I have been having some conversations with people in my “Rationalize Some More” blog, and one comment recently made caught my attention and thought it needed a longer reply then for the comments section, so I am putting up as a blog. You may want to read “Rationalize Some More,” but either way you will get the gist.
The problem you will see is context in understanding the passages you are reading. The other is to diminish the death of Christ on the cross. This is a lack of understanding what happened there and what needed to happen for us to live eternally with God. It was the most horrible and beautiful thing in the history of the universe. It was horrible in what happened and beautiful that the God of the universe died for you and me, that we may have life forever.
My comments are in yellow after his comment regarding our conversation in the “Rationalize Some More” post.
Luke 5:17-26Jesus forgives the sins of the men who compassionately bring their friend to be healed, believing Christ has the power to do this. Jesus forgives their sins based on their faith. There is no mention of repentance, yet Jesus serves the paralytic. Also, as a side thing to ponder about atonement, this was before Christ's death and resurrection, yet sins were forgiven by Jesus without any sort of animal sacrifice. Maybe we put too much emphasis on Christ's death?
Actually that is not what the section says. It says Jesus forgave the man who was paralyzed, and says nothing of his friends. Christ was demonstrating His authority over sin itself and then proved what He said is true by instantly healing the paralytic. Forgiving His sins and that ability is what lead Him to death. If Christ had not died for our sins there would be no forgiveness as there would be no atonement, not to mention then His defeating death in the resurrection. If you do not believe Christ needed to die for your sins for forgiveness then you may not even be believing in the true Jesus in my opinion. You need to read 1 Corinthians 15 again. If Christ has not died and resurrected then we are still in our sins. Paul says what He passes on is of first importance, and that is the death of Christ, because if He did not die then He could not defeat death.
Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Back to the point, there are many instances where Jesus heals and serves, invites people to follow him and such, without speaking of sin at all. Just looking through Luke right now, I see many examples. And look at Luke 7:36-50. The Pharisees didn't want the woman in the house, and certainly wouldn't let her touch them as she did to Jesus, because she was a sinner (as we all are). There is no mention of her asking for forgiveness, only loving and serving Christ, and he in turn uses her as an example, forgiving her by her actions. "Her many sins were forgiven- for she loved much."
You don’t think she knew her sin when she is standing there in tears pouring her most expensive perfume on Jesus. This perfume would take the average person nearly a year to save up for it. You don’t think by washing Jesus’ feet with her hair is not demonstrating her knowledge of forgiveness for sins? Why else do it? That is the point of the story, that this woman knows her sin and comes and seeks Christ, where Christ is dining with people who need to be forgiven as well, but they do not see their own sin. Jesus tells her that her sins are forgiven. Why would He do that if she was not seeking forgiveness? How is one forgiven without repenting of what they did? You also need to finish the section. It is not her love that saved her, and Jesus says it in verse 50:, “Then He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.’” You are missing the point of the whole passage.
Repentance of our sins is the acknowledgment that we need a Savior that we cannot do it ourselves and faith in Christ is what saves us. Why put faith in Christ is there is nothing to be saved from?
In Luke 13, Jesus does say repent or perish, but makes sure those listening understood that people who had faced death recently in their culture were not any greater sinners than anyone else. Everyone faces the same punishment, not just those that are seen publicly as sinners.Luke 17:3-4 Jesus teaches to forgive without limit anyone who asks. If someone is sinning the same way 7 times in one day, that seems pretty habitual to me.
Just repentance does not save you. It is faith in Christ Jesus. Repentance is the Holy Spirit working to let you know that you are a sinner in need of a Savior who paid the price on the Cross by being the perfect sacrifice for once and all; who also defeated death in His resurrection.
You are confusing forgiveness with responsibility. You act as if there was not penalty for our sin. There was, and it was the shear torture that Christ went through before, during and on the cross for us. Our sin put Him there. If we do not accept Him as Savior then we will have eternal separation from Him in Hell, so there is an eternal damnation if we do not accept what He gives us through His death and resurrection. There are also temporal reactions for our sins. Yes we are to forgive others as Christ forgives us, but does not take away responsibility. Once the rapist says I am sorry, should we just put him back on the street? What about the child molester or murderer? Should we just turn the other cheek? Yes they are forgiven if they ask Christ for it and can have eternal life in Him, but it does not lessen their jail sentence for their crime. Again, you are comparing two different scenarios: temporal with eternal.
Let's look at Matthew 25, the sheep and the goats.Who are the ones on the left? The ones who didn't serve those around him. The ones who enter the kingdom are the ones who fed the hungry, gave a drink to the thirsty, housed the homeless, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, visited those in prison.This passage brings me back to my comment on who is more like Jesus in the other post. The one who serves or the one who casts others aside who sin?
