Repent

The Purpose of Repent

2013-02-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

The Purpose of this website is 1) for my own personal study in the things of God.
Over the last two years I have been on a journey, almost my own Pilgrim's Progress, in coming into understanding the foundational and doctrinal things of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." My quest on the road of theology is not to get some head full of knowledge so that I can become the next Bible Answer man; for knowledge puffs up. The reason I have been drawn to study the old doctrines and foundational principles of theology is purely out of a heart of worship. I desire to know God for everything that He has revealed about Himself to man through the Scripture. It is my desire to seek out who He has revealed Himself to be and then worship Him for that. In the book of Exodus 34:6-8, it says

6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped

Christians must know the God they serve, and understand what the scripture says about the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many people run at the word "Doctrine", and many turn off their "ears to hear" when they hear the word "Theology", and as a result we see a malnourised body of believers among us today, hungry for the things of God: miracles, signs, wonders, a "feeling" of power,and a good Word, but not knowing anything about the God they serve and what He stands for. Proverbs tells us

"Desire without knowledge is not good,
and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way." -Proverbs 19:2

Romans 10:2 "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."

The doctrines that the church is founded upon and the study of theology is not to puff up or put a hole in your "bubble of freedom" that so many Christians profess. These things are to encourage you in the faith, strenghten the Christian in His relationship with God and give the believer a genuine understanding of who God is, what His Son Jesus has done on the cross, and understand the amazing regenerating power of the Holy Spirit in transforming and sustaining the Christian on this earth.
This is my aim. My journey is not finished, and will never be, I believe.
This site is to help me on my journey and perhaps encourage you to begin your own, as you read the articles, watch the videos, and dive into the Scriptures like never before and study them out as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11.

The second reason for the purpose of this site is so that it may benefit you, the reader. My prayer is that you may come to know Christ in His fullness like never before. In studying the attributes of God, the Doctrines of Grace, the 5 pillars of the Reformation and the work of Jesus Christ done on the cross, I pray that the Holy Spirit would open your eyes to the truth of scripture and the preciousness of God's grace.

God's Providence - Excerpt from "The Crook in the Lot"- Thomas Boston

2009-11-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

3rdly. He wisely overrules them to some good purpose, becoming the Divine perfections. While the sinful instrument has an ill design in the crook caused by him, God directs it to a holy and good end. In the disorders of David's family Amnon's design was to gratify a brutish lust; Absalom's to glut himself with revenge, and to satisfy his pride and ambition; but God meant by that means to punish David for his sin in the matter of Uriah. In the crook made in Job's lot, by Satan, and the Sabeans and Chaldeans, his instruments, Satan's design was to cause Job to blaspheme, and theirs to gratify their covetousness; but God had another design in this way becoming Himself, namely, to manifest Job's sincerity and uprightness. Did he not wisely and powerfully overrule those crooks made in men's lot, no good could come out of them, hut He always overrules them so as to fulfil His own holy purposes in this way (howbeit the sinner means not so); for His designs cannot miscarry, His "counsel shall stand." So the sinful crook is, by the overruling hand of God, turned about to His own glory and His people's good in the end. According to the word, "The Lord has made all things for Himself. " "All things work together for the good to them that love God. " Thus Haman's plot for the destruction of the Jews "was turned to the contrary. " And the crook made in Joseph's lot, by his own brothers selling him into Egypt, though it was on their part most sinful, and of a most mischievous design; yet, as it was of God's making, by his holy permission, powerful bounding, and wisely overruling it, had an issue well becoming the Divine wisdom and goodness; both of which Joseph notices to them: "As for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it to good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to keep many people alive. "

John 1:2-3

2009-10-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

John 1:2-3 " He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

He was in the beginning with God.

This 2nd verse speaks of Christ's eternal pre-incarnate state: with God - equal and One with the Father. From eternity past, long before the worlds were made or even thought of, Christ dwelt with the Father in His bosom(John 1:15), at His side. John isnt simply making this up or even exaggerating about who this Jesus was before He cam to this world as a babe. John was with Jesus in the moment recorded in John 17 where Chrst lifts up His eyes to heaven and prays a High-Priestly prayer for those whom the Father had given Him. In the earliest part of Jesus' prayer, just after He declares that the Father has given Him authority over all flesh, so that He might give eternal life to all the Father has given Him, Jesus says these words in John 17:4 "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Where was Jesus before the world existed? With the Father, in the presence of the Father. Was he just heaven's version of an average man, sitting on the end of the bench in God's presence, waiting to be put into the game? No. He possessed the very Glory of God...lets think about this. This is the same glory that The Almighty Creator of the universe possesses, the same glory that all the wonderful works of creation sing about in Psalms 19:1-3 and in Psalms 145:1-7. This is the same glory of God that avenged all of His enemies, and those that rebelled against Him (Ex. 14:18) This glory that Jesus previously possessed was the same glory that consumed Mt. Saini in the wilderness, the same glory that passed by Moses in the cleft of the rock and prolaimed “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Ex 34:6-7) This glory of God was seen in Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6:1-4 :

"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

The seraphim, the highest, and most brilliant of angels,which remained in the prescence of God daily- always, couldnt even bear to look upon His glory because they would be consumed and therefore they were created with wings to cover their feet and their eyes. This glory of Jehovah shook the posts and foundations of the temple - filled it with unbearable smoke, and the flowing train of the Almighty One filled the temple. This glory was so unbearable, so filling, and so wonderful and glorious, that all the angels could cry out day and night is "Holy, Holy, Holy!!!"
The prophet Isaiah cannot think about anything else in the presence of the Lord except how beautiful and mighty is the Lord of Hosts, how high and lifted up is He, and low and sinful, how desestable and unclean Isaiah is. His eyes had seen the King, whose glory fills the earth and whose majesty is forever. Who was this that Isaiah saw? This glory, who did it belong to- the Lord of Hosts, The King of Glory....Psalms 24:8-10 says:

"Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle"

John also gives us a glimpse of who Isaiah saw in his vision - who it was that was High and Lifted up- seated on the Throne. John 12:39-41 quotes Isaiah:

"Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”

Why did Isaiah say these things and what do they have to do with Jesus? John says in verse 41:

"Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. "

All things were made by Him...

All things were made by God, The Word. Everything that has existence was made by and through the Word, Jesus Christ. In the beginning, God created. God created by His Word. Hebrews 11:3 says that "through faith we understand that the worlds were framed(set up, establoshed, fashioned, and put in order). The "worlds" is aich: age, or time in contrast to kosmos: people or space. Duration or continuation of time. The worlds were formed by the word of God: word in this verse is 'rhema': that which is spoken; a statement or word. Logos is the expression of thought, while rhema would be the subject matter of the expression of thought - or the thing spoken about. All things were created by the Second member of the Trinity: the Logos Word which was with God and was God - all things were made by Him, for Him, in Him and through Him. Rhema was the subject matter of "the worlds" which is spoken about.
Jesus Christ is not just a word, or an utterance from the mouth of God. Christ is "The Word". The eternal pre-incarnate Son of God was "ho logos" which means The Word. This means that there is no other Word of God apart from Jesus Christ or outside of Jesus Christ, and there is no other method or way of creation except by and through Jesus Christ- the Word; so when it came to God creating a new work, or a regenerating work in the hearts of men by taking them as fallen corrupted wicked sinners, and then re-creating them to be new creatures- Christ was and is the only way to create. He is the only way by which things will be made. Just as the Word made all things which have been made, speaking of the account of creation in Genesis, and even speaking of Colossians 1:15-17 of thrones, principalities, and dominions, whether for or against Him - God created all in Christ and through Christ and He is esteemed as the first born or first in rank above all things that have been made. His transcendence is equal to God and Christ didnt think this equality and Oneness with Him as robbery (Phil 2:6-7) why? Because of the eternal reality that He is equal to the Father. Jesus Christ is the only One qualified to do a creative work- whether in the act of creating the universe, or in creating a heart of flesh in replacement of a stony heart. Just as in Genesis, God created everything from nothing, so He does the same in Christ, actually even more so in re-creating a man from previously being a corrupt, vile, and atrocious mass of sin. This is the glory of God in Jesus Christ because the Father is glorified through the Son as the Son glorifies the Father (John 17:1). God shows off and demonstrates His love, grace, power, holiness, and justice in the face of Jesus Christ. By Him He created all things which have been made from the smallest nucleus of an atom to the largest galaxy full of trillions and trillions of stars - without Him - none of these things would exist; and God does an even greater work in demonstrating His love in that while this planet was full of rebellious, helpless sinners, God displayed His justice and grace in sending His Son to die for sinners, becomming a wrath absorbing propitiation in carrying away our sins upon Himself and drinking the infinite cup of God's furious wrath upon sin. God also demonstrated His justice in that He counts those who believe on His Son's sacrifice as just and in right standing with Him - not because of anything they have done in themselves, no; but because of the always-pleasing, perfectly acomplishing the will of God- life of the Son of God on this earth - and in that imputation of His righteousness, God is now the justifier of those who were once wicked.
God does the greatest work in Christ:1) by creating all things that have been made, 2)and by regenerating men's hearts by the work of the Holy Spirit in seeing the beauty and grace of Jesus Christ.
Logical conclusion: Since Christ created everything, if you take away Christ, you take away everything. There would be NOTHING witout Him. Jesus re-affirms this in John 15:5 by saying " I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." Without the vine branches wouldnt even exist, likewise without Christ, men are nothing, destined for nothingness and separation from everything in the fires and worm eating miseries of Hell. When men take away the Glory of God in creating everthing that is made and in Him being the only Way to life, they end up believing in and living for nothing - given over by God to lust, dishonor and debasement. When you take away Christ, you take away everything....

2009-10-12T19:06:00.001-07:00

John 1:1

2009-09-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

"In the beginning was the Word..."
"In the beginning" is also found to be the first words of the Bible in Genesis 1:1. John was making it clear from the beginning of his writings that Whom he was speaking about was, and has been from the beginning. He also gives a similar introduction in 1 John 1:1 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life". Whom John is speaking about from the begining is not talking about the beginning of one's life or the beginning of His ministry, but from the beginnings of beginnings, the same beginning as previously stated thats found in Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Just as Genesis could read " God, in the beginning created the heavens and the earth," John 1:1 could read "The Word in the beginning was...". The word beginning in Greek is arche: not referring to a restrictive event, situation or time, but "in the beginning" is absolute, meaning the beginning of any and everything or creation." God existed and had been before the beginning and the Word existed and had been before the beginning. Between Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 one can see the Holy Trinity clearly and at work in creation. In the beginning God created and there was the Word, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.
"was the word..."
was is the word en and is the imperfect 3rd person singular of eimi(1510 Strong's)which means "to be", it is the verb of existence, to have existence meaning that the Word had been before and was existing and had existed before there was any beginning, (thereby showing the eternality of the Word and leading to its equality with God.)existing before the beginning of anything - Zodihates (my note in parenthesees) "John 8:50 says 'And I seek not my own glory: there is one that seeketh and judges. This means that "There has always been one that seeks and judges (esti)." - Zodihates
John 8:58 says " Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (eimi)" Christ called Himself the One who exists, and the One who has always existed, even before Abraham was (genesomai): which means to come into existence.
Christ was before any man was: Christ (en) before any man (genesomai).
So, In the beginning, the Word already existed, and had been existing. Jesus Christ is the Word that existed before anything - He existed before anything else had existence - He is outside of time, outside of all things created, outside of space and matter and existed before any of it. I think John's aim in starting this book of in this way is to show the truest genealogy and beginnings of Jesus Christ -namely, that He had no beginnings! Johns Gospel was written after Matthew, Mark and Lukes and two of those gospels outline Jesus' earthly genealogy. John begins with His Divine origins - who this man was before he ever came unto His own. He was the pre-existing, eternal Word of the Living God, Sovereign, free, self-existent, self-sufficient, holy and transcendent. Christ is the Divine Word of God, that expressed His thoughts and created all things. Christ was the Word from eternity and therefore He is God because He possesses, from what we have already seen in just the first few words of this book, the atributes of eternality, infinitude,and transcendence.
"Word" (hologos): "Intelligence, Word as the expression of that Intelligence. The pre-incarnate Christ; the Second person of the Godhead; the eternal expression of the divine intelligence and the disclosure of the divine essence. This self - revealing characteristic of God qand utterly achieved for mankind in the incarnation" - Zodihates
Just as man's words express out thoughts, The Word of God expressed His thoughts, but the Word was not hust an instrument or means of communication, or a tool to use to do something. "Word was with God..."
This Word was (existed, exists, has always existed) with (pros):in nearness to; co-existed in nearness to God; and the Word was (existed, exists, and had always existed) God. Christ has always been and had always been a part of the Diety of the Godhead...rather, in Him the fullness of the godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 1:19). Even in His incarnation, He was still God. The Word became flesh, it was still the Word though. Jesus Christ is God and was originally present with God. Christ was not a created being, but the CREATOR, co-existing with the Father and Spirit, and as One- all things were made by Him.
This verse of John 1:1 seems to be molded by some to show that Christ was "a god" but this can not be true because John was a monotheistic Jew who held to the view that Jehovah was one (Deut 6:4) . If Christ were "a god" then He could not exist with God, unless those who say these things are polytheistic, and this is contrary to scripture. Scripture clearly defines the attributes of God and Christ possesses all of these divine atributes. Many times He is even spoken of as Jehovah himself in the Old Testament and John would be foolish to ascribe attrubutes of God to anything less than God....unless Christ wasn't less than God (John 5:18; Phil 2:6)

Was Anyone Saved at the Cross? - James White

2009-05-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Was Anyone Saved at the Cross?
In Reformed Baptist Fellowship on Friday, April 10, 2009 at 10:10 am

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. —Charles Haddon Spurgeon

There was a time when I called myself a “four-point Calvinist.” There are a lot of people who use that term, and, almost all the time, the one point of the five that they reject is the terrible, horrible, “L”. Limited atonement. There is just something about the term that doesn’t sound right. How can Christ’s atonement be limited? And that is exactly what I said until I began to seriously think about the whole issue. It is my experience that most of those who reject the specific, or limited atonement of Christ, do not *really* believe in the complete sovereignty of God, or the total depravity of man, or the unconditional election of God. Most objections that are lodged against the doctrine are actually objections to one of the preceding points, not against limited atonement itself. The “break” in my thinking came from reading Edwin Palmer’s book, The Five Points of Calvinism. [Edwin H. Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980) pp. 41-55.] In doing a radio program on the truth of God’s electing grace, I was challenged by a caller in regards to the death of Christ. “Why would Christ die for the whole world if God did not intend to save everyone?” I looked at my co-host, and he looked at me, and I made a mental note to do more study into that particular question. I grabbed Palmer’s book as soon as I returned home, and began to read the chapter on the atoning work of Christ.

I became a full “five-pointer” upon reading the following section:

The question that needs a precise answer is this: Did He or didn’t He? Did Christ actually make a substitutionary sacrifice for sins or didn’t He? If He did, then it was not for all the world, for then all the world would be saved. (Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 47.)

I was faced with a decision. If I maintained a “universal” atonement, that is, if I said that Christ died substitutionarily in the place of every single man and woman in all the world, then I was forced to either say that 1) everyone will be saved, or 2) the death of Christ is insufficient to save without additional works. I knew that I was not willing to believe that Christ’s death could not save outside of human actions. So I had to understand that Christ’s death was made in behalf of God’s elect, and that it does accomplish its intention, it does save those for whom it is made. At this point I realized that I had “limited” the atonement all along. In fact, if you do not believe in the Reformed doctrine of “limited atonement,” you believe in a limited atonement anyway! How so? Unless you are a universalist (that is, unless you believe that everyone will be saved), then you believe that the atonement of Christ, if it is made for all men, is limited in its effect. You believe that Christ can die in someone’s place and yet that person may still be lost for eternity. You limit the power and effect of the atonement. I limit the scope of the atonement, while saying that its power and effect is unlimited! One writer expressed it well when he said,

Let there be no misunderstanding at this point. The Arminian limits the atonement as certainly as does the Calvinist. The Calvinist limits the extent of it in that he says it does not apply to all persons…while the Arminian limits the power of it, for he says that in itself it does not actually save anybody. The Calvinist limits it quantitatively, but not qualitatively; the Arminian limits it qualitatively, but not quantitatively. For the Calvinist it is like a narrow bridge that goes all the way across the stream; for the Arminian it is like a great wide bridge that goes only half-way across. As a matter of fact, the Arminian places more severe limitations on the work of Christ than does the Calvinist. (Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1932) p. 153.)

Therefore, we are not talking about presenting some terrible limitation on the work of Christ when we speak of “limited atonement.” In fact, we are actually presenting a far greater view of the work of Christ on Calvary when we say that Christ’s death actually accomplishes something in reality rather than only in theory. The atonement, we believe, was a real, actual, substitutionary one, not a possible, theoretical one that is dependent for its efficacy upon the actions of man. And, as one who often shares the gospel with people involved in false religious systems, I will say that the biblical doctrine of the atonement of Christ is a powerful truth that is the only message that has real impact in dealing with the many heretical teachings about Christ that are present in our world today. Jesus Christ died in behalf of those that the Father had, from eternity, decreed to save. There is absolute unity between the Father and the Son in saving God’s people. The Father decrees their salvation, the Son dies in their place, and the Spirit sanctifies them and conforms them to the image of Christ. This is the consistent testimony of Scripture.

The Intention of the Atonement

Why did Christ come to die? Did He come simply to make salvation possible, or did He come to actually obtain eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12)? Let’s consider some passages from Scripture in answer to this question.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10).

Here the Lord Jesus Himself speaks of the reason for His coming. He came to seek and to save the lost. Few have a problem with His seeking; many have a problem with the idea that He actually accomplished all of His mission. Jesus, however, made it clear that He came to actually save the lost. He did this by His death.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst (1 Timothy 1:15).

Paul asserts that the purpose of Christ’s coming into the world was to actually save sinners. Nothing in Paul’s words leads us to the conclusion that is so popular today—that Christ’s death simply makes salvation a possibility rather than a reality. Christ came to save. So, did He? And how did He? Was it not by His death? Most certainly. The atoning death of Christ provides forgiveness of sins for all those for whom it is made. That is why Christ came.

Christ’s Intercessory Work

But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:24-26).

The New Testament closely connects the work of Christ as our High Priest and intercessor with His death upon the cross. In this passage from Hebrews, we are told that the Lord Jesus, since He lives forever, has an unchangeable or permanent priesthood. He is not like the old priests who passed away, but is a perfect priest, because He remains forever. Because of this He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him. Why? Because He always lives to make intercession for them.

Now, before considering the relationship of the death of Christ to His intercession, I wish to emphasize the fact that the Bible says that Christ is able to save men completely. He is not limited simply to a secondary role as the great Assistor who makes it possible for man to save himself. Those who draw near to God through Christ will find full and complete salvation in Him. Furthermore, we must remember that Christ intercedes for those who draw near to God. I feel that it is obvious that Christ is not interceding for those who are not approaching God through Him. Christ’s intercession is in behalf of the people of God. We shall see how important this is in a moment.

Upon what ground does Christ intercede before the Father? Does He stand before the Father and ask Him to forget His holiness, forget His justice, and simply pass over the sins of men? Of course not. The Son intercedes before the Father on the basis of His death. Christ’s intercession is based upon the fact that He has died as the substitute for God’s people, and, since He has borne their sins in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), He can present His offering before the Father in their place, and intercede for them on this basis. The Son does not ask the Father to compromise His holiness, or to simply pass over sin. Christ took care of sin at Calvary . As we read in Hebrews 9:11-12:

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

When Christ entered into the Holy of Holies, He did so “by his own blood.” When He did this, we are told that He had “obtained eternal redemption.” This again is not a theoretical statement, but a statement of fact. Christ did not enter into the Holy of Holies to attempt to gain redemption for His people! He entered in having already accomplished that. So what is He doing? Is His work of intercession another work alongside His sacrificial death? Is His death ineffective without this “other” work? Christ’s intercession is not a second work outside of His death. Rather, Christ is presenting before the Father His perfect and complete sacrifice. He is our High Priest, and the sacrifice He offers in our place is the sacrifice of Himself. He is our Advocate, as John said:

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2. [This passage is often used to deny the specific atonement of Christ; yet, when the parallel passage in John 11:51-52 is consulted, it is clear that John means the "world" to be taken in the same sense that is explained for us in Revelation 5:9-11, where Christ's death purchases for God men "from every tribe and language and people and nation," that is, from all the world.]

Christ’s atoning death is clearly connected with His advocacy before the Father. Therefore, we can see the following truths:

1) It is impossible that the Son would not intercede for everyone for whom He died. If Christ dies as their Substitute, how could He not present His sacrifice in their stead before the Father? Can we really believe that Christ would die for someone that He did not intend to save?

2) It is impossible that anyone for whom the Son did not die could receive Christ’s intercession. If Christ did not die in behalf of a certain individual, how could Christ intercede for that individual, since He would have no grounds upon which to seek the Father’s mercy?

3) It is impossible that anyone for whom the Son intercedes could be lost. Can we imagine the Son pleading before the Father, presenting His perfect atonement in behalf of an individual that He wishes to save, and the Father rejecting the Son’s intercession? The Father always hears the Son (John 11:42). Would He not hear the Son’s pleas in behalf of all that the Son desires to save? Furthermore, if we believe that Christ can intercede for someone that the Father will not save, then we must believe either 1) that there is dissension in the Godhead, the Father desiring one thing, the Son another, or 2) that the Father is incapable of doing what the Son desires Him to do. Both positions are utterly impossible.

That Christ does not act as High Priest for all men is clearly seen in His “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17. The Lord clearly distinguishes between the “world” and those who are His throughout the prayer, and verse 9 makes our point very strongly:

I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

When Christ prays to the Father, He does not pray for the “world” but for those that have been given to Him by the Father (John 6:37).

For Whom Did Christ Die?

There are a number of Scriptures that teach us that the scope of Christ’s death was limited to the elect. Here are a few of them:

Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).

The “many” for whom Christ died are the elect of God, just as Isaiah had said long before,

By his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11)

The Lord Jesus made it clear that His death was for His people when He spoke of the Shepherd and the sheep:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep….just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep (John 10:11, 15).

The good Shepherd lays down His life in behalf of the sheep. Are all men the sheep of Christ? Certainly not, for most men do not know Christ, and Christ says that His sheep know Him (John 10:14). Further, Jesus specifically told the Jews who did not believe in Him, “but you do not believe because you are not my sheep” (John 10:26). Note that in contrast with the idea that we believe and therefore make ourselves Christ’s sheep, Jesus says that they do not believe because they are not His sheep! Whether one is of Christ’s sheep is the Father’s decision (John 6:37, 8:47), not the sheep’s!

…just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God….husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:2, 25-27).

Christ gave Himself in behalf of His Church, His Body, and that for the purpose of cleansing her and making her holy. If this was His intention for the Church, why would He give Himself for those who are not of the Church? Would He not wish to make these “others” holy as well? Yet, if Christ died for all men, there are many, many who will remain impure for all eternity. Was Christ’s death insufficient to cleanse them? Certainly not. Did He have a different goal in mind in dying for them? [I am not here denying that the death of Christ had effects for all men, indeed, for all of creation. I believe that His death is indeed part of the "summing up of all things" in Christ. But, we are speaking here solely with the salvific effect of the substitutionary atonement of Christ. One might say that Christ's death has an effect upon those for whom it was not intended as an atoning sacrifice.] No, His sacrificial death in behalf of His Church results in her purification, and this is what He intended for all for whom He died.

He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring a charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Romans 8:32-34).

The Father gave the Son in our place. Who is the “our” of this passage? The text says that it is “those whom God has chosen,” that is, the elect of God. Again, the intercessory work of Christ at the right hand of the Father is presented in perfect harmony with the death of Christ—those for whom Christ died are those for whom He intercedes. And, as this passage shows, if Christ intercedes for someone, who can possibly bring a charge against that person and hope to see them condemned? So we see what we have seen before: Christ dies in someone’s place, He intercedes for them, and they are infallibly saved. Christ’s work is complete and perfect. He is the powerful Savior, and He never fails to accomplish His purpose.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

Are all the friends of Christ? Do all own His name? Do all bow before Him and accept Him as Lord? Do all do His commandments (John 15:14)? Then not all are His friends.

