:a note on John 8:24–

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

There will always be an applicable necessity for the mature, knowledgeable, well-read Christian to humble themselves- to read, remember, and remind themselves of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This gospel, (i.e good news) is that which miraculously saved them at first, is actively saving them now, and will gloriously at the consummation of all things, save them at last!

Simplicity in regards to the gospel, is not a gospel that is to be understood as “easily accepted” by man, or an “all I have to do is” mentality. This kind of rendition of the good news of Christ would ultimately say a lot about one’s true grasp of the gospel. What gospel simplicity is, in its unadulterated, biblical context, (which it always has been, always will be, and never anything different) is that it is first and foremost to be understood and proclaimed as ‘Jesus IS God’.

If this is not the first thoughts in one’s mind when sharing the gospel, or even a testimony of how they were saved, then it is not the gospel of God. It is rather the deduced one that is most prevalent in our day- Satanism; or better rendered as Selfism! This is an affront in the face of the one true living God, and will save noone!

At times, one who is sharing the gospel can have a true zeal to tell others of Christ. However, where there is little to no talk of Christ, there exists then a great need for much reflection of one’s own conversion which must be considered and wrestled with. If not, this can easily become tangled up in pride, therein leading to error. Pride can also, and often does, by the mercies of God, serve Christians well in helping them to see that the high wave of God’s providential grace never fails to toss them upon the shore of gospel necessity; or the continual need of a gospel reminder.

The sharing of the gospel will undoubtedly be confronted with pushback and discomfort to the believer. Nonetheless, we must recall for ourselves the gospel for the comfort of our souls, and that with the great reminder of Psalm 90:2- “from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” We will always arrive at a right and biblical understanding of the gospel when our minds have been submitted to Christ. Christ will never offer a counterfeit of Himself. He IS God!

         

Genesis 15:6 tells us,

“And he (Abram) [believed] in the LORD, and He (the LORD) accounted it to him (Abram) as righteousness.”

From the outset herein, I am not reluctant to conclude, from this verse, that in order to be righteous before God, one would need the righteousness of God, and that being a perfect righteousness. This goes, but not without also noting that this is not sarcasm as it relates to those of the scribes, Pharisees and religious leaders, and their “white-washed tombs righteousness” in their claims of perfectly holding to the law, as we read in Matthew 23.

What I do mean however, is that a Biblical understanding of such an application from God HImself to sinful man, is that the man to whom this righteousness is applied, is seen only in light of ‘as belonging to Christ.’ In Romans 8:9b we read, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His”; or we can read this also as, “does not belong to Him.” This helps us to grasp more of the reality of 1 Corinthians 12:3b, which states, “…no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”

If Christians who tend to debate justification, could pause and ponder on these few verses alone, we may more quickly see that no true reality of the knowledge of God exists within, without God’s own initiation of such. Let’s look at an example of this Christian reality, and how early church believers responded amongst harsh conditions in regards to their own faith in Christ.

True Christianity is when you see a faith strapped to a stake! You say, “Well, that’s harsh!” Indeed it is! In the culture of “American freedom”, this would never be anything close to lawful. That being said, unless God would have mercy, I would warn the Christian reader to tread lightly upon the current realities of the aforementioned statement as we creep closer and closer towards a country having leadership with an agenda in mind that puts Christian faith and values in an ever darkening light of hatred. For now at least, we can surely gather that if not outwardly, this pointed hatred is most spiritually discerned as powerfully evident inwardly amongst those who hate Christ.

(Jeremiah 17:9)

In the 1st-4th century in countries such as Rome and Asia Minor specifically, to the 21st century now in countries such as North Korea, Somalia, and Nigeria to name a few, are amongst the worst countries to be a part of when professing Christ. You are more than likely facing captivity, torchure, beatings, and pain very similar to being burned at the stake as those in early church history. All day long, these believers had the opportunity to recant this faith and be freed back to their family and way of life. But, why didn’t they recant? Why did they not give up?

As we will see, this kind of profession was not mere lip service, but a matter of life or death for one’s love and devotion more than anything this world could offer them, to the one true living God-the Lord Jesus Christ. See Philippians 1:29.

Man walking in the traditions of men serves them well to their rejection of God in their heart; (Matthew 15:8-9). The voice of man may make claims of Jesus all day everyday, while having hearts full of bitterness and hatred towards Biblical Christian living. This heart attitude is bent towards a longevity of a mere profession only, and becomes evident that such a heart posture has no experience of a conviction of sin. At that, we can also observe the lack of knowledge of the need to confess sin. Within that, and surely without that, there exists no repentance of sin, which concludes that there exists no true conversion; or regeneration of the heart unto salvation by the Holy Spirit alone; (1 Corinthians 12:3; Matthew 7:24-27).

Christian continuance in the “faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude vs. 3), is not a continuation in the strength of the one to whom the faith was delivered, but is alone by the strength of the Giver of this faith! As Martin Luther said in agreement with Ephesians 2:8-9, “No one can give himself faith, it is a gift of God.”

This gift therefore, and faithful continuance therein, is good enough as it clear enough to conclude that it will accomplish that which has been decreed and set forth by God Himself to accomplish in the Christian life (Jude vs. 24-25).

If the strength of Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone is not the mantra of the life that professes to rest satisfied in the work of Christ, without the traditions of men, it is well concluded thereby that it is not Christian and the faith professed is dead (Colossians 2:8-10).

