Grace Moments

Why Worship (Pt.3)

2011-07-22T11:50:00.001-04:00

We are in a series on worship.

 For the last two weeks we have talked about what is worship and what should be our attitude in worship.

To our question...

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

We said, “Worship is prostrating oneself before a superior being with a sense of respect, awe, reverence, honor, and homage.” In short, “Worship is honor and adoration directed to God.” That’s what we have seen in our look at Psalm 95.

We are told to “come” and “worship and bow down,...kneel before the LORD our maker” (v.6) with songs of “joy” (vv.1-2) and “thanksgiving” (v.2).

All of those verses tell us what worship is and the attitude we’re to have as worship.

Now, I want to address the second question...

WHO ARE WE TO WORSHIP?

This may sound like an irrelevant question but not in light of our culture. There is much worship taking place but the question is “who are they worshiping.” For the Christian the answer is simple and Jesus Himself gives us the answer in Matthew 4:10. In this chapter, Jesus is being tempted by the Devil. By this point in Matthew 4 all attempts to get Jesus to presume on God had failed. Now Satan tries one more time. This time Matthew records beginning in verses 8 and 9, "Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Now Jesus responds in verse 10. Here he is quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13, and He says, “Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" Jesus make it emphatically clear who we are to worship.

He says, “the LORD your God.”

We need to note at this point why it is important to identify who we are to worship. There are so many people using God's name but mean someone entirely different. The Muslims say Allah is God and that's who we are to worship. New Agers say, "Everything and everyone is God," so that must mean we worship each other. In the passage Jesus quotes, He identifies God by the tetragrammaton or 4 letters YHWH or Yahweh. This is the name given to Moses in Exodus 3:14, the “I AM.” (Yahweh). God is known by many names in the Bible like Elohim or El Shaddai (God Almighty) or El Elyon (the Most High God). Here He is identified as Yahweh, the “I AM,” the self-existent God. The only true God.

Exodus 20 records the giving of the Ten Commandments. The very first of those commandments calls for and regulates worship:

God says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.”

When he says “Before Me” at the end of verse 3, it may be understood as “besides me” (, ) or “in my presence” (Durham). The New Jerusalem Bible has “You shall have no other gods to rival me,” and The Translator’s OT has “You must not defy me by acknowledging other gods.” The Today’s English Version is clear and accurate, “Worship no god but me,” and the Contemporary English Version () has “Do not worship any god except me.”

All false gods stand in opposition to the true God, and the worship of them is incompatible with the worship of Yahweh. As is clear from Exodus 20:2-5, God is a jealous God. He will not give His glory to another. Isaiah 42:8 says, “I am the LORD, that is My Name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images” (NKJV). It’s clear as you study the Bible that there is a Trinity. From the very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, we hear, “In the beginning God.” The Hebrew word for “God” in this verse is the name I mentioned earlier.

It’s the name Elohim (im is plural) which means this singular God exists in a form of plurality. So when we say we are to worship God we are talking about all three members of the Trinity, referred to in the New Testament as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

So when we ask the question, “Who are we to worship?”, it should be no surprise to see Jesus the second member of the Trinity receiving worship.

Who are we to worship? God the Father and secondly...

“Jesus”

This is not the worship of another God.

Jesus is God, one with the Father and Spirit. The Jehovah’s Witnesses make the mistake of saying Jesus is another god in John 1:1. But Scripture makes it very clear that He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is God incarnate (John 1:1, 14). And when you consider this in light of worship, throughout His ministry, He never refused worship because He is God. He didn’t respond like the angel who told John not to do that. No, he accepted their worship. After His resurrection, Matthew 28:7 says when He appeared to His disciples in Galilee, “they worshiped Him.” Again, you don’t hear Him saying, “Do not do that!” In Matthew 14 after He comes to His disciples in the midst of a storm walking on the water, it says in verses 32-33, “When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” They worshiped Jesus because everything He did and said pointed to the reality that He is God!

Listen to Hebrews 1 in light of this:

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”? 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” 7 And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. 9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

Now, we must not forget about...

“The Holy Spirit”

He is a member of the Trinity and equally deserves our adoration. Philippians 3:3 says, “For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (NKJV). Though the Spirit came to testify about Jesus according to John 16:13-14, as a member of the Trinity, He too receives worship, especially when we yield to Him as Ephesians 5:18 says. So we are to worship God in totality as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are to worship Him only! He is a jealous God. He will not share His glory with another. When we fail to worship God properly, we experience His chastening, some His judgment.

John MacArthur says, “God repeatedly judged those who failed to worship Him properly. When the people of Israel worshiped the golden calf, God mercifully mitigated His initial righteous reaction, which would have been the utter destruction of the nation, and only slaughtered thousands of them. It stands as a graphic illustration of how God feels about false worship.”

In Leviticus 10 we hear the ordination of the priesthood of Nadab and Abihu.
These were the sons of Aaron the high priest. They had spent all their life for this moment--to offer worship to God on behalf of the people of Israel. They had been prepared, trained, and now they were to be ordained. In their first real function as priest, we are told they offered “strange fire.” This, according to verse 1, was that “which [God] had not commanded them.” In other words, they did not do what was prescribed to be done as priests, leading the people in worship. They acted independently of the revelation of God regarding proper worship, and instantly God killed both of them. So who we worship is important as well as how we worship.

Let’s consider another question...

ARE THERE ANY PREREQUISITES TO WORSHIP?

Given what we have looked at now for 3 weeks, what do you think the answer is?
“Yes”!!!

We can narrow our answer in this way:
You must have a right view of God and a right view of your self as presented in the Bible.

Let’s consider the first...

A Right View of God

When Paul addressed the Athenians in Acts 17:22-29, he pointed out 4 things about God:

He said...

God is the Creator (v.24a) , God is Omnipresent (v.24b),  God is Omnipotent (v.25), God is Sovereign (v.26).

William Temple said, “It is much worse to have a false idea of God than no idea at all.”

Charles Spurgeon went on to says that “a very large majority of churchgoers are merely unthinking, slumbering worshipers of an unknown god.”

What do you think when you hear a statement like that? Much of what occurs in church in what we would call worship is not worship at all. It’s merely going through the motions and worshiping an unknown god. It’s not giving glory and honor and adoration to the true God.

That’s why we need to also have...

A Right View of Self

Guess what? You’re a sinner. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And as a sinner, naturally, you do not seek God. Romans 3:10-11 says, “As it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God.” But God requires that you believe His Word and the words of His Son as well as obey them! 1 Peter 1:14-16 says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

CONCLUSION

So, What can be said about your worship?
Do you worship idols?
Do you worship other gods?
Do you worship yourself?

There are times when we probably would have to answer yes to those questions because we have fallen down to idols. We might not be guilty of worshiping other gods but we have certainly worshiped ourselves. Every time we disobey God’s Word we are worshiping ourselves. There are two more questions I want us to consider next time. But for today, let’s meditate on what we have already heard.

Are you a child of God? Have you been born from above? If not, you are worshiping a false god--Satan. Ephesians 2:2 says you are walking “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” And not only that but you are worship yourself by living “in the lusts of [your] flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (v.3), and therefore “by nature children of wrath.”

You ask, “What shall I do?” Repent and cry out for the mercy of God.
Believe that God sent Jesus to die in your place for your sin and commit your life to Him. Then worship Him by His Spirit.

LIFE APPLICATION

How does worship affect what you believe about God?

Should we worship the Holy Spirit? Why?

Are there any prerequisites to worship? If so, what are they?

Why Worship (Pt.2)

2011-06-05T22:46:00.001-04:00

In our last study we considered the question, “What is worship?” And as we approached what the Bible said regarding worship, we noted mostly what it said regarding our attitude. Attitude plays an important role in our worship. You can have everything else right but if the attitude is wrong, your worship is unacceptable.

As we looked at Psalm 95:1, we noted the attitude of “joy” in coming before the Lord while verse 2 referenced the attitude of “thanksgiving.” Both are commanded in Scripture. The Greek word for "joy" (chara) is found frequently in Matthew and Luke, and especially in John, once in Mark (4:16, , “joy,” , “gladness”); it is absent from (though the verb is used three times), but is frequent in , where the noun is used five times (for 7:4, , see Note below), and the verb eight times, suggestive of the Apostle’s relief in comparison with the circumstances of the 1st Epistle; in Col. 1:11, , “joyfulness,” , “joy.” There are 59 occurrences; translates as “joy” 51 times, “gladness” three times, “joyful” once, “joyous” once, “joyfulness” once, “joyfully” once, and “greatly” once. The basic and most common Hebrew root for joy is śmh, which reflects not only the inner emotion or state of well-being, i.e., “joy,” but also its expression, i.e., “rejoicing.” In fact, the more often refers to the expression than the emotion, as is evident in the Psalms and Prophets. The word “thanksgiving” used in Psalm 95:2 is the Hebrew word towdah and occurs 33 times in the OT. The AV translated it as “thanksgiving” 18 times, “praise” six times, “thanks” three times, “thank offerings” three times, and “confession” twice.

A grateful heart is required in our worship of God. Psalm 69:30 says, “I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving.” It’s not just our song that we praise Him with but also our “thanksgiving.” When Israel entered the Temple area, Psalm 110:4 said they were to enter with “thanksgiving.”

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise give thanks to Him, bless His name.”

Beginning at verse 1 through verse 4, the psalmist gives 7 elements of worship.

He says:

Shout joyfully (v. 1).
Serve the Lord with gladness (v. 2a).
Come before Him with singing (v. 2b).
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving (v. 4a).
Enter His courts with praise (v. 4b).
Be thankful to Him (v. 4c).
Bless His name (v. 4d).

This, by the way, is what happens when you’re filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:19-20 says, “18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Speaking of Psalm 95:2, Matthew Henry says, “How God is to be praised. 1. With holy joy and delight in him. The praising song must be a joyful noise, v. 1 and again v. 2. Spiritual joy is the heart and soul of thankful praise. It is the will of God (such is the condescension of his grace) that when we give glory to him as a being infinitely perfect and blessed we should, at the same time, rejoice in him as our Father and King, and a God in covenant with us.

The final two attitudes were found in Philippians 2:3 and Colossians 4:2.

Philippians 2:3 focused on doing “nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,” while Colossians 4:2 talked about “prayer.”

All of this is important to worship. Without coming to God with the proper attitude and the proper understanding of who He is, our worship is unacceptable. Before we move to the second question, I left you last time with a challenge from Psalm 37:4, which says, “Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

I asked you to meditate this week on the word “delight.” If you engaged in this activity, you would have realized in order to “delight” in the Lord, you first had to “trust” Him according to verse 3. “Trust” and “delight” go hand-in-hand. I cannot “delight” in someone I do not “trust.”

David is telling Israel to Trust in the Lord and not grow weary over the prosperity of the wicked. They will “fade like the green herb.” “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” In other words, don’t follow the temptation to leave the land the Lord has blessed. Dwell in it, be faithful and find all your delight in the Lord.

The word translated “delight” in verse 4 comes from a root that means “to be brought up in luxury, to be pampered.” It speaks of the abundance of the blessings we have in the Lord Himself, totally apart from what He gives us.

To enjoy the blessings and ignore the Blesser is to practice idolatry. In Jesus Christ, we have all God’s treasures, and we need no other. If we truly delight in the Lord, then the chief desire of our heart will be to know Him better so we can delight in Him even more, and the Lord will satisfy that desire! So, delighting in the Lord means we seek and find in him the source of happiness and joy, and not in material possessions. It’s what Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” In other words, let God be the object of your affection. Let Him be the object of your meditation and activity. Take full pleasure in Him.

In Genesis 6, Eve took pleasure in what she heard from the Devil and what she saw on the forbidden tree.

Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

At that moment she no longer found delight in God alone but in something else.

Does this sound like you? God is your delight so long as nothing else comes along to replace Him. On the other hand, the psalmist took pleasure in God and His Word.

Psalm 1:1-2 says, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

In Psalm 40:8, we hear again the psalmist’s delight in God when he says, “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”

This, the psalmist says in Psalm 112:1, is the blessed man. Why? Because he “fears the LORD” and “greatly delights in His commandments.” That is true worship! Does this describe your activity this week? Has God been the object of your conversation with your spouse and kids? What about with your co-workers or even strangers? Has He been the object of your meditation? You say, “Yes, sure!” But did you memorize Scripture this week? Has He been the object of your affections? If He has, then everything else paled in comparison to Him.

John the Baptist said it right when he said in John 3:30, “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.”

If God wasn’t the object of your affections, meditation, or activity, then you did not “decrease.” You exercised yourself over God. And that, my friend, is no different than what the Devil did in Isaiah 14. For God to “increase” in your life, you have to die to your self, your affections, pleasures, activities, and whatever else that takes your attention away from Him. That is no different when we talk about worship. Think about this for a moment. Although the Bible is clear about how and whom and when we are to worship, little genuine worship takes place today. Why? Because much of it is an attitude problem or an unbiblical perception of worship.

Warren Wiersbe says, “Too often Christian “praise” is nothing but religious entertainment and it never moves into spiritual enrichment in the presence of the Lord. Our singing must give way to silence as we bow before the Lord. He alone is Jehovah, the Lord, the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. He is our Maker and our Shepherd. (See 23 and John 10.) Jubilation has its place only if it becomes adoration and we are prostrate before the Lord in total submission, “lost in wonder, love, and praise.” But worship doesn’t stop just at our attitudes. It goes further into what I want us to address in our second question...

We said...

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

Our answer, “Worship is prostrating oneself before a superior being with a sense of respect, awe, reverence, honor, and homage.”
Now, the second question is...

WHO ARE WE TO WORSHIP?

Jesus gives us the answer to this question in Matthew 4:10 when responding to Satan’s offer to give Jesus the world in exchange for worship.

Quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13, He said, “Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'"

Who are we to worship?

“the LORD your God”

We are to worship no other person. Today we have to define who God is because there are so many people using this name but meaning someone entirely different from the Bible. In the passage Jesus quotes, He identifies God by the tetragrammaton or 4 letters YHWH or Yahweh. This is the name given to Moses in Exodus 3:14, the “I AM.” (Yahweh) God is known by many names in the Bible like Elohim or El Shaddai (God Almighty) or El Elyon (the Most High God).Here He is identified as Yahweh, the “I AM,” the self-existent God. The only true God.

Exodus 20 records the giving of the Ten Commandments. The very first of those commandments calls for and regulates worship:

God says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.”

When he says “Before Me” at the end of verse 3, it may be understood as “besides me” (, ) or “in my presence” (Durham). The New Jerusalem Bible () has “You shall have no other gods to rival me,” and The Translator’s OT () has “You must not defy me by acknowledging other gods.” The Today’s English Version () is clear and accurate, “Worship no god but me,” and the Contemporary English Version () has “Do not worship any god except me.” All false gods stand in opposition to the true God, and the worship of them is incompatible with the worship of Yahweh. As is clear from Exodus 20:2-5, God is a jealous God. He will not give His glory to another. Isaiah 42:8 says, “I am the LORD, that is My Name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images” (NKJV). It’s clear as you study the Bible that there is a Trinity.

From the very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, we hear, “In the beginning God.” The Hebrew word for “God” in this verse is the name I mentioned earlier.
It’s the name Elohim (im is plural) which means this singular God exists in a form of plurality. Since that is the case, it should be no surprise to see Jesus the second member of the Trinity receiving worship.

Who are we to worship? Yahweh God! and secondly...
“Jesus”

This is not the worship of another God. He is God. The singular God existing is a form of plurality is seen in the Scripture as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are one God not three. The Jehovah’s Witnesses make the mistake of saying that Jesus is another god in John 1:1. But Scripture makes it very clear that He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is God incarnate (John 1:1, 14). And when you consider this in light of worship, throughout His ministry, He never refused worship because He is God. He didn’t respond like the angel who told John not to do that. No, he accepted their worship. After His resurrection, Matthew 28:7 says when He appeared to His disciples in Galilee, “they worshiped Him.” Again, you don’t hear Him saying, “Do not do that!” In Matthew 14 after He comes to His disciples in the midst of a storm walking on the water, it says in verses 32-33, “When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” They worshiped Jesus because everything He did and said pointed to the reality that He is God! Listen to Hebrews 1 in light of this:

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”? 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” 7 And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. 9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

Now, we must not forget about...

“The Holy Spirit”

He is a member of the Trinity. He equally deserves our adoration. Philippians 3:3 says, “For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (NKJV). Though the Spirit came to testify about Jesus according to John 16:13-14, as a member of the Trinity, He too receives worship, especially when we yield to Him as Ephesians 5:18 says.

So we are to worship God in totality as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We are to worship Him only! He is a jealous God. He will not share His glory with another. When we fail to worship God properly, we experience His chastening, some His judgment. John MacArthur says, “God repeatedly judged those who failed to worship Him properly. When the people of Israel worshiped the golden calf, God mercifully mitigated His initial righteous reaction, which would have been the utter destruction of the nation, and only slaughtered thousands of them. It stands as a graphic illustration of how God feels about false worship.”

In Leviticus 10 we hear the ordination of the priesthood of Nadab and Abihu.
These were the sons of Aaron the high priest. They had spent all their life for this moment--to offer worship to God on behalf of the people of Israel. They had been prepared, trained, and now they were to be ordained. In their first real function as priest, we are told they offered “strange fire.” This, according to verse 1, was that “which [God] had not commanded them.” In other words, they did not do what was prescribed to be done as priests, leading the people in worship.They acted independently of the revelation of God regarding proper worship, and instantly God killed both of them.

CONCLUSION

What could be said about your worship?
Do you worship idols?
Do you worship other gods?
Do you worship yourself?
There are times when we probably would have to answer yes to those questions because we have fallen down to idols. We might not be guilty of worshiping other gods but we have certainly worshiped ourselves. Every time we disobey God’s Word we are worshiping ourselves.

LIFE APPLICATION

Did you "delight" in the Lord this week? How?

Why is it important to have the proper view of God?

How does this affect your worship?

How did you worship the Lord this morning?

Why Worship? (Pt.1)

2011-05-23T17:11:00.001-04:00

Recently I read a statement that said, “I will die tonight for my beliefs.” As I thought about this, I asked myself, “Will I die for worship?” Because, as A.W. Tozer says, “We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.” Is this so important to you that you would die for it to be right and biblical?

Many view worship differently. Some see it as merely attending Church. Others view it as to how many times you say the name Mary. But our worship of God is much more than that.

As we consider this subject, I want to ask 5 questions regarding worship.

We will look at two of them and the remaining three next time.

The five questions are What is worship? Who are we to worship? What are the prerequisites? How is it to be done? and When are we to worship?

Let’s begin with the first question:

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

The common NT word for worship is proskuneo. It means, “To kiss toward, to kiss the hand, to bow down, to prostrate oneself.” Worship carries the idea of “prostrating oneself before a superior being with the sense of respect, awe, reverence, honor, and homage.” If you have noticed the definition I read talked about giving something to God. Giving Him respect, awe, reverence, honor, and homage. John MacArthur, in his book called The Ultimate Priority, says, “When we gather together to worship the Lord, our focus is to be on giving to Him, not getting from Him. Worship is a consuming desire to give to God, and it involves the giving of ourselves, our heart attitudes, and our possessions.” So “we gather together to give worship not to give respect to the preacher or those in the choir, we gather to give honor to God. The sermon and the music are just to be the stimuli that create the desire in our hearts to honor Him.”

Scripture gives us many examples of worship. In fact, the word proskuneo is used in Scripture indiscriminately to refer to homage given to people other than God. We see worship of the true God, worship of false gods, and the worship of Satan. In Romans 1:18-25 we hear of worship of idols and material things. Even verse 25 indicates a worship of self.

Listen to what it says: 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,who is blessed forever. Amen.

“Even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks.”

In fact, when they refused to worship God, they began to make images and according to verse 23 they “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” They refused to worship God, turning instead to false gods, and that is unacceptable. Verse 24 tells the consequences of worshiping a false god: “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.” Verse 26 says, “God gave them over to degrading passions.” Verse 28 adds, “God gave them over to a depraved mind.” The result of their improper worship was that God simply gave them over to their sin and its consequences. When men reject God they worship false gods. No wonder the wrath of God is revealed.

In Matthew 4:8-9, when Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the Devil, Satan “showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and he said to Him, ‘All these things will I give to You, if you fall down and worship me.’”

Satan now drops his pretense and makes one final, desperate effort to corrupt Jesus. He finally reveals his supreme purpose: to induce Jesus Christ to worship him. He had first suggested what Jesus ought to do for Himself. Next he suggested what the Father ought to do for Jesus. Now he suggests what Satan could do for Jesus-in exchange for what Jesus could do for him. Satan wanted Jesus to worship him. He wanted the respect, the awe, the reverence, the honor, and the homage that is only due God. But Jesus said to Satan in verse 10, “Go Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and serve Him only.” God is the only one to be worshiped. We are not to worship Satan or ourselves or even angels. Two times John tried to worship the angel that was revealing the vision to him in the book of Revelation. And both times he is told, “Do not do that” (Rev.19:10; 22:9)...Worship God” (22:9). Angels worship God! But Satan wanted angels to worship Him! He didn’t stop there, he wanted everyone and everything to worship him. He didn’t just want to be like God, he wanted to be God!

According to Isaiah 14:13-14 he said, “13"But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'”

If the Son of God would not compromise even the least important truth in the universe, He would surely not compromise the greatest: that God, and God alone, is to be worshiped and served. God created everyone and everything for His glory. That is the purpose for our lives. When we hear the four living creatures and the twenty four elders in Revelation 4:8-11 worship God, we see what they were created for.

John says, “8And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME." 9And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

We we read Revelation 7:9-12, we hear the same truth about worship:

9After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever Amen."

John MacArthur says, “I think a comparison of worship with ministry might help to distinguish what true worship really is. Ministry is that which comes down to us from the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit, to one another in the form of spiritual gifts. Worship, on the other hand, is that which goes up from us, by the Spirit’s power, through the Son, to the Father. Thus, ministry is that which descends from God to us, while worship is that which ascends from us to God. And both must be in perfect balance. Unfortunately, we tend to be too ministry oriented (like Martha) and not oriented enough toward worship. We need to learn from Mary how to sit at Jesus’ feet and worship Him.”

Particular Redemption

2011-04-20T10:56:00.001-04:00

In light of Resurrection Sunday next week, I want to take this and next time to talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As we begin our time together this morning, I want to ask you a question.

Who did Jesus die for?

Some say, “He died for everyone.”

Others say, “He died for the elect.”

Those not wanting to address the issue say, “He died for both--the elect and the non-elect.”

Which is it?

It’s amazing at how many answers come to this question but Scripture teaches there is only one.

And to answer this question this morning, I would like to invite you to ake God’s Word and turn with me to Ephesians chapter 1.

Our text is verse 7-8a.

Ephesians 1:7-8a says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

Redemption is at the heart of the Word of God.

It is its theme.

Both the Old and New Testament reflect God’s redemption of man.

In Psalm 111:9, the psalmist says, “He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.”

Psalm 130:7-8 says, “O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.”

In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

As you can see this is a recurring theme which encompasses both the Old and New Testament.

As we look at Ephesians 1:7-8a we see this theme mentioned as one of the great spiritual blessings that has been given to God’s people.

I remind you that Paul is reflecting on how God has blessed us in verses 3-14.

He first chose us.

Second, He adopted us.

When did He do all of this? “Before the foundation of the world” (v.4).

And now we see these first two blessing carried out in “redemption.”

As we look at this wonderful subject this morning, we are going to see 4 features of our redemption.

Notice the first feature in verse 7.

He says, “in Him.”

These two words introduce us to the Redeemer.

THE REDEEMER (v.7a)

The Redeemer is Jesus Christ

“In Him” is a phrase that occurs throughout the book of Ephesians.

We find it in vv.4, 7, 9, 10, 13; 3:12; 4:21.

It is also a phrase that refers back to the “Beloved” in verse 6.
God “bestowed His grace on us in the Beloved.”

“Beloved” is a term used by God the Father of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

After Jesus was baptized by John, Matthew 3:17 says, “And behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

At His transfiguration, we hear these same words recorded in Matthew 17:5. It says,  While Peter was speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!’”

Paul referred to Jesus with this same term in Colossians 3:13-14 when he said, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

As Paul uses this term (agapo) in Ephesians 1:6 it “indicates the One who is in the state of being loved by God” (MacArthur).

