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Tuesday, 07 April 2009

  • Baptism and Salvation - Part 1

    A. Holy Spirit Baptism

    One of the key concepts missed by many in the baptism/salvation discussion is a proper understanding of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I am not going to address the different views about the baptism with reference to spiritual gifts, tongues, etc., that is a topic for another time. However, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in general is one of the most important teachings of the New Testament, and it bears heavily on this discussion, because much of the confusion about Biblical references to baptism and salvation arises from people taking verses and passages which speak of Spirit Baptism and applying those passages to water baptism. There are several Biblical facts which we need to examine here:

    •The outpouring, or baptism, of the Holy Spirit was predicted in the Old Testament in several places:

    •The Baptism in the Holy Spirit was defined by John the Baptiser, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, as being a distinctive part of the ministry of Christ. Indeed, the baptism of water was contrasted with the baptism in the Spirit.

    •Christ promised the outpouring, or baptism, of the Spirit to His disciples:

    •The initial outpouring came on the day of Pentecost, and there were other outpourings in the books of Acts. Some of these outpourings came to those who had been baptized in water, and some came to those who had not yet been baptized in water.

    •In discussing the ministry of the Spirit in the Body of Christ (the church) Paul made it plain to the Corinthians that it was Spirit Baptism which placed them in Christ.

    1. The outpouring, or baptism, of the Holy Spirit was predicted in the Old Testament in several places:

    • Isa 44:3 "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;"
    • Joel 2:28-29 "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."
    • Zec 12:10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

      2. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit was defined by John the Baptiser, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, as being a distinctive part of the ministry of Christ. Indeed, the baptism of water was contrasted with the baptism in the Spirit.

    • Matt 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
    • Mark 1:8 "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
    • Luke 3:16 "John answered, saying to all, 'I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'"
    • John 1:32-33 "And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'""

      3. Christ promised the outpouring, or baptism, of the Spirit to His disciples:

    • Luke 24:49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
    • Acts 1:5 "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

      4. The initial outpouring came on the day of Pentecost, and there were other outpourings in the books of Acts. Some of these outpourings came to those who had been baptized in water, and some came to those who had not yet been baptized in water.

    • Acts 2:1-4 "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
    • Acts 8:15-17 "who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."
    • Acts 10:44-47 "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?""
    • Acts 11:15-16 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"
    • Acts 19:1-6 "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied."

      5. In discussing the ministry of the Spirit in the Body of Christ (the church) Paul made it plain to the Corinthians that it was Spirit Baptism which placed them in Christ.

    • 1 Cor 12:1-13 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit."

      6. Therefore we understand that when baptism is talked about in the Bible, there is a way to distinguish between water baptism and Spirit Baptism in those scriptures which do not specifically tell which type is being discussed.

        a. That way is this: if the passage is talking about being placed into Christ, then it is talking about Spirit Baptism, not Water Baptism, for Spirit Baptism is how we are placed into Christ.

        b. In the following passage in Romans 6, for example, it is obvious that the context is being placed into Christ and the passage dwells on the believer's identification with Christ, with His death, and with His resurrection. In this passage, the believer is not baptized into WATER, but into the death of Christ.

      • Rom 6:1-4 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

        c. The next verse is often thought to refer to water baptism--

      • Rom 6:5 "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,"

        d. The common interpretation of those who teach that water baptism is found in this verse is this: "...we have been united together in the likeness of His death..."

        This phrase is taken by them to mean burial, or immersion in water. I marvel that anyone really thinks that is true--for Christ's death happened NOT in the tomb, when He was buried, but His death took place ON THE CROSS! Water Baptism bears no resemblance whatsoever to His death!

        The likeness of His death is when we realize that our old man has been crucified with Him, and that sin therefore has no dominion over us--which is the subject of this entire chapter! (See verses 1 and 2 again). The likeness of His death is when we recognize and account ourselves as dead and live only for Christ.

        Rom 6:6-9 "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him."

        This, of course, accords with what Paul also says in Galatians--

        Gal 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

      7. The following verses also refer to Spirit Baptism.

      • Col 2:9-12 "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

      (I defy anyone to demonstrate how to baptize in water "without hands...")

      • Col 2:13 "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,"
      • Titus 3:5-6 "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,"

      It is not water that is used in this baptism, it is the Spirit who is poured out and washes us in regenerating power.

      • 1 Pet 3:18-21 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us; baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,"

      There are many other verses which help us understand more about faith and salvation. Some are listed below.

    Next - The Form and Practice of The Early Church

Sunday, 22 February 2009

  • Sola Fide (Faith Alone) Justified by Faith - part1

     Romans 3:21-31 "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law."

    Introductory Thoughts

    * In all the vastness of our world, in all of the diversity of religious beliefs, there are only two essential types of belief, works and Grace.

    * There seems to be many differences between the world's religions, but they are all essentially the same ─  they all center around human works

    * Unfortunately, within this group of religions based on human effort are many species of religion that go by the name of Christianity.

    The thing that makes Christianity far different from all other religions is the concept of Grace. Tied into the concept of Grace and an essential part of it is the Bible doctrine of Justification by faith alone.

    A. Justification by Faith

    1. What does the term "Justified" mean? The Bible meaning of the word is to be totally blameless and totally guiltless─  to be able to stand before God clean and pure in every way.  

    A play on the word helps us to understand its meaning. If I am Justified, it is Just-as-if-I'd never sinned, and Just-as-if-I'd always been holy and done the right things.

    2. Remember our helpless position before God ─  as "children of Wrath," we were unable to satisfy God ─  all His lovely and perfect Law can do is condemn us.

    Rom 3:19-20 "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

    Here, then, is the statement of one thing which the law of God cannot do, and a statement of one thing that the law of God can do. It is sad to think of the multitudes who refuse to use the law of God for that which He intended it to be used, and attempt to use the law for something for which God has plainly declared it may not be used.

    Newell has brought out an excellent thought in his comment on this verse. He says that here "we meet by far the most difficult Divine utterance for the human heart to yield to, that we have met in the entire epistle. Even those 'without law'—'Gentiles that have not the law' (of Moses—2:14), we find throughout history so committed to their own ideas of what is 'right,' and what will propitiate the demons that they worship, that they will desperately fight for their convictions." And he reminds us of illustrations of this principle in Paul's experiences at Lystra and at Ephesus. "And how much more difficult the task becomes in dealing with those who, as the Jews, know that they have had a direct revelation from God, "Thou shalt' and "Thou shalt not,' and 'He that doeth these things shall live by them.'"

    And summing up the rest of his argument, we find that it is only with great difficulty that the heathen are moved to abandon the wild follies of their idolatry. How much more difficult, then, to move men away from something which God Himself has given, and which they think they are holding in the manner in which God wished it held, while in reality they have grasped a distorted meaning of it and must abandon it entirely before they can take the truth. It is much easier to detach a Chinese from the analects of Confucius and bring him to the knowledge of Christ than it is to detach some people, born within the sphere of Christendom, from their hope in salvation by the Golden Rule. They are astonished when you tell them that Christ did not give the Golden Rule as a formula for salvation, but as a means of revealing to man that he was fundamentally crooked and that therefore he needed a power outside himself.

    At the risk of being greatly misunderstood, I wish to set forth the fact that God never gave the law of Moses with the thought that anyone would ever keep it, and the Lord Jesus never gave the Sermon on the Mount with the thought that anyone would ever live by it in perfection. In fact, the law was not even a goal to aim at. The law was a standard that was given in order to convince men of their own hopeless incapacity, so that they might come to God in grace. (Barnhouse Romans - Expositions of Bible Doctrines Taking the Epistle to the Romans As a Point of Departure – Volume 2: God's Wrath)

    3. We talked a few lessons ago about how spiritually dead a lost person is ─  and this is the key to understanding the meaning of Justification by faith alone ─  to understand that individual people and mankind as a whole were completely without hope before God revealed His plan of salvation by grace alone through faith alone.

    Rom 3:20 "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

    **We have to be "just," that is, righteous, to stand before God. The word for "just" (dikaios) is a word that means "Innocent", "righteous," "holy," and none of us are any of those things in ourselves, nor can we be!

