Being once dead in sin, now raised by God's mere mercy, to newness of life.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
So You Think Obama Is A Christian??
There are many people today in America who have been utterly deceived by the false claims that Barak Obama is a Christian. In a speech he gave recently he said that he believes he can have everlasting life because Jesus died for his sins. But he went on to claim that he also believes that Jews and Muslims who live a good moral life can also be considered children of God.
What Bible is he reading??? If good moral living can get a person into Heaven, then Jesus died for nothing. If we can get into Heaven by being good people, then why would we need a Savior??
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians said, "For by Grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast." Eph. 2:8-9
Hmm, sounds to me like being a good person has nothing to do with salvation. Its a gift! If you pay one penny for a gift, then it is no longer a gift is it? And since we need a Savior, there is only one person that fits the bill and Scripture makes this quite clear. I wonder if "Pastor" Wright or Obama have ever seen or heard these words:
Jesus said, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me. " John 14:6
The Apostle Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit said, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12
Obama is a lying politician and is saying anything he can to get as many votes as he can. If you believe that he is really a true Christian, you better open your eyes. No one could sit under "Pastor" Wrights indoctrination for 20 years and come out unscathed; not hating white people and hating America. Anyone who truly believes in what the Bible teaches and seeks to honor, love and obey Jesus Christ, certainly would not have spent 2 minutes in that church listening to his filth.
I believe under all that rehtoric of "hope" and "peace" lies a very angry Muslim who is ready to try to get all us infidels under Muslim rule. Watch out America, if he gets in office there will be dark days ahead. May the Lord have mercy on our nation. Repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ - He's the one and only way to eternal life.
God bless
Rob
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Doctrines of Grace - Limited Atonement
This week we looked at what is one of the toughest, if not the toughest doctrine for people to grasp and accept, maybe in all of Scripture. This is the L in our TULIP acronym - Limited Atonement.
Many times when people refer to Calvinism or the Doctrines of Grace you may hear them say something like, "well I'm a 4 point Calvinist." When someone says that, it is Limited Atonement that they are having trouble with. So lets delve into our study here and see if we can clear up some misconceptions about this amazing doctrine.
First lets get a definition for Limited Atonement: This doctrine is concerned with the original purpose, design and plan of God in sending Christ to die on the cross. In other words, Christ's death was a substitutionary death in which He actually paid for the sins of the elect.
So the big question then is: Was it God's intent to make salvation possible for everyone, allowing for the possibility that it would be effective for no one (unlimited atonement), or did God, from all eternity, have a plan of salvation by which He designed the atonement to insure the salvation of His people?
A better term for Limited Atonement would probably be Particular or Definite Redemption which communicates that God designed the work of redemption specifically to provide salvation for the elect.
Limited Atonement does not mean that there is a limit to the Power or Merit of Christ's atonement. It instead refers to a limit in the Scope of the atonement. The power and efficiency of the atonement is certainly unlimited. God could have saved everyone if He wanted to but He chose instead to limit the scope of the atonement and save only those of His choosing.
Now, the majority of Christianity today holds to a view which says that Christ died for everyone, every single individual. However, this cannot be true for a number of reasons.
1) If Christ atoned for every person's sins, then all must be saved. After all, if Christ is God and He died for everyone then certainly He must be powerful enough to save all those for whom He died. Right? Yet even the most staunch Armenian would agree that there will be many people who rejected the Gospel and will spend eternity in the fires of hell.
2) If Christ died for everyone and there are some people in hell, then this must mean that God is punishing the same sins twice?? For example if I go to hell when I die, that would mean God punished my sins upon Christ when He was on the cross and then will punish me again later in hell - that's a double jeopardy. This is nowhere taught in Scripture.
3) This also brings to light the view of Universalism which states that even if a person has not heard of Christ, God will somehow make a way for him to get to Heaven. This is dangerous hearsay because if you take it to its logical conclusion, you're in essence saying that Christ's atoning work on the cross was not necessary. You're indicating that there is more than one way to Heaven even though Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me." John 14:6
One question must be answered: Did God pour out His wrath and anger upon Christ on the cross thereby appeasing His anger against and securing redemption for the elect?
"And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." Rev. 5:9
These are the saints who have been saved out of the nations. This certainly does not pertain to every individual. Below are a few other texts out of many that also speak to this very thing.