While we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:13-14).

Both the substitutionary element of the cross (gave himself for us) and the purpose thereof (to redeem us…to purify) are forcefully presented to Titus. If it was the purpose of Christ to redeem and purify those for whom He died, can this possibly not take place?

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

Christ will save His people from their sins. I ask what Edwin Palmer asked me before: Well, did He? Did He save His people, or did He not?

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

This is the common confession of every true believer in Christ. We died with Him, our Substitute, the one who loved us and gave Himself in our behalf.

We have seen, then, that the Word teaches that Christ died for many, for His sheep, for the Church, for the elect of God, for His friends, for a people zealous for good works, for His people, for each and every Christian.

Perfected and Sanctified

One could quite obviously fill entire volumes with a study of the atonement of Christ. [The reader is strongly encouraged to make the effort to read completely a work that stands as a classic in the field: John Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ from Banner of Truth, for a full discussion of the issues surrounding the atonement of Christ.] It is not our purpose to do so here. Instead, we shall close our brief survey of Scripture with these words from Hebrews 10:10-14:

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifice, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

While we have seen many logical reasons for believing in limited atonement, and we have seen many references to Christ’s death in behalf of His people, this one passage, above all others, to me, makes the doctrine a must. Listen closely to what we are told. First, what is the effect of the one time sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ? What does verse 10 tell us? “We have been made holy,” or, another translation would be, “We have been sanctified.” The Greek language uses the perfect tense here, indicating a past, and completed, action. The death of Christ actually makes us holy. Do we believe this? Did the death of Christ actually sanctify those for whom it was made? Or did it simply make it possible for them to become holy? Again, these are questions that cannot be easily dismissed. The writer goes on to describe how this priest, Jesus, sat down at the right hand of God, unlike the old priests who had to keep performing sacrifices over and over and over again. His work, on the contrary, is perfect and complete. He can rest, for by His one sacrifice He has made perfect those who are experiencing the sanctifying work of the Spirit in their lives. He made them perfect, complete. The term refers to a completion, a finishing. Again, do we believe that Christ’s death does this? And, if we see the plain teaching of Scripture, are we willing to alter our beliefs, and our methods of proclaiming the gospel, to fit the truth?

What of Faith?

One common belief needs to be addressed in passing. Many who believe in a “universal” or non-specific atonement, assert that while Christ died for all, His atonement is only effective for those who believe. We shall discuss the fact that faith itself is the gift of God, given only to the elect of God, in the next chapter. But for now, we defer to the great Puritan writer, John Owen, in answering this question:

To which I may add this dilemma to our Universalists:—God imposed his wrath due unto, and Christ underwent the pains of hell for, either all the sins of all men, or all the sins of some men, or some sins of all men. If the last, some sins of all men, then have all men some sins to answer for, and so shall no man be saved; for if God enter into judgment with us, though it were with all mankind for one sin, no flesh should be justified in his sight: “If the LORD should mark iniquities, who should stand?” Ps. cxxx. 3….If the second, that is it which we affirm, that Christ in their stead and room suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the world. If the first, why, then are not all freed from the punishment of all their sins? You will say, “Because of their unbelief; they will not believe.” But this unbelief, is it a sin, or not? If not, why should they be punished for it? If it be, then Christ underwent the punishment due to it, or not. If so, then why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which he died from partaking of the fruit of his death? If he did not, then he did not die for all their sins. Let them choose which part they will. (John Owen, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1985) pp. 61-62.)

Conclusion

Some object to the doctrine of limited atonement on very pragmatic grounds. “The doctrine destroys evangelism, because you cannot tell people that Christ died for them, because you don’t know!” Yet, we ask, is there an advantage in presenting to men an atonement that is theoretical, a Savior whose work is incomplete, and a gospel that is but a possibility? What kind of proclamation will God honor with His Spirit: one that is tailored to seek “success,” or one that is bound to the truth of the Word of God? When the Apostles preached the Gospel, they did not say, “Christ died for all men everywhere, and it is up to you to make His work effective.” They taught that Christ died for sinners, and that it was the duty of every man to repent and believe. They knew that only God’s grace could bring about repentance and faith in the human heart. And far from that being a *hindrance* to their evangelistic work, it was the power behind it! They proclaimed a *powerful* Savior, whose work is all sufficient, and who saves men totally and completely! They knew that God was about bringing men to Himself, and, since He is the sovereign of the universe, there is no power on earth that will stay His hand! Now there is a solid basis for evangelism! And what could be more of a comfort to the heart that is racked with guilt than to know that Christ has died for sinners, and that His work is not just theoretical, but is real?

The Church needs to challenge the world again with the daring proclamation of a gospel that is offensive—offensive because it speaks of God saving those whom He will, offensive because it proclaims a sovereign Savior who redeems His people.

James White

Soteriological Heresies

2009-05-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

Soteriological Heresies
Hebrews 9:12 …by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
The Soteriological heresies (regarding the manner of salvation) listed below, deny or distort at some point, the work of Christ in redeeming men. In each case, either Christ’s work was not good enough, and needed something added to it to complete it, or some part of the work is denied, thereby invalidating the whole of it.
The Heresies
Antinomianism-
The heresy of Antinomianism so named in the 16th century by Martin Luther, teaches that because God is gracious and forgiving, a person can go on in whatever sin they desire, presuming on the grace of God for forgiveness. Those who hold to this heresy believe God’s grace gives them a license to live as they wish, partaking in any sin, and in so doing they turn the grace of God into lasciviousness.
Baptismal Regeneration-
The heresy of Baptismal Regeneration predates Christianity, originating with the Babylonian harlot, and teaches that one must be baptized in water to be saved. Another angle of it is that no matter what one believes before they are baptized, there is a requirement of water baptism to open the way to make salvation possible. In both views, trust in the atoning work of Christ on the cross alone was not deemed sufficient to redeem the soul.
Deism-
The heresy of Deism originated in Old Testament times but did not receive its name until the seventeenth century. It teaches that by natural reason, rational thought or personal experience, man can know all that is needed to know about God, without revelation from God. Deists generally reject the supernatural, rendering the miracles of the Bible as mere stage plays, tricks, or incorrect renderings of man. Deists may believe in one God, but reject the Trinity and the atonement, leaving them without salvation.
Donatism-
The heresy originated by Donatus, in the early fourth century was that the validity of the ordinance would be dependant on the character of the one who administered it. For instance, baptisms are considered invalid unless performed by someone who had a character approved by the visible church. If taken to its logical conclusion, with the Bible teaching “there is none righteous, no not one”, that would invalidate all ordinances of any kind.
Gnosticism-
The Gnostic (Meaning ‘to know’) heresy originated in the first century and may have even been around longer than that in different forms. Gnosticism, which relies on personal religious experience as its primary authority, is dualistic in nature and teaches that salvation comes by special knowledge; yet this knowledge denies the incarnation of God the Son. Freemasonry is Gnostic at its core.
Legalism-
The heresy of Legalism has been around nearly as long as mankind, and involves man obtaining salvation through meritorious works of some kind or another. The Pharisees are the most famous of the biblical legalists, but legalism and its exaltation of the superficial finds its way into every branch of dead religion. See Pelagianism.
Modernism-
The heresy of Modernism (AKA Liberalism) only originated in the twentieth century, and involves the picking and choosing of doctrines almost whimsically with little or no basis in scripture but more a tendency towards feeling. As they determine what they will believe as true in God’s word, the ultimate authority for a Modernist is self, making it merely another form of self-deification. Modernists can be very hard to nail down in exactly what they believe, and few will be identical, but the one thing they have in common is that they all blow with the wind and change with the tide. Even further down this road of ever-changing, feelings-based realities is Post-Modernism, which by its very nature is nearly impossible to define.
Montanism-
The heresy originated by the self proclaimed prophet Montanus in the second century, places too much emphasis on spiritual gifts (IE speaking in tongues, prophecies etc.) in a Christian at the expense of basic Christian doctrines, such as the atonement and original sin. Ascetic in nature, they practiced outward holiness because they believed that sins could not be forgiven, they discouraged marriage, and encouraged martyrdom.
Panentheism-
The heresy of Panentheism originated in the fifth century B.C. (though not named as such until three centuries ago) and is a variant of Pantheism. It teaches that everything is a part though not the whole of the being of god, yet differs from Pantheism’s everything is god. Though not a heresy belonging to the Christian era per se, yet much of this type of thought has moved into professing postmodernist Christendom. Christ has no place as redeemer of sinful man, nor the Holy Spirit any place at all within Panentheism.
Pantheism-
The heresy of Pantheism originated several millennia ago and teaches that everything is god, and that god is everything. Though not a heresy belonging to the Christian era per se,, yet like Panentheism, much of this type of thought has moved into professing postmodernist Christianity. Christ has no place as redeemer of sinful man, nor the Holy Spirit any place at all within Pantheism.
Pelagianism-
The heresy named after Pelagius and originating in the fifth century, teaches that man was basically good and unaffected by the fall. It denies the imputation of Adam’s sin (AKAoriginal sin) on all of mankind, and teaches that man has the ability in and of himself, apart from a work of God through divine grace, to earn eternal salvation. In denying original sin, Pelagianism teaches that a person is born in a state of innocence as Adam was in before the fall, and are thus able to choose God entirely of their own free will.
Semi-Pelagianism-
This is a milder form of Pelagianism that does not deny original sin, but teaches that man can make the first move toward God without God having acted on man through grace. This turns God’s grace into a response to the man that has first acted toward God, which is impossible due to man’s condition of rebellion toward God through original sin.
Now compare to the biblical position
Grace defined-
The effectual working of God on the heart of man, in the bestowing of a totally unmerited mercy.
Salvation-
The salvation of men is entirely the gift of God, bestowed by grace and received by faith in the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Having trusted Christ alone as the propitiation for our sin, it is by the bodily resurrection of Christ that we can know for certain that our sin debt has been fully paid. At the cross the wrath of God on the believer’s sin was entirely satisfied. Once renewed, the Christian’s desires are changed from loving sin to hating it, the regenerated heart will do all that it is able to do in fleeing from sin through a higher motive than self-preservation. However, along with the new nature imparted in Christ, the old sin nature will still remain and is to be put to death daily until we shed our earthly tabernacles. A Christian is to have a full assurance that they presently have eternal life, and that life being eternal, it can never end. To be without this is to trample on the blood of Christ, and can only mean that one is not honestly trusting that their sin debt has been fully paid. The Christian will grow into higher thoughts of Christ, lower thoughts of self, along with an ever growing measure of power over sin, all made possible by the work of the Holy Spirit. The motive for sanctification of a regenerate soul is at least threefold: 1) Christ having paid their sin debt, out of love for Him they no longer want to heap sin on Him, 2) Having a new Father comes with new desires, chief of which is to glorify God, through which glorifying, the saint will now enjoy but a small taste of heaven, 3) Knowing they are partaking in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, they take full advantage of all purifications offered by the King, in preparation for the wedding day.

Christological Heresies

2009-05-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

Christological Heresies

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John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

The Christological heresies (concerning the nature or person of Christ) listed below, deny or distort some particular attribute of the person of Christ which was necessary for Him to make eternal redemption for His Bride. Most of them make their full effect by the denial of the person of Christ on the cross, thereby attempting to dismantle His ability to redeem sinful man. In our depravity, mankind will talk in many generalities about Jesus Christ, and even revere him, just so long as He is not the Jesus Christ so clearly revealed in the scriptures.

People often ask, “How much error a person can have and still be saved?” I usually tell them that is the wrong way to approach the matter, a Christian will approach the matter like this, “Having lived in error so long, how much error can I be rid of?” When one considers John 15:26 and Romans 8:9-11, it becomes pretty clear that if a person is saved he will have a right understanding of the person of Christ. If as a new Christian, they have not a full knowledge of these things, yet they will not rebel against them as they are presented.

Rom 8:9-11 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

The Heresies

Adoptionism-The heresy of Adoptionism was first introduced in the second century and later revived in the 8th century with the views of Nestorius. It teaches that Christ was not divine at least until after conception, with many regarding the timing to be after his baptism. According to this heresy, Christ was adopted unto Deity, after passing the test of temptation in the wilderness, thus being a man becoming god. With one of the characteristics of God having an eternal existence, adoptionism denies the eternal Sonship of Christ, and ultimately denies the divinity of Christ.

Albigenses-The heresy of the Albigenses was a variation of Dualism and first introduced in the twelfth century by a Catharist sect in the south of France. It teaches that there were two gods, the evil god of darkness of the Old Testament, and the good god of light of the New Testament. In this particular dualistic view, the evil god of the Old Testament actually was Satan, who was purportedly the creator of all things material. Also known as the Bulgarian heresy or Dualism

Apollinarianism-
The heresy originated by Apollinaris, a fourth century bishop, was the teaching that Jesus was a man that did not have a human mind/spirit, but that his mind/spirit was entirely divine. He taught that the divine and human natures of Christ could not co-exist within one person. In this case his teaching had to be justified at the expense of minimizing the human nature of Christ

Arianism-
The heresy originated by Arius of Alexandeder in the early fourth century, was the teaching that as a created being, Jesus was merely a man, and not co-equal with God the Father. He taught that Christ was not one in substance was either the Father or the Holy Ghost. Often considered the most serious of the heresies, it almost overran the visible church shortly after it was introduced, and remains very prevalent today.

Docetism-
The Docetic (Meaning: ‘to appear’) heresy originated in the first century while the apostles were yet alive, and taught that Jesus was not human but merely appeared to be human. By this understanding it means that Christ did not actually suffer temptation in the wilderness, suffer and die on the cross, or rise from the dead.

Dualism-
The heresy of Dualism originated in the fourth century, and teaches that there is a god of light (generally associated with spirit) and a god of darkness (generally associated with the physical). These two gods are equal but opposite, and oppose each other for all time with neither being supreme. The god of light is not able to entirely overpower the god of darkness, and vice-versa. In this situation, evil happens because the god of light is not able to overcome it, rather than evil happens because it is allowed.

Ebionism-The heresy of Ebionism originated in the second century, and similar to Adoptionism denies the eternal Sonship of Christ by teaching that Christ only became divine after his baptism. This heresy divides the life of Christ into pre/post baptism, and even refers to Christ as the son of Joseph. It is a basic continuation of Judaism, exalting the rites and regulation of the Old Testament at the expense of the gospel.

Eutychianism-
The heresy originated by Eutyches in the early fifth century, teaches that the human nature of Christ was overcome or absorbed by his divine nature. Similar to Monophysitism and Apollinariansim.

Kenosis-
The Kenosis (Meaning ‘to empty’) heresy originated in the nineteenth century with Gottfried Thomasius of Germany, and teaches that Jesus gave up some of his divine attributes (omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence) while on earth. It is dangerous because, if these were given up it would mean that Christ was not fully divine while on earth, rendering the atonement of none effect.

Macedonianism-The heresy originated by Macedonius in the fourth century, teaches that the Holy Spirit was a created being, thus denying the full divinity and person of the Holy Spirit. Also held was that the Son of God was not one in substance with the Father, but only of similar substance, thus denying the person of Christ as well. (AKA ‘Pneumatomachians’-spirit fighters) They had similar beliefs to the Arians.

Manichaeism-
The heresy originated by Mani in the third century, incorporates Gnostic thought, Zoroastrian dualism, with a heavy Buddhist accent and throws in some Christian ideas for good measure. Manichaesism as a prototypical syncretistic system grew into more than just a heresy and has been considered a religion unto itself, overtaking much of Asia before its disappearance sometime before the sixteenth century.

Marcionism-
The heresy of Marcionism originated in the third century, and teaches a variation of dualism. According to Marcionism, the God of the Old Testament is a god of law and justice, and cannot be the same God as revealed in the New Testament. This heresy causes its adherents to minimize or even reject the Old Testament scriptures and is alive and well today amongst Modernism.

Modalism-
The heresy of Modalism originated in the third century, and teaches that God is a single person who has manifested himself in three persons throughout history. In the Old Testament God was manifest as the Father, during the time of the incarnation of Christ God was manifest as the Son, and after the ascension God was manifest as the Holy Spirit. Though it does not deny the divinity of Christ nor the three persons of the Trinity, yet it teaches that the three persons never co-exist at the same time. It is similar to Sabellianism

Monarchianism-The heresy of Monarchianism originated in the second century, and teaches that there is only one god manifest in one person, God the Father. Monarchianism denies the divine persons of both the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and was an errant attempt at defending monotheism against the rising heresy of Tritheism.

Monophysitism-The heresy of Monophysitism originated in the fifth century, and teaches that Jesus had only a divine nature, and did not have a human nature. To deny the human nature of Christ is to deny the true incarnation of God as man, and produces similar results to Docetism.

Monothelitism-
The heresy of Monothelitism originated in the early seventh century, and teaches that Jesus had only one will. It arose out of a disagreement with the Monophysites regarding the nature of Jesus. Though correctly agreeing that Jesus had two natures (divine and human) Monothelitism incorrectly placed its emphasis on the two natures having a singular will. If this was the case and the will was divine, Christ could not have actually been tempted in the wilderness; if the will was only human Christ would have the same desire for sin that a natural man has.

Nestorianism-The heresy originated by Nestorius in the fifth century, teaches that Jesus was two distinct persons as well as had two distinct natures. This heresy brings no end of problems, culminating in: Which one died on the cross?

Patripassionism-
The heresy of Patripassionism originated in the third century, teaches that the Father took on human flesh and suffered on the cross, and in this view it is a form of Modalism. A variation of Patripassionism is that God the Father suffered along with God the Son on the cross.

Quietism-The heresy of Quietism became popular in the seventeenth century having it roots many centuries earlier, and teaches that intellectual stillness and contemplative prayer, along with annihilation of ones will are all that is necessary for salvation. Quietism denies that the atonement is necessary for salvation, and extends itself into the Buddhist nirvana idea of salvation through self-mortification.

Sabellianism-The heresy originated by Sabellius in the third century teaches that god is a single person capable of manifesting himself as either Father, Son, or Holy Spirit at any given time. It has similar characteristics to Modalism with the exception that the particular person of the Godhead is not limited to manifesting himself in a particular time period, but is able to manifest himself as all three instantaneously yet not simultaneously.

Socinianism-The heresy of Socinianism (AKA Psilanthropism) originating in sixteenth century Poland, teaches that Jesus was just an extraordinarily good man, not divine in any way. They also teach that God is only a single person, that the Holy Spirit is just the power of God (not a separate person), the annihilation of the wicked, and the corresponding denial of an eternal fiery hell.

Subordinationism-The heresy of Subordinationism originated in the first century and teaches that Christ and the Holy Spirit are not co-equal with God the Father, but are subordinate to Him, with some also holding to the subordination of the Holy Spirit to Christ. This in essence destroys the unity of the singular Godhead making lesser gods of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Tritheism-The heresy of Tritheism originated in the second century and teaches that in the Godhead there are three separate gods, instead of one God in three persons. It comes from a misunderstanding of the Trinity, which man cannot fully comprehend without light from the Holy Spirit. It is a common reaction by monotheistic groups upon the hearing of the pure doctrine of the Trinity to believe it is polytheistic, and yet the proper doctrine of the Trinity is monotheistic.

Now compare to the biblical position

Trinity-There is a single omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God eternally co-existing in three co-equal persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, commonly known as the Trinity. As individual persons, each one has a will, can reason, can feel independently; and as a single God the three distinct persons work perfectly harmoniously in things like the creation and redeeming the souls of men.

Hypostatic Union-In the person of Jesus Christ is the perfect merging of God with man, making Him the God-man. Man likes to add and in this case the units will not add up correctly (100% God +100% Man=200% ?), whereas God multiplies, (100% God x100% Man=100% God-man). The scriptural requirement of the propitiatory sacrifice was that it could only be achieved by the 100% God-man, with anything else

The Wrath of God by M.L. Jones part 2

2009-04-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

The Wrath Of God

We now come to look at the apostle's final statement about man in sin; and that is, that he is under the wrath of God. In other words Paul deals with sin, as sin affects man's standing before God. He shows what God says and thinks and does about man in that condition which we have already considered: There can be no question at all but that this is the most important aspect of the subject. The others were vitally important, but there is nothing which is as important as this. It is because we so constantly forget this that the world is as it is today - and indeed that the Church is as she is. We are so self-centred and concerned about ourselves that we fail to remember that the most important thing above all else is the way in which God looks down upon it all. That is the subject with which we now have to deal.

The apostle puts it like this. He says that "we were all by nature the children of wrath, even as others". Here we have a twofold statement. And there is no doubt at all but that these two matters that we are compelled to look at together are two of the most difficult and perplexing subjects in the whole realm and range of biblical doctrine. That is why they have often led to great misunderstanding, and are subjects which people often in their ignorance not only fail to understand but bitterly resent. There is no subject, perhaps, which has more frequently led people to speak - albeit unconsciously - in a blasphemous manner, than this very matter which we are now going to consider. The apostle says two things: that we are all under the wrath of God; and secondly that we are all under the wrath of God by nature.

Why should we examine these things? Someone may well ask that question. Why spend our time on a subject like this, a difficult subject? There are so many other things that are interesting at the present time and attracting attention. Why not deal with them? And in any case, amid all the problems that confront the world, why turn to something like this?

Well, lest there be someone who is harbouring some such idea, and is provoked to put such a question, let me suggest certain reasons why it behoves us to consider this matter. The first is that it is part of Scripture. It is here in the Bible and, as we shall see, it is everywhere in the Bible. And if we regard the Bible as the Word of God, and our authority in all matters of faith and conduct, we cannot pick and choose; we must take it as it is and consider its every part and portion.

Secondly, we must do so because what we are told here is, after all, a question of fact. It is not theory, it is a statement of fact. If the biblical doctrine of the wrath of God is true, then it is the most important fact confronting every one of us at this moment; infinitely more important than any international conference that may be held, infinitely more important than whether there is to be a third world war or not. If this doctrine is true, then we are all involved in it, and our eternal destiny depends upon it. And the Bible states everywhere that it is a fact.

Another reason for considering it is this: that the apostle's whole argument is that we can never understand the love of God until we understand this doctrine. It is - the way in which we measure the love of God. There is a great deal of talk today about the love of God, and yet were we truly to love God, we would express it, we would show it. To love God is not merely to talk about it; to love God, as He Himself points out constantly in His Word, is to keep His commandments and to live for His glory. The argument here is that we really cannot understand the love of God unless we see it in the light of this other doctrine which we are now considering. So it is essential from that standpoint.

Let me put it in this way. I suggest that we can never truly understand why it is that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, had to come into this world unless we understand this doctrine of the wrath of God and the judgment of God. As Christians we believe that the Son of God came into this world, that He laid aside the insignia of His eternal glory, was born as a babe in Bethlehem, and endured all that He endured, because that was essential for our salvation. But the question is, Why was it essential to our salvation? Why did all that have to take place before we could be saved? I defy anyone to answer that question adequately without bringing in this doctrine of the judgment of God and of the wrath of God. This is still more true when you look at the great doctrine of the cross and the death of our blessed Lord and Saviour. Why did Christ die? Why had He to die? If we say that we are saved by His blood, why are we saved by His blood? Why was it essential that He should die on that cross and be buried and rise again before we could be saved? There is only one adequate answer to these questions, and that is this doctrine of the wrath of God. The death of our Lord upon the cross is not absolutely necessary unless this doctrine is true. So, you see, it is a vital matter for us to consider.

Lastly, I would put it in a very practical form. This doctrine is essential from the standpoint of a true evangelism. Why is it that people do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Why is it that people are not Christians and not members of the Christian Church? Why does the Lord Jesus Christ not come into their calculations at all? In the last analysis there is only one answer to that question: they do not believe in Him because they have never seen any need of Him. And they have never seen any need of Him because they have never realised that they are sinners. And they have never realised that they are sinners because they have never realised the truth about the holiness of God and the justice and the righteousness of God; they have never known anything about God as the judge eternal and about the wrath of God against the sin of man. So you see this doctrine is essential in evangelism. If we really believe in salvation and in our absolute need of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must start with this doctrine. There, then, are the reasons for considering it. The apostle supplies them; I am simply repeating them.