    4. Now, some of you are saying, "well, I’m not that bad, I am no worse than most of your church members, maybe better..." That may be true, but so what? The yardstick for righteousness which God uses to judge is not me, nor any mere man. The Yardstick is Jesus!

    Acts 17:31 ".... He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

    Rom 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

    The Greek verb which, in our text, is translated "[fall] short" is found in many places in the New Testament and is translated by nine different English words. These are "come behind, come short, be destitute, fail, lack, suffer need, want, to be in want, and to be the worse." Truly our case is hopeless apart from the intervening grace of God. No matter what your efforts, you are falling short of the glory of God. If I take you out into a field and tell you to jump to the moon, some of you would not get more than six inches or a foot off the ground. The world's champion high jumper would be able to get about six feet off the ground. With the use of a pole, the champion pole vaulter could swing himself twenty-odd feet off the ground. But that is all. No man could reach the moon by his unaided efforts. And the man who gets twenty feet off the ground is not much nearer the moon than the decrepit old lady who might be able to jump but six inches, or the invalid who cannot move at all. All sinned and are falling short of the glory of God.

    No man has ever made a gesture toward God that has reached God. That is why the Lord summarizes the commandments with the slaying word, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind... Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matt. 22:37, 39). What condemnation is here! What death! What a revelation of the failure of man! Have you ever had an emotion of the heart that was not for God? Then you are falling short of His glory. Have you ever had a rising of the soul that was not for God? Then you are falling short of His glory. Have you ever had a thought of the mind that was not toward God? Then you are falling short of His glory. Have you ever loved yourself more than your neighbor? Then you are falling short of His glory.  (Barnhouse Romans)

    • Jesus was virgin born, so he inherited neither sin nature nor guilt from Adam.
    • Jesus led a perfect life ─ He did no evil, knew no evil, said no evil. Moreover, He always did what needed to be done.
    • Jesus performed works of grace and power that clearly established Him as the Messiah, the Son of God.
    • Jesus fulfilled all the law ─ including the many parts that the "holy" men of His day ignored....
    • And Jesus is the yardstick!
      • You may look good next to me.
      • You may look good next to the other fellow.
      • But how do YOU compare to Jesus?
        • How do you compare when the Bible says all your works are like filthy rags?  Isaiah 64:6
        • How do you compare when you realize you were born in sin, shapen in iniquity?  Psalm 51:5
        • How do you compare when you realize that in order to miss the mark, you only have to have one sin on your record?  James 2:10
        • How do you compare in ancestry, since you have inherited both the sin nature and guilt of Adam?  Romans 5:12-19
    • YOU CANNOT MEASURE UP!!! The Bible says, "all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God!" That is the measure, that is the yardstick, that is the standard─  do you match up against the Glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus?
    • No you don’t, so YOU are LOST, HELPLESS, and HOPELESS, and if you are in that state right now, the very sword of God’s judgment may fall on you at any minute.
    • If you are lost now, you are in a desperate position!
    • You are doomed, just waiting for judgment to fall. Like Issac on the altar, you are bound, condemned, waiting for the knife to plunge into your chest. The executioner has the knife raised in the air; the blade hovers over your quivering, beating heart; the muscles tense up, the stroke of judgment is on its way....
    • but wait...there is a voice, "touch not the lad," and there is a Ram, with His head caught in a thicket, and there is a Plan, a way out of our dilemma.....

    B. Rom 3:21 "... But now..." The late Dr. Lloyd-Jones, probably the greatest Bible expositor of this century, called these two words the most momentous two words in the universe.

    With this sharp expression Paul alerts his readers to an important shift in subject. They would still be trying to absorb the impact of the Old Testament testimony against them. It was a teachable moment—an instant when the mind has been opened to a new view of familiar ideas and is vulnerable to significant application. Paul’s apologetic handling of the law is similar to Jesus’ approach with his parables, taking what was merely familiar to his readers and then shocking them into understanding. At this point, they are perhaps ready to hear the gospel. For them, Paul’s but now is a signal of hope.  (Life Application Bible Commentary)

    ** But Now─  two words on which the entire of human history pivots....

    ** But Now─  two words that make the difference in the Bible between eternal damnation for the entire race and eternal salvation for the redeemed remnant.

    ** But Now─  two words written in blood by the nail-scarred hands of Jesus!!!

    Rom 16:26 "but now has been made manifest, ..."

    1 Cor 15:20 "But now Christ is risen from the dead,"

    Eph 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."

    Eph 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light"

    Col 1:26 "the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints."

    Heb 9:26 "...; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."

    1 Pet 2:10 "who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."

    1. But now, What? "...the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,"

    Rom 3:22 "even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe...."

    2. Our Father, devised a plan and made a way for us to stand righteous before Him. He has sent His own Son as a Sacrifice on our behalf, and those who believe in Him shall have everlasting life, and are now seen as righteous in God's sight.

    a. "....the righteousness of God apart from the law..." This righteousness is apart from the law.  

    1) It is not against the law, as Paul says later in the chapter, but it does not come from the law.

    b. The righteousness of God which Paul talks about here has no relationship to human works whatsoever.

    3. "...is revealed being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,"

    a. This righteousness is revealed now, but it is not new.

    (1) Salvation by grace through faith is not a new teaching─   "The Just shall live by faith" is an OT teaching. Hab 2:4

    (2) This is part of an ancient plan and mystery, hidden by God but now revealed, but this is not some new way to heaven. Faith alone has always been the only way to heaven, but the plan was not revealed until now.

    (3) The law was never a way of salvation, it was always and only our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

    b. God had foreshadowed this way of salvation and had spoken through the prophets what He was going to do. Remember Christ Jesus’ admonition to Nicodemus─   "You are THE teacher of Israel, and you don’t understand these things?" John 3:10 While the Holy Spirit was, over the period of many years, inspiring the New Testament, the apostles evangelized the world of their day by preaching from the Old Testament scriptures the matchless message of the gospel.

    Luke 24:25-27 "Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."

    4. Rom 3:22 "even the righteousness of God..."

    This is God’s own righteousness, because the merit is that of Christ Jesus Himself. This is not the righteousness FROM God, this is the righteousness OF God. When a man or woman stands justified by Christ, they have on their record, written in blood, the very righteousness bought and paid for by the God-man, Jesus Christ.

    5. "....through faith in Jesus Christ..." This righteousness comes to us THROUGH faith.

    a. Faith is not the GROUND of our right standing with God─  this is very important─  

    **It is NOT that God saw we couldn’t obey the law, so He instituted an easier law.

    **It is NOT that instead of obeying the law, we generate faith from within ourselves and satisfy God by one work, faith, instead of many...NO!

    (b) The Ground of our righteousness, and our only claim to anything is the sacrifice of Christ. The basis for our salvation is that we have the merits of Christ Himself, transferred legally to our account.

    (c) The medium of the transfer, the way that God brings us to receive this righteousness, is the medium of faith. We are saved BY GRACE ─ by the mercy and acts of God THROUGH FAITH...

    6. ".....to all and on all who believe, For there is no difference....." This promise of God is to anyone who believes. The gospel is not segregated by class or race. The Gospel is not to those with an "in" , the gospel promise is to ALL WHO BELIEVE.

    (a) For there is no difference─  in the Greek, no distinction. There is no distinction between people.

    (b) It is not that the black folks worship with "their kind," and the white folks worship with "our kind," and the Spanish folks worship with "their kind," NO! There is no distinction in the righteousness of God! A lot of believers who are hung up on the race thing are going to be very surprised in heaven to find who the folks in the mansion next door are.

    (c) If you are hung up on race, let me give you a new version of the question "guess who’s coming to dinner?" Guess who will be sitting next to you at the marriage supper of the Lamb!

    Rom 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

    C. This way of Righteousness is all of God.

    1. The way of righteousness God has set forth is free because of His Grace, and because of the sovereign redemption worked in Christ.