This could be seen as describing the millennial reign of Christ and the judgment that happens right before it. Contextually this seems to be for only those who are alive at the time of Christ’s return. In shepherding the goats and sheep actually are together in the pastor, but when feeding and sleeping they are separated for various reasons. This is a separation of believers from unbelievers prior to the millennial reign. You also need to realize that in the context of the verse, Jesus is talking about the Christian brothers and sisters when it is talking about helping all those you have mentioned. Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” “My brethren” being the key. Not saying we should not help others, but what I am saying is that if you are going to use verses makes sure you know the context of it.
The out working of our faith should be good works, but that is not the reason we are saved. It is by faith through repenting of our sins because we know we cannot save ourselves and accepting Christ as Savior, believing in Him.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
From Separation to Unity
I have been discussing sin the past few weeks, and I hope many of you have been reading the discussion between me and another brother in Christ. I think you would benefit from reading those comments and what responses I received. I am thankful for this brother/sister in Christ.
I encourage anyone to comment and challenge anything I write, as it continues to help us move toward truth. Truth in what Christ teaches us is what we should all be striving for and looking to attain, because then we can be more like Him and in deeper relationship with Him.
Sin causes us to be completely separated from God: physical, transmissional, eternal, judicial, relational and volitional effects from sin can be seen from Scripture (Ephesians 2:1, 5; Genesis 2:16-17; Romans 5:12-14; Rev. 20:14-15; 1 Cor. 15:45; 1 John 1:6-7).
Hopefully you watched the video from my previous blog that gave a great description of sin and a very profound visual. What a depiction that even though our sin causes us to be separated by God and that it is like an adulterer, He is there asking us to be His. How AWESOME is that? The King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe wants you and me to be His bride. He made it so we could be His bride when He came in human form, Jesus Christ, died and defeated death for our sins. Amazing, truly amazing.
If we start to see God as a husband/wife relationship then we will see how our faith should affect every area of our lives. It will also start to become more relational and more important. We will long to be with Him and when we are apart from Him, because we choose not to pray or read the Bible then we will miss Him terribly, just as a spouse misses their partner when they are away. You desire to be with them and not forget them, as is typical for all of us when it comes to God. Our perception needs change when it comes to God in this respect and it will if we have our the same relationship with God as married couples are suppose to have.
Choose this day to make God the most prominent relationship in your life. Remember what He did for you on the cross and what you could not do for yourself. He gave everything for you and me. Are you willing to do the same? I have to ask myself that all that time. Unfortunately the answer for me is no a lot of the time, but I am working it daily. My desire though is to be a glorious bride to Him in everything I do in this life.
One of my new favorite verses and becoming my life's verse is: John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." It is also my challenge to everyone reading this. The more He increases in our lives the more we will be like Christ, becoming one with Him. Again, the marriage visual.
My prayer is that you too will desire to become less and Christ more.
I encourage anyone to comment and challenge anything I write, as it continues to help us move toward truth. Truth in what Christ teaches us is what we should all be striving for and looking to attain, because then we can be more like Him and in deeper relationship with Him.
Sin causes us to be completely separated from God: physical, transmissional, eternal, judicial, relational and volitional effects from sin can be seen from Scripture (Ephesians 2:1, 5; Genesis 2:16-17; Romans 5:12-14; Rev. 20:14-15; 1 Cor. 15:45; 1 John 1:6-7).
Hopefully you watched the video from my previous blog that gave a great description of sin and a very profound visual. What a depiction that even though our sin causes us to be separated by God and that it is like an adulterer, He is there asking us to be His. How AWESOME is that? The King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe wants you and me to be His bride. He made it so we could be His bride when He came in human form, Jesus Christ, died and defeated death for our sins. Amazing, truly amazing.
If we start to see God as a husband/wife relationship then we will see how our faith should affect every area of our lives. It will also start to become more relational and more important. We will long to be with Him and when we are apart from Him, because we choose not to pray or read the Bible then we will miss Him terribly, just as a spouse misses their partner when they are away. You desire to be with them and not forget them, as is typical for all of us when it comes to God. Our perception needs change when it comes to God in this respect and it will if we have our the same relationship with God as married couples are suppose to have.
Choose this day to make God the most prominent relationship in your life. Remember what He did for you on the cross and what you could not do for yourself. He gave everything for you and me. Are you willing to do the same? I have to ask myself that all that time. Unfortunately the answer for me is no a lot of the time, but I am working it daily. My desire though is to be a glorious bride to Him in everything I do in this life.
One of my new favorite verses and becoming my life's verse is: John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." It is also my challenge to everyone reading this. The more He increases in our lives the more we will be like Christ, becoming one with Him. Again, the marriage visual.