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

Biblically, the faithful are- those who are able, [by the Holy Spirit alone] to spiritually, by their own understanding mentally, and by their own confession verbally, profess and know Christ as their Lord.
The “seed” of believers is Christ Himself, just as He is the Seed of [the faith of] Abraham. For it is from this Seed alone, that the life which the believer lives deeply rooted in their dependence upon Him, [by faith and not by sight,] produces Righteous Fruit, upheld forever by their Strong Root, Who promises healthy growth and protection to His very own blood-bought Crop. Christ is the Seed, Strong Root, Sure and Steady Anchor- Who sustains His Crop, the Church.
Christ did not merely inaugurate “a” new covenant, (a mere different or “the next” covenant) but He is “THE” New Covenant, the ONLY Covenant, the FINAL Covenant; in Whom, all who Trust in Him, find their rest and peace.
NONE.. who dwell [in] the Shelter of the Most High (when plummeted by the storms of their enemies), or, who find rest in the Shadow of His Wing (from the Just heat of His reprimanding due them for their sin) [are there without], and [only there by] Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, (for their good) and to the Praise and Glory of God alone.

ALSO SEE:
Genesis 12:7
Jeremiah 17:7-8; 31-34
Psalm 1:3; 92:12                                                                                             Romans 8:28-31
2 Corinthians 5:7
Galatians 3:1-29
Colossians 2:6-7
Hebrews 8:1-13
Revelation 14:12

If you would profess to be a Christian, yet have no conviction of an actual belief in, or telling your kids, or someone else’s kids, that “santa claus” brings the gifts under the tree, or merely fictitiously alluding it to someone or something other than Christ the Lord, you are probably more pagan at heart than you realize.

Christian households need to uphold the miraculous incarnation of God more than to Him just coming as a baby in a manger. In this regard, there is no significance of an opinion without Biblical conviction and application to the life you live behind closed doors. Merely “celebrating Christ once a year” just to be in on the festivities is absurd. And with that, I would assert that there is no genuine submission to Christ in one’s life outside of this tradition, nor is Christ pleased with one’s desire of “niceness” towards someone else, in regards to it.

LET ME REITERATE:

The 21st Century “Christmas” tradition isn’t pagan because of a cute decorated tree (see Jeremiah 10 for context), but I would submit has paganistic roots within the heart, having to do more so with the issue of deadness in sin when it comes side-lining the:

1. Traditional (Biblical) meaning — the wonder of God becoming man and dwelling amongst us to save His own people from their sin, being the actual reasons as to why a Gift was given to the world in the first place.

To now, the refusal to side-line:

2. Traditional (21st Century) meaning– obsession of consumerism and people pleasing, being an oxymoron to point 1.

To participate in, or invite yourself merely once a year, to yearly events or services that have an original tradition of Christianity such as Christimas or Easter, being specifically the Wonder God in Christ, yet not hold to the reasons Christians gather together each Lord’s Day, at bare minimum mirrors a pagan dichotomy embedded in the significance of self and people pleasing!

Maybe it isn’t out-rightly noted as paganism, but there are indeed ramifications that would allude to an arrogant and negligent heart posture. Namely, one who outwardly, vocally, and loudly “labels themselves a Christian” along with their skewed view (I dare not mention..) of “free” will, clearly doing what the nature of the will outside of Christ does best- cries, kicks, and screams “ME, MYSELF and I”.

This is what the Christmas tradition has become, and I won’t act like I am okay going along with the fad. This doesn’t directly relate to Christians, but indirectly as it is possible that some have gotten caught up in this 21st century mentality, whom I would in brotherly love, call to examine themselves in this regard, but mainly to those who would make such a claim, yet have no inward Biblical reality of the Gospel of Christ, nor of the Biblical reality for His coming!

Lastly, I would ask us all to examine our hearts by asking ourselves and truthfully answering these questions,

1. During Christmas, where is Christ’s seat in my home and family?

2. During Christmas, am I seeking to glorify Christ as Christians do each Lord’s Day, or are my outward danties merely like that of a paganistic  American Christianity?

                        “Peace if possible, truth at all costs”

                                          – Martin Luther.                                         

                                         

                                          SOLI DEO GLORIA

Reference Scriptures:

Isaiah 9

Matthew 1:21,

Luke 2

John 1

1 Corinthians 15

2 Corinthians 5:12-21

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

James 2:14-26, 4:4

1 John 2:16-17

                                  

The means of the accomplishment of sin in the life of the believer, (or the fulfillment of any given sin) is for the sinners recognition of sins necessity in that it brings the Christian believer to repentance and therein remembrance of their continual great need of the grace of the only one who can help them and is once again embarked upon; that being specifically, the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is not to say that sin is to abound so that this grace may be experienced more (Ref. Romans 6:1), or that it should increase. Rather, it is to say that the sinner, (being the believer), must again give all glory to Christ and thank Him for His power given them to overcome sin, and the deliverance from sin over and over again. This blessed deliverance is done only by way of the Sovereignty of God in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This may seem as if I am rewarding sin as it accomplishes its goal. This thought isn’t what I am referring to at all. The goal of sin ultimately, is to destroy. It’s goal therefore is the utter destruction of a person, or more specifically, the sinner. However, sin in the life of the believer, (if the reader will think this out with me) is a help to the Christian more than it is a harm; which is only unto their sanctification.