“Beloved” is a perfect participle in the Greek.

The perfect tense speaks of action completed in the past but having present results.

Kenneth Wuest says, “It speaks of the fact that God the Father has always loved God the Son with an absolute love which is a permanent attitude on His part” (Word Studies in the Greek NT, 39).

Jesus is Referred to as the Redeemer Elsewhere in Scripture

In Luke 2:38 when Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem to present Jesus to the Lord, Anna “began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption in Jerusalem.”

In Galatians 2:20 when Paul speaks of being crucified with Christ he says, “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 up for me.”

Notice also in verse 7:

THE RECIPIENTS (v.7b)

“We”

The Recipients Are the Elect

They are those who are “saints” and “faithful in Christ Jesus” (v.1).

They are those who have been “blessed...with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (v.3).

They are those whom God “chose” for Himself “before the foundation of the world” (v.4).

They are those who have been “predestined...to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (v.5).

Based on that context we can say with full assurance that...

Jesus Died for the Redemption of the Elect

Matt Slick, who is the founder of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry writes, “Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for ‘many'; John 10:11,15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him, not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ, not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion where he would bear the sins of many (not all)” [http://www.carm.org/list/calvinism.htm].

Matthew 1:21 says that He came to “save His people from their sins.”

Who are “His people”? It could be a reference to the Jews because “salvation is from the Jews” (Jn.4:22). But I believe it has a specific reference to the elect—those chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph.1:4). To limit it to a nationality of people ignores what Paul said to the Gentiles in Acts 13:46-48.

He says to the Jews: “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 "For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.' " 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Jesus came to save those who were “appointed to eternal life” before the world began.

What about those passages that say speak of Christ’s redemption being for the whole “world” or for “all”?

John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

1 John 2:1-2 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

1 Timothy 2:3-6 says, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

These three verses are speaking “of Christ’s work in general terms...and was to correct the false notion that salvation was for the Jews alone.

Such phrases as ‘the world,’ ‘all men,’ ‘all nations,’ and ‘every creature’ were used by the New Testament writers to emphatically correct this mistake.

These expressions are intended to show that Christ died for all men without distinction (i.e., He died for Jews and Gentiles alike), but they are not intended to indicate that Christ died for all men without exception (i.e., He did not die for the purpose of saving each and every lost sinner)” (David Steele, The Five Points of Calvinism, 50).

Charles Spurgeon said, “The Arminians say, 'Christ died for all men.' Ask them what they mean by it. Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of all men? They say, 'No, certainly not.' We ask them the next question: Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of any man in particular? They answer 'No.' They are obliged to admit this, if they are consistent. They say, 'No; Christ has died that any man may be saved if ?' and then follow certain conditions of salvation. Now, who is it that limits the death of Christ? Why, you. You say that Christ did not die so as infallibly to secure the salvation of anybody. We beg your pardon, when you say we limit Christ's death; we say, 'No, my dear sir, it is you that do it.' We say Christ so died that he infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who through Christ's death not only may be saved, but are saved, must be saved and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved. You are welcome to your atonement; you may keep it. We will never renounce ours for the sake of it.”

Scripture does speak of Christ’s saving work in definite terms and shows that it was intended to save a particular people, namely, those given to Him by the Father.

We already looked at Matthew 1:21 where Matthew says that Jesus came to “save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 20:28 says, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Matthew 26:28 says, “For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

John 10:11 says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

John 11:49-53 says, “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." 51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.”

Romans 8:32-34 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

Hebrews 2:17 says, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

Hebrews 3:1 says, “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.”

Hebrews 9:15 says, “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Hebrews 9:27-28 says, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

David Steele writes, “Election itself saved no one; it only marked out particular sinners for salvation. Those chosen by the Father and given to the Son had to be redeemed if they were to be saved. In order to secure their redemption, Jesus Christ came into the world and took upon Himself human nature so that He might identify Himself with His people and act as their legal representative or substitute. Christ, acting on behalf of His people, kept God’s law perfectly and thereby worked out a perfect righteousness which is imputed or credited to them the moment they are brought to faith in Him. Through what He did, they are constituted righteous before God. They are also freed from all guilt and condemnation as the result of what Christ suffered for them. Through His substitutionary sacrifice, He endured the penalty of their sins and thus removed their guilt forever. Consequently, when His people are joined to Him by faith, they are credited with perfect righteousness and are freed from all guilt and condemnation. They are saved, not because of what they themselves have done or will do, but solely on the grounds of Christ’s redeeming work” (39).

Look again at Ephesians 1:7 where we see now:

THE REDEMPTION (v.7c)

It says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood.”

The Meaning of Redemption

“Redemption” Gr.apolutrosis, it literally means, “purchasing with a price” (Rienecker).

This word was used when paying the necessary ransom “to set free a prisoner of war, a captive, or a debtor who was sold into slavery” (Boles, K. L. (1993). Galatians & Ephesians. The College Press NIV commentary, Eph 1:7).

When Paul uses this term in Ephesians 1:7 he is referring to “paying the required ransom to God for the release of a person from bondage.

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross paid that price for every elect person enslaved by sin, buying them out of the slave market of iniquity (see notes on 2 Cor. 5:18, 19).

The price of redemption was death (cf. Lev. 17:11; Rom. 3:24, 25; Heb. 9:22; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19; Rev. 5:8–10) [MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (Eph 1:7)].

Kenneth Wuest says, “The story of redemption can be told in three Greek words; agoraz, "to buy in the slave market" (I Cor. 6:20, 7:23, 30, II Pet. 2:1, Rev. 5:9); the Lord Jesus bought us in the slave market of sin, the ransom price, His blood; we are his bondslaves; exagoraz, "to buy out of the slave market, to buy off, to buy for one's self" (Gal. 3:13, 4:5); the redeemed are the possession of the Lord Jesus forever, and will never be put up for sale in any slave market again; lutro "to liberate by payment of ransom" (Tit. 2:14, I Pet. 1:18); the redeemed are set free from the guilt and power of sin now, to be finally set free from the presence of sin at the Rapture” (Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader, Eph 1:7).

The Price of Redemption

It was “through His blood.”

“The price of redemption is ‘His blood.’ It cost the blood of the Son of God to buy men back from the slave market of sin” (John MacArthur, Ephesians, 21).

Hebrews 9:11-14 says, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “ Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

These two verses speak of the manner by which our redemption was secured—it gives us the price of redemption.

When you hear the terms “the blood of Christ,” it is speaking of His death.

Romans 5:9-10 says, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

We have seen the Redeemer, the recipients, and the redemption. Notice now:

THE REMISSION (vv.7d-8a)

Paul says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

Paul says that His redemption accomplished “the forgiveness of our trespasses.”

The Meaning of Forgiveness (v.7d)

“This redemption is defined as ‘the forgiveness of sins."

The word ‘forgiveness’ is aphesis from aphiemi, ‘to send from one's self, to send away, to bid go away or depart.’

The noun aphesis, used in relation to ‘sins,’ means ‘a release, the letting them go as if they had not been committed, thus, forgiveness, a remission of their penalty’ (Thayer).

Trench says that the image under lying the verb is that of releasing a prisoner (Isaiah 61:1), or letting go, as of a debt (Deut. 15:3)” (Wuest).

John MacArthur writes, “Israel's greatest holy day was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On that day the high priest selected two unblemished sacrificial goats. One goat was killed, and his blood was sprinkled on the altar as a sacrifice. The high priest placed his hands on the head of the other goat, symbolically laying the sins of the people on the animal. The goat was then taken out deep into the wilderness, so far that it could never find its way back. In symbol the sins of the people went with the goat, never to return to them again (Lev. 16:7–10).

But that enactment, beautiful and meaningful as it was, did not actually remove the people's sins, as they well knew. It was but a picture of what only God Himself in Christ could do. As mentioned above, aphi i (from which forgiveness comes) basically means to send away. Used as a legal term it meant to repay or cancel a debt or to grant a pardon. Through the shedding of His own blood, Jesus Christ actually took the sins of the world upon His own head, as it were, and carried them an infinite distance away from where they could never return. That is the extent of the forgiveness of our trespasses” (22).

Forgiveness is the results of the “redemption through His blood.”

Jesus alone forgives sin.

You sins are not taken away by some act you perform; they are forgiven as a result of the redemption of Christ.

It is clear in the NT that Jesus had the authority to forgive sin.

In Matthew 9:1-6, it says, “Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. 2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven." 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes." 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? 6 "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—then He said* to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." 7 And he got up and went home.”

In Acts 13:38-39 Paul said to the Jews, “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”

This was clearly the message of the early church.

After His resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 24:46-47, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

In the OT, there is a passage that tells us:

God alone forgives sin

Isa.43:25 says, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.”

This passage sounds like a contradiction with the others we read about Jesus forgiving sin.

There is no contradiction here—God alone forgives sin and Jesus is God the second member of the Trinity.

Jesus accomplished redemption for those chosen by God before the foundation of the world. As a result, they are forgiven of their “trespasses.”

The Meaning of Trespasses (v.7d)

“Trespasses” Gr.paraptoma, from parapipto. It means “to fall beside a person or thing, to slip aside.”

The noun form paraptoma means “to fall beside or near something; a laspe or deviation from truth and uprightness, a sin, a misdeed, a trespass” (Wuest).

Marvin Vincent says, “In classical Greek the verb is often used of intentional falling, as of throwing one's self upon an enemy; and this is the prevailing sense in biblical Greek, indicating reckless and willful sin (see 1 Chron. 5:25; 10:13; 2 Chron. 26:18; 29:6, 19; Ezek. 14:13; 18:26). It does not, therefore, imply palliation or excuse. It is a conscious violation of right, involving guilt, and occurs therefore, in connection with the mention of forgiveness (Rom. 4:25; 5:16; Col. 2:13; Eph. 2:1, 5)” [Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament].

Paul mentions this word again in 2:1 when he says, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”

This word occurs 20 times in six different forms in the NT and is predominantly translated “transgression.”

The Decree of God’s Forgiveness (vv.7d-8a)

We have all of this “according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

Kenneth Wuest says, “This forgiveness is "according to the riches of His grace." The words "according to" are the translation of kata, a preposition which in its local meaning has the idea of "down."

The word "down" speaks of domination. The word "domination" speaks of control.
The degree of this forgiveness was controlled, dominated by the riches, (ploutos) wealth, abundance, plenitude of God's grace.

This forgiveness is therefore a complete, an unqualified, an unchanging one, since it is controlled by the plenitude of God's grace, and that plenitude is infinite in proportion” (41).

The idea of “lavished” (perisseuo) means, “to exceed a fixed number or measure, to be over and above a certain number or measure, to exist or be at hand in abundance” (Thayer).

“God’s grace—like His love, holiness, power, and all His other attributes—is boundless. It is far beyond our ability to comprehend or describe, yet we know it is according to the riches of His infinite grace that He provides forgiveness” (MacArthur, 24).

CONCLUSION

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

The Redeemer is Jesus; the recipients are the elect, the redemption and remission was by His blood.

Have you experienced that redemption and remission that the Redeemer provides?

I want to invite you to turn to Him today.

Jesus is the only Redeemer that can save you from your sin.

Acts 4:12 says, “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus said of Himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

If you will repent of your sin and turn to Him He will save you and grant you forgiveness and eternal life.

LIFE APPLICATION

What do you think of when you hear the question, “Who did Jesus die for?”

When Paul says, “In Him, we have redemption through His blood,” who are the “we?”

What does redemption and forgiveness have in common?

Train Yourself to Be Godly

2011-04-10T17:59:00.001-04:00

We are currently in a study on “The Pursuit of Holiness.”

In our last three messages, we have talked about how holiness is not only our standing in Jesus Christ, but also how we are to live everyday.

In our time together this morning, I want us to consider a phrase that Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:7.

If you have your Bibles, and I trust that you do, turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter 4.

Paul is writing to his son in the faith, Timothy, instructing him on matters of church life.

In chapter 1 he begins by instructing Timothy to “instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith” (v.4)

Later in verses 18-19, he challenges him to “fight the good fight of faith, keeping faith and a good conscience.”

In chapter 2, he urges that “entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men” (v.1) and that “the men in every place...pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension” (v.8).

Then in verses 9 and 10 he says he wants the women to “adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim for godliness” (vv.9-10).

They are also to “quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness” (v.11) when the church assembles nor are they allowed “to teach or exercise authority over a man” (v.12) since Eve was created after Adam (v.13) and she “fell into transgression” (v.14) leading the entire human race into sin.

In chapter 3, he says those who serve as elders and deacons are to be qualified before they serve.

The purpose of this instruction was so that everyone would “know how...to conduct [themselves] in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” (v.15).

Now as we approach chapter 4, Paul gives Timothy further instruction.

This instruction which began in verses 3 and 4 of chapter 1 is now resumed in verses 1-10.

These false teachers would arise and cause “some [to] fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

So Timothy is to “have nothing to do with their worldly fables fit only for old women.”

What does that mean?

Simply, he is to avoid all false teaching.

To “have nothing to do with” (paraiteomai) means he is ““to refuse, decline, shun, reject, beg off, get excused, avoid.”

In short, it is a strong word, meaning “reject,” or “put away” (2 Tim. 2:23; Titus 3:10).

The next word, “Worldly” (bebelous) can also be translated “profane.” This is a word that describes what is radically separate from what is holy. It could be translated “unhallowed,” and refers to anything that contradicts the Word of God.

“Fables” (mutheous). Hiebert uses the adjective to picture the “myths” as “nothing but silly fictions, fit only for senile, childish old crones to chatter about.”

Timothy is directed to order those who promulgate these myths to cease this and to put their minds on the gospel.

Not for one moment is [Timothy] to treat them seriously, discuss them, [or] argue against them.

Paul states this again in chapter 6, verse 20 when he says, “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge.”

He states it two more times in his 2 letter to him.

2 Timothy 2:16, which says, “But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness.”

And verse 23, “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”

Some false teaching is best ignored rather than discussed.

We have to be very careful what we expose ourselves to in terms of teaching.

John MacArthur writes in his commentary on this verse, saying, “The mind is a precious thing, and God expects those in leadership to have a pure mind, one saturated with His Word. There is no place for foolish, silly myths that are in reality the doctrines of demons. The excellent minister maintains his conviction and his clarity of mind by exposing himself to the Word of God, not to demonic lies that assault the Bible.”

He doesn't meditate on error but on truth!

Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

2 Timothy 2:16 says, "But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness."

Paul says later in 1 Timothy 6:11, that Timothy is to “flee from these things.”

What things?

In this context, the love of money but the chapter includes unhealthy teaching.

In fleeing from these things, he is to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”

This, as we have been stating for the past three weeks, is a “pursuit.”

We are to pursue holiness or more specifically as 1 Timothy 6:11 states, “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”

This is no different than what Peter tells his readers in 2 Peter 1:5-7 when he says, "Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love."

So in avoiding one thing, Timothy is to pursue another.

Going back to 1 Timothy 4:7, not only is he to reject false teaching, he is on the other hand to “discipline [himself] for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (vv.7b-8).

So in contrast to following the vapid vagaries of the false teachers, Timothy was to seek after God.

Timothy is not to occupy his time and attention with them, "but rather cultivate piety, and seek to become more holy" (Barnes).

Notice the last part of verse 7:

Timothy is to “discipline [himself] for the purpose of godliness” (v.7b).

His attention is to be on his soul.

That is not to say he is not to take care of his physical body.

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

But his attention should be on the discipline of his soul “for the purpose of godliness.”

Timothy is told that as an athlete trains his body, so the Christian must train his soul.

Notice...

WHAT IT MEANS TO TRAIN

The word “discipline” at the end of verse 7 could also mean “train” and might even be a better translation considering the meaning of the word.

This is the word gumnos which means “naked” and is the word from which we derive our English word gymnasium.

In traditional Greek athletic contests, the participants competed without clothing, so as not to be encumbered. Therefore, the word “train” originally carried the literal meaning, “to exercise naked.”

By New Testament times it referred to exercise and training in general. But even then it was, and is, a word with the smell of the gym in it — the sweat of a good workout.

“Gymnasticize (exercise, work out, train) yourself for the purpose of godliness” conveys the feel of what Paul is saying.

There is no such thing as drifting into godliness; the ‘stream of tendency’ is against us.” There must be exercise and effort.

And Paul’s use of the present tense verb indicates that was to be Timothy’s constant pursuit. Timothy was to train his inner man for godliness.

APPLYING THIS TO GODLINESS

Paul says this “exercise” or “workout” is not that of the physical body but that of one’s mind, emotions, will, the spiritual part of man.

George Knight, says this word is also used figuratively “of mental and spiritual powers” in extrabiblical literature, as here and consistently in the NT (The Pastoral Epistles: a commentary on the Greek text). 197.

When he says “for the purpose of” that means “with a view to.”

Just as a Greek athlete would exercise with a view to winning in the athletic contests, so Timothy is exhorted to exercise with a view to excelling in godliness.

You might already be asking, “What is godliness?”

Godliness (eusebeia) is a right attitude and response toward the true Creator God...[It is] a preoccupation from the heart with holy and sacred realities. It is respect for what is due to God.

John Calvin says, "By the word godliness, he means the spiritual worship of God which consists in purity of conscience."

We'll say more about this later but let's suffice it to say that when Paul says to Timothy to train himself in godliness, this spiritual self-discipline is the path to godly living and the pursuit of the highest virtue a Christian can pursue.

So how does that flesh out in our daily walk?

Let’s answer that question and see what the Scripture says about...

LIVING IT EACH DAY

First, it means we have the right belief and obedient action.

We do not subscribe to “worldly fables” (1 Tim.4:7) or “strange doctrines” (1 Tim.1:3) and “endless genealogies” (1 Tim.1:3) but to “sound doctrine” (Tit.2:1).

That is, healthy teaching about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, hell, heaven, godly living and so forth.

When Paul wrote to Titus about “sound doctrine,” he told him to “speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”

And what was he to “speak”?

The rest of Titus chapter 2.

Listen to what it says:

Titus 2:1-15: “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

The phrase “sound teaching” appears in both the Old and New Testament.

In Proverbs 4:2, Solomon tells his son, “For I give you sound teaching; Do not abandon my instruction.”

What did “sound teaching” refer to in this passage?

Obeying your parents, getting wisdom, not following after wicked people, watching over your heart!

You could include everything before chapter 4, which would include fearing the Lord, not being enticed by sinners, following after wisdom, trusting God.

You could also include his instruction in chapters 5 & 6: avoiding the sensual woman, and hating the things God hates.

Back in 1 Timothy, when Paul mentions “sound doctrine,” he says that it is anything contrary to the gospel, like lawlessness, rebellion, ungodliness, unholiness, murder, immorality, homosexuality, kidnapping, lying, perjury” and “whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted” (1:9-10).

When he uses the word with Titus, it includes “older men” being “temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance” (v.1), “older women” being “reverent in behavior, not malicious gossips, not enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good” (2:1), “young women” loving “their husbands...their children...[being] sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands” (vv.3-4), “young men” being “sensible” (v.6), Titus, “showing [himself] to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach” (v.8), “bondslaves” being “subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith” (vv.9-10).

So living it each day means we have the right belief and obedient action.

Next, we could say it means you “do [your] best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men” (Acts 24:16).

That’s what Paul said as he stood before Felix answering the charges the Jews brought against him in his preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In 1 Timothy 1:5, Paul said to Timothy that “the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

In verse 19, he told him to keep “the faith and a good conscience.”

You might be asking, “What does Paul mean when he speaks about the conscience?”

Is it the voice of God or the Holy Spirit?

No, it is that human faculty that “entreats us to do what we believe is right and restrains us from doing what we believe is wrong.”

The conscience “judges our actions and thoughts by the light of the highest standard we perceive.

When we violate our conscience, it condemns us, triggering feelings of shame, anguish, regret, consternation, anxiety, disgrace, and even fear.

When we follow our conscience, it commends us, bringing joy, serenity, self-respect, well-being, and gladness.”

Having a “good conscience” or a “blameless conscience” means having a “tender heart” (2 Chron.34:27) or being “upright in heart” (Ps.7:10).

When David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps.51:10), he was seeking to have his life and his conscience cleansed.

He wasn’t trying to suppress, overrule, or silence his conscience.

He wasn’t trying to say the real blame for his wrong behavior lies in some childhood trauma, the way his parents raised him, societal pressures, or some other cause beyond his control.

Nor was he trying to convince himself that his sin was a clinical problem, not a moral one.

He didn’t call his sin of murdering Uriah a disease or his adultery a disorder.

No, he called it what it was---sin, sin against God!

So we need to train ourselves to be godly.

That means we have the right belief and obedient action.

We have a good and blameless conscience before God and men.

It means, we “live godly” (2 Tim.3:12).

It means, we “deny ungodliness and worldly desires and...live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Tit.2:12).

It means we not “love the world [or] the things in the world” (1 Jn.2:15).

Or as John Gill says, "And exercise thyself rather unto godliness; either to the doctrines which are according to godliness, and tend to godly edification, which the above fables did not, study these, meditate on them, digest them, and deliver them to others; or to a godly life and conversation, exercise thyself, to have a conscience void of offense to God and men; or to internal religion, inward godliness, the exercise of the graces of faith, hope, love, fear, reverence, humility."

CONCLUSION

Before we close, I want to direct your attention to 2 Timothy chapter 2.

This is a parallel to what Paul is saying here in 1 Timothy 4:7.

2 Timothy 2 says, "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. 10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. 11 It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. 14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness." 20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. 24 The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."

Can you honestly say this describes your life?

Are you training yourself to be godly?

Are you putting off everything that would hinder your walk with Christ?

That is not only referring to things that are sinful but also things that are unprofitable.

I’ll close with Paul’s words to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

He says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

Run that you may receive the prize!

Discipline your body and make it your slave!

Train yourself to be godly!

LIFE APPLICATION

What are you doing to train yourself to be godly?

How are you discipling your body to be your slave rather than you being a slave to your body?

Holiness is Not An Option

2011-04-03T22:06:00.001-04:00

We are in a series called “The Pursuit of Holiness.”

I have borrowed that title from a book I am reading again by Jerry Bridges.

In our last two times together, we saw how holiness is a pursuit and it’s based on the Holiness of God who calls us to this kind of living.

Now today, I want us to see if we are to be holy as God is holy, then holiness is not an option.

In fact, in Bridges book, he lists 4 reasons why this is not an option.

I want to talk about them today.

In Hebrews 12:14, where we began our study two weeks ago, we heard the writer of Hebrews give this sobering exhortation to his hearers.

Let me remind you of what he said: “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

I remind you this is a pursuit.

It begins at salvation and concludes in glory!

Jesus said in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”

This signifies a great struggle against conflict.

But understand that Jesus was not suggesting that anyone could merit heaven by striving for it.

No matter how rigorously they labored, sinners could never save themselves.

Salvation is solely by grace, not by works (Eph. 2:8, 9).

But entering the narrow gate is nonetheless difficult because of its cost in terms of human pride, because of the sinner’s natural love for sin, and because of the world’s and Satan’s opposition to the truth.

And because of that Jesus says to “strive to enter.”

We are to exert ourselves to the utmost to enter the kingdom by true repentance.

But once we enter by grace though faith for salvation, holiness is imputed to us.

We are now clothed in the righteousness of God (Rom.9:30) and Christ (Phil.3:9).

Scripture speaks of both a holiness which we have in Christ before God, and a holiness which we are to strive after.

These two aspects of holiness complement one another, for our salvation is a salvation to holiness: “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thessalonians 4:7).

To the Corinthians Paul wrote: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy” (1 Corinthians 1:2, emphasis added).

The word sanctified here means “made holy.”
That is, we are through Christ made holy in our standing before God, and called to be holy in our daily lives.

So the writer of Hebrews is telling us to take seriously the necessity of personal, practical holiness.

When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives at our salvation, He comes to make us holy in practice.

If there is not, then, at least a yearning in our hearts to live a holy life pleasing to God, we need to seriously question whether our faith in Christ is genuine.

Now it is important to note before we look at these 4 areas that when we talk about personal holiness, we’re talking about obedience in biblical terms.

Both faith and obedience are inseparable.

Jesus’ Great Commission to His disciples indicates just how foundational the matter of obedience is for believers.