"As the Father know Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you." John 10:15, 26
"I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." John 17:9
"All that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out. John 6:37
The effects of the atonement demand particular redemption. The Bible teaches that the atonement does more than just provide salvation and make it possible, the atonement secures and guarantees it.
By Christ's death, God's anger was propitiated and His justice was satisfied when Christ suffered in our place as a representative and a substitute bearing the penalty or punishment which God in His justice demanded of sinners - DEATH (Rom 6:23).
So if you are truly saved today, if you are one of God's chosen, His elect - This is what Christ did for you on the cross:
* Christ was abandoned by God on the cross. - Matthew 27:46 - "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
* Christ became our curse. - Gal. 3:13 - "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.")
* Christ took our sin. - 2 Cor. 5:21 - "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
* Christ took our place. - Eph 5:2 - "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."
It is truly amazing to think that Jesus would do all this for a wretch like me. I am in awe every time I think about His sacrificial love. If you are one of God's elect, you to should closely consider what Jesus has done for you. To think that He never knew sin and yet became sin for us so that we, who are nothing but sin, might become righteous before God. Now that's AMAZING GRACE. Praise be to God!!
Rob
Many times when people refer to Calvinism or the Doctrines of Grace you may hear them say something like, "well I'm a 4 point Calvinist." When someone says that, it is Limited Atonement that they are having trouble with. So lets delve into our study here and see if we can clear up some misconceptions about this amazing doctrine.
First lets get a definition for Limited Atonement: This doctrine is concerned with the original purpose, design and plan of God in sending Christ to die on the cross. In other words, Christ's death was a substitutionary death in which He actually paid for the sins of the elect.
So the big question then is: Was it God's intent to make salvation possible for everyone, allowing for the possibility that it would be effective for no one (unlimited atonement), or did God, from all eternity, have a plan of salvation by which He designed the atonement to insure the salvation of His people?
A better term for Limited Atonement would probably be Particular or Definite Redemption which communicates that God designed the work of redemption specifically to provide salvation for the elect.
Limited Atonement does not mean that there is a limit to the Power or Merit of Christ's atonement. It instead refers to a limit in the Scope of the atonement. The power and efficiency of the atonement is certainly unlimited. God could have saved everyone if He wanted to but He chose instead to limit the scope of the atonement and save only those of His choosing.
Now, the majority of Christianity today holds to a view which says that Christ died for everyone, every single individual. However, this cannot be true for a number of reasons.
1) If Christ atoned for every person's sins, then all must be saved. After all, if Christ is God and He died for everyone then certainly He must be powerful enough to save all those for whom He died. Right? Yet even the most staunch Armenian would agree that there will be many people who rejected the Gospel and will spend eternity in the fires of hell.
2) If Christ died for everyone and there are some people in hell, then this must mean that God is punishing the same sins twice?? For example if I go to hell when I die, that would mean God punished my sins upon Christ when He was on the cross and then will punish me again later in hell - that's a double jeopardy. This is nowhere taught in Scripture.
3) This also brings to light the view of Universalism which states that even if a person has not heard of Christ, God will somehow make a way for him to get to Heaven. This is dangerous hearsay because if you take it to its logical conclusion, you're in essence saying that Christ's atoning work on the cross was not necessary. You're indicating that there is more than one way to Heaven even though Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me." John 14:6
One question must be answered: Did God pour out His wrath and anger upon Christ on the cross thereby appeasing His anger against and securing redemption for the elect?
"And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." Rev. 5:9
These are the saints who have been saved out of the nations. This certainly does not pertain to every individual. Below are a few other texts out of many that also speak to this very thing.
"As the Father know Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you." John 10:15, 26
"I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." John 17:9
"All that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out. John 6:37
The effects of the atonement demand particular redemption. The Bible teaches that the atonement does more than just provide salvation and make it possible, the atonement secures and guarantees it.
By Christ's death, God's anger was propitiated and His justice was satisfied when Christ suffered in our place as a representative and a substitute bearing the penalty or punishment which God in His justice demanded of sinners - DEATH (Rom 6:23).
So if you are truly saved today, if you are one of God's chosen, His elect - This is what Christ did for you on the cross:
* Christ was abandoned by God on the cross. - Matthew 27:46 - "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
* Christ became our curse. - Gal. 3:13 - "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.")
* Christ took our sin. - 2 Cor. 5:21 - "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
* Christ took our place. - Eph 5:2 - "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."