I am desiring to bring an understanding of sanctification in the life of the Christian, and the duty of sin as being a help to them. This brings an oxymoronic rendering due to the fact that sin is rightly understood as a destroyer more than it is a help. When sin bites, be it ones attitude, prayerlessness, or to even greater sin that has dreadful consequences, and thereby having found themselves in the miry clay of dispondance once again, what does the Chrsitian conclude as to why they are there?

My conclusion to this very short summary would be a desire to leave it open with this question for the cause of the believer being provoked to thinking about how they respond to daily sin in their life.

I would also refer you to chapter 5, section 5 of the 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith on the Providence of God for the lives of both the believer and the non-believer. If you do not have a copy of the 2nd LBCF, Google will help you find it, or let me know and I can get you one! Reference also Romans Chapters 6-7.

                                Soli Deo Gloria!

This will not be a full, in-depth theological discussion on salvation, but will be concise and hopefully understable to the reader and bring clearity of its application to ones life.

How Do I Stay Saved?

Does it Come and Go?

Is there a condition or a way of keeping it that I would have to follow?

Are there rules?

IS IT FAITH?

IS IT WORKS?

IS IT WORKS + FAITH?

IS IT FAITH + WORKS?

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?

HOW DO I KNOW IF GOD ACCEPTS ME OR NOT?

Keep these questions in mind as you read this article.

Turn in your Bible: READ and Relate with these key passages:

-James 2:14-23- Thought– There is the faith you have in a chair to hold you up when you sit in it, and then there is a faith that leads to repentance that is alone a gift from God. These are not the same, but similar in application.

-Matthew 7:16-20- Thought- Is it good for food? (Ripe/Rotten) Does your life portray the lifestyle of one who believes in Christ, and can people see that faith in action by the attitude of your heart towards Christ?

Look at John 3:7-

“Born again”- we are born in sin, (inherited from our first created, fallen, human parents Adam and Eve) and therefore need to be born again. This simply means having our hearts changed and bent towards Christ by the Holy Spirit’s work alone- having our heart’s changed, and now desiring God’s will and not our own will only.

“This once saved, always saved isn’t wrong. It just isn’t right. It’s not right because you have to define what once saved means, and I firmly say I believe “once saved, always saved” when we understand salvation in Biblical terms. The ground of the assurance of “once saved’’, is not my profession of faith in Christ. But it is Christ’s declaration of me as His.”

-Al Mohler; “Can I Lose My Salvation.”

As I read and ponder this thought, I have come to thoughts of the one and only true, Holy God, being abundantly sovereign to those He saves; and likewise, those He does not save.

I cannot resist the pull towards such an awesome and Divine Character. In humility to this great and mighty Lord, I respond in fear and proclaim:

But, O Holy God, if I be not one of Your chosen people, I yet still stand in awe before You in the wonder of such a merciful transaction You have made on behalf of those who are!

Does this mean that I am flirting with the thoughts of Christ casting me out? Meaning, I am saved now, or that I think I am saved, but really I am not sure? No! Christ alone is able to keep those saved whom He alone has saved. If one be in Christ, then Christ alone has claimed them as His own!

I am, however, relishing in the fact that God chose to save such a sinful wretch like me! I did absolutely nothing to cause Him at any moment to save me. What I deserved and what would have been fair, is for God to cast me into hell and forget about me. But He didn’t. I know I am saved and in fact, I do not think for one moment that a declaration such as the one above would even cross the mind of an unsaved person. For context, read John 6:35-39.

There a plenty, but here are a few Biblical views of   Salvation:

1 Peter 1:3-5, John 3:16, 36, 10:27-30.

Believers must be willing to grow in their understanding that God is greater, mightier, stronger, wiser, more gracious, and more merciful in holding them in Himself, than they are at holding onto His promises. He alone is inerrant, faithful, and always constant. While those He has saved still sin, being that there is no Biblical proof of sinless perfection, He is constant and remains faithful to forgive, which is His faithfulness to His own covenant for His own people.

“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.”

(Psalm 25:14 NKJV)

Although believers sin less, they will not be sinless until they are with Christ in His perfect glory.

Believers will never comprehend Him fully in this life, and I submit, not even able to do so in the life to come. Only He is able to keep those who have been saved by Him, through Him, in Him, to Him, and for Him- keeping them always with Him.

Christ saves believers from themselves, for Himself.  A profession of faith is from the reality of its own impact in them. A believers profession of faith is not for faith. One cannot make a profession of this faith if they don’t have it. That is to say, one cannot know Christ without Christ, or one cannot know the gift without the gift.

Believers do not pull God towards them, He pulls them to Himself, and through the obedience of His Son, accepts them on the basis of the righteousness God the Son gives to them by His substitutionary atoning and perfect sacrifice in their stead.

Not of any good that they have done, but only of the goodness of Jesus on their behalf! He paid the debt. He makes us holy before God. He makes us righteous before God. The believers goodness and righteousness in and of themselves, to God, is like filthy rags!  (Isaiah 64:6).

This passage is often used as a proof text to condemn all our acts of goodness as nothing more than “filthy rags”

The term “filthy rags” here is quite strong. The word filthy is a translation of the Hebrew word iddah, (ee-duh) which literally means “the bodily fluids from a woman’s menstrual cycle.” The word rags is a translation of begged, meaning “a rag or garment.” Therefore, these “righteous acts” are considered by God as repugnant as a soiled feminine hygiene product.