    **But the point is─  there is no price we can pay, it is totally a sovereign free act of God.

    Rom 3:24 "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"

    2. This way of Righteousness deals with our sin completely

    Rom 3:25-26 "whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

    a. When Dr. Lloyd-Jones exposited these verses, he spent several weeks just on these two, and he wasted no words.

    b. On the Cross, God worked out His way of redemption for all to see ─ and in so doing, He demonstrated His love, mercy, justice, goodness, wrath against sin, omnipotence, omniscience, sovereignty, and Holiness, all at the same time.

    c. Rom 3:25 "whom God set forth..." ─  We can never let this get away from our minds, that God is the Author of the Cross.

    1) Christ did not die because He was too weak to get out of it.

    2) Our Lord and Savior was no helpless victim─  as He demonstrated when He said, "I am" and they all fell down (John 18:4-6), Jesus could have wiped out the Roman Empire with a word and called for twelve legions of angels to do the light work and mopping up.

    3) No third party arbitrated a settlement between God and the human race─  God did it Himself.

    d. "...as a propitiation by His blood, through faith,..." Jesus’ death on the Cross was a propitiation ─ this is a word in the Greek which carries several shades of meaning.

    This word [propitiation] stands opposed to what is purchased, or which is obtained by labor, or which is a matter of claim. It is a free, undeserved gift, not merited by our obedience to the Law, and not that to which we have any claim. The apostle uses the word here in reference to those who are justified. To them it is a mere undeserved gift, It does not mean that it has been obtained, however, without any price or merit from anyone, for the Lord Jesus has purchased it with his own blood, and to him it becomes a matter of justice that those who were given to him should be justified, 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23; 2 Pet. 2:1;Acts 20:28; Isa. 53:11. We have no offering to bring, and no claim. To us, therefore, it is entirely a matter of gift. (Barnes' Notes on the New Testament)

    1) It is the same word used for mercy seat ─ that place in the temple where the blood was sprinkled on the day of atonement.

    2) and in the context of the wrath of God revealed against sin, it means a sacrifice which turns aside the righteous wrath of God against our sin and rebellion and makes reconciliation.

    3) This is a place where the doctrinal lines must be drawn with utter precision.

    4) Liberal theologians want to eliminate any sense of the wrath of God, but the entire premise of the long Romans passage on sin and justification is the statement in Romans 1:18 ─   "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,..."

    5) But too many folks who love to manipulate people through guilt go off in the other direction and create a cave-man kind of God who is just plain bloodthirsty ─ WE must avoid both extremes and look at what the Bible is telling us here......

    *** God propitiated His own righteous wrath which was aroused because of the interaction of His holiness and our utter rebellion against Him.

    The Greek word hilasterion draws on both Gk. culture, in which “propitiation” implied averting terrible punishments and moving the gods to act favorably, and Hebrew culture, in which “atonement” implies the sacrificial death of a substitute who takes the punishment an offerer deserves. Jesus surrendered Himself up to death, represented here in the shedding of His blood. As a substitute He took the awesome penalty our sins deserved and thus saved us from the punishment that we deserve.  (The Bible Companion)

    John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

    Rom 5:8-9 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

    1 Th 1:10 "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."

    ***And on the cross, God showed to the world that as He forgives people through faith in the blood of Christ, He has dealt with their sin...to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

    Rom 3:26 "to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus"

    Our text declares that the purpose of the death of Jesus Christ was to manifest the righteousness of God which, in the centuries which had preceded the incarnation, had seemingly been compromised by His attitude toward sinners. For apart from the death of Jesus Christ there is a stain on the name of God.

    A few years ago a society for the spread of atheism issued a leaflet that abundantly demonstrates what our text sets forth and answers. The tract contained a half dozen portrait sketches of old men, and gave to those pictures the names of well known Old Testament characters. The sketches were ugly, in fact they were positively villainous looking, yet they carried the names of such men as Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David.

    Below the portraits there were a few lines of printing relating to the lives of these men and certain Bible statements concerning them. Under the face that is supposed to represent Abraham, we read that he was a coward who was willing to sacrifice the honor of his wife, Sarah, in order to save his own skin. The Bible reference is given. Then the atheists point out that elsewhere in the Bible Abraham was called "the friend of God." Finally, they ask what kind of a God is the God of the Bible who had such friends as this dishonorable man. They are perfectly right in thinking that a holy God could not remain holy and yet fellowship with sin.

    Their portrait of Jacob represents a man who is described as a cheat and a liar, with the proper Bible references in support. We are told that God wrestled with Jacob and then changed his name to Israel, prince of God. The authors then inquire about the character of a God who would have such a prince, or who would allow Himself to be called "the God of Jacob." And they are perfectly right in making such an inquiry. If it can be shown that God chose such men as these without punishing their sin, then it will go ill with the character of God. What would men think of an earthly judge who imposed a heavy sentence on one law breaker and then, seemingly for no good reason, let a similar criminal go free, appointing him later to be his own assistant? The world would be quick to deplore the existence of such judges on the bench. Justice has but one function. It must search out crime and give it a proper and fitting punishment.

    The atheists then present Moses, and point out that he was a murderer and a fugitive from justice when the Lord Jehovah appeared to him and sent him back to Egypt as His own representative, calling him His servant, and setting him up as a leader of a great people, and putting into his bloody hands the tables of the law containing the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." For a murderer to preach "Thou shalt not kill" is hypocrisy. What kind of a God would use a murderer for such a message? According to the standards of the atheists instead of blessing Moses, God should have punished him. And unless we can find that God did punish Moses' sin, the atheists are right in their thought about such a God.

    Another of the characters in the atheists' leaflet is David. He is particularly repulsive in the drawing. We read of his adultery and of his murder in order to protect his adultery. We read of his "sore that ran in the night" in the most horrible language, and then we read that David was "a man after God's own heart." The atheists rightly ask what kind of a God was this God of the Bible who had a heart that could find anything to praise in David.

    Now the remarkable thing about all this blasphemy is that it is positively true. God says so Himself. For hundreds of years there was a stain on the name of God. If we had no New Testament, we would not know the answer. God knew that it was not righteous or just to forgive guilty sinners, yet He went right on doing it throughout all of the period of the Old Testament

    The Solution

    Now, in our text in the third of Romans, God condescends to explain to us that He was able to pardon men at that time because He knew that He was going to justify Himself even in the sight of the atheists some day. For the day will come when even the atheists will be forced to admit that God has solved this problem that seems to them unsolvable.

    The atheists claim that it is not moral to forgive sinners without punishing their sin. God makes the same claim. He will by no means clear the guilty. Every sin that has ever been committed must be punished by God. The atheists think that the men of the Old Testament, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and the rest of them, deserved a quite different fate than that which they received. If God is holy and these men were sinners, then they should be separated from God forever. Would not a holy God sully Himself in holding such sinners to His bosom in love?

    A God, such as the Bible represents Him to be, must be both love and hate. God is love of the sinner and God must be hate of the sin. The atheists are right in reminding us that we must not forget that God is hate of the sinner's sin. That teaching is more needed today, perhaps, than any other! God is hate. God hates sin. When the atheists found mention of a God who seemingly did not punish sin, they exclaimed that they had found proof that there could be no such God. A good God must punish sin.

    The atheists are right. All of these men, Abraham, Moses and all the rest deserved to go to Hell. So do I. So do you. Instead, we find that they went to Heaven. How could this be possible? It was because our good Heavenly Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, found a way whereby their sin, your sin, and my sin, could be punished and yet they themselves, you yourself, and I myself, might go free.

    That way was found in the Lord Jesus Christ when God set Him forth as a mercy seat through faith in His blood. There at the cross God took sin away from the sinner, put it upon His Son, and punished Him to the full for that sin. Thus it was proved that God is just and holy and loving, and without compromise. That lesson can never be learned except at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The atheists stopped with the Old Testament and so missed the point. (Barnhouse Romans)

Sunday, 25 January 2009

  • Salvation - The New Birth

    John 3:1-8 "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.""

    Introductory Thoughts

    * This begins another series within a series, and the subject is Salvation.

    -The New Birth

    -Justification by Faith Alone

    -Old Testament Salvation

    -Baptism and Salvation

    * This series is needed because of great confusion within many churches and by many people about the doctrine of Salvation.