My prayer is that you too will desire to become less and Christ more.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sermon on Sin
I watched this today and found it very interesting and it pertains to the topic of sin I am talking about at Ransomed. If you have about 25 minutes then take the time to watch it. It is from my home church in Ohio. The Pastor preaching mentored me a few times about ministry. I have great respect for him for many reasons, but a main one is he is not afraid to call sin sin and he lays it out on the table. You will enjoy his speaking style and his delivery of a such a hard topic to talk about from the pulpit.
http://208.48.253.138/ListContent4.aspx
Click on the September tab for 2007 and then just click on September 16th, 2007. Sit back an be prepared to be convicted and challenged in your walk with Christ.
http://208.48.253.138/ListContent4.aspx
Click on the September tab for 2007 and then just click on September 16th, 2007. Sit back an be prepared to be convicted and challenged in your walk with Christ.
Monday, September 17, 2007
SINNER!
1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
“A holy man is an awesome weapon in the hands of God.” – Robert McShane
A lot of times people tell us not to judge others because of what they are doing. They will say thing like, “It is between them and God, and we are not to judge.” Is this true? Are we not to judge anyone? What does the Bible say about it? “12For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Cor. 5:12). Seems to me this is saying something completely opposite, that in fact we are to judge those that call themselves believers. Paul here was telling them to throw someone out of the church for sinning. Could you imagine if we did that today? A pastor could be lynched for such a thing.
Why is that today? I believe one reason is that we do not take sin a serious as we should. If anyone preaches on it then they are being to judgmental, so a lot of people tend to shy away from it. We would not want the congregation to be too uncomfortable. But isn’t that exactly what we need? We need someone to hold us accountable to God’s word, and to teach us what sin is so we do not continue in it.
Sin is not only damaging to the person who commits it, but it hurts the whole body of believers if one is allowed to continue in it and especially if that person is in leadership. Paul in Corinthians was talking about a man who was just in the congregation being kicked out. What do you think he would say about a leader who was sinning? I am guessing the same thing; get rid of him immediately. Paul a verse before, 1 Cor. 5:11, gives us a directive of how we are to act, “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.” How many people in the church who claim to be Christians fall in this category and nothing is done about it?
Better yet, how many people in your church are leaders and fall in this category? I am guessing just about everyone reading this thought of someone. Why has our church come to this, or for that manner Christianity in general, where the people Paul tells us not to associate with have more power in church then we do? It is because we are afraid to step up and take the hit for the Kingdom of God. We are afraid what people will say: prude, judgmental, tea-totaler, goody-to-shoes.
It is time to step up and walk the line that God has set before us as believers. If you know a Christian brother or sister who is living in sin as described above then call them out, or report it to the church to call them out. If you are a leader of the church and living a life like this you need to step down or repent now and get into accountability. If church leadership knows of people doing this then they need to get these people off leadership and out of the church before the corrupt others.
We need to stop making excuses for sin, and start making expectations of living your faith that you claim to have. If you are for Jesus then strive to live like it and do not make excuses for your sin. If we find someone that is then they need to go and not be associated with any longer. Sinners do what sinners do, but the believer is no longer part of that world and should not be proud of living in their sin, nor should they be allowed to be part of the community of believers if they continue to do so.
1 John 1:6-7, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Joshua 24:15, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
“A holy man is an awesome weapon in the hands of God.” – Robert McShane
A lot of times people tell us not to judge others because of what they are doing. They will say thing like, “It is between them and God, and we are not to judge.” Is this true? Are we not to judge anyone? What does the Bible say about it? “12For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Cor. 5:12). Seems to me this is saying something completely opposite, that in fact we are to judge those that call themselves believers. Paul here was telling them to throw someone out of the church for sinning. Could you imagine if we did that today? A pastor could be lynched for such a thing.
Why is that today? I believe one reason is that we do not take sin a serious as we should. If anyone preaches on it then they are being to judgmental, so a lot of people tend to shy away from it. We would not want the congregation to be too uncomfortable. But isn’t that exactly what we need? We need someone to hold us accountable to God’s word, and to teach us what sin is so we do not continue in it.
Sin is not only damaging to the person who commits it, but it hurts the whole body of believers if one is allowed to continue in it and especially if that person is in leadership. Paul in Corinthians was talking about a man who was just in the congregation being kicked out. What do you think he would say about a leader who was sinning? I am guessing the same thing; get rid of him immediately. Paul a verse before, 1 Cor. 5:11, gives us a directive of how we are to act, “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.” How many people in the church who claim to be Christians fall in this category and nothing is done about it?
Better yet, how many people in your church are leaders and fall in this category? I am guessing just about everyone reading this thought of someone. Why has our church come to this, or for that manner Christianity in general, where the people Paul tells us not to associate with have more power in church then we do? It is because we are afraid to step up and take the hit for the Kingdom of God. We are afraid what people will say: prude, judgmental, tea-totaler, goody-to-shoes.
It is time to step up and walk the line that God has set before us as believers. If you know a Christian brother or sister who is living in sin as described above then call them out, or report it to the church to call them out. If you are a leader of the church and living a life like this you need to step down or repent now and get into accountability. If church leadership knows of people doing this then they need to get these people off leadership and out of the church before the corrupt others.