We think God sees us doing nice things for people and we every now and again have a good thought about whatever may pop into our head. Yet that thinking before a holy God? SICK! We cannot hide from Him. He knows our very frame. He knows the wickedness in our hearts and our evil desires. (Jer. 17:9). The number of hairs on our heads. The sand on the shores. He knows! The Bible says in Hebrews 10:31 “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Salvation. Trust in Christ. Faith.

How do we even know the person next to us has the faith they claim to have?

The Bible says in Matt. 7:16-20.

We should not be so worried about the next man’s sinful state as much as our own because we are all sinners who must face a Holy and Just God Who is also the Justifier of sin. You will either be welcomed by Him, or be cast into the Lake of Fire by Him. If you’re waiting to figure out whether all this is really true or not, then there is really no genuine faith whatsoever.

Although there is no faith in God without Christ, so is there no faith in Christ that stands alone in its profession of Christ. A believer will always work from their faith because faith is always accompanied by a mind and heart that [has been] prepared for [every good work]. Not every nice work, but every good work, which is work done only [in Christ.] 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 51:17.

The word rendered ‘contrite’ means to be broken or crushed, as when the bones are broken. It is used to describe the mind or heart that is crushed or broken by the weight of the guilt of wrongdoing, or known Biblically as sin. God will not treat the person with a contrite heart, with contempt or disregard. He looks on them with favor because they are in His Son Jesus Christ, and proclaims them as His own.

  There are at least 4 things that will be noticeable about those who are truly in Christ.

More importantly, these are 4 things that should be inward yearnings and only realistic from genuine faith and a selfless trust and belief in Christ and what He has done on behalf of those who are His, that they may be strong in the faith they profess, and hopefully possess; and that only by the Holy Spirits work in them.

So, How is one saved? How does one recognize they have been given this great salvation? How does one keep it? It is by Christ alone! He has accomplished this great entry, and brings His people with Him into everlasting life, both secured now, revealed in eternity later, and alone for those who believe, proclaim, and confess that Jesus is LORD!

(See 1 Corinthians 12:3)

At least, these 4 qualities should be apparent in the life of a believer:

• A hunger for God and His Word! John 17:3, (Also Ps. 42:2, Matt. 5:6)
• A life of continual prayer, and a heart posture of repentance in how they live. (Ephesians 3:20; Romans 8:32.)
• Humility. (Proverbs 18:12; 26:12)
• The fruits of the Spirit, producing godly character. (Galatians 5)

We are saved because of Christ, to Christ, for Christ-

Eph. 2:8-9, John 10:28, James 2:14-17, Romans 5:8.

By Grace,

Through Faith,

In Christ..

According to Scripture

For His Glory.

All of this is done without us. Salvation comes from and returns praise to the only Sovereign Lord Who makes it happen, and Whom without, will never happen.

All of this I have said can be summed up into this:

If the gift of salvation which was freely given by Christ to the believer was somehow earned by the believer, they would indeed lose it.

May we all see Christ as most glorious and in need of no one to help Him accomplish that which He alone is able to do, has done, and will do until the consummation of all time be of earthy measure no more.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel.” – Jesus

(Mark 1:15)

Observation, Interpretation, Application: Colossians 1:15-20

This is a work I did for a preaching class a few years ago for an Observation, Interpretation, and Application of a particular passage of Scripture.

Colossians 1:15-20 was my choice of Scripture for this task.

I pray it is encouraging and edifying to you, and that it puts a bit more brightness on the wonder and majesty of the true Light; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory.

(Feedback, Questions, Critique, and Dialog welcome.)

The Preeminence of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

-Colossians 1:15-20.

O: We must not miss the fact that all things were made not only through Christ, but by Christ, in Christ, and for Christ. He is the beginning of all things that have existed, currently exist, and ever will come into existence. Everything ever made, that is being made, and that will be made, even down to the smallest particle of a substance, never did, nor ever will exist if He is not its sole initiator. Humanly speaking, nothing is made out of nothing. Therefore, if something is made from nothing, we must then venture into the realm of a higher power, a creator outside of creation itself, leading us ultimately to a divine nature that exists; a Being who is uncreated, and that without substance, being the Creator of all, who is God Himself. Now, inasmuch as He is God, who took on substance, being that of the man Jesus Christ, yet also God Himself, is the One through, by, in, and for whom all substances exist. All things were made for God’s glory.

John 1:1-3 says, 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

Hebrews 1:1-3 says, 1 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He (God) has appointed heir of all things, through whom (Christ) also He (God) made the worlds; 3 Who (Christ) being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power….”

I: In Colossians chapter 1 we quickly notice the authority of Christ and His position in creation. When we say firstborn, we have to dissect the word a bit further than our first thoughts from the text before we can conclude a sentence that would entail its objective origin, because it does in fact have a differing semantic.

This semantic is specific to its origin, and like no other. The word firstborn, in this Biblical context, is a word that we must take a second look at. When I hear “firstborn”, my mind can quickly interpret this word as meaning “the first one, not the second one”. This word for mankind literally means born first. If I am my mother’s oldest child, to her I am her first born child.

However, when we talk about creation and the Creator of it, we suddenly enter into a different semantic which is quite opposite than that of mankind. Christ is not the firstborn over all “mankind” in regards to the above description, but He is the firstborn over all creation. Christ is to be understood as the exact imprint, or exact likeness of God and always existing with God.