It is truly amazing to think that Jesus would do all this for a wretch like me. I am in awe every time I think about His sacrificial love. If you are one of God's elect, you to should closely consider what Jesus has done for you. To think that He never knew sin and yet became sin for us so that we, who are nothing but sin, might become righteous before God. Now that's AMAZING GRACE. Praise be to God!!
Rob
Friday, March 21, 2008
Doctrines of Grace - Unconditional Election - Part 2
Ok, we left off defining what Unconditional Election is and looking at what basis God chooses those whom He saves. Now we'll take a look at the Armenian view point.
The Armenian view of Unconditional Election and unfortunately, the view held by the majority of churches across America today, is actually one of Conditional Election based upon God's foreknowledge. In other words, they say that God looked down the corridors of time, saw who was going to believe, and chose them for salvation. So they do embrace the concept of election but this view holds that it is man, by his response, who ultimately determines his salvation. Taking this to its logical and very dangerous conclusion, it proposes that God could not elect anyone without the counsel of man. This view is very anti-biblical.
Unconditional Election insists that God's elective decree rests solely on His SOVEREIGN DECISION to save whom He wills. It has absolutely nothing to do with man since we are all DEAD in our trespasses and sins. Eph 2:1
God says in Romans 9:15-16, "...I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy."
So, what are some objections to Conditional Election?
1) Well, if Election is conditional, it completely discounts the total depravity of man. So then what do you do with these verses:
John 2:24-25 - "But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man."
Romans 3:11-12 - "There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no not one."
Martin Luther said this: "Nothing is not a little something."
2) Conditional Election also misconstrues the biblical concept of Foreknowledge. This creates a position called Open Theism which basically says that God doesn't really know everything. I wonder how they get around the following verses:
Acts 15:18 - "Known to God from eternity are all His works."
Psalm 139:1-4,16b - O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether... ...in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them."
3) Conditional Election also destroys the concept of God's Sovereign Grace.
2Thes 2:13 - "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth..."
Jesus Himself said in John 15:16 - "You did not choose Me, But I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
Election cannot be based on human merit for two reasons:
* Man is not capable of merit in his fallen state
* Grace is negated if merit is present. In other words, why would we need a Savior if we could merit salvation?
Often people will raise the question of FAIRNESS here. They will say things like 'its not fair then that God would choose to save some and not others.' But does the Armenian view answer the fairness question?? NO!
* Is it fair (just) for God to cast sinners into hell?? - Yes
* Are we all sinners?? - Yes See Rom. 3:23
* Aren't we all worthy of hell because of our sins?? - Yes
* Is God obligated to save anyone?? - No
* What if the Just Judge cast all sinners into hell? Is that fair? - Yes
* If the Just Judge is not obligated to save any sinner, then why is He unjust if by His grace and mercy He saves some sinners from destruction??
* What if the Bible clearly stated the fact? Would you believe it then?
Romans 9:22-23 - "What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory."
The fairness issue is if God gave us all what we justly deserved, we'd all be in hell. It's those who are going to Heaven, who are getting what they don't deserve.
Election is not based on man's decision - Rom 9:15-16; Election is God's divine right to execute clemency upon whom He desires - Rom 9:18-21; Election is ultimately for the purpose of God's glory - Rom 9:22-24
Election precedes faith. Acts 13:48 - "Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed."
Jonah 2:9 - Salvation is of the Lord!!! And Praise God for that!
Until next time, God bless.
Rob
The Armenian view of Unconditional Election and unfortunately, the view held by the majority of churches across America today, is actually one of Conditional Election based upon God's foreknowledge. In other words, they say that God looked down the corridors of time, saw who was going to believe, and chose them for salvation. So they do embrace the concept of election but this view holds that it is man, by his response, who ultimately determines his salvation. Taking this to its logical and very dangerous conclusion, it proposes that God could not elect anyone without the counsel of man. This view is very anti-biblical.
Unconditional Election insists that God's elective decree rests solely on His SOVEREIGN DECISION to save whom He wills. It has absolutely nothing to do with man since we are all DEAD in our trespasses and sins. Eph 2:1
God says in Romans 9:15-16, "...I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy."
So, what are some objections to Conditional Election?
1) Well, if Election is conditional, it completely discounts the total depravity of man. So then what do you do with these verses:
John 2:24-25 - "But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man."
Romans 3:11-12 - "There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no not one."