Now let us look at the two statements themselves. The first thing the apostle says is that all who are born into this world are under the wrath of God. He says we "were all the children of wrath, even as others"; we were all the children of wrath, as the rest of mankind - that is what "even as others" means. Here we come face to face with this tremendous doctrine which I know full well is not only unpopular at the present time but is even hated and detested. People can scarcely control themselves as they speak about it. The whole modern idea has been for a number of years, that God is a God of love and that we must think of God only in terms of love. To talk about the wrath of God, we are told, is utterly incompatible with any idea of God as a God of love. The way in which it is put is this. They say: Of course that idea of the wrath of God stems from the ancient idea of God as a sort of tribal God. The trouble is that there are still certain Christians who believe in that God of the Old Testament, who was nothing but a tribal God. The gods of mythology were all of that type and of that kind; they displayed their anger and their wrath; but, of course, we know now from the New Testament and from Jesus that this is quite wrong and quite false. We no longer believe in the God of the Old Testament, we believe in the God of the New Testament, in the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You are familiar with the argument. Indeed, some go even further, and say that it is only during the past century that we really have become sufficiently enlightened to understand these matters, and that, until the beginning of this present century, people still believed in the wrath of God, and, therefore, had a completely false conception of God. I remember reading a very learned book in which the author stated that this idea of the wrath of God was nothing but a kind of projection into the character of God of the notion of the typical Victorian father, the stern repressive father who kept his children down and disciplined them severely and punished them. His suggestion was that people just carried that idea over and projected it right into God Himself. But that, he held, was nothing but a false bit of psychology from which we have by now delivered ourselves, and we now know that the idea of wrath in a God of love is something that is self-contradictory.

Is there any answer to such contentions? Let me dispose of one preliminary misunderstanding. There are some people who completely misinterpret the very term wrath. They think of wrath instinctively as some uncontrolled manifestation of anger. They cannot think of it apart from the idea of somebody trembling in a rage and pale with passion, who has lost self-control and is speaking in a violent manner and doing violent things. Now that is quite a false and wrong idea of the meaning of wrath. Sinful man, it is true, does sometimes manifest his wrath in this way, but all that does not enter at all into the term as used of God in the Bible. Wrath is nothing but a manifestation of indignation based upon justice. Indeed, we can go further and assert that the wrath of God, according to the scriptural teaching, is nothing but the other side of the love of God. It is the inevitable corollary of the rejection of the love of God. God is a God of love, but God is also and equally a God of justice and of righteousness; and if God's love is spurned and rejected there remains nothing but the justice and the righteousness and the wrath of God.

Now let us demonstrate the contention that this is something which is taught everywhere in the Scripture. In the Old Testament it is to be found at the very beginning. When man fell in the garden of Eden, God visited and spoke to him and pronounced judgment upon him. He drove him out of the garden, and there at the eastern gate of the garden He placed the cherubim and the flaming sword. What is the meaning of the flaming sword? It means just this very thing; it is the sword of God's justice, it is God's sword of wrath and of punishment, punishing man for his sin and making it impossible for him to come back and eat of the tree of life and live for ever. There, at the very beginning, is a manifestation of God's righteous judgment and His wrath upon sin. It is to be found running right through the Old Testament: in the story of the flood, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the various punishments of the children of Israel, whether as a nation or as individuals. The Old Testament is full of this. God has given His law and He has pronounced that if men break it He will punish them - that is His wrath. And when they have done so He has punished them. He has punished individuals, He has punished the nation, even His own chosen people. He punished them, He poured His wrath upon them by raising up the Chaldean army which came and sacked Jerusalem and carried away the people as captives into Babylon. That was a manifestation of the wrath and the righteous judgment of God. It is everywhere in the Old Testament; you really cannot believe the Old Testament unless you accept this doctrine of the wrath of God.

When you come to the New Testament, in spite of all that modern critics would have us believe, the doctrine is again present everywhere. The first preacher in the New Testament is John the Baptist. What did he say? He said, "Flee from the wrath to come"; "Repent and be baptised every one of you, flee from the wrath to come". The Pharisees came to be baptised of John, and he looked at them and said, "Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" It was his great message. Indeed it was the message of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But, and most surprising of all, we find it in the verse that is generally quoted as the supreme statement of God as a God of love - John 3: 16, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son". Why did He do so? The answer is "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". The alternative to everlasting life is perishing. And it is John 3: 16 that teaches it. But the thirty - sixth verse of that third chapter of John is still more plain, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him". In other words, all men are under the wrath of God, and unless we believe on the Son of God the wrath of God abides upon us. What can be more plain or explicit? There it is in the Gospel of John the apostle of love.

The apostle Paul teaches the same truth equally clearly. Preaching in Athens he says that, "God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the whole world in righteousness by this man whom he hath appointed". judgment! The wrath of God! In Romans 1: 18, we read: "For the wrath of God is manifested [is already revealed] from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men". Paul has no gospel apart from this; it is because of the wrath of God that he is preaching the gospel. In this Epistle to the Ephesians which we are considering, in the fifth chapter and the sixth verse, you get exactly the same thing, "Let no man deceive you with vain words", says Paul "for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience". Again, in summarising his gospel to the Thessalonians in the First Epistle and in the first chapter and the last verse, Paul says that the Thessalonians have turned to Christ and await Him from heaven - what for?--well, he says, because He "delivered us from the wrath to come". The same idea is to be found in the Epistle to the Hebrews in several places. And if you go right on to the Book of Revelation you will find it there in a most remarkable phrase. It is a phrase about the "wrath of the Lamb". It seems quite contradictory, quite paradoxical. You think of a lamb in terms of innocence, harmlessness. And yet there is this pregnant phrase, "the wrath of the Lamb". It is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the whole world who is to judge the world in righteousness. So it is quite clear that the idea that love and wrath are incompatible is a complete denial of the plain teaching of the Scriptures. Indeed I would go so far as to say that unless we start with this idea of the wrath of God against sin we cannot possibly understand the compassion of God, we cannot understand the love of God. It is only as I realise God's wrath against sin that I realise the full significance of His providing a way of salvation from it. If I do not understand this I do not understand that, and my talk about the love of God is mere loose sentimentality which is indeed a denial of the great biblical doctrine of the love of God.

The apostle's teaching, then, is that until we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we are under the wrath of God. And the wrath of God is an expression of God's hatred of sin, an expression of God's punishment of sin. It is a clear statement to this effect, that if we die in our sins we go on to eternal punishment. That is the teaching of Scripture. The wrath of God against sin manifests itself finally in hell, where men and women remain outside the life of God in misery and wretchedness, slaves to their own lusts and desires, selfish and self-centred. The apostle's teaching is that that is the position of all who are not Christians. They are under the wrath of God in this life, they will remain under the wrath of God in the next life. That is the position of the sinner, according to Scripture. If you object to the idea you are objecting to the Scriptures, you are setting up some philosophic idea of your own contrary to their plain teaching. You are not arguing with me, you are arguing with the Scriptures. You are arguing with these holy apostles, you are arguing with the Son of God Himself If you believe that the Bible is divinely inspired, then you must not say, "But I don't understand". You are not asked to understand. I do not understand it, I do not pretend to understand it. But I start from this basis, that my mind is not only finite but is, furthermore, sinful, and that I cannot possibly understand fully the nature of God and the justice and the holiness of God. If we are going to base everything on our understanding, then we might as well give up at this point. For the Bible tell us that "the natural man" and "the natural mind" cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God (see I Corinthians 2). It was the desire to understand that led to the Fall. Intellectual pride and arrogance is the first and the last sin. The business of preaching is not to ask people to understand; the commission of the preacher is to proclaim the message. And the message is that all are under the wrath of God until they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But indeed we must go even one step further.

That brings us to the second matter. The apostle says that we are all in that condition by nature - "we were all by nature the children of wrath, even as others". What does this by nature mean? We have already shown in a previous study in this series that this has one meaning only, and that is, "by birth". We were all by our very birth the children of wrath even as others. You notice that the apostle does not say that we "become" the children of wrath because of our nature; he says we "were". In other words the apostle, in line with the whole of the Bible, does not teach that we are born into this world in a state of innocence or in a state of neutrality, and that then, because we sin, we become sinners and thereby come under the wrath of God. That is not what he says: he says the exact opposite. He says that we are born into this world under the wrath of God; from the moment of our birth we are already under the wrath of God. It is not only something that is going to happen to us, neither is it something that results only from our actions. There are people who teach that, but that is a blank denial not only of the teaching here but, as we shall see, of the teaching elsewhere in Scripture. He does not say that we are under the wrath of God only because of our nature or because of the manifestation of our nature. He says that we are in that position "by birth".

What, then, does this mean? The answer is to be found in the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans where it is argued out in detail and thoroughly from verse twelve to the end of the chapter. What is the argument? Let me summarise it. In that chapter the one great truth the apostle is concerned to prove is that our relationship, as believers to the Lord Jesus Christ is exactly analogous to our relationship formerly to Adam. He keeps on repeating the comparison and goes back and forth. He talks about what was true of us in Adam and then shows what is true of us now in the Lord Jesus Christ. He starts in verse twelve saying, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all sinned", and so continues. Any careful and unbiased reading of that argument, which is basic to Paul's doctrine of assurance, will compel us to see that all along he says that our relationship to Adam was identical with our present relationship to Christ. If, therefore, we believe that we are what we are in Christ because of what God has imputed to us in Christ, we must also, believe exactly the same on the other side about what was imputed to us in Adam. That is the argument. But the apostle is not content merely to state it generally, he states it in particular also. Let me pick out the important verses. Take verse twelve: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all sinned . . .". The punishment of sin is death. Adam sinned and death came upon him, yes, but not only upon Adam - upon all men. As a result of Adam's one sin, death passed upon all men. Why? The last part of the verse explains - "all sinned" in Adam. That is the statement which we will expound later.

Then take verses thirteen and fourteen of that chapter. Paul introduces a statement in a parenthesis, beginning at verse thirteen, "For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression". Are you tempted to say, What does all this mean ? I cannot follow it, I want some simple gospel of comfort. That is how we tend to speak, we who think that because we live in the twentieth century we are greatly superior to all generations that have ever lived before us. We pride ourselves on our being so learned and intellectual and able to understand great things, whereas previous generations were primitive. But we do not realise that the apostle Paul wrote these words to people who lived nearly two thousand years ago, and that he meant them to understand them. He was not writing to great philosophers; he was writing to simple Christian believers, many of whom were but slaves, and others soldiers in Caesar's household; and he meant those people to understand these things. Shame on us modern Christians who must be spoon-fed, and who just want something nice and easy and simple. If you do not accept this doctrine, then it is God's Word you are rejecting.

I again ask, What does it mean? Paul says that until the law sin was in the world. The law was given through Moses, you remember; but there was that long interval between Adam and Moses, at the least it was. probably a period of some two thousand five hundred years. Now during that whole long period sin was in the world, but sin, he says, is not imputed when there is no law. In other words, if there is not a law to define sin, the sin is not brought home to a man. The business of law is to bring the sin home to man's mind and heart and conscience. If there were no laws, for instance, about parking and about motoring, you and I might still do wrong things, but if there were not a law about these matters we could not be punished. That is what he is saying, "sin is not imputed when there is no law". "Nevertheless", he says, "death reigned from Adam to Moses". Here is the problem: though the law was not given until Moses, nevertheless, from Adam to Moses people died. All the people born into the world died. Why did they die? What is it that produced death in those people though there was no law imputing sin at that period? The apostle's answer is that there is only one explanation; they all died because they were involved in the sin of Adam. There is no other explanation. The only reason why death reigned from Adam to Moses is that that one sin of Adam brought death upon the whole of his posterity. In other words, we are born "by nature the children of wrath".

Notice then the next thing, which is still more extraordinary. He says that death reigned from Adam to Moses, "even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression". What can that mean? It means that death reigned even over those persons who had not actually committed an act of sin as Adam did when he fell. Who are they? And there is only one possible answer; they were infants who died in infancy. All other men sinned. Everybody who has lived since Adam has committed deliberate acts of sin. The only people who have not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who have not deliberately sinned, are infants who are too young to exercise their will because they are not conscious. Death reigned, says Paul, from Adam to Moses, even over infants also. Why do infants die? There is only one answer. Infants die because Adam's transgression involves them. "Death passed upon an men, even upon them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression".

But going on to verse fifteen we read, "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift; for if through the offence of one many be dead". There it is again. Then he turns to the other side about Jesus Christ. In verse sixteen, we have, "And not as it was by one that sinned so is the gift" - and then, "for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification". The judgment, the condemnation, was by one to condemnation: the one sin of Adam brought this upon the whole of mankind. But conversely, he says, many sins are forgiven in the righteousness of One, even Jesus Christ. Then once more in verse eighteen: "Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation". Is not that as explicit as anything could be? "As by the offence of one judgment came upon all men" - no exception - "to condemnation". We are "born the children of wrath". And finally, in verse nineteen, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners". You and I and all mankind were made or, as a more accurate translation puts it, "constituted" sinners by that one sin of Adam. That is the teaching. We are "all by nature the children of wrath even as others".

Ah, you say, I do not understand that, I cannot grasp that, it seems to me almost moral. Of course you do not understand it, Who can understand such things? It is not a question of understanding, it is a question of whether you believe the Scriptures not. For the apostle says exactly the same thing in I Corinthians 15, that great and - wonderful chapter which is read at funeral services, "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive", and so on. It is precisely the same argument. It is the basis of the Christian faith. Whether we understand it or not, it is the truth. You have to explain the universality of sin; you have to explain the universality of death, and especially the death of infants. And this is the biblical answer. Adam was the whole of humanity and he represented the whole of humanity. He was our federal head. As the Lord Jesus Christ is the Representative of all who are saved, as His righteousness is imputed to us, so Adam was our representative and his sin is imputed to us. We fell in him, we are damned in him and because of his action. In exactly the same way those who believe in Christ are redeemed by Him and saved in Him and righteous in Him because of His action on our behalf That is the argument. If you believe the one side about Christ, you must believe the other about Adam. If you deny this, you are virtually denying that.

Let us be careful therefore. There is nothing more tragic than the way in which Christian people bring the relics of their philosophies and their own understanding into the Christian faith. Many who claim to believe the Bible, and who regard it as authoritative, reject it at this point because they do not like the doctrine, or because they cannot reconcile certain matters. But the reconciliation is here before us. Though we were dead in trespasses and sins, hateful and hating one another, polluted by sin, sinful in practice, living in trespasses and sins and under the wrath of God, and absolutely helpless and hopeless, the very God against whom we have sinned, the very God whom we have offended, has Himself provided the way of deliverance for us. He does so in the Person of His own dearly beloved Son, whom He did not spare even from the suffering and the agony and the shame of Calvary and that cruel death. He has offered us, and provides for us, the way of complete deliverance and reconciliation to Himself in spite of the fact that our sin in Adam and our own sins, and our own sinful state deserve nothing but His eternal wrath. That is the love of God! That is the "love so amazing, so divine"! God has done that for us, who deserve nothing but eternal wrath, which we could never have done for ourselves.

May God in His grace enable us to receive these things so that we may go on to consider the next verse with its glorious "but". Though all we have been considering was true of us, "God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ". Blessed be the name of God!

4/27/2009 The Decline of African-American Theology by Thabiti Anyabwile

2009-04-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

This is an awesome book that I will soon be adding to my library. Here is the first chapter in pdf form called "I once was blind, now I see." I pray that you will be blessed by this book as I have been.
Here is the link:
http://www.monergismbooks.com/pdfs/declineafrican3.pdf
May the Lamb that was slain recieve the reward of His suffering...

The Wrath of God by M.L. Jones

2009-04-16T10:44:00.001-07:00

Here is the link for the full article pdf. Click Here to read the full Article

The Wrath of God
Martyn-Lloyd Jones:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. - Ephesians 2:3
We now come to look at the apostle's final statement about man in sin; and that is, that he is under the wrath of God. In other words Paul deals with sin, as sin affects man's standing before God. He shows what God says and thinks and does about man in that condition which we have already considered: There can be no question at all but that this is the most important aspect of the subject. The others were vitally important, but there is nothing which is as important as this. It is because we so constantly forget this that the world is as it is today - and indeed that the Church is as she is. We are so self-centred and concerned about ourselves that we fail to remember that the most important thing above all else is the way in which God looks down upon it all. That is the subject with which we now have to deal.
The apostle puts it like this. He says that "we were all by nature the children of wrath, even as others". Here we have a twofold statement. And there is no doubt at all but that these two matters that we are compelled to look at together are two of the most difficult and perplexing subjects in the whole realm and range of biblical doctrine. That is why they have often led to great misunderstanding, and are subjects which people often in their ignorance not only fail to understand but bitterly resent. There is no subject, perhaps, which has more frequently led people to speak - albeit unconsciously - in a blasphemous manner, than this very matter which we are now going to consider. The apostle says two things: that we are all under the wrath of God; and secondly that we are all under the wrath of God by nature.
Why should we examine these things? Someone may well ask that question. Why spend our time on a subject like this, a difficult subject? There are so many other things that are interesting at the present time and attracting attention. Why not deal with them? And in any case, amid all the problems that confront the world, why turn to something like this?

Well, lest there be someone who is harbouring some such idea, and is provoked to put such a question, let me suggest certain reasons why it behoves us to consider this matter. The first is that it is part of Scripture. It is here in the Bible and, as we shall see, it is everywhere in the Bible. And if we regard the Bible as the Word of God, and our authority in all matters of faith and conduct, we cannot pick and choose; we must take it as it is and consider its every part and portion.
Secondly, we must do so because what we are told here is, after all, a question of fact. It is not theory, it is a statement of fact. If the biblical doctrine of the wrath of God is true, then it is the most important fact confronting every one of us at this moment; infinitely more important than any international conference that may be held, infinitely more important than whether there is to be a third world war or not. If this doctrine is true, then we are all involved in it, and our eternal destiny depends upon it. And the Bible states everywhere that it is a fact.
Another reason for considering it is this: that the apostle's whole argument is that we can never understand the love of God until we understand this doctrine. It is - the way in which we measure the love of God. There is a great deal of talk today about the love of God, and yet were we truly to love God, we would express it, we would show it. To love God is not merely to talk about it; to love God, as He Himself points out constantly in His Word, is to keep His commandments and to live for His glory. The argument here is that we really cannot understand the love of God unless we see it in the light of this other doctrine which we are now considering. So it is essential from that standpoint.
Let me put it in this way. I suggest that we can never truly understand why it is that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, had to come into this world unless we understand this doctrine of the wrath of God and the judgment of God. As Christians we believe that the Son of God came into this world, that He laid aside the insignia of His eternal glory, was born as a babe in Bethlehem, and endured all that He endured, because that was essential for our salvation. But the question is, Why was it essential to our salvation? Why did all that have to take place before we could be saved? I defy anyone to answer that question adequately without bringing in this doctrine of the judgment of God and of the wrath of God. This is still more true when you look at the great doctrine of the cross and the death of our blessed Lord and Saviour. Why did Christ die? Why had He to die? If we say that we are saved by His blood, why are we saved by His blood? Why was it essential that He should die on that cross and be buried and rise again before we could be saved? There is only one adequate answer to these questions, and that is this doctrine of the wrath of God. The death of our Lord upon the cross is not absolutely necessary unless this doctrine is true. So, you see, it is a vital matter for us to consider.
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May the Lamb that was slain recieve the reward of His suffering...

For God So Loved the World by R. Scott Clark

2008-08-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

For God So Loved the World

by R. Scott Clark

To many, the topics of common grace and atonement would seem to be mutually exclusive, as if we should either hold to common grace or to definite atonement, but not to both. There are, however, good biblical and theological reasons for holding both the Reformed doctrines of common grace and definite atonement.

By common grace I do not mean that God has endowed all humans with a universal gift whereby, if they will, they may do what is necessary to obtain salvation. Rather, using the formula adopted by the Christian Reformed Churches in 1924, “common grace” means three things: First, God has a sort of general benevolence toward humanity that is not saving; second, God providentially restrains evil; third, unregenerate persons are able to do “civic” but not “saving” good. In short, it is really a way of speaking about what we traditionally have called “providence.”

By atonement, we mean that Christ lived and died as the substitute for His people, putting away their sin and turning away God’s wrath from them, that is, all those whom God chose, in Christ, from eternity out of pure grace.

Creation and Redemption

How do we reconcile the notion of a limited, personal, substitutionary atonement with a universal non-saving favor? If God is favorably inclined toward all, how can one say that Christ did not die for them? And if Christ did not die for all, how can God be favorable toward them in any way?

We say this because creation and redemption are distinct. In creation, God made all that is. In His providence, He sustains and orders all that He made. In redemption, however, He saves His elect image bearers from sin and judgment. Redemption presupposes creation, since there must be a creation (that is, humans) for whom Christ died and whom He redeemed.

God’s Saving Favor in Christ

When Christ said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), He was not speaking of His providential gifts to His creatures but about His saving work for His people.

The term world here is synonymous with the word sinners. In view is not the extent of the atonement, but the degree of God’s love and the quality of those for whom Christ died. How much did God love us? He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son. What sort of people did He love? He loved the “world,” or those who, because of their sin and sinfulness, are opposed to God (John 1:10; 15:18; 17:14). This is how John 3:19 defines “world.” The light has come to the “world,” but men loved darkness rather than light.

The difference between creation and redemption is evident in the way Scripture describes God’s general favor and the way it speaks of the atonement. The atonement is for particular persons. Christ died “for us” (Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:3). The Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep, whom He knows (John 10:14–16).

In contrast, regarding God’s general providence, Jesus taught that the Father “makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). Common grace is general and benefits all people, but the same is not true of the atonement.

The Nature of the Atonement

Just as there are two parts to common grace (creation and providence) so there are two parts to the atonement, expiation and propitiation. To expiate means to cover sins, which Jesus accomplished in His obedience and death (Heb. 9:22). By His obedience and death, Jesus also turned away God’s wrath from all His people. This is propitiation.

Moses’ intercession for Israel (Ex. 32) is a good illustration of propitiation. Having come down from the mountain, Moses said upon seeing their sins, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make propitiation for your sin.” This turning away of God’s wrath from His people becomes even clearer later (vv.14–16) when Moses prayed and Yahweh, “appeased,” became favorable towards His people. All that Moses illustrated, Christ fulfilled in His obedience and death.

In Luke18:9–14, the Pharisee congratulated himself for his righteousness. The tax-collector, however, cried out to God saying, “God be propitious to me, I am a sinner.” The apostle Paul spoke clearly about Christ’s propitiating work in Romans 3:25–26: “God presented Him [Jesus] as the place of propitiation, through faith in His blood, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins committed beforehand in the forbearance of God, for a demonstration of His righteousness now in this season in order that He might be righteous, and the one declaring righteous him who has faith in Jesus.”

In this passage, Paul is explaining how we are declared righteous by God. (vv. 21–22). In the past, God “overlooked” the sins of the Israelites. It was not that He did not “see” them in His omniscience, or that He is morally sloppy, but He suspended execution of His justice in view of the coming of Christ. In other words, His general providence served His plan of definite atonement.

Paul says that now, in Christ’s death, God’s justice is demonstrated and satisfied by Christ’s becoming our place of propitiation (see Heb. 9:5). In His death as our sin-bearer (2 Cor. 5:21), Jesus has become our propitiation and the place and means of propitiation, that we might become “the righteousness of God.”

When He died, Jesus actually accomplished expiation and propitiation for sins, but for whom? If Jesus propitiated God for the sins of all, then all are saved. Clearly, however, not all are saved. This is because it was never our Savior’s intention to propitiate God’s wrath for everyone who ever lived. Rather, it was His intention to redeem all of His people completely.

Difficult Passages

What then do we do with passages such as 1 John 2:2: “He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world”? It is good to remember the context of this verse. John is encouraging Christians to obedience based on Christ’s atoning work for believers. In context, it makes little sense to read this passage to mean “Christ turned away God’s wrath for all who ever lived.” In this context it makes more sense to read “world” in a qualitative sense (sinners) or to mean “many more folk beyond Asia Minor .”