He says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

While verse 19 involves proclaiming the Gospel, seeing people saved, and having them publicly profess their faith in Christ, verse 20 builds on the new converts’ salvation experience.

Disciplers, or any mature believers, will teach new Christians to obey God’s commands in His Word and to submit to Him.

Obedience is so foundational that if it is not present in the life of one who claims to be a Christian, that person’s faith ought to be questioned.

Jesus said in John 8:31 to those Jews who had believed in Him: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.”

In John 15:10, He said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.”

John makes it even more clear in 1 John 2:3-4 when he says, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

All who profess faith in Jesus Christ must also demonstrate that faith by obeying God’s Word. Otherwise, their profession of saving faith is suspect.

All of this is synonymous with holiness.

When we’re talking about practical holiness or pursuing holiness, we’re talking about obeying Jesus Christ.

The two are the same.

The moment of salvation involves more than an isolated act of obedience.

When anyone places his trust in Christ’s atoning work and receives His forgiveness of sins, he also acknowledges that the Savior is Lord and Master over his life.

That means each believer has committed himself to a life of ongoing obedience, although initially he did not fully grasp all the implications of that commitment.

In Romans 6:16-18, Paul reminds us of our position in Christ and the kind of attitude we’re to have:

He says, “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Notice what Paul is saying:

When someone presents himself as a slave of someone else, the primary issue is obedience--doing what the master says.

So “when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey.”

That is true whether someone is an unbeliever and a servant to sin, or a believer and a servant to Christ.

Paul then takes that simple illustration and applies it to that phrase in verse 17, “obedient from the heart.”

Heart obedience is what God desires of His people.

That should be an overriding attitude and desire for any Christian.

You ought to have a strong desire for obedience that you constantly manifest obedience as a fundamental, inner trait of your Christian life.

Now with all that said, we need then to understand holiness is not an option.

Since God is holy, He requires everyone to be holy.

And since holiness is His standard for all peoples, it is then required and necessary for 4 things:

Let’s take them one at a time.

The first is:

HOLINESS IS REQUIRED FOR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD

Psalm 15:1 says, “O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?”

Another way of stating that would be, “Who may have fellowship with You?”

What’s the answer?

Listen to Psalm 15:2-5: “He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

This is another way of describing one who is pursuing holiness or obeying God.

Remember we’re talking about obedience or practical holiness.

We’ve already noted that Scripture does not teach that we can attain a certain amount of holiness for salvation.

We are saved by grace, through faith (Eph.2:8).

God is our standard.

Matthew 5:48 says, ““Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In our fellowship with God, we are to renounce all sin.

As the psalmist says regarding prayer in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”

Not letting go of sin or certain sins causes God not to hear us when we pray.

So, in order to have intimacy with the Holy One, we must be serious about holiness.

We must grieve over sin in our lives instead of justifying it.

We must earnestly pursue holiness as a way of life.

Second:

HOLINESS IS REQUIRED FOR OUR WELL BEING

Hebrews 12:6 says, “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

This statement presupposes our need of discipline.

When we persist in disobedience, God disciplines us.

One example would be in 1 Corinthians 11.

When the Corinthians came to the Lord’s table they were coming drunk--they were not coming in a worthy manner.

Because of this, 1 Corinthians 11:30 says, “For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.”

In other words, God was disciplining those who were in sin.

Some were “weak.” Others were “sick.” And some even died.

In Acts 5 when Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the proceeds for the sale of some land they hand, they were killed on the spot.

They were disciplined severely because they had told God they were going to give all to Him.

Peter asked Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last.” (vv.3-4).

Verse 10 says the same thing happened to his wife. She too “breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead.”

These two illustrations are the ultimate of discipline where the Lord takes us home.

But we need to understand that holiness is for our well-being.

It keeps us from sinning and experiencing the discipline of the Lord.

David admitted in Psalm 32:3-4, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.”

When God speaks to us about some sin, we need to heed and take action. To fail to deal with that sin is to risk incurring His hand of discipline.

Holiness is required for fellowship and our well-being.

HOLINESS IS NECESSARY FOR EFFECTIVE SERVICE

That’s a no-brainer for some but others just don’t get it.

If you’re living in sin, do you honestly think God will use you?

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:21, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

Holiness and usefulness are linked together.

We cannot bring our service to God in an unclean vessel.

In fact, every time we sin we grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph.4:30).

We must make every effort to walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Ephesians 4:1 says, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”

Ephesians 5:1-5 says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

We are to be “imitators of God” and walk in holiness.

Last,

HOLINESS IS NECESSARY FOR OUR ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

True faith will always show itself by its fruit.

If we’re in Christ, we are a new creation (2 Cor.5:17).

The only safe evidence that we are in Christ is a holy life.

John said in 1 John 3:3, “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

CONCLUSION

What’s your life like?

Are you in fellowship with God or with sin?

If we know nothing of holiness, we may flatter ourselves that we are Christians but we do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

We need to ask ourselves:

Is there evidence of practical holiness in my life?

Do I desire and strive after holiness?

Do I grieve over my lack of it and earnestly seek the help of God to be holy?

It is not those who profess to know Christ who will enter heaven, but those whose lives are holy. Even those who do “great Christian works” will not enter heaven unless they also do the will of God. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21–23)

LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS

What are you doing everyday in your pursuit of holiness?

Do you have a desire to be holy?

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

How important is the Spirit’s work in your life?

What do you do to yield to the Holy Spirit?

Do you agree with the statement, “We cannot bring our service to God in an unclean vessel”?

The Holiness of God

2011-03-27T16:57:00.001-04:00

God has called every Christian to a holy life.

According to Ephesians 1:4, we are told that He saved us for this purpose.

Ephesians 1:4 says that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

This describes both a purpose and a result of God’s choosing those who are to be saved.

And since this is His purpose, this is how we are to live.

God’s call for holiness is based on His own character.

The Bible describes God’s character as “Holy.”

As we consider the holiness of God, we need to first understand that “Holiness is arguably the most significant of all of God’s attributes” (John MacArthur, Our Awesome God, 38).

It is “the very excellency of the divine nature” (A.W. Pink, Gleanings in the Godhead, 39).

“It is the sparkling jewel of the regal crown on His head” (John MacArthur, God, Satan, and Angels, 57).

It is “the harmony of all the virtues...the crown of His honor and the honor of His crown” (Spurgeon on the Psalms, 414).

This is “His choicest jewel” (Ibid.).

When the angels worship in heaven, they do not say, “Eternal, eternal, eternal,” or “Faithful, faithful, faithful,” or “Wise, wise, wise,” or “Mighty, mighty, mighty.” They say, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

In Revelation 4:8, we are told that the “four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!’”

God is “the Holy One of Israel” (Isa.47:4).

He is “Holy God” (1 Sam.6:20), “Holy Father” (Jn.17:11).

1 Chronicles 16:10 says to “Glory in His holy name.”

Before we look at the definition of holiness, we need to understand “that any attempt to define [the] ‘holiness’ of God is, as A.W. Tozer states, “fraught with potential flaw and error” (The Attributes of God).

The reason is because no one can adequately explain it.

All we can do is compare it to ourselves and that causes major “flaw and error.”

We are unholy and He is holy but what does that mean?

Before the fall, Eccelesiates 7:29 says, “that God made men upright.”

But his being “upright” is not comparable to God being upright or holy because Solomon went on to say that man “sought out many devices.”

In other words, when man was created in the image of God, he was not given the same uprightness that God possesses. He was created with the potential for sin.

In describing God, James says in James 1:13 that God “cannot be tempted by evil.”

That literally means He is “untemptable.”

Psalm 5:4 says, “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.”

So we must understand first that fundamental difference between man and God.

Next we need to understand the difficulty that is involved in defining the holiness of God.

R.C. Sproul says, “The difficulties involved in defining holiness are vast. There is so much to holiness and it is so foreign to us that the task seems almost impossible. There is a very real sense in which the word holy is a foreign word. But even when we run up against foreign words there is always the hope that a foreign language dictionary can rescue us by providing a clear translation. The problem we face, however, is that the word holy is foreign to all languages. No dictionary is adequate to the task.

Our problem with definition is made more difficult by the fact that in the Bible the word holy is used in more than one way. There is a sense in which the Bible uses holy in a way that is very closely related to God's goodness. It has been customary to define holy as 'purity, free from every stain, wholly perfect and immaculate in every detail.'

Purity is the first word most of us think of when we hear the word holy. To be sure, the Bible does use the word this way. But the idea of purity or of moral perfection is at best the secondary meaning of the term in the Bible” (The holiness of God).

What then is the meaning of the term?

Holiness Defined

The root meaning of the Hebrew noun ‘holiness’ (qodes) and the adjective ‘holy’ (qados) comes from a word that means ‘to cut’ or ‘to separate,’ and thus to be distinct from and set apart.

That the term did not originally refer to ethical purity is seen from its use in describing prostitutes who were ‘set apart’ or ‘devoted’ to pagan deities such as Baal and Asherah (see Gen. 38:21; Hosea 4:14).

Donald Bloesch points out that ‘in Israel’s history holiness could be applied to nonpersonal things, places and even pagan gods (cf. Dan. 4:8,9; 5:11). The ground around the burning bush is holy (Ex. 3:5) as are the temple (Is. 64:11; Jon. 2:4; Hab. 2:20), days (Ex. 20:8; Deut. 5:12; Is. 58:13), utensils (1 Chron. 9:29), garments (Ex. 29:21; Lev. 16:4), food (1 Sam. 21:4; Neh. 7:65), oil (Ex. 30:25,31; Num. 35:25; Ps. 89:20) and offerings (2 Chron. 35:13; Ezek. 42:13)’ (God the Almighty, 138).

“The point is that God is separate from everyone and everything else. He alone is Creator. He is altogether and wholly other, both in his character and his deeds. He is transcendently different from and greater than all his creatures in every conceivable respect. To put it in common terms, ‘God is in a class all by himself’” (Dr. Sam Storms, http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article.asp?id=237).

Holiness is not primarily a reference to moral or ethical purity. It is a reference to transcendence.

R.C. Sproul again says, “We are so accustomed to equating holiness with purity or ethical perfection that we look for the idea when the word holy appears. When things are made holy, when they are consecrated, they are set apart unto purity. They are to be used in a pure way. They are to reflect purity as well as simply apartness. Purity is not excluded from the idea of the holy; it is contained within it. But the point we must remember is that the idea of the holy is never exhausted by the idea of purity. It includes purity but is much more than that. It is purity and transcendence. It is a transcendent purity.

When we use the word holy to describe God, we face another problem. We often describe God by compiling a list of qualities or characteristics that we call attributes. We say that God is a spirit, that He knows everything, that He is loving, just, merciful, gracious, and so on. The tendency is to add the idea of the holy to this long list of attributes as one attribute among many. But when the word holy is applied to God, it does not signify one single attribute. On the contrary, God is called holy in a general sense. The word is used as a synonym for his deity. That is, the word holy calls attention to all that God is. It reminds us that His love is holy love, his justice is holy justice, his mercy is holy mercy, his knowledge is holy knowledge, his spirit is holy spirit” (The Holiness of God).

Holiness Declared

In His Name

1 Chronicles 16:10 says God’s name is “holy.”
The psalmist said in Ps.22:21 that he trusted “in His holy name.

In both of those verses, the term for Lord is Yahweh.

We said in our last study that this sacred name was known as the tetragrammaton (‘four letters’) and it was “not a description of God, but simply a declaration of His self-existence and His eternal changelessness” (J.I, Packer, Knowing God).

But it is interesting to note how it is associated also with the holiness of God.

In the giving of the ten commandments God uses this term in Exodus 20:2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12

Notice also how the psalmist uses it in association with holiness

Ps.99 , (“the LORD” vv.1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9)
Ps.103:1 (“the LORD” v.1)
Ps.104:1-2 (“the LORD” v.1)
Ps.105:3 (“the LORD” vv.1, 3)
Ps.106:47 (LORD” v.47)
Ps.111:9 (“the LORD” vv.1, 2, 4, 10)

John Walvoord said, “So holy was this name regarded that Jews reading the Old Testament would substitute some other name for deity rather than express vocally what the text actually said when it used the word Jehovah” (Jesus Christ Our Lord, 37).

“This is the unspeakable name, the ineffable name, the holy name that is guarded from profanity in the life of Israel” (R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, 33).
Notice in Isaiah 6:3 what the seraphim are crying to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”

The sacred name that God gives of Himself not only reveals His self-existence but also His set-apartness; His otherness.

A.W. Tozer said, “Holy is the way God is” (The Knowledge of the Holy, 105).

A.W. Pink adds, “Holiness is the very excellency of the divine nature” (Gleanings in the Godhead, 39).

No wonder that “Moses and the children of Israel sang...to the LORD (Yahweh): “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex.15:11)

The answer to that question is given in 1 Samuel 2:2 when it says, “There is none holy like the LORD, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.”

In His Presence

The very presence of God exhibits His holiness and set-apartness.

Ex.19:1-25 (before the giving of the 10 commandments)

“God then commanded Moses to prepare the people for His appearing or speaking to them: (1) by their sanctification, through the washing of the body and clothes (see Gen. 35:2), and abstinence from conjugal intercourse (v. 15) on account of the defilement connected therewith (Lev. 15:18); and (2) by setting bounds round the people, that they might not ascend or touch the mountain” (Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F, Commentary on the Old Testament).

Ex.20:18-26 (after the giving of the 10 comm.)
Heb.12:29 says, “For our God is a consuming fire.”

Isa.57:15 - “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place.’”

Revelation 4

In His People

God’s holiness is seen in His people; they reflect His character in their lives

Jesus said to His disciples in John 15:3, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”

1 John 1:9 (they are the ones confessing their sin not hiding or denying it like those seen in vv.6, 8, 10).

Paul said in Phil.3:9 that the righteousness that he now had was not his “own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”

Apart from this righteousness no one can enter God’s presence

The writer of Hebrews said “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb.12:14).

As a child of God we are to live holy lives

A.W. Tozer says God “does not conform to a standard. He is that standard” (The Knowledge of the Holy, 105).

1 Pet.1:13-16 - “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

Lev.11:44-47 - “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 45 For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46 ‘This is the law of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, 47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’”

1 Thessalonians 4:7 says, “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.”

Ephesians 5:1-8

“The cause of our unholiness is a low view of God.”

This is “entertained almost universally among Christians [and] is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us” (A.W. Tozer, Gems from Tozer, 7).
John MacArthur says, “There is much supposed worship going on today that does not genuinely regard God as holy, and thus it falls woefully short. A lot of nice songs are being sung, nice feelings are being felt, nice thoughts are being thought, and nice emotions are being expressed, without a genuine acknowledgment of the holiness of God. That kind of worship bears no relationship to the worship we see in the Bible. It may be more psychological than theological, more fleshly than spiritual” (The Ultimate Priority, 79).

God’s people are to manifest in a practical way God’s holiness by not presenting their “members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but [presenting themselves] to God as being alive from the dead, and [their] members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom.6:13).

They are to understand that “now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, [they] have [their] fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life” (v.22).

A.W. Pink says, “Because God is holy, the utmost reverence becomes our approach to Him. ‘God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all about Him’ (Ps. 89:7). Then ‘Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy’ (Ps. 99:5). Yes, ‘at His footstool,’ in the lowest posture of humility, prostrate before Him. When Moses would approach unto the burning bush, God said, ‘put off thy shoes from off thy feet’ (Ex. 3:5). He is to be served ‘with fear’ (Ps. 2:11). Of Israel His demand was, ‘I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified’ (Lev. 10:3). The more our hearts are awed by His ineffable holiness, the more acceptable will be our approaches unto Him.

Because God is holy we should desire to be conformed to Him. His command is, ‘Be ye holy, for I am holy’ (1 Pet. 1:16). We are not bidden to be omnipotent or omniscient as God is, but we are to be holy, and that "in all manner of deportment’ (1 Pet. 1:15)” (The Attributes of God).

Stephen Charnock said, “This is the prime way of honoring God. We do not so glorify God by elevated admirations, or eloquent expressions, or pompous services of Him, as when we aspire to a conversing with Him with unstained spirits, and live to Him in living like Him.”

Holiness Demonstrated

Notice how God responds in the presence of sin.
At the Fall (Gen.3)

At Kadesh (Num.20:1-13; 27:12-14)

At Nacon’s Threshing Floor (2 Sam.6:1-7)

According to Numbers 7:9 the ark was to be carried on poles supported on the shoulders of the Kohathites.

At the Sanctuary of the Lord (Lev.10:1-11)

CONCLUSION

As we close, notice how the holiness of God is manifested at the cross.

A.W. Pink says, “Wondrously, and yet most solemnly does the atonement display God’s infinite holiness and abhorrence of sin. How hateful must sin be to God for Him to punish it to its utmost desserts when it was imputed to His Son!” (Gleanings in the Godhead, 39).

When Jesus was bearing sin on the cross, He cried out “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” that is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Mat.27:46).

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor.5:21).

A.W. Tozer says, “The whole purpose of God in redemption is to make us holy and to restore us to the image of God” (The Quotable Tozer II, 105).

So we need to realize that “the more we learn of God and His ways and of man and His nature we are bound to reach the conclusion that we are all just about as holy as we want to be. We are all just about as full of the Spirit as we want to be. Thus when we tell ourselves that we want to be more holy but we are really as holy as we care to be, it is a small wonder that the dark night of the soul takes so long” (Ibid., 105-6).

What then is the “true Christian ideal?”

Is it to be happy or to be holy?

“Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet.1:16; Lev.11:44; 19:2).

LIFE APPLICATION

Do you think of purity when you hear the word “holy”?
Before this message, have you considered that there are other meanings to the word “holy” like transcendence?

Can you site any examples in your life where God responded to your sin out of His holiness? (e.g. Moses striking the rock -- cannot enter the promised land)

How does what you heard today affect how you worship God?

Jerry Bridges said, “Because God is holy, He hates sin.” Do you agree with that statement?

How does that statement affect your attitude towards sin?

Pursue Holiness

2011-03-24T19:03:00.001-04:00

In Hebrews 12:14, the writer of Hebrews gives this sobering exhortation: “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

Sanctification or “holiness,” as the ESV and AV uses is a pursuit of every believer.

At salvation, he is made holy through the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross, but through his new life he is to pursue that for which he has become.

The writer says he is to “pursue” not only peace (this refers to peace with all men) but also “the sanctification” or “holiness.”

Pursuing sanctification or holiness suggests two thoughts:
First, that diligence and effort are required; and second, that it is a lifelong task.

Think for a moment of this involving “diligence and effort.”

Some think that being holy or pursuing sanctification doesn’t involve them--it’s all God’s responsibility.

It is true no one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part.

God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking; He does not do that for us.
Jerry Bridges is correct when he says, “We Christians greatly enjoy talking about the provision of God, how Christ defeated sin on the cross and gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to victory over sin. But we do not as readily talk about our own responsibility to walk in holiness.”

Yet Scripture is filled with such exhortations.

For example, Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3 is even more specific than the previous two when it says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.”

Being pure in heart, cleansing ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, and abstaining from sexual immorality is our responsibility.

God has given us the power over sin through the indwelling Holy Spirit and our responsibility is to “walk in the Spirit” (Gal.5:16), to be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph.5:18).

Pursuing holiness, as John MacArthur states is, “submitting to the Lord’s commands, doing His will, based on what is so clearly revealed in Scripture.”

In other words, it is “obedience.”

Why don’t Christians talk about their responsibility to walk in holiness?

There are two primary reasons:

One, they are simply reluctant to face up to their responsibility, and two, they do not understand the proper distinction between God’s provision and their own responsibility for holiness.

As Hebrews 12:14 states this is a pursuit.

It involves effort on our part that will go on until we see Jesus.

So then we need to learn how to “cultivate” holiness in our lives.

In a practical word, it involves killing sin in our lives.

It’s more than just saying “No” to sin, it’s being schooled in righteousness.

Titus 2:11-12 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.”

What does Paul refer to as the teacher of denying ungodliness and worldly desires?

What teaches us to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age?

It’s the incarnation of the grace of God.

Who is the manifestation of God’s grace? Jesus Christ.

He clearly taught by His words and example of what it meant to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly.

Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

1 Peter 2:21-23 says, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.”

In Hebrews 12:14, the writer of Hebrews uses the word “sanctification” or “holiness” (hagiasmos) [to express] an action...[and it is used] as always proceeding from a holy person, and thus in the case of self-sanctification (as here) always presupposing the holiness that is obtained by Christ’s reconciliation in justification.

[In other words], the word denotes a process by which we become separated unto God in our entire life and conduct.  
Think of a farmer.

A farmer plows his field, sows the seed, and fertilizes and cultivates—all the while knowing that in the final analysis he is utterly dependent on forces outside of himself.

He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For a successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God.

Yet the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his responsibilities to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he cannot expect a harvest at the end of the season.

You are the farmer.

Yes you depend on God to provide the harvest but you plow the field, sow the seed, fertilize and cultivate.

That’s what I want us to talk about in the next few weeks---how to pursue holiness in our lives.

I don’t want to use big words but to speak as practically as possible.

So when we have our discussion time at the end of the service, I want you to think practically as well.

Don’t hide behind fancy words.

Talk specifically about holiness in your life as a pursuit.

Before we go any further, let’s take our remaining time to define the word “holy” and the problems we face.

In seeking an adequate definition, R.C. Sproul, reveals that “the difficulties involved in defining holiness are vast [because] in the Bible the word holy is used in more than one way.”
As we will see in this study, the idea of being holy is to be morally blameless.

It is to be separated from sin and, therefore, consecrated to God.

The word signifies “separation to God, and the conduct befitting those so separated.”

That means holiness affects our attitude in all areas of our lives.

It addresses our speech, thought life, as well as our actions.

You may have a good day go bad.

That doesn’t mean you stop pursuing holiness.

It means you need it all the more and now you’re faced with living out who you are in Christ!

Jerry Bridges, in his book, “The Pursuit of Holiness” shares one of those experiences from his own life that I would like to share with you. I think this is a good example of some of the same kind of things you and I experience in our own lives.

He says, “The shrill ring of the telephone shattered the stillness of the beautiful, crisp Colorado morning. On the other end was one of those utterly impossible individuals God seems to have sprinkled around here on earth to test the grace and patience of His children.

He was in top form that morning—arrogant, impatient, demanding. I hung up the phone seething inside with anger, resentment, and perhaps even hatred. Grabbing my jacket, I walked out into the cold air to try to regain my composure. The quietness of my soul, so carefully cultivated in my “quiet time” with God that morning, had been ripped into shreds and replaced with a volatile, steaming emotional volcano.

As my emotions subsided, my anger turned to utter discouragement. It was only 8:30 in the morning and my day was ruined. Not only was I discouraged, I was confused. Only two hours before, I had read Paul’s emphatic declaration, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” But despite this nice-sounding promise of victory over sin, there I was locked in the vise-like grip of anger and resentment.

“Does the Bible really have any answers for real life?” I asked myself that morning. With all my heart I desired to live an obedient, holy life; yet there I was utterly defeated by one phone call.

Perhaps this incident has a familiar ring to you. The circumstances probably differed, but your reaction was similar. Perhaps your problem was anger with your children, or a temper at work, or an immoral habit you can’t overcome, or maybe several “besetting sins” that dog you day in and day out.

Whatever your particular sin problem (or problems), the Bible does have the answer for you. There is hope. You and I can walk in obedience to God’s Word and live a life of holiness.”

But in order for that to happen, we need to identify 3 basic problems:

The first problem is:

Our Attitude Toward Sin is More Self-Centered Than God-Centered

We are more concerned about our own “victory” over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God.

When David finally came to the place of confessing his sin of adultery with Bethsheba and murdering her husband Uriah, he said in Psalm 51:4, “Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight...”

His eyes were now off himself and he finally saw that his sin grieved God.

W.S. Plumer said, “We never see sin aright until we see it as against God....All sin is against God in this sense: that it is His law that is broken, His authority that is despised, His government that is set at naught....Pharaoh and Balaam, Saul and Judas each said, ‘I have sinned’; but the returning prodigal said, ‘I have sinned against heaven and before thee’; and David said, ‘Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned.’”

The second problem is:

We Have Misunderstood “Living By Faith” (Galatians 2:20) to Mean No Effort at Holiness is Required On Our Part

Some have even suggested that any effort on our part is “of the flesh” but that can be no further from the truth.