    In Arminian Theology, saving faith involves four things:

    1. an awareness of sin;
    2. a turning toward God through the prevenient grace of the Holy Spirit, who convicts and woos;
    3. repentance and confession that sin has separated from the grace of God and kept the new covenant from being joined; and
    4. personal appropriation of the new birth in Jesus Christ.” (The Moody Handbook of Theology)

    In liberalism’s attempt to be relevant, emphasis on personal salvation from eternal punishment was rejected—it was considered irrelevant. With its optimistic bent, liberalism determined to bring in the kingdom through human effort; thus, the social gospel became its message. The kingdom of God was not some future, supernatural age, but it was the here and now through application of the principles and ethics of Jesus. (The Moody Handbook of Theology)

    Several views of Neo-orthodox salvation (The Moody Handbook of Theology):

    1. Kierkegaard - Salvation is a “leap of faith” which the mind or reason can not penetrate. It is a leap of faith into the dark unknown, hoping God will be there. It means taking life seriously, which in turn will result in one’s despair—then God will meet him. In Kierkegaard’s concept of salvation man does not become a Christian; he strives to be one but never arrives.
    2. Karl Barth - Because Christ has borne the sins of all humanity, all humanity can no longer be rejected. Barth even argued for Judas’s election. Barth did not deny the charges that his doctrine of election led to universalism.
    3. Paul Tillich - Salvation is not expressed in traditional terms; for Tillich salvation is found in the New Being which is “ultimate concern” for the kind of life seen in Christ because Christ evidenced real concern. Ultimate concern is understood as a primary concern over everything else; it relates to “being” or “non-being.” Man is aware of his finiteness and “non-being,” which results in anxiety. He looks in hope to Christ (not used in the orthodox sense), who will rescue him from his estrangement.
      The term "regeneration" distinguishes baptism from every other sacrament, for although penance revivifies men spiritually, yet this is rather a resuscitation, a bringing back from the dead, than a rebirth. Penance does not make us Christians; on the contrary, it presupposes that we have already been born of water and the Holy Ghost to the life of grace, while baptism on the other hand was instituted to confer upon men the very beginnings of the spiritual life, to transfer them from the state of enemies of God to the state of adoption, as sons of God. (The Catholic Encyclopedia)

    * It is ever the danger in the church that works-religion will creep in. Works-religion is poison to a New Testament church.

    * Works-religion is the mother of all cults and heresies.

    * Works-religion is the death knell to the preaching of grace and saving of souls.

    * Works-religion has taken more people to hell than booze, drugs and sex combined.

    "The Devil begat darkness; darkness begat ignorance; ignorance begat error and his brethren; error begat free-will and presumption; free-will begat works; works begat forgetfulness of God; forgetfulness begat transgression; transgression begat superstition; superstition begat satisfaction; satisfaction begat the mass-offering; the mass-offering begat the priest; the priest begat unbelief; unbelief begat hypocrisy; hypocrisy begat traffic in offerings for gain; traffic in offerings for gain begat Purgatory; Purgatory begat the annual solemn vigils; the annual vigils begat church-livings; church-livings begat avarice; avarice begat swelling superfluity; swelling superfluity begat fulness; fulness begat rage; rage begat license; license begat empire and domination; domination begat pomp; pomp begat ambition; ambition begat simony; simony begat the pope and his brethren," Martin Luther, 1483-1546

    A. What the New Birth is NOT
    1. It is not a magical event that happens as a result of, during, or is in any way associated with Baptism.
    2. It is not a magical, mystical event that is in any way triggered by any other act of man, including the exercise of personal faith.
    3. It is not joining the church.
    4. It is not saying a special prayer and asking Jesus to come into your heart.

    B. What the New Birth IS

    1. A supernatural awakening which happens under the preaching of the Word;
    2. A Spiritual resurrection from the dead
    3. Absolutely necessary for salvation 
      1. A man in need of a new birth--

        John 3:1-2 "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.'"

        1. Who and what was this man?
          1. A man of the Pharisees
          2. A ruler
          3. THE teacher of Israel

            John 3:9-10 "Nicodemus answered and said to Him, 'How can these things be?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?'"

        2. The man's dilemma--he could see it intellectually, but he could not see it personally--
          1. Example: the scholars Herod consulted

            Matt 2:1-6 "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

          2. Example: the prophecy of Caiphas

            John 11:49-52 "And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.' Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad."

      2. Jesus' method of personal evangelism
        1. Like the rich young ruler, and like the woman at the well, Jesus approached Nicodemus in what may seem to us to be a weird way.
          • With the rich young ruler, Jesus first spoke to him with an almost sarcastic question--"why callest thou me good?"..... Then Jesus took him to the law.....
          • With the woman at the well, Jesus reminded her (albeit tenderly) of her sin and rebellion...
        2. With Nicodemus, Jesus goes right past the implications of Nicodemus' opening statement--a desire to discuss the power and reality of Jesus' ministry--and the Lord goes right to the heart of the problem--that is, He goes to the state of Nicodemus' heart.
        3. Then Jesus gives Nicodemus the gospel in a nutshell--we must remember that it was Nicodemus who first heard the words: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
        4. And Jesus gives Nicodemus a clue so that everyone will know, including Nicodemus, how to tell when the New Birth has really happened in a person’s life

          John 3:18-21 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

        5. And this is what happened later to Nicodemus. At a time of supreme danger, when Jesus’ closest disciples were hiding and nowhere to be seen, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night in this passage steps into the light of day to identify with Christ.

          John 19:38-42 "After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby."

    C. The Nature of the New Birth

    1. A necessary part of salvation--"...unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God..."
      1. The natural man is blind to the gospel, and blind to his own lost condition.

        2 Cor 4:3-4 "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

      2. This state of blindness is an inherited contition, passed on down from Adam to all his children.

        Rom 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned;"

      3. Unless one is changed from the inside out--unless one is radically altered in the spirit (the dead spirit being brought back to life)--unless this happens, the gospel remains hidden. God must open the heart, God must open the eyes, otherwise
    2. A supernatural experience--"... "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit..."
      1. We are NATURAL creatures before we are born again--

        1 Cor 2:14 "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

      2. The new birth is a SUPERNATURAL experience--it is wrought by the power of God, and it is not within the natural power of any human being to bring this experience about.

        Eph 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),"

        Titus 3:5-6 "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,"

        John 1:13 "who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

        John 6:44-45 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me."

      3. A work of God--"..The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit..."
        1. The new birth is totally a work of God--there is not one iota of human work or effort involved in it.

          2 Pet 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

        2. We were dead before He made us alive

          Eph 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),"

        3. We could not see before He opened our eyes

          2 Cor 4:3-4 "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

        4. It was His will not ours.....

          James 1:18 "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."

        5. It was God who opened our heart.....

          Acts 16:14 "Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul."

          Ezek 36:26-27 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."

    D. The Immediate Results of the New Birth

    1. Born to See

    2 Cor 4:6 "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

    2. Born to Enter

    Heb 10:19-20 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,"

    3. Born to Live

    John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

    John 10:10b "....I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

    4. Born to serve

    Eph 4:21-24 "if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

    2 Cor 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

    E. The Fruit of the New Birth

    1. Visible faith and commitment to Christ James 2:14-18 "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

    a. Do you want Christ?--Come!

    b. Do you own Him as Lord?--Come!

    c. Do you want to obey His will?--Come!

    d. Whoever God Calls, He calls publicly--Flee to Christ even now!

    2. The Indwelling Spirit

    John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

    Rom 8:9-11 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

    3. Adoption

    Rom 8:15-17 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." 

      • OUR new position as children of God through faith in Christ Jesus brings with it a great number of blessings, some of which are absolute transformations. We have the assurance of our sonship because we find ourselves under the control of the Holy Spirit. The whole sphere of our life has been changed. We once lived a circle whose center was self and its desires. We have now been centered on the Lord Jesus Christ, and while it is true that the two centers pull against each other, the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, the reality of our new centering on Christ is an assured fact. It is this that allows us to have the full assurance of faith.

        Our text states plainly that the believer in Christ is not to live in any such state of fear. We have received the life of Christ—the resurrection of our Lord—and thus we are to live in freedom from the fear that conscience inspires. The RSV renders our text, "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear."