We have a similar case in 2 Corinthians 5:15 where Scripture says that Christ died “for all.” If we stopped there, we might conclude that the Arminians are correct, but if we continue, we see that Scripture says Christ died so that the Christians “might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (emphasis added). The “all” of the first part of verse 15 is qualified by the second clause, “for their sake,” to refer to believers who are united to Christ. What seemed at first glance like a universalistic passage actually teaches definite atonement.

The usefulness of the doctrine of common grace for our understanding of the atonement becomes clearer in 1 Timothy 4:10 where Paul wrote, “For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe” (ASV).

Critics ask how we can continue to hold to a definite atonement in the face of such language. The answer is that Paul was not speaking of the atonement here. The Greek noun for “Savior” here is soter. As my colleague Steven M. Baugh has pointed out, in Ephesus there was a statue dedicated to Caesar that proclaimed him a “god” and “the universal soter of the life of men,” referring to Caesar’s gifts to the city. Against this background, Paul is best read to say, “It is not some presumptuous king who is the provider for humanity, but the living God is the provider, and especially to those who believe.” Here, general providence illumines particular grace.

In His providence, God gives many wonderful gifts to humanity. We rejoice in the colors of autumn and the joy of music. These gifts are good in themselves, but they are universal and distinct from His particular gift of redemption in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). All humans know God as Creator and Judge (Rom. 1:18–21), but believers know Him as Redeemer. We know that in His love, He sent His Son not merely to make salvation possible, since in that case none would be saved. Rather, Jesus came to earn it for us (Phil. 2:8) by turning away God’s wrath so that, “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” ( Rom. 5:1).

The Sufficiency of Scripture

2008-04-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

The Infallibility of Scripture - C.H. Spurgeon

The Sufficiency of Scripture - John MacArthur
- part 2

John Piper on the Sufficiency of Scripture

Sola Scriptura - R.C. Sproul

Sola Scriptura - A.A. Hodge

The Sufficiency of Scripture - The Masters Seminary

The Sufficiency of Scripture in Apologetics - The Masters Seminary

Omnipotence

2008-03-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

God is Omnipotent. He is all-powerful, and all power is in His hand. He is the source of all life and authority and in Him is all fullness of power. God's power is more diplayed than spoken of in His word and in this case His all-powerful actions speak louder than His words; yet His all powerful actions are not apart from His word, because His word put His actions into existence and His word is all powerful...did you get that? God has all power and authority and there is no one like The Almighty.

The Power of God - A.W. Pink

The Power of God - James Boyce

The Omnipotence of God - A.W. Tozer

The Omnipotence of God - D.H. Kuiper

Discourse on the power of God - Stephen Charnock

My Name is God Almighty - John Piper

Sermons

The Power of God - Paul Washer

My Name is God Almighty - John Piper

The omnipotence of God - A.W. Tozer

Self- Existence

2008-02-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

To admit that there is One who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our categories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason, nor submit to our curious inquiries: this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage Him. Yet how He eludes us! For He is everywhere while He is nowhere, for ”where” has to do with matter and space, and God is independent of both. He is unaffected by time or motion, is wholly self-dependent and owes nothing to the worlds His hands have made.

A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of The Holy

God is self-existent, God has always been...Our Maker exists in an eternal, self-sustaining, necessary way, necessary, that is, in the sense that God does not have it in Him to go out of existence, just as we do not have it in us to live forever. We necessarily age and die, because it is our present nature to do that; God necessarily continues forever unchanged, because it is His eternal nature to do that. This is one of many contrasts between creature and Creator...God's self existence is basic truth.

J.I. Packer , Concise Theology

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being(D) Lord of heaven and earth,(E) does not live in temples made by man,[a] 25nor is he served by human hands,(F) as though he needed anything, since he himself(G) gives to all mankind(H) life and breath and everything."
Acts 17:24-25

"I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11(O) I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.

12"If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
(P) for the world and its fullness are mine.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?"

Psalms 50:9-13

The Self- Existence of God - D.H. Kuiper

The Self-Existence of God - The Knowledge of the Holy: A.W. Tozer

Self Existence and Immensity of God

Sermons

The Self- Existence of God - A.W. Tozer

The Relative, Self-Existence of God - Al Boyce

Unlimited Limited Atonement - by Mark Driscoll

2007-09-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

Scriptures on Total Depravity

2007-05-22T17:55:00.000-07:00

Genesis 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Genesis 6:5 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

Job 14:4 "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one."

Psalms 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."

Psalms 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies."

Proverbs 30:12 "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness."

Isaiah 1:2-8 "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. {3} The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. {4} Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. {5} Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. {6} From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. {7} Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. {8} And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city."

Isaiah 40:6-8 "The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: {7} The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. {8} The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

Jeremiah 13:23 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Matthew 11:25 "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."

John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

John 8:19 "Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also."

John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"

Romans 3:10-12 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: {11} There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. {12} They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

1 Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

2 Corinthians 1:9 "But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:"

Ephesians 2:1-3 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: {2} Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: {3} Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."

Ephesians 2:12 "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:"

A Breakdown of Total Depravity

Is man basically good or basically evil?
Ecclesiastes 7:29 - "Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices."
Romans 5:7-8 - For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:12,19 - through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned... through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners
c.f. Job 15:14-16, 25:4-6; Ecclesiastes 9:3

All men? Are there any exceptions?
Psalm 143:2 - And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight no man living is righteous.
Galatians 3:22 - the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin
Romans 11:32 - For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2 Chronicles 6:36 - there is no man who does not sin
Isaiah 53:6 - All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
Micah 7:2-4 - The godly person has perished from the land, and there is no upright person among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; each of them hunts the other with a net. Concerning evil, both hands do it well. The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, and a great man speaks the desire of his soul; so they weave it together. The best of them is like a briar, the most upright like a thorn hedge.
Romans 3:9-12 - What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. (c.f. Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3)
1 John 1:8,10 - If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar and His word is not in us.
Mark 10:18/Luke 18:19 - And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone."
c.f. 1 Kings 8:46; 116:11, 130:3, 143:2; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Jeremiah 2:29; Micah 7:2-4, Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; James 3:2; etc., etc.

Are people good deep down?
Mark 7:21-23 - "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man." (c.f. Matthew 15:19)
Psalm 5:9 - There is nothing reliable in what they say; their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
Are men totally depraved? Is every faculty of the person corrupted?
Heart (Hardened, Deceitful)
Jeremiah 17:9 - "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Ecclesiastes 9:3 - the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.
Matthew 15:19 - "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." (c.f. Mark 7:21-23)
Genesis 6:5 & 8:21 - Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... from youth.
Psalm 36:1-2 - Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For it flatters him in his own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.

Matthew 13:14 - "In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.'"
Proverbs 28:26 - He who trusts in his own heart is a fool
c.f. Deuteronomy 29:2-4; Psalm 58:4-5; Ecclesiastes 8:11; Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26; Psalm 10:4, 94:11; Mark 7:21-23; Ephesians 4:17-18

Mind (Depraved)
Romans 1:28-31 - And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being... without understanding
Titus 1:15-16 - to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled
Ephesians 4:17-18 - So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
Jeremiah 10:7-8,14 - For among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. But they are altogether stupid and foolish. Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge
c.f. Romans 8:7, 12:2; Ephesians 4:23

Will/Choosing (Enslaved)
John 8:34 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin."
2 Peter 2:19 - by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
Titus 3:3 - For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
Galatians 4:8-9 - However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
Romans 6:6,16,17,19,20 - our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin... Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey...? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart... 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. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Romans 7:14 - For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
Romans 6:20 - For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
2 Timothy 2:25-26 - if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 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.
c.f. Isaiah 42:6-7; Psalm 51:112; John 8:31-32,36; 2 Corinthians 3:17

Affections/Desires (Perverted)
Romans 1:24-27 - Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
2 Timothy 3:2-4 - For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
Proverbs 21:10 - The soul of the wicked desires evil
Isaiah 32:6 - For a fool speaks nonsense, and his heart inclines toward wickedness
John 3:19 - "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."
John 8:44 - "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father."
c.f. Genesis 3:16; Psalm 4:2, 52:3-4 140:8; Proverbs 10:23; 2 Peter 2:13

et al (Utter Ruin)
Titus 1:15-16 - to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled
Romans 7:18 - I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh
Isaiah 1:5-6 - The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is nothing sound in it, only bruises, welts and raw wounds, not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil.
Can men change themselves or still do good when they want to?
Jeremiah 13:23 - Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil.
Job 11:12 - An idiot will become intelligent when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.
1 Samuel 24:13 - "As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness'"
Matthew 7:18 - "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit." (c.f. Luke 6:43)
Matthew 12:34 - "how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil."
Romans 8:7 - the mind set on the flesh... does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so
Genesis 6:5 & 8:21 - Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... from youth.
Titus 1:15-16 - to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
c.f. Job 14:4; Matthew 12:34; John 15:5; Romans 14:23; 1 John 5:18-19

Are men at least born pure? What about the "tabula rasa"?
Psalm 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
Genesis 8:21 - the Lord said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth
Psalm 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb; those who speak lies go astray from birth.

Isaiah 48:8 - "You have not heard, you have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, because I knew that you would deal very treacherously; and you have been called a rebel from birth."
John 3:6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh"
c.f. Proverbs 22:15

What is the natural disposition of man toward God?
John 3:20 - "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
Romans 8:7-8 - the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Colossians 1:21 - you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds
James 4:4 - You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
c.f. Romans 1:28-30

What is man's relationship to God?
Psalm 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb; those who speak lies go astray from birth.
Ephesians 2:12-13 - remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:3 - 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.
c.f. Isaiah 59:2

Can man then do anything to please God?
Proverbs 15:9 - The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord
Proverbs 15:8/21:27 - The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord
Proverbs 28:9 - He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Isaiah 64:6 - For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
Romans 8:7-8 - the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please [God]
c.f. Psalm 50:16; Proverbs 21:4; Isaiah 1:10-15; Amos 5:21-24

Are men at least seeking God?
Psalm 10:4 - The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, "There is no God."
John 3:20 - "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
Isaiah 65:1 - "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me."
Isaiah 64:7 - There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.
Romans 3:10-12 - "there is none who seeks for God"
c.f. Romans 10:20

Can the natural man comprehend the gospel or come to saving knowledge of God on his own?
1 Corinthians 2:14 - 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.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 - our gospel is veiled... to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18,21-24 - For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness
Deuteronomy 29:2-4 - And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear."
Matthew 11:27 - "no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.'
c.f. Psalm 119:18; Proverbs 4:19; Isaiah 42:6-7; Hosea 14:9; Matthew 16:17; John 8:43; Acts 22:14, 26:18; Ephesians 4:17-19; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; 1 John 5:20

Can men of themselves accept God's gift of salvation? Do men choose God or come to Him on their own?
John 3:27 - John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."
John 14:16 - "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him
John 1:12-13 - 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, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 6:44 & 64 - "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;" 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."
Romans 9:16 - So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
Romans 11:35-36 - Or who has first given to [the Lord] that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
1 Corinthians 1:30 - But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus
Philippians 2:13 - for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
c.f. Jonah 2:9; Zephaniah 3:9; John 15:16; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Philippians 1:6; James 1:18

Who supplies faith/belief/repentance?
Romans 12:3 - God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
2 Peter 1:1 - Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours
1 Corinthians 3:6 - I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
Acts 5:31 - "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 11:18 - When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
Philippians 1:29 - For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake... to believe in Him
Acts 18:27 - And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace
Acts 3:16 - "And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all."
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
2 Timothy 2:25 - The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, [etc.]... if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth
1 Corinthians 12:3 - no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit
2 Peter 1:3 - His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence
Romans 11:36 - For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 4:7 - For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
John 3:6 & 6:63 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit... It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;"
c.f. 1 Chronicles 29:14; John 5:44; Romans 1:8; Ephesians 6:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:2

Can men do anything to help themselves?
Romans 5:6 - For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Colossians 2:13 - When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions
Ephesians 2:1-2 & 4-5 - And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked... But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
c.f. Psalm 49:7-9; Jeremiah 2:22; Ezekiel 16:6, 37:1-3

Who then can be saved?!
Matthew 19:26 - Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
c.f. Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27

Total Depravity

2007-05-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

What Presbyterians really mean by terms such as "Original Sin," "Total Depravity," and "Inability of the Will" is defined by our Confession of Faith, Chapter IX, Section iii: "Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto."
By original sin we mean the evil quality which characterizes man's natural disposition and will. We call this sin of nature original, because each fallen man is born with it, and because it is the source or origin in each man of his actual transgressions.
By calling it total, we do not mean that men are from their youth as bad as they can be. Evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, "deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13). Nor do we mean that they have no social virtues towards their fellowmen in which they are sincere. We do not assert with extremists that because they are natural men, therefore all their friendship, honesty, truth, sympathy, patriotism, domestic love, are pretenses or hypocrisies. What our Confession says is, "That they have wholly lost ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation." The worst retain some, and the better much, ability of will for sundry moral goods accompanying social life. Christ teaches this (Mark 10:21) when, beholding the social virtues of the rich young man who came kneeling unto him, "He loved him," Christ could never love mere hypocrisies. What we teach is, that by the fall man's moral nature has undergone an utter change to sin, irreparable by himself. In this sense it is complete, decisive, or total. The state is as truly sinful as their actual transgressions, because it is as truly free and spontaneous. This original sin shows itself in all natural men in a fixed and utter opposition of heart to some forms of duty, and especially and always to spiritual duties, owing to God, and in a fixed and absolutely decisive purpose of heart to continue in some sins (even while practicing some social duties), and especially to continue in their sins of unbelief, impenitence, self-will, and practical godlessness. In this the most moral are as inflexibly determined by nature as the most immoral. The better part may sincerely respect sundry rights and duties regarding their fellowmen, but in the resolve that self-will shall be their rule, whenever they please, as against God's sovereign holy will, these are as inexorable as the most wicked. I suppose that a refined and gently reared young lady presents the least sinful specimen of unregenerate human nature. Examine such a one. Before she would be guilty of theft, profane swearing, drunkenness, or impurity, she would die. In her opposition to these sins she is truly sincere. But there are some forms of self-will, especially in sins of omission as against God, in which she is just as determined as the most brutal drunkard is in his sensuality. She has, we will suppose, a Christian mother. She is determined to pursue certain fashionable conformities and dissipations. She has a light novel under her pillow which she intends to read on the Sabbath. Though she may still sometimes repeat like a parrot her nursery prayers, her's is spiritually a prayerless life. Especially is her heart fully set in her not to forsake at this time her life of self-will and worldliness for Christ's service and her salvation. Tenderly and solemnly her Christian mother may ask her, "My daughter, do you not know that in these things you are wrong toward your heavenly Father" She is silent. She knows she is wrong. "My daughter, will you not therefore now relent, and choose for your Savior's sake, this very day, the life of faith and repentance, and especially begin tonight the life of regular, real, secret prayer. Will you?" Probably her answer is in a tone of cold and bitter pain. "Mother, don't press me, I would rather not promise." No; she will not! Her refusal may be civil in form, because she is well-bred; but her heart is as inflexibly set in her as the hardened steel not at this time to turn truly from her self-will to her God. In that particular her stubbornness is just the same as that of the most hardened sinners. Such is the best type of unregenerate humanity.
Now, the soul's duties towards God are the highest, dearest, and most urgent of all duties; so that willful disobedience herein is the most express, most guilty, and most hardening of all the sins that the soul commits. God's perfections and will are the most supreme and perfect standard of moral right and truth. Therefore, he who sets himself obstinately against God's right is putting himself in the most fatal and deadly opposition to moral goodness. God's grace is the one fountain of holiness for rational creatures; hence, he who separates himself from this God by this hostile self-will, shuts himself in to ultimate spiritual death. This rooted, godless, self-will is the eating cancer of the soul. That soul may remain for a time like the body of a young person tainted with undeveloped cancer, apparently attractive and pretty. But the cancer is spreading the secret seeds of corruption through all the veins; it will break out at last in putrid ulcers, the blooming body will become a ghastly corpse. There is no human remedy. To drop the figure; when the sinful soul passes beyond the social restraints and natural affections of this life, and beyond hope, into the world of the lost, this fatal root, sin of willful godlessness will soon develop into all forms of malignity and wickedness; the soul will become finally and utterly dead to God and to good. This is what we mean by total depravity.
Once more, Presbyterians do not believe they lose their free-agency because of original sin. See our Confession, Chapter IX., Section 1: "God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that it is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature determined, to good or evil." We fully admit that where an agent is not free he is not morally responsible. A just God will never punish him for actions in which he is merely an instrument, impelled by the compulsion of external force or fate. But what is free agency? There is no need to call in any abstruse metaphysics to the sufficient answer. Let every man's consciousness and common sense tell him: I know that I am free whenever what I choose to do is the results of my own preference.
I choose and act so as to please myself, then I am free. That is to say, our responsible volitions are the expression and the result of our own rational preference. When I am free and responsible it is because I choose and do the thing which I do, not compelled by some other agents, but in accordance with my own inward preference. We all know self-evidently that this is so. But is rational preference in us a mere haphazard state? Do our reasonable souls contain no original principles regulative of their preferences and choices? Were this so, then would man's soul be indeed a miserable weathercock, wheeled about by every outward wind; not fit to be either free, rational or responsible. We all know that we have such first principles regulative of our preferences; and these are own natural dispositions. They are inward, not external. They are spontaneous, not compelled, and so as free as our choices. They are our own, not somebody else's. They are ourselves. They are essential attributes in any being possessed of personality. Every rational person must have some kind of natural disposition. We can conceive of one person as naturally disposed this way, and of another that way. It is impossible for us to think a rational free agent not disposed any way at all. Try it. We have capital illustrations of what native disposition is in the corporeal propensities of animals. It is the nature of a colt to like grass and hay. It is the nature of a bouncing schoolboy to like hot sausage. You may tole the colt with a bunch of nice hay, but not the boy; it is the hot sausage will fetch him when he is hungry; offer the hot sausage to the colt and he will reject it and shudder at it. Now both the colt and the boy are free in choosing what they like; free be cause their choices follow their own natural likings, i.e., their own animal dispositions.
But rational man has mental dispositions which are better than illustrations, actual cases of native principles regulating natural choices. Thus, when happiness or misery may be chosen simply for their own sakes, every man's natural disposition is towards happiness and against misery. Again, man naturally loves property; all are naturally disposed to gain and to keep their own rather than to lose it for nothing. Once more, every man is naturally disposed to enjoy the approbation and praise of his fellow-men; and their contempt and abuse are naturally painful to him. In all these cases men choose according as they prefer, and they prefer according to their natural dispositions, happiness rather than misery, gain rather than loss, applause rather than abuse. They are free in these choices as they are sure to choose in the given way. And they are as certain to choose agreeably to these original dispositions as rivers are to run downwards; equally certain and equally free, because the dispositions which certainly regulate their preferences are their own, not some one else's, and are spontaneous in them, not compelled.
Let us apply one of these cases. I make this appeal to a company of aspiring young ladies and gentlemen: "Come and engage with me of your free choice in this given course of labor; it will be long and arduous; but I can assure you of a certain result. I promise you that, by this laborious effort, you shall make yourselves the most despised and abused set of young people in the State." Will this succeed in inducing them? Can it succeed? No; it will not, and we justly say, it cannot. But are not these young persons free when they answer me, as they certainly will, "No, Teacher, we will not, and we cannot commit the folly of working hard solely to earn contempt, because contempt is in itself contrary and painful to our nature." This is precisely parallel to what Presbyterians mean by inability of will to all spiritual good. It is just as real and certain as inability of faculty. These young people have the fingers therewith to perform the proposed labor, let us say of writing, by which I invite them to toil for the earning of contempt. They have eyes and fingers wherewith to do penmanship, but they cannot freely choose my offer, because it contradicts that principle of their nature, love of applause, which infallibly regulates free human preference and choice. Here is an exact case of "inability of will." If, now, man's fall has brought into his nature a similar native principle or disposition against godliness for its own sake, and in favor of self-will as against God, then a parallel case of inability of will presents itself. The former case explains the latter. The natural man's choice in preferring his self-will to God's authority is equally free, and equally certain. But this total lack of ability of will toward God does not suspend man's responsibility, because it is the result of his own free disposition, not from any compulsion from without. If a master would require his servant to do a bodily act for which he naturally had not the bodily faculty, as, for instance, the pulling up of a healthy oak tree with his hands, it would be unjust to punish the servant's failure. But this is wholly another case than the sinner's. For, if his natural disposition towards God were what it ought to be, he would not find himself deprived of the natural faculties by which God is known, loved, and served. The sinner's case is not one of extinction of faculties, but of their thorough willful perversion. It is just like the case of Joseph's wicked brethren, of whom Moses says (Genesis 37:4): "That they hated their brother Joseph, so that they could not speak peaceably unto him." They had tongues in their heads? Yes. They could speak in words whatever they chose, but hatred, the wicked voluntary principle, ensured that they would not, and could not, speak kindly to their innocent brother.
Now, then, all the argument turns upon the question of fact: is it so that since Adam's fall the natural disposition of all men is in this state of fixed, decisive enmity against God's will, and fixed, inexorable preference for their own self-will, as against God? Is it true that man is in this lamentable state, that while still capable of being rightly disposed toward sundry virtues and duties, terminating on his fellow creatures, his heart is inexorably indisposed and willfully opposed to those duties which he owes to his heavenly Father directly? That is the question! Its best and shortest proof would be the direct appeal to every man's conscience. I know that it was just so with me for seventeen years, until God's almighty hand took away the heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh. Every converted man confesses the same of himself. Every unconverted man well knows that it is now true of himself, if he would allow his judgment and conscience to look honestly within. Unbeliever, you may at times desire even earnestly the impunity, the safety from hell, and the other selfish advantages of the Christian life; but did you ever prefer and desire that life for its own sake? Did you ever see the moment when you really wished God to subjugate all your self-will to his holy will? No ! That is the very thing which the secret disposition of your soul utterly resents and rejects. The retention of that self-will is the very thing which you so obstinately prefer, that as long as you dare you mean to retain it and cherish it, even at the known risk of an unprepared death and a horrible perdition. But I will add other proofs of this awful fact, and especially the express testimony of the Holy Spirit.
There is the universal fact that all men sin more or less, and do it willfully. In the lives of most unrenewed men, sin reigns prevalently. The large majority are dishonest, unjust, selfish, cruel, as far as they dare to be, even to their fellow creatures, not to say utterly godless to their heavenly Father. The cases like that of the well-bred young lady, described above, are relatively few, fatally defective as they are. This dreadful reign of sin in this world continues in spite of great obstacles, such as God's judgments and threatenings, and laborious efforts to curb it in the way of governments, restrictive laws and penalties, schools, family discipline, and churches. This sinning of human beings begins more or less as soon as the child's faculties are so developed as to qualify him for sinning intentionally. "The wicked go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." Now, a uniform result must proceed from a regular prior cause--there must be original sin in man's nature.
Even the great rationalistic philosopher, Emmanual Kant, believed and taught this doctrine. His argument is, that when men act in the aggregate and in national masses, they show out their real native dispositions, because in these concur rent actions they are not restrained by public opinion and by human laws restricting individual actions, and they do not feel immediate personal responsibility for what they do. The actions of men in the aggregate, therefore, shows what man's heart really is. Now, then, what are the morals of the nations towards each other and towards God? Simply those of foxes, wolves, tigers, and atheists. What national senate really and humbly tries to please and obey God in its treatment of neighbor nations? What nation trusts its safety simply to the justice of its neighbors? Look at the great standing armies and fleets! Though the nation may include many God-fearing and righteous persons, when is that nation ever seen to forego a profitable aggression upon the weak, simply because it is unjust before God? These questions are unanswerable.
In the third place, all natural men, the decent and genteel just as much as the vile, show this absolute opposition of heart to God's will, and preference for self-will in some sinful acts and by rejecting the gospel. This they do invariably, knowingly, willfully, and with utter obstinacy, until they are made willing in the day of God's power. They know with Perfect clearness that the gospel requirements of faith, trust, repentance, endeavors after sincere obedience, God's righteous law, prayer, praise, and love to him, are reasonable and right. Outward objects or inducements are constantly presented to their souls, which are of infinite moment, and ought to be absolutely omnipotent over right hearts. These objects include the unspeakable love of God in Christ in giving his Son to die for his enemies, which ought to melt the heart to gratitude in an instant; the inexpressible advantages and blessings of an immortal heaven, secured by immediate faith, and the unutterable, infinite horrors of an everlasting hell, incurred by final unbelief, and risked to an awful degree, even by temporary hesitation. And these latter considerations appeal not only to moral conscience, but to that natural selfishness which remains in full force in unbelievers. Nor could doubts concerning these gospel truths, even if sincere and reasonably grounded to some extent, explain or excuse this neglect. For faith, and obedience, and the worship and the love of God, are self-evidently right and good for men, whether these awful gospel facts be true or not. He who believes is acting on the safe side in that he loses nothing, but gains something whichever way the event may go; whereas neglect of the gospel will have incurred an infinite mischief, with no possible gain should Christianity turn out to be true.
In such cases reasonable men always act, as they are morally bound to do, upon the safe side, under the guidance of even a slight probability. Why do not doubting men act thus on the safe side, even if it were a doubtful case (which it is not)? Because their dispositions are absolutely fixed and determined against godliness. Now, what result do we see from the constant application of these immense persuasives to the hearts of natural men? They invariably put them off; sometimes at the cost of temporary uneasiness or agitation, but they infallibly put them off, preferring, as long as they dare, to gratify self-will at the known risk of plain duty and infinite blessedness. Usually they make this ghastly suicidal and wicked choice with complete coolness, quickness, and ease! They attempt to cover from their own consciences the folly and wickedness of their decision by the fact they can do it so coolly and unfeelingly. My common sense tells me that this very circumstance is the most awful and ghastly proof of the reality and power of original sin in them. If this had not blinded them, they would be horrified at the very coolness with which they can outrage themselves and their Savior. I see two men willfully murder each his enemy. One has given the fatal stab in great agitation, after agonizing hesitations, followed by pungent remorse. He is not yet an adept in murder. I see the other man drive his knife into the breast of his helpless victim promptly, coolly, calmly, jesting while he does it, and then cheerfully eat his food with his bloody knife. This is no longer a man, but a fiend.
But the great proof is the Scripture. The whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, asserts this original sin and decisive ungodliness of will of all fallen men. Genesis 6:3: "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh (carnally minded)." Again, Genesis 6:5: "God saw that every imagination of the man's heart was only evil continually." After the terrors of the flood, God's verdict on the survivors was still the same. Genesis 8:21: "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth."
Job, probably the earliest sacred writer, asks, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." (Job 14:4.) David says: "Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."(Psalms 51:5.) Prophet asks (Jeremiah 13:23), "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil." Jeremiah says, chapter 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." What does desperately mean? In the New Testament Christ says John 3:4 and 5), "That which is born of the flesh is flesh;" and "Except ye be born again ye cannot see the kingdom of God." The Pharisees' hearts (decent moral men) are like unto whited sepulchers, which appear beautifully outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Does Christ exaggerate, and slander decent people?
Peter tells us (Acts 8:23) that the spurious believer is "in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity." Paul (Romans 8:7): "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," (inability of will). (Ephesians 2): "All men are by nature children of wrath.... and dead in trespasses and sins." Are not these enough?
—Five Points of Calvinism, The
by Robert Dabney

The Gospel

2007-05-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

All of these Articles have influenced me greatly in understanding the power and preciousness of the Gospel. Our Lord Jesus Christ has done so much in His work on the cross in saving His people from their sins and re-creating them into the image of God after righteousness and true holiness. I will keep adding to these articles as I come across them. Be blessed.