Martin Luther said this: "Nothing is not a little something."
2) Conditional Election also misconstrues the biblical concept of Foreknowledge. This creates a position called Open Theism which basically says that God doesn't really know everything. I wonder how they get around the following verses:
Acts 15:18 - "Known to God from eternity are all His works."
Psalm 139:1-4,16b - O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether... ...in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them."
3) Conditional Election also destroys the concept of God's Sovereign Grace.
2Thes 2:13 - "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth..."
Jesus Himself said in John 15:16 - "You did not choose Me, But I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
Election cannot be based on human merit for two reasons:
* Man is not capable of merit in his fallen state
* Grace is negated if merit is present. In other words, why would we need a Savior if we could merit salvation?
Often people will raise the question of FAIRNESS here. They will say things like 'its not fair then that God would choose to save some and not others.' But does the Armenian view answer the fairness question?? NO!
* Is it fair (just) for God to cast sinners into hell?? - Yes
* Are we all sinners?? - Yes See Rom. 3:23
* Aren't we all worthy of hell because of our sins?? - Yes
* Is God obligated to save anyone?? - No
* What if the Just Judge cast all sinners into hell? Is that fair? - Yes
* If the Just Judge is not obligated to save any sinner, then why is He unjust if by His grace and mercy He saves some sinners from destruction??
* What if the Bible clearly stated the fact? Would you believe it then?
Romans 9:22-23 - "What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory."
The fairness issue is if God gave us all what we justly deserved, we'd all be in hell. It's those who are going to Heaven, who are getting what they don't deserve.
Election is not based on man's decision - Rom 9:15-16; Election is God's divine right to execute clemency upon whom He desires - Rom 9:18-21; Election is ultimately for the purpose of God's glory - Rom 9:22-24
Election precedes faith. Acts 13:48 - "Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed."
Jonah 2:9 - Salvation is of the Lord!!! And Praise God for that!
Until next time, God bless.
Rob
Friday, March 7, 2008
Doctrines of Grace - Unconditional Election
First let me apologize for not posting for a while. I've gotten quite busy and haven't been able to spend the necessary time here. I'll try to improve that from now on.
Don't worry if you missed class the previous week as both Pastor David and Terri were a bit under the weather so class was cancelled until the following week. Instead we had a sweet time of Worship and then corporate prayer time. It turned out to be a wonderful evening.
So now lets pick up with last week's class and delve into the topic of Unconditional Election.
Often people will ask, 'why bother teaching election and predestination?' 'If all I need is to believe in Jesus to be saved, then why teach a doctrine that is so devicive?' Well the main reason, of course, is because it is in the Word of God. In fact, once God opens your eyes to see these deeper truths, you can't help but see God's elective grace all throughout Scripture.
Spurgeon said, "Why preach election? Because it is in the Word of God!" You see, as Christians, we do not have the liberty to teach and believe just certain portions of Scripture that make us feel good about ourselves while ignoring the many warnings and other tough passages that show us how unholy we really are and that there is a cost to pay for our rebellion. Either you believe ALL of Scripture or you don't believe at all. Every word, evey character in the Bible is 100% God's word. So if you don't learn all of Scripture, are you then telling God that some portions of His word are unimportant?? I wouldn't want to be you standing before your Creator on judgement day and have to tell Him that.
Here's something Pastor David said that I thought was quite profound. Ponder this, "God does not do what's right, its right because God does it." Just think about that a moment.
If we say it the other way around, God does what's right, that is putting man's precepts over God as if He has to obey our law and conform to our standards of right & wrong. Right & wrong comes from God first, therefore things are right or wrong because God declares them to be.
Unconditional Election can be defined as: God's eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life - not because of foreseen merit in them, but of His mere mercy in Christ - in consequence of which choice they are called, justified and glorified.
So obviously this begs the question: On what BASIS does God elect individuals for salvation? The answer to this question lies in Eph 1:3-6 which states, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the beloved."
2) The Father chose us before the foundation of the world.
3) His motive was two-fold: His "love" and "according to the purpose of His will."
4) His goal: "to the praise of His glorious grace."
God chooses according to the good pleasure of His will. That's it and that's all we need to know. After all, He's the Creator and who are we to rail against Him? In my next post we'll talk about the Arminian View and discuss some common objections to Unconditional Election.