We can also say likewise, that the position of Christ is separated from mankind because of His miraculous incarnation, or specifically how He came to earth. No intercourse involved with God and a woman as some claim; nor a man with a woman. Christ was literally born of God, not of man!

I believe I would be doing us a disservice here if I were to not mention a very important doctrine. That is the doctrine of Trinitarianism; or the Trinity.

Trinitarianism holds wholeheartedly, without a shadow of a doubt, that YHWH is three persons possessing one divine nature. There is no explicit Scripture for the trinity, in that, the word “trinity” is not there. But, I do believe the understanding of the Trinity is explicit in Scripture. And what a way for God to show us the reality of Who He is.

Let’s look at 1 John 5:6-10.

6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of his Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of his Son.

–Gods Deity is Preeminent.

• God the Father, in His divine perfection and nature, could not come to earth as God the Father because the essence of His divinity has nothing to do with, and in fact cannot come into contact with the essence of imperfection or sin, or wrongdoing. Those two natures will never exist [together].

The essence of these natures being: Immortality vs. mortality; Morality vs. immorality. 

-Christ’s Deity is Preeminent.

• God the Son, the ‘Word’, Jesus Christ, in His humanity, never lost possession of His Deity because He is the Son of God. He, as the Son, possesses all that the Father is, in His nature as the God-man, Jesus Christ.

-The Holy Spirit’s Deity is Preeminent.

• God the Holy Spirit, is the Promise of, and the Testimony to, both God the Father and God the Son in that YHWH is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His divine attributes. Such as His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.    

                     

He is most important and above all. Preeminent in and over both His creation and His creatures, for He is God. We see this clearly in His Word as He talks about Himself. God did not simply want us to know Him as the coming Messiah, who is Jesus, the friend of sinners. Jesus also wanted us to know that He is God over all. The preeminent One who is Just, and utterly hates sin. He is justified and glorified by His hatred of lawlessness, those who practice lawlessness (Ps. 5:5), and His inflicted punishment for lawlessness.

God the Father put His own wrath upon God the Son (Isaiah 53:10.

In a book from the Hobbs College Library entitled “Preaching By The Book”, the author R. Scott Pace, when it comes to preaching, shares a very keen insight of the Trinity and says this:

“So the Spirit of God who inspired the Scriptures enables us to interpret them, fills us to proclaim them, opens the hearts of the listeners to receive them, and supernaturally applies them to their lives. Therefore, the comprehensive work of the Spirit, in conjunction with the revelation of the Father and redemption through His Son, firmly establishes a trinitarian theology of preaching that serves as the basis for our practical approach to the sacred text.”

A: God, the Creator of heaven and earth desired to make Himself known, and show us the way back to Him. But, along with the mystery of who He is, we get to see His beautiful handiwork in creation. God has not only given us explicit evidence of Himself in created things such as the sky, trees, mountains, beautiful sunsets, seasons, and other tangible things we behold the beauty of, but He has also given us that evidence in His Word. He is in all, He is the Creator of all, and He is to be glorified and worshiped first, and above all.

If God, desiring to have a relationship with His people, had not come to earth as God in the flesh to eat with them, live amongst them, walk and talk with them, and do the miracles He did before them, the complaining atheist may then be onto something to claim that God does not exist. But, for humans to understand how they got here, what they are here for, and who they are here for, God had to become the God-man, Christ Jesus.

For God, who is YHWH, Holy and Perfect, could not have come down as God the Father and also make Himself known, or else the Bible would be wrong in claiming that no one has seen God. The blood is the only way for God to have exposed Himself, and it is by that very blood with which we are washed and cleansed of our sin so that we may see God! As Colossians 1:20b says, “having made peace through the blood of His cross” .

The blood is of the God-man, Jesus Christ, the Preeminent One, and firstborn over all creation!

(All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.)

I am, in the very moment of writing this, brought low in spirit once again to a place of gratefulness, thankfulness, and joy. I write to you not about what I have done in my life before the Lord saved me. And, if not before He saved me, it must surely not be about me after He has saved me. For that would only be a waste of our time. I am here to share the good news of what the LORD does for wretched sinners, and why He does it.

• He saves wretched sinners from hell and everlasting separation from Himself by imputing their guilt upon His Son, Jesus Christ, and thereby imputes the Son’s righteousness to the sinner, and therefore making them acceptable in His sight.

(see 1 Timothy 1:15-17; Romans 7:24-25).

• He saves wretched sinners for His glorious purposes so that He would be made known amongst every tribe, tongue and nation by those whose hearts before He regenerated them, hated Him. (see James 4:4).

I am not sure what you are familiar with when someone gives “their testimony”. I’d guess it could be, as seems is normally the case, how I accepted Jesus, where I was at when I did it, what I prayed when I did it, or if I “cried” (which we all know makes this whole prayer sincere anyways, right?. NO! I am not going to tell you that because it wouldn’t be sincere. It would basically be a lie. However, I cannot resist my understanding now, on this side of salvation, being made clearer through my reading of the Bible, that this work of salvation is indeed not about me. I did not save myself. I cannot save myself. Christ, however, can! And He, in His loving kindness, did!

Being on the “saved side” of salvation, I am actually able to say with full confidence in the Son of God, that Jesus is LORD, and that He gave His life for my ransom, and thereby alone, being given the ability to know the Truth. I would much rather Christ save me when He is ready, and Him do so at the moment He has initiated, (which He did by the way) rather than me “inviting Him into my heart” when I am ready and feel like it, or even worse, making sure I have spent enough time “praying about it” to make sure it is “really what I want” in life. Which, I did by the way, many years ago, and it proved fruitless. Who was I even praying to for that matter, right?