The Gospel Scripture List

The Old Cross and The New - A.W. Tozer

Christ Crucified, Our Boast - John Piper

The Cross of Christ - Paul David Washer

Albatrus.org The Soverignty of God

2007-04-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a link from Albatrus.org on some resources on The Sovereignty of God. Be blessed by these resources in knowing that Our God is Sovereign over all things.

The Sovereignty of God

Human Inability

2007-04-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Human Inability or Total Depravity: All men since the fall of Adam have been born in sin and miss the standard which God had orginally created for man in the beginning. Because all men are sinners, all men miss the mark in meeting God's standards and therefore are out of His purpose for them and all men come into this world contrary to God. Total Depravity does not mean men are as bad as they could be, not meaning all men are Adolph Hitlers' or Idi Amins. Your unsaved grandmother may not be as wicked as Satan himself, but she is in bondage to the same rebellious nature of sin as he is and it affects all parts of her life. Total Depravity or "Original Sin" means that every part of man's being is affected by the nature of sin: body, soul, spirit, and while man may do "good things" at times, he still lives in a nature of sin and is still contrary to God's standard of righteousness and true holiness. Because man is under the bondage of sin as a slave to it, he is totally helpless to deliver hmself from sin's bondage and can only be set free by the power of God in salvation through Jesus Christ. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!

Below are some articles on Total Depravity: I encourage you to not only read the articles but look at and study the scripture verses that support it in the Bible.

Total Depravity

Scriptures on Total Depravity

John Piper on Total Depravity

By Grace Alone -Jim McClarty - Pages 23-36

Human Inability (Total Depravity) - Charles Spurgeon

Sermons

John Piper on Total Depravity

John Piper on Total Depravity - part 2

John MacArthur on Total Depravity

Total Depravity - Dr. Robert J. Cameron

What is Total Depravity - R.C. Sproul

What is Total Depravity Part 2 - R.C.Sproul

What is Total Depravity Part 3- R.C. Sproul

The Wrath of God

2007-04-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

The wrath of God is His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness. It is the displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin. It is the moving cause of that just sentence which He passes upon evil-doers. God is angry against sin because it is a rebelling against His authority, a wrong done to His inviolable sovereignty.

This doctrine is so prevalent as to make even the ministers of the gospel flinch from their duty in declaring the day of wrath. How few there are who will solemnly tell us of the judgment to come. They preach of God's love and mercy as they ought to do, and as God has commanded them; but of what avail is it to preach mercy unless they preach also the doom of the wicked? C.H. Spurgeon

Turn or Burn - Charles Spurgeon

The Wrath of God - A.W. Pink

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God - Jonathan Edwards

The Wrath of God - Thomas Watson

The Wrath of God - John Gill

God's Wrath: Vengence is Mine, I will Repay says the Lord - John Piper

The Wrath of God - John MacArthur

Flee from the Wrath to Come - Charles Spurgeon

Sermons

The Wrath of God - Charles Leiter

The Mercy of God & The Grace of God

2007-04-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy" (Ex. 33:19)

...the Calvinistical notion of sovereign and arbitrary grace, whereby some, with the very same sincerity of endeavors and the same degree of endeavors and the same use of means, shall have the success which is denied others; and although all things are exactly equal in both cases, both as to their persons and their behavior, yet one has that success by sovereign grace and God's arbitrary pleasure that is denied another - Jonathan Edwards

**I recommend these**

The Unfialing Mercy of God - D.H. Kuiper

The Mercy of God - A.W. Pink

The Grace of God - A.W.Pink

From His Fullness We have All Received Grace Upon Grace - John Piper**

John Piper Sermons on the Grace of God

The Mercy of God - A.W. Tozer

The Grace of God - A.W.Tozer

Trophies of Grace - Jeff Noblit**

All of Grace - Charles Spurgeon**

The Universal Grace of God - John MacArthur ( common grace )

Sermons

God's Grace and Mercy - C.H.Spurgeon

God's Mercy - A.W.Tozer

God's Abundant Mercy - A.W.Tozer

God's Grace Abounding -A.W.Tozer

The Grace of God - A.W.Tozer**

The Mercy of God - A.W. Tozer**

The Grace and Mercy of God - Paul Washer**

The Justice of God

2007-04-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

Above we have stated that the Divine justice is far more formidable than man's—and that because of this it is so much dreaded by the guilty. The justice of God is the justice of One who is both omniscient and omnipotent, so that it is impossible we should conceal from Him our offenses, or escape from the execution of His sentence.- A.W. Pink

The justice of God differs in no respect from this attribute as seen among his rational creatures; except that his justice must be perfect while theirs is imperfect, and his must be impartial, while theirs is partial. These differences, however, exist in the exercise of justice, and not in the thing itself.

The Justice of God - Founders Ministries

The Justice of God - A.W.Pink

The Justice of God in the Damnation of Siners - Jonathan Edwards

The Justice of God - A.W.Tozer

Freedom and Justice of God in Unconditional Election - John Piper

Holiness and Justice - R.C. Sproul

Our Divine Defense Attorney - John MacArthur

Sermons

The Justice of God - Michael Durham

Defending the Justice and Goodness of God - Dr. Alan Cairns

The Justice of God - A.W. Tozer

The Goodness of God

2007-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

The goodness of God is the life of the believer’s trust. It is this excellency in God which most appeals to our hearts. Because His goodness endureth forever, we ought never to be discouraged: "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in Him" (Nahum 1:7).
- A. W. Pink

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you,(A) provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise(B) you too will be cut off. - Romans 11:22

On the other hand, the goodness of God may be spoken of as kindness, benevolence, or beneficence towards others, in which it is seen to terminate outside of himself. Thus we speak of him, as being very good to us. Thus the Psalmist says: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Ps. 23: 6.
- Boyce

Articles

The Goodness of God - A.W. Pink

The Goodness of God - Truth for Today

The Goodness of God - A.W. Tozer

Sermons

The Goodness of God - A.W. Tozer

The Love of God

2007-03-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love. - A.W. Pink

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

For Christians, isn't the love of God always present with us? Romans 8:35 and 39 say that nothing can separate us from the love of God. So if nothing can separate us from the love of God, why does Paul pray, "The love of God be with you"? The reason is because, even though the love of God is always present with believers, we do not always experience the love of God as present. Therefore, we want God to make his love more manifestly known. More obviously. More experientially.
- John Piper

The Love of God - D.H. Kuiper

God demonstrates His Love tworard us - John Piper

The Love of God - A.W. Pink

The Love of God - A.W. Tozer

Jacob and Essau - C.H. Spurgeon

The Love of God for Humanity - John MacArthur

Sermons

The Love of God part 1 - Paul Washer

The Love of God part 2 - Paul Washer

The Love of God - A.W. Tozer

Desiring God Resources on the Love of God - John Piper

The Love of God - John MacArthur

Omniscience

2007-03-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Omniscience of God is His all- knowingness. God knows all things that are, that have been , and that will ever be. Nothing can surprise God or throw Him a curveball that He might not see coming. God knows 100% of all things and if he only knew 99.999% of all and lacked .001%, He wouldnt be God...but God knows all things: He knows us better than we know ourselves. In Him is knowledge of all His creation, knowledge of all events, and knowledge of all future events. In His omniscience, He is soverign, meaning that He is in control of all things, good or bad, because He knows all things. We serve a God with all the answers, and we should throw ourselves upon our omniscient God and trust Him with all that we are, knowing that He knows all things.

Resolution on the foreknowledge of God - John Piper

The Foreknowledge of God - A.W. Pink

The Omniscience of God - A.W. Tozer

The Omniscience of God - Gordon Clark

Omniscience quotes - Charles Spurgeon

Sermons

The Omniscience of God - A.W. Tozer

The Omniscience of God - David Miller

He Knew What was In Man - John Piper

Transcendence/Immensity/Sovereignty

2007-03-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

God is Transcendent, Immense and Soverign. God is in a class by Himself; there has never been, there never was, and there never will be anyone like Him. The chreibum which sits in His throne room in Heaven is no closer to Him in essence than the worm which hides in the dirt on this earth. God is totally Transcendent from His creation in that He is far far above any of His creation in terms of anything. He is trancendently and immensely holy, righteous, just, and pure. I have also included in this section, His Sovereignty, which informs us that He is a God who is incontrol of all things: He needs permission from no one to do anything and all things work according to His will. His plan has never faltered or failed and it will come to pass in the end.

Sovereignty:This simply refers to the fact that all things are under His rule and control, and that nothing happens in this Universe without His direction or permission. He is a God Who works, not just some things, but all things after the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11). God's purpose is all- inclusive and is never thwarted (see Isa. 46:11). Nothing Takes Him by Surprise

"It is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things but that He does so always and without exception." - John Piper

God is sovereign over the entire universe: Ps 103:19; Rom 8:28; Eph 1:11
God is sovereign over all of nature: Ps 135:6-7; Mt 5:45; 6:25-30
God is sovereign over angels & Satan: Ps 103:20-21; Job 1:12
God is sovereign over nations: Ps 47:7-9; Dan 2:20-21; 4:34-35
God is sovereign over human beings: 1 Sam 2:6-7; Gal 1:15-16
God is sovereign over animals: Ps 104:21-30; 1 Ki 17:4-6
God is sovereign over "accidents": Pr 16:33; Jon 1:7; Mt 10:29
God is sovereign over free acts of men: Ex 3:21; 12:25-36; Ez 7:27
God is sovereign over sinful acts of men and Satan: 2 Sam 24:1; 1 Chr 21:1; Gen 45:5; 50:20

- Monergism.com

As Americans we're used to a democratic process of rule. When you're talking about sovereignty, you're talking about government and about authority. From a biblical perspective, when the Scriptures speak of God's sovereignty, they reveal God's governmental authority and power over his entire universe.
- R.C. Sproul

The Absolute Sovereignty of God - D.H. Kuiper

The Divine Transcendence - A.W. Tozer

The Sovereignty of God - A.W. Tozer

The Soverignty of God - A.W. Pink

The Supremacy of God - A.W. Pink

God's Absolute Sovereignty - John MacArthur

Albatrus.org Sovereignty of God - www.albatrus.org

Sermons

The Trancendence of God - A.W. Tozer

Divine Sovereignty - Charles Spurgeon

The Sovereignty of God - A.W. Tozer

His Immensity Part 1- A.W. Tozer

His Immensity Part 2 - A.W. Tozer

His Immensity Part 3 - A.W. Tozer

The Sovereignty of God and Prayer - Dr. Curt Daniel

The Absolute Sovereignty of God - John Piper

* For more sermons by John Piper on God's Sovereignty click here

Eternity

2007-03-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

God is eternal. He is beyond space and time. He is outside of time and holds all of time in His hands as a drop of water in the oceans. He is infinitely eternal...if you could say that. He is bound by no minutes, seconds, days, or years. He has been from the beginning of beginnings and has been before everything. He will continue to be even after everything is long gone and passed away. He is eternal. Psalms says that He is from everlasting to everlasting. Because He is eternal, His love is eternal, His holiness, His justice and even His wrath are eternal. Man may ask why an eternal God would die for the finite and temporary sins of men. The answer to that question is the correction of the latter part of the question. Because God is eternal and infinite, sins against Him are eternal and infinitely offensive in his sight and therefore eternal and infinite punishment must be sentenced. God in His eternal love for His elect predestined them from before the foundations of the world, and sent His Son to die for the sins of the world, giving His people life eternal and eternal redemption and forgiveness. There is so much more to His eternity, I pray that you would be blessed by these articles.

Discourse on the Eternity of God - Stephen Charnock

The Eternity of God - A.W. Tozer

Notes on God's Eternality

The Eternity of God - D.H. Kuiper

The Eternality of God - Rebecca Writes blog

Sermons

The Eternity of God - A.W. Tozer

What is Time & Incommunicable Attributes - Wayne Grudem

Perseverance of The Saints - Robert Lewis Dabney

2007-03-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

Perseverance of the Saints
Our Confession, in Chapter XVII., Sections i and ii., states this doctrine thus: "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." "This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own their own 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."
I beg the reader to weigh these statements with candor and close attention. He will find that we do not ascribe this stability of grace in the believer to any excellence in his own soul, even regenerate, as source and cause, but we ascribe it to the unchangeable purpose and efficacious grace of God dwelling and operating in them. All the angels, and Adam, received from their Creator holy natures; yet our first father and the fallen angels show that they could totally fall away into sin. No one in himself is absolutely incapable of sinning, except the unchangeable God. Converted men, who still have indwelling sin, must certainly be as capable of falling as Adam, who had none. We believe that the saints will certainly stand, because the God who chose them will certainly hold them up.
We do not believe that all professed believers and church members will certainly preserve and reach heaven. It is to be feared that many such, even plausible pretenders, "have but a name to have while they are dead." They fall fatally be cause they never had true grace to fall from.
We do not teach that any man is entitled to believe that he is justified, and therefore shall not come again in condemnation on the proposition "once in grace always in grace," although he be now living in intentional, willful sin. This falsehood of Satan we abhor. We say, the fact that this deluded man can live in willful sin is the strongest possible proof that he never was justified, and never had any grace to fall from. And, once for all, no intelligent believer can possibly abuse this doctrine into a pretext for carnal security. It promises to true believers a perseverance in holiness. Who, except an idiot, could infer from that promise the privilege to be unholy?
Once more. We do not teach that genuine believers are secure from backsliding, but if they become unwatchful and prayerless, they may fall for a time into temptations, sins, and loss of hope and comfort, which may cause them much misery and shame, and out of which a covenant-keeping God will recover them by sharp chastisements and deep contrition. Hence, so far as lawful self-interests can be a proper motive for Christian effort, this will operate on the Presbyterian under this doctrinal perseverance, more than on the Arminian with his doctrine of falling from grace. The former cannot say, I need not be alarmed though I be backslidden; for if he is a true believer he has to be brought back by grievous and perhaps by terrible afflictions; he had better be alarm at these! But further, an enlightened self-love will alarm him more pungently than the Arminians' will. Here is an Arminian who finds himself backslidden. Does he feel a wholesome alarm, saying to himself, "Ah, me, I was in the right road to heaven, but I have gotten out of it; I must get back in to it?" Well, the Presbyterian similarly backslidden is taught by his doctrine to say: I thought I was in the right road to heaven, but now I see I was mistaken all the time, because God says, that if I had really been in that right road I could never have left it. Alas! therefore, I must either perish or get back; not to that old deceitful road in which I was, but into a new one, essentially different, narrower and straighter. Which of the two men has the more pungent motive to strive?
As I have taken the definition of the doctrine from our Confession, I will take thence the heads of its proofs:
The immutability of God's election proves it. How came this given sinner to be now truly converted? Because God had elected him to salvation. But God says, "my purpose shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Since God is changeless and almighty, this purpose to save him must certainly succeed. But no man can be saved in his sins, therefore this man will certainly be made to persevere in grace.
The doctrine follows from the fact that God's election is sovereign and unconditional, not grounded in any foreseen merit in the sinner elected. God knew there was none in him to foresee. But God did foresee all the disobedience, unthankfulness, and provocation which that unworthy sinner was ever to perpetrate. Therefore, the future disclosure of this unthankfulness, disobedience, and provocation by this poor sinner, cannot become a motive with God to revoke his election of him. God knew all about it just as well when he first elected him, and yet, moved by his own motives of love, mercy, and wisdom, he did elect him, foreknowing all his possible meanness.
The same conclusion follows from God's covenant of redemption with his Son the Messiah. This was a compact made from eternity between the Father and the Son. In this the Son freely bound himself to die for the sins of the world and to fulfill his other offices as Mediator for the redemption of God's people. God covenanted on this condition to give his Son this redeemed people as his recompense. In this covenant of redemption Christ furnished and fulfilled the whole conditions; his redeemed people none. So, when Christ died, saying "It is finished," the compact was finally closed; there is no room, without unfaithfulness in the Father, for the final falling away of a single star out of our Savior's purchased crown; read John 17 It is "an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and is sure." (2 Samuel 23:5.)
We must infer the same blessed truth from Christ's love in dying for his people while sinners, from the supreme merits of his imputed righteousness, and the power of his intercession: "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (Romans 5:8-10.) "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32.)Of Christ, the Intercessor, it is said: "Him the Father heareth always."But see John 7:20: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." If the all-prevailing High Priest prays for all believers, all of them will receive what he asks for. But what and how much does he for them? Some temporary, contingent and mutable grace, contingent on the changeable and fallible human will? See John 17:24: "Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given Me be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given Me."
If any man is converted, it is because the Holy Ghost is come into him ; if any sinner lives for a time the divine life, it is because the Holy Ghost is dwelling in him. But the Bible assures us that this Holy Ghost is the abiding seed of spiritual life, the earnest of heaven, and the seal of our redemption. Believers are "born by the word of God, of a living and incorruptible seed, which abideth and liveth forever," The Apostle Paul declares that they receive the earnest of the Spirit, and that his indwelling is "the earnest of the purchased possession." The same apostle says (Eph. 4:30): "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (See 1 John. 3.9).
An earnest, or earnest-money, is a smaller sum paid in cash when a contract is finally closed, as an unchangeable pledge that the future payments shall also be made in their due time. A seal is the final imprint added by the contracting parties to their names to signify that the contract is closed and binding. Such is the sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit in every genuine believer; a deathless principle of perseverance therein, God's advanced pledge of his purpose to give heaven also, God's seal affixed to his covenant of grace. This, then, is the blessed assurance of hope which the true believer is privileged to attain: not only that God is pledged conditionally to give me heaven, provided I continue to stick to my gospel duty in the exercise of my weak, changeable, fallible will. A wretched consolation that to the believer who knows his own heart! But the full assurance of hope is this: Let the Holy Spirit once touch this dead heart of mine with his quickening light, so that I embrace Christ with a real penitent faith; then I have the blessed certainty that "this God who hath begun the good work in me, will perfect it unto the day of Jesus Christ" (his judgment day), (See Philippians 1:6) that the same divine love will infallibly continue with me notwithstanding subsequent sins and provocations, will chastise, restore, and uphold me, and give me the final victory over sin and death. This is the hope inexpressible and full of glory, a thousand-fold better adapted to stimulate in me obedience, the prayer, the watchfulness, the striving, which are the means of my victory, than the chilling doubts of possible falling from grace. Again, the Scriptures are our best argument. I append a few texts among many: See Jeremiah 32:40: "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me." My Sheep never perish, and none shall pluck them out of my hand (John 10:27 ff). 2 Timothy 2:19: "The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his." Christ himself implies that it is not possible to deceive his elect. 1 Peter 1:5: Believers "are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." The same apostle thus explains the apostasy of final backsliders. 2 Peter 2:22: "The sow that was washed returns to her wallowing in the mire." She is a sow still in her nature, though with the outer surface washed, but never changed into a lamb; for if she had been, she would never have chosen the mire.
The apostle (1 John 2:19) explains final back slidings in the same way, and in words which simply close the debate: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."
My affirmative argument virtually refutes all objections. But there are two to which I will give a word. Arminians urge always an objection drawn from their false philosophy. They say that if God's grace in regeneration were efficient, certainly determining the convert's will away from sin to gospel duty, it would destroy his free agency. Then there would be no moral nor deserving quality in his subsequent evangelical obedience to please God, any more than in the natural color of his hair, which he could not help. My answer is, that their philosophy is false. The presence and operation of a right principle in a man, certainly determining him to right feelings and actions, does not infringe his free-agency but rather is essential to all right free-agency. My proofs are, that if this spurious philosophy were true, the saints and elect angels in heaven could not have any free-agency or praise-worthy character or conduct. For they are certain and forever determined to holiness. The man Jesus could not have had any free-agency or merit, for his human will was absolutely determined to holiness. God himself could not have had any freedom or praiseworthy holiness. He least of all! for his will is eternally, unchangeably, and necessarily determined to absolute holiness, If there is anything approaching blasphemy in this, take notice, it is not mine. I put this kind of philosophy from me with abhorrence.
It is objected, again, that the Bible is full of warnings to believers to watch against apostasy, like this in 1 Corinthians 10:12: "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." The sophism is, that if believers cannot fall from grace all these warnings are absurd. I reply, they are reasonable, because believers could fall from grace if were left to their own natural powers. In this sense, they naturally might fall, and therefore watchfulness is reasonably urged upon them, because God's unchangeable purpose of grace towards them is effectuated in them, not as if they were stocks or stones, or dumb beasts, but rational free agents, to be guided and governed by the almighty Spirit through the means of rational motives. Therefore, when we see God plying believers with these rational motives not to back slide, it is not to be inferred that he secretly intends to let them backslide fatally, but rather just the contrary. I will close with a little parable: I watch a wise, intelligent, watchful, and loving mother, who is busy about her household work. There is a bright little girl playing about the room, the mother's darling. I hear her say, "take care, baby dear, don't go near that bright fire, for you might get burned." Do I argue thus? Hear that woman's words! I infer from them that that woman's mind is made up to let that darling child burn itself to death unless its own watchfulness shall suffice to keep it away from the fire, the caution of an ignorant, impulsive, fickle little child. What a heartless mother! But I do not infer thus, unless I am a heartless fool. I know that this mother knows the child is a rational creature, and that rational cautions are one species of means for keeping it at a safe distance from the fire; therefore she does right to address such cautions to the child; she would not speak thus if she thought it were a mere kitten or puppy dog, and would rely on nothing short of tying it by the neck to the table leg. But I also know that that watchful mother's mind is fully made up that the darling child shall not burn itself at this fire. If the little one's impulsiveness and short memory cause it to neglect the maternal cautions, I know that I shall see that good woman instantly drop her instruments of labor and draw back her child with physical force from that fire, and then most rationally renew her cautions to the child as a reasonable agent with more emphasis. And if the little one proves still heedless and willful, I shall see her again rescued by physical force, and at last I shall see the mother impressing her cautions on the child's mind more effectually, perhaps by passionate caresses, or perhaps by a good switching, both alike the expressions of faithful love.
Such is the Bible system of grace which men call Calvinism, so often in disparagement. Its least merit is that it corresponds exactly with experience, common sense, and true philosophy. Its grand evidence is that it corresponds with Scripture. "Let God be true, and every man a liar." This doctrine exalts God, his power, his sovereign, unbought love and mercy. They are entitled to be supremely exalted. This doctrine humbles man in the dust. He ought to be humbled; he is a guilty, lost sinner, the sole, yet the certain architect of his own ruin. Helpless, yet guilty of all that makes him helpless, he ought to take his place in the deepest contrition, and give all the glory of his redemption to God. This doctrine, while it lays man's pride low, gives him an anchor of hope, sure and steadfast, drawing him to heaven; for his hope is founded not in the weakness, folly, and fickleness of his human will, but in the eternal love, wisdom, and power of almighty God. "Oh Israel, who is like unto thee, Oh people saved by the Lord!" "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deuteronomy 33:27.)
—Five Points of Calvinism, The