We need to stop making excuses for sin, and start making expectations of living your faith that you claim to have. If you are for Jesus then strive to live like it and do not make excuses for your sin. If we find someone that is then they need to go and not be associated with any longer. Sinners do what sinners do, but the believer is no longer part of that world and should not be proud of living in their sin, nor should they be allowed to be part of the community of believers if they continue to do so.
1 John 1:6-7, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Joshua 24:15, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Rationalize Some More
Galatians chapter 5 gives us 15 things that are detestable by God. Just in case you do not want to take the time to count them, here they are:
(1) sexual immorality, (2)impurity, (3)debauchery, (4)idolatry, (5)witchcraft, (6)hatred, (7)discord, (8)jealousy, (9)fits of rage, (10)selfish ambition, (11)dissensions, (12)factions, (13)envy, (14)drunkenness, (15)orgies
Now after reading these fifteen items I want you to watch a video and then finish what I am writing. Here is the link to the video; unfortunately I could not get it into the blog directly: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/09/13/sbt.griffin.panel.cnn
If you watched just the first minute you will get my point with having you look at Galatians chapter 5 first. I will not quote the saying, as it just plays into them, so watch it and you will know the phrase. If someone took out Jesus and added in Jew, Muhammad, Muslims, or any other person or religion there would be an outcry.
The backlash from saying the other names would cause such a frenzy that her career would be ruined, because no one would put up with it. Just ask Imus how that works. They all laughed in the video above when Jesus is used as a joke, but when girls are used as a joke then it should not be said and he should be fired. She just made fun of the Savior of the world and I am betting many Christians will rationalize it, saying that is just how she is. All I can say is: WAKE UP!!!! That is our Savior. Jesus died for you and me.
I am not telling you to threaten her, but to love her. I am not telling you to call her names, but to pray for her, as she is obviously very lost. What I am telling you though is to have no part of her program, to write asking for a public apology, and asking for her to be fired as others are when they make fun of people in such a way. If Imus was fired for his course jokes, and I am not saying that was wrong, then how much more so when someone makes fun of the creator of the world. There are consequences for our sin. It has nothing to do with free speech when you are talking about the person that gave us speech. What did Jesus do to deserve such statements to begin with except love His enemies, die for them, forgive them, defeat death for them, and give them salvation through Him. Wow, that seems pretty aweful.
Kathy Griffin just committed at least 9 of the 15 sins listed above; sins that God detests and I bet nothing will come of it. Is anyone else tired of it yet? Are you still watching programs that pick on our Savior: Family Guy, Simpsons and South Park come to mind right away, but I am sure there is a plethora?
The easiest way to let the media know we are tired is through their pocket books, because if no one is watching then sales for commercials will drop and they lose their show. How can a woman have no fear of saying such statements in a country that claims to be 80% Christian?
Lastly, I just want to give a shout out to Fox News Correspondent, Lauren Green, for coming out and saying something so quickly on behalf of Christians. Here is her posting, and it is worth the read as she gives another argument against what Kathy Griffin did, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html. I have emailed to thank her and I would encourage you to do the same right after emailing Kathy Griffin and her company in regards to her heinous statements.
(1) sexual immorality, (2)impurity, (3)debauchery, (4)idolatry, (5)witchcraft, (6)hatred, (7)discord, (8)jealousy, (9)fits of rage, (10)selfish ambition, (11)dissensions, (12)factions, (13)envy, (14)drunkenness, (15)orgies
Now after reading these fifteen items I want you to watch a video and then finish what I am writing. Here is the link to the video; unfortunately I could not get it into the blog directly: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/09/13/sbt.griffin.panel.cnn
If you watched just the first minute you will get my point with having you look at Galatians chapter 5 first. I will not quote the saying, as it just plays into them, so watch it and you will know the phrase. If someone took out Jesus and added in Jew, Muhammad, Muslims, or any other person or religion there would be an outcry.
The backlash from saying the other names would cause such a frenzy that her career would be ruined, because no one would put up with it. Just ask Imus how that works. They all laughed in the video above when Jesus is used as a joke, but when girls are used as a joke then it should not be said and he should be fired. She just made fun of the Savior of the world and I am betting many Christians will rationalize it, saying that is just how she is. All I can say is: WAKE UP!!!! That is our Savior. Jesus died for you and me.
I am not telling you to threaten her, but to love her. I am not telling you to call her names, but to pray for her, as she is obviously very lost. What I am telling you though is to have no part of her program, to write asking for a public apology, and asking for her to be fired as others are when they make fun of people in such a way. If Imus was fired for his course jokes, and I am not saying that was wrong, then how much more so when someone makes fun of the creator of the world. There are consequences for our sin. It has nothing to do with free speech when you are talking about the person that gave us speech. What did Jesus do to deserve such statements to begin with except love His enemies, die for them, forgive them, defeat death for them, and give them salvation through Him. Wow, that seems pretty aweful.