        Is it not a great tragedy therefore, in the light of this great truth, that the church has been brought back under the law in so many cases? For whenever there is legalism there must, of necessity, be the spirit of bondage to fear. It is heart-rending to read the history of the church and to find the constant tendency to return to the bondage of the law. On the pages of the New Testament we discover that men followed Paul to tear down that which he was preaching. He would arrive in a community and proclaim the doctrine of grace. He would tell men that they could trust in Christ and know that all of their sins were removed, both those they had already committed and those that would be committed in future. For justification can mean nothing less than this, that a believer is received by God in the totality of his life span, and that he is instantly made accepted in the Beloved. (Barnhouse Romans - Expositions of Bible Doctrines Taking the Epistle to the Romans As a Point of Departure – Volume 7: God's Heirs)

    Gal 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 

    Eph 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

    4. The Two Natures

    Roms 7:15-24 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 

      • This passage has excited wild statements at two extremes of theology, while the central truth has been neglected by commentators who have taken sides with either of these extremes. Arminian theologians are frightened and amazed, for this passage is indeed the death knell of the doctrine of experimental perfection in this present life. According to them, it describes an unregenerate man struggling between the higher and lower levels of the Adamic nature. Some go so far as to say that in a mature Christian, who has reached some advanced state of blessing, the inward conflict between flesh and spirit has ceased, that sin may be driven out by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God, and that this should be true of every advanced Christian. But Paul made no such claims; he presented himself as carnal, and so opened the way for the very highest in the triumph of spiritual development. Theologians at the other extreme push toward antinomianism, a lawlessness which has given comfort to many professing Christians. They say, in effect, that victory over sin is impossible; therefore, the Christian may live in sin with one part of his nature so long as he admits, in the other part, that what he is doing is wrong. (Barnhouse Romans - Expositions of Bible Doctrines Taking the Epistle to the Romans As a Point of Departure – Volume 6: God's Freedom)

    Col 3:9-10 "Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,"

    Gal 5:16-25 "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

Saturday, 03 January 2009

  • The Whole Counsel of God: The Plan Made Before Time Began

    Titus 1:1-3 "Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;"

    Introductory Thoughts

    There are four ways to handle the Bible doctrine of election/predestination:

    1. You can take the safe way, and ignore it.
    • Universalism teaches that ALL men will be saved.

    2. You can take one of the extreme positions.

    • Conditional election ─ God elects those who He knows will believe in Christ.
    • Corporate election ─ God only elected the Church

    3. You can soft-peddle it, and attempt to explain it with cute little sayings that are intended to be ambiguous.

    • Some tesch that predestination is simply God choosing people for a certain purpose.

    4. Or you can carefully look at the Truth and teach what the Bible says.

    Every attempt to soft-peddle or to lessen the searing, burning impact of the truths of the Doctrines of Grace is really an attempt to save the pride of man, and God hates pride. We want to think that we in some way contributed to our salvation, we want to have some shred of credit for the outcome, but the bottom line is that our pride blinds us to the Truth.

    Prov 8:13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate."

    Prov 11:2 "When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom."

    Prov 13:10 "By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom."

    Prov 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."

    Prov 29:23 "A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor."

    1 Cor 1:24-29 "but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

    Eph 2:9 "not of works, lest anyone should boast."

    1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world."

    There are many secret meetings of the rich and powerful of this world which go on daily.

    The media, and many others would love to know what goes on in those secret meetings and so would terrorists who read tohose newspapers.

    However, those councils and consultations don't hold a candle to the great council of the Holy Trinity which took place before time began.

    The Bible doesn't tell us all that took place before time began, but it tells us alot....

    1. Before Time Began ─ God....

    a. Jehovah God was God─God has no beginning─ a concept hard for us to even grasp, because everything we know in this world has a beginning and an end (in this world, anyway).

    Psa 90:1-2 "LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."

    God is God from everlasting to everlasting─His eternality is without limit.

    b. Before Time Began, the Triune God existed in a loving, mutual relationship ─ God is a God of relationship ─ and well so, since the Trinity has communed together in perfect harmony for eternity. Relationships, like the lives of human beings, are meant to be eternal. Again, this is a difficult concept for us, because in our society, even the blessed relationship of marriage often fails ─ but God's relationships never fail.

    (1) God never mistreats those in a relationship with Him.
    Heb 12:5-11 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
    (2) God always keeps His vows....

    Romans 4:20-21 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

    (3) The Spirit is Eternal

    Heb 9:14 "how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

    (4) The Father and Son are Eternal─their relationship is also eternal

    John 17:5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

    (5) The Love between the Father and Son is also eternal.......

    John 17:24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

    2. Before time began, the Bible was written down in Heaven ─ The Bible is unique to all books....

    a. The Bible is not some afterthought ─ it is the eternal Word of God, handed down from the secret counsels of the Almighty, written down in heaven from all eternity.

    Psa 119:89 "Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven."

    Psa 119:152 "Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever."

    (1) This gives a totally new perspective to problems with manuscripts and arguments over who authored the scriptures─if the Bible is eternal, if the truths of God's word are from all eternity, then God is the author.

    b. Just as the Bible has no beginning, it has no end ─ the Word of God stands forever.

    Isa 40:8 "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."

    (1) Degree of inspiration ─ at least verbal..

    Matt 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."

    (2) The letters of the words themselves are inspired............

    Matt 5:18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."

    (a) The "jot" is the smallest letter of the Hebrew (10th) or Greek (9th) alphabet.

    (b) A tittle is the least particle of a Hebrew letter.

    (3) No matter how many attacks come ─ The Bible stands......and it is the source of the Gospel which saves us......

    1 Pet 1:25 "'But the word of the LORD endures forever.' Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you."

    3. Before Time Began, God ordained a Mysterious Purpose ─ The gospel was not an afterthought ─ the gospel was part of an eternal plan which predated the first act of creation......And for those who like to try to refute election by saying, "well, God is outside of time....." God makes plain that this was not OUTSIDE of time, it was BEFORE time......

    a. God kept many things secret until it was His time to reveal them....

    Matt 13:35 "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."

    b. God ORDAINED his purpose ─ He made it an eternal law ─ and that eternal mysterious purpose was done for our benefit and glory.

    1 Cor 2:7 "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,"

    c. In His time, God revealed his purpose

    Eph 3:1-5 "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles; if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:"

    d. God's Glory and power is being revealed through the working out of His purpose.

    Eph 3:6-10 "that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,"

    e. God considers His purpose accomplished

    Eph 3:11 "according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,"

    f. God "makes it happen..." in time.....

    Eph 1:9-11 "having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

    4. Before Time Began, God Chose to Save a Remnant ─ He named them by name, and He wrote them down.

    Eph 1:4-5 "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,"

    Rev 13:8 "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

    Rev 17:8 "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."

    Psa 139:16 "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them."

    Jer 31:3 "The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.'"

    Jer 1:4-5 "Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.'"

    2 Tim 1:9 "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,"

    2 Th 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

    5. Before the world was made, God ordained the method of redemption and the redeemer ─ He filled in all the blanks in the plan.

    Heb 4:3 "For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' " although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."

    a. Christ was foreordained as the Redeemer

    1 Pet 1:18-20 "... knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you"

    b. His sacrificial death was also foreordained...

    Rev 13:8 "...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world...." Christ is considered to have already been slain before the world was made because God had determined it would happen. What God determines will happen, He considers as done. (see Rom 4:17).

    c. God made a plan and made sure it came to pass. The details of the plan were not left to "chance", God worked it all out, from beginning to end.

    Acts 2:22-23 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know; Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;"

    Acts 4:24-28 "So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.' "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done."

    d. We are heirs to an eternal heritage, prepared for us from all eternity.

    Matt 25:34 "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"

    e. How can these things be? ─ First principles: God is in Control ─

    Gen 50:19-20 "Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.'"

    6. The Whole Counsel of God ─ Eph 1:3-2:10

    Election ─ God's choosing of individual people for salvation ─ this is one of the most emotional issues in the whole realm of theological studies.  I guess there are a lot of reasons why the issue is emotional, but the underlying primary cause for the trouble is that this doctrine, above all others in the Bible, underlines the nature of the universe, and shows man's relative place in the scheme of things.