God's Effective Call

2007-03-01T08:47:00.000-08:00

Regeneration is a secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us. As the gospel comes to us, God speaks through it to summon us to himself (effective calling) and to give us new spiritual life (regeneration) so that we are enabled to respond in faith. Effective calling is thus God that Father speaking powerfully to us, and regeneration is God that Father and God the Holy Spirit working powerfully in us, to make us alive.
Sometimes the term irresistible grace is used in this connection. It refers to the fact that God effectively calls people and also gives them regeneration, and both actions guarantee that we will respond in saving faith. The term irresistible grace is subject to misunderstanding, however, since it seems to imply that people do not make a voluntary choice in responding to the gospel - a wrong idea, and a wrong understanding of the term irresistible grace. The term does preserve something valuable, however, because it indicates that God's work reaches into our hearts to bring about a response that is absolutely certain - even tough we respond voluntarily.
Wayne Grudem from Systematic Theology (pg. 699)

Romans 8:30
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. (NKJ)

Irresistible Grace - R.C.Sproul

Effectual Calling - Charles Spurgeon

Irresistible Grace - John Calvin

Effectual Call - Robert Lewis Dabney

Sermons

Irresistible Grace - John Piper

Irresistible Grace part 2 - John Piper

God's Effectual Call - John MacArthur

Irresistible Grace - Dr. Robert Cameron

The 5 Foundational Pillars of the Christian Faith

2007-02-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

Along with many of the early church Fathers,I believe that there are 5 basic, yet necessary truths that each Christian should build their faith upon. These 5 truths are essential to the Christian faith and they define what we believe. These 5 pillars are as follows:

The Sufficiency of Scripture

Jesus Christ's All-Sufficiency as Lord and Savior

Justification by Faith Alone

The Sufficiency of God's Grace

The Glory of God

Below are some Articles on these 5 pillars:

The Cambridge Declaration of 1996

5 Solas of the Reformation

Immutability

2007-02-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

Immutability simply means that God never changes; Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. God has always been the same and will always be the same and He changes for no one. His plans and purposes have never changed and His will will be acomplished and nothing can stop it. God has never changed in His nature, in His Word, or in His Glory. While men change constantly and shift in their human natures, God never changes and has always been the same. His Immutability applies to all of His other attributes as well. His Love never changes,in that He has loved His elect before the foundation of the world, predestinating them in love. His Goodness and Mercy never change,"His mercy endureth forever" ; and on the other hand, His wrath never changes: He visits the iniquities of the generations and will not let the guilty go unpunished. His holiness never changes in that He cannot be any more holier than He always has been and always will be.
God is an unchanging God!!

The Divine immutability, like the cloud which interposed between the Israelites and the Egyptian army, has a dark as well as a light side. It insures the execution of His threatenings, as well as the performance of His promises; and destroys the hope which the guilty fondly cherish, that He will be all lenity to His frail and erring creatures, and that they will be much more lightly dealt with than the declarations of His own Word would lead us to expect. We oppose to these deceitful and presumptuous speculations the solemn truth, that God is unchanging in veracity and purpose, in faithfulness and justice (John Dick, 1850)."

"What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. Incoming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind about anything. Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind.

God never changes moods or cools off in His affections or loses enthusiasm. His attitude toward sin is now the same as it was when He drove out the sinful man from the eastward garden, and His attitude toward the sinner the same as when He stretched forth His hands and cried, ”Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”" - A.W. Tozer

The Immutability of God - A.W. Tozer

The Immutability of God - A.W. Pink

The Immutability of God - Charles Spurgeon

Immutability - D.H. Kuiper

Immutability of God - James Boyce

God doesen't change - John MacArthur

Sermons

Jesus Christ is the same Yesterday, Today, and Forever. - John Piper

The Immutability of God - A.W. Tozer

The Immutability of God Part 1 - Stephen Charnock

The Immutability of God Part 2 - Stephen Charnock

The Immutability of God Part 3 - Stephen Charnock

Actual Atonement/General Atonement

2007-02-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.
Revelation 5:9-10

Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. - Romans 5:18

"He makes this favor common to all, because it is propoundable to all, and not because it is in reality extended to all [i.e., in their experience]; for though Christ suffered for the sins of the whole world, and is offered through God's benignity indiscriminately to all, yet all do not receive Him." - John Calvin

It is a remarkable commendation of faith, that it frees us from everlasting destruction. For he intended expressly to state that, though we appear to have been born to death, undoubted deliverance is offered to us by the faith of Christ; and, therefore, that we ought not to fear death, which otherwise hangs over us. And he has employed the universal term whosoever, both to invite all indiscriminately to partake of life, and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers. Such is also the import of the term World, which he formerly used; for though nothing will be found in the world that is worthy of the favor of God, yet he shows himself to be reconciled to the whole world, when he invites all men without exception to the faith of Christ, which is nothing else than an entrance into life.
Let us remember, on the other hand, that while life is promised universally to all who believe in Christ, still faith is not common to all. For Christ is made known and held out to the view of all, but the elect alone are they whose eyes God opens, that they may seek him by faith. Here, too, is displayed a wonderful effect of faith; for by it we receive Christ such as he is given to us by the Father -- that is, as having freed us from the condemnation of eternal death, and made us heirs of eternal life, because, by the sacrifice of his death, he has atoned for our sins, that nothing may prevent God from acknowledging us as his sons. Since, therefore, faith embraces Christ, with the efficacy of his death and the fruit of his resurrection, we need not wonder if by it we obtain likewise the life of Christ.
John Calvin Commentary on John 3:16

The Scriptural view, then is that Christ died for all men as
sinners to remove all impediments in case they believe, but also that He died especially for the
elect, to whom alone it is efficaciously applied by the Spirit with the gift of saving faith. The
universal and particular aspects of the atonement have been eternality married to each other,
and what God has joined together let no man put asunder.
- Dr. Curt Daniel

Charles H. Spurgeon

Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement because they say, "It is so beautiful. It is a lovely idea that Christ should have died for all men; it commends itself," they say, "to the instincts of humanity; there is something in it full of joy and beauty. I admit there is, but beauty may be often associated with falsehood.

There is much which I might admire in the theory of universal redemption, but I will just show what the supposition necessarily involves. If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins.

Once again, if it was Christ's intention to save all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed, for we have His own testimony that there is a lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, and into that pit of woe have been cast some of the very persons who, according to the theory of universal redemption, were bought with His blood that seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption. To think that my Saviour died for men who were or are in hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to entertain. To imagine for a moment that He was the Substitute for all the sons of men, and that God, having first punished the Substitute, afterwards punished he sinners themselves, seems to conflict with all my ideas of Divine justice. That Christ should offer an atonement and satisfaction for the sins of all men, and that afterwards some of those very men should be punished for the sins for which Christ had already atoned, appears to me to be the most monstrous iniquity that could ever have been imputed to Saturn, to Janus, to the goddess of the Thugs, or to the most diabolical heathen deities. God forbid that we should ever think thus of Jehovah, the just and wise and good!"

The History and Theology of Calvinism - Dr.Curt Daniel (pages 420-440)

Definite Atonement - J.I. Packer

Particular Redemption - Charles Spurgeon

Scripture Texts on Definite Redemption

Was Anyone Saved at The Cross - James White

The Case for Unlimited Atonement - Ron Rhodes

For God So Loved The World - R. Scott Clark

Sermons

Limited Atonement - John Piper

Actual Atonement Part 1 - John MacArthur

Actual Atonement Part 2 - John MacArthur

Limited Atonement - Dr. Robert Cameron

Particular Redemption in Missions - Paul Washer

Unlimited Limited Atonement - Mark Driscoll

What is God Like?

2007-02-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

To the Christian and anyone who has ever wondered "What is God like?", God has revealed attributes about Himself to us in His Word. God is totally incomprehensible and to grasp all of Who He is would be totally inconceivable to the human mind. In studying His attributes, we cannot put God in a box or categorize Him in some list of classificatiions. Scripture says that there is no one like God and that He is a God who is transcendant, far above and totally set apart from all things. He is in a class by Himself, and to study who He is would only be like observing one particle of dust among all the particles of dust in the universe. The purpose in studying the attributes of God is not to gain some knowledge of God, only to say that you know about Him; rather, the purpose is to see the greatness and glory of the Most Holy King and Lord of all things, and to worship Him forever for Who He is. The purpose in studying these attributes is to magnify God in His Pure and Omnipotent glory. In God's attributes there are communicable attributes along with Incommunicable Attributes. Communicable attributes would be those that He can communicate with us, and we can communicate with each other; attributes that our minds can grasp; attributes that we have been given from God that we share with Him- God being the source of them. Love, Goodness, Mercy, Wrath, Wisdom, and Patience are all things that we can relate to as men, and God being the Source of all these Attributes. Incommunicable attributes would be those that are incomprehensibleand possible even inexplainable at times. Eternity, Immutability, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Holiness, Self- Existence, Self- Sufficiency, Transcendence would be incommunicable attributes.

I pray that each of these Articles, Sermons and Videos would help you along with the power of the Omniscient Spirit of God to know God in a deeper, glorious way, that exalts Him for Who He is. Be Blessed.

Incommunicable:

Self- Existence

Immutability

Eternity

Omniscience

Omnipotence

Transcendence

Holiness

Communicable

The Love of God

The Goodness of God

The Mercy of God

The Grace of God

The Justice of God

The Wrath of God

Books on the Attributes of God

The ONE True God - by Paul Washer

The Knowledge of the Holy - A.W. Tozer

The Attributes of God - A.W. Pink

Election

2007-02-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Election is the unchangeable purpose of God, whereby, before the foundation of the world, He has out of mere grace, according to the sovereign good pleasure of His own will, chosen from the whole human race, which had fallen through their own fault from the primitive state of rectitude into sin and destruction, a certain number of persons to redemption in Christ, whom He from eternity appointed the Mediator and Head of the elect and the foundation of salvation. This elect number, though by nature neither better nor more deserving than others, but with them involved in one common misery, God has decreed to give to Christ to be saved by Him, and effectually to call and draw them to His communion by His Word and Spirit; to bestow upon them true faith, justification, and sanctification; and having powerfully preserved them in the fellowship of His son, finally to glorify them for the demonstration of His mercy, and for the praise of the riches of His glorious grace; as it is written "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (Eph 1:4-6). And elsewhere: "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Rom 8:30).
Canons of Dort (1.7)

The doctrine of election encounters strong opposition in the hearts of men, and it is therefore necessary to examine thoroughly its claim to our belief. As it relates to an act of the divine mind, no proof of its truth can be equal to the testimony of the Scriptures. Let us receive their teachings on the subject without hesitation or distrust; and let us require every preconceived opinion of ours, and all our carnal reasonings, to bow before the authority of God's holy word

From the views which have been presented, it necessarily follows, that election is not on the ground of foreseen faith or obedience. On this point, the teachings of Scripture are clear. They are chosen not because of their holiness, but that they may be holy; not because of their obedience, but unto obedience. As the discrimination made in effectual calling is God's work, and antecedent to all holiness, faith, or acceptable obedience; the purpose to discriminate could not be on the ground of acts foreseen, which do not exist as a consideration for the execution of the purpose. The discriminating grace which God bestows, is not on the ground of faith and obedience previously existing, bur for a reason known only to God himself. This unrevealed reason, and not foreseen faith and obedience, is the ground of election.

John Dagg from Manual of Theology (pg. 312)

Election - J.I. Packer

Election - Charles Spurgeon

Scripture Texts on Election

Unconditional Election - R.C. Sproul

Are there two wills in God - John Piper

John Calvin on Election

Sermons

Unconditional Election - John Piper

Unconditional Election Part 2 - John Piper

The Doctrine of Election Part 1 - John MacArthur

The Doctrine of Election Part 2 - John MacArthur

The Doctrine of Election Part 3 - John MacArthur

Unconditional Election - Dr. Robert Cameron

What the Bible Teaches about God's Grace

2007-02-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

These doctrines and teachings about the wonderful gift of God's grace to His people are often debated and argued over by some. Some refer to these teachings as Calvinism, but these highlights about God's grace come directly from the Bible. We see these things written about in the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation and we hear them from the mouths of men like Moses to Christ and the apostles. My encouragement to you who may have never seen these doctines before is to recieve them with an open spirit. Only the revealing and teaching power of the Holy Spirit can help you to see the truth found in these awesome points on God's grace. These are not mere "theological, ivory tower, "what does this have to do with me?" teachings but they are precious truths that God has revealed to us about His ways and His thoughts. Contrary to what is being preached in these times, these teachings on God's grace do not glorify man and reduce the awesomeness of God. These teachings exalt God in the riches of His grace and they humble man and expose him as the powerless, sin-dominated creature that he really is.
In listening to the sermons, don't only heed the words of men in explaining these doctrines, but follow along with an open Bible as the Spirit of God takes you through the infallible, inerrant, pure Word of God.

Human Inability

Unconditional Election

Actual Atonement/General Redemption

God's Effective Call

Perseverance of the Saints

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How Can We Best Interpret Scripture - Mark Driscoll

2006-12-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

I have been reading Mark Driscoll's and Gerry Breshears' book, "Doctrine" recently and found this to be very helpful in explaining the question of how we can best interpret scripture. Here are four questions that Driscoll and Breshears suggest for interpreting the Bible. I will not quote the book at length, but only a few places that summarize the specific questions. The bold emphasis on the questions is mine.

"The first question to ask is, what does the Scripture actually say? God wants to speak to you through the Bible. One error is to under-read the text, missing what is there through lack of attention. The opposite error is to over-read the text, putting preconceived opinions, ideas, or perspectives into the text, which is called eisegesis. Therefore, the goal is to humbly read the text to hear from God, which is called exegesis....

"The second question is, what does the Scripture mean? In this step you should look for what Scripture is teaching, especially in the original context. Much of the Bible was written to specific people in specific historical situations. The task is to discover that meaning and to understand the meaning of each text in its own terms, categories, and thought forms, beginning with the questions and issues the writer deals with, not the questions we bring. You will want to ask, what is the author trying to accomplish? What ideas or values is he trying to communicate? It is often helpful to write out your observations of the specifics of the text in a journal designated for personal Bible study."

"The third question is, what timeless principle truths is this section of Scripture teaching that apply to all of God's people in all times and places? There are many questions to ask to find the timeless universal principle. Is the text describing an event or belief, or is it prescribing (commanding) a practice, precept, promise, or value?"

"The fourth question is, how should I respond to what God has said? Here we are seeking to understand how the Bible's teaching applies to our life individually as Christians and corporately as a church today. The Bible shares content with an intended purpose, expecting that we will respond with belief and in other ways, depending upon what it says."

The Cambridge Declaration of 1996

2006-03-22T17:41:00.000-08:00

THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION
of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
April 20, 1996

Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than
by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover
the historic Christian faith.
In the course of history words change. In our day this has happened to the word
"evangelical." In the past it served as a bond of unity between Christians from a wide
diversity of church traditions. Historic evangelicalism was confessional. It embraced the
essential truths of Christianity as those were defined by the great ecumenical councils of
the church. In addition, evangelicals also shared a common heritage in the "solas" of the
sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.
Today the light of the Reformation has been significantly dimmed. The consequence is that
the word "evangelical" has become so inclusive as to have lost its meaning.We face the
peril of losing the unity it has taken centuries to achieve. Because of this crisis and because
of our love of Christ, his gospel and his church, we endeavor to assert anew our
commitment to the central truths of the Reformation and of historic evangelicalism. These
truths we affirm not because of their role in our traditions, but because we believe that
they are central to the Bible.

Sola Scriptura: The Erosion of Authority
Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church's life, but the evangelical church today has
separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too
often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the
entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it
functions and what it offers, than does theWord of God. Pastors have neglected their
rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical
authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian
consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been
increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.
Rather than adapting Christian faith to satisfy the felt needs of consumers, we must
proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only
announcement of saving truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church's
understanding, nurture and discipline.
Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from
seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliche's, promises. and priorities of mass
culture. It is only in the light of God's truth that we understand ourselves aright and see
God's provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the
church. Sermons must be expositions of the Bible and its teachings, not expressions of the
preachers opinions or the ideas of the age.We must settle for nothing less than what God
has given.
The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture.
The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God's grace in Christ. The biblicalWord, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.

Thesis One: Sola Scriptura
We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which
alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our
salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.
We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the
Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that
personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

Solus Christus: The Erosion of Christ-Centered Faith
As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the
culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution
of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief,
chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross
have moved from the center of our vision.

Thesis Two: Solus Christus
We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical
Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our
justification and reconciliation to the Father.
We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and
faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Sola Gratia: The Erosion of The Gospel
Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false
confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and
wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and
sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true
simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official
commitments of our churches.
God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation.We
confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating
with regenerating grace.

Thesis Three: Sola Gratia
We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the
supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our
bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.
We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or
strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by
our unregenerated human nature.

Sola Fide: The Erosion of The Chief Article
Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article
by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or
sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evangelical.
Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ's
imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical
Gospel.We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is
we are preaching.
Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in
the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the biblical truth which is
proclaimed. As a result, theological convictions are frequently divorced from the work of
the ministry. The marketing orientation in many churches takes this even further, erasing
the distinction between the biblicalWord and the world, robbing Christ's cross of its
offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which bring success to
secular corporations.
While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually emptying it
of its meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ's substitution in our place whereby
God imputed to him our sin and imputed to us his righteousness. Because he bore our
judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and
adopted as God's children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in
Christ's saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel
declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him.

Thesis Four: Sola Fide
We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone.
In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of
God's perfect justice.
We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an
infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that
denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion of God-CenteredWorship
Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the
gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason:
our interests have displaced God's and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God's
centrality in the life of today's church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows
us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing
into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being
successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest
too inconsequentially upon us.
God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or
our own private spiritual interests.We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the
satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern
must be for God's kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.

Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria
We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for
God's glory and that we must glorify him always.We must live our entire lives before the
face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone.We deny that we can
properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either
Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are
allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.
Call To Repentance And Reformation
The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its
unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained a
remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of
biblical truth and Christ's kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and
expectations were markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not.
The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, moral compass and missionary
zeal.
We repent of our worldliness.We have been influenced by the "gospels" of our secular
culture, which are no gospels.We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious
repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and
our inexcusable failure adequately to tell others about God's saving work in Jesus Christ.
We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God's
Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This includes those who declare that
there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those
who reject Christ in this life will be annihilated rather than endure the just judgment of God
through eternal suffering, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in
Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed.
The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals asks all Christians to give consideration to
implementing this Declaration in the church's worship, ministry, policies, life and
evangelism. For Christ's sake. Amen.

ACE Council Members:
Dr. John Armstrong
Rev. Alistair Begg
Dr. James M. Boice
Dr.W. Robert Godfrey
Dr. John D. Hannah
Dr. Michael S. Horton
Mrs. Rosemary Jensen
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Dr. Robert M. Norris
Dr. R. C. Sproul
Dr. G. Edward Veith
Dr. DavidWells
Dr. LuderWhitlock
Dr. J. A. O. Preus, III

Holiness

2006-03-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

God's holiness is perhaps the His most Incommunicalbe attribute. What is His Holiness? Who is holy like the Lord? Habakuk tells us that He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. In Isaiah 6 the cheribum cry holy, holy, holy in the presence of the Lord, and in immensity of His holiness, Isaiah says that he is undone and ruined....