If you look at Ephesians 4-6, you clearly learn that this is a practical response to the first three chapters Paul has just given on the believer’s identity in Christ.

When we received Christ as Savior we became citizens of His kingdom and members of His family. Along with those blessings and privileges we also received obligations. The Lord expects us to act like the new persons we have become in Jesus Christ.

He expects His standards to become our standards, His purposes our purposes, His desires our desires, His nature our nature. The Christian life is simply the process of becoming what you are.

When we are told to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph.4:1), that is a call to action and responsibility.

That is seen in the next verse when he shows the Ephesians how they are to walk.

He says, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (vv.2-3).

We must face the fact that we have a personal responsibility for our walk of holiness.

The third problem is:

We Do Not Take Some Sin Seriously

We have mentally categorized sins into that which is unacceptable and that which may be tolerated a bit.

In commenting on some of the more minute Old Testament dietary laws God gave to the children of Israel, Andrew Bonar said, “It is not the importance of the thing, but the majesty of the Lawgiver, that is to be the standard of obedience....Some, indeed, might reckon such minute and arbitrary rules as these as trifling. But the principle involved in obedience or disobedience was none other than the same principle which was tried in Eden at the foot of the forbidden tree. It is really this: Is the Lord to be obeyed in all things whatsoever He commands? Is He a holy Lawgiver? Are His creatures bound to give implicit assent to His will?”

Are we willing to call sin “sin” not because it is big or little, but because God’s law forbids it?

We cannot categorize sin if we are to live a life of holiness. God will not let us get away with that kind of attitude.

CONCLUSION

As you think about your responsibility towards sin and your pursuit of being holy, do you see yourself in any of these problems we just mentioned?

Is your attitude toward sin more self-centered or is it God-centered?

What about your effort at killing sin?

Does living by faith involve no effort at holiness on your part?

And last, do you take all sin seriously?

Not just some but all?

Song of Solomon 2:15 (KJV) says it is “the little foxes that spoil the vines.”

It is compromise on the little issues that leads to greater downfalls.

Before you can pursue holiness in your life, you have to be made holy and that is only possible by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ.

When you repent of your sin and turn to Him, He forgives you and gives you His Spirit. It is at that point you’re made positionally holy before God.

If you haven’t repented and embraced Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I beg you to do so right now.

LIFE APPLICATION

What did you think when Pastor Steve said our pursuit of holiness is a joint venture with God?

Have you ever seen yourself as not responsible for your holiness? If no, why?

What are you doing to pursue holiness in your life?

What kind of response did you have the last time someone was arrogant, impatient, and demanding toward you?

Have you had your “quiet time” interrupted by an argument with your spouse or kids? If yes, what did you do afterwards?

Do you see your attitude toward sin as being self-centered or God-centered?

Do you feel there are some sins you don’t take as seriously as others? If yes, what can you do to change your attitude toward this?

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Heidelberg Catechism 11 - 20

2011-03-07T10:07:00.001-05:00

Q. 11. Is not God then also merciful?

A. God is indeed merciful, (a) but also just; (b)? therefore his justice requires, that sin which is committed against the most high majesty of God, be also punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment of body and soul.

(a) Exod 34:6,7; Exod 20:6
(b) Ps 7:9; Exod 20:5; Exod 23:7; Exod 34:7; Ps 5:5,6; Nah 1:2,3

Q. 12. Since then, by the righteous judgment of God, we deserve temporal and eternal punishment, is there no way by which we may escape that punishment, and be again received into favor?

A. God will have his justice satisfied: (a) and therefore we must make this full satisfaction, either by ourselves, or by another. (b)

(a) Gen 2:17; Exod 20:5; Exod 23:7; Ezek 18:4; Matt 5:26; 2 Thess 1:6; Luke 16:2
(b) Rom 8:3,4

Q. 13. Can we ourselves then make this satisfaction?

A. By no means; but on the contrary we daily increase our debt. (a)

(a) Job 9:2,3; Job 15:15,16; Job 4:18,19; Ps 130:3; Matt 6:12; Matt 18:25; Matt 16:26

Q. 14. Can there be found anywhere, one, who is a mere creature, able to satisfy for us?

A. None; for, first, God will not punish any other creature for the sin which man has committed; (a) and further, no mere creature can sustain the burden of God's eternal wrath against sin, so as to deliver others from it. (b)

(a) Ezek 18:4; Gen 3:17; Heb 2:14-17
(b) Nah 1:6; Ps 130:3

Q. 15. What sort of a mediator and deliverer then must we seek for?

A. For one who is very man, and perfectly (a) righteous; (b) and yet more powerful than all creatures; that is, one who is also very God. (c)

(a) 1 Cor 15:21; Jer 33:16; Isa 53:9; 2 Cor 5:21
(b) Heb 7:16,26
(c) Isa 7:14; Isa 9:6; Rom 9:5; Jer 23:5,6; Luke 11:22

Q. 16. Why must he be very man, and also perfectly righteous?

A. Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which has sinned, should likewise make satisfaction for sin; (a) and one, who is himself a sinner, cannot satisfy for others. (b)

(a) Ezek 18:4,20; Rom 5:12,15,18; 1 Cor 15:21; Heb 2:14-16; 1 Pet 3:18; Isa 53:3-5,10,11
(b) Heb 7:26,27; Ps 49:7,8; 1 Pet 3:18

Q. 17. Why must he in one person be also very God?

A. That he might, by the power of his Godhead (a) sustain in his human nature, (b) the burden of God's wrath; (c) and might obtain for, and restore to us, righteousness and life. (d)

(a) Isa 9:6; Isa 63:3
(b) Isa 53:4,11
(c) Deut 4:24; Nah 1:6; Ps 130:3
(d) Isa 53:5,11; Acts 2:24; 1 Pet 3:18; John 3:16; Acts 20:28; John 1:4

Q. 18. Who then is that Mediator, who is in one person both very God, (a) and a (b) righteous man? (c)

A. Our Lord Jesus Christ: (d) "who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." (e)

(a) 1 John 5:20; Rom 9:5; Rom 8:3; Gal 4:4; Isa 9:6; Jer 23:6; Mal 3:1
(b) Luke 1:42; Luke 2:6,7; Rom 1:3; Rom 9:5; Phil 2:7; Heb 2:14,16,17; Heb 4:15
(c) Isa 53:9,11; Jer 23:5; Luke 1:35; John 8:46; Heb 4:15; Heb 7:26; 1 Pet 1:19; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 Pet 3:18
(d) 1 Tim 2:5; Heb 2:9; Matt 1:23; 1 Tim 3:16; Luke 2:11
(e) 1 Cor 1:30

Q. 19. Whence knowest thou this?

A. From the holy gospel, which God himself first revealed in Paradise; (a) and afterwards published by the patriarchs (b) and prophets, (c) and represented by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; (d) and lastly, has fulfilled it by his only begotten Son. (e)

(a) Gen 3:15
(b) Gen 22:18; Gen 12:3; Gen 49:10,11
(c) Isa 53; Isa 42:1-4; Isa 43:25; Isa 49:5,6,22,23; Jer 23:5,6; Jer 31:32,33; Jer 32:39-41; Mic 7:18-20; Acts 10:43; Rom 1:2; Heb 1:1; Acts 3:22-24; Acts 10:43; John 5:46
(d) Heb 10:1,7; Col 2:7; John 5:46
(e) Rom 10:4; Gal 4:4,5; Gal 3:24; Col 2:17

Q. 20. Are all men then, as they perished in Adam, saved by Christ?

A. No; (a) only those who are ingrafted into him, and, receive all his benefits, by a true faith. (b)

(a) Matt 7:14; Matt 22:14
(b) Mark 16:16; John 1:12; John 3:16,18,36; Isa 53:11; Ps 2:12; Rom 11:17,19,20; Rom 3:22; Heb 4:2,3; Heb 5:9; Heb 10:39; Heb 11:6

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Heidelberg Catechism 9

2011-03-02T22:28:00.001-05:00

Q. 9. Does not God then do injustice to man, by requiring from him in his law, that which he cannot perform?

A. Not at all; (a) for God made man capable of performing it; but man, by the instigation of the devil, (b) and his own wilful disobedience, (c) deprived himself and all his posterity of those divine gifts.

(a) Eph 4:24; Eccl 7:29

(b) John 8:44; 2 Cor 11:3; Gen 3:4

(c) Gen 3:6; Rom 5:12; Gen 3:13; 1 Tim 2:13,14

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Heidelberg Catechism 7-8

2011-03-01T18:05:00.001-05:00

Q. 7. Whence then proceeds this depravity of human nature?

A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise; (a) hence our nature is become so corrupt, that we are all conceived and born in sin. (b)

(a) Gen 3; Rom 5:12,18,19

(b) Ps 51:5; Gen 5:3

Q. 8. Are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness?

A. Indeed we are; (a) except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. (b)

(a) Gen 8:21; John 3:6; Gen 6:5; Job 14:4; Job 15:14,16,36; Isa 53:6

(b) John 3:3,5; 1 Cor 12:3; 2 Cor 3:5

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Heidelberg Catechism 5-6

2011-03-01T09:42:00.002-05:00

Q. 5. Canst thou keep all these things perfectly?

A. In no wise; (a) for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor. (b)

(a) Rom 3:10,20,23; 1 John 1:8,10

(b) Rom 8:7; Eph 2:3; Titus 3:3; Gen 6:5; Gen 8:21; Jer 17:9; Rom 7:23

Q. 6. Did God then create man so wicked and perverse?

A. By no means; but God created man good, (a) and after his own image, (b) in true righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love him and live with him in eternal happiness to glorify and praise him. (c)

(a) Gen.1:31

(b) Gen.1:26-27

(c) Col.3:9-10; Eph.4:23-24; 2 Cor.3:18

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Why Should Every Christian Join a Church

2011-02-25T08:25:00.001-05:00

According to Scripture, why should every Christian join a church?

Every Christian should join a church because Scripture requires it. Granted, there is no direct command in Scripture that says, “Every Christian must join a local church,” but two factors in Scripture indicate that every Christian should be a member of a local church.

Jesus established the church to be a public, earthly institution that would mark out, affirm, and oversee those who profess to believe in him (Matt. 16:18-19, 18:15-20). Jesus established the church to publicly declare those who belong to him in order to give the world a display of the good news about himself (John 17:21, 23; see also Eph. 3:10). Jesus wants the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn’t. And how is the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn’t? They are to see which people publicly identify themselves with his people in the visible, public institution he established for this very purpose. They’re to look at the members of his church. And if some people claim to be part of the universal church even though they belong to no local church, they reject Jesus’ plan for them and his church. Jesus intends for his people to be marked out as a visible, public group, which means joining together in local churches.

Scripture repeatedly commands Christians to submit to their leaders (Heb. 13:17; 1 Thess. 5:12-13). The only way to do that is by publicly committing to be members of their flock, and saying in effect, “I commit to listening to your teaching, following your direction, and to submitting to your leadership.” There’s no way to obey the scriptural commands to submit to your leaders if you never actually submit to them by joining a local church.

(taken from 9Marks Ministry)

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Heidelberg Catechism 3-4

2011-02-24T19:56:00.002-05:00

Q. 3. Whence knowest thou thy misery?

A. Out of the law of God (a)

(a) Rom 3:20

Q. 4. What does the law of God require of us?

A. Christ teaches us that briefly, Matt 22:37-40,"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and the great commandment; and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

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Heidelberg Catechism 2

2011-02-23T08:13:00.001-05:00

Q. 2. How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?

A. Three; (a) the first, how great my sins and miseries are; (b) the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; (c) the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance. (d)

(a) Matt 11:28-30; Luke 24:46-48; 1 Cor 6:11; Titus 3:3-7
(b) John 9:41; John 15:22
(c) John 17:3; Acts 4:12; Acts 10:43
(d) Eph 5:8-11; 1 Pet 2:9,10; Rom 6:1,2,12,13

Heidelberg Catechism 1

2011-02-22T12:54:00.002-05:00

Heidelberg Catechism

Q. 1. What is thy only comfort in life and death?

A. That I with body and soul, both in life and death, (a) am not my own, (b) but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; (c) who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, (d) and delivered me from all the power of the devil; (e) and so preserves me (f) that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; (g) yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, (h) and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, (i) and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him. (j)

(a) Rom 14:7,8
(b) 1 Cor 6:19
(c) 1 Cor 3:23; Titus 2:14
(d) 1 Pet 1:18,19; 1 John 1:7; 1 John 2:2,12
(e) Heb 2:14; 1 John 3:8; John 8:34-36
(f) John 6:39; John 10:28; 2 Thess 3:3; 1 Pet 1:5
(g) Matt 10:29-31; Luke 21:18
(h) Rom 8:28
(i) 2 Cor 1:20-22; 2 Cor 5:5; Eph 1:13,14; Rom 8:16
(j) Rom 8:14; 1 John 3:3

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Man Shall Not Live By Facebook Alone

2011-02-21T08:52:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading John Piper's blog. I thought I would pass it on to you.

Beware: The Bible Is About to Threaten Your Smartphone Focus
February 21, 2011 | John Piper | Category: Commentary

Are apps a threat to God-focus? Yes. But it works both ways. Fight fire with fire.

If you are reading your Bible on your computer or your smartphone or your iPad, the presence of the email app and the news apps and the Facebook app threaten every moment to drag your attention away from the word of God.

True. Fight that. If your finger offends you, cut it off. Or use any other virtuous violence (Matthew 11:12) that sets you free to rivet your soul on God.

But don’t take mainly a defensive posture. Fight fire with fire.

Why should we think of the Facebook app threatening the Bible app? Why not the Bible app threatening the Facebook app, and the email app, and the RSS feeder, and the news?

Resolve that today you will press the Bible app three times during the day. No five times. Ten times! Maybe you will lose control and become addicted to Bible! Again and again get a two-minute dose of life-giving Food. Man shall not live by Facebook alone.

I’m serious. Never has the God’s voice been so easily accessible. The ESV app is free. The OliveTree BibleReader app is free. And so are lots of others. Let the Bible threaten your focus. Or better: Let the Bible bring you back to reality over and over during the day.

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The Written Word of God

2011-02-19T10:45:00.001-05:00

Article 3: The Written Word of God

We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by the will of men, but that holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit, as Peter says.

Afterwards our God-- because of the special care he has for us and our salvation-- commanded his servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit this revealed Word to writing. He himself wrote with his own finger the two tables of the law.

Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scriptures.

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The Means By Which We Know God

2011-02-16T23:41:00.001-05:00

Article 2: The Means by Which We Know God

We know him by two means:

First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20.1

All these things are enough to convict men and to leave them without excuse.

Second, he makes himself known to us more openly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own.

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The Only God

2011-01-29T08:17:00.001-05:00

Belgic Confession (Article 1)

Article 1: The Only God

We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God -- eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty; completely wise, just, and good, and the overflowing source of all good.

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Loved Unto the End

2011-01-12T15:01:00.001-05:00

For the LORD will not cast off for ever Lamentations 3:31

He may cast away for a season but not forever. A woman may leave off her ornaments for a few days, but she will not forget them or throw them upon the dunghill. It is not like the LORD to cast off those whom He loves, for "having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." Some talk of our being in grace and out of it, as if we were like rabbits that run in and out of their burrows; but, indeed, it is not so. The LORD's love is a far more serious and abiding matter than this.

He chose us from eternity, and He will love us throughout eternity. He loved us so as to die for us, and we may therefore be sure that His love will never die. His honor is so wrapped up in the salvation of the believer that He can no more cast him off than He can cast off His own robes of office as King of glory. No, no! The LORD Jesus, as a Head, never casts off His members; as a Husband, He never casts off His bride. Did you think you were cast off? Why did you think so evil of the LORD who has betrothed you to Himself? Cast off such thoughts, and never let them lodge in your soul again. "The LORD hath not cast away his people which he foreknew" (Romans 11:2). "He hateth putting away" (Malachi 2:16).

Sent from the Faith's Checkbook Devotional, by Charles Spurgeon. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com

Dealing with Sin

2011-01-12T12:22:00.001-05:00

To offer a sinner the gift of salvation based upon the work of Christ, while at the same time allowing him to retain the idea that the gift carries with it no moral implications, is to do him untold injury where it hurts him most!

AW Tozer

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Ray Comfort

2011-01-05T11:30:00.001-05:00

Join Ray and the Living Waters team
for today's premier episode of "On the Box!"

"On the Box" is a daily (Monday through Friday) live, 30-minute, web-based talk show hosted by Ray Comfort and the Living Waters team.

Ray and the team will talk about open-air preaching, apologetics, and a host of other evangelism-related topics; and will answer questions from you, the listening audience.

The show airs on UStream, today (January 5), at 11:30 AM (PST). You won't want to miss it!

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A Wonderful Guarantee

2011-01-05T11:01:00.001-05:00

I will strengthen thee
Isaiah 41:10

When called to serve or to suffer, we take stock of our strength, and we find it to be less than we thought and less than we need. But let not our heart sink within us while we have such a word as this to fall back upon, for it guarantees us all that we can possibly need. God has strength omnipotent; that strength He can communicate to us; and His promise is that He will do so. He will be the food of our souls and the health of our hearts; and thus He will give us strength. There is no telling how much power God can put into a man. When divine strength comes, human weakness is no more a hindrance.

Do we not remember seasons of labor and trial in which we received such special strength that we wondered at ourselves? In the midst of danger we were calm, under bereavement we were resigned, in slander we were self-contained, and in sickness we were patient. The fact is that God gives unexpected strength when unusual trials come upon us, We rise out of our feeble selves. Cowards play the man, foolish ones have wisdom given them, and the silent receive in the selfsame hour what they shall speak, My own weakness makes me shrink, but God's promise makes me brave. LORD, strengthen me "according to thy word."

From CH Spurgeon
Faith's Checkbook
January 5, 2011

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How Does God Heal Today?

2010-03-19T20:53:00.001-04:00

How Does God Heal Today? Pastor Steve answers this question on Pulpit Moments from Changed By Grace. To hear the full length message, click here.

Justification By Faith

2010-02-12T18:18:00.001-05:00

What is justification? It is a legal declaration whereby God declares the believing sinner righteous. This is not based on anything the believing sinner has done but on the perfect atonement of Jesus Christ. When one put their trust in Jesus Christ, His righteousness is credited to them.

Welcome to Changed By Grace!

2010-02-10T10:28:00.001-05:00

Changed By Grace is the Bible-teaching ministry of Dr. Steve Hereford which seeks to assist you in the understanding and the application of God's Word.

What Matters Most

2009-12-09T18:43:00.001-05:00

Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth,Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. Philippians 1:18

The word “preached” in today’s verse means “to proclaim with authority.” Regardless of the personal cost, Paul was determined that Christ be proclaimed with authority.

Even when Paul’s detractors preached the true gospel, it had an impact. A selfishly motivated preacher can still be used of God because the truth is more powerful than the package it comes in.

Paul lived to see the gospel proclaimed—he didn’t care who received the credit. That’s to be the attitude of every pastor, teacher, elder, deacon, leader, and layperson in the church. In all that he suffered, Paul didn’t quit, lash out, break down, or lose his joy. That’s because the cause of Christ was being furthered and His name proclaimed. It was all Paul cared about. That’s an attitude the grace of Christ instills in all who would be godly.

MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (370). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.

IMPLICIT FAITH IN GOD

2009-11-27T14:37:00.000-05:00

God is glorified when we trust Him unquestioningly. Faith is perhaps the basic form of worship. Romans 4:20 says, “[Abraham] did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.”

Every Christian will say that he believes God keeps His Word, but so few Christians live lives of total trust that the world isn’t always sure of the trustworthiness of our God. The slightest doubt about God or His goodness or His Word implies that He is not all He says He is. First John 5:10 says, “The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar.” In other words, when you doubt God, you make Him appear to be unfaithful.

God’s clear promise is, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” If we say that we cannot bear our temptations and the trials of life, we call God a liar.

For some reason, we think of doubt and worry as “small” sins. But when a Christian displays unbelief, care, or an inability to cope with life, he is saying to the world, “My God cannot really be trusted,” and that kind of disrespect makes one guilty of a fundamental error, the heinous sin of dishonoring God. That is no small sin.

A good example of unwavering faith is the account of the three young men in the fiery furnace. Daniel 3 tells us that before Nebuchadnezzar cast them into the white–hot furnace he gave them a chance to recant their faith in God and worship a golden image of the king instead. Verse 17 is their answer to Him: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.” Then they added, “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (v. 18, emphasis added).

They were in an extremely difficult position. No child of God on record had ever experienced the threat of a fiery furnace, and there were no convenient ready–reference Bible verses they could look to for a promise that they would survive. If they had succumbed to the circumstances, God would not have been glorified. Instead, they took a confident stand of faith in the goodness and justice of God. Their faith was vindicated, and God was glorified in the eyes of an entire nation.

John MacArthur, The Ultimate Priority : John MacArthur, Jr. on Worship, electronic ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1998). 139–140.

Black Friday

2009-11-27T10:04:00.001-05:00

Still thankful? The day after Thanksgiving certainly challenges that. I have decided to not be a part of that regardless of the sale. I am not interested in the day of greed. I remember one year when my father ventured out one early Friday morning to only have the items in his cart removed by some greedy shopper. What's the point? Whatever you do today, remember yesterday. But most importantly remember that "Thanksgiving" is not a day but an attitude. Be thankful!

The Real Story of Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:32:00.001-05:00

The story of the Pilgrims begins in the early part of the seventeenth century. The Church of England under King James I was persecuting anyone and everyone who did not recognize its absolute civil and spiritual authority. Those who challenged ecclesiastical authority and those who believed strongly in freedom of worship were hunted down, imprisoned, and sometimes executed for their beliefs.

A group of separatists first fled to Holland and established a community. After eleven years, about forty of them agreed to make a perilous journey to the New World, where they would certainly face hardships, but could live and worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences.

On August 1, 1620, the Mayflower set sail. It carried a total of 102 passengers, including forty Pilgrims led by William Bradford. On the journey, Bradford set up an agreement, a contract, that established just and equal laws for all members of the new community, irrespective of their religious beliefs. Where did the revolutionary ideas expressed in the Mayflower Compact come from? From the Bible.

The Pilgrims were a people completely steeped in the lessons of the Old and New Testaments. They looked to the ancient Israelites for their example. And, because of the biblical precedents set forth in Scripture, they never doubted that their experiment would work.

But this was no pleasure cruise, friends. The journey to the New World was a long and arduous one. And when the Pilgrims landed in New England in November, they found, according to Bradford's detailed journal, a cold, barren, desolate wilderness. There were no friends to greet them, he wrote. There were no houses to shelter them. There were no inns where they could refresh themselves.

And the sacrifice they had made for freedom was just beginning. During the first winter, half the Pilgrims – including Bradford's own wife – died of either starvation, sickness or exposure. When spring finally came, Indians taught the settlers how to plant corn, fish for cod and skin beavers for coats. Life improved for the Pilgrims, but they did not yet prosper!

This is important to understand because this is where modern American history lessons often end. Thanksgiving is actually explained in some textbooks as a holiday for which the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Indians for saving their lives, rather than as a devout expression of gratitude grounded in the tradition of both the Old and New Testaments.

Here is the part that has been omitted: The original contract the Pilgrims had entered into with their merchant-sponsors in London called for everything they produced to go into a common store, and each member of the community was entitled to one common share. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belong to the community as well.

They were going to distribute it equally. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belonged to the community as well. Nobody owned anything. They just had a share in it.

Bradford, who had become the new governor of the colony, recognized that this form of collectivism was as costly and destructive to the Pilgrims as that first harsh winter, which had taken so many lives. He decided to take bold action. Bradford assigned a plot of land to each family to work and manage, thus turning loose the power of the marketplace.

That's right. Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had discovered and experimented with what could only be described as socialism. And what happened? It didn't work! Surprise, surprise, huh? What Bradford and his community found was that the most creative and industrious people had no incentive to work any harder than anyone else, unless they could utilize the power of personal motivation!

But while most of the rest of the world has been experimenting with socialism for well over a hundred years – trying to refine it, perfect it, and re-invent it – the Pilgrims decided early on to scrap it permanently. What Bradford wrote about this social experiment should be in every schoolchild's history lesson If it were, we might prevent much needless suffering in the future.

"The experience that we had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years...that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing – as if they were wiser than God," Bradford wrote. "For this community [so far as it was] was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children without any recompense...that was thought injustice."