    1 Pet 1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

    By elect he means, either: 1. Singled out of the world, and separated unto God in their effectual calling, as 1 Cor 1:1; those that are said to be called, 1 Cor 1:26, are said to be chosen, 1 Cor 1:27-28; and so the word seems to be taken, Jas 2:5: or: 2. Chosen to salvation, and the means of it, in God's eternal decree, Eph 1:4; 2 Thes 2:13.

    According to the foreknowledge; either: 1. The Divine preordination, or decree of election, as the word is taken, 1 Pet 1:20, and then we may take elect in the first sense; men are chosen out of the world, or called in time, according as they were chosen from eternity, Rom 8:30: or: 2. Foreknowledge here is as much as approbation or love, Matt 7:25; Rom 11:2; and so signifies the free favour and good will of God, which is the fountain from whence the decree of election proceeds; and then we are to take elect in the latter sense, and so elect according to the foreknowledge of God, is, eternally designed unto life, according to, or out of, that free grace and love God did from eternity bear to them, which was the only motive he had for his choosing them: or, (which comes to the same), by foreknowledge we may understand election itself, as it is in God; and by election, the same, as terminated in the creature, and executed in effectual calling.

    Of God the Father; this doth not exclude the Son or Spirit from their interest in and concurrence to the Divine decree, but only notes the order of working among the three Persons in the affair of man's salvation; election is ascribed to the Father, reconciliation to the Son, and sanctification to the Spirit.

    Through sanctification: sanctification seems to be taken in a large sense, for the whole change of our spiritual state, both as to real grace in regeneration, and relative in justification; so that God may then be said to sanctify us, when in our effectual calling he justifies us from our sins, and renews us unto obedience: so it is taken, Heb 10:10.

    Of the Spirit; this is to be understood rather of the Spirit of God, the efficient of sanctification, than the spirit or soul of man, the subject of it.

    Unto obedience; either: 1. The obedience of Christ to God; and then the sense is, elect, or ordained to be, by the sanctification of the Spirit, made partakers of the benefits of Christ's obedience: or: 2. The obedience of believers to Christ, and that either in their believing, faith being a giving obedience to the great command of the gospel, John 6:29, and particularly called obedience, Rom 1:5; and then the sense runs thus, elect unto faith, which was to be wrought in you by the sanctification of the Spirit: or else in the exercise of holiness, which is the fruit of faith; and then it signifies the same as Eph 1:4, chosen, that you might be made, by the sanctification of the Spirit, holy and unblamable, and might accordingly demean yourselves.

    And sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ; an allusion to the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifices under the law, Heb 9:13-14, 20-22; 12:24; it signifies the application of the blood of Christ for the purging of the conscience, (which was typified by those legal sprinklings), especially from the guilt of sin; which sprinkling, or application of the blood of Christ to our consciences, is performed on our part by faith, on God's part by his Spirit working that faith in us (as well as enabling us unto obedience) in our effectual calling, as likewise by God's imputing Christ's righteousness to us; and so the sense of the whole is: Elect according to the foreknowledge of God, to be by the sanctification of the Spirit brought into the participation of all the benefits of Christ's redemption; the sum of which consists in the renovation of your natures unto gospel obedience, and the justification of your persons.  (Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible)

    a. The doctrine of election

    (1) shows how great is God

    Psalm 145:3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
    (2) shows how depraved and helpless a creature is man

    Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

    (3) attacks human pride at its root

    Isa 23:9 "The LORD of hosts has purposed it, To bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth."

    (4) declares to all who have ears to hear ─ "you have no control, you are not the master of your fate, you are not in charge of your destiny...."

    (5) removes from the salvation plan all human self-glory, all human works, and every last trace of human pride and self-congratulation.
    b. A man or woman who understands the Biblical teaching on election knows that they cannot claim the smallest shred of credit or merit for becoming a believer. You cannot say, "look at me, I was smart enough to choose God."

    1 Cor 1:24-29 "but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

    The Good News of Jesus Christ still sounds foolish to many and offensive to others. It is foolishness to any who have chosen another way to face their unavoidable appointment with death and what comes after. It is offensive to those who attempt to maintain a facade of self-righteousness or self-confidence in the face of life’s questions. Those who cannot consider their own sinfulness will find that the gospel offers a solution they insist they do not need. Our society worships power, influence, and wealth. Jesus came as a humble, poor servant, and he offers his kingdom to those who have faith, not to those who work hard or improve themselves. This may look ridiculous to the world, but Christ is our power, the only way we can be saved. Make sure you know Christ personally; then you’ll have the greatest wisdom anyone could desire.  (Life Application Bible Commentary)

    Eph 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

    c. If you understand what the Bible teaches on election, you understand that:

    (1) Your spiritual blindness was overcome by God the Father shining the Light of the Gospel into your heart.

    Matt 16:17 "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'"

    2 Cor 4:6 "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

    (2) Your spiritual deafness was pierced by the Spirit's convicting call

    John 16:7-13 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

    (3) Your spiritual deadness was overcome by The Son's power over life and death.

    John 5:21-24 "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

    John 1:13 "who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

    Eph 2:1-6 "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,"

    d. There is no more humbling doctrine in the Bible than the doctrine of election, and people react emotionally to it because they do not like to be humbled before an Almighty, Sovereign, Holy God.

    e. The very mention of election causes dismay and disgust among many professing Christians in this age, but when the apostles contemplated God's sovereign grace, they shouted praises to God. If you don't like the doctrine of election, you need to pause and ponder the praises to God found in the Bible ─ praises for His Election and calling of His people.

    Eph 1:3ff "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..." "...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world," "...having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved."

    1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"

    7. The benefits of the Whole Counsel of God

    a. Eph 1:6 "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved." (1) Glorious Grace

    (2) HE has made us accepted....

    (3) Accepted in the Beloved ─ Through Christ Alone

    b. Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!

    (1) Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb ─  Eph 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood"

    (2) Redeemed through His infinite mercy ─  Eph 1:7b "...the forgiveness of sins..."

    (3) His Child and forever I am ─  Eph 1:7c "......according to the riches of His grace....."

    c. The mystery of God's will revealed ─ 

    Eph 1:8-11 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth ─ in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

    (1) He made it abound to us ─ 

    Eph 1:8a "which He made to abound toward us"

    (2) His plan is wise ─ 

    Eph 1:8b "in all wisdom and prudence,"

    (3) The mystery of His will revealed ─ 

    Eph 1:9a "having made known to us the mystery of His will"

    (4) His Good Pleasure ─ 

    Eph 1:9b "according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,"

    (5) His Good Time ─ 

    Eph 1:10a "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times"

    (6) One Lord, One Faith ─ 

    Eph 1:10b "He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; in Him."

    (7) Heirs by the Will of God ─ 

    Eph 1:11 "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,"

    (a) According to God's Purpose

    (b) According to God's Working

    (c) According to God's Will

    (d) The Servant's Response

    Eph 1:12 "that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

    (e) The Glory of God !

    (f) Saved and secure!

    Eph 1:13-14 "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."

    (g) Evidence of salvation

    Eph 1:15-16 "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:"

    (h) What did Paul pray for them?

    Eph 1:17-18 "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,"

    (i) What power did God exercise in bringing us to faith? The power of resurrection!

    Eph 1:19-23 "and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

    (j) And how was this done in our lives?

    Eph 2:1-10 "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the 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 in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

    8. Questions from seeking souls ─ 

    A. What if I want to come to Christ and I was not chosen? ─ 

    Answer ─  That is impossible! If you really want Christ (not just a little hell insurance), that is evidence you were elected. No one who really wants Christ has that desire naturally ─ only the Holy Spirit can give you that desire.

    B. If some are elect, why preach?

    Answer #1 ─  Christ orders us to preach.  Matt 10:27 "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.

    Answer #2 ─  God works through means, and preaching and witnessing are His means of calling the elect to salvation.  Rom 10:8-15 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

    Answer #3 ─  The implication of this question is, "If I can't make a difference and feel some sense of accomplishment, I don't want to do it....." This is nothing but human pride and works-consciousness at work again.

