About the Author

Thomas Ray Floyd was born in 1953 in Simpson County, Mississippi, the son of Roy Thomas Floyd and Lina Sue Shows Floyd. Thomas Ray's mother was a member of a Primitive Baptist church, and he cut his teeth on the doctrines of distinguishing grace.

When he was a small boy, his father was converted to Christ and became a member of a Missionary Baptist Church. Thomas Ray joined the church of his father when he was 13 years old, and thought of himself as a Christian. The doctrines of grace that he had heard as a child continued to be precious to him and when he became an adult, he joined a Primitive Baptist Church. When he was 27, Thomas Ray made his first effort to preach the gospel in public and was ordained to the full functions of the ministry in 1985. In 1986 he was convinced under the preaching of Rolfe Barnard (by tapes from Mt. Olive Tape Library), the written sermons of Spurgeon, and the ministry of Elder Zack Guess that he had been a false professor and cried out in agony of soul to the Lord Jesus Christ to have mercy and truly save him. And He did! Floyd then began to preach the gospel as he had been taught of the Lord.

Floyd has pastored churches in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee and until recently was pastor of a church plant known as "Particular Baptist Fellowship." He and his wife Brenda presently attend Zion Baptist Church at Polkville, Mississippi, pastored by Elder Glen Hopkins. The pulpit ministry of Zion Baptist Church can be heard at Sermonaudio.com.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Believers Always Coming to Christ

(Article for publication week of  6-26- AD 2014)
"To Whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious," (I Peter 2:4).
We have been considering for several weeks a principle act of faith, coming to Christ. Coming to Christ, and believing on Christ are one and the same thing (see John 6:35 e.g.). Our text this week tells us that the true believer in Christ is always coming to Christ. Coming to Christ is not something a person does once in his life to get saved, but a true believer perseveres in faith and is continually coming to Christ. This is one of the differences in a true Christian and a false professor- the Christian never quits coming to Christ.
First of all, a believer is continually coming to Christ, for he is in continual need of His grace. A true believer never gets to the point that he thinks he can make it on his own. He knows he is in continual need of the grace that is in Christ. If Christ left us to ourselves for one second we would fall as surely as Judas Iscariot.  Saints are kept from final falling by the rock of our salvation and we continually are coming to Him to keep us safe from our sorry selves, the world and the devil.
Secondly, believers are always coming to Christ, because they know there will never be any access to God except through the One and Only Mediator between God and men, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have heard and believed the words of the Lovely Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, saying, "no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." So we keep coming to Christ by Whose merits we have access to God. The believer cannot live without praying, and he knows that his prayers will only be received by God through the intercession of Christ.
Thirdly, the believer keeps on coming to Christ because he has no righteousness apart from the imputed righteousness of Christ. A truly regenerate soul is made to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6). He knows that he must be as righteous as God Himself or he will be damned forever, and he believes the scriptures that God the Father has made God the Son to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21).
Fourthly, the believer is always coming to Christ for he is in continual need of the cleansing power of His blood. The true believer is painfully aware of his many foul backslidings and he knows that the fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins is the only place he can find cleansing.
Finally, the true believer will keep coming to Christ though no one else does. This Precious Stone may be disallowed by the whole world, but we will keep coming to Him for He is indeed precious to us. Dear reader, have I described you?
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