Why should you work for other people when you can't work for yourself? What's the point?

Do you hear what he was saying, ladies and gentlemen? The Pilgrims found that people could not be expected to do their best work without incentive. So what did Bradford's community try next? They unharnessed the power of good old free enterprise by invoking the undergirding capitalistic principle of private property. Every family was assigned its own plot of land to work and permitted to market its own crops and products. And what was the result?

"This had very good success," wrote Bradford, "for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been." In no time, the Pilgrims found they had more food than they could eat themselves.

Now, this is where it gets really good, folks, if you're laboring under the misconception that I was, as I was taught in school.

So they set up trading posts and exchanged goods with the Indians. The profits allowed them to pay off their debts to the merchants in London. And the success and prosperity of the Plymouth settlement attracted more Europeans and began what came to be known as the "Great Puritan Migration."

Thanksgiving, in other words, is not thanks to the Indians, and it's not thanks to William Bradford. It's not thanks to the merchants of London. Thanksgiving is thanks to God, pure and simple.

The REAL Story of Thanksgiving...
Dead White Guys - Or - What Your History Books Never Told You
November 23, 2005
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/stacks/trsofg.member.html

Give Thanks to the Lord

2009-11-24T12:18:00.001-05:00

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
5 To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
6 To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
7 To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
8 The sun to rule by day, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
9 The moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
10 To Him who smote the Egyptians in their firstborn, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
11 And brought Israel out from their midst, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
12 With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
13 To Him who divided the Red Sea asunder, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
15 But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
17 To Him who smote great kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
18 And slew mighty kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
20 And Og, king of Bashan, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
21 And gave their land as a heritage, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
22 Even a heritage to Israel His servant, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
23 Who remembered us in our low estate, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
24 And has rescued us from our adversaries, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
25 Who gives food to all flesh, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart

What is Needed When Going Through Trials

2009-11-04T15:18:00.001-05:00

All of us experience trouble. From the terms that James uses in chapter one, verses 2-3, the trouble that we experience cannot be determined beforehand, avoided, or determined to their degree. But we can be sure of this, they are “tests!” Specifically, the “testing of your faith” (v.3). The fact that we are sinful beings, living in a sinful world gives indication that we will experience trouble on a regular basis. Even when we succeed in getting our own little worlds under control, something inevitably messes them up. We do everything we can to attain peace and comfort by protecting ourselves from trouble, but trouble arises nonetheless. Take marriage for an example, it was designed by God as a source of fulfillment and happiness, yet 1 Corinthians 7:28 says those who are married “shall have trouble in the flesh.” There is going to be trouble even in the best of what God gives us because of the sin principle that is active in the world. Jesus Himself experienced trouble and warned His disciples to expect tribulation in the world (John 16:33). John 11:33; 12:27, and 13:21 record Jesus’ troubled responses to the devastating effects of sin. In all three cases it says He was “troubled.” Troubled at sin – its cause and its effects. Paul said the same thing when he stated he was “troubled on every side” (2 Cor.4:8). It is reasonable to expect trouble in our lives as well and not be surprised or overwhelmed by them when they come. Trouble is a way of life, so don’t think you’re alone if you’re experiencing it right now. What we need to learn is what Paul said in Philippians 4:12, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” In other words, as we said last time, we need to have a joyful heart, an understanding mind, and a submissive will. Because we are commanded to rejoice, we are not to let our troubles rob us of our joy. True biblical joy does not find its basis in the positive circumstances in our lives, it is based on the command of Scripture. We are to rejoice in the Lord regardless of the pains and difficulties in our lives because we know that trials test the strength and validity of our faith; they reveal what we really love; they enable us to help others; and they produce endurance and strength. Notice in verses 5 what James says you need so that you can have a joyful heart, an understanding mind, and a submissive will: Divine “wisdom.” He says, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Notice the need we have for wisdom. He says, “But if any of you lacks wisdom.”

Everyone needs wisdom. James is not making this statement as if you have arrived and don’t need wisdom in your trials. He is stating it as a recognized fact. The verse could read this way: “If any of you lacks wisdom, and he does....”

Ralph Martin says, “The conditional clause does not imply doubt or suggest a contingency. Rather it presupposes "a standing fact" (Hiebert, 79). The readers are facing some real problems arising from persecution, and it is the gift and application of wisdom to see these trials in their proper light and respond accordingly” (Word Biblical Commentary, Vol.48).

You do not need philosophical speculation or worldly wisdom, you need wisdom “that is from above” (Jas.3:17). The first step in gaining such wisdom is the consciousness of our need of it. “If any of you” indicates that this consciousness of a wisdom shortage must come as an individual recognition. Proverbs 3:7 says, “Do not be wise in your own eyes.” Romans 12:16 says, “Do not be wise in your own opinions.” Ephesians 5:17 says, “Therefore do not be unwise.” All of these passages reveal the need that we have for divine wisdom.

D. Edmond Hiebert says, “The believer needs ‘wisdom’ to see his trials in a true light and to profit spiritually from them. James knew from Psalm 73 and the book of Job that the trials that often overwhelm the godly do create struggles and call for God-given wisdom to resolve them. For James, wisdom is more than wide knowledge...As a Jew, James viewed wisdom as related to the practice of righteousness in daily life. It is that moral discernment that enables the believer to meet life and its trials with decisions and actions consistent with God’s will” (James, 79-80).

As you go through a trial, realize the need you have for divine wisdom so that you can respond with a joyful attitude, an understanding mind, and a submissive will.

Preventing Desire

2009-10-29T23:49:00.001-04:00

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4–5

So many things in our evil society attempt to capture our attention: movies, television, books, music, clothing, advertisements, and now the Internet—all designed to capture the emotions. For example, advertising executives know that buying is ultimately an emotional decision. Few people know or even care about the mechanics of the car being advertised, yet they are impressed if it looks like a race car, or if a pretty girl is behind the wheel, or if other kinds of emotional bait are included in the ad.

We need to guard our minds, emotions, and wills. We need to seek God’s will by meditating on His Word and letting His will become ours. An unprotected, uncontrolled, and unyielded mind is going to be filled with evil desires that will result in evil deeds. We must control how our emotions and minds respond to the tempting bait they encounter.

MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (326). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.

Serving God Our Leftovers

2009-10-26T20:48:00.001-04:00

Our small group that meets twice a month has been going through the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. He begins chapter 5 "Of all the chapters in this book, this one was the hardest to write. I do not wish for my words to come across as controversial or difficult to swallow. But I had to write this chapter, because I believe what I'm about to talk about is important. And true.

In the last chapter we discussed various inappropriate responses to God's love.

Now we are going to look at Scriptural examples of poor responses to God's gift of love" (p.83).

Chapter 5 begins with a...

WARNING AGAINST LUKEWARM CHRISTIANITY

If You're Lukewarm You're Not A Christian

"A lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron; there's no such thing. To put it plainly, churchgoers who are ‘lukewarm' are not Christians. We will not see them in heaven" (p.84).

Revelation 3:15-18 (NASB) 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

To "spit" or "vomit" connotes "gagging, hurling, retching."

A.T. Robertson says it means "to reject with extreme disgust."

John Piper says, "Jesus' threat to the lukewarm church is that He will spew them out of His mouth. If you wanted to shock a lukewarm Christian, you could hardly think of a more gross and startling image: Jesus Christ putting the cup to His lips in the hope of tasting a pleasing drink, and then spitting it out on the ground. I find it very hard to make this mean that such people will, after all, be saved and enjoy the blessings and fellowship of Christ for all eternity. Surely the image of spitting people out of His mouth means that He has found them to be unacceptable and rejects them. The faith that saves is not lukewarm, half-hearted faith. And so He warns Laodicea, and every other church, if you do not repent (as verse 19 says) and become zealous, or hot, then the mechanical, cool, superficiality of your faith will be your destruction."

"When you read this passage, do you naturally conclude that to be ‘spit' our of Jesus' mouth means you're a part of His kingdom? When you read the words ‘wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,' do you think He is describing saints?' When He counsels them to ‘buy white clothes to wear' in order to cover their ‘shameful nakedness,' does it sound like advice for those already saved?" (p.85).

There is No Such Thing As A No-Fruit Bearing Christian

All Christians bear fruit - only non-Christians do not bear fruit.

John 15:1-6 (NASB) "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

Matthew 13:18-23 (NASB) "Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."

"Is this idea of a non-fruit bearing Christian something that we have concocted in order to make Christianity ‘easier'?"

Some people claim that we can be Christians without necessarily becoming disciples.

Matthew 16:24-25 (NASB) Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

"Jesus' call to commitment is clear: He wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a ‘Christian' without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd" (p.85).

"Can I go to heaven without faithfully loving Jesus?"

Each of us has lukewarm elements and practices in our life.

The Scripture demonstrates clearly that there is room for our failure and sin in our pursuit of God.

Lamentations 3:23 (NASB) They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB) And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

To call someone a Christian simply because he does Christian-y things is giving a false comfort to the unsaved. But to declare anyone who sins ‘unsaved' is to deny the reality and truth of God's grace.

From Colossians 2:1; 4:13, 15-16, the church at Laodicea appears to have been a healthy and legitimate church. But something happened. By the time Revelation was writer, about twenty-five years after the letter to the Colossians, the Laodicean's hearts apparently didn't belong to God-despite the fact that they were still active as a church. Their church was prospering, and they didn't seem to be experiencing any persecution. They were comfortable and proud. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" (pp.87-88).

OFFERING GOD OUR BEST

God "wants our best, deserves our best, and demands our best. From the beginning of time, He has been clear that some offerings are acceptable to Him and others not. Just as Cain, upon whose offering God ‘did not look with favor' (Gen.4:5)" (pp.90-91).

We Give God Our Leftovers And He Doesn't Accept It

Genesis 4:5 (NASB) but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

Hosea 13:6 (NASB) As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.

Malachi 1:8 (NASB) "But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?" says the Lord of hosts.

"They assumed God was pleased because they had sacrificed something. God described their practice as evil" (p.91).

Leftovers Are Not Merely Inadequate, They're Evil

"Let's stop calling it ‘a busy schedule' or ‘bills' or ‘forgetfulness.' It's called evil.

God is holy. In heaven exists a Being who decides whether or not I take another breath. This holy God deserves our excellence, the very best I have" (p.92).

Malachi 1:10 (NASB) "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Lord of hosts, "nor will I accept an offering from you.

"God wanted the temple gate shut. The weak sacrifices of the laid-back priests were an insult to Him. He was saying that no worship is better than apathetic worship" (p.92).

"Jesus' instruction to the people of the church at Laodicea was to buy from Him the things that really matter, the things they didn't even realize they needed. They were wealthy, but Jesus asks them to exchange their wealth for His gold that is refined through fire; they had clothing, but Jesus counsels them to buy clothes that were truly white and would cover their nakedness; they did not desire anything, but Jesus say they needed salve for their eyes that would cure their blindness. He asks them to give up what they thought was so necessary and valuable, in exchange for what really matters" (p.92).

God Measures Our Lives By How We Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (ESV) Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV) So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

"According to God, we are here to love. Not much else really matters" (p.94).

Personal Challenge:

Take the phrase "Love is patient" and substitute your name for the love love" (e.g, "Steve is patient). Do it for every phrase.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (ESV) Steve is patient and kind; Steve does not envy or boast; Steve is not arrogant 5 or rude. Steve does not insist on its own way; Steve is not irritable or resentful; 6 Steve does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

"By the end, don't you feel like a liar? If I am meant to represent what love is, then I often fail to love people well" (p.94).

"Following Christ isn't something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. It is not a label we can display when it is useful. It must be central to everything we do and are.

Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants?

Do you believe the wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in your life?

Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then let your bet match your talk.

Truth faith means holding nothing back; it bets everything on the hope of eternity" (p.97).

So which are you? Lukewarm, cold, hot?

Are you truly saved?

Are you offering God your leftovers?

Remember "Truth faith means holding nothing back; it bets everything on the hope of eternity."

The Definition of Pride

2009-10-10T22:58:00.001-04:00

When someone is proud they are focused on self. This is a form of self-worship. A person is prideful who believe that they, in and of themselves, are or should be the source of what is good, right and worthy of praise. They, also believe that they, by themselves, are (or should be) the accomplisher of anything that is worthwhile to accomplish, and that they should certainly be the benefactor of all things. In essence, they are believing that all things should be from them, through them, and to them or for them. Pride is competitive toward others, and especially toward God. Pride wants to be on top. Thomas Watson is quoted to have said, ‘Pride seeks to ungod God.’ That phrase certainly describes the arrogant.

(Stuart Scott, The Exemplary Husband)

Who Are You Following?

2009-10-09T14:36:00.000-04:00

Isn't it amazing who some people will follow? No matter how they were treated by that person. Some follow others purely for selfish reasons, others simply out of amazement. But when is it is right not to follow someone? Let me be more specific. For the Christian what kind of people should he/she follow? First, the obvious, you must follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (emphasis added).

Second, you must follow only after those who follow Jesus. Yes, everyone is claiming they follow Jesus but there are some distinguishing characteristics that accompany those who truly follow Jesus. Notice the examples from the apostle John's first letter. He says:

Children of God have true “fellowship...with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1:3)
Children of God “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1:7)
Children of God have been cleansed “from all sin” (1:7, 9)
Children of God “confess” sin (1:9)
Children of God have “an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (2:1)
Children of God “keep His commandments” (2:3-5)
Children of God love their brothers (2:9-10)
Children of God abide in the light (2:10)
Children of God know the Father (2:13)
Children of God “have overcome the wicked one” (2:13)
Children of God hate the world (2:15-17)
Children of God do not abandon the faith (2:19)
Children of God have “an anointing from the Holy One” (2:20, 27)
Children of God know the truth (2:21)
Children of God confess the Son (2:22-25)
Children of God “practices righteousness” (2:29)
Children of God “lay down [their] lives for the brethren” (3:16-19)
Children of God “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God” (4:1-3)
Children of God overcome “the world” (5:4-5)

If the people you follow after are not marked by these characteristics, you should not be following them. Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ" (emphasis added). Make sure who you follow is truly a child of God who is an imitator of Christ, otherwise turn away from them. Romans 16:18 says, "For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Jesus Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting."

Compel Them to Come In

2009-09-28T21:07:00.001-04:00

Compel them to come in."--Luke 14:23.

I feel in such a haste to go out and obey this commandment this morning, by compelling those to come in who are now tarrying in the highways and hedges, that I cannot wait for an introduction, but must at once set about my business.

Hear then, O ye that are strangers to the truth as it is in Jesus--hear then the message that I have to bring you. Ye have fallen, fallen in your father Adam; ye have fallen also in yourselves, by your daily sin and your constant iniquity; you have provoked the anger of the Most High; and as assuredly as you have sinned, so certainly must God punish you if you persevere in your iniquity, for the Lord is a God of justice, and will by no means spare the guilty. But have you not heard, hath it not long been spoken in your ears, that God, in his infinite mercy, has devised a way whereby, without any infringement upon his honour, he can have mercy upon you, the guilty and the undeserving? To you I speak; and my voice is unto you, O sons of men; Jesus Christ, very God of very God, hath descended from heaven, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. begotten of the Holy Ghost, he was born of the Virgin Mary; he lived in this world a life of exemplary holiness, and of the deepest suffering, till at last he gave himself up to die for our sins, "the just for the unjust, to bring us to God." And now the plan of salvation is simply declared unto you--"Whosoever believeth in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved." For you who have violated all the precepts of God, and have disdained his mercy and dared his vengeance, there is yet mercy proclaimed, for "whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "For this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief;" "whosoever cometh unto him he will in no wise cast out, for he is able also to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us."

Now all that God asks of you--and this he gives you--is that you will simply look at his bleeding dying son, and trust your souls in the hands of him whose name alone can save from death and hell. Is it not a marvelous thing, that the proclamation of this gospel does not receive the unanimous consent of men? One would think that as soon as ever this was preached, "That whosoever believeth shall have eternal life," every one of you, "casting away every man his sins and his iniquities," would lay hold on Jesus Christ, and look alone to his cross. But alas! such is the desperate evil of our nature, such the pernicious depravity of our character, that this message is despised, the invitation to the gospel feast is rejected, and there are many of you who are this day enemies of God by wicked works, enemies to the God who preaches Christ to you today, enemies to him who sent his Son to give his life a ransom for many. Strange I say it is that it should be so, yet nevertheless it is the fact, and hence the necessity for the command of the text,--"Compel them to come in."

Children of God, ye who have believed, I shall have little or nothing to say to you this morning; I am going straight to my business--I am going after those that will not come--those that are in the byways and hedges, and God going with me, it is my duty now to fulfil this command, "Compel them to come in."

Compel Them to Come In
December 5, 1858 by C. H. SPURGEON 1834-1892

Bad Day

2009-09-25T18:12:00.001-04:00

The Roman historian Tacitus said, ‘Besides being put to death, [Christians] were made to serve as objects of amusement; they were clad in the hides of beasts and torn to death by dogs; others were crucified, others set on fire to serve to illuminate the night when daylight failed’ (Annales 15.44 quoted in the Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, introduction).

And you say you had a bad day?

The Soul Winner

2009-09-15T18:52:00.000-04:00

In his book The Soul Winner, Charles Haddon Spurgeon says, “The soul-winner must be a master of the art of prayer. You cannot bring souls to God if you do not go to God yourself. You must get your battle-axe, and your weapons of war, from the armoury of sacred communication with Christ. If you are much alone with Jesus, you will catch His Spirit. You will be fired with the flame that burned in His breast and consumed His life. You will weep with the tears that fell upon Jerusalem when He saw it perishing; and if you cannot speak so eloquently as He did, yet shall there be about what you say somewhat of the same power which in Him thrilled the hearts and awoke the consciences of men. My dear hearers, especially you members of the church, I am always so anxious lest any of you should begin to lie upon your oars, and take things easy in the matters of God’s kingdom. There are some of you—I bless you, and I bless God at the remembrance of you—who are in season, and out of season, in earnest for winning souls, and you are the truly wise; but I fear there are others whose hands are slack, who are satisfied to let me preach, but do not themselves preach; who take these seats, and occupy these pews, and hope the cause goes well, but that is all they do” (246-47).

God's Character Does Not Change

2009-09-10T10:28:00.000-04:00

A.W. Pink says, “Whatever the attributes of God were before the universe was called into existence, they are precisely the same now, and will remain so forever. Necessarily so; for they are the very perfections, the essential qualities of His being. Semper idem (always the same) is written across every one of them. His power is unabated, His wisdom undiminished, His holiness unsullied. The attributes of God can no more change than Deity can cease to be. His veracity is immutable, for His Word is "forever settled in heaven" (Ps. 119:89). His love is eternal: "I have loved thee with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3) and "Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end" (John 13:1). His mercy ceases not, for it is "everlasting" (Ps. 100:5)” (The Attributes of God).

That is Reflected in His Name

In Exodus 3:14 God discloses His name to Moses as “I Am Who I Am” which is the definition of the Hebrew Yahweh. “This sacred name is known as the tetragrammaton (‘four letters’). English Jehovah comes from the Hebrew YHWH,...The Jews consider YHWH too sacred to utter. The name proclaims God as self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal, and sovereign” (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary). “This name is not a description of God, but simply a declaration of His self-existence and his eternal changelessness” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God). In Ex.34:5-7 we read how God proclaim YHWH to Moses by listing the various facets of His holy character. “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.”

That is Reflected in His Nature

James said in Jas.1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” “The celestial bodies God created have various phases of movement and rotation, changing from hour to hour and varying in intensity and shadow. God, however, is changeless” (John MacArthur, James). A. W. Pink again says, “He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same” (The Attributes of God). God's unchanging character sets Him apart from everyone and everything.

The heavens are subject to change. They move about, following their courses. The Book of Revelation gives us a drastic picture of the extreme changes the heavens will undergo until fire eventually dissolves them. The stars will fall, the sun will go out, the moon will turn a bloody hue, and the heavens will roll up like a scroll. The earth also is subject to change. People have been changing the face of the earth with their bulldozers and the atmosphere with pollution. The Book of Revelation says that in the end times both people and plant life will die and the seas will be polluted. The earth was changed once by a flood; it will be changed again as it is consumed with intense heat (2 Peter 3:6-7). The ungodly are subject to change. Unbelievers now think they have a happy or at least an acceptable life. But one day they will realize that an eternity without God is a tragic existence. Angels are also subject to change, for some "did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode" (Jude 1:6). Those beings are demons. Even believers change. There are times when our love for Christ burns and we obey Him, but there are other times when it smolders and we disobey. On the one hand, David trusted the Lord as his Rock and Refuge (2 Sam. 22:3); on the other hand, he feared for his life, saying, "I will perish one day by the hand of Saul" (1 Sam. 27:1). Everyone and everything in the universe changes. But not God! (Taken from Our Awesome God by John MacArthur, 34-5).

God is

2009-09-08T09:42:00.000-04:00

We are considering the immutability of God. That means God never changes. In the next couple of post we will consider how God does not change. The first is God's life does not change.

He Has Always Been

In Psalm 93:2, the psalmist says, “Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” That means He has always existed with no beginning. Psalm 102:25-27 says it further, “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed. 27 But You are the same, And Your years will have no end.” “Created things have a beginning and an ending, but not so their Creator” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God). “There never was a time when He was not; there never will come a time when He shall cease to be. God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved. All that He is today, He has ever been, and ever will be” (A.W. Pink, The Attributes of God). When referring to God, Paul calls Him “the immortal God” (Romans 1:23; 1 Tim.6:16). God even asked Job in Job 38:4-7, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

Not only has God always been but...

He Will Always Be

In Hebrews 1:10-12 a combination of these references already mentioned are used of God the Son like Ps.102:25-27; Isa.34:4; 50:9; 51:6. Verse 8 begins by noting to us that the writer of Hebrews is referring to the Son (“But to the Son He says”). Verses 10-12 says, “And: ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. 11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; 12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” Also Hebrews 13:8 he says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He never changes because He is God the Son. In Revelation 4:9-10 there is a phrase used two times showing that there is no end with God. He lives “forever." It says, “Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne.”

God has always been and will always be because...

He is From All Eternity

Moses said in Psalm 90:2 that He is “from everlasting to everlasting.” That phrase is repeated in Psalm 106:48 when the psalmist says, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting!” He is from all eternity. Even Jeremiah 10:10 refers to Him as “the eternal King.” In Micah 5:2 we have the term “everlasting” used in reference to Jesus, which is quoted in Matthew 2:6: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Our God is unchanging. He is immutable. He has always been, will always be, because He is from all eternity. Man is always changing but God never vacillates. What He does is perfect never needing revision. Praise God for who He is and worship Him in the beauty of holiness. For He takes delight in the praises of His people.

Our Unchanging God

2009-09-06T22:21:00.000-04:00

In our last study together on the doctrine of God, we looked at the existence and nature of God. In the existence of God we said that it is assumed in the Scriptures. William Evans, in his book Great Doctrines of the Bible, says, “It does not seem to have occurred to any of the writers of either the Old or the New Testaments to attempt to prove or to argue for the existence of God. Everywhere and at all times it is a fact taken for granted.” That fact is also seen in His creation. Psalm 19:1-2 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.” Theologians often use theological terms that we’re unfamiliar with but none the less often state truths in a concise way. There are six arguments that theologians use to prove the existence of God. The first is the teleological argument which says design implies a designer. When you look at something that has been finished or perfected, we conclude its resulting design must have had a designer. The second argument was ontological, which comes from a Greek participle “to be.” This argument reasons that man’s ability to conceive of an absolutely perfect Being implies the reality and existence of that Being. The third was aesthetical. Because there is beauty and truth in the world, it is logical to assume that somewhere in the universe is a standard upon which beauty and truth are based. A fourth argument is volitional. Because man faces a myriad of choices and exercises volition, it is logical to assume that there must be an infinite will somewhere. The world exists as an expression of that will. The fifth argument is moral. This argument says that since we know there is a right and wrong this suggests the necessity of an absolute standard. And the sixth argument is cosmological. Cosmology is the argument of cause and effect. The world and the universe exist, and we conclude that someone made it. Think about it for a moment. The cause of limitless space must be infinite; the cause of endless time must be eternal; the cause of perceptual motion must be powerful; the cause of complexity must be omniscient; the cause of consciousness must be personal; the cause of feeling must be emotional; the cause of will must be volitional; the cause of ethical values must be moral; the cause of religious values must be spiritual; the cause of beauty must be aesthetical; the cause of righteousness must be holy; the cause of justice must be just; the cause of love must be loving; the cause of life must be living. Our world give evidence that there must be a God who is the cause of all those qualities.