Rob
Don't worry if you missed class the previous week as both Pastor David and Terri were a bit under the weather so class was cancelled until the following week. Instead we had a sweet time of Worship and then corporate prayer time. It turned out to be a wonderful evening.
So now lets pick up with last week's class and delve into the topic of Unconditional Election.
Often people will ask, 'why bother teaching election and predestination?' 'If all I need is to believe in Jesus to be saved, then why teach a doctrine that is so devicive?' Well the main reason, of course, is because it is in the Word of God. In fact, once God opens your eyes to see these deeper truths, you can't help but see God's elective grace all throughout Scripture.
Spurgeon said, "Why preach election? Because it is in the Word of God!" You see, as Christians, we do not have the liberty to teach and believe just certain portions of Scripture that make us feel good about ourselves while ignoring the many warnings and other tough passages that show us how unholy we really are and that there is a cost to pay for our rebellion. Either you believe ALL of Scripture or you don't believe at all. Every word, evey character in the Bible is 100% God's word. So if you don't learn all of Scripture, are you then telling God that some portions of His word are unimportant?? I wouldn't want to be you standing before your Creator on judgement day and have to tell Him that.
Here's something Pastor David said that I thought was quite profound. Ponder this, "God does not do what's right, its right because God does it." Just think about that a moment.
If we say it the other way around, God does what's right, that is putting man's precepts over God as if He has to obey our law and conform to our standards of right & wrong. Right & wrong comes from God first, therefore things are right or wrong because God declares them to be.
Unconditional Election can be defined as: God's eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life - not because of foreseen merit in them, but of His mere mercy in Christ - in consequence of which choice they are called, justified and glorified.
So obviously this begs the question: On what BASIS does God elect individuals for salvation? The answer to this question lies in Eph 1:3-6 which states, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the beloved."
The answer is really in 4 parts:
1) Every blessing, including salvation, is "in Christ" through His merits alone. In other words, only Christ merits salvation, it has nothing to do with us.2) The Father chose us before the foundation of the world.
3) His motive was two-fold: His "love" and "according to the purpose of His will."
4) His goal: "to the praise of His glorious grace."
God chooses according to the good pleasure of His will. That's it and that's all we need to know. After all, He's the Creator and who are we to rail against Him? In my next post we'll talk about the Arminian View and discuss some common objections to Unconditional Election.
Rob
Monday, March 3, 2008
Doctrines of Grace - Week 2 - Part 3 - Free Will
Free Will
Next, in our Doctrines of Grace class at Turning Point Community Church we discussed the topic of man's free will. The fundamental issue boils down to this: Does fallen man have the moral power to incline himself to God's offer of help, or is it absolutely necessary for God to do an initial work of re-creation in the soul before the person has the moral power to say yes to the Gospel? Is it supernatural assistance or supernatural regeneration?
In its section on free will (Chapter 9), The Second London Confession of 1689 answers this way: "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."
According to Augustine, the Fall was so profound and the power of sin so strong in man that only God can change the disposition of his soul.
- The Words of Jesus: (John 6:44 NKJV) "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."
(John 6:65-66) "And He said, 'Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.' From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more."
- The Words of John: (John 1:12-13 NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, 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."
Next, in our Doctrines of Grace class at Turning Point Community Church we discussed the topic of man's free will. The fundamental issue boils down to this: Does fallen man have the moral power to incline himself to God's offer of help, or is it absolutely necessary for God to do an initial work of re-creation in the soul before the person has the moral power to say yes to the Gospel? Is it supernatural assistance or supernatural regeneration?
In its section on free will (Chapter 9), The Second London Confession of 1689 answers this way: "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."
According to Augustine, the Fall was so profound and the power of sin so strong in man that only God can change the disposition of his soul.
- The Words of Jesus: (John 6:44 NKJV) "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."
(John 6:65-66) "And He said, 'Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.' From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more."
- The Words of John: (John 1:12-13 NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, 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."
- The Words of Paul: (Eph 2:1 NKJV) "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins."
Basically, what all this refers to is that because of the fall, man is completely and morally unable to come to God because he is dead in his tresspasses and sins. Since man is spiritually dead, how can he possibly take the first step?? In other words, what can a dead man do? To better understand this, its probably good to look at a physical example. So lets take the story of Lazarus found in John 11:1-46. As the story goes, Jesus came to see Lazarus but he had already passed away. So Jesus then proceeds to raise Lazarus from the dead.