First of all, this latter, more popular, desirous view, is not a Biblical approach to understanding salvation. Second, the real result of this type of ‘inviting’ view of salvation, is supported with Scripture only in reference to the actual condition of the heart of man being wicked and deceitful, and that no good thing can come of it. You decide if that is a salvific claim you want to put your hope in. Third, Scripture also supports the true reality of this unbiblical view of salvation, in that no one can say that “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor. 12:3) except by the Holy Spirit. Or rather, man can only make this statement by way of true belief, which alone comes from a regenerated heart by the Holy Spirit’s work alone. In like manner, a personal prayer to Jesus of “asking or inviting Him into your heart” upon your request, does not, however, motivate God, nor does it require Him in that moment, to grant to you the salvific work He alone does by His own initiation. Which, He in His own will, sets apart for the moment He saves you by the Holy Spirit, giving you a new heart, awakening you to the Truth of the Gospel, and thereby you recognize the deadness of your heart without Him, and you thereafter repent of your sin and boldly confess with your mouth, and believe with your new mind, this being your new “heart”, that Christ is not only your Lord and Savior, but that He is also the only Lord of all!

“I didn’t invite Jesus into my heart; He gave me a new one”- Scotty Smith

Might I add, in relation to this “accepting Jesus into your heart”, would only imply then, if it be with true genuine repentance and sincerity of heart, and you have professed “Jesus is LORD”, your mind was changed before those words were conceived and then born from your lips. You possess the Spirit of God within you first. Before then, there was no desire within you to know such glory and majesty and forgiveness and love and a hatred for your sin. Therefore, I conclude and know, because I testify it happened to me, that regeneration precedes faith! And now thereby alone,

I, like-minded with John say, He must increase, but I must decrease (see John 3:30).

I, like-minded with Paul say, For I decided to know nothing among you but Christ and Him crucified (see 1 Cor. 2:2).

My testimony, although being of the experience I had in the conversion of my heart from self to Christ, is yet still only a blip of an expression of that which only God can do, and has done by His grace alone, through the gift of faith alone, in His Son Christ alone, in accordance with the Scriptures alone, for His glory alone.

Think about this: When Christ, the beloved Son of God died on the Cross, God the Father looked away (Matt. 27:46). In my years of going to church, I would hear this and wonder why God would do such a thing. No preacher would stop to ponder or help confused people like me understand the reality of “God the Father looking away from His only begotten Son”. This utterly crushed the Son! And the best way I can translate that, is that this great exchange of the righteousness of Christ being given to those wretched, God-hating sinners, for whom He died, happened when God the Father looked away from Christ, His only begotten Son.

There was only one thing about Christ that caused the Father to look away, and that was His only begotten Son Whom He divinely loved, taking on the sin of those He chose from the foundations of the world, and imputing to us the righteousness that God required to save such a wretched people. Yet at the same time, as we read in Isaiah 53:10, “God the Father was pleased to crush Him”.

I have read this many times as an unsaved cultural christian. But at my conversion, with an awakened mind, opened eyes, and a softened heart, was different as I actually pondered this anew. I thought about my very state of unbelief, my unrepentant heart, and my unconfessed sin, which is when all of this was taking place, and the moment I truly believe the Lord saved me.

This Isaiah 53 passage ministered to my heart (or my conscience) the love of God by the Holy Spirit. I repented of my sin and believed upon the beloved, sinless Son of God; our everlasting, precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory!

I must admit I never thought about this in regards to sin, nor did I think about God’s love for not only His Son, but His love for me at that very moment. I cannot grasp the thought of me being Known by God before I was even born, much less grasp the immense love He has for all those who would come to Know Him, or rather those He has chosen to reveal Himself to by His very own initiation and perfect timing; (See Romans 9:11). This is the effectual call, as the 1689 London Baptist Confession states in chapter 10 section 2. (Read)

I look back at times like that and many other events in my life and see the hand of God. And as this testimony goes, so do those moments God had His hand upon my life, which alludes to the fact that I clearly had nothing to do with it. In fact, I didn’t want anything to do with it. I had to understand the Gospel in the Light of the glory of Christ alone. Christ alone had to do the work, or else I would still be lost in sin, and I would still not want anything to do with Him. Or His Word. Or His people!

It wasn’t a genuine prayer of repentance that generated the Salvation of Christ to my heart.

But It is the very power of the Holy Spirit’s work that would cause me to pray such a genuine prayer for desires opposing those I once loved. Praise the Lord for the glorious gift of salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord! What an amazing, oxymoronic way to save His people! So that we can know this work of Christ alone! Yet not I, but through Christ in me!

It is an awesome thought of how the Lord saves people who are dead in sin. While rejecting God, ignoring God, hating God, and having no desire for God, He takes their stone-cold, hardened, dark, disgusting, sick heart against Him, and turns it into a heart of flesh so that we may get a glimpse of His majesty, and be summoned and humbled by His Holiness, and hear His call to “repent and believe in the gospel” and live for Him. (Mark 1:15b). And this indeed is what God has done for me in Christ, His only begotten and beloved Son.