We also looked at the nature of God. This is where we examined more closely what the Bible reveals about the Person of God. We said that there are two ways to look at this: according to man and according to the Bible. When you look at it according to man, you come up when man created God in his own image. But when you look at the Bible, you see something entirely different. The Bible reveals that God is a Person, who is described by personal titles, personal pronouns, and personal characteristics. It also reveals that God is a Spirit which refers to Him as being immaterial. Charles Hodge says “in revealing...that God is Spirit, the Bible reveals to us that no attribute of matter can be predicated of the divine essence” (Systematic Theology, 138-9).

We further said that God is One and Three. As One, He is the only God. There are no other gods besides Him. As three, He exists as three distinct persons and we saw those distinctions in the Old and New Testmament. Now let's consider the attributes of God.

When we refer to the attributes of God, we are referring to the “Virtues, excellencies, and perfections of God” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary). James P. Boyce, in his Abstract of Systematic Theology, says, “The attributes of God are those peculiarities which mark or define the mode of His existence, or which constitute His character. They are not separate nor separable from His essence or nature, and yet are not that essence, but simply have the ground or cause of their existence in it, and are at the same time the peculiarities which constitute the mode and character of His being” (65). In other words, they are the “Inherent characteristics of God revealed in Scripture and..are characteristics equally of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary). The one that we are considering is referred to as His immutability. A.W. Pink says of this attribute: “This is one of the Divine perfections which is not sufficiently pondered. It is one of the excellencies of the Creator which distinguishes Him from all His creatures. God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations” (The Attributes of God). Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”

The Trinity

2009-09-03T11:55:00.001-04:00

God is one, yet exists as three distinct persons. That is revealed in the Bible from beginning to end.

The Old Testament Expresses the Plurality of the Godhead in its Opening Words

Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God." The Hebrew word translated “God” there is Elohim. The plural suffix, im, means it’s plural and presents a singular God who is expressed as a plurality. Genesis 1:26 also presents the plurality of the Godhead which it says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” Genesis 3:22 also uses the plural in the Godhead when it says, “Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” When the Lord was about to destory the Tower of Babel, He said in Gen.11:7, “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.”

Distinctions Between Members of the Trinity are Apparent in the Old Testament

Genesis 19:24 says, “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.” Charles Hodge says, “We . . . find throughout the Old Testament constant mention made of a person to whom, though distinct from Jehovah as a person, the titles, attributes, and works of Jehovah are nevertheless ascribed. This person is called the angel of God, the angel of Jehovah, Adonai, Jehovah, and Elohim. He claims divine authority, exercises divine prerogatives, and receives divine homage. . . .Besides this we have the express testimony of the inspired writers of the New Testament that the angel of the Lord, the manifested Jehovah who led the Israelites through the wilderness and who dwelt in the temple, was Christ; that is, the angel was the Word . . . who became flesh and fulfilled the work which it was predicted the Messiah should accomplish (Systematic Theology, p. 177). Numbers 6:22-26 says, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: 24 "The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." '

Distinctions Between Members of the Trinity are also Apparent in the New Testament

Notice several passages of Scripture that mark the distinctions: Matthew 3:16-17—As Jesus is being baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove. The Father replied, “is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (v.17). We see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together in the same scene. John 14:16-17—Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--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.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 says, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” 1 Peter 1:2 says, “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.”

Who Can Comprehend the Trinity? God is Three in One, and One in Three-An Eternal Mystery

J.I. Packer wrote: “Here we face the most dizzying and unfathomable truth of all, the truth of the Trinity. . . . What should we make of it? In itself, the divine tri-unity is a mystery, a transcendent fact which passes our understanding. . . .How the one eternal God is eternally both singular and plural, how Father, Son, and Spirit are personally distinct yet essentially one . . . is more than we can know, and any attempt to "explain" it-to dispel the mystery by reasoning, as distinct from confessing it from Scripture-is bound to falsify it. Here, as elsewhere, our God is too big for his creatures' little minds (I Want to Be a Christian [Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale, 1977], pp. 29-30). We cannot comprehend this Triune God, but we do know that He is a Father who loves us, a Son who died for us, and a Spirit who comforts us.

God is One

2009-09-02T08:09:00.001-04:00

“Although the Bible teaches that there is only one God (Is 45:18, 21-22; Mk 12:32), heathen people in ancient times quickly developed a belief in large numbers of so-called gods (Jer 10:11) and goddesses. Eventually each nation created and worshiped its own deities, usually more than one. Many of these "foreign gods" (1 Sm 7:3) are named in the Bible, and in most cases we are told to what nation each belonged. The list from Mesopotamia, a center of idol worship, is the longest: Adrammelech and Anammelech (2 Kgs 17:31), Bel (also known as Marduk, Is 46:1; Jer 50:2; 51:44), Kaiwan (Am 5:26), Nebo or Nabu (Is 46:1), Nergal (2 Kgs 17:30), Nisroch (19:37; Is 37:38), Rephan (Acts 7:43), Sakkuth (Am 5:26), Succoth-benoth (2 Kgs 17:30), Tammuz (Ez 8:14), and Tartak (2 Kgs 17:31). The Syrians were devoted to Ashima (v 30) and Rimmon (5:18), who was also worshiped under the compound name Hadad-rimmon (Zec 12:11). Israel's eastern neighbors, Ammon and Moab, worshiped Milcom or Molech (1 Kgs 11:5-7, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13) and Chemosh, respectively, although the Moabites also worshiped a local manifestation of Baal (Nm 25:3-5). The Philistine gods were Dagon and Baal-zebub (2 Kgs 1:2-3, 6, 16), who is the equivalent of the NT Beelzebul (Mt 12:24; Lk 11:15). One Canaanite god, Baal, and two Canaanite goddesses, Asherah and Ashtoreth, are mentioned frequently in the OT; Ashtoreth was the same as the Mesopotamian Ishtar, also known as the "Queen of Heaven" (Jer 7:18; 44:17-19, 25). The gods of Egypt are represented by only two names in the Bible: Amon (Jer 46:25) and Apis (v 15). Nibhaz (2 Kgs 17:31) was probably an Elamite god. At least three Greco-Roman deities are mentioned in the NT: the Greek goddess Artemis (Acts 19:24-28, 34-35), known as Diana by the Romans, and the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:12-13), known as Jupiter and Mercury, respectively, by the Romans.

The Bible clearly teaches that the gods of the nations have no objective reality (Jer 2:11), even though their worshipers sincerely believe that they actually exist (v 28). But the Lord proclaims that "they are no gods," (Jer 2:11; 16:20) or "gods that are not gods" (5:7, NIV). The NT further declares of idols that "an idol has no real existence" (1 Cor 8:4) and that "gods made with hands are not gods" (Acts 19:26). It is not surprising, then, that when the Israelites began to encounter other nations in significant ways-that is, as early as the time of the exodus-they were told repeatedly that the Lord is greater than all other gods (Ex 15:11; 18:11; Dt 10:17; 1 Chr 16:25; 2 Chr 2:5; Pss 86:8; 95:3; 96:4-5; 97:7-9; 135:5, 136:2; Dn 2:47; Zep 2:11).

Such so-called gods were not worthy of Israel's attention or veneration” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary) because there is only one God. And to believe that there were more than one God was blasphemy and idolatry against the One God.

Deut.6:4 says, “The LORD our God is one LORD.”
1 Cor.8:6 says, “There is only one God.”
1 Tim.2:5 says, “There is one God.”
Isa.44:6 says, “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.”
Ex.20:5 reveals that God is a jealous God which means He alone is to be worshiped.

“There can be but one infinite” (Elisha Coles, The Golden Treasury of Puritan Quotations). Because Israel lived in the midst of a polytheistic society, it was vital that they give their allegiance to the one true God. The same is true today. Where is your allegiance?

The Existence of God

2009-09-01T10:33:00.000-04:00

The Bible does not seek to prove the existence of God, it assumes it. The Puritan John Preston said, “Now concerning God, two things are to be known: (1) that He is, (2) what He is” (The Golden Treasury of Puritan Quotations).

It is Assumed in the Scriptures

Genesis 1:1 begins like this: “In the beginning God.” Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis also wrote Psalm 90 and in verse 2 He elaborates on the phrase in Genesis 1:1 when he says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” The apostle John makes an attempt at this in his gospel when speaking of God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in John 1:1-2 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” You must understand when you hear the words “beginning” in Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1-2, it is not saying that God has a beginning. In fact both of those verses say nothing about this. Genesis 1:1 takes us to the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth. John 1:1-2 takes us to the beginning but it’s not referring to the beginning of the Word to assume that He was created or had a beginning. No it is taking us into a realm where our understanding ceases to exist. The verse would be better read this way: “In the beginning, whenever there was a beginning, the Word! ”Psalm 90:2 states it appropriately: “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

It is Revealed in the Creation

We read verses like Psalm 19:1 which says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Or Romans 1:19-20 which says, “Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” God has always existed. The Bible does not set out to prove this, it assumes it directly or in creation. William Temple gives us this warning: “It is much worse to have a false idea of God than no idea at all” (Christianity Today, Vol.34, No.3, September 15, 1989).

It is Proven Theologically

Let me give you 6 arguments that theologians propose:

Teleological - This comes from the Greek word teleios which means, “perfection,” “result,” or “end.” When you look at something that has been finished or perfected, we conclude its resulting design must have had a designer. (eg. Watch) Design implies a designer.

Ontological - Ontos is a Greek participle from the verb translated “to be.” This argument reasons that man’s ability to conceive of an absolutely perfect Being implies the reality and existence of that Being.

Aesthetical - Because there is beauty and truth in the world, it is logical to assume that somewhere in the universe is a standard upon which beauty and truth are based.

Volitional - Because man faces a myriad of choices and exercises volition, it is logical to assume that there must be an infinite will somewhere. The world exists as an expression of that will.

Moral - That we know there is right and wrong suggests the necessity of an absolute standard.

Cosmological - Cosmology is the argument of cause and effect. The world and the universe exist, and we conclude that someone made it. That makes more sense than believing that everything came out of nothing—that at one point nothing equaled all things—which is essentially what the theory of evolution says.

As we carefully examine the world, we learn more about the One who made it. The cause of limitless space must be infinite. The cause of endless time must be eternal. The cause of perpetual motion must be powerful. The cause of complexity must be omniscient. The cause of consciousness must be personal. The cause of feeling must be emotional. The cause of will must be volitional. The cause of ethical values must be moral. The cause of religious values must be spiritual. The cause of beauty must be aesthetic. The cause of righteousness must be holy. The cause of justice must be just. The cause of love must be loving. The cause of life must be living

Our world gives evidence that there must be a God who is the cause of all those qualities, which are merely reflections of His character. And the Bible substantiates everyone.

John Owen on Knowing God

The Doctrine of God

2009-08-31T12:35:00.000-04:00

“On January 7, 1855, the minister of New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, England, opened his morning sermon as follows:

‘It has been said by someone that “the proper study of mankind is man.” I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.

There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, “Behold I am wise.” But when we come to this master science, finding that our plumb line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass’s colt; and with solemn exclamation, “I am but of yesterday, and know nothing.” No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. . .

But while the subject humbles the mind, it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. . . . The most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and Him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity.

And, whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatory. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrow? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning.

These words, spoken over a century ago by twenty-year old C. H. Spurgeon were true then, and they are true now. But the human dilemma is that man does not want to engage in “the most excellent study for expanding the soul,” nor does he want to contemplate “Christ, and Him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity.” Man’s true desire is he wished the God of the Bible did not exist at all and would rather have the god of his own making. Erwin Lutzer, in his book, “Ten Lies About God,” writes: “‘I believe in God’ is perhaps one of the most meaningless statements we can make today. The word God has become a canvas on which each is free to paint his own portrait of the divine; like the boy scribbling at his desk, we can draw God according to whatever specifications we please. For some He is ‘psychic energy”; for others He is ‘whatever is stronger than I am’ or ‘an inner power to lead us to deeper consciousness.’ To say, ‘I believe in God’ might simply mean that we are seeing ourselves in a full-length mirror” (pp.2-3). Donald McCullough adds: “When the true story gets told, whether in the partial light of historical perspective or in the perfect light of eternity, it may well be revealed that the worst sin of the church at the end of the twentieth century has been the trivialization of God...We prefer the illusion of a safer deity, and so we have pared God down to more manageable proportions” (Ten Lies About God by Erwin Lutzer). How do you see God? Do you see Him as “a safer deity” or a “God of more manageable proportions?” Listen to how these two concepts play out in our society.

Some see God as an eager bellhop. He’s always there when you need him. He carries your baggage. He never argues with you because you’re in charge. His only responsibility is to make you happy. What he gets from you is: a smile, a thank you, and, if he’s lucky, a tip.

Others see Him as a stern school teacher whose destiny it seems is to ruin a year of your life. He’s the ultimate record keeper who monitors all your activities and gives hard tests to see if his students suffer. He has wants and demands, but seemingly never gives or encourages.

Some even see Him as an impersonal scientist. He’s intellectual but not emotional. He spends all his time locked away in his heavenly laboratory working on unknowable wonders.

If not an eager bellhop, stern school teacher, or impersonal scientist. Some see him as a clever magician who must always work through signs, miracles and wonders. If there is no manifestation of power, they conclude God really isn’t involved. Jesus said to the Pharisees: “A wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign” (Mat.16:4).

You may have heard this one: a heavenly grandfather. Whose presence is acknowledged. Who is visited occasionally. Who “smiles and tells them he loves them” when they misbehave.

Lastly, some see him as Mr. Fix-It. “To view God merely as Mr. Fix-It makes Him worthless for anything else. He’s great when were in a fix; but unnecessary when everything is going well” (Points and article from Masterpiece Magazine, Gregg Cantelmo, 6-7). To view God in this way is painting your own portrait of the Divine,” as Erwin Lutzer says. And to do that is nothing short of idolatry. To view God in any way or manner other than what is given in the Bible is idolatry. “Contrary to popular belief, idolatry is more than bowing down to a small figure or worshiping in a pagan temple. According to the Bible, it is thinking anything about God that isn’t true or attempting to transform Him into something He isn’t” (John MacArthur, Our Awesome God, Introduction, 7).

So for us to understand who God is and what He is like, we have to come to the Bible alone. We cannot entertain, “Well, I think God is like....” and our definition be other than what the Bible gives. We must come to the Bible to understand God. I use that term “understand” only to mean that such is only possible with the illumination of the Holy Spirit. We will spend all of our earthly life seeking to understand the infinite God and that alone will be by faith empowered by His Spirit.

John Owen has a good comment on this when he says, “There are some truths of God that He has taught us to speak of. He has even guided us in our expressions of them. But when we have done so we do not really fully understand these things. All we can do is believe and admire. We profess, as we are taught that God is infinite, omnipotent, eternal; and we know the discussions about His omnipresence, immensity, infinity and eternity. We have, I say, words and notions about these things; but as to the things themselves, what do we really know? What do we comprehend of them? Can the mind of man do any more than be swallowed up in an infinite abyss and give itself up to what it cannot conceive or express? Is not our understanding ‘brutish’ in the contemplation of such things?

We are more perfect in our understanding when we realize that we cannot understand, and rest there. It is just the back parts of eternity and infinity that we see. What shall we say of the Trinity, or the existence of three Persons in the same individual essence? This is such a mystery that it is denied by many, because they cannot understand it. Is it not indeed a mystery whose every letter is mysterious? Who can declare the generation of the Son, the procession of the Spirit, or the difference of the one from the other? Thus, the infinite and inconceivable distance that is between Him and us keeps us in the dark as to any sight of His face or clear apprehension of His perfections.

We know Him rather by what He does than by what He is. We understand His doing us goo, but not truly His essential goodness. How little a portion of Him, as Job says, is discovered in this way! (The Mortification of Sin, 94-5).

Commenting on that last paragraph, John MacArthur says, “To define the infinite God in ways we can understand, we often have to state what He is not for a basis of comparison. For example, when we say that God is holy, we mean He has no sin. We cannot conceive of absolute holiness since we’re all too familiar with sin” (Our Awesome God, 8-9).

So we have to turn to the only Book that can assist our understanding of God and we have to turn to the author of this great Book in order to know Him. “Knowing what God is like is foundational to knowing God Himself. And knowing God is the essence of being a Christian” (MacArthur, 9). The apostle John wrote, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

For the next week or so we will explore the subject of the doctrine of God.

When is Anger Right?

2009-08-29T14:24:00.001-04:00

Ephesians 4:26-27 says, "Be angry , and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.

What is Anger?

Anger is An Emotion. Like laughter and sadness. To deny anger is also to deny other emotions you possess. What we need to understand is that it is normal and natural. All of us become angry, the question is, when is it the right kind of anger?

Anger is a Feeling of Displeasure. Webster defines anger as “a feeling of displeasure resulting from injury, mistreatment, opposition, etc., and usually showing itself in a desire to fight back at the supposed cause of this feeling” (Second College Edition, p.53). The only problem with that definition is that it is one-sided. It is talking about YOUR “injury, mistreatment, opposition” and YOUR “desire to fight back at the supposed cause of this feeling.” That is not what Ephesians 4:26-27 is saying. But before we look at when it is right, let’s see this definition in action:

1 Samuel 25, Verse 13 - David was angered at how he and his servants were mistreated by Nabal. Verses 21-22 - He wanted to take vengeance because of his mistreatment. David’s anger was unjustified. It was “evil” (v.39) as David admits later. David’s pride was hurt and he was determined to avenge himself because of it. This is a good example of our definition of “a feeling of displeasure resulting from injury, mistreatment, opposition, etc., and usually  showing itself in a desire to fight back at the supposed cause of this feeling.”

A second passage is Genesis 4:1-8. Here we see that Cain was jealous for Abel. Cain’s “displeasure” toward God and his brother caused him to murder his brother but in reality he really wanted to kill God but since he couldn’t he killed Abel. 1 John 3:12 says that “Cain was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” Both of these passages illustrate the selfish anger that Webster’s dictionary refers to as “anger.” Before we address the other side to this definition, let’s ask the second question regarding anger:

How Does Anger Manifest Itself?

By Rage, Gr.chaloa, “signifies bitter anger.” It means “to be enraged.” “Rage” is a furious, uncontrolled anger. It is a “violent outburst of anger where self-control is lost” (Webster). You could say that our two passages illustrated “rage.”

By Fury. “Fury” is violent anger. It “implies a frenzied rage that borders on madness” (Webster). You could also say that David and Cain also possessed this type of “anger.”

By Wrath. “Wrath” is intense anger. The Greek word thumos, expresses more the inward feeling that quickly blazes up and quickly subsides. It is an outburst of wrath. It may issue in revenge, though it does not necessarily include it. “Wrath” is an action carried out in great anger, especially for punishment or vengeance. David definitely revealed this kind of “anger.” Cain’s was more of “rage and fury” which then resulted in “murder.”

The kind of anger that Ephesians 4:26-27 refers to is:

By Righteous Indignation. Aristotle said, "Anybody can become angry-that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way-that is not easy." This is anger resulting from injustice or ingratitude. It implies righteous anger aroused by what seems unjust, mean or insulting” (Webster).

All four types of anger are illustrated in the Scriptures and can be visible when anger is aroused. “It is difficult for us to practice a truly holy anger or righteous indignation because our emotions are tainted by sin, and we do not have the same knowledge that God has in all matters” (Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary). “When it is an emotion of malice, jealousy, resentment, vindictiveness, or hatred because of personal wrongs, it is forbidden” (Believer’s Bible Commentary).

The Perseverance of the Saints

2009-08-28T07:49:00.001-04:00

We come now to the 5th and final point in the five points of Calvinism: Perseverance of the Saints. Let me begin tonight by giving you a working definition of this truth. When we talk about the perseverance of the saints, we are saying that “God preserves all the elect and causes them to persevere in faith and obedience to the end. None are continually back-slidden or finally lost.” In other words, those whom God has chosen, Christ has died for, and the Spirit has effectually called, will persevere in faith unto the end either death or the second coming of Christ. So all those who are spiritually united to Christ through regeneration are eternally secure in Him. Nothing can separate them from the eternal and unchangeable love of God. They have been predestined to eternal glory and are therefore assured of heaven. Romans 8:28-30 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

Definition of Perseverance from the Westminster Confession of Faith:

17.1 They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.

17.2 This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ; the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them; and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.

17.3 Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalence of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein: whereby they incur God's displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit, come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts; have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.

Let me use terms we’re all familiar with: “Once Saved, Always Saved” or “eternal security.” Both emphasize the certainty of salvation of the elect. Those whom Christ effectually calls He saves. And those whom He saves He keeps forever. Jesus said in John 6:39, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” It should be observed that the perseverance of the saints is logically connected with the preceding points. If man is totally depraved then he cannot respond to God; God must unconditionally elect man to salvation. For those who are elected, Christ has died to secure their salvation. God then irresistibly draws them to effect their salvation but also keeps them secure in that salvation to the end. There are two aspects to this definition. The first is God preserves all the elect and causes them to persevere in faith and obedience to the end. A good illustration is found in John chapter 6. Jesus had just fed the 5000. Before they could pursue making Him their king He dismisses them and the disciples and goes up the mountain to pray. After it became dark the disciples decided to cross the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. While they were in the middle of the sea, a storm arose but all of sudden they saw Jesus coming to them walking on the water. Peter calls out and says if it is you bid me to come to you on the water, so Jesus said come. But when he saw the storm he began to sink and called on the Lord to save Him. The Lord took him by the hand and they both entered the boat and immediately the storm stopped and they were on the shore of Capernaum. The next morning the crowds went looking for Jesus. They found Him in Capernaum and began questioning Him as to when He got there. But Jesus knew the true motive of their hearts and said in verses 26-27, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, but not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” After further dialogue, Jesus plainly states to them that He is “the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” (v.35) but they were not interested in this spiritual bread only physical. Jesus even said in verse 36 that they had seen Him, and “yet [they] do not believe.” They didn’t understand that the One who turned the five barley loaves and two fish into enough food to feed 15-20 thousand people was the Messiah the prophets spoke of. All they saw Jesus as someone who could be their political leader who would deliver them from Roman oppression and provide their daily needs. But Jesus says something in verse 37 that is most revealing in regards to salvation. He says, “John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” John MacArthur summarizes this verse by saying, “This verse emphasizes the sovereign will of God in the selection of those who come to come to Him for salvation (cf. vv. 44, 65; 17:6, 12, 24). The Father has predestined those who would be saved (see notes on Rom. 8:29, 30; Eph. 1:3–6; 1 Pet. 1:2). The absolute sovereignty of God is the basis of Jesus’ confidence in the success of His mission (see note on v. 40; cf. Phil. 1:6). The security of salvation rests in the sovereignty of God, for God is the guarantee that "all" He has chosen will come to Him for salvation. The idea of "gives me" is that every person chosen by God and drawn by God (v. 44) must be seen as a gift of the Father’s love to the Son. The Son receives each "love gift" (v. 37), holds on to each (v. 39), and will raise each to eternal glory (vv. 39, 40). No one chosen will be lost (see notes on Rom. 8:31–39). This saving purpose is the Father’s will which the Son will not fail to do perfectly (v. 38; cf. 4:34; 10:28, 29; 17:6, 12, 24).”