Now, in this event, who had to take the initial action? Jesus did right? Since Lazarus was dead, he surely did not get up, come out of his tomb and say, 'ok Jesus, I am a sinner and need forgiveness, I accept your free gift of eternal life, please save me now.' And then lie back down and wait for Jesus to raise him from the dead.
Obviously, this is a rediculous scenario. Needless to say it was Jesus who had to take the initiative and call Lazarus out of the tomb; raise him to life. Unfortunately, today in our churches people are being taught the opposite. That they need to come to Christ, that it is a decision they have to make. This position is called Semi-Pelagian which says that man was affected by Adam's sin in that he is born with a corrupt nature, but there remains a remnant of original righteousness, a power in man's will, that can cooperate with or reject the grace of God. Unfortunately, the majority of Christians in America today hold to this view.
But the Bible clearly teaches that this is not true. Back in the beginning of time, God originally told Adam that if he ate of the forbidden fruit, he would surely die. Gen 2:16-17. When he ate of the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil, true to God's word, he died; he died right away spiritually and then eventually also died physically.
This is why Paul wrote in Eph 2:1 - "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins..." And again in Romans 3:10-12 he states, "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."
So, since we are spiritually dead, how can we possibly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior unless he makes the first move and removes the blinders from our eyes? I've also heard the argument when people will say, "then you're saying we're just a bunch of robots, that we aren't allowed to make our own decision." Now to me this is a rediculous statement because you're saying then that there are those people out there, who if they knew better (were raised from the dead spiritually), they would still choose, with their "free will" to go to hell instead of Heaven?? I don't think so.
Everyone seems to think that with this doctrine, God is violating man's free will. However, the opposite is actually true. God is actually removing the blinders from your eyes to enable you to better see the choice your making. Here's a great example that I heard in a sermon online that may help to clear this up a bit.
Picture a group of people with blindfold on and they are all running down the street. At the end of the road is a huge pit with molten lava and fire in it. You scream out to warn them about this pit but they say, 'no you've got it all wrong, we're heading for the beach and we can even feel the warm sun as we get closer.' So you grab one of these folks and remove his blindfold and now he's able to see what he's headed toward. Are you going to tell me he's going to keep running in the same direction he was originally heading?? I don't think so! He's going to turn and run the other way.
That's the salvation experience. By reaching down and regenerating our hearts, God is in effect, removing the blinders from our eyes so we can actually see the Total Depravity of our hearts and the direction we're heading without Christ - eternal damnation. With our "blinders" removed we're able to see how much our sin has offended and hurt our most Holy God, then and only then are we able to come to Him in repentence and faith to obtain forgiveness for our sins and gain eternal life.
Well that's it for Total Depravity. Next week we'll begin delving into the second letter of the acrostic TULIP - U - Unconditional Election. Until then
God bless
Rob
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Doctrines of Grace - Week 2 - Part 2 - Radical Corruption
RADICAL CORRUPTION
In class this week we looked at another part of the doctrine of Total Depravity, something called Radical Corruption which literally means that the Fall of man is so serious that it affects the whole person. It means the entire person has been infected and corrupted by the power of sin.
- Body: (Rom 7:24) "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"
- Mind: (Rom 8:7) "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the lawof God, nor indeed can be."
- Will: (John 6:44) "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."
Most Christians today, agree that man is a sinner and is totally depraved. The controversy, however, centers on the Degree of corruption. Today, most people believe that man is basically good and that sin is peripheral to his nature. In other words, people are born good but then commit acts of sin later on in life and that's when they become sinners. However, the reformed view of the Fall penetrates to the Core of man - to his heart. This means that man is already born with a sin nature. We are sinners from birth and by our very nature we turn away from God.
The Apostle Paul states quite clearly what man's condition is before he's saved by God when he says, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the son's of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." Eph 2:1-3
As you can see, sinfulness is our very nature. We're born with it. That's why Jesus said, "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep." John 10:26
Notice carefully here that Jesus is not saying, 'you are not my sheep because you don't believe.' He's actually saying the reason you don't believe is because you're not my sheep. In other words, 'if you were my sheep, you would believe but because your not my sheep you can not believe.'
Therefore, what is required for man to be conformed to the image of Christ is not simply some small adjustment or behavior modification, but a thorough renovation from the inside - Regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
In my next post we'll discuss the Free will contoversy. Until then..
God bless
Rob
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