Kathy Griffin just committed at least 9 of the 15 sins listed above; sins that God detests and I bet nothing will come of it. Is anyone else tired of it yet? Are you still watching programs that pick on our Savior: Family Guy, Simpsons and South Park come to mind right away, but I am sure there is a plethora?
The easiest way to let the media know we are tired is through their pocket books, because if no one is watching then sales for commercials will drop and they lose their show. How can a woman have no fear of saying such statements in a country that claims to be 80% Christian?
Lastly, I just want to give a shout out to Fox News Correspondent, Lauren Green, for coming out and saying something so quickly on behalf of Christians. Here is her posting, and it is worth the read as she gives another argument against what Kathy Griffin did, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html. I have emailed to thank her and I would encourage you to do the same right after emailing Kathy Griffin and her company in regards to her heinous statements.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Secure in Your Salvation?
If someone asked you how you knew that you were saved, what would you say? What does it take to believe in Christ as Saviour? How do you know you are saved?
The demons believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and knew who He was yet were not saved, and still made the decision to turn their backs on Him. “. . . ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’” (Mark 1:24). Four chapters later in Mark 5:7 another occurrence with a multitude of demons; they are recorded saying, “. . . What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” The Gospels of Matthew and Luke have the same recorded occurrences.
If believing that Jesus was the Holy One of God was the only requirement to saving faith, then logic would tell us that these demons would still be angels in Heaven. They knew who He was, so they believed ‘that’ He was the Christ, yet they rejected ‘believing in’ Him and consequently ended up as fallen angels. How then can we expect that we would be any different? We could as well believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God without putting our trust and security for our salvation in Him, meaning our Faith in who He is.
Charles Ryrie explains the moderate view accurately, “Faith is to put one’s trust in – ; to use intellectual credence in the resurrection and reliability of those truths, but also to put your trust in those facts not just believe.” To be truly saved one has to believe ‘in’ Christ, and not just that Christ is the Son of God, because as demonstrated above, even the demons believed Jesus was the Holy one of God. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe– and tremble!”
Just having faith that something is true is different than having faith in something that you rest all your assurance upon. There is also another example in Acts chapter 26 where Paul is speaking to King Agrippa, and after everything that Paul says regarding the truth of Christianity, King Agrippa still does not come to faith in Christ. King Agrippa says in verse 28, “. . . ‘You almost persuaded me to become a Christian.”’ Ryrie stated, “Nevertheless, it is true that some people can believe and not be saved. King Agrippa apparently believed the facts that confirmed that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Savior (Acts 26:27). But he refused to receive Jesus and His salvation.”
Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Based on this scripture, it would certainly be hard to say ‘believing that’ Jesus is the Son of God is good enough to feel secure in your salvation. At the same time, it shows that all good works is no more enough proof that someone is saved, than is someone who does nothing visible after believing in Christ.
Having a new relationship and new heart should change behavior and thinking, but it does not necessarily happen over night. And it also does not seem to be a requirement from verses in the Bible that specifically talk about salvation. John 5:24 states, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 6:40 says, “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Nowhere does it say that in order for you to be saved that your mind must be transformed immediately and that you must demonstrate that by your actions.
Even Paul struggled with sin after being saved, and no one would suggest that he was not saved just because his mind was not transformed completely. Paul calls himself carnal and a sinner, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (Romans 7:14-15).
Saving faith will produce good works, but it is not on our time line and we may actually never witness the fruits of someone who claims being saved. Salvation is based on believing in Christ, and everything else, works, transformation, comes about during sanctification, or our growing in Christ as Christians.
Charles Ryrie put it this way, “Faith means confidence, trust, holding something as true. The only issue is whether or not you believe that His death paid for all your sin and that by believing in Him you can have forgiveness and eternal life.” Just because we do not see someone’s fruit of the spirit does not mean it is not there. It may just not be outwardly evident. He goes on to say, “It is all too easy to have a mental list of spiritual fruit and to conclude that if someone does not produce what is on my list that he or she is not a believer. But the reality is that most lists that we humans devise are too short, too selective, too prejudiced, and often extra biblical.”
How would we explain the fruit of deathbed conversions or the thief on the cross next to Jesus, if it was necessary for faith to always produce some evidence we can see to prove salvation? Neither person in the cases just mentioned had any time to produce outward evidence of fruit other than believing ‘in’ Jesus. They probably had an internal fruit of the Spirit, peace. And we also could never know of the fruit that came from the people witnessing their conversion at that point in time. The seeds they may have planted in others about Jesus may not be manifested at that time, but later in the observer’s life.
Saving faith can be illustrated in the following way, at least in the moderate view of salvation.