Amongst many glorious passages of Scripture that illuminate God’s purposes for redemption, I come to none other than Ephesians 2:1-10, which will conclude, as I mentioned earlier, my expression of what God has gloriously accomplished for all believers in Christ the Son, by grace through faith. (Read Eph. 2:1-10) Amen! Thank you for your time!

May Christ alone be glorified!

THE WILL OF MAN- FREE WITHIN BOUNDARIES

1689 LBCF Chapter 9:4- “When God converts a sinner and translates him into the state of grace, He freeth him from his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone [enables him freely to will] and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, he doth not perfectly, nor only, will that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil.”

The choice of unadulterated ‘good’, comes only in proportion to regeneration. Therein, and thereby alone, the regenerated heart, or the heart to which salvation has been applied, alone by its Giver, is enabled to choose that which is spiritually [pleasing to God]. This ‘free’ will is only experienced in Christ as being bound to Him and His will; not a concept merely lending itself to one’s choice for Christ, and yet withdrawn from this spiritual good. A sinner is unable to choose or even desire any good that pleases God while outside of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no will that is free except for that will which alone belongs to God. Therefore, spiritually speaking, a Biblical rendering of the will that chooses good, is to know it as the free gift given only to those who are bound to Christ alone, for Christ alone, to experience all of their benefits of this freedom in Christ alone. Therein, our choosing has now been given a second option which we did not naturally have, being the ability now to choose that which is good, right, and Godly. A ‘lively’ free will therefore, is only a description of the will that one has as they are in Christ alone. It is not a self-derived deception that should be understood in any manner as an option of choice for Christ the Son, or any good that is pleasing to God the Father while being outside of Christ.

Free will therefore, rightly understood and applied spiritually, is to merely debate about the heart of man and his choice for either a selfish desire of his own corrupt spiritual nature, or his choice for God. A free will, in its right context Biblically, as we speak of, has nothing to do with someone choosing to go out to dinner, or have dinner at home. Rather, its implications have to do with the heart and conscience; or the spiritual state of man.

The will of man is bound to love one and hate the other. Love God and hate self, or love self and hate God. You cannot love the God who is love, without a hatred for passions lending love only to self! However I, although needless to say, with sympathy assert, if one must insist that the will of man be free, may it be understood first that it is only free to choose within the confines and stipulations of that to which it is bound- to self, or to Christ.

Romans 8:5 says- “For those who live [according to the flesh] set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live [according to the Spirit,] the things of the Spirit.’’

Inevitably, the will is bound. Our spiritual ‘freedom’ acts and responds based on this verse of Scripture, and is a practical and applicable reality against the skewed, possibly blasphemous rendition of ‘free will’ being a grace given by God, all while misrepresenting God by using it to justify a desire to pick and choose God, as relates to salvation, on our own terms.

It is of a soul-wrenching detriment to the heart of man to even slightly consider being good enough on his own, to choose, and have for himself, the goodness of God, by his own initiation.

Free will, in relation not specifically to us having the ability to choose, but in direct relation to that by which it is bound, (the flesh or the Spirit) we understand better that God alone is the very essence of good, and our choice thereof is directly affected by His effectual call; i.e God’s choice to save sinners for His own pleasure, for Himself, by Himself, according to Himself, for the glory of Himself alone.

The only will that is totally, completely, and perfectly free, is the will of God Himself. It is clear, evident, and comprehensive that when men argue about such an attribute, they want the ability to choose not only what they want, [natural ability and will of man], but they also want to think that they can, in and of themselves, choose righteousness whenever they want, which is [only a supernatural ability and will of God]. Yet, of their own volition, somehow encourage God to grant them the peace they search for.

Realistically, this perspective reaps the consequences of self deprivation and a heart bent towards self exaltation over Christ Jesus, the Lord of Glory- the only One worthy of this honor!

Soli Deo Gloria!

(References)

-1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith Ch.9-10.

– Philippians 2:13; John 12:37-40; Ezekiel 36:26-27.

The Basics of Faithful Bible Reading-

Victory in Life.

Welcome to installment 4 of The Basics of Faithful Bible Reading. As this will be the last article of this series which I have been blessed to embark upon, herein we will see how my last 3 articles have culminated together to give us a peculiar, yet practical approach to the doctrine of Bible reading in the regenerated believers’ life. I say that because I personally have to always ask the question, “A regenerated believer or merely a professing believer?” This question isn’t the topic of discussion, but perhaps the reality of it does help regenerate believers understand more so that the daily pursuit of God’s Word is more than just happenstance. It is a command and duty we can unfortunately fail at often.

Leaving our Bibles on our nightstands or laying them open on an entryway piece when walking in the front door of our homes, speaks at a very small volume to guests if our vocalizing or showing of it is heard more than it is seen at work in our lives. If we are going to have such a treasure, the Holy Bible, as a Greeter into our own homes, we must surely be prepared to have a good answer as to why it is there. (1 Peter 3:15.)

Believers treasure the Bible because of its promises for believers. However, Truth goes much further than that in this context. As New Testament believers, we have the Word of God in its entirety. It is not the New Testament alone on which we lean. We have both the New and Old Testament to lean upon and affirm as God’s Holy Word. For indeed we could not truly understand the necessity of grace in the New Testament without the purpose of the grace God shows through the law of the Old Testament. (Romans 3:20; 2 Cor. 3:9)

Furthermore, it is not just the Bible itself to have and to hold, but the content inside of it which we are to read. And, not just what is inside of it to read, but indeed the very One who spoke it! The Word was breathed-out by God. It is the Logos Theopneustos or, ‘the inspired Word of God.’ (2 Timothy 3:16)

It is not even a deeper knowledge of the Bible that would cause a regenerate believer to treasure it. No, the treasure found within is our victory in life because of the One in Whom and by Whom we are redeemed!

