. 5. We praise the Lord for this exciting response to our efforts to proclaim the Biblical truth about "Creation: The Christian’s Vital Heritage."

Whitcomb Ministries owes a great debt of gratitude to all those whose efforts made this day not only possible, but successful: Dr. Terry Mortenson, Sherry Trainer, Betsy Pabon, RuthAnn Ledgerwood, all of our volunteer helpers, and, last but certainly not least, Calvary Baptist Church of Menomonee Falls and its pastor, Dr. James Maxwell. We also thank all of the churches and schools that hosted Dr. Whitcomb and Dr. Mortenson for speaking events while they were in the area.

Because of the response to this year’s event, plans are now underway for the Third Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries, to be held, Lord willing, in the fall of 2006. We hope that you will make every effort to join us for this very special Bible conference. Watch the Monthly Monograph and our web pages for much more information about plans for that exciting day.

Conference day ends well with VCY Rally
This year in conjunction with our conference, Whitcomb Ministries was able to partner with VCY America and its November VCY Rally at the Waukesha Expo Center on the evening of Nov. 5.

Dr. Whitcomb spoke at the rally, and Sherry Trainer, the featured vocalist at our conference, presented a mini-sacred concert. More than 700 people attended that evening, making this the best attended rally that VCY America has had during this current rally season to date.

Those of you who live in Southern Wisconsin will be able to view this rally on WVCY TV-30 at some point in the future. For more information, visit www.vcyamerica.org.

Whitcomb Ministries hits major mark on SermonAudio.com
With humble gratitude to God and those to whom we have the privilege to minister via the Internet, Whitcomb Ministries announces that we have surpassed the 50,000 mark of sermons listened to through our pages at SermonAudio.com. This is an amazing result for our ministry, which has been broadcasting on the site only since late July of 2003, and for it we are extremely thankful.

You may have extra time to listen to sermons on the Internet during this holiday time; or, conversely, you may need a Biblical message to get you through some hectic days. In either case, Whitcomb Ministries has more than 220 sermons posted for you to listen to anytime, free of charge.

While most of these sermons and messages are from Dr. John Whitcomb, you can also hear from other speakers as well. For instance, you can hear a radio interview with Mrs. Norma Whitcomb, and messages by several other "Faithful Men" who have been taught by Dr. Whitcomb through the years.

We have exciting plans to add many more sermons, messages, lectures and radio programs to our SermonAudio.com pages in 2006. We hope that you will meet us there often, listen in, and allow the Word of God to transform your life.

Dr. Whitcomb's story told in biographical article
A brief version of Dr. John Whitcomb's life story is told in the current Fall Quarter 2005 issue of "Gospel Herald and The Sunday School Times" magazine.

The article, written by Paul J. Scharf, is entitled, "Dr. John C. Whitcomb: Hero of the Faith."

For ordering information on this excellent, enduring magazine from Union Gospel Press, write The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press Division, 2000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH 44109-5812, or visit www.uniongospelpress.com.


From all of us at Whitcomb Ministries, thank you for reading the Monthly Monograph during this, its inaugural year. We wish you a most blessed and happy holiday season, and trust that you will enjoy the special Christmas message from Dr. Whitcomb in our next issue.