Jesus makes two other statements similar to this one. Verse 44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” He also states this in verse 65, “And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” All three verses point to the sovereign, electing, predetermination of God in salvation. God elects, chooses, before the foundation of the world whom He will save and whom He will pass by and leave to unbelief and sin and rebellion. He does this unconditionally, not on the basis of foreseen faith that humans produce by a supposed power of ultimate self-determination (‘free will’).” Those whom the Father gives to Jesus will come. No one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him or grants him. Notice the second half of John 6:37 tells us that “All that the Father Gives to Jesus He Preserves.” The last part of verse 67 is a reference to preservation. To understand this verse we need to understand the word “cast out” (ekballo) which means to “drive away or cast out.” D.A. Carson says, “In almost all of its parallel occurrences, it is presupposed that what is driven out or cast out is already ‘in’. ‘I will never drive away’ therefore means ‘I will certainly keep in’.” In other words, this last clause assures the eternal preservation of everyone that comes to Christ. Jesus says to the Father concerning His disciples in John 17:12, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”

Irresistible Grace

2009-08-27T11:35:00.001-04:00

What is irresistible grace? “Irresistible grace is the supernatural work of God wherein He works in the soul of the individual, changing the entire nature by the Holy Spirit’s operation” (Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology [Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press, 1997, c1989]. 484). Those who oppose this teaching argue that if “grace is irresistible then God forces someone to come against his own will” (Ibid., Enns).Irresistible grace does not “make someone come contrary to his will. Rather, irresistible grace makes the individual willing to come” (Ibid., Enns). Louis Berkhof says, “By changing the heart it makes man perfectly willing to accept Jesus Christ unto salvation and to yield obedience to the will of God” (Ibid., Enns). So irresistible grace has to do with the heart or the inward call of God. It is the Holy Spirit intervening in man’s heart and sovereignly giving Him the new birth, faith, and repentance of which he does not resist. Apart from this intervention, he resists the outward call of God. To help us with this, it is important to note that Scripture teaches that there are two types of “calls” from God. There’s the outward call of God and the inward call of God.

The outward call of God comes from the preaching of His word. Many share the gospel with others, but not all who hear the message receive it. For example, in Acts 18:6, Luke records the response of the Jews after Paul preached to them. He says, “But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’” This is the outward call. The outward call of God can be resisted. In fact, apart from God’s working in us, we will resist this call (remember total depravity?). The inward call of God, on the other hand, is His secret work of regeneration (rebirth, a new beginning, spiritual resurrection) done in the souls of the elect by the work of the Holy Spirit. This work of the Holy Spirit changes us because it is inward. God places within us a desire for Him. Before the inward call of God, no person is inclined to come to Him. After the inward call, we respond to God with the gift of faith. The inward call of God cannot be resisted. So we could say that the word “Irresistible” means “that when God has chosen some to be saved and when he sends His Spirit to change them from being hateful to being loving, no one can resist Him. He is irresistible. He does what He sets out to do...If [this word] causes misunderstanding, then another word may be chosen. For example, efficacious, or effectual or unconquerable, or certain. All that irresistible means is that God sends His Holy Spirit to work in the lives of people so that they will definitely and certainly be changed from evil to good people. It means that the Holy Spirit will certainly—with-out any ands’s, if’s and but’s—cause everyone whom God has chosen from eternity and for whom Christ died to believe on Jesus” (Edwin H. Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism, 58). In the words of the puritan preacher Christopher Love, who said, “The internal call is when the Spirit of God accompanies the outward administration of the Word to call a man from ignorance to knowledge, and a state of nature to a state of grace.”

Limited Atonement

2009-08-26T08:20:00.001-04:00

"In Him we have redemption through His blood" (Ephesians 1:7).

It is amazing how one word can change the course of everything we believe. That is true here. When we talk about the subject of redemption, we have to ask, "Who are the recipients?" Paul answer that in this verse with the word "we." The recipients of redemption are the elect (v.4). They are those who are “saints” and “faithful in Christ Jesus” (v.1). They are those who have been “blessed...with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (v.3). They are those whom God “chose” for Himself “before the foundation of the world” (v.4). They are those who have been “predestined...to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (v.5). Jesus Christ died for the redemption of the elect. Matt Slick, who is the founder of Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry writes, “Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for ‘many'; John 10:11,15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him, not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ, not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion where he would bear the sins of many (not all)” [http://www.carm.org/list/calvinism.htm].

Matthew 1:21 says that He came to “save His people from their sins.”

Who are “His people”? It could be a reference to the Jews because “salvation is from the Jews” (Jn.4:22). But I believe it has a specific reference to the elect—those chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph.1:4). To limit it to a nationality of people ignores what Paul said to the Gentiles in Acts 13:46-48. He says to the Jews: “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 "For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.' " 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Jesus came to save those who were “appointed to eternal life” before the world began.

What about those passages that say speak of Christ’s redemption being for the whole “world” or for “all”?

John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

1 John 2:1-2 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

1 Timothy 2:3-6 says, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

These three verses are speaking “of Christ’s work in general terms...and was to correct the false notion that salvation was for the Jews alone. Such phrases as ‘the world,’ ‘all men,’ ‘all nations,’ and ‘every creature’ were used by the New Testament writers to emphatically correct this mistake. These expressions are intended to show that Christ died for all men without distinction (i.e., He died for Jews and Gentiles alike), but they are not intended to indicate that Christ died for all men without exception (i.e., He did not die for the purpose of saving each and every lost sinner)” (David Steele, The Five Points of Calvinism, 50).

Charles Spurgeon said, “The Arminians say, 'Christ died for all men.' Ask them what they mean by it. Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of all men? They say, 'No, certainly not.' We ask them the next question: Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of any man in particular? They answer 'No.' They are obliged to admit this, if they are consistent. They say, 'No; Christ has died that any man may be saved if ?' and then follow certain conditions of salvation. Now, who is it that limits the death of Christ? Why, you. You say that Christ did not die so as infallibly to secure the salvation of anybody. We beg your pardon, when you say we limit Christ's death; we say, 'No, my dear sir, it is you that do it.' We say Christ so died that he infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who through Christ's death not only may be saved, but are saved, must be saved and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved. You are welcome to your atonement; you may keep it. We will never renounce ours for the sake of it.”

Unconditional Election (Pt.2)

2009-08-25T20:33:00.001-04:00

“Just as He chose us in Him" (Ephesians 1:4).

As we look at this verse, I want us to consider what Paul is saying in his careful selection of words. He begins this verse with “Just as.” This is the Greek word kathos and is translated “just as” or “according as.” It refers back to the reason why Paul is blessing God. It is “even as, in conformity to or with the fact” of His blessing. Marvin Vincent says: “Explaining blessed us, in v. 3. His blessing is in conformity with the fact that He chose” (Vincent’s Word Studies). Kenneth Wuest says, “Here kathos designates the ground of the ‘blessing’ and so is also the note of its grandeur. The ‘blessing’ proceeded on the divine election, and took effect in accordance with that. It has its foundation, therefore, in eternity, and is neither an incidental thing nor an afterthought of God” (Word’s Studies from the Greek NT). “The writer asserts that God has blessed believers both because and to the extent that he elected them” (Lincoln, A. T. (2002). Vol. 42: Word Biblical Commentary : Ephesians).

The word “chose” is the Greek word eklego. It means “to pick out, select” (Vine) or “choose out for one’s own self” (Wuest). This word “indicates God’s totally independent choice” (MacArthur). This verb is “found twenty-two times in the New Testament. It is used eight times of Christ’s choosing or electing his disciples (Luke 6:13; John 6:70; 13:18; 15:16 (twice),19; Acts 1:2; 2:4). On one occasion Jesus is himself the person chosen (Luke 9:35). Six times it is used in a context that does not pertain to salvation (Luke 10:42; 14:7; Acts 6:5; 15:7,22,25). The remaining seven occurrences refer to men and women as the objects of election to eternal life (Mark 13:20; Acts 13:17; 1 Cor. 1:27 (twice),28; Eph. 1:4; James 2:5).

The noun “elect” (eklektos) is also used twenty-two times in the New Testament. On three occasions Jesus is the “elect” one (Luke 23:35; 1 Peter 2:4,6), and in one text the word refers to angels (1 Tim. 5:21). There is also one passage in which the word has no bearing on salvation (Rom. 16:13). In the seventeen remaining cases the word is used of men and women as God’s “elect,” those chosen to eternal life (Matt. 22:14; 24:22,24,31; Mark 13:20,22,27; Luke 18:7; Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1; 2:9; 2 John 1,13; Rev. 17:14)” (Dr. Sam Storms, The Biblical Terminology of Election, Enjoying God Ministries, http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article.asp?id=293).

Charles Spurgeon said, “You cannot look to Christ before He has looked to you. If you are willing to be saved, He gave you that will” (Effectual Calling, March 30, 1856).

What is the doctrine of election?

It means “God elects, chooses, before the foundation of the world whom He will save and whom He will pass by and leave to unbelief and sin and rebellion. He does this unconditionally, not on the basis of foreseen faith that humans produce by a supposed power of ultimate self-determination (“free will”)” (John Piper, Summary of the Sovereignty of God in Salvation, December 10, 1997). One writer says, "Election is...that decree of God which He eternally makes, by which, with sovereign freedom, He chooses to Himself a people, upon whom He determines to set His love, whom He rescues from sin and death through Jesus Christ, unto Himself in everlasting glory" (Herman Hanko, The Five Points of Calvinism). John Piper adds, "Election...is unconditional in that there is no condition man must meet before God chooses to save him. Man is dead in trespasses and sins. So there is no condition he can meet before God chooses to save him from his deadness. We are not saying that final salvation is unconditional. It is not. We must meet the condition of faith in Christ in order to inherit eternal life. But faith is not a condition for election. Just the reverse. Election is a condition for faith. It is because God chose us before the foundation of the world that he purchases our redemption at the cross and quickens us with irresistible grace and brings us to faith" (Sermon manuscript What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism, desiringgod.org). John MacArthur, in his book, The God Who Loves, also writes, "We are redeemed not because of anything good in us, but because God chose us unto salvation. He chose certain individuals and passed over others, and He made that choice in eternity past, before the foundation of the world (Eph.1:4). Moreover, He chose without regard to anything He foresaw in the elect; simply ‘according to the good pleasure of His will [and] to the praise of the glory of His grace’ (vv.4-6, KJV). Election arises from the love of God. Those whom He chose, He ‘loved...with an everlasting love [and drew them to Himself] with lovingkindness’ (Jer.31:3) [p.12].

“The meaning of the phrase ‘before the foundation of the world’ means ‘from all eternity’ (Fritz Rienecker, The Linguistic Key to the Greek NT, 521).

Unconditional Election

2009-08-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

We are in a new series called “The Doctrines of Grace” or “The Five Points of Calvinism.” We have already looked at the first point, total depravity, and tonight we’re considering the second, unconditional election. As we consider this, I want to look briefly at Ephesians 1:4. Verse 4 is a very familiar verse of Scripture to any child of God. Notice what it says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

Paul begins this letter in verse 3 by eulogizing or speaking well of God. Why does he do this? Verse 3 says because God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Now beginning at verse 4 running through verse 14 he gives what some of those blessings are. He begins in verse 4 with election. In verses 5-6 he mentions predestination and adoption. In verses 7-8, he mentions our redemption and forgiveness. In verses 8-10, he talk about God making “known to us the mystery of His will,” in other words, revelation, and in verses 11-14 he concludes with our inheritance. No wonder Paul blesses God! God has blessed us with election, predestination, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, revelation, and inheritance. Unfortunately we will not be able to look at all these spiritual blessings, because that is not our purpose in this study. But we must keep them in mind to help us understand the context of what Paul is saying here in Ephesians 1:4.

The doctrine of election is not a new teaching for the apostle Paul. He references it over 50 times in his 13 epistles. It is sad that there are some in the church who hate this doctrine and lead others to hate it because it is a glorious doctrine. This doctrine has certainly divided many in the church. A.W. Pink said, “No doctrine is so detested by proud human nature as this one, which make nothing of the creature and everything of the Creator; yea, at no other point is the enmity of the carnal mind so blatantly and hotly evident” (The Doctrine of Election). Without the doctrine of election we would not understand salvation. We would be left to “boast” thinking we had something to do with it. But because it is here in God’s Word, it confirms the opposite—our salvation is wholly of God. He calls, elects, chooses— He is in control of our salvation. A.W. Pink again says, “God is not working at random: the gospel has been sent forth on no uncertain mission: the final outcome in the conflict between good and evil has not been left indeterminate; how many are to be saved or lost depends not on the will of the creature. Everything was infallibly determined and immutably fixed by God from the beginning, and all that happens in time is but the accomplishment of what was ordained in eternity.” So “Let it be plainly announced that salvation originated not in the will of man, but in the will of God (see John 1:13; Rom. 9:16), that were it not so none would or could be saved—for as the result of the fall man has lost all desire and will unto that which is good (John 5:40; Rom. 3:11)—and that even the elect themselves have to be made willing (Ps. 110:3), and loud will be the cries of indignation raised against such teaching” (The Doctrine of Election).

For those who say the Bible does NOT teach the doctrine of election, I want to invite you to just listen to the following verses:

In John 15:16 Jesus said to His disciples, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” Earlier in John 6:70 He said to them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” Acts 13:48 says, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” Paul refers to the Colossians in Colossians 3:12 as “those who have been chosen of God.” When Paul sent his first letter to the Thessalonians, he was thankful to God for them after he saw their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, he knew their “election by God” ( 1 Thess.1:4, NKJV). Paul said in his second letter to the Thessalonians that “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” (2 Thess.2:13). When Paul was speaking with Timothy concerning persecution and suffering he said 2 Timothy 2:10, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” When Paul wrote to Titus, he said in Titus1:1, “Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness.” 1 Peter 1:1-2 says, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.” Psalm 65:4 says, “How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You To dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.” Psalm 105:6 says, “O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!” Deuteronomy 7:6 says, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” Isaiah 43:20-21 says, “The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. 21 "The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.”

What was the common truth in all of those verses? God’s chosing. Salvation is God’s choice. As we saw in our previous study of total depravity, man is dead in trespasses and sins and therefore unable to choose God. As Acts 16:14 illustrates, God has to open the “heart to respond to the things spoken.” When Paul went to Philippi, he went to a place “where [they] were supposing that there would be a place of prayer, and [they] sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thysatira, a seller of purpose fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.” In other words, God’s gave her the faith to believe the gospel spoken by Paul. According to verse 15, not just her but also “her household.” Over and over in Scripture we hear that “salvation belongs to the Lord” (Ps.3:8). It is, as David confessed in Psalm 51:12, “your salvation.”

Total Depravity

2009-08-23T07:19:00.001-04:00

As we think about the subject of Calvinism, let me caution you about labels. I personally do not like to say I am a Calvinist only because of the baggage that comes with that label. To use that label causes me to become everything that Calvin believed. The same is true about Martin Luther or anyone else. As for John Calvin and Martin Luther, both of these godly men believed in infant baptism. I don’t believe in that teaching, so for me to label myself, also causes me to take to myself other doctrines that these men taught. I have been a pastor for 20 years and during that time I have had only one goal—preach the Word! So as I do that, I try to stray from labels and just teach what is the meaning of Scripture. So when we’re studying through a book in the Bible and we come across total depravity or election or any other theological teaching, I will teach what that passage says. If I come to a passage that teaches about the limited atonement, irresistible grace or the perseverance of the saints, I will teach what that passage says about that doctrine.

Now let me further state about the five points of Calvinism that Calvin taught very little on this subject. This should be called the five points of Augustine or Luther because they taught more on this than Calvin. Having said all that, let’s begin with the first point: total depravity.

First, let me give you a definition of total depravity. Total depravity is defined in this way: “Sin controls every part of man. He is spiritually dead and blind, and unable to obey, believe, or repent. He continually sins, for his nature is completely evil.” Now the first question we need to ask is, “What does this mean?” It means that sin has affected every part of man. The heart, emotions, will, mind, and body are all affected by sin. We are completely sinful. We are not as sinful as we could be, but we are completely affected by sin. The word “total” is used to indicate that the whole of man’s being has been affected by sin. The corruption extends to every part of man, his body and soul. It has affected all of man’s facultities—his mind, his will, etc. The doctrine of total depravity is derived from Scriptures that reveal human character. For example, Mark 7:21-23 shows us that man’s heart is evil. Jesus says, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Romans 6:14-20 says that man is a slave of sin when it says, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.” Even Romans 3:11 says he does not seek for God: “There is none  who understands , There is none  who seeks  for God.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 says he cannot understand spiritual things: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” Ephesians 2:14-15 says he is at enmity with God: “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace.” And last, Ephesians 2:3 says he is by nature a child of wrath: “And were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Those who adhere to what these Scriptures teach ask this question, “In light of the Scriptures that declare man’s true nature as being utterly lost and incapable, how is it possible for anyone to choose or desire God?” What’s the answer? That’s what we’re going to explore in this study of the Doctrines of Grace. Calvinism or Augustinism also maintains that because of our fallen nature we are born again not by our own will but God’s will. John 1:12-13 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. They also believe that God is the one who grants who will  believe. Philippians 1:29 says, “For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Further they believe that faith is the work of God as Ephesians 2:8-9 says. They also believe God appoints people to believe. Acts 13:48 says, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” And they believe God predestines as Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined.”

Let say another thing about total depravity—it is not the same as absolute depravity. Absolute depravity means that a person expresses his depravity to the nth degree at all times. Not only are all of his thoughts, words, and deeds sinful, but they are as vicious as possible” (Edwin H. Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism, 9). There are restraints in our lives to prevent this. When Calvinism speaks of total depravity, the “inability intended by this terminology is spiritual inability; it means that the sinner is so spiritually bankrupt that he can do nothing pertaining to his salvation. It is quite evident that many unsaved people, when judged by man’s standards, do possess admirable qualities and do perform virtuous acts. But in the spiritual realm, when judged by God’s standards, the unsaved sinner is incapable of good. The natural man is enslaved to sin; he is a child of Satan, rebellious toward God, blind to truth, corrupt, and unable to save himself or to prepare himself for salvation. In short, the unregenerate man is dead in sin, and his will is enslaved to his evil nature” (David Steele, The Five Points of Calvinism, 19). I think one of the most revealing passages on this subject is found in Ephesians 2:1-3. In these three verses, Paul shows the Ephesians what they were before coming to Christ and reveals their total depravity or to use Paul’s terminology, their being dead in trespasses and sins. Listen to what it says. "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience; Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest."

Paul has just completed his discussion in chapter 1 of the blessings believers have received as well as his prayer for them to realize what they have. Here he continues his thoughts that began in verse 19 of the resurrection of the believer. He not only prayed that their “understanding” be “enlightened” and that they “may know what is the hope of His calling...the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”, but he also prayed that they would know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (NKJV). This same power that “raised” Jesus “from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (vv.18-20, NKJV) is the same power that raises the believer from spiritual death to spiritual life. John 5:21 says, “the Father raises the dead and gives life to them” (NKJV). In other words, the dead do not raise themselves. When we read Ephesians 1:20 that is what we’re seeing. God “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. ” (vv.20-23). Then chapter two says, “And you....” Chapter breaks many times interrupt a passage as is the case here. Verse 1 is still part of the content of Paul’s prayer. Only now in verse 1 does he turn his attention to the resurrection of the believer. He says that the same power which raised Jesus from the dead raised you from spiritual death.

The History of Calvinism

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In 1610, one year after the death of James Arminius, five articles of faith based on his teachings were drawn up by his followers. They were: free will, conditional election, universal atonement, resistible grace, and falling from grace. These were presented to the state of Holland in the form of a "Remonstrance" or "protest." The followers of James Arminius or commonly known as Armenians' insisted that the Belgic Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism which was the official expression of the doctrinal position of the churches of Holland be changed to conform to the doctrinal views contained in the Remonstrance or protest. A national synod was called to meet in Dort in 1618 for the purpose of examining the views of Arminius in the light of Scripture. The Great Synod was convened by the State General of Holland on November 13, 1618 with 84 members and 18 secular commissioners. Included were 27 delegates from Germany, the Palatinate, Switzerland and England. There were 154 sessions held during the 7 months that the Synod met together to consider these matters, the last of which was on May 9, 1619. The five articles of faith presented by the Armenians' were unanimously rejected. As part of their rejection, they produced the five points of Calvinism.

Edwin H. Palmer, in his book The Five Points of Calvinism, says, “The title the five points of Calvinism can be misleading. For Calvinism does not have five points, and, neither is Calvin the author of the five points.

First of all, Calvinism is not restricted to five points: it has thousands of points. The first word that Calvinism suggests to most people is predestination; and if they have a modicum of theological knowledge, the other four points follow. But this is wrong. Calvinism is much broader than five points. It is not even primarily concerned with the five points. In the first catechism which Calvin drew up (1537), predestination is only briefly mentioned. In the Confession of Faith, drawn up in the same year, there is no mention of it at all. In another catechism and four confessions attributed to Calvin, the doctrine is mentioned only in passing. And in the first edition of his monumental work, The Institutes, it is given no important place even when he treats the matter of salvation. It was only in later editions, after attacks had been made on the grace of God, that he enlarged upon predestination.

Calvinism has an unlimited number of points: it is as broad as the Bible. Does the Bible teach about the Trinity? Then, Calvinism does. Does the Bible deal with the deity of Christ, the covenant of grace, justification by faith, sanctification, the second coming of Christ, the inerrancy of Scripture and the world-and-life view? Then, Calvinism does, too. For John Calvin’s goal in his preaching, teaching, and writing was to expound all the Word of God—and the Word of God alone. Scriptura tota: Scriptura sola. Calvinism is an attempt to express all the Bible and only the Bible. To restrict it to five points is to misjudge and dishonor the man and movement that bears the name Calvin.

Not only can the word five be misleading in the name the Five Points of Calvinism, but also the word Calvinism. At first glance, many believe that Calvin is the author of the five points. Such a misconception ignores the fact that Calvinism simply expounded the Bible. Calvin did not invent a new teaching any more than Columbus invented America or newton the law of gravity. As Columbus and Newton merely discovered what had existed all along, so Calvin uncovered truths that had been in the Bible all the time. And Calvin was not the first nor the last to uncover these Biblical truths. Many others confessed them, too. From Augustine to Gottschalk to Spurgeon; from Lutherans to Baptists to Dominicans; from Dutch to Scottish to French; from individuals to associations to church confessions; from laymen to hymn-writers to theologians. The name Calvinism has often been used, not because Calvin was the first or sole teacher, but because after the long silence of the Middle Ages, he was the most eloquent and systematic expositor of these truths” (The Five Points of Calvinism, Foward).

Holy

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"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mat.5:8).

Holiness is a very important word in the Bible. For it speaks of the triune God. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are holy. The Israelites sang of God’s holiness when they were delivered from Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea. They sang, “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex.15:11). 1 Samuel 2:2 answers by saying, “There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.” As we have studied on past occasions, we have come to understand that there is another word that speaks about God’s holiness and it’s the word, transcendent. The word “transcendence” means literally “to climb across.” It is defined as “exceeding usual limits.” To transcend is to rise above something, to go above and beyond a certain limit. When we speak of the transcendence of God we are talking about that sense in which God is above and beyond us. It tries to get at His supreme and absolute greatness. The word here is used to describe God’s relationship to the world. He is higher than the world. He has absolute power over the world. The world has no power over Him. Transcendence describes God in His consuming majesty, His exalted loftiness. It points to the infinite distance that separates Him from every creature. When the Bible calls God holy it means primarily that God is transcendentally separate. He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us. To be holy is to be “other,” to be different in a special way. In the words of A.W. Tozer, “Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fulness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.” Charles Spurgeon said, “...this is the crown of His honor and the honor of His crown. His power is not His choicest jewel, nor His sovereignty, but His holiness.” Because this is the case, holiness is important for us to understand if we’re going to understand God. Matthew 5:8 is essential for our walk with God because it focuses on the holiness that God requires.

Mourning

2009-08-20T08:54:00.001-04:00

“Blessed are those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4).

“Mourn” is the Greek word pentheo (Pres.part.). Generally it means, “to lament, to mourn for the dead. To grieve with a grief which so takes possession of the whole being that it cannot be hid” (Fritz Rienecker, The Linguistic Key to the Greek NT, 12). This is the strongest term used for sorrow. “It represents the deepest, most heart-felt grief.” It carries “the idea of deep inner agony, which may or may not be expressed by outward weeping, wailing or lament” (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7, 154). The mourning that Jesus is referring to here is not the mourning for the dead but mourning over sin. When you have the right attitude toward sin, which is “poor in spirit,” then you mourn over it. Thomas Watson says, “Our mourning for sin must be so great as to exceed all other grief. Eli’s mourning for the ark was such that it swallowed up the loss of his two children. Spiritual grief must preponderate (to outweigh) over all other. We should mourn more for sin than for the loss of friends or estate. We should endeavour to have our sorrow rise up to the same height and proportion as our sin does” (The Beatitudes, 71). It’s important to understand that the “happiness or blessedness does not come in the mourning itself. Happiness comes with what God does in response to it, with the forgiveness that such mourning brings. Godly mourning brings God’s forgiveness, which brings God’s happiness” (MacArthur). Thomas Watson again says, “We must go through the valley of tears to paradise. Mourning were a sad and unpleasant subject to treat on, were it not that it has blessedness going before, and comfort coming after. Mourning is put here for repentance. It implies both sorrow, which is the cloud, and tears which are the rain distilling in this golden shower; God comes down to us” (The Beatitudes, 59).