"The holiness of God is the [foundation of reality]. Sin is defiance of God's holiness, the Cross is the outworking and victory of God's holiness, and faith is the recognition of God's holiness. Knowing that God is holy is therefore the key to knowing life as it truly is, knowing Christ as he truly is, knowing why he came, and knowing how life will end." - David Wells

Then as God alone is the Source and Fount of holiness, let us earnestly seek holiness from Him; let our daily prayer be that He may "sanctify us wholly; and our whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23). - A.W. Pink

The Holiness of God - A.W. Pink

The Holiness of God - Thomas Watson

The Holiness of God - D.H. Kuiper

The Holiness of God - A.W. Tozer

Sinners in the hands of an Angry God - Johnathan Edwards

God in the hands of angry sinners - R.C. Sproul

The Holiness of God - John Piper

God's Holiness stirred against Sin - Eric Schumaker

Sermons

Monergism Sermons on Holiness - click Here

The Holiness of God - A.W. Tozer

The Holiness of God Part 2 - A.W. Tozer

The Holiness of God Part 3 - A.W. Tozer

The Holiness of God - Paul Washer

The Holiness of God - John Piper

The Holiness of God - John MacArthur

Perseverance of The Saints

2006-03-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

The Perseverance of the Saints is an awesome Biblical Doctrine. It allows the Christian to rest from His labors and repent of his good works so that he may ralize that the power keeping his salvation is from God and not of himself. Many call this doctrine the doctrine of eternal security, or "once saved, always saved" which is true, but this doctrine teaches the believer through the scriptures that the same God that gives power to save is the same God that has power to keep the saved and bring them into completion until the day of Christ Jesus. The Christian who has been drawn by the Almighty God to gaze upon Jesus Christ and believe on Him, will not and cannot lose his salvation. Saving faith did not come by works, and therefore it cannot be lost by works, neither is it based on man's works to sustain it. Those who turn back after tasting the goodness of the Spirit will only come to find out that they never possessed the real thing in from the beginning; they remained dogs that returned to their own vomit while never being transfromed into sheep. Perseverance of the saints can be summed up in one simple phrase: What God begins, He finishes...and that applies to all He has ever done. - B.R. Graves

If our religion be of our own getting or making, it will perish; and the sooner it goes, the better; but if our religion is a matter of God's giving, we know that He shall never take back what He gives, and that, if He has commenced to work in us by His grace, He will never leave it unfinished.
C.H. Spurgeon

Perseverance of the Saints Scripture List

Perseverance of the Saints - Robert Lewis Dabney

The Doctrine of Perseverance - John Piper

Perseverance of the Saints - R.C. Sproul

Final Perseverance - Charles Spurgeon

Sermons

The Perseverance of the Saints - John Piper

Perseverance of the Saints Part 1 - John MacArthur

Perseverance of the Saints Part 2 - John MacArthur

Perseverance of the Saints Part 3 - John MacArthur

Perseverance of the Saints - Dr. Robert Cameron

Effectual Calling - Robert Lewis Dabney

2006-03-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

Effectual Calling
What is the nature and agency of the moral revolution usually called effectual calling or regeneration?
This change must be more than an outer reformation of conduct; it is an inward revolution of first principles which regulate conduct. It must go deeper than a change of purpose as to sin and godliness; it must be a reversal of the original dispositions which hitherto prompted the soul to choose sin and reject godliness. Nothing less grounds a true conversion. As the gluttonous child maybe persuaded by the selfish fear of pain and death to forego the dainties he loves, and to swallow the nauseous drugs which his palate loathes so the ungodly man may be induced by his self-righteousness and selfish fear of hell to forbear the sins he still loves, and submit to the religious duties which his secret soul still detests. But, as the one practice is no real cure of the vice of gluttony in the child, so the other is no real conversion to godliness in the sinner. The child must not only forsake, but really dislike his unhealthy dainties; not only submit to swallow, but really love, the medicines naturally nauseous to him. Selfish fear can do the former; nothing but a physiological change of constitution can do the latter. The natural man must not only submit from selfish fear to the godliness which he detested, he must love it for its own sake, and hate the sins naturally sweet to him. No change can be permanent which does not go thus deep; nothing less is true conversion. God's call to the sinner is: "My son, give me thine heart." (Proverbs 23:26.) God requireth truth in the inward parts and in the hidden parts: "Thou shalt make me to know wisdom." (Psalms 51:6.) "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart." (Deuteronomy 10:16.) But hear especially Christ: "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt." (Matthew 12:33) We call the inward revolution of principles regeneration; the change of life which immediately begins from the new principles conversion. Regeneration is a summary act, conversion a continuous process. Conversion begins in, and proceeds constantly out of, regeneration, as does the continuous growth of a plant out of the first sprouting or quickening of its dry seed. In conversion the renewed soul is an active agent: "God's people are willing in the day of his power." The converted man chooses and acts the new life of faith and obedience heartily and freely, as prompted by the Holy Ghost. In this sense, "He works out his own salvation" (Philippians 2:12.). But manifestly in regeneration, in the initial revolution of disposition, the soul does not act, but is a thing acted on. In this first point there can be no cooperation of the man's will with the divine power. The agency is wholly Gods, and not man's, even in part. The vital change must be affected by immediate direct divine power. God's touch here may be mysterious; but it must be real, for it is proved by the seen results. The work must be sovereign and supernatural. Sovereign in this sense, that there is no will concerned in its effectuation except God's, because the sinner's will goes against it as invariably, as freely, until it is renewed; supernatural, because there is nothing at all in sinful human nature to begin it, man's whole natural disposition being to prefer and remain in a godless state. As soon as this doctrine is stated, it really proves itself. In our second section we showed beyond dispute that man's natural disposition and will are enmity against God. Does enmity ever turn itself into love? Can nature act above nature? Can the stream raise itself to a higher level than its own source? Nothing can be plainer than this, that since the native disposition and will of man are wholly and decisively against godliness, there is no source within the man out of which the new godly will can come; into the converted man it has come; then it must have come from without, solely from the divine will.
But men cheat themselves with the notion that what they call free-will may choose to respond to valid outward inducements placed before it, so that gospel truth and rational free-will cooperating with it may originate the great change instead of sovereign, efficacious divine grace. Now, any plain mind, if it will think, can see that this is delusive. Is any kind of an object actual inducement to any sort of agent? No, indeed. Is fresh grass an inducement to a tiger? Is bloody flesh an inducement to a lamb to eat? Is a nauseous drug an inducement to a child's palate; or ripe sweet fruit? Useless loss an inducement to the merchant; or useful gain? Are contempt and reproach inducements to aspiring youth; or honor and fame ? Manifestly some kinds of objects only are inducements to given sorts of agents; and the opposite objects are repellents. Such is the answer of common sense. Now, what has decided which class of objects shall attract, and which shall repel? Obviously it is the agents' own original, subjective dispositions which have determined this. It is the lamb's nature which has determined that the fresh grass, and not the bloody flesh, shall be the attraction to it. It is human nature in the soul which has determined that useful gain, and not useless loss, shall be inducement to the merchant. Now, then, to influence a man by inducement you must select an object which his own natural disposition has made attractive to him; by pressing the opposite objects on him you only repel him; and the presentation of the objects can never reverse the man's natural disposition, because this has determined in advance which objects will be attractions and which repellents. Effects cannot reverse the very causes on which they themselves depend. The complexion of the child cannot Re-determine the complexion of the father. Now, facts and Scripture teach us (see 2d. Section) that man's original disposition is as freely, as entirely, against God's will and godliness and in favor of self-will and sin. Therefore, godliness can never be of itself inducement, but only repulsion, to the unregenerate soul. Men cheat themselves; they think they are induced by the selfish advantages of an imaginary heaven, an imaginary selfish escape from hell. But this is not regeneration; it is but the sorrows of the world that worketh death, and the hope of the hypocrite that perisheth.
The different effects of the same preached gospel at the same time and place prove that regeneration is from sovereign grace: "Some believed the things which mere spoken, and some believed not." (Acts 28:24). This is because, "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48). Often those remain unchanged whose social virtues, good habits, and amiability should seem to offer least obstruction to the gospel; while some old, profane, sensual, and hardened sinners become truly converted, whose wickedness and long confirmed habits of sinning must have presented the greatest obstruction to gospel truth. Like causes should produce like effects. Had outward gospel inducements been the real causes, these results of preaching would be impossible. The facts show that the gospel inducements were only instruments, and that in the real conversion the agency was almighty grace.
The erroneous theory of conversion is again powerfully refuted by those cases, often seen, in which gospel truth has remained powerless over certain men for ten, twenty, or fifty years, and at last has seemed to prevail for their genuine conversion. The gospel, urged by the tender lips of a mother, proved too weak to overcome the self-will of the boy's heart. Fifty years afterwards that same gospel seemed to convert a hardened old man! There are two well-known laws of the human soul which show this to be impossible. One is, that facts and inducements often, but fruitlessly, presented to the soul, become weak and trite from vain repetition. The other is, that men's active appetences grow stronger continually by their own indulgence. Here, then, is the case: The gospel when presented to the sensitive boy must have had much more force than it could have to the old man after it had grown stale to him by fifty years of vain repetition. The old man's love of sin must have grown greatly stronger than the boy's by fifty years of constant indulgence. Now how comes it, that a given moral influence which was too weak to overcome the boy's sinfulness has overcome the old man's carnality when the influences had become so much weaker and the resistance to it so much stronger. This is impossible. It was the finger of God, and not the mere moral influence, which wrought the mighty change. Let us suppose that fifty years ago the reader had seen me visit his rural sanctuary, when the grand oaks which now shade it were but lithe saplings. He saw me make an effort to tear one of them with my hands from its seat; but it proved too strong for me. Fifty years after, he and I meet at the same sacred spot, and he sees me repeat my attempt upon the same tree, now grown to be a monarch of the grove. He will incline to laugh me to scorn: "He attempted that same tree fifty years ago, when he was in his youthful prime and it was but a sapling, but he could not move it. Does the old fool think to rend it from its seat now' when age has so diminished his muscle, and the sapling has grown to a mighty tree?" But let us suppose that the reader saw that giant of the grove come up in my aged hands. He would no longer laugh. He would stand awe-struck. He would conclude that this must be the hand of God, not of man. How vain is it to seek to break the force of this demonstration by saying that at last the moral influence of the gospel had received sufficient accession from attendant circumstances, from clearness and eloquence of presentation, to enable it to do its work? What later eloquence of the pulpit can rival that of the Christian mother presenting the cross in the tender accents of love. Again, the story of the cross, the attractions of heaven, ought to be immense, even when stated in the simplest words of childhood. How trivial and paltry are any additions which mere human rhetoric can make to what ought to be the infinite force of the naked truth.
But the surest proof is that of Scripture. This everywhere asserts that the sinner's regeneration is by sovereign, almighty grace. One class of texts presents those which describe the sinner's prior condition as one of "blindness," Ephesians 4:18; "of stony heartedness," Ezekiel 36:26; "of impotency," Romans 10:6; "of enmity," Romans 8:7; "of inability", John 11:44, and Romans 8:18; "of deadness," Ephesians 2:1-5. Let no one exclaim that these are "figures of speech." Surely the Holy Spirit, when resorting to figures for the very purpose of giving a more forcible expression to truth, does not resort to a deceitful rhetoric! Surely he selects his figures because of the correct parallel between them and his truth! Now, then, the blind man cannot take part in the very operation which is to open his eyes. The hard stone cannot be a source of softness. The helpless paralytic cannot begin his own restoration. Enmity against God cannot choose love for him, The dead corpse of Lazarus could have no agency in recalling the vital spirit into itself. After Christ's almighty power restored it, the living man could respond to the Savior's command and rise and come forth.
The figures which describe the almighty change prove the same truth. It is described (Psalms 119:18) as an opening of the blind eyes to the law; as a new creation; (Psalms 51:10; Ephesians 2:5) as a pew birth; (John 3:3) as a quickening or resurrection (making alive); Ephesians 1:18, and 2:10). The man blind of cataract does not join the surgeon in couching his own eye; nor does the sunbeam begin and perform the surgical operation; that must take place in order for the light to enter and produce vision.
The timber is shaped by the carpenter; it does not shape itself, and does not become an implement until he gives it the desired shape. The infant does not procreate itself, but must be born of its parents in order to become a living agent. The corpse does not restore life to itself; after life is restored if becomes a living agent. Express scriptures teach the same doctrine. In Jeremiah 31:18, Ephraim is heard praying thus: "Turn thou to me and I shall be turned." In John 1:12, we are taught that believers are born "not of blood, nor of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God." In John 11:44, Christ assures us that "No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him." And in chapter 15:16, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit." In Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which Christ hath fore ordained that we should walk in them."
It is objected that this doctrine of almighty grace would destroy man's free-agency. This is not true. All men whom God does not regenerate retain their natural freedom unimpaired by anything which he does to them.
It is true that these use their freedom, as in variably, as voluntarily, by choosing their self-will and unregenerate state. But in doing this they choose in perfect accordance with their own preference, and this the only kind of free-agency known to men of common sense. The unregenerate choose just what they prefer, and therefore choose freely; but so long as not renewed by almighty grace, they always prefer to remain unregenerate, because it is fallen man's nature. The truly regenerate do not lose their free-agency by effectual calling, but regain a truer and higher freedom; for the almighty power which renews them does not force them into a new line of conduct contrary to their own preferences, but reverses the original disposition itself which regulates preference. Under this renewed disposition they now act just as freely as when they were voluntary sinners, but far more reasonably and happily. For they act the new and right preference, which almighty grace has put in place of the old one.
It is objected, again, that unless the agent has exercised his free-will in the very first choice or adoption of the new moral state, there could be no moral quality and no credit for the series of actions proceeding there from, because they would not be voluntary. This is expressly false. True, the new-born sinner can claim no merit for that sovereign change of will in which his conversion began, because it was not his own choosing, or doing, but God's; yet the cavil is untrue; the moral quality and merit of a series of actions does not depend on the question, whether the agent put himself into the moral state whence they how, by a previous volition of his own starting from a moral indifference.
The only question is, whether his actions are sincere, and the free expressions of a right disposition, for:
1. Then Adam could have no morality; for we are expressly told that God "created him upright." (Ecclesiastes 7:29)
2. Jesus could have had no meritorious morality, because being conceived of the Holy Ghost he was born that holy thing. (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35)
3. God himself could have no meritorious holiness, because he was and is eternally and unchangeably holy. He never chose himself into a state of holiness, being eternally and necessarily holy. Here, then, this miserable objection runs into actual blasphemy. On this point John Wesley is as expressly with us as Jonathan Edwards. See Wesley, On Original Sin.
—Five Points of Calvinism, The

Eschatology Paper - B. Rayshawn Graves

2005-11-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

Revelation chapter twenty, verses one through six records the following, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” This passage of scripture is one of the clearest and yet cloudiest passages that speak about the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. From this passage, three major eschatological views have developed and the basis of these views focuses on the timing and existence of this “millennium” that is seen in the beginning of Revelation chapter twenty. Premillennial, Postmillennial, and Amillennial are the three camps in which this passage takes a different interpretation. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the views of each camp concerning the millennial reign of Jesus Christ; which view I have been drawn to hold to on the basis of scripture, and a defense of the view to which I hold. I will attempt to clearly define and summarize the views of each millennial camp by quoting the words of members of each camp, and then to allow scripture to interpret scripture in an exegesis of Revelation 20:1-6.

Dr. Ed Hindson in his book “Revelation: Unlocking the Future” gives a brief summarization of the three views of the millennium to which many hold to in interpreting the book of Revelation. Hindson’s brief description of each millennial view is as follows:
“Postmillennial. This school of thought believes that the Millennium (one thousand years of Rev.20:1-3) is to be interpreted symbolically as synonymous with the Church Age. Satan's power is viewed as being "bound" by the power of the gospel. Postmillennialists believe that during this "millennium" (Church Age) the church is called upon to conquer unbelief, convert the masses, and govern society by the mandate of biblical law. Only after Christianity succeeds on earth will Christ return and announce that His kingdom has been realized. Postmillennial advocates have included Catholics, Puritans, charismatics, and dominionists who urge believers to take dominion over the earth and its political governments in order to actualize the kingdom of God over earth.

Amillennial. This approach sees no millennium of any kind on the earth. Rather, amillennialists tend to view so-called millennial prophecies as being fulfilled in eternity. References to the "thousand years" are interpreted symbolically. In this scheme the Church Age ends with the return of Christ to judge the world and usher in eternity. God's promises to Israel are viewed as having been fulfilled in the Church (the new Israel of the new covenant); therefore, amillennialists see no specific future for national Israel. They view the Church Age as the era of conflict between the forces of good and evil, which culminates with the return of Christ.

Premillennial. This view holds that Christ will return at the end of the Church Age in order to set up His kingdom on earth for a literal one thousand years. Most also believe there will be a Great Tribulation period on earth prior to the return of Christ. Among premillennialists are those who believe the Church will go through the Tribulation (postribulationists), those who believe the Church will be raptured prior to the Tribulation (pretribulationists) and even a few who believe the Church will be raptured in the middle of the Tribulation (midtribulationists). Despite these differences in regard to the Rapture of the Church, premillennialists generally believe in the future restoration of the state of Israel and the eventual conversion of the Jews to Christianity.”

The premillennial position will be the position that will be defended in this paper. The views of the postmillennial and amillennial positions will be presented accurately and will be discussed thoroughly and weighed against the premillennial view. The strengths and weaknesses of each view will also be observed.
The postmillennial view of the millennium can be simply summarized in saying that it believes that the millennium, or the one thousand year reign of Jesus Christ is presently occurring and has been taking place all throughout the church age, and that “it will be ushered in after remarkable gospel progress establishes Christ’s reign on earth”. This position believes in a takeover of the gospel in the earth and that the only way that the millennium will arrive is through the preaching and teaching of the gospel. Concerning the actual time period of a “thousand years”, the postmillennial view believes that the term “thousand years” should be interpreted symbolically and that the entire duration of the church age will represent the millennium. The postmillennial view believes that Jesus will return at the end of the “symbolic” millennium to usher in the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. Concerning Satan and the position of Israel during the time of the millennium, postmillennism believes that “During this period Satan will be effectually bound by the triumph of grace. Israel will be converted somewhere near the beginning of the millennium. Postmillennialists do disagree however, about the nature and details of these events.” One of the weaknesses of postmillennialism is its ability (or lack of) to convince that Satan is currently bound. Many scriptures such as 1 Peter 5:8 which states, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”, are challenges for those who hold to the postmillennial position. According to Revelation 20:3, if Satan is currently bound, unable to deceive the nations, then why does he presently roam and prowl with the intent to seek some to devour. Many postmillenniests in defense of their position will say that Satan is currently bound in regards to his inability to stop the spread of the gospel. Jack Van Deventer on his chart on the three millennial views states the view of postmillenniests concerning Satan’s bondage during the millennium, “At Christ’s death and resurrection, Satan was bound, meaning his ability to deceive the nations was restricted thus opening the door for worldwide evangelism. The preaching of the gospel has a deleterious effect on satanic activity. God, not Satan, control world events.” Furthermore, the postmillennial position believes that Israel is not its own entity in contrast with the church. To the postmilleniest, God fulfills all of His promises to the nation of Israel through the church because the church is the “true Israel”. A strength of postmillennialism is its optimism in desiring to see the earth evangelized with the gospel and empowered by the kingdom of God before Christ returns. “Postmillenarian’s generally believe that Jesus returns to a saved earth, he does not return to save the earth.” Postmillenialism’s views on the tribulation are that the tribulation took place in A.D. 70 when Nero persecuted the Christians.
In addition to postmillennialism, amillennialism also believes in a figurative millennium. Rather than believing that the millennium is already taking place on the earth, amillennialism believes that the millennium is currently taking place in the intermediate state. The Portable Seminary states “Amillennialists believe that the kingdom of God is now present in the world as the victorious Christ rules his church through the Word and the Spirit. They hold that the future, glorious, and perfect kingdom refers to the new earth and life in heaven. Thus Revelation 20 is a description of the souls of dead believers reigning with Christ in heaven.” Amillennialism shares some of the same strengths as postmillennialism in that it believes the millennium is currently taking place. Unlike postmillennialism, amillennialism believes “We are in the millennium now, but the millennium will never become a "golden age". The millennium is the church age. After the millennium will be the second coming followed by the eternal state, the latter being a "golden age". Amillenialists, like postmillennialists, also believe that the millennium is also not a literal one thousand years, but instead a period of time. In reference to Revelation 20:3, Amillennialism believes that Satan is currently bound as well, yet Satan’s binding isn’t limited in deceiving people. Ultimately, Satan cannot prevent the spread of the gospel. Amillenialists believe that the tribulation is presently taking place and will only become worse as time goes on. Some weaknesses of amillenialism are some of the same weaknesses that postmillennialism possesses. The binding of Satan and the symbolism of the thousand years are two of the major questions that hurt the amillenialist position.
Lastly, the premillenialist position believes that the one thousand years that Revelation 20 speaks of are a literal one thousand years. Premillenialism also believes that Satan will be bound for a literal one thousand years in literal chains in a literal pit. Christ will return prior to His millennial reign on earth and He will rule the earth with the saints and those who had been beheaded for His testimony. Premillenialists believe that earth will still have other inhabitants upon it while Christ will reign on it. “Premillennialism holds that Christ’s return will be preceded by signs, including wars, famines, earthquakes, the preaching of the gospel to all nations, a great apostasy, the appearance of Antichrist, and the great tribulation. These events culminate in the second coming, which will result in a period of peace and righteousness when Christ and His saints control the world.” Premillenialists are divided when it comes to the timing of the tribulation. Some hold to a position that the rapture of the church will take place prior to the tribulation and are thus called pre-tribulationists. Other premillenialists believe that the church will have to go through the tribulation and are referred to as postribulationists. A third group of premillennialists that believe that the church will be raptured in the middle of the tribulation are referred to as midtribulationists. Ed Hindson states “Despite these differences in regard to the Rapture of the Church, premillenialists generally believe in the future restoration of the state of Israel and the eventual conversion of the Jews to Christianity.”
The next part of this paper will be to view the passage of Revelation 20:1-6 in light of the three millennial views that have been presented with the aim to prove that premillennialism is the dominant position that scripture holds to.
Revelation 20:1-6 states:
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”
The words, “Then I saw” beginning in Revelation 20:1 seem to link to the previous chapter and this vision is progressing from chapter 19. I think that to properly understand Revelation chapter 20, one must understand the context of chapter 19. Some Postmillenialists say that the words “then I saw” indicate a new vision being seen by the apostle John. Chapter 19 of Revelation is used as a text for postmillennialists to say that chapter 19:17-21 and 20:1-6 is one scene that is seen in two different ways. Premillennialists see these passages as sequential and Revelation 20:1-6 follows in sequence after Revelation 19:17-21. Postmillenialists argue that during the battle scene which takes place in Revelation 19:17-21 all mankind is destroyed by Jesus and the hosts of heaven on white horses. Their basis for this is found in Revelation 20:21 which states that “and the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of Him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.” The question concerning this verse which will make all the difference in firstly proving the sequence of these chapters is “Who is all the rest?” If “all the rest” means all of the rest of mankind is destroyed after the armies of the beast are destroyed, then Revelation 20:1-6 should not be interpreted to be following after Revelation 19:17-21 because in Revelation 20:8, Satan is released to “deceive the nations” in the four corners of the earth. If all the rest of mankind was destroyed in Revelation 19:21, then there will be no “nations” to deceive in Revelation 20:8. If premillenialists are right, then the interpretation of “all the rest” should mean all the rest of the army after verse 20, which says that the beast and the false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire. Another way to put this would be to say that if only the beast and the armies of the beast are slain, then there will still be people left on earth to be ruled over. When Revelation 20:17-18 says “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” , I think that “all men” is qualified, meaning all kinds of men, who are in the armies of the beast. The armies of the beast are made up of all kinds of men. A third reason why I believe that there are people left on earth after this battle is because of John’s description of Christ on the white horse when he says in verse 15 of chapter 19, “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. “Shall” or the word poimanei, in the Greek, is future active indicative which means that something will happen in the future. If all people except for the saints were dead, then there would be no nations to rule over in the future. According to Revelation 5:10 and 20:6, the saints will reign with Christ on the earth and therefore do not make up “the nations”. The observation that unsaved humans will be on the earth during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ can be proved in looking at Zechariah 14:16 “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.” Everyone who survives of all the nations, seems to mean that people will survive the “Great Day of the Lord” previously mentioned in Zechariah 14, and that they will be under the ruler ship of the “King, the Lord of Hosts”, who is Christ. I think that the proving that Revelation 19:17-21 happens prior to Revelation 20:1-6 is key in proving the fact that these two passages depict two separate events in sequential order.
Revelation 20:1 begins with John’s vision of seeing an angel coming down from heaven, with a key to the bottomless pit. The angel John sees also possesses a chain and with it, he seizes the Satan, whom John refers to by four different names: the dragon, serpent, the devil, and Satan. This seizing of Satan by the angel occurs right after the beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. The unholy trinity is eliminated in the reverse order as they are introduced in Revelation 12-13. The dragon is seen first chasing the woman into the desert. Following the dragon, the first beast rises out of the sea, and then the second beast rises out of the earth. Satan’s binding in Revelation 20 is for the purpose that he may not deceive the nations any longer. This binding of Satan is only temporary though, because Satan will be released once a thousand years have ended. This period of a thousand years is the duration of Satan’s time in the pit, and it is to be interpreted literally. Ed Hindson states in “Revelation:Unlocking the Future” that “While the one thousand years may be symbolic of a long time of peace and prosperity, there is nothing in the text itself to indicate that this period should not be taken literally. Otherwise, all other time indicators in the Revelation would be meaningless.” One thousand years should be taken literally because the apostle John uses several other time indicators throughout the book of Revelation that indicate whether a period of time is known or unknown. Beginning with “ten days” in chapter 2 verse 10, John also records several other periods of time which are to be taken literally, from “day”(Rev 2:10), “half an hour”(Rev. 8:1), “hour”,(Rev.17:12) “hour, day, month, year”(Rev.9:15) “a thousand, two hundred and three score days” (Rev 11:3) , “five months”(Rev 9:5), “forty two months”(Rev 13:15) “thousand years” (Rev 20:1). All of these periods of time are known periods of time in Revelation. There is no reason to believe that they are symbolic or unknown because John also uses references to time periods that are unknown. Revelation 12:14 speaks of “time, times, and half time”, and Revelation 7:9, “a multitude that no man can number” and Revelation 20:3 speaks of Satan being released for “a little while”. These are periods of time to which John makes clear are unknown. Postmillennialists and amillennialists argue that Satan’s binding is presently taking place and that the thousand years in which he is bound is figurative. Both camps agree on the timing of Satan’s binding but disagree as to the nature of his binding. Amillenialists would argue that Satan is bound in such a way that he is still able to deceive, but that he is unable to hinder or prevent the gospel from going forth. Postmillenialists would argue that Satan is bound completely in the present time and therefore will not prevent the gospel going forth and will not deceive the nations. The gospel will only progress and the times will only get better as the church approaches the second coming of Christ. There are several scriptures that prove that Satan is presently not bound and is an active force today in deceiving many and wreaking havoc. Satan will never be able to thwart God’s Sovereign plans and purposes and has never been able to from the beginning of time, yet the Bible speaks of Satan as being on a short leash, so to speak, but most certainly not bound. Ephesians 2:2 speaks of Satan as the “prince of the power of the air”; 2 Corinthians 11:14 speaks of Satan as a deceitful “angel of light”. 2 Corinthians 4:4 refers to Satan as the “god of this world”, and 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 speaks of Satan actively working to “blind the minds of unbelievers”. These things will cease to be once Satan is locked up at the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ.
Furthermore, the next scene that John sees in Revelation 20 is seen in verses 4 through 6. Revelation 4-6 says “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” These thrones mentioned in Revelation 20:4 could probably represent the thrones that Jesus promised to his twelve disciples in Matthew 19:28 and in Luke 22:30. The purpose of these thrones mentioned is that those who sit on them might judge. The ESV Study Bible notes concerning these verses that “Premillenialists argue that “coming down from heaven”(v.1) and the reference to “the nations”(v.3) show that these “thrones” are on earth (during Christ’s millennial reign).” Ed Hindson glances pieces together the entire scene in the last two chapters that unfolds in Revelation 20:4-6. “The total picture is much greater. The Bride (Church) has returned from heaven with Christ in chapter 19. Now the “Tribulation saints” (believers) are resurrected to rule with them. This is called the “first resurrection” (20:5) to judgment after the thousand years (20:11-15) Keep in mind that all the while that the saints are reigning and the martyred are being resurrected, there are still unbelievers on the earth that will live and die during this time period and will be ruled by the iron rod of Jesus Christ. Whether the gospel goes forth and converts some of these unbelievers during this time is unclear but what is clear is that some unbelievers will still reject Christ’s rule and will seek to rebel against Him. Christ will physically reign on earth with His saints for one thousand years, and all during this time Satan is being locked away in an abyss, unable to deceive, and evil men are building up hatred in their hearts against Christ who is the ruler of all.
Concerning the last part of this passage from verses 7-10, Revelation clearly talks about the release of Satan from the pit, his quest to deceive the nations once again and the final battle between God and evil men. At the end of Christ one thousand year reign on earth, re-election is not an option. The end of Christ’s thousand year reign only means the ushering in of the new heavens and new earth that Revelation 21 speaks of is near and the nearing of this world is coming to an end. Satan, in verse 7, is released from the abyss at the end of the thousand years. The duration of his time after being released is only referred to as “a little while”, a period of time that we previously stated before is unknown. Satan’s intent upon being released is no different than before he was imprisoned, to deceive. Satan goes to the nations whom Christ rules over (not the saints) and will deceive people in massive numbers; so much so , that when Revelation 20:8 speaks of Satan’s army, the number given is “like the sand of the sea”. This again proves the consistency in premillennialism, by showing that there will be nations of people on the earth during the millennial reign of Christ. In verse 9, Satan’s army approaches the “camp of the saints”, which is believed to be Jerusalem by premillenialists, and before Satan and his rebellious army can attack, they are quenched by fire that comes from God out of heaven. There are many differences in this battle that can show amillennialists that this is a separate battle that is occurring. The birds do not eat the flesh of this army, and the saints are not said to have an army. Likewise, in the first battle in Revelation 19:17-21, Christ slays His enemies with the sword of His mouth, and in this battle in Revelation 20:7-10, fire from Heaven consumes the adversaries instantaneously and all that are left is the saints.
In conclusion, the premillenialist position is the most consistent because it literally interprets the book of Revelation and when interpreted this way, everything falls in line with scripture. This isn’t to say that it does not possess weakness as the other views do, because it does. Each camp possesses questions that are left unanswered because the wisdom in this book is greater than any man can know. There are many symbols that Jesus explains and mentions in the book of Revelation, but one cannot choose what is to be interpreted as a symbol and what does not. I feel that the premillennial view is the strongest view to have, simply because it observes the church age and the present times, and lines them up with the events in scripture and then properly concludes that these things and events that the book of Revelation mentions are things that must come and that they are not things that have already happened, or are presently occurring .