1. Act of mind and will (James 2:19)
2. Will accepts (Rom. 1:18)
3. Will receives (1 Cor. 2:14)
4. Heart commitment (Rom. 10:9)
5. Sees its significance and is subjectively applied
6. Does prompt actions
7. Does tend to produce good works (James 2:17)
8. Does lead to salvation (James 2:14, 18)
9. Belief ‘in’ – taken from Dr. Geisler
Saving faith does produce fruit, but it is not always seen by us. Saving faith is also more than believing that Jesus is the Son of God, but believes in Jesus for our eternal destiny. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run, with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. . .” Hebrews 12:1-2. Your faith in Jesus will save you, now let your salvation produce the fruits through discipleship and sanctification.
Repentance is also necessary in order for us to experience salvation, and is supported all throughout Scripture. In Acts 2:38 Peter says to the crowd, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 3:2, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Matthew 4:17 tells us that Jesus began to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mark 1:15; 6:12; Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 3:19 all have repentance as part of coming to Christ. Many other verses as well imply repentance, as mentioned above. Repentance also always comes before believing in Christ, when both are used in the same sentence. Acts 26:20 demonstrates this well when it says, “. . . that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.”
Millard Erickson says, “Repentance is godly sorrow for one’s sin together with a resolution to turn from it.” He goes onto to say, “If there is no conscience repentance, there is no real awareness of having been saved from the power of sin.” Second Timothy 2:24-26 says it perfectly, “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil. . . .”
One problem is that some take a stance that regeneration must come before one is able to recognize the need to repent and be saved. The moderate position believes that regeneration takes place, but at the time of salvation and continues throughout our Christian lives as sanctification. To believe in regeneration prior to salvation is to take away one’s free choice to choose. Dr. Geisler has stated, “. . . there are no verses properly understood that teach regeneration is prior to faith. Instead, it is the uniform pattern of Scripture to place faith logically prior to salvation as a condition for receiving it.” Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. . . .” Acts 16: 31 says, “. . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. . . .” There are other verses as well, Luke 13:3; 2 Pet. 3:9; JN 3:6-7, that all put faith prior to salvation and not regeneration. First faith then salvation. Regeneration happens at our time of belief in Christ, and then continues as Sanctification throughout our Christian lives.
All the Church Fathers in ancient times also believed that it was our responsibility to believe in Christ for salvation, and that we were not regenerated prior to being able to believe. We were able to freely choose whether or not we wanted to ‘believe in’ Christ for salvation. Irenaeus said, “God made man free [agent] from the beginning, possessing his own soul to obey the behests of God voluntarily, and not by compulsion of God (Against Heresies, XXXVII).” Origen stated in his preface of De Principiis, “This also is clearly defined in the teaching of the church that every rational soul is possessed of free will and volition.” Last, but not least, Thomas Aquinas said “To be free is not to be obliged to one determinate object. Man has free choice, otherwise counsels, exhortations, precepts, prohibitions, rewards, and punishments would all be pointless. . . .”
The best way to conclude is with Scripture. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:23. Second Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord . . . is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8. Finally Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. . . .”
The Bible spells it out in what is referred to as the salvation trail that was just mentioned in the above paragraph. We are sinners, and need to realize it. Christ did what we could not do through works on our own part and paid the price on the cross. God calls us to repentance and wishes none would be lost. Repentance is before salvation, and God wishing indicates that He is allowing us to choose freely, and not regenerating us first and giving us no real free choice of whether or not to accept His wonderful gift of Salvation. Then we are called to believe ‘on’ or ‘in’ Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and salvation, and not just ‘that’ Jesus is the Son of God as the demons also believe.
The demons believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and knew who He was yet were not saved, and still made the decision to turn their backs on Him. “. . . ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’” (Mark 1:24). Four chapters later in Mark 5:7 another occurrence with a multitude of demons; they are recorded saying, “. . . What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” The Gospels of Matthew and Luke have the same recorded occurrences.
If believing that Jesus was the Holy One of God was the only requirement to saving faith, then logic would tell us that these demons would still be angels in Heaven. They knew who He was, so they believed ‘that’ He was the Christ, yet they rejected ‘believing in’ Him and consequently ended up as fallen angels. How then can we expect that we would be any different? We could as well believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God without putting our trust and security for our salvation in Him, meaning our Faith in who He is.
Charles Ryrie explains the moderate view accurately, “Faith is to put one’s trust in – ; to use intellectual credence in the resurrection and reliability of those truths, but also to put your trust in those facts not just believe.” To be truly saved one has to believe ‘in’ Christ, and not just that Christ is the Son of God, because as demonstrated above, even the demons believed Jesus was the Holy one of God. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe– and tremble!”
Just having faith that something is true is different than having faith in something that you rest all your assurance upon. There is also another example in Acts chapter 26 where Paul is speaking to King Agrippa, and after everything that Paul says regarding the truth of Christianity, King Agrippa still does not come to faith in Christ. King Agrippa says in verse 28, “. . . ‘You almost persuaded me to become a Christian.”’ Ryrie stated, “Nevertheless, it is true that some people can believe and not be saved. King Agrippa apparently believed the facts that confirmed that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Savior (Acts 26:27). But he refused to receive Jesus and His salvation.”
Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Based on this scripture, it would certainly be hard to say ‘believing that’ Jesus is the Son of God is good enough to feel secure in your salvation. At the same time, it shows that all good works is no more enough proof that someone is saved, than is someone who does nothing visible after believing in Christ.
Having a new relationship and new heart should change behavior and thinking, but it does not necessarily happen over night. And it also does not seem to be a requirement from verses in the Bible that specifically talk about salvation. John 5:24 states, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 6:40 says, “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Nowhere does it say that in order for you to be saved that your mind must be transformed immediately and that you must demonstrate that by your actions.
Even Paul struggled with sin after being saved, and no one would suggest that he was not saved just because his mind was not transformed completely. Paul calls himself carnal and a sinner, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (Romans 7:14-15).
Saving faith will produce good works, but it is not on our time line and we may actually never witness the fruits of someone who claims being saved. Salvation is based on believing in Christ, and everything else, works, transformation, comes about during sanctification, or our growing in Christ as Christians.
Charles Ryrie put it this way, “Faith means confidence, trust, holding something as true. The only issue is whether or not you believe that His death paid for all your sin and that by believing in Him you can have forgiveness and eternal life.” Just because we do not see someone’s fruit of the spirit does not mean it is not there. It may just not be outwardly evident. He goes on to say, “It is all too easy to have a mental list of spiritual fruit and to conclude that if someone does not produce what is on my list that he or she is not a believer. But the reality is that most lists that we humans devise are too short, too selective, too prejudiced, and often extra biblical.”
How would we explain the fruit of deathbed conversions or the thief on the cross next to Jesus, if it was necessary for faith to always produce some evidence we can see to prove salvation? Neither person in the cases just mentioned had any time to produce outward evidence of fruit other than believing ‘in’ Jesus. They probably had an internal fruit of the Spirit, peace. And we also could never know of the fruit that came from the people witnessing their conversion at that point in time. The seeds they may have planted in others about Jesus may not be manifested at that time, but later in the observer’s life.
Saving faith can be illustrated in the following way, at least in the moderate view of salvation.
1. Act of mind and will (James 2:19)
2. Will accepts (Rom. 1:18)
3. Will receives (1 Cor. 2:14)
4. Heart commitment (Rom. 10:9)
5. Sees its significance and is subjectively applied
6. Does prompt actions
7. Does tend to produce good works (James 2:17)
8. Does lead to salvation (James 2:14, 18)
9. Belief ‘in’ – taken from Dr. Geisler
Saving faith does produce fruit, but it is not always seen by us. Saving faith is also more than believing that Jesus is the Son of God, but believes in Jesus for our eternal destiny. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run, with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. . .” Hebrews 12:1-2. Your faith in Jesus will save you, now let your salvation produce the fruits through discipleship and sanctification.
Repentance is also necessary in order for us to experience salvation, and is supported all throughout Scripture. In Acts 2:38 Peter says to the crowd, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 3:2, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Matthew 4:17 tells us that Jesus began to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mark 1:15; 6:12; Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 3:19 all have repentance as part of coming to Christ. Many other verses as well imply repentance, as mentioned above. Repentance also always comes before believing in Christ, when both are used in the same sentence. Acts 26:20 demonstrates this well when it says, “. . . that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.”
Millard Erickson says, “Repentance is godly sorrow for one’s sin together with a resolution to turn from it.” He goes onto to say, “If there is no conscience repentance, there is no real awareness of having been saved from the power of sin.” Second Timothy 2:24-26 says it perfectly, “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil. . . .”
One problem is that some take a stance that regeneration must come before one is able to recognize the need to repent and be saved. The moderate position believes that regeneration takes place, but at the time of salvation and continues throughout our Christian lives as sanctification. To believe in regeneration prior to salvation is to take away one’s free choice to choose. Dr. Geisler has stated, “. . . there are no verses properly understood that teach regeneration is prior to faith. Instead, it is the uniform pattern of Scripture to place faith logically prior to salvation as a condition for receiving it.” Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. . . .” Acts 16: 31 says, “. . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. . . .” There are other verses as well, Luke 13:3; 2 Pet. 3:9; JN 3:6-7, that all put faith prior to salvation and not regeneration. First faith then salvation. Regeneration happens at our time of belief in Christ, and then continues as Sanctification throughout our Christian lives.
All the Church Fathers in ancient times also believed that it was our responsibility to believe in Christ for salvation, and that we were not regenerated prior to being able to believe. We were able to freely choose whether or not we wanted to ‘believe in’ Christ for salvation. Irenaeus said, “God made man free [agent] from the beginning, possessing his own soul to obey the behests of God voluntarily, and not by compulsion of God (Against Heresies, XXXVII).” Origen stated in his preface of De Principiis, “This also is clearly defined in the teaching of the church that every rational soul is possessed of free will and volition.” Last, but not least, Thomas Aquinas said “To be free is not to be obliged to one determinate object. Man has free choice, otherwise counsels, exhortations, precepts, prohibitions, rewards, and punishments would all be pointless. . . .”