    C. If God is in control, why pray?

    Answer #1 ─  He orders us to pray.  

    Luke 18:1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,

    1 Thess 5:17 pray without ceasing, 

    Answer #2 ─  God works through means.James 5:16b The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

    Answer #3 ─  Prayer does not change God, it changes us.

    Answer #4 ─  Prayer is a type of worship of God and His Sovereignty ─ it pleases the Triune God that we worship and honor Him in prayer.

    Answer #5 is a return question: If you don't believe God is in control, how can you pray for the lost? What are you asking God to do? Are you asking God to violate someone’s will? To be consistent with his beliefs, a man who denies election should NEVER pray for the lost.  Why?  Perhaps the person being prayed for doesn't want to be saved!
    • Finally, I want you all to search your hearts ─ whether you agree with what has been taught the past few lessons or whether you don't agree, think on these things ─ 
    • What makes you different from someone who is not a believer?  
      • 1 Cor. 4:7 " For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"
      • This may mean either, ‘Who thinks you are better than others?’ Your superiority over your brethren is mere self-conceit and inflation. The difference between you is only imaginary. Or, it may mean, ‘Who is the author of this superiority?’ Admitting you to be as superior to others as you imagine, to whom are you indebted for it? According to the latter explanation the verse contains but one argument against their pride, viz., that all distinguishing advantages are derived from God. According to the former, there are two distinct considerations urged: first, that they had no ground for thinking themselves better than others; and second, if they had any superiority it was due not to themselves, but to God. So that in either case their inflation was absurd and unchristian. It is here assumed that every thing, whether natural or gracious, by which one man is favorably distinguished from another, is due to God; and being thus due to him and not to the possessor, is a cause of gratitude, but not of self-complacency or of self-applause. This is true even of those things which are acquired by great self-denial and exertion. Paul was as much self-formed as any man ever was, and yet he said, By the grace of God I am what I am.  (Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians by Charles Hodge)
      • A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you’re looking down, you can’t see something that’s above you. —C. S. Lewis 

    If you understand that only God makes the difference, you and I are on the same ground. 

    If you think that you had anything to do with your own salvation, and if you think you can claim any part of salvation as being "your part," then you may have a problem bigger than a doctrinal disagreement—you may be trusting in your own works for salvation instead of in the Work of Christ on the Cross.

Saturday, 27 December 2008

  • The Certainty and Freeness of Divine Grace

    (Election is no hindrance to seeking souls, because......)

    And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. John 6:35-47

    I am going to give you a little doctrinal test right now  ─  

    1. First Question  ─  ARE YOU SAVED?

    2. Next Question  ─  Who died to save you?

    3. Next Question  ─  Who sent the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin?

    4. Next Question  ─  Who, in fact, did all of the work which led to your salvation?

    5. Last Question  ─  Who gets 100% of the glory and credit for your salvation?

    Well, whether you know it or not, and whether you accept it or not, if you answered that God gets all the credit for your salvation, you are a "Calvinist".  Whether or not you want to admit it, that's your problem.

    A. Introductory Thoughts

    1. Theology is often like politics. There are parties, platforms, positions, etc. In politics, it is seldom the case that any particular party is going to tell you the whole truth on any issue  ─  they employ people whose full-time job is to "spin" things to sound the way they want them to sound.  In theology, it is often the case that the Bible really teaches something different from any particular party position.  It is easy to build doctrine on verses pulled out of context.  Consider the following:

    2 Sam. 17:23  Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father's tomb.

    Luke 10:37b  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

    Taken out of context, these two verses could teach that when you give advice to someone and it is not followed, you should:

    a.     go home, 

    b.     set you house in order,

    c.     and hang yourself!

    Theological positions tend to the extremes of the issues.

    Theological positions include too much logic and human philosophy.

    Theological positions get wound up in personalities, pride, emotion, and the whole soup of confusion that happens whenever people get in God's way.

    Sometimes, there are compromised theological positions, but they are usually wimpy, and they usually don't address the question at hand any better than the polar positions on the issue.

    If you want to have Gods view on a theological question, you must approach the question with three things:

    a.     An Open Mind

    b.     An Open Bible

    c.     An Open Heart

    2. The issue of Election, sometimes called "Calvinism", sometimes called "the doctrines of Grace," is a typical area of theological discussion. The extremes on the issue rule the day, there is a whole set of wimpy compromise positions, and the issue has been tied up in personalities, etc., for at least 1500 years, since the days of the church fathers.  This is a complicated issue, but at its very heart, the question is very simple:

    Does God Help Sinners Save Themselves ?

     or

     Does God Save Sinners with a little help from the sinner ?

     or

     Does God Save Sinners ?

    3. The extreme positions are:

    a.     The Hardshell Position  ─  God has chosen whom He will save, so there is no real point in us going out of our way to win the lost  ─  the elect will come in when God gets good and ready.  This position is known as Hyper-Calvinism.  WRONG!

    b.     The Arminian position (or maybe we should call it the Softshell Position), is that since the Bible teaches that we are to rescue the perishing, fulfill the great commission, and preach Christ to a lost and dying world and there is no such thing as election. Since all the choice is up to people to choose Christ or reject Him, and it is within their natural ability to choose Christ or reject Him, God doesn't choose anyone. It is up to the saved to convince the lost, and it is totally up to the lost to believe.  Oh, and by the way, since this is so, there is a part of salvation which can legitimately be called "our part," so our pride is somewhat preserved  ─  we are not totally helpless creatures.  WRONG AGAIN!

    c.     The wimpy compromising position is that God foresaw who would believe, and since they were going to choose Him anyway, He chose them.  STILL WRONG!

                                                                  i.      If you study the Bible on this issue with an open mind and heart, you will find that none of the above to be true.

    1.     The Truth is God Saves Sinners  ─  

    2.     God  ─  it is all of God

    3.     Saves  ─  God does all the work in salvation

    4.     Sinners  ─  The reason why "God Saves" is that lost people are lost, deaf, dead, blind, and haters of God and His ways.

    4. There is a principle I've discovered in theology which I call "inverse perversity", or you might call it "backwards thinking." That is, that men seem to want to complicate the simple and oversimplify the complicated  ─  and election is a good example of this.

    5. If anyone tells you they have a simple answer to the question of divine sovereignty in salvation, they are mistaken  ─  it is complicated, it is not simple, and all oversimplification will do is confuse the issue.

    6. You may have heard it said that above the entrance to heaven is a sign saying "whosoever will," and that after you enter is a sign above the inside of the entrance which says "chosen from the foundation of the world." That is pretty close. The Truth is that both signs stand above the door, but both are on the outside. Above the door where all can see them are two signs:

    Whosoever Will Let Him Drink of the Water of Life,

     and 

    Chosen in Christ Before the Foundation of the World.

    Or, perhaps our text is really what's above the door:

    John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; 

    and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

     Or, put more simply:

    Grace is Certain, 

    and 

    Grace is Free

     B. Why is it even necessary to study this? ─  God told us about it in the scriptures.

    1.     It shows the glory of God.

    2.     It helps us appreciate our salvation, and is a cure to pride in the believer.

    3.     It teaches us the source of all true revival.

    4.     It helps us understand how we are to minister.

    C. Grace is Certain  ─  "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me..."

    Before the foundation of the world, God looked at the race which He knew would fall, and He chose to save for Himself a people.

    1. "All that the Father giveth me " 

    God has a people   ─   1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"

    AND   ─   He has known and loved them for all eternity.

    Rom 11:1-7 "I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"? But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded."

    God Chooses Individuals   ─   "All that the Father giveth me.... "

    John 17:2 "as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him."

    John 17:6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word."

    John 6:39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day."

    John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

    John 17:6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word."

    John 17:8-9 "For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours."

    John 17:11-12 "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled."

    John 17:24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

    John 18:9 "that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.""

    Rom 9:27 "Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved.""

    Rom 11:5 "Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

    Heb 2:13 "And again: "I will put My trust in Him." And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.""