Bibliography
Bibles, Crossway. "Biblical Doctrine: An Overview." In The ESV Study Bible, by Crossway Bibles, 2533-2534. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008.
Deventer, Jack Van. "Three Millennial Views." The Reformed Reader. 1999. http://www.reformedreader.org/mchart.htm (accessed November 19, 2010).
Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company, 2001.
Hindson, Dr. Edward. Revelation: Unlocking the Future . Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers, 2002.
Horton, David. The Portable Seminary. Bloomington, Minnesota: Bethany House, 2006.
MacDonald, William. Believer's Bible Commentary. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 1995.
Riddebarger, Kim. "Eschatology Q & A." The Riddleblog. January 9, 2008. http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/the-latest-post/2008/1/9/eschatology-q-a-what-are-the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-the.html (accessed November 20, 2010).
Towns, Elmer. Theology for Today. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008.

The Gospel

2005-02-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

1. GOD

1. Is. 6:1-5, 5:16; Rev.4:8-11. God is Holy.

2. Dan. 4:35; Ps. 135:6. God is Sovereign.

3. 1 Jn. 4:8,16. God is Love.

4. Heb. 12:29. God is a Communing Fire.

5. Gen. 17:1; Jer. 32:17; Is. 43:13; Amos 9:2-3. God is Omnipotent.

6. Ps. 139:1-6; Rom. 11:33-36. God is Omniscient

7. Jer. 23:23-24; Ps. 139:7-12. God is Omnipresent

8 Ps. 145:17. God Is Righteous.

9. Ex. 34:6-7. God is Merciful.

10. Rev. 29:11-15. God is a Judge.

11. Jn. 4:23-24. God is a Spirit.

12. 1 Jn. 5:7; 2 Cor.13:14; I Pet. 1:2. God is one God revealed in three distinct persons; Father, Son, & Holy Spirit (trinity, not modalism).

13. Jn. 1:1-3, 14,18, 10:30-33, 17:5, 20:28; Acts 20:28; Rm. 9:5; Phi. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; I Tim. 3:16; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:1-12; II Pet. 1:1; Rev. 1:8. Jesus is God--YHWH.

2. SIN

1. Gem. 2:15-17. Adam and Eve's disobedience resulted in spiritual and physical death.

2. Rom. 6:23. The wages of sin is death.

3. Dt. 6:4-5. However, before sin entered the world man's purpose was to serve God and glorify Him.

4. Matt. 22:34-40. Therefore, man is now living in an abnormal condition.

5. Rom. 3:10, 5:6-9; Lk. 5:31,32 There is none righteous, no not one!

6. Rom. 3:23. Everyone, without exception, is a sinner.

7. Rom 5:12. Adam's sin nature is inherited by all mankind.

8. Is. 64:6-7. God views our good deeds as “filthy rags.”

9. Eph. 2:8-9. God rejects our good works.

Ps. 51:5, 58:3. We are sinners from birth.

11. Jn. 3:19. Sinners love their sin.

3. THE LAW

1. Ex. 20:1-20. The Ten Commandments must by obeyed perfectly.

2. Mt. 22:34-40. If we disobey the 1st & 2nd greatest commandments we have broken all of the Bible’s laws.

3. Ja. 2:10-11. If we break one commandment we’ve broken them all.

4. Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:24. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is to reveal sin in us and disclose our inability in keeping the law’s demands. This creates an attitude of desperation in sinners to be delivered from the guilt and penalty of the law. Christ alone is the sinners hope.

4. THE VANITY OF LIFE

1. Heb. 9:27. Three things are common to all: Life, Death, & Judgment.

2. 2 Pet. 3:8; Ja. 4:13-14. Life Is short: The earth will be covered by all new people 110 years from now. Our life span is compared to one grain of sand taken from one planet among a thousand planets covered with sand. After you die no one remembers you (Eccl. 1:11, 2:16).

3. Eccl. 12:8,13,14, Life is vain: Solomon, the wisest man who lived, had everything this world has to offer yet he judged this life as totally vain and futile. Nevertheless, man pursues the vain things of this world against all reason, logic and intelligence (2 Tim. 3:7).

4. Lk. 12:16-21. Life is fragile: You may die tonight! Many labor to extend their life through exercise and vitamins but will add only a few years.

5. Eccl. 5:15; 1 Tim. 6:7; Lk. 9:24. Money and riches are vain.

5. HELL & JUDGEMENT

1. Rev. 20:11-15. The great white throne judgment.

2. Matt. 25:41-46. Everlasting fire and punishment for the unsaved.

3. Heb. 9:27. After this life comes judgment.

4. Lk. 16:19-31. Hell is a place of unceasing pain and torment with no escape.

6. THE NEW BIRTH

1. Jn. 3:1-7. Jesus teaches that the “new birth” is necessary for salvation.

2. Jn. 1:13. Salvation is not inherited from our parents, secured by our effort, nor decided by our will, but is a process by which we are “born of God.”

3. 2 Cor. 5:17. To be born again means that our old life is replaced by a new one.

4. Eph. 4:21-24; Col. 3:9-10. When a person becomes “born again” the Bible describes him as a “new person,” who brings forth new fruit.

5. Gal. 6:15. All that matters is that we become a “new creation.”

7. GRACE

1. Eph. 2:8,9. Grace is a free gift, it is unmerited favor.

2. Acts 15:11. We are saved by the grace of Christ.

3. Rom. 4:3-5. Salvation is by grace through faith and not by the deeds of the law.

4. Tit. 3:5-7; Rom.3:24. We are “Justified” freely by His grace.

8. REPENTANCE

I. Lk. 13:3. Unless we repent, we will all perish.

2. Acts 3:19. We must repent and be converted.

3. Matt. 4:17. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” however; the world ridicules the need of repentance.

4. Acts 26:20. We must repent and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.

5. I Jn. 1:9. If we confess our sins He will forgive us our sins.

6. Prov. 28:13. He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confess and forsakes them will have mercy.

7. Ps. 66:18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

9. FAITH

1. Heb. 11:6. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

2. Jn. 20:24-29. Blessed are they who do not see yet believe.

3. Jn. 3:16-19. Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal fife.

4. Eph. 2:8. We are saved by grace “through faith.”

5. Gal. 3:23-26. We are saved through faith in Christ and not by keeping the law.

6. Rom. 3:28, 5:1. We ore justified through faith in Christ.

7. Gal. 3:11; Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:38; Hab. 2:4. “The just shall live by faith.”

10. SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST ALONE

1. Jn. 14:6. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

2. 1 Jn. 5:11-13. He that has the “Son” has life, and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life.

3. Acts 4:10-12. Salvation is in none other than Jesus Christ.

4. Rev. 3:20. Jesus knocks on the door of our heart.

5. Rom. 10:13. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

6. Jn. 3:36. He who does not believe on the Son of God has the wrath of God on him.

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This concise overview of the Gospel is an excellent tool for Bible study, discipleship, evangelism and group studies. For a laminated copy of this card to keep in your Bible for ready use write to: CHRIST BIBLE Pulpit, P.O. Box 5772, Oakland, CA. 94605 U.S.A.; or E-mail us @ wildernesstable@yahoo.com; or call (510) 727-1877.

The Old Cross and The New - A.W. Tozer

2005-02-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power. (A. W. Tozer, Man, the Dwelling Place of God, 1966)

Christ Crucified, Our Boast - John Piper

2005-02-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

Galatians 6:11-18

See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.Exulting in Nothing but the Cross
EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION - in the cross. Exultation in the cross of Christ. That is very strange. Like: exultation in the electric chair. Exultation in the gas chamber. Exultation in the lethal injection. Exultation in the lynching rope. That is very strange: exultation in the cross. But that is exactly what is being said here in verse 14: "But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." And that word boast is translated elsewhere as "exult." May it never be that I would "exult" except in the cross of our Lord Jesus. Exultation in the cross.

So Paul states one utterly essential part of our vision in EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION, namely, we must educate for the sake of exulting in the cross.

But that's not quite right, is it? - that exulting, or boasting, in the cross is one essential part of the vision -alongside other things. Paul says, "May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." No boasting except in the cross! No exultation except in the cross. Not: the cross is one essential thing you boast in alongside others. No! No boasting except in the cross of Jesus. No boasting alongside it.

What does that mean, that here must be no boasting - no exultation - except boasting and exulting in the cross of Christ?

But Doesn't Paul Tell Us to Boast in Other Things Also?
This word for "boasting" or "exulting" was used in the last text that we wrestled with in Romans 5:2, 3, 11. Romans 5:2, "We exult in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:3, "Not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations." Romans 5:11, "And not only this, but we also exult in God." 2 Corinthians 12:9, "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses." So what does Paul mean - that he would not "boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ"? No boasting except in the cross!

He means that, for the Christian, all boasting should be a boasting in the cross. All exultation should be exultation in the cross. If you exult in the hope of glory, let it be an exulting in the cross of Christ. If you exult in tribulation because tribulation works hope, let it be an exulting in the cross of Christ. If you exult in God, you are exulting in the cross of Christ. If you exult in your weaknesses, let it be an exulting in the cross of Christ.

Why is this the case? Because for redeemed sinners, every good thing -indeed every bad thing that God turns for good - was obtained for us by the cross of Christ. Apart from the death of Christ, sinners get nothing but judgment. Apart from the cross of Christ, there is only condemnation. Therefore, everything that you enjoy in Christ - everything you boast in, everything you exult in - is owing to the death of Christ. And all your exultation in other things is to be an exultation in the cross where all your blessings were purchased for you at the cost of Christ's life.

Every blessing in life is meant to magnify the cross of Christ. Or to say it another way, every good thing in life (and every bad thing that God turns for good) is meant to magnify Christ and him crucified. So, for example, we totaled our 1991 Dodge Spirit last week, but nobody was hurt. And in that safety I exult. I glory in that. But why was nobody hurt? That was a gift to me and my family that none of us deserves. We are sinners and, by nature, children of wrath apart from Christ. So how did we come to have such a gift for our good? Answer: Christ died for our sins on the cross and took away the wrath of God from us and secured for us, even though we don't deserve it, God's omnipotent grace that works everything together for our good. So when I exult in our safety, I am exulting in the cross of Christ.

And the insurance paid us about $2800 for the car and Noel took that money and went to Iowa and bought a '91 Chevy and drove it home in the snow yesterday. And now we have a car again. And I exult in the amazing grace of so much bounty. Just like that. You wreck your car. You come out unhurt. Insurance pays up. You get another one. And move on almost as if nothing happened. And in thanks I bow my head and exult in the untold mercies even of these little material things. Where do all these mercies come from? If you are a saved sinner, a believer in Jesus, they come through the cross. Apart from the cross, there is only judgment. Therefore, every gift is a blood-bought gift. And all boasting - all exultation - is boasting in the cross.

Woe to me if I exult in any blessing unless my exulting is an exulting in the cross of Christ.

The Glory of Christ in All Things
This means that the cross of Christ is utterly pervasive in our vision of EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION. The cross is not one piece among many. No. Galatians 6:14 will not let us think of it that way. "May it never be that I would boast (glory, exult), except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Only in the cross. Only in the cross. No boasting. No exulting. No rejoicing. No thanksgiving. Except in the cross. Why? Because every dream dreamed for the future of this church, and every hope-filled meeting held, and every plan formed, and every notebook filled, and every dollar given, and every brick laid, and every student taught, is blood-bought mercy for us redeemed sinners because apart from the cross all we deserve is condemnation. And therefore, every exultation, every thanksgiving, every boast, every joy is in the cross.

Another way to say this is that the design of the cross is the glory of Christ in all things. The aim of God in the cross is that Christ would be honored in all things. When Paul says in Galatians 6:14, "May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," he is saying that God's will is that the cross be always magnified - that Christ crucified always be our boast and exultation and our joy and our praise -that the crucified Christ get glory and thanks and honor for every good thing in our lives - and every bad thing that God causes to turn for good.

But now here's a question: if that is the aim of God in the death of Christ - namely, that "Christ crucified" be honored and glorified for all things -then how is Christ to get the glory he deserves? The answer is that children and youth and adults have to be taught that these things are so. Or to say it another way: the source of exultation in the cross of Christ is education about the cross of Christ.

That's my job: to get glory for Jesus by teaching you these things. And then your job is to get more glory for Jesus by acting on them and teaching them to more people. Education about Jesus is for exultation in Jesus. And if we want there to be no exultation except in the cross, then we must pursue education about the cross - and under the cross.

Or maybe we should say, "on the cross." Education on the cross will lead to exultation of the cross. What do I mean?

Crucified with Christ
Look at the rest of verse 14: "May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Boasting in the cross happens when you are on the cross. Is that not what verse 14 says? The world has been crucified to me, and I have been crucified to the world. The world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world. Why? Because I have been crucified. We learn to boast in the cross and exult in the cross when we are on the cross.

Now what does that mean? When did that happen? When were you crucified? The answer is in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and 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." When Christ died, we died. The glorious meaning of the death of Christ is that when he died all his own died in him. That death, that he died for us all, takes effect as our death when we are united to Christ by faith.

But you may say, "Aren't I alive? I feel alive." Well, here is a need for education. We must learn what happened to us. We must be taught these things. That is why Galatians 2:20 and 6:14 are in the Bible. God is teaching us what happened to us, so that we can know ourselves and know his way of working with us and exult in him and in his Son and in the cross as we ought.

So we read Galatians 2:20 again to see that, yes, we are dead and, yes, we are alive. "I have been crucified with Christ [so I am dead, and he goes on]; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me [Why? Because I died, that is, my old rebellious, unbelieving self died]; and the life which I now live in the flesh [so, yes, I am alive, but it isn't the same "I" as the "I" who died] I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." In other words, the "I" who lives is the new "I" of faith. The new creation lives. The believer lives. The old self died on the cross with Jesus.

And if you ask, "What's the key for linking up with this reality? How can this be mine?" the answer is implied in the words about faith in Galatians 2:20. "The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God." That is the link. God links you to his Son by faith. And when he does, there is a union with the Son of God so that his death becomes your death and his life becomes your life.

Now take all that over to Galatians 6:14, "May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Don't boast in anything except in the cross.

Dead to the World
And how can you become that radically cross-centered - so that all your exultation is traced back to the cross? Answer: realize that when Christ died on the cross, you died; and when you trusted him, that death took effect in your life. Paul says, it's your death to the world and the world's death to you.

Meaning: when you put your trust in Christ your bondage to the world is broken, and the overpowering lure of the world is broken. You are a corpse to the world, and the world is a corpse to you. Or to put it positively, according to verse 15, you are a "new creation." The old you is dead. A new you is alive. And the new you is the you of faith. And what faith exults in is not the world, but Christ, and especially, Christ crucified.

This is how you become so cross-centered that you say with Paul, "I will not boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." The world is no longer my treasure. It's not the source of my life and my satisfaction and my joy. Christ is.

But what about safety in the car accident? What about the insurance payment? Didn't you say you were happy about that? Isn't that the world? So are you dead to the world?

I could be. I hope I am. Because being dead to the world doesn't mean going out of the world. And it doesn't mean not feeling things about the world -some negative and some positive (1 John 2:15; 1 Timothy 4:3). It means that every legitimate pleasure in the world becomes a blood-bought evidence of Christ's Calvary love and an occasion of boasting in the cross. We are dead to insurance payments when the money is not what satisfies, but Christ crucified, the Giver, satisfies. When our hearts run back along the beam of blessing to the source in the cross, then the worldliness of the blessing is dead, and Christ crucified is everything.

That is the goal of EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION - in the cross. O may God grant us to dream and plan and work and give and teach and live for the glory of Christ and him crucified!

The Cross of Christ by Paul David Washer

2005-02-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

The Cross of Christ - by Paul David Washer

This is an excerpt of this article on the cross of Christ by Paul Washer. Click the link above to download the PDF version and read the full article.

One of my greatest burdens is that the Cross of Christ is rarely
explained. It is not enough to say that “He died” - for all men
die. It is not enough to say that “He died a noble death” - for
martyrs do the same. We must understand that we have not
fully proclaimed the death of Christ with saving power until
we have cleared away the confusion that surrounds it and
expounded its true meaning to our hearers - He died bearing
the transgressions of His people and suffering the divine penalty
for their sins: He was forsaken of God and crushed under
the wrath of God in their place.
Forsaken of God
One of the most disturbing, even haunting, passages in the
Scriptures is Mark’s record of the great cry of the Messiah as
He hung upon a Roman Cross. In a loud voice He cried out:
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”1
In light of what we know about the impeccable nature of
the Son of God and His perfect fellowship with the Father,
it is difficult to comprehend Christ’s words, yet in them, the
meaning of the Cross is laid bare, and we find the reason for
which Christ died. The fact that His words are also recorded
in the original Hebrew tongue tells us something of their great
importance. The author did not want us to misunderstand or
to miss a thing!
In these words, Jesus is not only crying out to God, but as
the consummate teacher, He is also directing His onlookers
and all future readers to one of the most important Messianic
prophecies of the Old Testament - Psalm 22. Though the entire
Psalm abounds with detailed prophecies of the Cross, we
will concern ourselves with only the first six verses:
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from
my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I
cry by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have
no rest. Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the
praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and
You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered;
in You they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a
worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the
people.”
In Christ’s day, the Hebrew Scriptures were not laid out in
numbered chapters and verses as they are today. Therefore,when a rabbi sought to direct his hearers to a certain Psalm or
portion of Scripture, he would do so by reciting the first lines
of the text. In this cry from the Cross, Jesus directs us to Psalm
22 and reveals to us something of the character and purpose
of His sufferings.
In the first and second verses, we hear the Messiah’s complaint
- He considers Himself forsaken of God. Mark uses
the Greek word egkataleípo, which means to forsake, abandon,
or desert.2 The Psalmist uses the Hebrew word azab, which
means to leave, loose, or forsake.3 In both cases, the intention
is clear. The Messiah Himself is aware that God has forsaken
Him and turned a deaf ear to His cry. This is not a symbolic
or poetic forsakenness. It is real! If ever a creature felt the
forsakenness of God, it was the Son of God on the cross of
Calvary!
In the fourth and fifth verses of this Psalm, the anguish suffered
by the Messiah becomes more acute as He recalls the
covenant faithfulness of God towards His people. He declares:
“In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered
them. To You they cried out and were delivered; in You they
trusted and were not disappointed.”
The apparent contradiction is clear. There had never been
one instance in the history of God’s covenant people that a
righteous man cried out to God and was not delivered. However,
now the sinless Messiah hangs on a tree utterly forsaken.
What could be the reason for God’s withdrawal? Why did He
turn away from His only begotten Son?
Woven into the Messiah’s complaint is found the answer to
these disturbing questions. In verse three, He makes the unwavering
declaration that God is holy, and then in verse six,
He admits the unspeakable - He had become a worm and
was no longer a man. Why would the Messiah direct such demeaning
and derogatory language toward Himself? Did He
see Himself as a worm because He had become “a reproach
of men and despised by the people”4 or was there a greater
and more awful reason for His self-deprecation? After all, He
did not cry out, “My God, my God, why have the people forsaken
me,” but rather He endeavored to know why God had
done so! The answer can be found in one bitter truth alone
- the Lord had caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him, and
like a worm, He was forsaken and crushed in our stead.5

Biblical Grounds for Remairrage

2004-04-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

"Remarriage is permitted for the faithful partner only when a divorce is based on biblical grounds. (Romans 7:1-3; 1 Cor. 7:39). Those who divorce on any other grounds have sinned against God and their spouse and for them to marry another is an act of "adultery" (Mark 10:11-12) This is why Paul says a believing woman who sinfully divorces should "remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband" (1 Cor 7:10-11). If she repents from her sin of unbiblical divorce, the true fruits of that repentance would include seeking reconciliation with her former spouse (Matthew 5:23-24) The same is true for a believing man who divorces unbiblically but later repents. (1 Cor. 7:11) Such a person could remarry someone else only if the former spouse had remarried or died, in which case reconciliation would be impossible."

- John MacArthur & The elders at Grace Community Church in "Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong"