<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>
<channel>
	<title>Of First Importance</title>
	<atom:link href="http://firstimportance.org/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://firstimportance.org</link>
	<description>Living Each Day in the Good of the Gospel</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sat, 25 May 2013 12:00:34 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-US</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Blood-sprinkled words</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/blood-sprinkled-words/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/blood-sprinkled-words/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 May 2013 11:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.org/?p=1353&date=2013-05-25</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If the mark of his blood is upon any word, thou needest never doubt it. If he has died, how canst thou perish? If he [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;If the mark of his blood is upon any word, thou needest never doubt it. If he has died, how canst thou perish? If he has bidden thee come, how can he cast thee out? If thou dost rest upon his finished work, how canst thou be condemned? Believe, I pray thee, and rest thee on the blood-sprinkled words of this wondrous Book.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; Charles Spurgeon</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2250.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"Words to Rest On"</a></span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/approach-my-soul-the-mercy-seat/" rel="bookmark">Approach, my soul, the mercy seat&rdquo;</a><!-- (15.3)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/thy-sins-were-crucified-with-him/" rel="bookmark">Thy sins were crucified with him&rdquo;</a><!-- (14.5)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/the-holy-ointment/" rel="bookmark">The holy ointment&rdquo;</a><!-- (13.9)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/blood-sprinkled-words/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>We who believe have died</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/we-who-believe-have-died/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/we-who-believe-have-died/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 10:48:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.wordpress.com/?p=425&date=2013-05-22</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thus knowledge of Christ’s death for us as our sin-bearing substitute requires us to see ourselves as dead, risen, and alive forevermore in him. We [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;Thus knowledge of Christ’s death for us as our sin-bearing substitute requires us to see ourselves as dead, risen, and alive forevermore in him. We who believe have died — painlessly and invisibly, we might say — in solidarity with him because he died, painfully and publicly, in substitution for us.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; J. I. Packer</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://www.wtsbooks.com/in-my-place-condemned-he-stood-j-i-mark-dever-packer-9781433502002?utm_source=byl&amp;utm_medium=byl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">In My Place Condemned He Stood</a></span><br /><span class="academic" style="margin-left: 22px">(Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2008), 86</span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/dead-risen-and-alive-forevermore-in-him/" rel="bookmark">Dead, risen, and alive forevermore in Him&rdquo;</a><!-- (39.1)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/he-not-only-died-he-rose-again/" rel="bookmark">He not only died; He rose again&rdquo;</a><!-- (12.7)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/that-is-how-jesus-died/" rel="bookmark">That is how Jesus died&rdquo;</a><!-- (11.4)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/we-who-believe-have-died/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Unhurried meditation on gospel truths</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/unhurried-meditation-on-gospel-truths/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/unhurried-meditation-on-gospel-truths/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 09:53:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.org/?p=1321&date=2013-05-21</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is the unhurried meditation on gospel truths and the exposing of our minds to these truths that yields the fruit of sanctified character.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;It is the unhurried meditation on gospel truths and the exposing of our minds to these truths that yields the fruit of sanctified character.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; Maurice Roberts</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0851516580?tag=offirimp-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Thought of God</a></span><br /><span class="academic" style="margin-left: 22px">(Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1993), 11</span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/the-most-wonderful-astonishing-of-all-truths/" rel="bookmark">The most wonderful and astonishing of all truths&rdquo;</a><!-- (10.3)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/preparation-for-the-gospel/" rel="bookmark">Preparation for the gospel&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.7)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/the-gospel-is-the-priority/" rel="bookmark">The gospel is the priority&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.2)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/unhurried-meditation-on-gospel-truths/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>At the Heart of Revival</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/at-the-heart-of-revival/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/at-the-heart-of-revival/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 11:23:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.org/?p=1495&date=2013-05-20</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At the heart of revival is Christ made known to repenting sinners.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;At the heart of revival is Christ made known to repenting sinners.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; Stanley Voke</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Personal-Revival-Living-Christian-Light/dp/1884543057" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Personal Revival</a></span><br /><span class="academic" style="margin-left: 22px">(Waynesboro, GA: OM Literature), 78</span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/bring-your-heart-to-christs-love/" rel="bookmark">Bring your heart to Christ’s love&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.2)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/christs-heart/" rel="bookmark">Christ’s heart&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.2)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/it-was-a-thing-much-upon-gods-heart/" rel="bookmark">It was a thing much upon God’s heart&rdquo;</a><!-- (8.8)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/at-the-heart-of-revival/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Whose righteousness establishes your identity?</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/whose-righteousness-establishes-your-identity/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/whose-righteousness-establishes-your-identity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 10:35:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.org/?p=1159&date=2013-05-19</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If the truth of being justified by Christ alone (not by our works) is lost, then all Christian truths are lost. For there is no [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;If the truth of being <em>justified by Christ alone</em> (not by our works) is lost, then all Christian truths are lost. For there is no middle ground between Christian righteousness and works-righteousness. There is no alternative to Christian righteousness <em>but </em>works-righteousness; if you do not build your confidence on the work of Christ, you must build your confidence on your own work. On this truth and <em>only</em> on this truth the church is built and has its being.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; Tim Keller</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://www.wtsbooks.com/galatians-for-you-tim-keller-9781908762573?utm_source=byl&amp;utm_medium=byl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Galatians for You</a></span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/our-righteousness-identity/" rel="bookmark">Our righteousness and identity&rdquo;</a><!-- (14.5)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/you-are-not-justified-by-the-spirits-work/" rel="bookmark">You are not justified by the Spirit’s work&rdquo;</a><!-- (12.9)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/passive-righteousness/" rel="bookmark">Passive righteousness&rdquo;</a><!-- (12.8)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/whose-righteousness-establishes-your-identity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How obedience is born</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/how-obedience-is-born/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/how-obedience-is-born/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 11:07:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.org/?p=1954&date=2013-05-18</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by his paternal care, and that he is the author of all [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;Until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by his paternal care, and that he is the author of all their blessings, so that naught is to be looked for away from him, they will never submit to him in voluntary obedience; no, unless they place their entire happiness in him, they will never yield up their whole selves to him in truth and sincerity.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; John Calvin</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://www.wtsbooks.com/institutes-of-the-christian-religion-volumes-john-calvin-9780664220280?utm_source=byl&amp;utm_medium=byl?utm_source=byl&amp;utm_medium=byl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Institutes of the Christian Religion</a></span><span class="academic">I.2</span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/clothed-in-christs-obedience-2/" rel="bookmark">Clothed in Christ’s obedience&rdquo;</a><!-- (10)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/obedience-formed-by-the-cross/" rel="bookmark">Obedience formed by the cross&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.1)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/the-law-jesus-and-obedience/" rel="bookmark">The law, Jesus, and obedience&rdquo;</a><!-- (8)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/how-obedience-is-born/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A new creature in Christ</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/a-new-creature-in-christ/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/a-new-creature-in-christ/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2013 11:59:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.org/2007/10/19/a-new-creature-in-christ/&date=2013-05-17</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If I am a new creature in Christ, then I stand before God, not in myself—but in Christ. He sees no longer me—but only him [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;If I am a new creature in Christ, then I stand before God, not in myself—but in Christ. He sees no longer me—but only him in whom I am—him who represents me, Christ Jesus, my substitute and surety. In believing, I have become so identified with the Son of his love, that the favor with which he regards him passes over to me, and rests, like the sunshine of the new heavens, upon me.</p>
<p>In Christ, and through Christ, I have acquired a new standing before the Father. I am ‘accepted in the beloved.’</p>
<p>My old standing, that is, that of distance, and disfavor, and condemnation, is wholly removed, and I am brought into one of nearness, and acceptance, and pardon—I am made to occupy a new footing, just as if my old one had never been. Old guilt, heavy as the mountain, vanishes; old dread, gloomy as midnight, passes off; old fear, dark as hell, gives place to the joyful confidence arising from forgiveness and reconciliation, and the complete blotting out of sin.</p>
<p>All things are made new. I have changed my standing before God; and that simply in consequence of that oneness between me and Christ, which has been established, through my believing the record given concerning him. I come to him on a new footing, for I am “in Christ,” and in me there has been a new creation.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; Horatius Bonar</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://gracegems.org/Bonar/christ_and_the_new_creation.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"Christ and the New Creation"</a></span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/childlike-confidence/" rel="bookmark">Childlike confidence&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.6)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/hell-grasped-a-corpse-and-met-god/" rel="bookmark">Hell grasped a corpse, and met God&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.3)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/as-christ-would-stand/" rel="bookmark">As Christ would stand&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.1)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/a-new-creature-in-christ/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I remember two things</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/i-remember-two-things/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/i-remember-two-things/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 12:19:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.wordpress.com/?p=557&date=2013-05-16</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; John Newton, quoted by Jonathan Aitken in</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://www.wtsbooks.com/john-newton-jonathan-aitken-9781581348484?utm_source=byl&amp;utm_medium=byl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace</a></span><br /><span class="academic" style="margin-left: 22px">(Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 347</span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/remember-christ-always/" rel="bookmark">Remember Christ always&rdquo;</a><!-- (9.5)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/comforting-words-you-are-a-sinner/" rel="bookmark">Comforting words: “You are a sinner.”&rdquo;</a><!-- (7.3)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/the-living-guide-to-jesus/" rel="bookmark">The living guide to Jesus&rdquo;</a><!-- (7.2)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/i-remember-two-things/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Be not dismayed by soul-trouble</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/be-not-dismayed-by-soul-trouble-2/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/be-not-dismayed-by-soul-trouble-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 12:28:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.org/?p=1348&date=2013-05-15</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The lesson of wisdom is, be not dismayed by soul-trouble. Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary experience. Should the power of [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;The lesson of wisdom is, <em><span style="font-style: italic;">be not dismayed by soul-trouble. </span></em>Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary experience.</p>
<p>Should the power of depression be more than ordinary, think not that all is over with your usefulness. Cast not away your confidence, for it hath great recompense of reward. Even if the enemy’s foot be on your neck, expect to rise and overthrow him.</p>
<p>Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who forsaketh not his saints.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; Charles Spurgeon</span><br /><span class="book" style="margin-left: 22px"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ABSOFJ8?tag=offirimp-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"The Minister’s Fainting Fits"</a></span></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/be-not-dismayed-by-soul-trouble/" rel="bookmark">Be not dismayed by soul-trouble&rdquo;</a><!-- (70.6)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/the-easter-gospel/" rel="bookmark">The Easter Gospel&rdquo;</a><!-- (10.9)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/in-glorious-thoughts-of-this-let-my-soul-live/" rel="bookmark">In glorious thoughts of this let my soul live&rdquo;</a><!-- (10.7)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/be-not-dismayed-by-soul-trouble-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fill your affections with the cross of Christ</title>
		<link>http://firstimportance.org/fill-your-affections-with-the-cross-of-christ/</link>
		<comments>http://firstimportance.org/fill-your-affections-with-the-cross-of-christ/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 12:02:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://firstimportance.org/?p=2111&date=2013-05-14</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When someone sets his affections upon the cross and the love of Christ, he crucifies the world as a dead and undesirable thing. The baits [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-indent: -4px">&ldquo;When someone sets his affections upon the cross and the love of Christ, he crucifies the world as a dead and undesirable thing. The baits of sin lose their attraction and disappear. Fill your affections with the cross of Christ and you will find no room for sin.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-style: normal;"><span class="author">&mdash; John Owen</span><br /></cite><div style="clear:both"></div><div class='yarpp-related-rss'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/christ-is-everything/" rel="bookmark">Christ is Everything&rdquo;</a><!-- (15.8)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/the-offensive-attractive-cross/" rel="bookmark">The offensive, attractive cross&rdquo;</a><!-- (14.1)-->,
&ldquo;<a href="http://firstimportance.org/a-cross-with-christs-own-presence-blest/" rel="bookmark">A cross with Christ’s own presence blest&rdquo;</a><!-- (11.8)-->
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://firstimportance.org/fill-your-affections-with-the-cross-of-christ/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