Christ makes it clear that it is not the Scriptures wherein we [indefinitely] find life, but it is in Him alone of whom the Scriptures speak! He says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me..” (John 5:39)

Christian, we have much to be thankful for! We do not have an attainable ability in and of ourselves to receive this reward we call our victory, but it is of God alone! In Christ alone are we to boast! It is indeed Christ Himself!

“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

(2 Corinthians 3:5-6)

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(2 Corinthians 15:57)

So, how are we able to have such victory in life?

It is indeed by grace through faith! Without the work of God being fulfilled as it was the will of God, we would have no hope! The very faith we have in God and His living Word, Jesus Christ, is in fact our victory in life! Here and now, with us, is our victory that overcomes the world! He indeed is our living hope! God has given His Son to be the Victor and overcomer of the punishment of sin forevermore, and that my friend, is victorious and worthy to be the art of our celebration. Through Jesus Christ, we have all we need for life and godliness!

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf..”

(Hebrews 6:19-20a)

“..and this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith”

(1 John 5:4b).

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness..”

(1 Peter 1:3a)

We can see clearly from Scripture the vast expanse of the responsibility we have as believers in Christ! There is indeed an urgency today for preaching and teaching that will help us to see and return to the basics of the Christian life. This seems like an option for a new believers class, but unfortunately, long-time believers have become dormant in their understanding of God, because they leave out the key ingredient for the only way to experience our own growth as a Christian- faithfulness to daily Bible reading!

Bible reading must never be used as a secondary issue to be submitted by the excuse “I just can’t understand the Bible”. May I comfort you in the fact that because of this reality, scholars still study much, and authors still write much. Why? Because the Bible is a treasure trove that we will never be able to completely unpack this side of heaven. However, we can rest in the fact that we are being made new as we embark on the journey set before us to be in God’s Word daily. We will never fully understand the Bible, and that puts us all in a responsible position before a Holy God to open it, read it, ask questions, and know that God will give you understanding according to His Word (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If we do not believe that, we have already set ourselves up for failure in the pursuit of a godly life. With this mindset, we will be calloused in our thinking and the Word of God will be absent from our hearts and minds.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Eccl. 12:13).

Brothers and sisters, the task at hand is great! Without Bible reading as our most important daily task, we will drift ever so surely but slowly away from that which we knew at first as our highest love and steadfast anchor for all of life- Jesus Christ! It is our task and duty as believers to know God, and that through His Son Jesus Christ, and that by the Holy Spirit through the written Word here and now, The Holy Bible!

Continual submission to Christ leads to continual renewal and sanctification in Christ.

The more we are in God’s Word, the more we will begin to notice the vitality it brings to life, the value it has for life, the validation it makes of life, and the very victory we have in life!

Believer, take up the Sword and know that it is our most conquering weapon as a believer. Not only that, but the object of obedience to our great Lord and Savior! If left unattended, we will stand before the Holy God and give an account as to why we thought it ok for us to be in first place instead of Him.

As this series comes to a close, may I also encourage you and say that Christ loves those who are His! He is gracious to us moment by moment! His mercies to us are new every morning. He never fails, and always forgives us when we come to Him with a heaviness that has been birthed due to our forgetfulness of Him. Yet, He never leaves us nor does He forsake us! Be encouraged to get back in the Word! It is your role as one who says “Christ, I love you!” May we find it ever more in life, that prayer, meditation, and Bible reading will always produce a victorious life, content in all things; because of Him who won the victory!

Most importantly what I desire for us to take from this series on Faithfulness in Daily Bible Reading, is to reckon with the fact that Christ is our victory in life! He alone has paid the price of our redemption! If we truly know the greatness of this to our lives, and that without it we are nothing, yet as in Christ we are a new creation, we most assuredly have no excuses! It is the believer’s utmost desire to love God because of His great love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, the ungodly! (Romans 5:8)

As this year approaches its long-awaited end and you look back wishing you had read the Bible daily, look forward in hope! The prayer you can be assured God will answer is one that cries for strength to put yourself under God’s Word daily by putting Him first for the rest of your life! You will not have a perfect life, but your life will produce fruit through the tough times not because of your own doing, but because of the work of Christ in your obedience to your Creator! Your sanctification! ( 1 Thess. 4:3).

Soli Deo Gloria!

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin”

(James 4:17)

“O Love Beyond Compare, Thou art good when thou givest, when thou takest away, when the sun shines upon me, when night gathers over me. Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world, and in love didst redeem my soul; Thou dost love me still, in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust. Thou goodness has been with me during another year, leading me through a twisting wilderness, in retreat helping me to advance, when beaten back making sure headway. Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead; I hoist sail and draw up anchor, with Thee as the blessed Pilot of my future as of my past.

I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes the waters ahead. If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation, thou wilt be with me in them; If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation, I shall not drown; If I am to die, I shall see thy face the sooner; If a painful end is to be my lot, grant me grace that my faith fail not. If I am to be cast aside from the service I love, I can make no stipulation. Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial, as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.”

• “Years End”, Valley of Vision. Pg. 204.