There is an improper mourning. “This is the sorrow of those who are frustrated in fulfilling evil plans and lusts or who have misguided loyalties and affections” (MacArthur). Thomas Watson calls this “diabolical mourning...when a man mourns that he cannot satisfy his impure lust, this is like the devil, whose greatest torture is that he can be no more wicked” (The Beatitudes, 60).

Which type of mourning consumes you?

Summary of the Beattitudes

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“We see first the poor in spirit, which is the right attitude toward sin and which leads to mourning in verse 4. After you’ve seen your sinfulness and mourned, you’re meek with a sense of humility. Then you seek and hunger and thirst for righteousness. That manifests itself in mercy (v.7), in purity of heart (v.8), and in a peacemaking spirit (v.9). The result of being merciful and pure in heart and peacemaking is that you are reviled and persecuted and falsely accused. But when it’s all said and done, Jesus said you can rejoice and be glad (v.12), for a great reward awaits in heaven” (John MacArthur, The Only Way to Happiness).

Poor in Spirit

2009-08-18T09:20:00.001-04:00

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew.5:3)

The kingdom of heaven belongs to the "poor in spirit" Jesus says. But what does it mean to be "poor in spirit." Is Jesus talking about physical poverty? No. Being “poor in spirit,” “signifies those who are brought to the sense of their sins, and seeing no goodness in themselves, despair in themselves and sue wholly to the mercy of God in Christ.” This is a "kind of self-annihilation...The poor in spirit are they who see nothing in themselves, but fly to mercy for sanctuary” (Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes, 42). So "poor in spirit" refers then to “the humble, and lowly-minded, and self-abased; He (Jesus) means those who are deeply convinced of their own sinfulness in God’s sight...They regard themselves as ‘wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked’ (Rev.3:17) (J.C. Ryal, Matthew: The Crossway Classic Commentaries).

Those who are “poor in spirit” are those who in humility “see nothing in themselves.” They are “spiritually destitute----spiritually bankrupt.” And they come empty handed before a holy God. How do you see yourself?

The Tongue

2009-08-17T12:22:00.001-04:00

He was a new clerk in the greens goods department of a supermarket. A lady came up to him and said she wanted to buy half a head of lettuce. He tried to dissuade her from that goal, but she persisted. Finally he said, “I’ll have to go back and talk to the manager.” He went to the rear of the store to talk to the manager, not noticing that the woman was walking right behind him. When he got into the back of the store, he said to the manager, “There’s some stupid old bag out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce. What should I tell her?” Seeing the horrified look on the face of the manager, he turned around, and seeing the woman, added, “And this nice lady wants to buy the other half of the head of lettuce. Will it be alright?” Considerably relieved, the manager said, “That would be fine.” Later in the day, he congratulated the boy on his quick thinking. He then asked, “Where are you from, son?” The boy said, “I’m from Toronto, Canada, the home of beautiful hockey players and ugly women.” The manager looked at him and said, “My wife is from Toronto.” The boy said, “Oh, what team did she play for?” (From Bruce Thielemann, “Because,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 105).

It’s amazing what a little member in the body can do. As one person said, “Because the tongue is in a wet place, it can easily slip.” Warren Wiersbe, in his book “Be Mature,” tells about a pastor friend who told him “about a member of his church who was a notorious gossip. She would ‘hang on the phone’ most of the day, sharing tidbits with any and all who would listen. She came to the pastor one day and said, ‘Pastor, the Lord has convicted me of my sin of gossip. My tongue is getting me and others into trouble.’ My friend knew she was not sincere because she had gone through that routine before. Guardedly he asked, ‘Well, what do you plan to do?’ ‘I want to put my tongue on the altar,’ she replied with pious fervor. Calmly my friend replied, ‘There isn’t an altar big enough,’ and he left her to think it over’” (89).

What is it to indulge sin?

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"To give the breast to it and feed it. As a fond parent humours his child and lets him have what he wants, so to indulge sin is to humour sin.

To indulge sin is to commit it with delight: 'they had pleasure in unrighteousness' (2 Thess.2:12).

In this sense, a godly man does not indulge sin. Though sin is in him, he is troubled at it and would gladly get rid of it. There is as much difference between sin in the wicked and the godly as between poison being in a serpent and in a man. Poison in a serpent is in its natural place and is delightful, but poison in a man's body is offensive and he uses antidotes to expel it. So sin in a wicked man is delightful, being in its natural place, but sin in a child of God is burdensome and he uses all means to expel it. The sin is trimmed off. The will is against it. A godly man enters protest against sin: 'What I do I allow not' (Rom.7:15). A child of God, while he commits sin, hates the sin he commits (Rom.7)." (Thomas Watson, The Godly Man's Picture, 146).

The Doctrine of Election

2009-08-14T12:51:00.001-04:00

“God is not working at random: the gospel has been sent forth on no uncertain mission: the final outcome in the conflict between good and evil has not been left indeterminate; how many are to be saved or lost depends not on the will of the creature. Everything was infallibly determined and immutably fixed by God from the beginning, and all that happens in time is but the accomplishment of what was ordained in eternity.”

So “Let it be plainly announced that salvation originated not in the will of man, but in the will of God (see John 1:13; Rom. 9:16), that were it not so none would or could be saved—for as the result of the fall man has lost all desire and will unto that which is good (John 5:40; Rom. 3:11)—and that even the elect themselves have to be made willing (Ps. 110:3), and loud will be the cries of indignation raised against such teaching” (A.W. Pink, The Doctrine of Election).

True Worship

2009-08-13T13:46:00.000-04:00

“A few years ago the Chicago Tribune reported the story of a New Mexico woman who was frying tortillas when she noticed that the skillet burns on one of her tortillas resembled the face of Jesus. Excited, she showed it to her husband and neighbors, and they all agreed that there was a face etched on the tortilla and that it truly bore a resemblance to Jesus. So the woman went to her priest to have the tortilla blessed. She testified that the tortilla had changed her life, and her husband agreed that she had been a more peaceful, happy, submissive wife since the tortilla had arrived. The priest, not accustomed to blessing tortillas, was somewhat reluctant but agreed to do it. The woman took the tortilla home, put it in a glass case with piles of cotton to make it look like it was floating on clouds, built a special altar for it, and opened the little shrine to visitors. Within a few months, more than eight thousand people came to the shrine of the Jesus of the Tortilla, and all of them agreed that the face in the burn marks on the tortilla was the face of Jesus (except for one reporter who said he thought it looked like former heavy-weight boxing champion Leon Spinks)” (John MacArthur, The Ultimate Priority, p.1).

It seems incredible that so many people would worship a tortilla, but such a distorted concept of worship is not really unusual in contemporary society. Tragically, although the Bible is clear about how and whom and when we are to worship, little genuine worship takes place today. In fact, worship is one of the most misunderstood doctrines in all the Scriptures. The concept of worship dominates the Bible.

In Genesis, we discover that the Fall came when man failed to worship God. In Revelation we learn that all of history culminates in an eternal worshiping community in the presence of a loving God. From the beginning of Genesis all the way through to the consummation in Revelation, the doctrine of worship into the biblical text.

Jesus quoted Deut.6:4-6 and called it the greatest commandment: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mk.12:29-30). This is a call to worship, and it affirms worship as the universal priority.

Exodus 20 records the giving of the Ten Commandments. The very first of those commandments calls for and regulates worship: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me” (vv.2-5).

In the OT, worship covered all of life. It was the focus of the people of God. For example, the Tabernacle was designed and laid out to emphasize the priority of worship. The description of its details requires seven chapters — 243 verses — in Leviticus, yet only 31 verses in Genesis are devoted to the creation of the world. The Tabernacle was designed only for worship. It was the place where God met His people, and to use it for anything but worship would have been considered the grossest blasphemy. In the Tabernacle there were no seats — the Israelites didn’t go there to attend a service, and they didn’t go there for entertainment. They went there to worship God. No wonder A.W. Tozer says, “The greatest tragedy in the world today is that God has made man in His image and made him to worship Him, made him to play the harp of worship before the face of God day and night, but he has failed God and dropped the harp. It lies voiceless at his feet” (The Quotable Tozer, p.198). “The person who uses his life for any purpose other than worship — no matter how noble that purpose may seem — is guilty of a grave sin. It is the same sin as that of an Israelite who misused the holy incense — a sin so serious that under the law it was punishable by death” (John MacArthur, The Ultimate Priority, p.4).

How are you using your life today? Is it for worship?

The Good News

2009-08-12T11:07:00.001-04:00

The Bible provides the answer to our dilemma in a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Paul describes him in Ephesians 5:23 as the “Savior.” And according to 1 Timothy 1:15, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save [or rescue] sinners” from God’s judgment. How did He do that? He took in His body on the cross the consequences of our sin. By Him bearing our sin in His own body, He provided the justice that the Law demanded for our sin. The Law said the penalty for breaking God’s Law was death and Jesus took our penalty for us. In other words, instead of God punishing us for our sin, He punished Jesus. Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 5:21 in this way when He says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” In other words, God treated Jesus as if He sinned. Isaiah 53:4-6 says, “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” When Paul says that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,” he tells why He did this—“That we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” To “become the righteousness of God in Him,” refers to salvation from your sin. It refers to deliverance from sin and judgment. How does one acquire the righteousness of God? Paul answers that question in Ephesians 2:8-9 when he says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” It is “by grace...through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” To receive this gift of grace the Bible says you must turn from your sin and surrender your life to Jesus Christ who alone can save and forgive you of your sin. Acts 17:30-31 says, “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” I would like to pause at this point and ask you to pray with me. Pray that God will open your eyes and heart to what I have just shared with you. To come to Christ is not easy. In fact it is the greatest commitment you will ever make.

Lord Jesus, open the eyes of the one reading this post that they will understand the truth presented here and turn from their sin and surrender their life to Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Bad News

2009-08-11T17:37:00.001-04:00

In the fourth book in the New Testament, known as the Gospel of John, we hear about a religious leader who came to Jesus at night seeking to know more about Him and His message. But before he could even ask what was truly on his heart, Jesus answered Him by saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). In this one statement, Jesus gave Nicodemus the necessary condition for going to heaven. He said, “unless one is born again.” You cannot go to heaven when you die “unless” this occurs first. He stated it again in verse 5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” To be born again, Jesus says, you have to be born “of water,” that is, you have to be spiritual cleansed of your sin, and you have to be born of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is saying there must be a spiritual renewal and cleansing in order to go to heaven. And for that to take place, Nicodemus needed to stop trusting in himself and his accomplishments to get him to heaven but in Christ who alone was to die in his place for His sin. Jesus tells Nicodemus in verses 14-15, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” But, according to verse 19, man has two problems. First, he will not believe on his own. And second, verse 19 says, he loves “the darkness rather than the Light.” In other words, he loves his sin. So what can man do?

First, he needs to see he is a sinner who loves his sin.

Romans 3:10-18 says, “as it is written, "There is none righteous , not even one; 11 There is none who understands , There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside , together they have become useless ; There is none who does good , There is not even one." 13 "Their throat is an open grave , With their tongues they keep deceiving ," "The poison of asps is under their lips"; 14 "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness"; 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood, 16 Destruction and misery are in their paths, 17 And the path of peace they have not known." 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Jesus said, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (John 3:18-19). The history of sin takes us back to the first book of the Bible—Genesis. We are told in Genesis 2:16-17 that After God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, He “commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” In chapter 3 of Genesis we read in verses 6-7: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” This is what the Bible calls sin or disobedience to God’s specific command. Romans 5:12 sums it up by saying, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” The consequences of what Adam and Eve did that day was passed to every person who would ever be born. But death itself was not the only thing passed to every person, also the sin nature. Every person would now have the knowledge of evil which would manifest in “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, [and] blasphemies” (Mat.15:19). And even the good that man could express would be considered as “filthy rags” in God’s sight.

In Exodus chapter 20, God gave His Law, the Ten Commandments, to man to follow. But because of man’s sin nature, he could not live up to what God commanded. For example, the Law says: (Ex.20:3-17):

“You shall have no other gods before Me,” but man fashions a god after his own likeness.

The Law says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image,” but man bows down before everything his heart desires.

The Law says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” but man uses God’s name as a filthy four letter curse word.

The Law said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” but man refuses to rest one day a week and worship God.

The Law said, “Honor your father and mother,” and “He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.” But man says, “'Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God’– then he need not honor his father or mother.’Thus [he has] made the commandment of God of no effect by [his] tradition” (Mat.15:4-6).

The Law said, “You shall not murder,” but Jesus said that “whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Mat.5:22).

The Law said, “You shall not commit adultery” but Jesus said “that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mat.5:28).

The Law said, “You shall not steal,” but man takes what is not his and uses it for his own purposes.

The Law said, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” but man lies and slanders because his tongue is set on fire by hell itself.

The Law said, “You shall not covet” but man lusts after what his neighbor possesses.

Because of man’s sin nature, he has broken every one of these commandments and is guilty of being an idolatrous, blasphemous, lying, thieving, adulterer at heart. And God says he will not be innocent on the day of judgment. Because Adam’s sin was passed to every person, they will be given the wages of their sin—death (Rom.6:23). And if the picture of the human dilemma was not bad enough, Paul said in Ephesians 2:1 that because of Adam’s sin everyone is therefore “dead in trespasses and sin.” Spiritual death not only speaks of our nature but also of our inability to do what is pleasing to God. It paints a helpless situation with no where to go, no where to hide, and no remedy. And if the Bible stopped right there none would have any hope. But praise God it doesn’t stop there. God has provided a Savior the Lord Jesus Christ! We will talk more about the Savior God sent in our next post.

It's All There in the Word "Therefore."

2009-08-10T14:06:00.001-04:00

"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1).

God has called us to holy living. That statement alone should suffice in answering our question of whether we can live anyway we choose or not. But to heighten that thought further, we hear Paul’s response in Ephesians 4. He begins verse 1 with the word “therefore.” “This word marks the transition from doctrine to duty, principle to practice, position to behavior” (John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible: Ephesians). “Our exalted standing in Christ calls for corresponding godly conduct” (William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians). In Jesus Christ we are righteous and holy, now we’re to act like who we are by living in a manner that is worthy. The purpose of the “therefore” in verse 1 is to tell us “in view of all that God has done for the believer, which we have seen in the first three chapters of this epistle” (J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible), “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”

In other words, "Because you have been ‘blessed with every spiritual blessing’ (1:3), ‘chosen in Him before the foundation of the world’ (1:4), ‘predestined to adoption as sons’ (1:5), given ‘redemption’ and the ‘forgiveness of sins’ (1:7), given the understanding of ‘His will’ (1:9), ‘an inheritance’ (1:11), given the Holy Spirit (1:13), made alive by God (2:4-5) and ‘brought near by the blood of Christ’ (2:13), live in a manner befitting your calling” (MacArthur).

Get Off Facebook - Be a Man - Paul Washer

2009-08-08T19:09:00.002-04:00

Get off facebook, BE A MAN - Paul Washer

In case you're wondering, I got off Facebook before I saw this video.

Attitude....

2009-08-07T11:08:00.002-04:00

I have been writing in the last several post about trusting God in the midst of trials. The outcome to that is "joy" that James refers to in James 1:2. My second question is, how do you get past what others think of us? We are all human and none of us like it when people talk behind our backs or when we are not liked. There are numerous examples in Scripture of this but what does Scripture say in how we are to deal with it when it happens?

Romans 12:14 says to "bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." The word "bless" means to speak well of. The word "curse" refers to wishing eternal ruin on a person. It is equivalent to saying, "Go to hell." Paul is saying we are to always speak well of others, especially those who cause us great trouble and harm and never wish that God would repay their evil deeds by sending them to hell. Jesus said it another way: "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Mat.5:44). The problem, though, is it is not our nature to forgive, love, and speak well of those who hurt us. James recognizes this when he says in James 3:10-11 that the tongue blesses "our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way." One minute we are worshiping God and the next wishing harm to those who harm us and James says this is inconsistent with who we are. God made all of us in His image and therefore when we speak against someone we are striking out against His image. So what should be our response then? Maybe another question is, "How do we set aside the feelings that many times control and overwhelm us and not strike out against someone? Jesus already gave us the answer in Matthew 5:44. He said to "love" and "pray." You say, "But I don't love them, how in the world can I pray for them? All I desire is that they hurt as much as they have hurt me." The next word is to "forgive." In order to love someone you have to "forgive" them when they wrong you. The word "forgive" means to "release." When you forgive someone, you are "releasing" them of any debt you think they owe you. You say, "That is so hard!" Yes, it is hard but it doesn't erase the fact that we are to do it. In fact, there is one thing we can do to help us when we're struggling with unforgiveness, it is to remember what each of us did to Jesus on the cross. Jesus went to the cross because of our "offenses" and "transgressions." Isaiah 53:5 says, "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities." Everytime when we're struggling with something someone says about us or with something someone does to us, we should remember that we all have done this over and over to Jesus.

So, what am I saying in all of this? We have to transfer our feelings, desires, hurts, frustrations, etc. to His control. We have to stop holding on and relinquish all control to Him. Is it even possible? Yes. Is it difficult? Yes. But God is able to do this in us as we surrender to Him. So, before you criticize your situation, pray and ask God for the wisdom you need in this situation. Also remember that in this trial He is not going to give you more than your able to bear (see 1 Cor.10:13). And finally, remember that He "gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to [you]" (Jas.1:5).

Everyone needs to hear this.....

2009-08-06T23:42:00.001-04:00

A Biblical Church by Paul Washer

No Worries

2009-08-06T22:52:00.001-04:00

Disney's Lion King was famous for their song, "No Worries" or as the kids would recall kunnamatota. Not sure if I spelled that right but you got the idea. Is it possible to live a worry-free life? Paul says in Philippians 4:6, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Jesus even said in Matthew 6, "Do not worry." Why then do we worry?

In my previous post, I mentioned what I am seeing as the key to joy in trials. It is trusting God. I'm not talking about putting on this "happy" face but truly experiencing the joy of the Lord from the heart. We can only do that when we give everything we are feeling and experiencing to Him. Peter said it this way in 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." The psalmist agreed when he said in Psalm 55:22, "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." When Peter says to cast all your anxiety on Him, he is calling for a once for all action on our part. Do this and never turn back. There is nothing you can't give Him that He will not receive.

Count it all Joy?

2009-08-06T17:19:00.001-04:00

James 1:2 says to "count it all joy when you encounter various trials."

All of us experience trials but how can we go through them and experience full joy? There is only one answer, trust. We have to trust God that He is in control of our lives. It is when we do this that we are able to count it all joy. Maybe we could phrase it "no worries." When we stop worrying or fretting over our situation and trust God then we can experience His joy. So "be anxious for nothing" or "stop worrying." Trust God that He is in control.

No More Facebook.......for Now!

2009-08-06T12:15:00.001-04:00

If you have been following me on Facebook, I have decided to deactivate my account for now. You can follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stevehereford if you want updates. For now I want to simplify and focus my energies on this blog and twitter. Too cumbersome to keep Facebook up-to-date.

So keep watching for more........

Pastor Steve

Death to Self

2009-08-01T15:16:00.001-04:00

Why are those three words the most difficult to live? Well I think the answer is obvious. Think about it for a minute. Everything we do is for "self." Even those thngs which are so natural tend to have only "self" in mind. But Jesus says we are to "deny ourselves" (Lk.9:23). He even says to do this "daily" while "taking up your cross." Is it possible to live this way when everything we do, say or pursue is for "self?" It is if you want His gift of salvation. It is a prerequisite. It is more that just believing, it is surrendering "self." It is "death to self." Have you died today? Think about it.

Hate Evil, Love God

2009-07-29T07:26:00.002-04:00

Psalm 97:10 says, "Hate evil, you who love the Lord..."

You can get an simpler than that. The dominating view of Scripture towards evil is to hate it. Hate it in all it forms and deceptions. Don't rationalize with it. Don't debate with it. Run from it. Whether it be immorality, anger or slander. 1 Peter 2:1 says to lay "aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander." This is to be put off once and for all! Romans 12:9 says we are to "abhor what is evil." We can say "amen" to such Scripture but each time we give in to evil, we are loving it rather than the Lord. The remedy to such is to "walk by the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the desires of the flesh" (Gal.5:16). Let's live that way today!

God takes pleasure in holiness

2009-07-26T07:47:00.002-04:00

Psalms 5:4 - For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. (NASBEC - CadreBible)

I am so thankful when I read a verse like this. God is so unlike us. His pleasure is righteousness not evil as the context reveals. David knew that and called on God to rescue him from his enemies. No evil dwells with God. What about you? What are you taking pleasure in?

Grieved...

2009-07-25T13:59:00.002-04:00

I recently learned that some former members of my church have now taken up social drinking. They say they are happy now in their Christian life because the restraints have been removed. I fear where this is heading. Sure we have liberty but what about those brothers or sisters who stumble with this? Romans 14 teaches that my liberty is limited if it causes another Christian to stumble. That means I am not at liberty to live any way I choose. Paul says in Ephesians 4 that I am to preserve or maintain the unity of the fellowship. I can't do that if I am not careful with the questionable things I pursue.

Can we live any way we choose?

2009-07-25T13:53:00.001-04:00

After spending a week teaching on practical holiness, I am even more convinced that we are to pursue holiness at all costs. God commands us to be holy. That mean we are refuse to give our affections or devotion to the world in any way. In the words of Ephesians 4:1 we are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. In other words, our behavior and lifestyle is to be consistent or balanced with our calling.

What are you thankful for?

2008-11-26T14:30:00.002-05:00

I bet if we were pressed we could come up with a million things to be thankful for. I know I could. For example, I am thankful for my family. They are the ones that really know me and they love me still. Even better than that is God knows me and still loves me.

There are so many things we take for granted---things we consider little like our homes, beds, AC, Heat, food, cars, clothes, jobs, even friends. But when you lose any of them then you appreciate them even more. I am thankful that God provides all these things for me and a family to share them with. I am also thankful for my church family. They love me in spite of my shortcomings. They love me enough to tolerate a bad sermon or song full of mistakes.

This Thanksgiving, I want to complain less and thank more and not take for granted the people God has put in my life. What about you?

To those of you who are reading this, thank you! I hope that you will be encouraged by this. Let's thank God today and forevermore for "all things," even the bad things knowing that they all "work together for [our] good" (Rom.8:28).

Whose the Real Enemy?

2008-10-21T10:45:00.001-04:00

Now we noted the warfare that is found in Ephesians six where Paul tells the believers at Ephesus to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” And then he tells them in verse 11 the way that you can be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might is to, “Put on the whole armour of God.”And by putting on the whole armor of God that you are able to stand against the wiles, or the schemes of the devil.

And then he notes before us in verse 12 that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”The warfare that we engage in is not on a human level. It is on a spiritual level. It is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. And therefore Paul says in verse 13 because of all of this, we are to take up the whole armour of God that we may be able to withstand or to resist in the evil day and having done all to stand.

Now we talked last week about how important it is to have the armor on and to leave it on. And with noting the items of the armor last week we saw it wasn’t something mysterious. We saw it wasn’t something mystical, not even something physical. But it is taking the Word of God and putting it on in your life and being committed to it, seriously committed to the Word of God and the things of God. It is having yourself covered with the practical righteousness of holiness and it is taking these elements in your life and being seriously committed to them. And then he sums it all up in verse 18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication.”

We must understand that the enemy that we are fighting is a tricky enemy. One moment you think you understand a little bit about him and the next moment he has fooled you. He is a master of deceit. He is a master of trickery and don’t think for one moment that you have the power in and of yourself to overcome him. That is why Paul says in verse 10 that we are to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,”not the power of your might, but the power of his might. We are to stand strong in the might and the strength of God.

E.M. Bounds says that, “The existence and the work of the devil is a serious matter. It is to be considered and dealt with from the most serious standpoint and only serious people can deal with it. For this reason the New Testament gives the repeated note of warning: Be sober.”