The best way to conclude is with Scripture. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:23. Second Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord . . . is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8. Finally Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. . . .”
The Bible spells it out in what is referred to as the salvation trail that was just mentioned in the above paragraph. We are sinners, and need to realize it. Christ did what we could not do through works on our own part and paid the price on the cross. God calls us to repentance and wishes none would be lost. Repentance is before salvation, and God wishing indicates that He is allowing us to choose freely, and not regenerating us first and giving us no real free choice of whether or not to accept His wonderful gift of Salvation. Then we are called to believe ‘on’ or ‘in’ Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and salvation, and not just ‘that’ Jesus is the Son of God as the demons also believe.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The Ultimate “Momma Joke!”
This past Friday night I was discussing what it means to be a disciple of Christ, as we are going to make it our theme this year. We want to be able to say, “Here I am Lord . . . Send me!” When God says go, we go. If He says stop we stop. First and foremost we want to follow the call of God and make it known in our lives. Jesus Christ is our first love!!!
In particular we were discussing how hard it really is to be a disciple of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is hard to be the only one to stand up in class for Christ and look like a fool to other students. To stand up though it may cost your grade, your finances, or your life, and be satisfied and fulfilled because you are a disciple, soldier, for Christ.
During our discussion I posed the question why we allow people to talk so divisively about our Savior. We tend to allow others to make fun of Him and degrade who He is without speaking up, and at times engaging in the joking or coarse behavior. Why is this?
Then while we were praying a thought came to me. When I was growing up, and maybe this is just a guy thing, the ultimate insult to someone was to talk about their mother in a negative fashion. Why? Because Moms are almost always there, and they our earthly view of undying love. It is a rare occasion that moms are not part of their children’s lives, as opposed to Dad’s who are known to leave without reason a lot. Just look at our poor communities if you need an example. But, when you made a Mom joke, it was on! Either you were going to fight or lose face, because no one makes fun of your Mom.
Why are we not adamant about Jesus in this way? We should be. I am not telling you to fight because someone picks on Christ or your Christianity, but I am advocating not allowing people demean the name of Christ without letting them known they are picking on your Savior; and in reality theirs. I am advocating that we take the name of Jesus Christ more seriously and with more respect; with more respect than our own mothers. Developing the soldier, disciple mentality that we would go to battle and die if asked for our Savior, because to attack Him is to attack our very being. The One who holds our eternal destiny in His hands.
The call is to become like Paul asks Timothy to be in 2 Timothy 2:1-4, “2 Timothy 2:1-4, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
Or to answer like Isaiah when God spoke, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).
Do you look like a disciple of Jesus now?
Would someone know you are a follower of Christ by watching your actions, listening to you talk, or just being in your presence?
This is the challenge I posed to the college students Friday night, and they are taking the challenge. Will you? Check back weekly as we move through becoming disciples of Christ.
In particular we were discussing how hard it really is to be a disciple of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is hard to be the only one to stand up in class for Christ and look like a fool to other students. To stand up though it may cost your grade, your finances, or your life, and be satisfied and fulfilled because you are a disciple, soldier, for Christ.
During our discussion I posed the question why we allow people to talk so divisively about our Savior. We tend to allow others to make fun of Him and degrade who He is without speaking up, and at times engaging in the joking or coarse behavior. Why is this?
Then while we were praying a thought came to me. When I was growing up, and maybe this is just a guy thing, the ultimate insult to someone was to talk about their mother in a negative fashion. Why? Because Moms are almost always there, and they our earthly view of undying love. It is a rare occasion that moms are not part of their children’s lives, as opposed to Dad’s who are known to leave without reason a lot. Just look at our poor communities if you need an example. But, when you made a Mom joke, it was on! Either you were going to fight or lose face, because no one makes fun of your Mom.
Why are we not adamant about Jesus in this way? We should be. I am not telling you to fight because someone picks on Christ or your Christianity, but I am advocating not allowing people demean the name of Christ without letting them known they are picking on your Savior; and in reality theirs. I am advocating that we take the name of Jesus Christ more seriously and with more respect; with more respect than our own mothers. Developing the soldier, disciple mentality that we would go to battle and die if asked for our Savior, because to attack Him is to attack our very being. The One who holds our eternal destiny in His hands.
The call is to become like Paul asks Timothy to be in 2 Timothy 2:1-4, “2 Timothy 2:1-4, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
Or to answer like Isaiah when God spoke, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).
Do you look like a disciple of Jesus now?
Would someone know you are a follower of Christ by watching your actions, listening to you talk, or just being in your presence?
This is the challenge I posed to the college students Friday night, and they are taking the challenge. Will you? Check back weekly as we move through becoming disciples of Christ.
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