    2. God's Choice was from all eternity   ─   "All that the Father giveth me..."

    Eph. 1:4-5 "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,"

    2 Tim 1:9 "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,"

    3. God's People WILL Come to faith in Him.  ─   "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me..."  

    a. They come by divine revelation  ─  men and women come to Christ because God has revealed to them their need of salvation, and that the only way to that salvation is through the blood of Jesus.....

    John 6:44-45 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me."

    Matt 16:16-18 "Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

    b. They come by divine calling  ─  there are two types of calling in the Bible: the outward call which goes to all who hear the Gospel and to all who see God's creation (Psa 19), and the inward call, what the puritans called "effectual calling," which is part of the mysterious working of God in calling out His people....

    2 Thes. 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

    Matt 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."

    Acts 2:37-39 "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'"

    Rom 1:1 "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God"

    Rom 1:6-7 "among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

    Rom 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

    Rom 8:30 "Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

    1 Cor. 1:9 "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

    Eph. 4:1 "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,"

    Col 3:15 "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful."

    2 Thes. 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

    2 Tim 1:9 "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,"

    Heb 5:4 "And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was."

    Heb 9:15 "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."

    1 Pet 1:15 "but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,"

    Jude 1:1 "Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:"

    Rev 17:14 "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."

    c. They come willingly  ─  it is not that God "forces" anyone to come  ─  the awakened, called, sinner WANTS to come. The drawing of individual people to Himself is one of God's great mysteries, and He does not share the intimate details of how He does it  ─  He only tells us that He does it.

    "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me..."

    Psa 110:1-4 "The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The LORD has sworn And will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.""

    d. They come in Faith  ─  the doctrine of election does NOT teach that faith is unnecessary  ─  the Bible is crystal clear that the man or woman who comes to God must come in faith, believing in the shed blood of Christ

    "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me..."

    Acts 13:48 "Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed."

    e. They come for certain  ─  there will be none missing at the table  ─  ALL will be there...

    "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me..."

    Acts 18:9-10 "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.""

    f. They come in God's time...

    g. The Example of Paul

    (1) Paul came by divine revelation  ─  

    Acts 9:3-6 'As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."'

    Acts 9:15-16 'But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he [Paul] is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."'

    (2) Paul came by divine calling  ─  

    Gal 1:15 "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,

    (3) Paul came willingly  ─  

    Acts 9:6b ...."Lord, what do You want me to do?"

    (4) Paul came in Faith  ─  

    Gal 1:16 "To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen;"

    (5) Paul came for certain  ─  

    Acts 9:20-22  "Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?" But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ."

    (6) Paul came in God's time

    Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace,

    ***So, bottom line  ─  Grace is certain.. ".....All that the Father giveth me shall come to me....."

    D. Grace is Free  ─  "Come and Welcome, to Christ..." "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."

    1. Whosoever Will, let him come....No one who desires Christ is kept away...... "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."

    John 7:37-39 "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."

    2. Whosoever Will, Bid him or her come... "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."

    Isa 45:22 "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."

    3. Whosoever Will, command him or her to come.... "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."

    Acts 17:30-31 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."

    4. Whosoever Will, come for Free  ─  "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."

    Isa 55:1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price."

    Rev 22:17 "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

    E. The Two Concepts Unified

    Mat 11:25-30 'At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."'

    1. The problem with Whosoever Will is that unless God supernaturally intervenes, Whosoever Will is Nobody  ─  

    Eph. 2:1-3 "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

    1 Cor. 2:14 "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

    2 Cor. 4:3-4 "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

    (1)  It is hid among them, who are about to perish; who are perishing, those who deserve to perish. It is concealed only among that class who may be designated as the perishing, or as the lost. Grotius explains this, "those who deserve to perish, who foster their vices, and will not see the truth which condemns those vices." And he adds, that this might very well be; for, "however conspicuous the gospel was in itself, yet like the sun it would not be visible to the blind." The cause was not in the gospel, but in themselves. This

    (a)  That the beauty of the gospel may be hidden from many of the human family. This is a matter of simple fact. There are thousands and millions to whom it is preached who see no beauty in it, and who regard it as foolishness.

    (b)  That there is a class of men who may be called, even now, the lost. They are lost to virtue, to piety, to happiness, to hope. They deserve to perish; and they are hastening to merited ruin. This class in the time of Paul was large; and it is large now. It is composed of those to whom the gospel is hidden, or to whom it appears to be vailed, and who see no beauty in it. It is made up indeed of all the profane, polluted, and vile; but their characteristic feature is, that the gospel is hidden from them, and that they see no beauty and glory in it.

    (c)  This is not the fault of the gospel. It is not the fault of the sun where men shut their eyes and will not see it. It is not the fault of a running stream, or a bubbling fountain, if men will not drink of it, but rather choose to die of thirst. The gospel does not obscure and conceal its own glory any more than the sun does. It is in itself a clear and full revelation of God and his grace; and that glory is adapted to shed light upon the benighted minds of men.  (Barnes ─ Notes on the New Testament Explanatory and Practical)

    2. God Reveals Christ supernaturally to individual people  ─  He makes them alive  ─  

    Matt 16:17 'Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."'

    Jesus attributes to Peter’s confession insight stemming from divine revelation rather than human deduction. The language does not specify how God revealed himself or require some sudden flash of insight, but it does affirm that God has led Peter to his correct understanding. “Man” is literally flesh and blood, a stock Semitic idiom for mortal humanity. (New American Commentary)

    2 Cor. 4:6 "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

    Eph. 2:4-6 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

    Notwithstanding our low, and apparently helpless condition, God interfered for our recovery.

    quickened (GR. suzōopoieō) means, to make alive, to impart life. In the New Testament it is almost always used of the communication of the life of which Christ is the author. It either comprehends everything which is included in salvation, the communication of life in its widest scriptural sense; or it expresses some one point or moment in this general life-giving process. As the death from which the Christian is delivered includes condemnation (judicial death), pollution, and misery; so the life which he receives comprehends forgiveness (justification), regeneration, and blessedness.

    Thus in Colossians 2:12 the apostle says, “And you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” As, however, in the passage before us, the words “hath raised us up,” and “hath made us to sit in heavenly places,” are connected with the word “he hath quickened,” the latter must be limited to the commencement of this work of restoration. That is, it here expresses deliverance from death and the imparting of life, and not the whole work of salvation.

    We are said to be ‘quickened together with Christ.’ This does not mean merely that we are quickened as he was, that there is an analogy between his resurrection from the grave, and our spiritual resurrection; but the truth here taught is that which is presented in Romans 6:6-8; Galatians 2:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22-23, and in many other passages, viz. that in virtue of the union, covenant and vital, between Christ and his people, his death was their death, his life is their life, and his exaltation is theirs. Hence all the verbs used in this connection,..., are in the past tense. They express what has already taken place, not what is future; not what is merely in prospect. The resurrection, the quickening and raising up of Christ’s people were in an important sense accomplished, when he rose from the dead and sat down at the right hand of God.  (Barnes ─ Notes on the New Testament Explanatory and Practical) 

    3. God Calls these people to salvation

    Acts 2:37-39 'Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

    Acts 13:46-48 "Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed."

    4. Christ's Sheep hear and come

    John 10:26-28 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."

    5. But doesn't that leave me having nothing to do with my salvation?   ─  absolutely!!!  What did Paul say to the proud Corinthians?

    1 Cor. 1:27-29 "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

    This sounds strange to the world. Why would God not choose leaders and influential people who could make sweeping reforms and be followed by the masses?  God does not choose as people choose.  His sovereign choice is not based on anything that people can do or achieve.  No amount of human knowledge or influence can replace or bypass Christ’s work on the cross. ( Life Application Bible Commentary)

    1 Cor. 4:7 "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"

    Paul asked the rhetorical questions so they could see the silliness of their prideful positions against one another.  No one was better than anyone else. Everything they had, everything they accomplished, every gift they received—all came from God.  Therefore, wrote Paul, if all you have is from God, how can anyone possibly boast about being better than anyone else, as if they accomplished something on their own?  The obvious answer is that no one has any right to boast about anything. ( Life Application Bible Commentary)

    6. So now we have put the Amazing back into Grace.....

    Eph. 2:8-10 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

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kerusso

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